thegreatderp

[thegreatderp]

An Aspiring Author's First Novel: Chapter Two

Chapter Two

“This cursed world will burn, it was destined to burn, everything will burn, everyone will burn, along with this dusting religion.” - Voice message by Ruin researcher Lukeem: 

Held in Solitary Confinement. - End report: Hezekiah 2471

The air conditioner is the best. Invention. Ever. Vontier thought blissfully as he reclined in his worn leather seat within the cabin of the ATMV, his thick dust mask now hanging from the side of his ear. The Duster support had arrived rather quickly and without issue, the monster cleaning proceeded smoothly, and the appraisal…. High risk is always worth the high reward. Vontier thought cheerfully, smiling from cheek to cheek. MHSR-24 here I come. The engine's quiet hum was quite soothing to Vontier as he admired the stark world from his window. An endless wasteland greeted him, stale, bleak gray planes, a few gray hills with hardly any details. Craters left behind by moon showers dotted the land, dead, depressing, and withering trees could be seen every now and again; none were living. Ominous dark gray clouds which thundered every second were gathering. They swiftly approached the speeding vehicle as they glowed a bright but menacing blue. The sky resembled a war between the gods. Neon lightning arced through the nearly black clouds; the sky itself shook and wept as the fierce battle continued throughout the heavens.“That’s a rather large Fall, shouldn’t we speed up so we’re not in there too long?” Vontier remarked to the driver, Kat. Kat cooly glanced out the window to her right. “Hm, no need, we have shield generators on this ATMV so we’ll be ok,” Kat replied calmly, her voice completely steady. Falls were no joking matter, exposure to its deadly rain for more than ten seconds meant Dust infection, which was not a pretty sight. The madness that followed with it… Vontier shook his head, he would rather not linger on such an unsavory memory. 

“Thanks for picking me up, Kat,” Vontier expressed, his voice filled with gratitude.

“No problem kid, I was in the area. New Stalker nest appeared about a click from the Crack. I was deployed for scouting, you know how it is,” Kat assured warmly

“And? Anything unusual?” He asked curiously, looking over at Kat, her eyes glued to the terrain ahead.

“Nah, it was a short expedition, rough calculations of the territory size, environment growth within their territory. The only unusual thing was that it looked like they completely took over the Predator nest remnant, not only that but their queen seemed to extend the treeline somehow,” She mused. That was odd, it was common knowledge that queens of Predators and Stalkers had the ability to ward off the withering of the Dust. However, queens usually didn’t have the power to extend their influence range. “The Militia will be on that nest once the news spreads if that’s the case,” Vontier stated thoughtfully. Any type of monster mutants were extremely valuable, especially to the Militia for often suspicious reasons.

“Nothing new really. Considering the size of this one we could get there before they’re even prepared for a raid of that scale. Might be worth the risk for a few mutant cores,” Kat shrugged. “Did Devlin say anything about this?” “Eh, he said he would consider a small-scale hunt. Nothing that would draw an incredible amount of attention,”

“Makes sense.” Vontier paused. Glancing out his window, the dark clouds were on top of them. “Here comes the Fall,” Kat announced, flipping the blue shield generator switch located on the ceiling of the car and turning the headlights on. Vontier leaned his head on the window as the Fall engulfed the vehicle, the shield generator spinning to life moments before the deadly drops touched the ATMV. The sunlight remaining was blotted out and a flashing blue hue from the constant lightning lit up the now dim surroundings. The rain was thick, it instantly obscured the surroundings with its heavy downpour as it drenched the abandoned wastelands. Vontier, giving into his exhaustion, closed his eyes and fell asleep to the dull hum of the shield generator, and the harsh patter of the Fall.

The ATMV slowed to a stop outside the Duster guild building. It was a relatively small building on the outside, surrounded by lush droopy trees and two stories tall, the building looked to be completely abandoned. Tall greenish-gray vines grew all over the building and parts of the walls seemed to fall off at some parts. The windows were almost all broken, the interior trashed, and the wall almost all covered in graffiti. The building, being placed in remnant Predator territory, was an optimal location for an illegal guild. The Fall had passed as it had been well over two hours since it had started. Sluggishly, Vontier resecured his dust mask onto his face and climbed out of the car, yawning as he stretched on the damp ground. A sense of relief washed over Vontier as he inspected the ruined building. He was so close to relaxing in his bed. “Go head in and give your briefing kid. I’ll go park the MV,” Kat called caringly before driving off. Vontier quickly took a glance around his surroundings to make sure no one was watching him. One could never be too sure about tails or random adrenaline junkies in these areas. Welcome home I guess, let's hope I remember the password. He thought sleepily as entered the withering building, the front room lit only by the dim sunlight shining through the smudged windows. Vontier continued through the building, the light growing further and further away as he walked deeper into the structure. Finally, he arrived in front of an elevator. Entering the elevator, whose iridescent light was somehow still on, Vontier clicked the close door button, which was quickly followed by a quick sequence of other buttons,  01100110 01110010 01100100. Vontier smiled to himself, proud that he had finally memorized the complex password. It had taken him over three years to memorize that code. A small dial tone rang out in the elevator. There was silence for half a second before the ancient container began to move. Nothing but the low hum of the tarnished motor and the clanking of the old rusty chains could be heard. Eventually, the distant sound of chatter gradually filled the air, growing louder and louder. Finally, the questionably safe elevator came to a stop, and the doors slowly creaked open and the source of the noise was found. Smells assaulted Vontier’s sinuses, alcohol mainly, but also the smell of bread, meat, and cooking. A familiar neon yellow and blue sign hanging above an archway greeted him, “The Dusters” .This was the Duster guild, a band of vagabonds, criminals, revolutionaries, and family; and this, this was home. 

