The Cultbuster sped down the road at 35 miles an hour. Inside, James was at the wheel, while America sat in the passenger seat. Her head was leaning against the window and absentmindedly watched the landscape go by in a blur.
They were on their way to Larry Parker's home. Larry was like America. Mainly in the sense that they were both outsiders; not from Hope County. James got word that there were sightings of peggies around his domicile and wanted to check up on him. James said that Larry was a weird guy, but super smart, so the cult was likely trying to pressure the guy into joining.
The Rookie Deputy unleashed a large yawn and caught the attention of the senior deputy.
"Bad dreams?" James asked, never taking his eyes off the road.
"What?" America said, now fully awake.
"Bad dreams?" He reiterated.
"Oh, uh, no. I'm fine." She lied through her teeth and stared back out the window.
"We all have them, Rook. No one's coming out of this war without a few scars. Mentally and physically."
"Even you?" She asked rhetorically.
"Even me."
America was surprised the young blonde answered. He seemed, out of everyone, enjoying the war the most, or at least, seemed less affected by it. The way he drove around his car, smashing into cultists and handling his gun like some slick cowboy pretending to be The Bandit outsmarting Bufford T. Justice.
Seeing her look out of the corner of his eye, he knew what she was thinking. "I'm a lot of things, Rook. A moron, a risk-taker, a hot-head. But I'm still human. I may act like I'm having fun fighting the cult, but really, I'm just using what I got to protect my home and loved ones. Guns and cars and crazy-ass stunts are all I can bring to the table."
America remained silent.
. . .
. . .
Then her mouth opened, prepared to speak, "I—"
"It's the same with me, Dep. I turned my livelihood and second love into a weapon to keep my wife and kid safe. I hate it, but if I don't act like it's not a big deal, I'll feel a good part of me die inside."
America looked behind her to see Nick sitting in the back seat with Boomer. He was scrunched between the hound and a pile of guns James collected. In his hands, the Pilot was holding his family's signature MP34 SMG, with Carmina's paintjob.
The King of the Sky was currently grounded. The other day he hit several Bliss Depots and Convoys and the peggies responded with bringing out the Chosen. From what America was told, it was a hell of a dog fight, but Carmina took too much damage and needed some serious repairs. So, for now, Nick was a ground trooper. And he wanted to go on a mission with the two deputies.
"I'm sorry, Nick." America said, not really sure what she could say.
"It's the hand we've been dealt, Dep. And the only one who's gonna be sorry is Joseph Seed and his merry band of lunatics."
"Amen, Brother." James agreed. "We're here."
They got out of the car and came across a surprising sight. Dead Peggie's in front of Larry Parker's house. At least America assumed there was a house behind the ten-foot wall erected around the perimeter.
James and America cautiously approached the bodies and examined them. They both came to the same conclusion pretty fast.
"These Peggie's were shot to death." James stated.
"I think that's apparent, James." Nick said obviously.
America clarified for her senior. "But they were shot from odd angles, Nick." She retorted. The two deputies craned their necks up. "They were shot from above."
The Rye patriarch raised his head up, now seeing the puzzle. The angle was all wrong. There was nowhere high enough that the peggies could have been fired on from. So, who shot the peggies from on high and how?
"Did Larry do this?" Nick asked.
"I guess we'll ask him inside. Weapons out." James ordered.
America unholstered Judgement and Nick gripped his SMG. James already had his rifle out and Boomer was sniffing the air for threats, but all he could smell was blood, gun smoke, and metal.
Slowly they approached the small domicile. Unbeknownst to them, once they passed a certain point, a hidden sensor went off.
Boomer perked his ear and growled warningly.
America stopped when she saw Boomer. "Do you hear that?"
"Hear what?" James questioned.
"It sounds like . . . buzzing?"
The buzzing got louder and louder every passing second. At first, the group thought it was a swarm of bees or flies. Then they looked up and over the wall came something much, much worse. Drones, with pistols mounted on their undersides. Red lasers came to life and focused on them.
"Take cover!" James shouted.
The drones went off. James jumped behind a tree, America and Nick dove for cover behind some junk and Boomer scampered off into some tall grass. The drones stopped firing when they were out of sight, but they didn't leave and started scanning the area.
