Event Horizon 2: A LitRPG Apocalypse, page 23
Herman nodded. “I guess I could take some notes.”
Steadily, people agreed to come. Herman grew more and more excited and relieved with each person who would come. Each one was someone who could help build their fort, who they could train to cultivate, who would bring their own skills into the fight against the Phenomenon.
His nervousness grew too as his father didn’t make a move one way or the other.
Soon enough, there was a handful of people—mostly people who Herman didn’t know—who had shaken their heads and indicated that they wouldn’t be coming. He supposed he understood—some people felt like they were safer on their own or didn’t want to be tied down to a group.
Knowing the way these folks were, some of these people would probably have apocalypse bunkers set up and ready to go. They’d likely be safer locked away in those bunkers than trying to defend Uncle Ray’s place from an invading horde. These weren’t people who were being stubborn just for the hell of it. They knew their business and they were well prepared to defend themselves.
Heman wished them the best.
And that left only Hilda and Herman’s dad undecided.
Uncle Ray looked at Hilda and raised his eyebrow.
Hilda glowered at him. “You think y’av got a monopoly on resources?” She paused, then said, “Well, ya might. But yer intolerable and I think I’d end up wantin’ to kill ya by the end of the first day I spent there.”
Mrs. Hughes leaned toward Hilda. “You should come, dear. I’m sure Ray’s place is big enough you and him won’t see each other much. Right, Ray?”
Ray nodded, looking like he swallowed a lemon. “Theoretically, I guess.”
Mrs. Hughes nodded, smiling. “And I’m sure that you won’t have the kind of cooking he will there. After all, you can’t cook as well as I can, and I plan on making sure everyone who joins us is fed right.”
Hilda scowled. “That is bribery. Absolutely despicable tactic, Mrs. Hughes.”
Mrs. Hughes smiled wider. “Is it working?”
“Agh!” Hilda threw up a hand. “Fine, I’ll come.” She glared at Uncle Ray. “But we’re keeping my weapons stash separate from yours, understand? I don’t want you taking all my good pieces.”
Uncle Ray rolled his eyes. “That’s more than fine with me. It’ll keep your grubby hands off the pieces that are actually good.”
Hilda gasped, and she and Uncle Ray devolved into arguing. Herman left them to it, turning to his dad.
“Dad?” he said. “You’re coming, right?”
His dad looked at him, face unreadable. He was silent for a moment, then two.
Then he said, “No, son. I’m not.”
CHAPTER 31
HERMAN
Herman blinked in surprise at his father. “What? Why not?”
His dad shook his head. “I refuse to leave my home. Those aliens aren’t going to drive me away.”
Rubbing his forehead, Herman said, “Dad, I know you refused to move for years, and I have respected that. But you get that by not coming with us your chances of surviving go down dramatically, right?”
His dad shrugged. “Then I’ll die in my house, just like I’ve always wanted. It will just be sooner than any of us thought it would be.”
“Your father is not only awkward, he seems to have no will to live,” Ohsheit said in Herman’s mind, sounding concerned.
Herman ground his teeth together. He didn’t respond to Ohsheit, his observation hitting a little too close to home.
“Dad,” Herman said slowly, “just because Mom isn’t here anymore doesn’t mean you don’t have people who would miss you if you’re gone.”
Diplomacy +2
His dad’s face twitched, whether in grief or anger, he wasn’t sure. It was more emotion than his dad normally showed. Herman honestly didn’t know if his father just didn’t feel any more or if he buried it all. Either way Herman knew it was because he didn’t want to risk the kind of pain that came from losing someone again.
Herman gestured at Ray, who was talking with everyone who had agreed to come to his property. Herman itched to be over there too, making sure everyone knew that they would need to bring any supplies they could, to tell them everything he could about the Phenomenon to try and make sure they had a fighting chance of surviving if they ran into one without him or Ray around to protect them. But he couldn’t just leave his dad to die because of his stubbornness and unaddressed grief from a tragedy that happened over a decade ago.
“Uncle Ray would miss you,” Herman said. He gestured at himself. “I would miss you. I know we don’t talk much and I don’t really come to visit, but you’re still my dad. I still want you to be around so we can do those things once the world gets back to normal, or as normal as it can be after an alien invasion. We can’t do that if you decide it’s more important not to leave that house than it is to be alive.”
His dad’s face twitched again, and this time Herman could see the stubbornness coming to the surface.
Frustration welled in his own chest. “Really, Dad? You’re willing to make me an orphan just because you’re still so broken up over Mom dying?”
His dad frowned. “Don’t be ridiculous, Herman. You’re grown. You don’t need me anymore.”
“Need?” Herman said, his own anger growing. “You’re right, I don’t need you anymore, because I learned not to need you when I was growing up. I swear, the night Mom died I didn’t just lose her, I lost you too. You were never more than just a shell of a man after that.”
Owen blinked, his hard face stony as the older man digested Herman’s words. It was like watching the sun set, or a slow-motion building demolition.
Cracks slowly began to appear, and Herman could see his father struggling within himself. It was like watching two boxers locked in battle, too tired to continue and clutching one another in a state of utter exhaustion. Except, instead of two figures locked against one another, that battle was taking place within his father’s own head.
