The Doomday Aftermath

[species5478]

I love ninjas. Especially female ones. I wonder what they'll discover...

[Maharg67]

NINE: Down in the Next Chamber Some People to Meet

 

The hatch opened up and out leapt a mighty warrior who raced across the floor, all twenty-five centimetres of him, and bravely began to wrestle the shin of Mr MS. He looked down quietly as the very small super mutant who kept grappling his lower leg and, reaching down, rubbed the small scalp.

 

Tanya smiled. “A truly terrible threat indeed.”

 

The young super mutant like woman clambered out of the hatch way and, dressed in shorts and webbing of belts plus sandals, and she stood up. In her hands was a laser-pistol but it was pointed at the floor. “A terrible little nuisance is what he is. Any time now nap time will catch up to him. His internal clock is quite regular even if he is a messy little Cutiepie. That is his name, by the way.”

 

As if on cue the small one fell asleep. He still hugged Mr MS’s leg. The Mysterious Stranger gently and carefully took him, raised him and lay the small one baby style against his chest. Cutiepie grumbled softly and then kept on sleeping with his head on the tall man’s chest.

 

Shrellis then spoke. “Is it not risky for the small one to approach strangers that way?”

 

The newcomer humphed. “My name is Jelena/A1. Cutiepie has this weird survival sense, a kind of psychic instinct, that has him attack only safe people in that way. I hope you people can help us. We are trapped and something nasty is trying to get in with us. Oh, Cutiepie and I are outsiders. The others are smoothskins like you. Except that you, tall dark and handsome, are not really just a smoothskin.”

 

A human came out in the same sort of special body-armour that the humans already in the chamber wore except his helmet was missing and this was no code colour skinned human. This was a middle aged tough man of a wilder genetic kind. His skin was dark brown and lightly scarred in many places. He had piercing dark eyes and was handsome in a rather rugged manner. He held a combat-shotgun in his hands, an oddly chunky weapon with a drum magazine.

 

He spoke in oddly accented English. “Good body-armour this is so I would love to make a fair trade for it. I am Jack To’Donald of the Subways Survivalists Settlements, the SSS. I met these two wonderful super mutants out on a scouting mission following Amtrak railroading from Sedgemar to the Lamplight Mountains. I came with four comrades but two were killed by a swarm of zloaters that just seemed to come out of nowhere. So I see Cutiepie introduced himself in his own rather unique manner. Little tike worries me sometimes.”

 

At the sound of Jack’s voice, the ‘tike’ stirred and Mr MS passed the small one over to Jack. The man kissed the small one on his forehead and then placed him against his chest. The small one sighed contentedly and went back to sleep with a blissful smile on his small ugly adorable face.

 

They went down the hatch, that is the two security humans, Jack, Mr MS, the mushman woman and two odd super mutants. They looked around at machinery, various cleverly designed alcoves with different uses, rows of status-capsules with humans or various animals, folded up robots that were humanoids or hovering kinds or even moved around on wheels, and a big holographic wall designed simply to please. For it was a great sweeping green forest scene with many trees, a river, animals and much else of nature. It was beautiful and it was enchanting.

 

But the awful thudding was coming from behind it.

 

Two tough looking women in crude looking but well designed light power armour were crouching close to a machine that they were examining. One was trying to remove a panel.

 

Mr MS held out his hand. “Please do not do that. You will hurt yourself or the security network-system will zap you or both.”

 

Tanya stepped forward. “The tall handsome man speaks truth.” Then she turned and kissed her comrade. “I hope my words made you jealous.”

 

He smiled. “Very jealous.”

 

Jack spoke. “The eurowhite woman is Yvonne and the oriental woman is BreeLee.”

 

The two women stood. Breelee held a heavy duty submachinegun that fired 10mmC, a kind of powerful caseless bullet, but it was aimed at the floor. “Greetings. My parents came to the USA in the Soviet Invasion about twenty years after Doomday. The force was made up of soldiers, specialists and settlers trying to escape the insanity ravaging large parts of the Soviet Union of Russia, China and Pact, the SURCP. Pact Republics were smaller ones outside of Russia or China. Perhaps SURCP still survives.”

 

“Now it is called the Union of Democratic Socialist Republics, the UDSR and it has lost some areas to abandonment but is still surprisingly strong and united.” The Mysterious Stranger sighed. “The Central Government has less power and the Republics are semiautonomous and are more democratic.”

 

Breelee looked astonished. “How did that come about? Did Communism become good or was it forced to reform?”

 

“Soviet humanity changed and became unified on what one might call a psychic level of secondary mentality. The same change is coming here. Humanity has to change or cease to exist.” Mr MS stood examining those in the transparent status-capsules. “We need to both get them out safely and find a way out of here. The thing doing all the thumping is very power. I can deal with it, perhaps even stop it from being a threat and have it change its ways, but I need space and I need to do it alone.”

 

She'Oro of Goddess'Paka spoke then. “I am of the mushman people. We will shelter all in one of our caverns and give them what other support that we can spare.”

 

Yvonne smiled. “We have heard about the mushroom people who grow and often sleep inside giant mushrooms. I have always wanted to meet one of your people. I am trying to put together a survival manual with notes on various peoples but later I hope to expand it into a kind of DC Wastelands Encyclopaedia. Your people would deserve a whole big special section and many other sections and references.”

 

She’Oro smiled and bowed briefly. “You do us honour. Most see us a little more than mushrooms shaped like people and not really as people at all. I will go now to my people to prepare for the people to come to shelter, if I can find a way.”

 

She ended up going up a ladder to the chamber above and then onto the roof and so forth.

 

The Wastelanders, who also called themselves Columbians as of the District of Columbia, stood guard while Mr MS and the others began working on safely waking the others from status sleep.

[Herculine]

I bet this would make one heck of a movie!