Otherlife Nightmares: The Selfless Hero Trilogy (23 page)

“Hanners will be here momentarily. After that, we should actually be able to settle in for the night and get some rest for tomorrow. Big day and all. I’m betting some of our fair noble ladies get stage fright. Hopefully no casualties. Never know though.”

“I’ll stay atop them, my lord. I’ll repay your trust and attention tenfold.”

Runner idly waved a hand at her.

“Stop that. I’m not a lord. We’ve had this discussion. I’m tempted to order you not to do it, but I think Lady Brunhild and Lady Ernsta would only laugh at me if I tried to enforce it.”

“Probably. You’re a bit of an asshole at the best of times. A real shit at the worst of times. I imagine they wait eagerly for chances to drop you a peg. I know I do,” said Hannah, stepping into the tent.

“Love you, too, sweetheart. You’re always good at giving me the warm and fuzzies. Here, presents for you. I didn’t name them, I figured maybe you’d like to yourself,” Runner explained, pointing at the two short swords.

Hannah smirked and came over to the table, her hands quickly closing around the two red hilts. Her eyes rested on the space in front of her, which could only be the item box for each.

“Impressive. I almost feel guilty for earlier. Almost.”

“Make it up to me later. Or better yet, I’m sure Thana and Katarina are getting sick of playing nursemaid. I feel like I’m imposing on them at times. Feel free to offer to take a turn in the evening,” Runner admitted.

Hannah and Isabelle both turned a deep red at his comment. Neither would meet his eyes, one focusing on her new weapons, the other her boots.

They both knew about it, though he doubted either had ever actually talked about it.

“What? The nightmares are getting worse. It takes a bit for me to figure out where I am by myself,” he explained.

Sighing, he rested his hands behind his head, trying to relax.

Runner.

“Yes, Srit, my one true love? The only one who seems to care about my feelings. I admit you never have good news for me, but you do care,” Runner said. He felt a hitch developing in his chest. Srit really never did have good news.

I am sorry. Jacob has told the crew about Ted, Michael, Jeff, Vick, James, Ben, and Devon.

Runner let his head hang, his chin resting on his chest and his arms falling slack to his sides. The hitch in his chest turned into an icy numbness.

Of course he has.

Chapter 9 - Two Steps Back -

4:51 pm Sovereign Earth time

11/13/43

“How did he even find out?”

I believe he tapped into a data stream and was using it to view the server log. The log out messages would make it obvious something was happening. This is merely supposition as I do not have proof. It is what I would do, though.

Groaning, Runner pulled up the system screen and locked out every system that tied into the game itself.

He could not fix what Jacob already knew, but he could prevent him from getting more. Thankfully, with his IT credentials there was little Jacob could do to get around the lockout.

No longer caring, he opened the command line for the system console.

Fuck him, eject his ass onto an operating slab. Sell him to Srit for a handy from an alien engineer. I’ll have Srit give them an example from her vast library of porn.

/Status Chesed, Jacob

User: CheJac001 logged in

/Where * POD UserName(
CheJac001
)

Pod: 23,178

/Status POD 23,178

█L █O █A █D █ I █N█G█

ALERT: POD 23,178 is unresponsive.

It is not part of the network.

Runner frowned, staring at the alert. Jacob could access the network, yet his pod was not part of the network?

Flying through commands and prompts, Runner worked to track down the how and the when.

Ten minutes later he honestly was not any closer to finding an answer to either, though he did find the how in Jacob’s personnel file. A truly interesting read it was, too. Jacob had been incarcerated for computer fraud and abuse. Multiple times. Which meant he was a hacker.

The last one, which ended up as a terrorist charge, bought him a one-way ticket to a planet he would surely die on.

Every system now had quadruple authorizations needed. Password, token, command key, and Runner’s permission.

Runner was fairly confident in his abilities as far as locking people out went. He felt certain he had curtailed anything Jacob hoped to accomplish.

Tighter than the military’s purse strings.

Pressing his hand to his eyes, he closed the windows and tried to catch up to the current situation again.

Jacob was a problem. Even without confronting Runner directly he was proving himself to be a dangerous adversary.

His mind wandered dangerously close to the dark corner his morality hid in lately. He was doing his best to kick the little voice further down. The one that wanted to remind him he had been willing to murder Jacob a moment ago.

“Srit, how bad is it?”

They are assembling in the Human capital city. They have created a guild and have over three hundred thousand members.

“I see.”

Their goal is to kill you and regain control of the ship. If you are dead, you cannot fight their system requests.

“Is that all?” Runner asked, despairing that there was indeed more.

Jacob attempted to Awaken Lambart. It was not entirely successful. Lambart has started to move his clergy into action. As well as selecting Jacob as his champion. I am unsure how he even managed to do as much as he did.

Laughing, Runner sat down heavily on his ass.

“Runner?!”

“My lord!”

There is no way to describe how bad this is. What do I do now? What do I do…?

Hannah knelt in front of him, her hands pressed to his cheeks. He felt his eyes lock onto hers, his mind slowing down in its frantic and desperate death spiral.

“Runner, talk to me. Something happened, right? Srit gave you some news and you went all finger wiggly for a while and now this.”

“Jacob told everyone about those I’ve killed. The crew is massing to kill me to take control of the ship. Over three hundred thousand so far,” Runner said brokenly. “I tried to eject him for it. He somehow managed to put himself in a state where I can’t access him. I should have listened to you.”

