Modern Age Online

Kaleb sipped his coffee and stared out at the crowds of Under-Town. The dirt-ridden streets were full of aliens and humanoids rushing around. The throng of bodies pushed against each other as people went on their way. But Kaleb was free of the tumult. Instead, he was at the outset of the chaos, watching and waiting.

“You look like a dumbass.”

Kaleb glared at the short woman as he leaned against a building. Abby was dressed in her typical all-black hoodie and pants. She almost blended in with the surrounding shadows as they both watched the crowd.

“Like you don’t? I bet you stick out like a sore thumb.”

“Next to the lizard in a bright-white trench coat with a mechanical arm? I doubt it. You’ve been clocked by at least three of those Rakgu guys.”

Kaleb nodded as he glanced up at a roof across the street. Two humanoids wearing fedoras and dirty suits glared down at him.

“I see them. But they haven’t made a move. So I figured we were in the clear.”

“Or they are just waiting for backup. Our last interaction with these guys didn’t go smoothly, remember?” He saw Abby shift in the darkness.

“Yes, I remember. But we don’t move unless they do. They have more people, so they make the rules for right now. If shit goes sideways, we make a break for the exit.”

He heard a long sigh come from the shadows and Abby stepped out, a finger pointed up at him.

“That’s all well and good. But what the hell is the plan here? What are we even looking for? I’ve spotted three alien races that look kind of like demons. But we have no way of telling if they are actually associated with the demon gang!”

Kaleb finished his rat-coffee and threw the cup into the dirt. “I know! But I figured there would be something down here. This is where the criminal element of Austin congregates. If we sniff around a bit, we should find something.”

“Then let’s sniff around! All this people watching is giving me a headache.”

Kaleb nodded and gave his own sigh. She was right. Waiting on a corner for a supposed gang member to fall into his lap was stupid. He had vastly underestimated how many gangs were present down here. Not just the four that now controlled Under-town either. He had spotted several groups of gangsters just wandering the main road. They were buying armor, weapons, food, or anything else that suited their fancy.

“Options?” Kaleb asked.

Abby swept up to his side and scanned the street. “First, let’s get out of the open. We need a bar or something. Some place these criminals like to gather, then we keep our ears open and wait for actionable intel.”

Kaleb blinked. “Actionable intel? Have you been hanging out with Jar-lock?”

“Two Gun actually. He uses that kind of talk too. But he was the one that explained a bit of spy-craft to me.”

“I see.”

Kaleb was about to step out of the alley and onto the main street when he saw movement. He froze as he realized the two Rakgu guards weren’t on the roof anymore. Abby beside him must have seen it too, as he heard her hiss through gritted teeth. Quickly scanning the streets, Kaleb found the two guards that had been watching them. They were joined by three other men, all in faded black suits. Each of them was carrying a gun, and they were shoving their way toward them.

“Well, shit.” Kaleb said. “Looks like you were right.”

Kaleb turned to glance at Abby. But the short woman was gone. Leaving him in the faded shadows of the alley. Kaleb swore under his breath and drew his Cybar pistol. He rested his mechanical hand on his Sun Gun and waited for the gangsters to get closer. Once he started shooting, the crowded street was going to go haywire.

An icy chill down his spine was Kaleb's only warning. He spun at the sensation and came face to face with the point of a knife. A woman in a faded grey suit was lunging at him, dagger extended. But a shifting shadow slammed into the woman and dragged her into the alley wall. Abby slammed the woman into the wall and grabbed both of her wrists.

The two women struggled as Kaleb brought his gun up and tried to aim. But Abby swept the woman’s legs and took them both to the ground. The short shadow-mutant fell onto the other woman, elbow poised to strike. They thumped to the ground and Kaleb saw Abby’s elbow slam into the assassin’s throat. The gangster choked and spasmed in pain and Kaleb moved to deliver the coupe de grace when a loud gunshot filled the streets.

