Chương 117: Chapter 116 – Dead Silent

"Now that ain't the only possibility," said Coach, raising his hands to placate Cole.

"Our equipment ain't exactly in prime condition. Last storm cut our radio range almost in half." He sighed.

"Lot of survivors I want to check up on. Our tech school was a block south of here. You probably drove right across the roof on your way in. We brought the students here in the early days while a lot of their families got stuck across the city. They rely on our updates to know their kids are safe. Last thing we need is those folks trying to push through downtown cause they ain't heard from us." Alexa stepped forward.

"If the transmitter isn't too damaged, I may be able to help, there. My familiar, Archie, has an ability that lets him de-noise and amplify radio signals. Could get you some airtime."

"Ma'am, there's a lot of parents that would mean the world to."

"And these LouixCorp guys might not be transmitting, but they could still be listening. Could help us get a handshake instead of a bullet," said Cole. He looked at Therza.

"You know where to find those guys?" Therza shifted her weight.

"Sure do. Problem is we can't get you there by vehicle. Roads aren't clear enough—and they're only going to get worse. Let me show you." Therza led them up to the platform, where a flat screen embedded in the table showed an annotated map of the city sprawled out on the monochrome display. She pointed to a spot near the shore and then traced a line north.

"Here's us. And here's LouixCorp. This stretch between? That's all Dark City. No survivor cells, very little intel. Lots of bots and monsters—and it's hard to say which is worse. Automaton marksmen will clip you from the ruins during the day and you won't see monsters coming at night."

"We will," said Howie.

"We've got NODs—er, night vision. We prefer to operate at night, actually." Therza looked at them.

"All of you? Is that an ability?"

"Technology," said Howie. He pointed at Cole.

"Except for him. His highest enhancement is Acuity so he's got some perceptive fuckery going on."

"Language, son," said Coach.

"Sorry, Coach," said Howie. He grinned at Cole.

"I wonder how the Lewis Field is translating profanity. Like, what word did they hear, vs what I said?" Roxy rolled her eyes.

"Let's not start experimenting with that," said Therza, chuckling. She tapped her cheek.

"Moving at night with your vision enhancement, though. That's not bad. Hextant's machines have poor night-time sensors." She glanced at Coach, then back to Cole.

"Don't suppose you have an extra set of these goggles?" She asked.

"Now hold on, Ms. Therza," said Coach, crossing his arms and leaning in.

"I know we wanna be helpsome, but we can't afford to lose you out there in Dark City lookin' for some loonies that may or may not still be there." Therza scoffed.

"If they let us get word to the parents, sending one person with them to help get their kid back is more than a fair trade, Coach. You know that. And I know that area better than anyone." Coach pursed his lips and then grimaced and ran a hand over his scalp.

"Heck. You're right, Ms. Therza. Alright. I'll wrangle up some of the radio club to help up at the roof." He looked at Cole and the others.

"Be dark in six hours or so. Ya'll are welcome to dinner before settin' out. Just cause the world's endin' don't mean we can go throwin' out civility, yeah?"

"Decent of you," said Cole.

"But can you spare the provisions?" Coach laughed bitterly.

"Got more'n we can eat in a lifetime. Was enough non-perishables in this city to feed a population twenty times what we got now. And we're growing gardens on top with the jungle trying to reclaim the island." He shook his head.

"Wish it weren't the way it is, but we got enough problems without askin' for empty bellies on top." This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"That case, we'll take you up on your hospitality," said Cole.

"Be rude not to. But I'd like to help get Alexa going on that transmitter, first. We've still got our mission." Coach held out his hand again and Cole took it.

"I'm a father myself, son. Can't imagine my girls getting taken all the way to another world." He eyed Cole up and down.

"Nor the type of man I'd want sent to get someone back. From an old adventurer to a young one, I have a feeling that in your way ain't exactly a healthy place to be." Back out in the hallway, Besson was sitting in the same position, leaning back against the wall with his eyes closed. He had attracted something of a crowd. A dozen kids were around him. Some of them were fawning over Nutmeg, but one of the younger ones, maybe four or five, had fallen asleep against Besson.

A couple of them mocked sword-fighting with scavenged bits of material or engaged each other with finger-guns that shot actual sparks from their budding abilities.

