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Welcome to Anthracite City: Hibernation

By Psion

All Rights reserved

Part four of a trilogy

Continuing after the events of Post Apocalyptic Paradise...

It had been an interesting last couple of days for Adam White and Elizabeth Summers. Since their arrival in the area, the two best friends had settled into a routine in the outskirts of Anthracite City. For the most part, their routine consisted of short bursts of extreme activity either fighting the enemy or searching for supplies followed by a few days spent holed up in the prepper bunker the duo found through a bit of luck searching abandoned vehicles along the side of the highway.

And a day ago they visited a hunting camp set up by a visiting band of superheroines from a place called Silicon City; a place with... well, words like "model" and "beauty" were technically relative if the two humans could find the time to stop and think about it. Perhaps a better way to describe the heroes and heroines of Silicon City was that they appeared more "diverse" then the usual comic book fare. Skinny men, fat women, and other deviations from the typical muscle-bound atlases and energy-slinging supermodels existed on that world. In any case, the hero team had managed to adapt surprisingly well to the frozen post-apocalyptic nightmare of Anthracite City, camping in an abandoned mall that had become a nesting ground for mutated game animals and feeding on the feral beasts. So much so that they felt were in danger of being discovered. The rebel duo extended an invitation and to their general surprise it was accepted. After a short trek through the subway and the woods surrounding the city, they arrived at their bunker just in time for dinner and some relaxing before bed.

Which lead to where they were all now, squeezed into the shelter's one big bed. Here was perhaps the only real luxury the original owners splurged on in the bunker, a Californian king with a steel frame and a memory foam mattress. Even with the pallet of tin cans underneath reinforcing it, the bed faced its weightiest test yet... First was T-80, a super-strong Russian-American ursine giantess that was as soft as she was strong. Once the she-bear was comfortably resting on the bed, the slender lapine mentalist Mentalrix and their two guides curled up against the well-padded bear... then the rest of the group dog-piled on top of them. Soft, warm bodies curled up against the tired guerillas as human and anthro nuzzled up against one another. Costumes and clothes were strewn all over the floor as everyone curled up for warmth beneath the quilted blankets. The humans clung greedily to their round-bodied new friends like a pair of despondent children desperately cuddling a favorite plushie, mentally drinking in what felt like more then just the physical warmth of the overfed furries. Tears began to roll down their faces once again as both Adam and Elizabeth physically shuddered then relaxed as they finally started to fall asleep. Power Tool and Rump Roast both poked Adam experimentally to no effect; the human had surrendered utterly to his own exhaustion. Syrniki and Demeter merely shrugged and finished curling up with Elizabeth, covering the short blond woman with soft rabbit. Soon afterwards, everyone fell into a warm, comforting sleep. The frigid wind howled violently outside but no one could hear it in the warm bunker. Buried in between the others, Mentalrix let herself relax. The telepathic rabbit began to mentally drift amid the soothing calm, there was some strange uncertainty lingering with their hosts but even that soon passed as everyone slipped into a deep, restful sleep...

The following morning, Adam and Elizabeth discreetly arose and performed simple chores, snow was melted then boiled to make purified drinking water while the batteries powering the bunker's electrical system were checked. By the time the others woke up, breakfast was ready and it was time for the alien heroes to plan their next move and ask their hosts about their surroundings. Having only been exploring Anthracite City and the world around it for a few weeks, there were still large gaps in Mentalrix's knowledge of the area. Gaps she wished to fill quickly as best she could.

"What can you tell us about local threats?" The unmasked rabbit asked as casually as if she was asking about the weather or local celebrities.

"Intelligent, unintelligent, or environmental?" Adam asked simply from his seat at the overcrowded table.

"Intelligent first though it's probably for the best if we hear about the others as well. Also, do you know any place where we could set up camp again? This bunker is handy but a bit small, perhaps even for your purposes."

Adam shrugged; unbothered by having someone state the obvious about the small abandoned prepper shelter he and Elizabeth had holed up in. "Most of the intelligent threats in the area are based in Anthracite City itself though you probably should worry about the handful of bandit gangs operating between here and the Chicago-Detriot ruins. Of the survivors that turned into thugs, the only gang you probably would have to watch out for is Don D's crew. Don't know where Donny D came from, don't think anyone does, all I do know is that his road gang pretty much owns all of the main interstate connecting here and Detriot. As for the other gangs, either they're too small to be a real threat to you or are lying so low no one knows they're out there. As for the thugs on the Rik-Tah's payroll, most of us don't bother watching who's stationed at Anthracite City too closely, merc outfits rotate to other parts of the world too frequently to keep track of. The only three regulars in the city, at least the only three that have numbers we bother counting, are the Fiends, the Groms, and the fucking impervious idiots in the Coal Mates."