"Well, now we know what killed those peggies!" James said.
He peaked around the tree and fired on the drone. There were a couple of clangs and the drone fell to the ground in a smoking heap.
The other drones converged on James and fired at him. This allowed America and Nick to shoot the other drones, knocking them out of the air.
The drones split up and started going after each of them. As long as they stayed out of the drone's laser sights, they would be okay. But the drones were dexterous machines, they could bob and jerk in different directions trying to shoot them, making the job really tricky.
America popped around the other side of her cover and got one drone in the gyro. It bobbed and fired uncontrollably, shooting one of its own. Nick then got up and sprayed his SMG. The bullets destroyed two drones and dropped them. James leaped out like an action movie hero and got off three shots before hitting the ground. He managed to "kill" the last drone.
"That was nuts." America said. "Did this Larry guy build these?" She wondered.
"Told ya he was smart." James said, kicking one of the drones.
"Can we even trust him? His robots don't seem to have a problem shooting whoever they want." Nick asked skeptically.
"All the more reason why we shouldn't let the cult get their hands on him." James retorted. "C'mon, let's make sure he's alright at least."
Boomer came running out of the grass rejoining the group. The hound sniffed the drones and then took a quick leak on it, before following his master and friends.
America pushed back against the fortified gate and entered the property. It was a lot bigger than she thought it would be. There was a small house, a mobile home with a bunch of satellite dishes on it, and long cables all over the place. As they walked further in, they heard the sparking of electricity. As they got closer to the house, they saw a weird . . . structure in the middle of the property.
The structure was set up in a circular formation, made out of boards of wood and sheet metal. Hanging above it was some kind of metallic sphere. And the whole thing was shooting out electricity.
"What the fuck?" James said bewildered.
"Hey! Hey! You over there! Yes, you! Help!" A man sitting in the middle of the structure shouted.
"Larry?" James approached the weird, little man.
"No, wait!"
James got hit by the electricity and recoiled back. He would have fallen to the ground if both America and Nick didn't catch him.
"Be careful you, dummy! My machine'll fry you if you get too close. That's why I'm stuck in here. I need you to turn off those three generators there!" He pointed to said generators close by.
"How did you get yourself stuck like this, Larry?" James asked, looking all over the insane contraption.
"I-I-I-I . . . miscalculated. Even geniuses can make mistakes now and then. Now if you'd please, shut this thing down."
James, America, and Nick headed to each generator and shut them all off at the same time. The electricity dissipated and Larry ran out as fast as he could. He looked overjoyed to be free.
"You're here for me, right? Anne sent you? Anne said there'd be help soon. Your timing is NOT a coincidence." Larry spoke fast and anxious-like.
Larry was exactly how America imagined him. A middle-aged, bespectacled man, with greying dark hair, messy beard, greasy skin, covered in grey clothes with a weird kiddy-looking alien on the shirt. He was wringing his hands and his eyes looked at them shiftily.
'All he's missing is a tinfoil hat and he's complete.' She joked internally.
"We don't know any Anne, Larry." James said. "And we weren't sent by anyone called that. We're just here to check up on you. Heard the peggies were coming after you or something.
Larry waved his hand uncaringly and started going over the structure. "Bah! Never mind this cult nonsense. I-i-i-it's a pointless distraction. You guys and I have more important things to do."
"More important than saving Hope County?" America drawled.
"YES!" He stuck both his middle and index fingers out. "Two words: Imminent Threat. T-two more words: Global Catastrophe! I-I-I can't say more, they could be listening to everything we say. Listening in on key words, so they can zero in and BLOW US TO SMITHEREENS."
"Who? The cult?" Nick asked, more confused than ever.
"NO! Aren't you listening? They want you to focus on the cult. They want you distracted on the mundane problems of this world so they can STRIKE. But we won't let them! I've got a plan to stop them and all we gotta do is destroy their listening devices on the PurpleTop Telecom Tower."
"What?" James spoke everyone's thoughts.
"Ugh! I gotta explain—if we don't do that then we can't outsmart them, a-a-and if we can't outsmart them, we can't out maneuver them, and-and-and—damnit you get the idea. It's showtime!"
