A Pub Story: One Life For Another

The year is 2156, and the world has awakened from a disaster that killed off most of the population. Those who are left are scavengers and cut throats who would sooner gut you that talk to you. There are some decent people left in this hostile world. Radiation and disease turned the world’s creatures into horrific monsters. Nothing is as it would seem as our story unfolds in this hostile world. Those who are left are tormented by the dreaded Blights, the shell of a human infected with the killing disease that wiped out a third of the world’s population in a few short weeks. As the tale unfolds the more secrets of the past.

The pub is filled with smoke, laughter, and chatter from weary travelers. A stranger sits in the corner and lights his pipe as the other patrons begin to whisper about him. The scent of the herbs he is burning overpowers the stale tobacco smell.

“Who’s the stiff?” a plump gentleman says pointing a thumb his way.

“No one knows. He doesn’t speak and doesn’t really move other than to drink his Firewater,’ the bartender says leaning against the bar as he cleans a glass. “He hasn’t moved from that spot since yesterday,” he says. -

“What Firewater? You don’t sell anything that strong here,” another patron says quizzically.

“He has a flask he keeps up his sleeve,” the bartender says leaning on his elbows. “I don’t know what’s actually in it, but every time he take a swig he shudders…” he stops talking as he sees his seven year old daughter walk up to the table. The bar goes silent as they watch with hungry eyes. The cloaked figure smiles as the young girl looks over the table at him.

“My name’s Tila, what’s yours?” she asks with eager eyes.

His voice is love and soft as he speaks to the child. “It’s Ghost young one,” he says leaning forward on the table.

“But you don’t look like a ghost. Why do they call you that?” she asks putting her hands on the edge of the table.

“Because I’m here one moment and gone the next,” he says with a smile. “Would you like to see a magic trick,” he says as he starts circling his hands.

“I love magic!” she exclaims with a jump.

He pulls a lily from his sleeve and hands it to her. “Now be one your way little one,” he says as she skips off with the flower. He sits back in his seat as he takes another draw of his pipe.

“Look daddy, he gave me a flower,” she says with glee.

“He is so strange,” the waitress says as she wipes off the bar with a rag.

“Go ask him if he wants a drink,” the bartender says rubbing his chin.

“Are you crazy? I’m not going anywhere NEAR that man,” she exclaims in protest.

“I just want to know what you think of him,” he says standing up straight. -

“Then ask me yourself,” Ghost says now sitting at the bar.

“How did you… When did you?” he stutters tacking a step back.

“I’ll have a mint whiskey if that’s alright,” he says with a smile at the waitress. He pulls his hood down and reveals a weathered and tired face. Scars cover most of his revealed skin.

“What’s your business here?” the bartender asks after a few moments.

“I am waiting for an acquaintance of mine. She should be here within the hour,” he says as the waitress sets his drink down. “Thank you Dearie,” he says picking it up. He sniffs it and then drinks the whole glass in one swig. “Fine whisky sir. Very fine,” he says setting the glass down.

“Yes, old world stuff is aged a whole lot better. Found a whole stash of it when we opened the place up,” he says as he washes the glass. A boom of thunder rumbles the entire pub causing the lights to flicker. A flash of lightning fills the room and the stranger is back in his corner with his hood up. A new figure bursts through the swinging doors at the front. Rain drips from their black cloak as they walk with loud steps to the back of the bar. They sit down joining Ghost. Taking down their hood reveals this newcomer as a female.

“You would not believe the weather out there,” she says shaking her head. “How are you feeling G?” she asks pulling her bright red hair out of her cloak.

“Alright. How’s the roads Robin?” he asks taking his flask out.

“You still drink that swill? You know there are better options out there,” she says.

“This one works the best. This is the last of it anyway,” he says taking a quick sip. He shudders as he puts it back up his sleeve.

“What are you going to do once you run out?” she asks.

“Deal with it I guess. Let’s pray that we can get our work done before that happens,” he says ominously.

“Ran into some Shades on the way in but nothing too big. How’s the hunt been for you?” she asks as the waitress walks up.

“Can… Can I get you something to drink?” she asks with a shaky voice.

“Some tea if you have any,” Robin says with a smile. She rushes off and returns with a hot cup of tea before they could even start their conversation up again. “Thank you dear. That’ll be all,” she says waving her on.

“Took out a bloody Troll nest. I hate those buggers,” he says. “I think their brains are in their butts or something like that. You shoot ‘em in the head and they keep coming, but you get ‘em in the butt and they drop over dead. Puzzling thing it is,” he says sitting back.