His dad’s face fell. “Is that really how you feel, son?”
Herman felt his father’s words slip into his heart like a blade cutting through soft flesh. This was hurting them both, but he could see that his father bore the greater wound.
“Yes,” he said simply, honestly.
Owen nodded slowly. “I… I never realized that’s how you felt.”
“That’s not surprising,” Herman said, trying and failing to rid his words of spite, “because you were never really present. You were there physically, sure. But you were never really alive, never really present with me.”
“I hate to interrupt,” Ohsheit said, cutting through the dramatic moment. “While this seems like a very therapeutic conversation that you and your father probably should have had years ago, it is not really helping to convince him to come to your uncle’s property.”
Ohsheit was right, Herman knew. Even if he wasn’t, Herman needed to speed this up. The explosion back at the gas station had likely attracted more Phenomenon to the town, and the sooner they got out of here, the better.
Herman took a slow breath. He exhaled heavily.
“Dad, look, there are a lot of things I wish you had done differently, and a lot of things I know I could have done differently. But we didn’t, and now we’re here, and we can’t change any of that. But if we want a chance to do better, then we’re going to have to both be alive for that to happen.”
Diplomacy +3
Herman’s dad was still for a moment, then he sighed. “Even if I did come,” he said, “how much would it really matter? No offense, Hermie, but you’re not exactly someone who can fight aliens. You’ve been lucky so far.”
Herman winced at the old nickname. He would have to make sure his dad didn’t call him that ever again if he did come with them to Uncle Ray’s.
“I thought the same thing myself when this all started, but a lot has happened since then, Dad. I can assure you, there has been a lot more than luck involved. If you come with us, you’ll see what I mean. Fact is, I’ve killed dozens of Phenomenon at this point. Honestly, I’m not the same Hermie you used to know.”
“Confident, are you?” his dad said. He frowned. “False confidence isn’t going to do anything to convince me, Herman. And I don’t appreciate you lying to try to convince me.”
Herman shook his head quickly. “I’m not lying! I—” He cut himself off, debating if telling his dad about Ohsheit would do more harm than good.
At this point, he figured his dad was already planning on not coming with them, and trying to convince him why he’d be safer with them than anywhere else was the best he could do.
He leaned closer to his father. He said, voice low so no one else in the room could hear him.
“There are other aliens that came too. One of them has been training me how to fight the Phenomenon. He has a lot of knowledge that’s been useful already.”
He figured telling his dad that Ohsheit had in fact bonded with him would be too much for him to swallow all at once.
Discretion +1
His dad stared at him blankly, then huffed a laugh. Shaking his head, he said, “That’s a good one, Herman. Why would an alien choose you? And if that’s true, then where is it?”
Before Herman could respond, Ohsheit, voice just as low as Herman’s, said, “I am right here.”
Herman’s dad flinched, looking down at Ohsheit in his lizard form, resting in Herman’s arms.
“Holy shit,” he whispered. He looked around, checking to see if anyone else had noticed the lizard speaking. Then he leaned close to Ohsheit and, lifting one hand slowly, poked him on the head.
Then he jumped back slightly, as if Ohsheit would bite him.
“Is that one of those animatron things?” he asked, looking at Herman.
Herman shook his head. Lifting Ohsheit up some, he said, “You remember my lizard Marco, right? Well, the alien took over his body so he could talk with me.”
Kind of. Again, details.
Deception +1
“And Herman has proven to be a capable student.” Ohsheit huffed. “Well, capable enough. Certainly, he would not have been my first choice as far as skills go, but he has a noble heart worthy of a knight.”
Letting out a long breath, Herman’s dad shook his head. “I really don’t think I believe you.”
Ohsheit shrugged. “I do not need to prove what I am or what I am not to you. It does not matter even whether you believe me and Herman about this. What does matter is what you decide to do.” Ohsheit jerked his head toward Herman. “Your son wants what is best for you. If there is anything left inside of you that wishes to be a father, choose what is best for both of you.”
Herman winced slightly at the words. Ohsheit hadn’t spoken with any particular venom, but his words were still painfully blunt.
“You really think we have a chance against these things?” his dad asked.
Herman shrugged. “We have no chance if we aren’t working together.”
His dad nodded slowly. Herman held his breath, waiting for him to decide. He didn’t think there was anything else he could say that would convince his dad to come with them. Maybe Uncle Ray could, but he doubted it.
Finally, Herman’s dad nodded. “Alright then, I’ll give this a try.” He looked at him, stern. “But I am bringing some things from the house.”
Herman let out a sigh of relief. “Great, good. Thank you. I’ll come over and help you get anything you want to bring. Uncle Ray’s Hummer is over there. We can pack it all straight into there.”
Nodding, Herman’s dad slipped out of the living room and toward the front door. Herman took a moment to savor the relief at having convinced his dad to come with them.
Quest Completed: Rescue Pops: You have found your father and convinced him to come back to your Uncle Ray’s property.
You have earned 2 stat points.
“Thanks for your help, Ohsheit,” he said, turning to follow his dad out. He caught Uncle Ray’s eye and gestured toward the house to let him know where they were going.
