NanoWrimo: Flexible Survival 2/30
#2 of NanoWriMo Flexible Survival
Chapter 2
I tucked the new gun onto my back, bouncing lightly against the assault rifle I already had. It never hurt to have a backup weapon. Things happen, things break. I wasn't cleared for trying to fix it either. As I grew accustomed to the new weight, a low tone noted new information on the comm. I was being sent new directions. They led to Zephyr. Zephyr Incorporated. Visiting that place was always a mixed bag. Their answer to P day was to sell everything. They used nanites to reproduce things that you just couldn't make anymore. They made dangerous technology that worked, mostly. You paid the price tag, you could get anything, and they just didn't care. I've seen strange things go on in that building. I'm fine working with Rsx, at least we were working, not pretending the end times are a great time for a party, or record profits. It was a short walk at least. A soft bark drew my attention. A feral was standing there, gazing at me with an entirely unwholesome fixation. She was gesturing at me with clear intention and wagging her upturned tail invitingly. A husky. They were fairly common in this section of the city. I was told some people, mostly Zephyr, take the huskies up on their offers. If you ignore the fur, the muzzle, the tail, well, there was a well shaped woman under all that mess. Not much better than laying with an especially willing doll if you asked me. Fortunately, they were also harmless unless you looked like a fresh faced rookie that couldn't hold a gun without their hands shaking. I was past that point, and the husky didn't dare to try stopping me and I strode past. I hadn't mentioned them yet, but there are mutants that aren't animal hybrids. Elves, vampires, giants. I even heard of a candy family of infections. I didn't volunteer to check that one out, thanks. At least the nanite inoculation I was given was holding up well. I haven't woken up with a tail or become a woman when I wasn't looking. Thank God for small favors. The Zephyr building rose up before me. It was one of the taller buildings in the city, and it had lights. That last part made it very easy to find as the sun sank towards the horizon. Way up at the top of the tower, a softly blinking light flashed red, warning the planes that no longer flew past that it was there. The stylized 'Z' shone down on me. That was a recent addition, as if everyone who could know didn't already know Zephyr was here. I moved in and pushed at the bar at the glass door, admitting myself to the lobby. The lobby, what could I say about it. It was a shady place in bright lights, where people from all walks of like collided in a pile of mixed feelings of being lost and sating various itches. People came in many sizes and shapes here, almost all mutant, with the occasional nanite immune standing out, a normal human in a land of strange parodies. There were guards, but I never heard them taking action except for that one time someone became violent and was waving a gun around. Besides that, you could do whatever you wanted in here. It's worth noting that the guards were as varied as the people they watched. One caught my eye that day, a gryphon on six legs, with a humanoid torso on top. She had four tails that all moved in different patterns, fanning over genitals that made her not quite a she, even with the mild attempt to cover them with a long skirt. Gender identity was a difficult task those days. Her lower belly was distended. I had heard rumor that the absurd reproduction rate of mutants was slowing down. That didn't stop them from trying though. The gryphon had a vest with a badge that proclaimed them as part of the security, and their name as Sparhawk. I made my way through the crowd, avoiding the cold looks of some, and the hot looks of others. Rsx and Zephyr were not on the best terms. We had different ideologies. We weren't at war, either. Who could afford one in those troubled times? It made some people uneasy. Only ten feet from Sparhawk, a figure moved into my path. She had large round ears and equally round glasses perched on a mild snout. A mouse. She wore grease stained blue overalls that bore a name tag, 'Chell'. Besides the overalls, she was naked if you didn't count the light beige fur that covered most of her. Some mutants lost their human hair, this one still had it in spades. Long black hair done up in a ponytail. She smiled brightly at me, "That's a fancy looking gun you have on your back there, don't recognize the model," she said in quick excited tones. "Can I see?" She reminded me of Rod, but then, mice and rats were pretty similar in their ways, and she looked just as eager to experiment with things. "Sorry," I said, "I'm on assignment." Zephyr or Rsx, both sides had things to do. It was a universal language between us. "Won't take more than a second," she insisted as she leaned towards me. Maybe I was hasty in my declaration of universal. "Where are you heading off to, anyway?" "I don't even know yet," I said honestly as I tried to move past her, but she was quite persistent, "If you would excuse me?" "Hey!" She suddenly darted past me, and grabbed at the gun, "This is Rod's mark" she declared triumphantly as she pointed to the insignia of the knotted naked tail. Getting the impression that trying to brush her off wasn't going to work, I took the gun from her excited hands, "Yes, it is, he just sold it to me." Thankfully, she didn't resist, surrendering it to me as she gushed. "Is he selling more? How much? What's it do?" "He said it was like a large laser pistol, using nanites for power. Don't as how it works, I couldn't tell you, but