“Maybe. That or you need to work on your aim,” she says with a chuckle. The little girl skips by with the lily in her hair. “You still givin’ flowers out to little girls?” she asks teasing him. -

“I do my best to make them feel loved. We’ve got a job,” he says pulling a piece of paper out of one of his pouches. “We’ve got a Needlehead Clan to try and sober up or dispatch of,” he says handing her the paper. “Order of The Church,” he says.

She looks at him with glaring eyes over the paper. “You know how I feel about those charlatans,” she says with a snarl.

“Their willing to pay 20 Jewels a head. 30 for everyone we can get back alive,” he says with a grin. She spits out her tea as he says the numbers.

“That could set us up for life,” she exclaims.

“Does that change your opinion of The Church for now?” he asks with a smile.

“For now, but once this is done we are going to disappear for a while,” she says handing the contract back to him. “You know those drug addicts won’t willingly come with us,” she says finishing her tea.

“Our contract is to retrieve as many children as we can. They’ll pay us five Secs for every adults we dispatch of,” he says.

“I thought you said 20 Jewels, or is that for the children?” she asks cocking her head to the side.

“Yes, the children are our priority. If we can get them out alive then that’s out money, but the adults aren’t what we are after. This is a recon and rescue mission. We want to avoid killing anyone unless they try and kill us,” he says picking up his rifle. “Let’s get going. It’s a four day run to the bunker they call home. I’ll explain more once we get there,” he says pulling up his hood. He slips something into the bartenders hand as he leaves.

“You gave him a Jewel, didn’t you?” she asks once they are outside.

“They needed it more than me. You know how I am,” he says mounting his horse. One of the few creatures that resisted the mutations. “Come on Featherfeet, show me what you got,” he says spurring his horse. “I’ll meet you in Soaring Spring in three days’ time!” he exclaims heading the opposite way than she was. “STAY ON THE ROADS!” he yells back as he gallops away. He follows the road for a while and the takes a right off into the Holey Field. A wasteland of war filled with craters from bombs, some still unexploded, rusting away into time. Most of the old world tech has either been lost or destroyed due to decay. Society is trying to rebuild where it can and remake some of the old tech, but run into difficulties with processing the raw materials they need. Most caves are inhabited by Trolls and their nests.

High atop the Syrians Cliffs is where Ghost makes his home. Carved into the sheer cliff face is his rocky cave where he can look over the Dead World as one of its few who live to change things for the better. He opens the safe buried in the wall and pulls out a different rifle. The large rifle dwarfs his other in size and power. He mounts it on the opening to the cave. “Let’s see what we can see shall we,” he says looking down the large scope. “They’ve finally have the bridge repaired. I’ll swing by there and take the mountain pass to the springs,” he says standing back up.

He looks out over the flat plane and sees something out amiss. “What’s going on down there?” he asks laying his rifle down and looking through the scope again, tuning the dial to focus it. He sees a Troll chasing someone through the plane. “We can’t have that now can we,” he says lining up his shot. He takes a deep breath and squeezes the trigger. The Trolls head explodes, but it keeps running for a little bit and then falls over. “Well, that proves my theory anyway,” he says locking the rifle back in the safe. He packs a bag full of explosives and ammo. Making sure he is fully ready for whatever may come. He takes one last look around and then descends the rope leading down. “I’ll be back. I promise,” he says pulling on the rope sending it up into a spring loaded pulley. “Let’s go check on the girl, shall we Featherfeet,” he says mounting his horse. He rides out into the plane, over the crater edges and into the barren wastes that consist of most of the known world.

He finds the young girl now soaked in blood sitting next to the dead Troll. “You alright?” he asks walking up to the girl. She quickly stands to her feet and starts laughing hysterically. Before he could say anything she goes running off… still laughing. “Alright, well, we’ll be on our way,” he says mounting his horse again. The next day he makes it to Dante’s Bridge where the road crew is finishing up.

“Ho traveler!” the foreman yells holding up his hand. “Oh it’s you. How has it been?” he asks looking up at him.

“It’s been alright. Is the bridge finally done?” he asks looking across the long stone bridge.

“It is, but be careful. We lost a few men the other day to lava splash. Just keep your head down,” he says waving him on.

“Be safe out there,” Ghost says as his horse starts walking across the bridge. He can hear the lave flowing under the bridge. As they reach the center of the bridge he can feel the heat begin to rise dramatically.