Mentalrix nodded, her ears perking up at the mention of the Fiends and a puzzled expression as he listed the Groms and the Coal Mates. "We were wondering what had became of the Fiends, no one in Silicon City had seen them in a suspiciously long time. Particularly considering how boisterous they were after having all acquired superpowers after they raided that one pharmacy laboratory. I can see them fitting in well here though, brutal street gangers with exceptional strength and endurance-"

"Not to mention man cannons bigger then a melon and chemically-enhanced libidos that drive them to squeeze them into any available hole." Adam finished for her, shaking his head. "Thank god they aren't really bulletproof, or at least not so bulletproof that a couple rounds of FMJ can't sort them out. As for the others, the Groms are a cult of, and I never expected to say this with a straight face, magic-users. Magic-users worshipping some god or goddess they call the Insatiable One. In a fight they're..." He began, hesitating. "In a fight they're basically big fat wizards that eat people. Whether that fuels their magic or is just some cult thing they do to become closer to their god I have no idea and no one who runs into them is concerned with finding out."

Mentalrix was quiet, nodding as she soaked up the information. Having fought a vorephile once herself in her superhero career, she understood how they could unnerve people. Even the few that were good, if such an adjective could be used to describe such a thing, tended to put people on edge. "And what of the Coal Mates?"

Elizabeth snorted. "What of them? Other then they're proof that there is a God and he has a fucked up sense of humor pitting those fuckheads against us gearheads." The petite blond shrugged nonchalantly, sighing as she noticed their guests were motioning for her to continue. "The Coal Mates are a bunch of macho frat boys with superpowers, at least they act like a bunch of frat boys that is. When the Rik-Tah tapped them, the Groms, and the Fiends to spearhead the siege and raiding of Anthracite City, the Coal Mates were the seemingly invincible storm troopers and siege breakers. Super strong, seemingly immune to anything that the under equipped city militia could throw at them, and each and every one of them fucking dumber then a bag of fucking hammers. They're lead by a guy named Stallion, yes Stallion, no originality there. Big draft horse anthro, sculpted body positively ripped with muscle, wears nothing but a pair of bike shorts and armored boots, and has a huge mane of beautifully kept blond hair."

"Liz has hair envy." Adam whispered with a smirk, his partner playfully punching him in the shoulder.

"Yeah he has great hair but I'm getting off topic, you'll know him when you see him as he has this ridiculous Conan the Barbarian vibe to him, running around with a huge claymore... the sword, not the proximity mine." Elizabeth concluded with a groan.

"Interesting, clearly there's a joke there we're not getting. Though I sense there is a deeper reason for why you hate the Coal Mates."

Now it was Adam's turn to snort slightly. "On the 'good guy' side of things, if I can really say that about those of us trying to survive, Colonel Wylder maintains a small military presence in the area with what's left of the Army and the Marines but he often has to lay lower then the rest of us as the Rik-Tah will nuke anything that looks like a large military detachment. Pretty much everyone else that's actually resisting instead of just surviving consists of techie-types that have ties to either the old Maker movement from before the war or one of the old engineering colleges. More or less at least, I hear stories about a crazy group of teenagers living some kind of Red Dawn fantasy in the sewers of Anthracite City but I've never seen them.

But anyway as a result you see a lot of scavenged tech, traps, and unconventional weapons on our side. The Coal Mates on the other hand, if it doesn't allow them to view their damsel in distress porn or make beer, they generally aren't interested in technology. At least they weren't until they realized how weak their usual tactics of comicbook punch-ups were against a foe with weapons that use either fire or electricity because fuck regular guns if the bullets only bounce off these freaks' over muscled chests.

We stomp them with cobbled-together flamethrowers and Tesla guns, they cry foul, run away bawling like a bunch of toddlers with shit-stained britches, and then come again a week later because apparently they're not only stupid but classically insane if they believe doing the same thing over and over again will get a different result. Would be hilarious if there isn't some truth to their belief that we're going to run out of tricks sooner or later because we actually are slowly running out of tricks." Adam explained.

"Well if the city's not a good place to stay, is there anywhere else we could set up camp?" Powertool asked, the beaver was clearly trying to contribute to the conversation. Adam briefly wondered what the Canadian gadget-user's story was then decided that could wait for another time.

"There are a couple prisons scattered through out the area, privatized correctional facilities were a big business before the war. Responsible for a lot of corruption too as the stories go. Anyway, out of the four I know of, only one that I think is uninhabited is the medium security prison Rockview. It's downriver from Port Clearfield, one of the little suburb towns outside of Anthracite City. All the others have been converted over to bases for the mercs."

"Anything else we should worry about?" Rump Roast, the well-rounded vixen with the mechanical morphing polearm, asked studiously as she joined in after Powertool.

"Well other then the frankenstocks you're already munching on, there's a big list... might be easier to list what isn't hostile. I swear it's like Gamma World out there with the mutants, the robots, the aliens, the bandits, and random technology running amuck."

"Gamma World?" Demeter asked, the hooded rabbit raising an eyebrow as she made sure she was keeping up with the conversation.

"It's an old pen and paper RPG that was... nevermind." Adam replied.

The visiting heroines nodded. As breakfast was eaten, the conversation continued and the strangers learned a little more about this unusual land and what they could expect. Plans were made and as soon as their morning meal was finished, Mentalrix and her band departed for their new home at the Rockview prison complex. Adam and Elizabeth likewise geared up and got ready for a day of scavenging. Today they would head north, following up on rumors of a supermarket that hadn't been heavily looted yet. Whether they were true or not, scouting the area wouldn't hurt. Particularly as there were also rumors of the Rik-Tah recruiting a group of former supervillains from a place called Aphrodite City...