Suddenly, James slapped Larry across the face.
"Ow! What the—"
"Larry, get ahold of yourself! We only came here to check up on you to see if you were alright." He looked the man up and down. "I wouldn't say you're alright, but you're unharmed."
"God damnit James! There's no t-time for this w-w-wishywashy nonsense! The world is at stake!"
"Yeah. Yeah. I've heard your conspiracies before, Larry. I listened to you every time I took you in for theft and trespassing and public nudity. But I don't have time to indulge them right now. I got a county to save."
"There won't BE a county if—"
"If you're this energetic than we can leave you. OR, better idea, you come with us back to Fall's End—"
"NO! I-I-I can't go to Fall's End. All my equipment is here! A-A-Anne needs me! My machine must be c-complete!"
James sighed in annoyance. "Fine. Whatever. You made those drones, right? I guess you got proper protection." He crossed his arms.
"Yes, yes. My security system keeps out the—wait. How did you guys get past my security system?"
They showed him the destroyed drones outside the wall. Larry fell to his knees and cried out.
"My drones! They kept me safe from the idiots of the world!" He wailed.
"They were tricky sonsofbitches." Nick said. "Nearly shot my head off a couple times."
"They were really impressive." America added.
"Of course, they were!" Larry cried. "They were of my own design. Built in special dampeners to take the recoil of the guns. Primitive technology, but what can you expect from earth."
Both Nick and America looked at each other strangely. What did Larry mean by that? James was the only one unaffected by the weirdo's ramblings.
"The Resistance could use stuff like that." James suggested. "Don't suppose you could give us the blueprints for those things?"
Larry got up and gave them an angry look. Nowhere near as intimidating as he thought it was.
"After you shot up my only defense during this crucial time in humanities history?" He remained silent, opting instead to give them the finger.
James once again sighed.
"Come on, Larry." America pleaded. "We need every advantage we can get against the cult. Lives are on the line."
"What do you think I've been doing! That machine over there will save more lives than you lot ever will in this backwoods hole of a dung pile!"
"Why you little—" Nick grumbled, angry the little-man would insult his home. He took some steps to get in the nerd's face, but he was too slow.
James was the first to grab him by the collar and practically growl in his face.
"Listen here you little shit, I've been patient so far with you because you're not like everyone else, but my job is protecting the people of this county. And I'm not gonna sit back and let you insult my home while innocent people are suffering and dying in it. I'm laying down the law here; either cooperate with us or I'm gonna . . ." he raised a fist ready to strike the genius in the face.
Larry began to whimper and struggle in the blonde's grasp. But before the fist came down, America intervened.
"Wait, James!" She grabbed his arm. "Cool heads. We need to keep cool heads. Maybe we can reach a compromise." She suggested.
Larry was quick to follow up on that suggestion. "Y-yes! I know! You guys need guns, defenses, security. I have plans for all of those and more! Help me finish my machine and I promise, I'll give you my schematics for my drones as well as some other cool shit you can make out of junk."
James stared the nutjob down for a while. His features still hardened with anger. After thinking it over, he dropped the guy like a rock.
"Fine. We'll help you, Larry; as stupid as this is. And you better keep your end of the bargain."
"I w-will." He shivered.
"So, what do you want us to do again? Go to the PurpleTop Telecom Tower?"
"Yes! Go there and destroy the dishes on it. That way they can't hear our signals and conversation."
"Who are they? You haven't told us" Nick asked, tired of this guy's shiftiness.
America looked at James who didn't seem surprised or annoyed by Larry's secrecy. He knew what Larry was talking about, but kept silent.
"All will be explained in time. Here!" He tossed them a set of keys. "Take my helicopter in the back. You'll get there faster with it, less climbing, y-yaknow?"
Without waiting for a response, Larry scooped up a drone and ran back to his house to do some maintenance. The three went to the back and found the helicopter Larry was talking about. They pulled off the tarp covering it, revealing a Kaumbat H-04B Foxfly. A bubble copter, fitted with four seats and no weapons.
"Figures he didn't arm this thing." Nick grumbled.
"Let's just get this over with." James said. He tossed the keys to Nick. "You're flying, Rye."
