Chapter Thirteen - What Old People Say

Chapter Thirteen - What Old People Say

With the Great Tinder Crash of 2024, the world of online dating suffered terribly, with people suddenly forced to try finding people to date and meet out in meatspace.

Paradoxically, the number of children born in 2025 was twelve percent higher than the previous year.

--Excerpt from Dating in the Modern World, 2027

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The Fury lurched as Gomorrah put it in park and shut the car down. Alright, I said. Raccoon, Franny, stay in the car.

You need me! Raccoon said before Id even reached for the handle.

And Im coming too, Franny said.

I shifted so that I was looking back, which wasnt easy to do while in power armour. Alright, Rac first. Why would we need you here?

Raccoon swallowed, but she was a brave sort, so she tightened her fists and stared me in the eye. Or my helmets eyes--close enough. You dont know much about the Sewer Dragons. Some of them are assholes, some of them are a bunch of cunts, but some of them are alright. So you need someone to tell you which ones to off.

I considered it for a moment. I was just going to walk over there, threaten some people, then murderize my way to victory. Its really late... early, whatever.

Gomorrah sighed, the long-suffering sort when a more adult-y person knows a kids right and doesnt want to do something about it. She reached down to the console between the chairs, and pulled open a lid with a hiss of compressed air.

A whitish haze floated out of the compartment she opened, and Gomorrah reached in to pull out a thin can with the words ENERGY DRINK stenciled on the side. Here, one for each person coming, she said as she handed me a can, then tossed one to Racoon.

Franny, pointedly, didnt get one.

Wheres mine? she asked.

We havent determined if youre coming yet, I said, guessing at Gomorrahs intentions. Hell, if Franny was Lucy, I wouldnt bring her into some den of depraved lunatics either.

So Im coming? Raccoon asked over any protests Franny could make.

I slid the energy drink between my legs, glad the armour kept the chill at bay--beyond a vague impression of coolness--and reached up to undo my helmet. Yeah, you can come. Well get you a better mask, though, youre not equipped for this kind of thing. Actually, maybe we could give her a screen, let her do overwatch?

Holy fuck, what happened to your face? Raccoon asked.

I blinked.

Usually, if people had issues with the scarring on the side of my face, they made it known when I met. Then again, I wasnt usually wearing a full-face helmet. Fire shit, I said.

Cool! Like from an alien? she asked.

Sure, lets go with that, I said. Lost my eye and everything. This ones a cybernetic one.

Thats pog as fuck.

Thanks, she said. Come on, we should get this done.

We dont have to, if youre not up to it, I said. I was wired as hell though. That energy drink had some kick.

No, no I want to do it. Frannys right to want to stop these kidnappings, and if no ones doing anything about it, then it kind of falls to us to take care of it.

Alright.

Gomorrah started walking ahead of me, and I figured Id give her a bit to settle before asking her about our plans.

Franny was supposed to be there, Gomorrah said. It was a trip to some lake-side forest thing. With the school. Franny had to stay back. She busted up her hand and broke a few bones, and the sisters kept her away as a sort of punishment.

Okay? I said, I wasnt sure where she was going with it.

The incursion was small. Like, really small. And we were on the edges. So we started moving towards a shelter outside of the forest. Then we were hit by some Model Threes. I was next to a canister full of fuel, I had a lighter on me. Next thing I knew, Atyacus was offering to help me.

Thats how you became a samurai? I asked.

She nodded. It wasnt exactly glorious. There wasnt much to do after that. Rallied the others, killed a few more aliens. Not many, mind. I stuck around and tried to help after, but all the Vanguard that showed up knew what they were doing, and I didnt. Maybe I was a little shell-shocked, I guess. Came home and nothing was the same, you know?

I guess. And Franny didnt care for it?

Not at all. Shes been distant. Ive been distant too. Im an adult, damn it, I shouldnt be following another girl around like some... some puppy or something, but Franny meant, means, a lot to me.

Im not actually sure what to say.

Nothing, I dont think, Gomorrah said. Itll work out, or it wont. Im mature enough to concede that much.

Well, if it was Lucy, and Id somehow changed in a way she doesnt understand, I think Id talk to her about it?

Ive tried, was her flat response.

Fair enough. Should have figured youd give it a try. I gestured aimlessly ahead. I guess you can prove to her that you dont need her anymore, not to keep you safe, but then she might drift off, you know? Think that since you dont need her, you dont like her anymore.

Thats ridiculous.

Probably doesnt feel that way to her, I said. Im a bit worried that Lucy will start thinking I dont need her either, which is stupid. Or maybe now shes better and Im not always going to be around, shell find someone nicer than me. Someone with more fleshy bits... and probably a nicer ass.

Was there something I could buy for that? Had to be.

A problem for later.

I dont think its quite the same. This is entirely platonic, Gomorrah said.

I nodded along, not believing her one whit. Yeah, totally. Now, lets at least get the proving youre badass part down.

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