he said this was the only one he had so far." Her ears sagged and her tail fell. I had to give it to the mutants, their extra bodyparts could send strong signals when it came to basic emotions. "Aw man. Uh, tell you what." She started frisking herself, checking pockets rapidly, "I'll give you something of mine, and you let me see that thing after that mission of yours. Just see it, I won't break it, I swear." Allow me to say, I prefer human girls over the rest, but this mouse was built nicely, and she wasn't trying to get into my pants. I guess I always preferred doing the chasing instead of being the chased. Either way, my eyes strayed to her assets as she patted herself down. She was cute, I had decided, and if she wants to handle my gun for a little, it couldn't hurt too much. She fished out a small canister, "Here we are. Re usable grenade. Just push the button here," she indicated a depression at the long end of the cylindrical, gray, shell, "And toss." She pushed the grenade into my hands, "Come back when you're done, ok?" And she flashed a wide smile. "Thanks, I will, but, you said it was re usable? How is that possible?" She waved a hand dismissively, as if it should have been obvious, "It's a flammable gas grenade. The gas is manufactured inside, released and ignited with the button press. It only takes about a minute to reload," she explained as she tilted her head at me. "Handy, huh?" "Sounds like a blast," I joked, and reached to take her furry hand and shake on it, "I'll be back, after business is done." She had a good grip. I decided I could trust her at least as far as I was watching her. With her satisfied, I was free to approach that guard. Sparhawk looked at me with the far off gaze of someone checking their comm read out, "I've been expecting you. Are you looking for Mike?" A helpful chime from my comm alerted me that I was, "I need a ride out of the city, ASAP, you know how it is." Sparhawk nodded and pointed off through the crowd, "He's lurking by the elevator. Good luck out there. Say, Chell didn't give you any trouble, did she?" I shook my head, "No, harmless girl. Thanks for checking though." We flipped each other halfhearted salutes and I re entered the crowd, ignoring the further invitations for wasting time to get to the elevator. Mike was where he was advertised. A blue gryphon on two legs, wearing a newscaster station jacket over normal looking clothes. All the wild blue gryphons I ever ran into were he shes, but Mike was all male. That happened sometimes. Some people were just wired to stay a man or a woman despite whatever else the nanites change in them. "Mike, you get the info on where we're heading?" I asked in way of greeting. He tapped at the comm piece riding on his ear, "Minutes ago, been waiting for you. Did you get lost with the huskies again?" he asked in a teasing tone. "You know they don't do a damn thing for me. How soon before we can get off the ground?" "Right now if you're that eager," he said as he slapped the elevator call. As the elevator approached, he looked to me, "Do you know where we're headed?" "I was hoping you'd tell me. They seem to be guiding me on a very short leash today." "One of those, is it?" he asked as he looked at me side long. The elevator dinged as it arrived, opening and disgorging a very confused looking man that squeaked with every step. He looked like a pool toy, though made of solid rubber, or latex I heard. "Ooo, newb coming through," Mike whispered to me. The latex foxes were low ranking threats, right up there with the huskies. No one but the fresh recruits had anything to fear of the nuisances. I was sure my mission would involve something a little more challenging, "So, where are we going?" I asked as we entered and pressed the roof button. "We're heading to Berkeley," he said as he flashed a peace sign at me with two furry digits, "Couldn't tell you why exactly, but I'm bringing you right onto the college campus. Never been there since P day, I admit. I wonder what sort of craziness took that city. Maybe they lucked out?" Not every city was blanketed with nanites, just most. Not having nanites over your head was a bit of a blessing in some ways, but a hassle in others. Nanites could be used for things, but they also did things you didn't ask for. What a choice, starve to death in the dark, or watch as mankind goes slowly extinct. My introspection was interrupted as the first real bit of information started flooding into my comm. The mission was suddenly clear. I was to approach on Telegraph Avenue and secure the campus. Secure the campus? Berkeley campus was a large place. I frowned at the thought of one man doing it alone, "Are you taking anyone else on this job?" "You're the only one I got on schedule," said Mike with a shrug, "That going to be a problem?" "Might be. Let me guess, you're pulling out the moment I touch ground." "Standard procedure," he agreed with a nod. "Great." I stewed in resignation at the impossibility of it all. Maybe they were sending agents through other ways. I was far from base. For all I knew, they sent a heli out of Rsx directly hours ago and they're waiting on me. Maybe I was blowing the whole thing out of proportion. A man could hope, but hopes rarely panned out in those days.
Here's day 2 of my nanowrimo attempt!
Set in the Flexible Survival universe Multiplayer Game: http://flexiblesurvival.com/ Singleplayer: http://blog.flexiblesurvival.com/ Forum: http://www.flexiblesurvival.com/ Support my writing, buy the ebook now!(Gets you all revisions as the story progresses, available in all popular ebook formats, only 99 cents): https://www.smashwords.com/books/vi.....2?ref=Dmsilver