“Whaddya say we get off this, hm?” he asks leaning on the horse’s neck. She picks up her pace and they quickly cross the last half of the bridge as lava begins to overflow the banks. “At least we made it,” he says as they continue up the mountain. Another full days travel through the murky forests and they emerge near the Soring Springs. “What a wonderful view,” he says looking out onto the clear stream that flows from the mountain. “A rare beauty about this dead world,” he says mounting his horse again and heading to the meeting spot just above the springs.

The old mine entrance makes a perfect lookout. One way in, one way out. He lights a small fire and roasts a salted piece of Maw. A rare, but delicious creature that resembles an old world jellyfish. The sent fills the caver and starts attracting Wyrmrats, vile little bottom feeders that will eat a man in his sleep. The light from the fire keeps them at bay, but he can see their eyes shining in the dark. Just waiting for him to go to sleep. He takes out a handful of flash powder and throws it into the fire causing a bright green flash. The Wyrmrats scatter as if their tails are on fire.

“Is that Maw I smell?” Robin asks as she sits down next to him.

“Just in time for food as always,” he says with a chuckle. He pulls the Maw off of the spit and slices her off a piece. “Down to business. Our target is Vault 34. The most extensive and largest of the vaults built before the war. It was found abandoned after the Awakening and the Needlehead Clan took over. There is a chemical lab that is fully equipped to make all kinds of drugs. This is their headquarters for distribution and recruitment,” he says unfolding a map and pointing at the different areas.

“So, what you’re saying is that this is going to be one buckingly impossible mission,” she says with emphasis.

“Basically. But their numbers at this facility are low this time of year. They run out of water and a lot of them are sent out to find some. They leave enough people to take care of the children and continue making the drugs. They have chemists bound and chained to make them. Our main goal is to get as many children out alive as we can, but we have orders to shoot to kill if things get nasty in there. I only have one thing to ask you before we head off into this forsaken vault,” he says rolling up the map.

“What is it?” she asks impatiently.

“Are you ready to do this? Can you kill without mercy to protect the future of this world? Are you willing to risk your life to stay beside me?” he asks looking in her eyes. He puts his hand up as if to arm-wrestle.

She grabs his hand and recites their warrior’s oath, “Till death do us part. Through Hell and back we fight. Until God takes us with flight. May we always be together. Forever and to the end. Shall I fight by your side.” She takes a breath as she looks at him with a smile. “And to 20 Jewels a head,” she says with a chuckle.

“May your kill count be high and your injuries none,” he says shaking her hand. “The usual bet as always?” he asks setting his pack in a mining cart.

“100 Jewels to the kill count winner?... Sure, why not,” she says. “Why do you go by the name Ghost?” she asks checking her guns and ammo over.

“Because I am a shadow of a man that once walked this earth. I don’t really live. I’m just kinda here. Ya know? I barely eat, don’t normally sleep. I kill without reason or remorse. When I do sleep my dreams are plagued with nightmares,” he says looking at his hands.

“Come on grumpy butt. I didn’t mean to get you are down in a funk. Let’s go kill us some druggies,” she says holding out a hand.

“We are going to try and persuade them first. If they start shooting then we shoot back,” he says slinging his rifle over his shoulder. He does a quick mental check of his resources and they head out. It’s a short run to the vault. “Remember that we start this off as a rescue mission. If they start shooting then we shoot back, alright?” he asks stopping just outside the door.

“Yes, yes, very well,” she says rolling her eyes. He walks up and pushes the bell that is crudely installed on the outside.

“YEAH, YEAH! Come on in!” a voice yells over the intercom. The door opens to show the mechanical contraptions that open and close the door. “Wait a minute, you’re not Dave! What the **** do you want?” he exclaims pulling out a sharp piece of metal.

“We wish to speak to whoever may be in charge,” he says crossing his hands in-front of him.

The druggie pulls down a mic and starts yelling into it. “HEY BOSS!”

“Yes Deadfish? What is it?” he says with

“We got a couple of Nolanders that wanna see ya!” he exclaims.

“QUIT ******* YELLING! I can hear you when you talk normal over this intercom,” he shouts back.

“Alright, alright. So whaddya want me ta do with ‘em?” he asks pointing at them. Robin is getting twitchy as she stands there listening.

“I’ll be down in a minute. Keep them there until I get down there,” he says hanging up. The moments pass slowly as they wait. Robin starts getting uneasy when Deadfish looking at her with shady eyes. As she goes to reach for her gun the man they have been waiting for shows up.

“What do you stiffs want?” he asks taking a draw from a cigarette.

“We have been sent here by the Order of the Church to bring as many of you as we can back to them. They wish to help and are willing to provide what you need,” he says putting his hands behind his back. The gentleman stands there for a moment pondering the proposal.

“What would the Church have us do?” he asks taking another draw.