They took off and arrived at the tower in no time. Flying was the fastest way around Hope County.
"That Larry guy's a real dick." Nick said over their comm. He was flying circles around the tower while both America and James took shots at the dishes.
"He is, but he's also really smart. We need that for the Resistance." James said.
"I'm all for that, but what the hell is he making us do? You seem to know him, James. What's he going on about? Is he just paranoid or what?" America said, pulling the trigger shattering another dish.
"We're not friends. I don't know him that well, just arrested him several times. I listened to his crackpot stories so he think of me as an ally, but if you really want to know . . . it's aliens."
"What?!" Both the rookie and pilot shouted. Even Boomer, who barely understood the humans looked inquisitively at James.
"The dude thinks aliens are invading Earth or something. Ever since he showed up in Hope County that's all he's gone on about. He took a job at a radio station so he could buy that cheap-ass property and use the nearby scrapyard. He quit, but not before wrecking the station, saying: 'This way they don't listen in.'" James blasted another dish
"Jesus. We're dealing with a tinfoil hat loon. Wasn't Kupka enough?" America muttered, looking up at the sky asking God why he was making her deal with these people. She took out the final dish at the very top.
"Loon is too kind, but no one can deny his intelligence. We play along for now, whatever gets us those drone schematics." The deputies returned to their seats when they finished off the dishes. "Alright, Nick, take us back."
Nick pulled the copter around and headed back to Larry's place. James got on his radio and informed Larry about the success of the mission.
"Great! If you guys, me, and Anne don't work together, you can forget Fall's End, heck you can forget the entire planet! H-how's that for raising the stakes!"
"We're good on where the stakes are, Larry. Cult's enough, don't need to go adding E.T. to the list of problems." James said.
"There's a scientific term for what we're up against, James: ALIENS! A-a-and not the fun kind that will slip a probe in your backdoor. No, the ones we're up against a-a-are selfish lovers and real dickheads."
"Sounds like they'd fit well on this planet." America joked, garnering laughs from both her senior and Nick.
"You joke, but we'll see if you'll be laughing when their burrowing under our cities and raining death lasers down from the sky. You'll see-hold on—what—who—oh my god, James! James get back here, it's Eden's Gate, they're in my compound."
"How many?" James asked urgently.
"I don't know. I've shut myself in my house, get here quick! Before they destroy my machine!"
"Nick, need'ya to speed it up."
"On it, amigo!"
Nick pushed the helicopter to its very limits and they got back to Larry's place in record time. Just as Larry said, peggies were all over the place. A count of eight. Four were securing the perimeter, two were checking out Larry's machine and the last two were trying to bust down the door to Larry's home.
James got his modified rifle ready and America pulled off her machinegun. With the high ground to their advantage, the peggies were quickly eradicated. James scoped and dropped any peggie in his crosshairs and America just rained hot metal down on them. The peggies fought back, but they just weren't enough
Nick landed the copter when the coast was clear. Larry came running out. Overjoyed to be safe he skipped over a dead body.
"Nice work sidekicks! Now that my compound is secure, we can move on to mission Numero Dos!"
He motioned for them to follow him inside. The interior was dark. Barely a light to illuminate the place. America had to plug her nose for a moment because it smelled of sweat, grease, metal, and week-old pizzas. And the look complimented the smell. Trash was all over the place, papers hung messily on the wall and floor. There were piles of food in the kitchen, as well as unwashed plates. In the entry-room were filing cabinets, a worn couch, a bunch of radios, telephones and monitors, and four TVs with flickering images that were of some field.
Larry stopped and fiddled with the monitors. "This is where it gets interesting. THIS is where I'll put any skepticism to sleep. If we're gonna get to phase three together, then you all need to see the truth with your own eyes. You need to see, that THEY . . . are already here."
"You mean, the 'aliens?'" Nick said condescendingly.
"D-damnit James! You told them?! How many time do I have to tell you about spreading it around? You want them to find me?" He looked back to Nick and America. "I-I-I'm not crazy! I'm about to point you guys to evidence that aliens are invading our planet." He turned back to his monitors and gave them the rest of the brief. "Head west to the Bradbury Farm and collect some alien samples. They'll be in the field, can't miss them. They glow at night and the humming drives the animals crazy. Only a matter of time before it drives us crazy too! Careful though, cult's been snooping around there too."