Kaleb jolted and spun, remembering the other Rakgu gangsters. But instead of seeing the suit thugs running at them, they were staring up the street. Kaleb and Abby had hidden a few blocks from Under-town’s chief attraction: The Arena. A twisted monument of metal and wood that stretched into the dark sky of Under-Town cavern home. Kaleb had assumed that being close to the place would draw more people. He had been right. The Arena drew hundreds of criminals to its large doors.

But now those criminals were rushing away from the building like a pack of rats. The full main street became jammed as people ran into and over each other. Guns, lasers, and magic went flying as people started fighting in the streets. Chaos was everywhere, as several thugs pushed past Kaleb to get through the alley. But Kaleb was still trying to find the source of the commotion. A gurgle brought him back around to Abby as she stood up. The gangster woman wasn’t moving anymore, and her eyes were rolled back into her head.

“I said there were three of them!” Abby growled.

But Kaleb ignored her as he scanned the streets. Abby joined him as soon as the source of everything revealed itself. A giant brown wolf crashed through the streets in front of the arena. Thugs and gangster went running as the giant thing tore through the streets. Some people tried to shoot or fry the thing with their powers, but the behemoth ignored them as he turned and started down main street.

The crowds went fucking nuts as the wolf crashed into them. Behind it, Kaleb could see dozens of people chasing the wolf. Some flew while others ran, but they were all focused on their target.

“We need to get out of here!” Kaleb yelled over the shouting crowd.

“No shit!” Abby responded, pulling him deeper into the alley.

But Kaleb pulled the small woman up short. “Not that way. That’s Rakgu territory. We need to cross the street and head west.”

Abby stared out at the mass of bodies pushing against each other. She quirked an eyebrow and gave Kaleb her best ‘are you serious’ face. But all Kaleb could do was shrug. They really didn’t want to get lost in the turf of a gang that was actually looking for them. Abby sighed and, with a powerful stride, walked into the alleyway wall. She vanished into the shadows, and Kaleb wanted to curse. Damn woman could shadow-walk.

He swore he could hear Abby’s laughter as he checked the street again. More and more aliens and humans were pushing past him and the wolf was getting closer. Gritting his teeth, Kaleb put his metal shoulder down and pushed into the crowd. Hands grabbed at him as people shouted and cursed. The thudding of the big wolfs paws grew closer and Kaleb glanced up. A loudly buzzing alien dive-bombed the wolf, but missed and went careening into the crowd below. The alien was quickly stomped as the wolf trampled everyone in its path.

Kaleb punched out with both hands and shoved and pulled against the crowd. It was slow and arduous work. But as the wolf got closer, the crowd thinned enough for Kaleb to dive the remaining distance to the opposite alley across the street. He collided with another alien that kicked him away, and Kaleb rolled deeper into the dark. Getting his feet under him, Kaleb stood and took in his surroundings. Multiple morose faces met him as different aliens and humanoids gave him the once over. Kaleb returned the glances and then pushed further west.

The disruption was the perfect cover to lose anyone that would be tracking them. Shaggy had loosely explained the situation in Under-Town to them the last time he was here. The Big Four of Under-Town were the Rakgu, the Quinica, the UGB, and the Phreaks. Which is where he was headed now. The Phreaks were a gang of aliens and mutants, some of whom had been experimented on, that ran drugs in Under-Town. Among other things. But for a six-foot tall lizard man with a mechanical arm, it was a decent enough hiding place.

“Why this direction?” Abby asked as she pulled herself from out of a wall’s shadow.

Kaleb tried not to jump at her sudden appearance. Thankfully, Abby was more concerned with getting herself extricated. It took her glaring at him to hear her question, though.

“Huh? Oh! The Phreaks are mutants and aliens that have been experimented on, remember? So…”

Kaleb finished by waving a hand up and down his body. Abby snorted but said nothing as she pulled her leg out of the shadow.

“Still working on that, are you?”

“It’s trickier than it looks and takes a great deal of concentration.”