“They wish to help those out of addiction and become builders for reconstructing and developing new buildings and projects that will help shape our future,” he says talking with his hands.

“Interesting. Shall we talk further in my office of course,” he says mentioning for them to come further into the complex. “My name is Hedge,” he says leading the way. As they walk through the corridors that twist and turn, heads poke out from doors and a small group begins gathering behind them. The doors open and the crowd stops at the doorway. The air door slides shut with a hiss trapping them inside of the large room with Hedge and a few armed guards. “Alrighty my new friends. What’s this business about the Church?” he asks leaning on the desk in the center of the room.

“We have orders from the Church to bring back as many people as we can alive. If they are unwilling to come, use as much force needed to ‘persuade’ them,” he says reading a small sheet of paper. “We are to be paid for every head we bring back alive and half for those we don’t,” he says putting the paper back into his pocket.

“So you are supposed to kill those who don’t come along willingly?” he asks folding his arms.

“Yes,” is all Ghost says in return.

“That is a hard offer to refuse. We’ve actually been talking about something similar to this. We’ve been wanting to go from Chem production to start making medicine, but we don’t have to ingredients we need to make that possible. The scientists that we had hear died a long time ago, but taught us how to make different chems with what we could get our hands on. The Church will have the equipment and the supplies we will need… Hmmm…” he rubs his chin as he thinks. “Ya know… This will be a nice change of life style. Our children will learn to grow and be functioning adults in the new society. We will go,” he says as he gets on the intercom and announces for everyone to get ready to leave the vault. He nods at them as the door opens. Ghost and Robin start walking out as the entire complex is buzzing like a swarm of angry bees.

“This is too clean. Go check out the outer edges to see what you can find,” he says in a whisper as he heads down another corridor. He turns a few corners until her finds the elevator. He runs the list through his head and then heads down to the reactor room. He looks around at the complex machinery that keeps the whole place running. He stands there a moment, marveling in the workings of the old world. He reaches in his bag and pulls out a roll of Primer-cord and wraps it around the core of the machine. “It’s always sad to see such a wonderful work go to waste. But it needs to be done,” he says attaching a small device on the end of the wire. He goes floor by floor to make sure everyone was out and when he reaches the entrance Robin is waiting there for him.

“Everyone out?” she asks unfolding her arms.

“Yes. Let’s get out of here,” he says walking past her and out into the sun light.

“That’s everyone,” Hedge says following Ghost out. He seals the vault door behind them.

“It is a four day walk to the Church from here. Do you have enough food for everyone?” Ghost asks mounting his horse.

“Yes. We’ll be able to make it there. Where are you going to be?” he asks.

“Leading this pack through the plain. We wouldn’t want any of them going astray now would we?” he asks as he turns to Robin. “You follow up at the end of the pack here. Make sure the stragglers keep up,” he says leaving Robin alone with Hedge.

“So…. Are you two..?” he asks trailing off. She knows what he was going to ask.

“That is none of your business. I’m only here for the payout,” she says jumping onto her horse. She does a quick head count to see how much her pay should be when they arrive. She counts 57 from her vantage point, a king’s ransom. “Why don’t you go to the middle and keep those there in line. Hm?” she says looking over the long line of now homeless druggies.

“Yeah. I think that should work just fine,” he says as he jogs off. All the chatter stops as a high pitched whistle comes from the front of the line.

“We’re going through Dante’s Plain. Keep a sharp eye and be ready to protect yourselves. We will make camp when the sun starts to set up camp. Everyone MOVE OUT!” Ghost shouts in a booming voice as he leads the slow moving caravan. The caravan moves down the mountain pass and into the Lavender Hills. Just past the hill yawns the vast emptiness of Dante’s Plain. The barren wasteland holds no water or shelter from the hot sun.

“We’ll camp here for a few hours. We have to be ready to move out when the sun sets again. We’ll move with the night to stay out of the heat,” he says dismounting.

“How long will we be out there?” a young girl asks.

“We have a two day walk to the other side,” he says crouching down.

“But won’t we die if it gets too hot?” she asks with tears in her eyes.

“I’ll be here for you little one. Don’t worry about it,” he says tussling her hair. “Everyone is to try and sleep until the sun is well set. We’ll move out in about 3 hours!” he shouts standing back to his feet.

“Where are you going?” Robin says as he puts his sand mask on.

“Scouting,” he says wrapping his face with raggedy looking scarf. He walks off into a sandstorm and vanishes.

“He’s a strange one isn’t he?” Hedge asks, walking up behind her.

“In the future, please refrain from sneaking up behind me,” she says lowering her knife.

