We spawned in a back yard. I didn’t recognize the area, but it didn’t matter much. We were in residential, so that gave us some space before the inevitable halls and lines that we’d have to get through. Zoc had picked our load out and now I checked out what I had as we spun around, cleared our perimeter.
The moon was high, giving good visibility. We were on a cobblestone terrace coming out of the back of someone’s house. The backyard was marked off with chest high chain link fence, annoying, but useful at the same time. There were sporadic gardens of small flowers, mostly well kept grass. Cookie cutter back yards copy and pasted along my left and right. Ahead of me there the flip of the street, more backyards. Above us, hydro lines held up by solid wooded posts every few lots. I made note that the posts had pegs high enough to be climbed, but would give us pause if needed. Another version of climbing a tree to escape harm.
Zoc spoke quietly. The area was fresh, with no contact or devastation. He was right. Not a window broken or blood splatter to be seen. We hopped a few fences, peering down the alleys to the street as we went. After a few fences we decided to head down to the street, try to get a view of the landscape.
I tapped Zoc’s shoulder in the alley way as I checked out my build. He had set us up with new accounts, so we had new weapons. I pulled my guns out, curious to see what my tools were. I was greeted by the shine of two silver and black pistols, k9’s with extended barrels. My secondary weapons were black glazed teardrop throwing knives. I holstered them after finding a comfortable grip. I had rope around my waist and simple clothing. Along my belt were clips and odd shaped objects, which had to be this rounds tool of choice.
It looked like a bat with a flaming mouth, wings folded over itself. I was debating pulling the hooked tail when Zoc put his hand on it. He had a bat of his own and pulled the tail, holding it high. The wings snapped open and its mouth shot off a wave of heat. Looking up I saw Zoc holding his own bat, the mouth cheerily burning like a festive candle, giving out light where the wings are angled. I was expecting a grenade, but this bat looked like something else, if less destructive then I would have thought.
From the bats light I could see Zocs build. He wore simple clothes like me with a hunting rifle slung over his shoulder. So much for a different build. I couldn’t see his secondary weapon, but I trusted he’d put it to good use.
The bat’s light died and started climbing up the alley, feet spread apart against the tight walls. We made to the room and got a look at the neighbourhood beneath us.
We were sitting on the edge of suburbia. Across the street were high sheet metal barriers, forcing us back into the honeycomb of houses beneath us. The street was empty, which was good for us, but bad for whoever had the misfortune to deal with our quarry. We decided to travel along the rooftops, hopping from one to another as long as we could. We kept low, standing only when necessary to scout the area. When we hit the end of the block we had another choice, drop to street level to go through a hole in the metal barrier, leading us who knows where, or stick with the houses. The street had come to a corner, making a sharp right turn around the house we were sitting on, turning to avoid a park that bordered the housing development. Across the park were several low lying builds, the closest to a main street this community probably had.
Our choice would have been far easier, had we seen anyone. The only movement was caused by the dead wind that scattered through the air. We’d seen no creatures, no monsters, no mutations, no abominations of any kind up to this point, an experience fairly unprecedented. I left it to Zoc to choose our path, who decided we should drop to street level and make our way along the park until we got to a road which led us into the town square. I agreed and we climbed down a drain pipe and scurried along the parks edge, alone, nerves high from the lack of encounters.
// Elysium and Zoc. i should make character sheets for them both...
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