“Noted.”

“Now. Where are we going? We still need to find a place to ask questions.”

Kaleb nodded and looked around. They were in a long crooked alleyway that bent and twisted as houses and debris crisscrossed around it. Shacks and piles of junk were piled in around them. He figured they would need to keep heading east and find a larger road. Sharing this with Abbey, they started walking.

They did their best to travel in a diagonal through the many back alleys and crooked streets. Everywhere, people were scattered about. Some were moving toward the main streets, trying to see what was going on. While others were picking up the shattered remnants of their existence. Kaleb saw several people pulling dead bodies from broken shacks and picking over the corpses. He and Abby ignored the macabre looting and pushed on.

“What the hell was that, anyway?”

“I think it was Shaggy.” Kaleb said, remembering the other only time he’d seen the Villain player wolf out.

Abby stopped. “Oh yeah! He’s a werewolf, right?”

“Yeah. And that giant wolf looked exactly like the one he turned into when the Rakgu stopped us last time.”

“Shit! Should we go help?”

Kaleb waved her off. “Nah! He’ll be fine. Besides, it’s not exactly rare to see players running about the place.”

“True. But you actually know this one. He looked like he was in trouble.”

“Meh. He’ll handle it. Remember, he has his own gang down here. I’d bet that’s where he was running off to.”

“So he just pulled half of main street toward his friends?”

Kaleb grimaced. “Probably.”

Abby winced and shook her head. But they continued on their journey. Kaleb kept his ears out for anything. But the citizens of Under-Town were surprisingly tight-lipped. They kept to themselves and kept their heads down. One glance at Kaleb and Abby was all some people risked, while others pointedly ignored them. Not that they were getting no attention at all.

“See them?” Abby asked.

Kaleb wanted to spin and look around, but stopped himself. Instead, he gave a little shake of the head. A tug on his arm made him spin toward Abby. The shorter woman smiled up at him and darted her eyes over her left shoulder. Following them, Kaleb spotted two… people. One was a mutant hybrid or alien. Their skin was gray with yellow stripes and they had one eye bigger than the other. The second one was more decidedly alien, with purple skin and piercing red eyes. But what made them stand out was the giant red lobster claw they had for a left arm.

Abby tugged him back to look at her and kept his attention as she spoke. “They just started following us. I don’t see any others.”

“Options?”

“Run or fight?”

Kaleb grinned. “Both of those seem way too simplistic.”

“Then what do you want to do?”

“Engage.”

“En- what?” Abby asked, but Kaleb sidestepped her and made a beeline for the two obvious thugs.

Big-eye grew scared and his hand moved to his waist. But lobster-claw stopped him and eyed Kaleb as he approached. Behind him, Kaleb heard Abby catching up. So he doubled his speed and raised a hand.

“Ho there, criminals! How are you on this fine day?”

Lobster-claw scowled and spat in the dirt. “Ain’t no whores here, pal! But why don’t you explain to us why we shouldn’t gut and rob you?”

Kaleb smiled. “Because I’d wager that would go poorly for you.”

“Really?”

“Yep. But answer a question or two and you’ll leave unharmed. You’ll also have a few credits to spend on something stupid. What do you say? Great deal, right?”

“I could snip you in half and take your money instead.”

Kaleb smiled and slowly pulled his gun. Letting it hang loosely at his side. Beside him, glaring angrily at him, Abby summoned her shadow-blades. Big-Eye went rigid with fright, but Lobster-claw snorted. Clacking his large pincer, the alien glared at Kaleb for several long moments. Kaleb simply smiled back and waited. Soon the confidence drained from lobster-claw’s eyes and he took a step back.

“What do you want?”

“A bar. Preferably a busy one.” Kaleb said.

“Why?”

“See, I could tell you. But then I’d have to charge a ‘Question Tax’ on the credits I would give you. Do you accept the charges?”

