Wednesday, January 18, 2012

The Tower of Trials Chapter 7 Page 1

George made it safely back to the ground level where the transport was parked. And he still had all his fingers, toes and head attached! Well, that was a relief.

Lukas the caretaker with the head as shiny as the full moon was there to welcome George and the Vixens back. He noted all the loot that they carried, especially the freezer and the two cabinets. "Did you have a good time?"

"Kind of boring actually," Mabel commented with a yawn, with quite a bit of exaggeration - necessary, since she still had her mask on.

Iona placed her cabinet and plant on the ground and skipped next to the bald man. "Can I keep you?" she asked.

"No, you can't," Lukas said back.

And it appeared that the moon had water on it.

"Aw, but you're cute," Iona said.

Was that the fur-cloaked Vixen's idea of flirting?

"No, you most definitely cannot have me," Lukas said firmly.

Iona took a step closer. "But I want you!" She raised her paws and bent her knees slightly in preparation to pounce.

"I think you'd better run," Mabel advised Lukas.

And that led to another merry little chase around the ground level.

George helped Tricia stash the cabinets and the freezer into the back of the transport. In the meantime, Mabel picked through the equipment they had brought with them.

"Squirt, I need you to double-check my armor," Tricia told him once everything was packed.

"Just being prepared, right?" George asked as he examined the Vixen's power armor for damage, "In case anything happens on the way home?"

"More than likely," Tricia said, "You didn't think that gang we chased away earlier will forget everything, did you?"

Iona had gotten bored of her little game by then. She went into the transport and placed her plant and stuffed goat onto one of the seats. She even buckled the seat belt on them.

"They'll be back?" George asked.

"They're likely waiting outside just now," Tricia replied, "with reinforcements."

George stopped his inspection. He glanced at the closed windows on the mezzanine level.

Iona stepped out of the transport. She too looked up at the window. The cloaked girl ran to the stairs and jumped onto them. After bounding over several steps up, she leaped for the edge of the mezzanine and flipped onto the platform. Using the controls beside one of the windows above the main doors, she opened the shutters a crack and peeked outside.

"They're waiting outside," Iona called down, "Shall I go out for a look?"

"Not yet," Tricia called back.

"Looks like a lot of them," Iona said. She leaped over the platform railing and landed smoothly on the ground level.

"Can we handle them all?" George asked Tricia with concern. The gang that attacked earlier was a pretty large group to him. And he had the impression that what awaited outside was even larger.

Mabel gave his back a clap. "Sure we can! We're in a fortified position!" She carried a pair of guns and a couple of boxes of ammunition up to the mezzanine level.

"We don't have to finish all of them," Tricia added, "All we need to do is show enough force for them to scatter. Then when the path is clear, we go home."

Once Tricia's armor was checked, there was still work for George. Tricia had him uninstall the heavy machinegun from the transport's turret. They were going to mount the gun at one of the windows. Or rather, George was going to. It was difficult to perform delicate tasks in power armor after all.

"You don't mind us using your tower to fight some wasters?" Tricia asked Lukas as she and George passed him on their way up.

"Not at all," the bald man replied, "It's bonus material for the show."

Mabel, who was on the way down, heard him. "Wait. You're going to need cameras outside if you're going to record anything."

"We have those," Lukas admitted proudly.

Mabel and Tricia glanced at each other. Then the smaller Vixen jumped on the bald caretaker. "Where's the monitors?" Mabel demanded as she gripped his shoulders, "Gimme access!"

"Free show!" Iona exclaimed as she joined Mabel.

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