07-20-2016, 11:51 PM
Abner sighed and sat back, eating the last two potato chips from his small bag. He’d been working on the console for some time. Power had been restored to it, but the monitors weren’t linking up. He admittedly didn’t know much about computers, but he’d done a little hot wiring in his day, and he could figure out where power was coming from. Truthfully, his preferred method would have been forcing Trent to stick his finger in everything that looked like it might channel electricity. They had been this close to the end and he’d spoken a jinx on the whole thing.
The boy silently and fearfully watched Abner stand up from the hatch on the side of the console. He wasn’t sure if he was more terrified of being stranded on an island with monsters and zombies, or with Abner now. The shouting that had immediately filled the room after Kristen’s departure made him vote for the latter. For now, the young secondary stayed out of the former stormtrooper’s way unless needed.
Abner took another look at the giant console and the blank monitors. With a burst of anger and frustration he stepped in and delivered a powerful kick to the steel case than protected the inner circuits. It made Trent step back in terror, but Abner was actually pleasantly surprised to see one of the monitors blink back to life. None of the words or numbers on it matched what had been there before, but it was worth a try to see if communications were back up.
“Syntech, do you read me?” Abner asked after keying the microphone back up.
There was no response, and Trent watched Abner’s shoulders drop in defeat. The man was taking this so seriously that the secondary had actually become superstitious in the past thirty minutes.
“Nothing. Nothing!” Abner shouted, kicking the console again. “Dammit!”
“Abner!” a completely different voice came through the console. This one Abner recognized in a heartbeat. A beat that his heart skipped, on that note. A voice he’d never forget: Christa’s.
She was alive. It might have been better to die and respawn at the Nexus to get away from this madness, but he didn’t quite trust that child-God they’d encountered before to always come through on his word. There was no guesswork anymore, at that was enough to put him at peace within the chaos. She was alive.
“Christa!” Abner transmitted back, overwhelmed with relief, but still focused on the moment. “Christa, where the hell are you?”
“We’re in a bunker, somewhere in the woods,” Christa responded. She sounded absolutely exhausted, and completely burdened. “Where are you?”
“A radio station in some town,” Abner answered. “Syntech got one of us out remotely, and we’re trying to get back through to them.”
There wasn’t an immediate answer, causing Abner to cock an eyebrow.
“Christa?” He asked into it, making sure the connection still existed.
“We need to meet up. Where are you?” Christa bluntly asked, ignoring the point about Syntech’s aid. Abner pursed his lips. There might be something to that.
“We’re in…” Abner looked around. He had no GPS, map, or even a compass. “…town.”
“We’ll find each other. Look for a signal. Smoke or something,” Christa quickly responded. “Stay alive.”
“You too,” Abner quickly said, then backed away from the console. He grimaced and looked at Trent, who was just silently observing. “Sweetest girl in the world, really.”
“Oh yea, I can see,” Trent quickly nodded in agreement. Damned if he was going to openly disagree with Abner on something right now.
“I’m going to find Colonel. Answer that if anyone comes back over it,” Abner ordered the secondary, as he made his way from the room.
He quickly marched into the hall and looked for his cybernetic friend. It was a good thing, after all, that he hadn’t been whisked away and left Christa behind. He had to find her, even if he had no idea how to do so. One thing was for sure about that girl, though: when she wanted to be seen, she would make a hell of a show.
Hopefully he’d get there first.
The boy silently and fearfully watched Abner stand up from the hatch on the side of the console. He wasn’t sure if he was more terrified of being stranded on an island with monsters and zombies, or with Abner now. The shouting that had immediately filled the room after Kristen’s departure made him vote for the latter. For now, the young secondary stayed out of the former stormtrooper’s way unless needed.
Abner took another look at the giant console and the blank monitors. With a burst of anger and frustration he stepped in and delivered a powerful kick to the steel case than protected the inner circuits. It made Trent step back in terror, but Abner was actually pleasantly surprised to see one of the monitors blink back to life. None of the words or numbers on it matched what had been there before, but it was worth a try to see if communications were back up.
“Syntech, do you read me?” Abner asked after keying the microphone back up.
There was no response, and Trent watched Abner’s shoulders drop in defeat. The man was taking this so seriously that the secondary had actually become superstitious in the past thirty minutes.
“Nothing. Nothing!” Abner shouted, kicking the console again. “Dammit!”
“Abner!” a completely different voice came through the console. This one Abner recognized in a heartbeat. A beat that his heart skipped, on that note. A voice he’d never forget: Christa’s.
She was alive. It might have been better to die and respawn at the Nexus to get away from this madness, but he didn’t quite trust that child-God they’d encountered before to always come through on his word. There was no guesswork anymore, at that was enough to put him at peace within the chaos. She was alive.
“Christa!” Abner transmitted back, overwhelmed with relief, but still focused on the moment. “Christa, where the hell are you?”
“We’re in a bunker, somewhere in the woods,” Christa responded. She sounded absolutely exhausted, and completely burdened. “Where are you?”
“A radio station in some town,” Abner answered. “Syntech got one of us out remotely, and we’re trying to get back through to them.”
There wasn’t an immediate answer, causing Abner to cock an eyebrow.
“Christa?” He asked into it, making sure the connection still existed.
“We need to meet up. Where are you?” Christa bluntly asked, ignoring the point about Syntech’s aid. Abner pursed his lips. There might be something to that.
“We’re in…” Abner looked around. He had no GPS, map, or even a compass. “…town.”
“We’ll find each other. Look for a signal. Smoke or something,” Christa quickly responded. “Stay alive.”
“You too,” Abner quickly said, then backed away from the console. He grimaced and looked at Trent, who was just silently observing. “Sweetest girl in the world, really.”
“Oh yea, I can see,” Trent quickly nodded in agreement. Damned if he was going to openly disagree with Abner on something right now.
“I’m going to find Colonel. Answer that if anyone comes back over it,” Abner ordered the secondary, as he made his way from the room.
He quickly marched into the hall and looked for his cybernetic friend. It was a good thing, after all, that he hadn’t been whisked away and left Christa behind. He had to find her, even if he had no idea how to do so. One thing was for sure about that girl, though: when she wanted to be seen, she would make a hell of a show.
Hopefully he’d get there first.
Quote:Connected to Flights of Fancy by communicator.
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