“So, what’s the Church like?” he asks sitting down beside her.

“I’m the wrong person to ask about that,” she says turning away from him.

“Can we at least be a little bit civil? I only want to pass the time,” he says.

“No. I’m not here to be buddy buddy with you people. You and your clan are the reason I do what I do in this world,” she says standing to her feet. “Get some sleep. We move out in a couple of hours,” she says climbing a nearby tree. She stands there and wipe tears away, trying to block out the memories he had brought back to her. As her eyes begin to clear she sees Ghost turning from the darkening desert. She jumps down to greet him. She stops as she sees him weaving and limping as he walks. She rushes to his side to help him back into the meadow. “What happened out there?” she asks helping him to sit down. He quickly gets to work mending his wounds.

“Manticors… An entire heard of them. I’ve never seen more than two together at any time… but there had to be at least 15 of them. I don’t know if any of them made it out,” he says as he pulls out a heat pen.

“I hate it when you use that ghastly contraption,” she says as he starts cauterizing his wounds. “You’re lucky you are immune to poison,” she says turning her head away.

“I was scouting out a barn to spend the day in when they came up through the floor. I lost my sword before I left,” he says taking his shirt off to reveal the extent of his wounds. His torso is spotted with large bruise patterns and several large scrapes. He starts muttering in a foreign language as he starts wrapping himself. This is the first time she’s seen him with his shirt off. He’s usually too modest. She never thought he was so muscular. He turns to pick up something from his coat. She sees a large piece of metal running up where his spine is supposed to be. She opens her mouth to speak, but snaps it shut as he turns back around.

“Are… Are you going to be alright?” she asks trying to stifle her curiosity.

“I have to be to protect yo… These people,” he says, stopping himself from saying what he wants to. He starts putting his clothes back on as Hedge rushes up to see what was going on.

“Everything alright?” he asks in a panic.

“Is everyone ready to move?” he asks avoiding the question.

“Almost. We’re having trouble waking the children, but other than that we’re ready to move,” he says as Ghost stands to his feet.

“Robin, take point. Hedge, bring me my horse please. I’ll be taking the rear. Keep a watch over the children for me,” he says as he wobbles in place. Hedge runs off to get his horse as Robin helps him stand for a moment. Ghost lets out a whistle and Featherfeet comes running, almost dragging Hedge with him.

“What was that all about?” Hedge asks patting the horse on the side.

“He doesn’t like other people,” Robin says helping Ghost onto his horse. He lightly takes the reins and sits there in the saddle for a moment. Robin hesitates a moment and then mounts hers. “Get everyone in line. We move out in ten minutes weather they are ready or not,” she says stroking Cactuses’ mane. “Why do you have to be so prickly,” she says with a chuckle.

The group slowly moves out with Robin taking lead. She takes it slow as the sun begins to set upon the horizon. As they walk the night gets darker until the sands begin to light up with a blue luminosities making a path. “So that’s what he was doing out here. Making a clear path through the desert,” she says calming her horse and continuing on. The night moves on slowly, and without incident. They find an overhang that will provide enough shade to keep them out of the sun for most of the day. The sun peaks over the horizon as Featherfeet comes walking up as the group finishes cramming up under the rock. He nudges Robin and then looks back at his empty saddle. “Where is he?!” she exclaims as she knows he wouldn’t have left without letting her know. The horse turns around and snorts as she follows.

“I’ll be back. If you are gone by the time I get back. I will find you, and I will kill you with my bare hands,” she threatens with a snarl. Hedge flinches, for once in his life he is genuinely scared. Featherfeet gallops off with Robin quick in tow. She pulls out her scoped pistol as she sees a lump in the dark. She sees a Troll wrestling someone on the ground. She lines up and takes the shot hitting it in the head. It keeps its attack on whoever it is and then falls over. She slowly walks over to the now lifeless hulk with her gun trained on it. She poles the troll with the barrel to make sure it was dead. She rolls it over to find Ghost lying motionless on the ground.

“Come on, you can’t die on me. Not now,” she says slapping his face. She opens his jacket and places her head on his chest. Nothing… “You will be remembered with honor my friend,” she says through her sobbing. She folds his arms on top of his chest and lays his old sword beside him. “May you find peace in the afterlife my friend. May your sword be sharp, your bounty high, and you kills clean. May you remember be,” she says crossing her chest. “Goodbye my friend,” she says standing up. She begins to walk away, but stops as she feels a slight breeze on her face. She turns around and sees that he is gone. She turns and walks away with a smile. “I love you,” she says as a tear streams down her face.