"Drives animals crazy? Will Boomer be alright?" America asked looking down at her dog in slight concern.
"Oh, y-y-yeah, the dog'll be fine. They're one of the more intelligent species on earth, along with dolphins, pigeons, crows, and rats. He might get a l-little irritated by the noise, but should be safe."
Boomer just gave all the humans a questioning gaze, especially the one that smelled of oil and pizza.
James sighed. "Come on, let's just get this over with. We're taking your copter, Larry. It'll get us to the farm faster."
"Yes! Faster is good! Anne likes things running smoothly as well as quickly."
When they were off of Larry's property and in the air, Nick voiced his concerns.
"James, I'm all for helping out the little guy, but that Larry's a right twerp. Why are we doing what he asks instead of just taking him back to Fall's End?"
America was petting Boomer when she spoke up too. "I'm kind of in agreement with Nick. I know I steered us into a more diplomatic route, but that Larry-guy's attitude is crap. He talks to us like we're inferior."
"Trust me, I'd love to just drag that guy to Fall's End if I could, but it's best we play to his ego so he works with us. When his doohickey fails, we bring him back, and we get all his tech savvy knowhow. Drones to protect our supplies and guard our borders; maybe even some stealth assassination. Technology is the future my friend and we're going to use it to our advantage."
It didn't take long to arrive at the farm and the group was shocked to see the field. Specifically, what was imprinted on it.
"What the fuck." Nick mumbled.
"You said it, Nick." James said, equally bewildered.
Outside they could see what was clearly crop circles in the wheat field. Five circles, one large circle that split into four, one below it, and three on top of it.
"This was not here the last time I checked." James said.
"Did Larry make this?" America wondered.
"He had to!" Nick shouted, almost desperately. "Everyone knows crop circles are a hoax. Who else is stupid enough to make these in the middle of a fuckin' war?"
James once again sighed. "Let's just get these . . . 'alien samples.'"
30 Minutes Later
The three plopped back into the helicopter, tired, irritated and beyond frustrated and kind of disturbed.
When they landed, they were immediately attacked by the cultists. There were only a few, so the deputies made quick work of them. The peggies were apparently examining a bunch of dead cows in the center of the farthest circle. Physically the cows looked fine, but a note left by the cult said they died from a brain hemorrhage, but there was no sign of what caused it.
They found their first alien sample near the rectum of one of the dead cows. The object was forced both in and out of the poor animal. America . . . collected it and it was unlike anything she'd ever seen. It looked like a blue golf ball, but a few inches bigger. It glowed brightly just like Larry said and the light emanated from a core she couldn't see through a bunch of holes scattered around it. It also released some kind of annoying sound that resonated through their heads.
"I thought Larry said these aliens didn't probe." America said at the time trying to lighten the mood.
The men stayed silent, either because they had nothing to say or didn't want to say anything.
The next sample was located in the upper mid-circle. It was surrounded by a flock of crazed turkeys. They just ran around the ball and attacked when any of them tried to get near it. Boomer did his best to fend them off, but the plump birds were relentless. After receiving several scratches, the group decided they had to be put down. Despite Larry's reassurances, America was worried the balls would affect Boomer, but the dog showed no signs of aggression or confusion. He tore into the turkeys as he would have a cultist and afterwards, he was his usual good boy self.
The third sample was apparently hidden behind some crates, but was snatched by a golden retriever at the last second. The dog bounded off and America and Boomer gave chase. Again, just like Boomer, it showed no signs of aggression, it just wanted to play. After a few minutes of running around they managed to get the ball back and the retriever ran off somewhere back to the farm.
The last sample was much trickier. At first, they thought the sample was hidden somewhere, perhaps buried by the golden retriever. Then they were divebombed by bald eagles. Taking cover, they looked up and realized on top of an old silo was an eagle's nest. They had no choice but to climb the damn thing, nearly falling to their death several times. When the got to the top, sure enough, the ball was mixed in with the bird's eggs. They carefully removed the ball without disturbing the nest, but the eagles didn't leave them be. They chased them all the way back to the copter and the group could do nothing, not even fight back, because it was their country's most sacred animal.
