The afternoon sun radiated down on the travelers, the brittle grass becoming ever more rectangular. Perspiration worked to combat the heat creating an uncomfortable stickiness. Dried plains stretched as far as the eye could see, broken powerlines and tattered farms littered the landscape. There was silence besides the occasional rustle of the wind. Just another regular day in May after the fall of civilization.
"Are you sure you know what you are doing Quandale, you've been marching us in loops for an hour." "Beats you being the guide, Napoleon, you had several hours to find "The Chosen." Just trust me, I just have that type of instinct for these kinds of people." "Those several hours were getting us closer! I have been doing thrice the navigation work you have been, why else would I be given the title master of the continent?" "So much that title has done for you right now. It'd be far easier if you just did what you were doing an hour ago and let me have the reigns." The silence confirmed Quandale's words. "Yup, thought so."
Yellow streaked the sky by the time Quandale Dingle found something. "See, what'd I tell you, I knew what I was doing." Quandale nudged to the group a massive steel heap. Discarded cars, rusted metal plates, decaying steel beams, and a ring of flowing blood surrounding the pile showcased an entrance. "Ah finally, a place to crash in." Giannis exhaled. "Hope they got some good grub, because I'm starving!" Juandale exclaimed. "C'mon, let's go." The group then walked to the entrance.
"Halt." A voice echoed from the area. "Don't move. We have snipers all across the perimeter. Any movement and we won't hesitate to fire." A bullet barely grazed Quandale's pointer when he tried to snap. "Warning shot. If you don't want to help paint the grass red, stay where you all are at, an armed group will take you in." "I knew we should't have trusted you. Led us to be hostages!" Napoleon remarked. "We don't know that yet. They might just be doing this for security. After all, they are trying to restart order in this world." Giannis countered. "Or so you believe, bah, we'll get our answers very soon."
From an arch of welded tungsten, an armed caravan doubling their group emerged, guns raised. "You all will be entered one by one. First... HEY YOU, man in front, come here, hands up!" "Welp, that's me, good luck to you guys." Quandale raised his hands and slowly walked to the group, where he was donned handcuffs. He was then escorted into the goliath of a structure.
When he came too he was in a wooden chair strapped to the floor. The rusted interior and the cracked lights weren't the best welcome party. Through bulletproof glass, a masked figure spoke. "Alright, before you enter, we must do some tests, make sure you can be trusted." A prick from the back revealed a syringe filled with Quandale's blood. "Don't worry, we cleaned the needle." Saliva was collected from a cotton swab held by a machined arm. "One more test before we analyze the results." Quandale was then flashed by various images that made no sense. After a few minutes it seemed to have no adverse effects. The door swung open. "We've come to a decision. You have been cleared to join us, The Chosen. Follow us."
After a long winding path through the halls and rooms, the two reached an elevator. Once they reached the bottom, Quandale could hear the voices of his homies. "Man, I thought that was going to be something worse." Henry commented. "Not the type of gal to say I told you but I told you so." Giannis smirked. "My chains were quite loose, was about to pop these fools if this testing went on any longer." Jamarius followed. "Just glad that we are together again." Juandale reminded. "Yup, the dream team, Quandale Dingle, Henry Bartholomew Dinglenut, Jamarius Quangledangle, Giannis Bingus, me, Juandale Pringle... Wait a minute, where are the other three?" Quandale interjected. "Nah man, we don't need to worry about them, after an entire year we are all together once again." "Hold on, Juandale's right." Giannis continued. "Where is Napoleon, Mirus, and Priscilla? I mean I haven't gotten to know them better yet-" "And it's best that way. Two of them tried to kill me a month ago." A figure with a crocodile mask walked up to Juandale. "About that Juandale, they were detected to be artificial lifeforms, and like the others like them, they have been moved elsewhere inside the complex. However, that is not of your concern." The crocodile masked figure then took a breath.
"Humanity has dominated the world for the last 50,000 years. We fought though temperatures that froze the earth. We've made all of mother nature bow down to us. From massive monuments to military might we have persevered, adapted, and bested this world. We can push past this era of crisis with pure blood, sweat, and tears alone, like our ancestors have done before. We have no need for these imperfects, they will only get into our way of the pure indomitable human spirit. Let this be known, from our first predators to this new god they will be no match for us, and our resistance starts today with you five."
