Wednesday, January 18, 2012

The Tower of Trials Chapter 7 Page 2

Leaving Mabel and Iona to torment the caretaker, George continued his way to the window. Tricia guided him with instructions as he installed the heavy machinegun at a mounting point before one of the closed windows. The boy loaded the ammunition and added a solid plate shield behind which the gunner could hide.

"Finished!" George announced once he was done.

"You sure, Squirt?" Tricia asked.

George looked at the mounted gun. Ammunition, shield... He examined the pivot points and found them to be sufficiently lubricated. "Yeah, everything's there."

"How are you going to fire it?"

"I'll just..." Then George realized that there was no trigger.

Tricia held up the manual trigger for him to install. Without that, George would be reduced to throwing bullets out the window. Thankfully, the Vixen did not make an issue of his mistake. Instead, she instructed him in moving the gun into position, aiming and firing it.

"Are you okay with having to shoot people?" Tricia asked after she was done teaching George about the operation of a heavy machinegun, "Real people?"

"We've to, right?" George said, "In order for us to go home."

Tricia bowed slightly to indicate agreement. Her power armor did not have a neck. Thus, her nod could not be seen while she was in her armor. "Besides, they're the ones who decided to stand in our way. Squirt, do you understand the concept of suppressive fire?"

George did not.

Lecture time. "A manually aimed machinegun at this range isn't really accurate. Instead of trying to hit something, use it to suppress the enemy."

"How?" George asked.

"Spray bullets at them, force them behind cover so they don't shoot at me or Io."

"Just that?"

Tricia bowed again. "Aim at groups of them. Leave the singles and pairs to Mabel."

The other two Vixens joined them at the window. "There's around thirty of them," Mabel reported, "Two patched-up power armors, four light vehicles."

"No tanks?" Tricia asked.

"Not with their budget," Mabel quipped.

Iona stepped next to George and pulled his arm so she could inspect the bracelet around his wrist. After she was done, Tricia had George test the communicator in his helmet.

George watched as Iona clipped a communicator onto her ear, the ear on her helmet. He thought it was strange but the girl merely smiled at him. He felt a little uneasy that Iona's grin was growing wider. And she had fangs, really sharp ones. Why had he not noticed those before? And the pupils of her green eyes were narrow vertical slits!?

Iona got onto her hands and knees.

Okay, it was getting creepy.

George took a step back. He saw that Iona's fur cloak was expanding to cover her body. So did her fur gloves and boots. The bone plates on her limbs flowed as her arms and legs grew slender. The top of her helmet moved down to cover the top half of her face... her face... The teenage boy realized that he was looking at the face of a panther!

Iona was an armored panther! Wait. Iona was the armored panther!? George looked to the other Vixens but could not see their reactions since they had their faces covered.

The panther brushed roughly against George's leg, its plates scraping against ceramic armor.

"Io can shapeshift," Mabel said.

Well, obviously! She did that just then!

"It's a common ability among her people," Tricia mentioned.

Like that explained everything!

"Anyway, we've got to get into position." Mabel pushed George to his assigned window. "Don't want to keep our playmates waiting any longer."

There was more that George had wanted to ask but that would have to wait. He had to help secure his exit home. Also, he did not know where to start with his questions. There were just too many things that he did not know about the wasteland.

"Everyone in position?" Tricia asked over their communications channel.

"Ready," Mabel said.

"Ready," George said too. He waited for the last Vixen.

"Io's ready," Tricia said.

"She can't say for herself?" George asked.

"Have you ever heard a panther speak before?" Mabel asked back.

"Um... no," George uttered.

"Well, I have," Mabel mentioned.

What other wonders were there in the wasteland?


No comments:

Post a Comment