As Nick got the helicopter started, America looked over to her senior, breathing heavily. "That was fucking ridiculous."
"Couldn't agree more Rook." James agreed.
America rifled through the bag and looked at the balls on closer inspection. "What the hell are these things? I've never seen anything like them? They certainly don't look man-made."
"They have to be. Larry must have made them and hid them on the farm or something." James said.
"You saw those animals. They were acting super weird." She said, examining the deep scratch marks on her arms and clothes. The bald eagles slammed against the helicopter, scratching the glass, but not doing much else. They were as relentless as the turkeys.
"Those things are giving off a weird frequency. I've heard stories of the government messing with signals that can cause people and animals to go crazy. It's not new technology. Larry's smart, I have no doubt he made them." James suggested, but it sounded like he was trying to convince himself.
"So, he made those crop circles, left behind animal trinkets, and built his machine all in the span of a couple days?" America retorted skeptically.
"Why not?" James didn't budge.
America didn't really have a rebuttal for that. All she could do was put the balls away out of sight and wait for Nick to get them back. Nick didn't add anything to the conversation and just kept focus on the skies.
When they returned, Larry practically snatched the satchel out of America's hands and ran right back into his house. All the while explaining the next part of his plan, so the group had to run after him.
"Ah, look at these. These are perfect! Well done my sidekicks!" Larry yelled excitedly.
"Sidekicks?" Nick grumbled.
"With these I can finish the Dynamic Laser Capacitor."
"What's that?" America asked.
"It's a little hard for such tiny minds to understand. Let's just say it'll help me reach those hard to reach places." Larry replied backhandedly. America gave him a wicked glower.
James stepped forward. "Alright, Larry, we shot some dishes and got back your weird ball-thingies. Are we done yet?"
"Not yet, I first got to finish the Dynamic Laser Capacitor. And while I complete that you guys'll have one last mission to undertake. And when that's done, the real fun can begin. D-don't get me wrong t-t-this has been great. I'm just ready to move on to a new adventure. Something similar, but with just enough novelty to justify the cost. You know what I mean. You get it."
"What the fuck are you yammering about?" Nick said, now losing his patience with the yahoo.
"Can't tell ya, better to show ya; too many ears everywhere. As for the last thing I need: POWER. I need more than the local grid is supplying. A-a-and I know what you're thinking, but summoning lightning is out of the question! I'm not doing that again."
"Nobody was thinking that." Nick spat; arms crossed.
Larry ignored him. "Now, the transformer station is to the north. S-s-should have enough wattage. We just need to reroute all the electricity straight here. That should give me enough juice for one go."
"One go for what?" James asked annoyed. "Look, Larry, we've been jumping through some weird hoops for you all day, when we could be fighting the peggies. What exactly are you trying to accomplish here?"
"I told you, we're trying to save the world from IMPENDING DOOM!" James tried to ask more questions, but Larry started shoving them all out of his house. "Now get going! We only have one chance now and you can't blow it or all is lost! While I work on the probes, you lot get me my power. Good luck!" And he shut the door on them.
They all just looked at the door for a minute. Then America said, "You know, I'm starting to not like him now."
"Really? I started that the moment I met the guy." Nick said.
"Let's just get this over with. If he asks more of us, then that's when we'll draw the line. For now, we get him his power."
Once again, they took the quick way and flew in Larry's copter. Surprisingly there was not much resistance at the power plant, just a few peggies that were easily dispatched. It was after they started rerouting the power the peggies started coming in force. Alarms went off and peggies came rushing in for battle. While America and James fended off the cult, Nick got to work finishing the rerouting. By the time Nick was done, all the peggies were killed. After reporting to Fall's End about the capture of the power plant, the group returned to Larry's home, where he was setting up the final touches of his machine.
Larry was in the middle of fiddling with a generator when he turned to the group. "You got the power! Everything's set now, are you ready? I was . . . until I had to repair the generators. Because of you Anne and I are gonna save the galaxy!"
"So where is this Anne?" America asked, looking around.
"Oh, she's not here. As in here "here." She's been monitoring us while we've been getting to work. She's wonderful that way. I'll be going to where she is."