"I'm amazed that he can sleep through all that," said Alexa, wading through the gaggle.

"He said he's meditating, ma'am," said a girl writing in a journal with her back against the massive Kicker. She jumped to her feet.

"Hi Ms. Therza!"

"Hi Kinna. Good to see you're keeping order." Cole checked his watch.

"Six hours until nightfall. I'll head to the roof with Alexa. The rest of you can enjoy the hospitality, but make sure you've got a buddy and you stay in contact."

"Yes, Dad," said Howie, nudging him. Roxy pulled him away.

"Come on, I want to see what's for dinner. If we can get through this swarm of crotch goblins." Alexa closed her eyes for a moment and her clockwork familiar began to rise and unfold. Upon seeing that, most of the kids started shouting and pushing to run away toward the stairwell. But they were laughing as much as they were screaming. Cole watched them go. Even the end of the world couldn't keep kids down for long, apparently.

He chuckled and fell in with Therza and the two radio technicians as they went back to the elevator. All of the Hexighast locals gave Alexa's familiar a wide berth as they loaded onto the elevator.

"Are, umm, those common on your world?" asked Therza.

"Not like this one," said Alexa.

"Archie is from my class. He's one of a kind." Cole chuckled.

"Walking robots with laser rifles is like… well, it was science fiction stuff a few decades ago. Everyone thought it would be the future of war. But things didn't end up shaking out that way."

"So how did it shake out?" asked Therza.

"I know Coach pegged you for a—" she looked around to make sure no kids were in earshot, "—a hard-ass. But with no Hodges-Bridger layer and no monsters, your world must be a pretty peaceful place." Alexa scoffed and looked away. Cole offered a half-smile.

"Ms. Therza, squeeze eight billion people together in one place and there's plenty to argue over. We just found ways that make Hextant's bots and their peashooters look like stone tools." Therza closed the switch to start the lift going up again.

"Maybe not having an HB Layer made you more inventive."

"Maybe," said Cole. They rode in silence for a few minutes before Therza stopped the lift again.

"The lift only goes up to the thirty-third floor. We'll take the stairs from there up to the roof." That proved to be another ten levels, which left some of the locals breathing pretty hard. Even with his assault pack and plate carrier, Cole was barely feeling it in his thighs. Alexa, likewise, seemed fine. The stairs led up into a half-floor that opened on the east side, with a split roof spreading out before them.

Effort had been made to keep detritus and debris clear, but the elements weren't kind to the ruins of the city. Wind whipped and howled, tugging at Cole's uniform as the radio club members held up their arms against the gusts. They each wore thicker coats and hats that buttoned down under the chin, as well as wind goggles. Cole ignored the guy-wired cluster of antennas and equipment sheltered under a tattered tarpaulin and walked to the edge of the roof to look out over the rest of the city.

The extent of his expertise there lay in turning a radio on and switching the channel. If Alexa said she knew what she was doing, good on her. He didn't feel a need to micromanage. From up here, he really could see the extent of the damage the fighting and the flooding had done to Hexighast. Afternoon sun sparkled off water that had risen up over streets and homes and businesses. Every-day life had gone from interconnected modern society to feudal survivalism in just a couple of years.

Therza joined him at the side and put a foot up on the bottom of the rail as she leaned forward.

"It's all gone so wrong."

"Yeah," said Cole.

"Shit is fucked." Therza snorted, then sighed and squatted down. She crossed her arms over the rail and couched her chin on them.

"You guys know of a bunch of different worlds, right? It's not just the two of us out there. Earth and Hexighast alone in the interdimensional cosmos?"

"That's right," said Cole.

"There's hundreds. Maybe more." Cole pulled out his vape pen and took a draw before offering it over. Therza looked at it for a moment.

"Nicotine?" she asked. Cole nodded, and she took an experimental puff.

"It's sweet," she said, coughing. She looked up.

"From what you've seen, do you think we've got a shot? At pulling it back together, I mean."

"I wish I had an answer for you," said Cole.

"But you gotta keep going, right?"

"Yeah," said Therza. She looked out beside him for a moment.

"It's just hard, sometimes, you know?"

"Yeah. I know." She took another puff before handing the vape back to Cole and looking to make sure none of the teens working with the radio were in earshot.

"Shit is indeed fucked."