Futuristic Fading Convenience

[DemonicLillies]

The state of the world was bleak. No one knew where they were, nothing lasted for long. Some civilizations cropped up, not all of them lasted. Anything could be everything and everything could be anything, the only thing those that walked this plane has was an urge. An urge to rebuild, to prosper above all adversaries. Some attempted this by trading trinkets and baubles, some by establishing settlements and trying to save those they could. Not all had peaceful interpretations of their urge however, many walked the plane murdering and slaughtering. Monsters with nowhere to go, humans with no care left to give. Everything had come unraveled and nothing would end.

Danyon had been roaming various places since The Collision had first happened, feeling unsafe if he stayed in the same place for too long. He felt a strange attachment to food even though he didn't need to eat. He'd risked his life to obtain just the tiniest amounts of food. Danyon had no worry left in the world, he feared nothing knowing that nothing could strike him down for good.

For a little while he'd been squatting in what was once a convenience store, the food that stocked the shelves had attracted him and the comfort and warmth of the building was what kept him. However, he had been here too long. The place was starting to become unstable, he had to move and he had to move soon but the cars he heard nearby worried him. Cars never signaled anything good, usually raiders. If he died here, all the food he'd obtained would be lost. He couldn't let that happen, but ducked down behind the counter anyway.

 

[PerilousAbyss]

Paula found driving to be an absolutely loathsome task, if only because the cramped interior of the 1938 car she was piloting caused the branches sprouting from the foliage at the nape of her neck bend in weird, slightly uncomfortable directions. No matter. It was quicker than walking not to mention less energy-consuming and boring.

The armored woman parked her car outside of the derelict convenience store and hopped out in order to investigate the dim, flickering light illuminating the interior, loaded shotgun in hand. The Dryad's mind immediately wandered to whether or not the cash register would have some sort of antique coins coated in a patina of rust contained within, her magpie-like tendencies always acting up as she ventured someplace new. "Anyone in here?" The woman asked with a cautious tone, her accent Hispanic-sounding, though the existence of Spain and South America were as ethereal as they were distant.

 

[DemonicLillies]

Every muscle in Danyon's body tensed up. Someone was here, someone was here right now. He didn't dare make a noise, he guessed there was only one person but the food was too valuable to risk. He slowly crawled along behind the counter, trying to make it to where he'd left his supplies.

As he crawled, a few parts of the building's ceiling collapsed, startling him for second, he pushed himself up against the counter, creating a small crash. He held his breath.

 

[PerilousAbyss]

It was about that time that the woman stepped through the building's threshold, gun quickly pointing at the source of the clattering noise. Though her face was obscured, her loose and relaxed body language showed she didn't seem to be one of those murderous raiders he was so worried of. She oddly enough seemed to have plants growing out of her clothing, especially the back of her neck and the top of her chest.

"You need some help?" She offered, extending the man a hand as the other kept a firm hold on her gun, her tone concerned if cautious. She wasn't stupid, after all, and could certainly tell when someone was trying to get the edge on her in an ambush by feigning injury or weakness.

 

[DemonicLillies]

He looked at her blankly for a moment, relieved that she wasn't a raider but confused as to why she would be here. He quickly scanned the rest of the room with his eyes, making sure there was no one else around. Feeling comfortable, he let out a sigh.

"Sure." His voice was soft and frightened. He grabbed her hand.

 

[PerilousAbyss]

The woman happily helped him up, though once the man was back on his feet, her attention darted to the cash register which she struck with the stock of her gun to open it up and take a look at the contents inside. "Shit... It's always paper money..." She spoke with a frustrated sigh as she got a good look at its contents before slamming the register shut.

"You got a name?" The foliage-adorned woman asked as she turned to face him, resting her gun in the branches sprouting from her shoulders, her hands nestling in the pockets of her work slacks.

 

[DemonicLillies]

"Danyon. How about you?" He'd already started to walk towards his pack, picking it up and throwing it onto his back before turning back around to face her.

He looked her up and down to try and figure out who she was. Obviously not a raider, he was still alive after all. Not human was also a given. Should he offer her food or something?

 

[PerilousAbyss]

"Paula. Some call me The Dryad." She spoke as she made her way to the car parked right out in front, the vehicle's bright blue paint job coupled with the verdant green of the woman's biomass serving as sharp counters to the massive concrete desert the two found themselves in. The only landmarks were chipped pillars of cement of uniform thickness but varying heights.

"What the hell are you doing all the way out here?" She asked as she climbed into the driver's seat, her helmet still adorning her face and obscuring her identity. A flower started budding out of her right shoulder, eventually blooming into a morning glory without any sort of warning or cause.

 

[DemonicLillies]

"I could ask you the same thing." He pauses for a moment, placing his pack on the ground.

"Well. I guess if you really do want to know, I collect food. Better than doing nothing y'know? You uhh... want anything?" He gestures to the pack, opening it to reveal large amounts of different foods.

 

[PerilousAbyss]

"And I collect treasure." The woman commented as she turned her attention to the treasure trove of non-perishable, individually wrapped snacks that Danyon had collected. In order to get a better view of the selection, she lifted her helmet's visor, revealing her canted eyes surrounded by black eyeshadow, her pitch black lips, and her decently dark skin tone.

"I'd love a snack, thanks." She reached for one of a few bags of airplane pretzels, opening it up, and popping one in her mouth as she turned the ignition in the car. She hadn't eaten in a while, as the photosynthesis from her plant curse kept her fed and energized, but the taste of the salty snack was a welcome sensation after so long. "You headed anywhere in particular?"