"Riiiiight."
"And where is that?" James asked.
Larry pointed up, posing like some kind of scifi-anime action hero. "To the stars, my friends. To the stars."
They just gave him a blank look.
'He's not cool enough to pull that off.' America thought.
"Wait, so this fuckin' thing's a . . . teleporter?" Nick asked incredulously.
"Yes! Yes it is!" Larry proclaimed proudly.
"To outer space? Like in the Avengers?"
"NO! Not like the Avengers, those posers. This is real life science! Much, much cooler!"
. . .
. . .
. . .
"N-now I know what you're thinking . . ."
"I highly doubt that." Nick said quickly and quietly.
"I too wish you could come along, but it's too dangerous. Anne asked for me and me alone and this mission cannot be jeopardized. That and I built this machine to send only one person through. We all go in, we'll come out like a Cronenberg."
Larry walked into the middle of his structure, standing about where they first found him, minus the dangerous currents of electricity.
"But, don't feel left out! Be proud of what you guys helped achieved. You served your purpose! Nothing left for you to do but bear witness to your stellar contributions!" He stood straight and proud, with his hands on his hips as the wind blew his coat like a cape.
. . .
. . .
A moment passed and the wind died down. The group just stared at Larry, who meekly deflated and said, "A-actually you . . . have to click that button for me. On the generator. But that's the very, VERY, last thing . . ."
"Before we do that, Larry," James started, "What about our schematics? The blueprints for your drones, so we can fight off the peggies? Remember our deal?"
"O-oh! Heh, heh, yes, I didn't forget. I just thought you all realized the insignificance of your fight compared to the bigger scope of the universe's problems."
"Yeah, no, we're still fightin' the cult." Nick stated.
Larry quickly fished a key out of his pocket and tossed it James. "It's in my safe, can't miss it. It's got my plans and then-some in there. You can even have my magnopulser in there."
"Magnopulser?" America questioned.
"Now will you please press the button? Anne's a waiting!"
James looked over at America and gave her a confirming nod. The Deputy walked over to the generator by the front door—and pressed the button.
The generators came to life and electricity coursed through the whole structure. Sparks shot out and converged on the orb.
"Yes. Yes! It's working! ITS WORKING!"
At first the three were unimpressed or unfazed. Then something weird happened that concerned them.
The orb started flashing a bright green. The light got brighter and brighter and pulsed. Suddenly, a blinding green beam extended upwards toward the sky, shooting out like a spotlight, but with more power. It was such a spectacle that everyone in the Holland Valley could see it.
The surprises kept coming as Larry was lifted off his feet by an invisible force. Larry just kept smiling like an idiot, elated with what was happening. The guy would have been lifted head first into the orb, then his body disappeared piece by piece.
The orb exploded and the light disappeared. As well as Larry.
For several minutes, the three just stood there. Dumbfounded. They didn't move, didn't blink, didn't say a word, as their minds raced to process what they just saw. They were shaken out of their stupor when their radio crackled and Jerome's voice came over.
"Deputy? Jones! Did you see that light?!" The pastor shouted.
Mary's voice then came on. "The whole valley could see it. It parted the freakin' clouds for Christ's sake. That looked like it came from Larry Parker's house—what happened?!"
America composed herself first and did her best to answer. She paused, realizing: what could she say? "We'll ... get back to you."
The three stepped forward cautiously approaching the machine. Boomer sniffed the ground looking for Larry, but there was no trace of him, so the hound just sat down and whined in defeat.
Whatever happened wrecked the machine. Parts had fallen off or melted into slag. The large silver orb that was at the very center was gone. Exploded into pieces that laid everywhere.
America was the first one brave enough to walk in. There was no sign of Larry. Then she looked down and found the only thing that remained of him: his shoes. Devoid of Larry and smoking like a grill.
She picked them up and showed them off to the others.
"HOLY SHIT! Did we disintegrate him?!" Nick panicked.
"I . . . don't think so." America said, somewhat unsurely. "Otherwise there wouldn't be anything left. No shoes and there would be a . . . dust pile."
"Oh god." Nick breathed and leaned on his knees. He had no idea what to think. They either killed the guy or they . . . actually sent him somewhere else. Neither thought relieved him of anxiety.