“Of course,” Ohsheit said. “We are a team, after all. And that goes beyond fighting the Phenomenon.” He paused, clearly thinking. “If I might ask, how did your mother die?”
Herman sighed. “Cancer. When I was ten.”
“Cancer…” Ohsheit said. Then Herman felt him go through his memories, searching for an explanation. “Ah. A truly horrible disease. I am sorry for your family’s loss and the hardship it caused you.”
“Thanks,” Herman said softly, stepping out the door after his dad and into the fresh air. He shook himself slightly, pushing aside the memories of his mother, her death, and the results of it.
“Maybe something good will come out of the Phenomenon invading,” he said as he put Ohsheit on his shoulders and strode down the street after his dad toward their house. “I might finally get to have a real relationship with my dad.”
“An excellent outcome indeed,” Ohsheit said, voice warm. “An excellent outcome indeed.”
CHAPTER 32
TOMBO
Tombo slid out of the Hummer with a groan. He pulled Trojan’s crate out with him, set it on the ground, then slammed the door shut. The late afternoon sun beat down on them, and Tombo was ready to be inside the observatory where they could clean up and cool down.
The drive back to the observatory had been almost worse than their fight on the beach. As expected, the noise of the grenade launcher had attracted all sorts of Phenomenon, and they’d spent quite a bit of time either killing the monsters or trying to shake them off their tail. Their vehicle was covered with tar—who knew that the truck would have made such an effective weapon—and Tombo himself was covered with enough tar to make a small Phenomenon out of.
At least he got a bunch of stat points from that as well. Not quite as many as he could have since the system counted any beasts hit by the Hummer to be killed by Aguilar, but Tombo wouldn’t complain too loud about it. He could tell the Marines were curious how he could fight so well when he’d just been on what could have been his deathbed a few days ago, but they—thankfully—didn’t ask.
“McKee, you and Aguilar can get that tarbag to Jourmari, right?” he asked.
The burly woman glanced toward the back of the vehicle. The infected fish had started making a racket only a few minutes ago, but not enough to truly be concerning.
She nodded, clearly bracing herself. “Yeah, got it,” she said. She jerked her head at Aguilar and they started the process of unloading.
Tombo watched them for a moment as they clumsily rolled the heavy barrel from the truck.
“Are you sure they’ll be able to manage?” Trojan asked. “They do not appear very strong.”
Tombo shrugged a bit. “That’s what dollies and ropes are for. They’ll be fine.” He picked up Trojan’s crate and started for the observatory doors. He ignored the bustle of activity, the numerous soldiers scurrying about in a constant state of busyness. A few of them slowed down long enough to stare at him.
He guessed he made quite a sight. A scowl on his face, carrying a Phenomenon in a dog crate, and spattered with tar.
At the thought of tar, he pulled up his stat points again. No reason not to allocate them.
Night Blade Novice Level
Strength: 9
Dexterity: 9
Constitution: 12
Intelligence: 20
Wisdom: 8
Charisma: 8
You have 11 stat points to spend.
Tombo debated what to do with them. Constitution was always nice to beef up, as were Strength and Dexterity. But…
“Ku-Aya, is this Wisdom thing anything I need to worry about?” he said. “What does that do?”
“It basically improves your perception of the world,” she said. “You notice more things and you’re more intuitive about interpreting the information your senses process.”
“Hm, doesn’t sound very useful at the moment,” he said.
“Not particularly. Especially since you are still a Novice. Most Phenomenon that it would matter to have a high Wisdom score for perceiving are still far beyond your abilities as a Novice, no matter if you max out the Wisdom stat or not.”
He nodded, shifting Trojan’s crate so he could open the door of the observatory. He strode down the hall toward his small makeshift room, soldiers shifting out of his way as he went. If Wisdom wasn’t as important right now, and Charisma wasn’t very important at the moment either, then he could focus on the three stats he was already considering.
He put five points into Constitution, bringing it up to 16. Then he put three points in Dexterity to bring it up to 12 and the rest into Strength, making it 13 and unfortunately still an odd number. He’d have to make sure to focus on avoiding odd numbers more in the future.
Nodding to himself, he glanced over his new numbers.
Night Blade Novice Level
Strength: 13
Dexterity: 12
Constitution: 16
Intelligence: 20
Wisdom: 8
Charisma: 8
You do not have any stat points to spend.
He dismissed the notification just as he got to his door. He sighed with relief.
He never thought he’d be relieved to see a little closet that couldn’t truly count as a room, but he supposed an alien invasion would change anyone’s perspective on what to be grateful for.
Opening the door, he slipped inside, closed it, then let Trojan out of the crate.
“I can finally stretch my legs some,” Trojan said, trundling around the room. “That crate may be large, but nothing beats walking around on my own four legs.”
“Sorry,” Tombo said, stripping out of his filthy clothes. He started washing the tar off his skin in the little sink in the corner. “I don’t have a better idea for keeping the military happy about you.”
“It is alright,” Trojan said, climbing on the bed and bouncing on it slightly. “I understand the necessity. Also, may I say, excellent job at the lake.”