 

[DemonicLillies]

"I got a place east of here, out on the salt flats. Got a truck, good storage and good transport." He cracked open a soda then pointed in the direction of the flats. He had to admit, he was a fair bit thrown. Wasn't often you had conversations with people outside of any of the main cities. Pleasant change.

 

[PerilousAbyss]

"Can do. Anything I should watch out for in the flats? Monsters or something like that?" She asked, starting to drive off in the direction he pointed in, though she was slightly disappointed that they were going from one flat, colorless region to another as opposed to a more vibrant locale, but security was and should always be her first priority.

 

[DemonicLillies]

"Hopefully not. Few Elders stray out there now and then but they leave fairly quick. You don't need to take me there you know?" He was beginning to grow cautious of her hospitality. The salt flats were completely deserted, perfect place to off someone and be done with it. But then again did he really want to walk?

 

[PerilousAbyss]

The woman slowed down the car in order to turn and face her passenger, shifting down into a lower gear as they chatted. "Well, do you just want me to drop you off here then?" She asked, turning her attention to the concrete wastes around them in search of those so-called Elders he mentioned.

 

[DemonicLillies]

He got out of the car, landing down on the salt below. Even the air out here was salty, it was awful but it was safe enough. The ground rumbled slightly, but he didn't seem too phased.

"You should go." He scanned the horizon, looking for the source. It had to be close. The tremors happened again, harder this time. He turned to face the truck. "You should really go. Right now."

 

[PerilousAbyss]

The woman hopped out of her car, lowered her helmet's visor, and grabbed her gun, clearly preparing for whatever it was that was approaching them. She'd fought monsters before in the wastes, but she wasn't exactly keen on how the encounters felt.

"Hell no, I'm not running. What do you think's coming this way?" She asked, making certain her gun was loaded before looking towards the source of the tremors, her eyes focusing on the distance.

 

[DemonicLillies]

"Nothing good. Tremors this big means it's gotta be an Elder. Thought the worm was under wraps, must've come back." He glanced over at her for a moment before grabbing a weapon from his back. Nothing big, a baseball bat with a sharp bits of metal strapped to it. It's just have to do.

Something surfaced for a moment in the distance. It was big, real big. Not much of it surfaced, spines mostly. But there were a lot of them, cracking the salt as it went. Pretty quickly the clouds of salt made the beast impossible to see, but it was getting closer and it was getting closer fast.

 

[PerilousAbyss]

She transitioned her stance so she was positioned on the balls of her feet in order to remain mobile and evasive for when the Elder arrived. "Well, can you tell me anything about how they fight? Do they have any weaknesses?" She asked, staring down the plumes of salt as they rushed towards them.

 

[DemonicLillies]

"Ok if you're really wanting to do this, here's a rundown. This thing is like a giant worm. Tunnels through the ground, bursting up to attack. It has some damn thick skin but its underbelly is fleshy and weak. Good hit there and you'll expose the heart. That's the real weakness, take down that and the worm dies." He tightened his grip on the bat. This was it. He'd done it once before but he had more help. He took a deep breath as the cloud began to disappear, revealing the beast to have gone under. There was a tremor right underneath them.

 

[PerilousAbyss]

"Gotcha. So we've just gotta exploit its weakness to take it down." Paula grinned beneath her helmet as she aimed down the sights of her gun, attention unflinchingly focused at where she thought the monster rushing towards them was at that moment. This was the largest thing she'd ever tried to fight, but she had a feeling that some of its parts would make it worth her while.

 

[DemonicLillies]

The beast burst up through the salt, its size far larger than the two facing it. It let out a blood curdling roar before starting to come back down.

"MOVE!" Danyon yelled, it was coming directly for them. He threw himself to the left, rolling across the ground and sending small clouds of salt flying.

 

[PerilousAbyss]

Paula leapt to the right, taking a few painstaking moments to line up a shot and fire at what she thought was the part of its body which contained the heart.

"Did I get it?" She asked as the beast started making its was back towards the salt flats, but she was unsure whether that was because it was burrowing again or if it was because gravity was taking its toll on the monster's huge form.

 

[DemonicLillies]

A dark green liquid was flung all over the place, flowing into the cracks of the salt. The beast had started to burrow again, preparing for another attack.

"You got something alright. Let's hope it was enough." He gripped his bat, knowing that if this beast was going to go down he was going to have to get in through whatever opening she'd made. He took a deep breath as it emerged again.

The worm towered over them for a moment, the opening was enough. Danyon sprinted towards it and used his free hand to pull the wound open, clambering inside. That was the easy part. Now he had to find its heart.

 

[PerilousAbyss]

As Danyon sought out the source of the monster's life force in an attempt to put it down, Paula took cover behind the man's truck, taking shots as needed to throw the creature off balance and make Danyon's job a bit easier.

"Come on..." She grew a bit more nervous every time she saw the beast descend back beneath the salt and rise back up from the ground, only hoping that Danyon wasn't in over his head.

 

[DemonicLillies]

He didn't have much breath left, but he had finally found the heart. He put all his force into swinging his bat, slicing a gash through the heart. The beasts screams could even be heard from within. He swam as quick as he could back to the wound, throwing himself out and gasping for air. The blood of the beast was all over him, he attempted to clear some off but no matter how hard he tried there was always more.

"Well that wasn't terrible." He laughed a little. He wasn't sure if it was out of joy or fear. Perhaps both.