They took a long, long moment to process what had happened before they went inside to collect what Larry promised. They expected Larry to still be around to just give it to them . . . but that was never going to happen.
Surprisingly, Larry did indeed keep his promise. In the safe, under the table, were schematics for building attack drones, as well as other ideas such as RCs that can deliver explosives. On the table was one last item. A weird looking gun.
It was big and bulky and unlike anything they ever saw. It had parts inside that were constantly moving and gyrating. It was hard to describe but the majority of the gun was circular and had three grips attached to it. One that was like a regular handgun grip and two on each side.
"What the hell is this thing?" James wondered aloud.
The senior deputy picked it up and examined it, flipping it over and even staring down the gaping hole of a muzzle.
"Uh, Heller, I don't know if you should be messing with that." America said hesitantly.
James ignored her and pointed it at the ceiling of the house. He barely squeezed the trigger when some force was ejected from the gun and blasted a pothole in the roof. Nick, America, and Boomer covered themselves from the debris and were shocked by the devastation left behind by the strange weapon. James was knocked back to the ground, just as shocked by the power of the gun.
"What the hell was that?!" Nick shouted.
"That must the magnopulser that Larry talked about." America suggested. "That's my only guess."
"This thing's got some devastating kick to it. Imagine what it would do to a peggie."
They let that thought settle in their brains for a second. Their imaginations kicked in.
"I think we should store that thing for the time being." America suggested.
"Agreed." James responded.
"Yep." Nick agreed quickly.
"BARK!"
The next minute, they threw the weapon into the trunk of the Cult Buster and slammed it shut. They all got into the muscle car and sped away from the crazy guy's home. The last sight of it was when James looked in his rearview mirror.
Silence was filling the car. No one talked, either because they didn't want to or didn't know what they wanted to say.
They were half way to Fall's End when Nick spoke up. "What are we gonna say about all of . . . that?"
James and America looked at each other then back to the road.
"We tell them that Larry offed himself with one of his crazy experiments and we never bring up what actually happened. In fact, we forget just what the fuck happened with Larry Parker."
"I'm good with that."
They told everyone in Fall's End that very story. Jerome and Mary were the only ones to show skepticisms, but they never pushed it. If both Deputies and even Nick Rye didn't want to share what actually happen, then it must be for a good reason. Everyone else just didn't care; Larry Parker had no real friend in Hope County. They got the most tech savvy of the Resistance members and got them to work on building drones.
The rest of the day was spent with America, James, Boomer, and Nick looking up at the sky, alcohol in hand, with more questions on their mind and just a hint of fear.
If Larry Parker was right about . . . aliens . . .
Just what else was out there in the unknown?
This chapter is probably not going to be to everyone's liking. For one reason it really diverts from the story. I realized that as soon as I started Larry's missions. To be fair, Larry's sidequests, even in the game, felt like a story that was just mixed up in the Deputy's story. Unlike a lot of the sidequests, helping out Larry doesn't really aid you in fighting against the peggies, except maybe for that power plant fight.
That's why I added the attack drones, so that there was at least a legit reason why the Deputy would stop what they were doing to aid a weirdo like Larry. In game he doesn't really promise you anything, not even the magnopulser, so here I added an incentive to get the deputies to stay. It also gives a reason on why the cult wasn't bothering him in in-game. I mean, out of everyone in Hope County, he should have been the first to be taken or raided.
Some of you might not like how I made Larry act, but I felt it was what he would be like if the Deputy talked to him. Larry doesn't seem too concerned with the cult or the people they are hurting. He more self-interested than anything. And constantly he belittles the Deputy by calling them dumb or simple-minded. To me, he's like Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory, but actually has a libido to go along with his genius and ego. Let's face it guys, he's only in it for the hot computer babe Anne.
Also, the reason why I had James take charge of this mission? Because I wanted to show that America still kinda somewhat follows protocol. She's following her senior. It won't always be like this, America will show that she can lead, and James will let her lead, but for this mission, I thought I'd show off my male deputy in this chapter. And Nick was tagging along because I never really got to fight with him on the ground. Thought it'd be fun.