[thegreatderp]

Chapter 2 in progress

Hello, I have come here to announce the release of chapter two. My deadline is sometime this weekend. I may end up using Tumbler to post other random crap in addition to my novel. I will have to see.

[thegreatderp]

An Aspiring Author's First Chapter: A Novel Three Years In The Making.

Chapter One

“We lost sight of our humanity; I refuse to be used as a tool anymore. Immortality was something we should’ve never reached for.” -Final Log by Head Assistant Researcher Quinn Xiatu: Terminated. - End report: Devlin 2470.

Vontier’s blood pumped; the feeling of the adrenaline would never get old. The excitement, the rush of the brisk, cool air through your hair, the sweat beading down your head, and the feeling of the cold metal while firing a pistol. Dead leaves left behind by the fall crunched underneath the weight of Vontier’s thick boots. He laughed maniacally through the thick fog which he could just barely see through, the noise muffled by a near impenetrable black mask worn by Vontier.

He reached the treeline, the terrain quickly changed from a lush, soft green trees and grass to a dusty, rough gray of bleak fields and a rough wasteland. He panted as he sprinted for his ATMV (all terrain Militia vehicle); if he could make it to the vehicle, the hollow point rounds pre-loaded in its turret would shred through the pursuing monsters. As the fog produced from the Predators closed in on Vontier, he reached the vehicle, which sat plainly in the middle of a field. Quickly, he climbed onto the ATMV roof and mounted the turret. The fog had completely enveloped the ATMV: the growls of the Predators echoed through the field as they circled their prey. Vontier’s breath shook, his grip tense. He could feel his heavy and warm breath on his cheeks, reflecting off of the wall of his mask. The fog’s too thick. There has to be at least two adults here. Vontier thought to himself nervously as his thumb anxiously rubbed the grip of the turret. He held the turret in one hand and his MAT-27 in the other, slowly turning in circles, waiting for one of the horrid monsters to pounce. Sweat beaded down his arms to his hands, the handles now slick. Vontier's eyes darted back and forth, attempting to find a glimpse of movement within the suffocating fog. Growl. One of the Predators grew impatient and pounced on the hood of the ATMV. The hood instantly creaked and caved in slightly under the weight of the beast. Its teeth bared, mouth dripping with saliva. Its eyes were bloodshot and its fur thick and sharp. The monster was greeted with the barrel of a machine gun. A snarl was let out from the creature as it stared its death in the face. Vontier smirked as the turret spun to life; the Predator was torn to shreds in seconds, unable to react in time. Clunk! A second Predator jumped behind him ready to consume Vontier; his pistol was faster. Bang! Bang! His shots rang out, adding to the unfolding chaos. Two down. Suddenly, the world turned upside down for Vontier; the final Predator had rammed the vehicle, flipping it. Vontier flew off the turret as a result of the impact. He braced his fall with his arm, expertly taking the landing. His gun thudded in the dirt next to him. “Dusts- That has to be a mutant,” Vontier groaned, now sprawled on the ground a few meters away from the ATMV. The Predator jumped onto the side of the flipped vehicle. It was abnormally large, which meant a larger core, it also meant thicker skin. The mutant Predator stalked towards Vontier slowly, analyzing him cautiously after witnessing the death of its two comrades. The eyes, Vontier thought with haste. They’re still weak points. Rolling to his right, Vontier snatched his pistol from the dirt, bracing his legs to protect his body, he turned to the Predator which was now running full speed towards him, aware of the dangerous weapon. Bang! Bang! Bang! The bullets missed the eyes, hitting the reinforced fur of the monster and simply glancing off. The Predator wasted no time closing the distance, taking advantage of Vontier's immobility. Expertly, Vontier used his legs to protect himself from the monster's claws as it swiped at his chest before grabbing the monster’s scruff with his free hand, holding the beast in place. Then, without skipping a beat, he shoved his pistol into the Predator’s eye, immediately piercing the membrane and pulled the trigger, emptying the seven remaining bullets into its head. The monster collapsed onto Vontier, falling still immediately. Vontier rolled the corpse off of him breathing a sigh of relief “Dusting mutants,” Vontier exhaustedly grumbled.

Slowly, Vontier picked himself out of the dust and limped over to the flipped vehicle, his left leg broken and his right in a mess from the Predator. Cautiously, he climbed onto the side and retrieved the gray medkit strapped to its side. Opening the kit, Vontier reached inside and grabbed a green stim and an old rag held within the box. “This is going to hurt,” Vontier groaned, stuffing the dirty rag into his mouth. He paused, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and steeled himself. Here we go, He thought before stabbing his mutilated leg with the stim. The leg bubbled, bulged, and expanded as the flesh regrew at an alarming rate. The leg crunched and grinded as the mysterious liquid in the stim worked to repair the broken bones. It bled as it grew to an abnormal size; like a fat chunk of flesh poorly grafted onto one’s leg, the tissue oozed then shrunk to normal size. Vontier’s eyes watered as he tried and failed not to scream in agony from the pain of the leg. Finally, the leg stopped bubbling and the pain ceased. He looked down at his leg; the once-ruined limb now completely mended and pristine. Vontier spat out the rag, wiped his eyes dry, and let out a sigh of relief. “By the Fall, I hate those dusting stims,” he viciously cursed out loud, his head leaned back. Vontier sighed heavily and collected himself, his heart still beating fast though it was slowing down. He quickly assessed the new situation he was in. “An hour from base, three monster corpses, and a flipped ATMV. Fun,” he sighed. Climbing into the sideways vehicle, Vontier radioed to his guild for support. Suddenly, the adrenaline wore off and the exhaustion hit him like a meteor shower. Well, an hour-long nap would be nice, Vontier thought groggily to himself as he drifted off to sleep, slouched in the sideways seat of the ATMV.