"Cool speech, tell me how this place works." "Ugh, fine, you always have your mask on, that's the most important thing. Besides that, don't cause any trouble and you should enjoy your stay. Every day you get meal tickets, three times in total. Whatever else you do during the day we don't care for. However, you all must attend the weekly meeting, besides that, this place is yours to explore." With that, the guy left the group to their own bidding.
"Well, there is a lot to see, I don't know bout you all but I'm starving, let's go find what they got." "Sure Juandale, this will be like the good old days, when we got some good grub after assassinating a major corporation head." Quandale reminisced. The city interior chambered with commotion, junk refined to form buildings. Red neon lights filled the area with the sunlight fading from the seeps in the dome. Many services were advertised from nightclubs to food clubs to clubs that... Where was I? Oh right. Masked figures roamed the decaying streets, giving cold glances to one another.
After winding turns they found an area like a food court. Vendors called out, restaurant owners inviting as the very heavy aroma of so many mixed foods permeated across the place. They were welcomed by a vendor. "Feeling hungry, but not satisfied by the mundane slop served by others? Not to worry, my stand has some of the most powerful Thai recipes. Don't believe me? Believe my family recipe of Pad Thai, it's to die for!" "Now why would you burn your taste buds up for liquid excrement? Nothing can beat the American classic-" "AMERICAN FOOD IS JUST GREASE RIDDLED GARBAGE!" "YOU CAN'T BE TALKING, YOU COMPENSATE YOUR PLAIN WHEAT STRANDS WITH TEN GALLONS OF SPICE!" "WHY YOU LITTLE-" The vendor stood up to fight the griller, but slipped on grease, splashing some soup on the griller before falling to the floor. The soup stung like acid, burning a hole though kitchen clothes.
"So much for a melting pot. Now, where we gonna eat, I'm feeling Italian today." Quandale said, paying no regard to the ever expanding food fight. "Italian huh? Well, my homies and I have the most perfect spot in mind we found along the way. Come on." Jamarius and the others then walked out of the mess hall, heading west to another section of the food court.
The sound of metal hitting metal filled the air, a rhythmic pounding, as a figure, draped in a dark cloak, hammered on an anvil. The hammer hit a steel plate, sparks flying and the clanging of metal filling the room. Embers from the oven, stroked by the pounding, floated to candles, revealing a white chef's hat and a moustache that'd make Dr. Robotnik jealous. "Welcome to Enzo's Eats. Pizza? Pasta? Lasagna? I've got it, now what can I get you five?" "Oh nothing too complex, five servings of spaghetti and meatballs." "Alright, stand still real quick and got it. So, must be new round here." The Italian chef muttered, putting away a device. "Take a seat and your food will be delivered shortly." The five took a seat, monitoring the oxidized walls and the golden candles. Juandale laid back on his chair, legs crossed, getting comfy. "You know, last year, sometime at August, I think the 12th, that was the last time we actually took out a target as a group, before Giannis had to do that sting operation, before we drifted apart, before Quandale died for a few days, and before our world came to an end." "Man Juandale, I remember that day, we had to take out some rich guy who wanted to delegalize nuclear weapons for home defense, what a nut job." "Yeah Quandale, how we went into that mansion with all of those guards." "Ah, I remember blasting the front door off, spraying down the defenders left to right, and how when we found the guy he got in a sick robo suit, and how I blew him up while saying something along the lines of, "Man don't you wish you had a nuclear bomb to defend yourself? Like this was your idea."" "Then I picked off a turret that was about to nail you in the head." Henry interjected. "Nah, I left that for you." "Nuh uh, it was beeping and you were looking braindead." "Alright, and how many guards did you get? Look, bottom line is that mission was fun as heck, and if we want to reunite, we gotta embrace that." *Ding* "Alright, your orders of spagets." Enzo stated, passing out the five plates of spaghetti before going back to the counter. Despite the scenery, the steam and aroma of the food was delectable, well at least for apocalypse standards. "Alright, nah, that was decent." Quandale remarked. "Now, all this walking has got me tired, let's find somewhere to crash out." After leaving the building, the group continued strolling the terraces. By now, it was completely dark out, the dome illuminated by street lights. The place was far less crowded, and the group felt like the only ones around. That is until a figure wearing a hawk's mask stepped in their path.