Lobster-Claw growled, and his large pincers snapped aggressively. Abby tensed at Kaleb’s side and Kaleb tensed his fingers. But Lobster-claw blew out another breath and waved a hand northward.

“Just the other side of West Street. You can’t miss the place. But I wouldn’t risk it if I were you. Place like that would chew you up and spit you back into the street.”

Kaleb reached into his pocket and flicked a credit chit at Lobster-claw. It was loaded with a hundred credits. Which he figured was more than enough for the information. The aliens non-lobster hand reached out and quickly snatched the chit. Shoving it into his pocket. The gray-yellow alien glowered at his partner. But Kaleb and Abby quickly moved off in the direction they’d been pointed. Behind them, Kaleb heard the beginnings of an argument and smiled.

“Risky.” Abby said simply.

“But better than rasslin’ in the streets.”

“Is it?”

Kaleb simply shrugged and squeezed his large frame between two shacks. Popping out the other side, they walked across several alleys until they reached a large street. Assuming that the large swathe of dirt was West Street, Kaleb rushed across. He ignored the commotion going on around him. Assuming that it was something to do with Shaggy’s lupine run to freedom. Abby close on his heels, Kaleb walked between two large houses and kept his eyes and ears open.

It was another street before Kaleb heard the raucous sounds of drunk people. They had to travel a slightly more to the west. But eventually Kaleb and Abby found the bar and stopped just outside. The place was a fifteen-foot tall wooden building built from actual logs. It had two large square holes in the front wall that were obviously built for windows. But judging from the sound, the windows were never installed.

“Well, this is what we were looking for.” Abby said as a red alien sailed through an open window.

As the alien ate dirt, Kaleb moved to the bar’s open wooden door. What looked like an unconscious orc was leaned up against the door frame, his big bulk propping the door open. Abby hissed as Kaleb noticed a large short sword impaling the green creature. More raucous noises and fights could be heard inside, and Kaleb glanced at Abby.

“Should we…?”

“Yes.” Abby said with finality. “Find a corner table, sit down, and shut up.”

Kaleb sighed and pushed through the open door. His senses were immediately overwhelmed with the sights, sounds, and smells of a bunch of humanoids. Aliens of all stripes and colors were all over the bar. Some were drinking, some were eating, and others were fighting. Kaleb had to dodge a stray bolt of red energy as he weaved his way through the tables in the center of the bar. He drew the eye of a few people, but he ignored them. When one tried to grab at him, he broke the flimsy goblin-looking alien’s hand and kept moving. Behind him, Abby sighed.

“Just making friends everywhere, huh?”

Kaleb found a booth built into the western wall and sat down before he responded.

“It sends a message.”

“Agreed. But now we have to watch out for the guys’ friends.”

Kaleb grinned. “That’s why I have you.”

Abby grimaced and sat opposite him, checking the table for a menu or something. When they both found nothing, they turned to the bar. A multi-eyed alien was looking their way with six eyes. The other twenty or so were focused on the other areas of the bar. Kaleb held up two fingers and hoped the bartender would get his meaning. Meanwhile, Abby raised her hood and tried to blend in with the furniture.

Combined with the shadows coming off the wall, Kaleb felt she succeeded. So he sat back in his own chair and tried to listen for anything of interest. The bar was filled with the sounds of arguing and shouting everywhere. In the odd corner of silence, aliens and humans sat and whispered secrets into their mugs. Kaleb could barely make out the nearest table argument as a sudden tray with drinks appeared next to their table.

The tray sat itself down and Kaleb spotted five spindly fingers retreat from under the tray. Ignoring the drinks on the table, and looked under it. A two-foot rat standing on its hind legs was about to scurry away after dumping its tray. Kaleb reached a hand out but didn’t touch the furry animal.

“Hey!”

The rat stood up straight in surprise before it turned to face him. Its beady black eyes seemed terrified at first. But then something happened. The rat went rigid, and its body seemed to shiver. Its black eyes widened, and a voice slammed into Kaleb’s skull.

“ENEMY!”