"Give me all of your belongings, or else." The man in the mask stated, holding a knife. "Or else what? Nah, mate, Imma just do this." Quandale Dingle pulled a quick one and the man's mask off. When his mask got removed, *SPLAT* suddenly the man's head exploded and the tracer line followed to the top of the dome. "Typical, I put in all the work and someone random casual steals my kill. I'm actually going to crash out." Quandale lamented. With that, they made a left turn and found a string of homes, most being empty, with a few lights lit. Quandale opened the doors to one of the homes and crashed down on the sofa. "Alright, now this is what I'm talking about." "Ok, let me do something real quick." Henry stepped out to the front door and took a black marker and in bold letters wrote "OCCUPIED, TRESPASSERS WILL BE SHOT" "That'll bloody do." The house was quite modest, a living room, a restroom, and various empty rooms. The laminate floors and plaster walls were nostalgic, reminders of their homes back in Selister. Sleeping bags and inflatable mattresses made adequate beds as the house turned silent besides the occasional snore.
"AH, INTRUDER STAY BACK!" Quandale screamed, frantically swinging his knife. "Relax, just had to wake you up quickly, after all a meeting is starting in one minute. They even called your name specifically." Henry reassured. "Yeah, but you didn't have to drench me for that." "Oh well, still woke up, that's what matters." "I'll get you back for this." With that, the group quickly began sprinting to the area surrounded by orange lights. *BANG* "Took you long enough Quandale," A man with an alligator mask said. "Anyways, now that he has arrived, we'll start with weekly debriefings before we go into the main topic of today. First, entry rates, 30 people entered, a 23% increase from last week, one of which being the first female to enter, despite the population of 952, congrats. Anyways, mortality rates, 4 people have died, the Thai food vendor, the American griller, citizen Hawk mask, and rather recently, Old Bones, a magician loved by many. May we have a moment of silence, alright, now to the main topic of today, Quandale Dingle, step up to the center." With a face that could conquer the lands, Quandale Dingle strides to the center of the meeting room. "For a reassurance, you aren't being punished for being involved in the killings of three citizens, if they can't survive, that's their issue, besides, we never punish for your type of murder. Anyways, Quandale Dingle, after looking into your test results we have come to a discovery. For background knowledge, attacks at our town have increased. Though we managed to repel the standard angel incursions, there seem to be different types of creatures that have begun to encroach on the walls, and sniper rounds can only protect us for so long. One final word of background, there is a prophecy that I had during a dream one night. "When the lands are rended by a deity, when the last hope of humanity lay in a city, one man will enter. Through power and might they will take back the night and humanity will rule the earth once again at its center." Then again, I had overdosed on whiskey and powder that night, but I'm sure it was true. When I analyzed Quandale's test results, it clicked. He must be the hero who will save us from this supernatural force. For that, I organized a party of the city's best to lead an assault at Hope Mountain, where we presume this evil entity lays. Your job is to lead the charge and drive back the forces of false light. If successful, you will be able to join our elite. You will be given a small squad and will depart in 30 minutes, dismissed."
"LET'S GO! An entire city recognizes my greatness! This is how The Story of Quandale Dingle begins." With that, Quandale Dingle giddied to the barracks. "Alright, if I'm leading this assault, for sure, I'm brining in my homies for the fun, honestly, I don't care about who else comes, eh, this stereotypical party can be the sideshow. Oh, maybe this..."
"Legends have told of a man who was responsible for the slaying of so many corporate overlords, that's me!" Alright, here's how the expedition will work. My group, from which we have already discussed will be awesome. Shooting down these sky angles, WHAP! BOOM! We'll do the main charge, taking out the evil and I'll be able to bask in glory. Oh, the other group just stand around. Any questions good. Let's go." Quandale herded the sideshow group, containing four people who aren't relevant to his plans to the left and his homies to the right. As the shutter gates creaked open, Quandale Dingle whooped in joy, firing rounds into the air, then slipping on a banana peel.