“You know I’m the first one to say I told you so when I can. In this case, Runner, I’m glad you didn’t listen. You’re a good man and you’re making hard choices right now.”

“Does it matter, Hanners? It doesn’t.” Runner started to feel like his mind was sliding away again.

“Hey, asshole, don’t fade out on me like that. Look, I wouldn’t…I wouldn’t care about you if you were different than who you are. Okay? You remind me on a daily basis that I can be better than what I was. You’ll make hard choices, ugly choices. I know you’ll temper them with logic and reason though. Not pointless violence. Like me.”

Hannah had drifted in closer to him, her fingers brushing lightly at his temples and jaw. She held him in place tightly at the same time without meaning to. Clearly whatever she saw in his momentary lapse of control scared her. Hannah was never this open, honest, or direct.

A soft chuckle escaped him. Hannah’s darkness had seemed so much a part of her. Now he saw she was struggling with it. To overcome it. To beat her own demons and her past. She viewed him as the stop gap between herself and Nadine, probably. A place she could reach that was more than a slim possibility. Something she could achieve regardless of her previous life choices.

And here he was nearly ready to give up.

Reaching up, he pressed his thumb and forefinger to her chin. Tilting her head ever so slightly, he leaned in to press a kiss to her lips. After a few seconds he pulled back from her, patting her cheek with his fingertips.

“Love you too, Hanners. You, Kitten, Lady Death, and Rabbit. More’s the problem. Here, help me up, yeah? Plans to be made, spines to regrow, sanity to beat into submission.”

Hannah froze in response. Her eyes had the look of a frightened animal. She looked scared and eager at the same time, if that were possible.

Not letting her escape, he grabbed both of her hands in his own. Holding tight to them, he started to pull himself to a standing position before she could bolt.

Forced into it, Hannah helped him to his feet. Squeezing her hands in his own he let them go, feeling like trying to push anything more on her would only result in problems down the road.

She very clearly carried a great deal of baggage from her past. He was not going to be the one to rip them from her closet and open them all for inspection. Not unless she wanted to talk about it.

“Please forgive me for this sudden departure, Hanners. I’m taking the solace you’ve given me, and I need to find a place to think and use it. To think and plan for whatever may come next. Maybe even see about contacting Lady Rike earlier than I intended. I’ll see you both in the morning.”

Runner smiled apologetically at the women and left the tent. He knew it would be a long night of thought. Better make sure it was at least a productive one.

5:07 pm Sovereign Earth time

11/13/43

“Brighteyes, Angel, I feel that we should speak. I’m not sure if you’re aware of the recent happenings of your brother, but they’re worth discussing,” Runner said to the open sky above him.

Letting his feet carry him from the encampment, he ended up a hundred yards distant from the perimeter, alone.

Then he had company.

Brunhild and Ernsta stood side by side before him, Brunhild in the dark dress he had stolen for her. Ernsta was dressed as she had been previously, in a dark gray dress, though the horse failed to make an appearance.

Bowing his head in greeting to the two women, he sighed. His left hand came up to ruffle his hair.

“Jacob Chesed, a bastard of a man, a rapist, has enlisted your brother, your opposite, Brighteyes. Worse yet, Jacob tried to Awaken him and failed to do so. While I expected Awakenings to begin spreading, I hadn’t counted on it in this way,” Runner said with a vague gesture from his right hand.

“I see. This isn’t entirely unexpected. He was always destined to oppose me. At least we have a warning and the time to prepare.”

Ernsta nodded her head in agreement. She seemed unsteady, perhaps a touch uncertain. Runner could only guess that she was still adjusting to her new awareness.

“My goal is to cement you as the prime deity of the Barbarians, Angel. I think they’ll serve you well as warriors and heralds of battle and death. I could not pick a better scythe for you to cut with.”

Ernsta’s spine straightened at that. The trace of doubt faded instantly from her eyes and a feral smile took its place. Gesturing at him to continue, she could not hide the unmistakable excitement coloring her cheeks.

Dropping his left hand, he then balled his fists in front of him. He tried to impart his desire to her clearly.

“I would ask that you choose a champion during this…battle…war…whatever it becomes. Embolden this person, favor him or her. Make them your tool and make them visible. A whirlwind of death,” Runner said. His heated voice carried the fervor of battle and what he knew would come.

“When it comes time, I’ll proclaim the entire victory is a testament to you alone. I do not think they’ll hesitate longer than a minute after I suggest that they make you their prime. Barbarians favor battle and strength.”

“I choose you.”

Congratulations! You’ve earned the title Champion

You’ve earned 2,000 fame

Shaking his head, Runner smiled sadly at the blue-eyed furnace of pent-up excitement.

“I’m flattered, my beautiful Dark Angel. I cannot though. I would carve rivers of blood in your name, yet I could do even more as your partner. Your ally. Please forgive me,” Runner said lamely, bowing his head deeply to her.

You’ve declined the title Champion

You’ve earned 6,000 fame

“Much was his response to me, Sister. Though I would have preferred him, my current champion rallies my cause without a word from me. My flock… my flock grows by the hour. I do not doubt Runner will find you a champion if you do not find one yourself.”

Though the azure eyes no longer roared with fire, they still burned with passion.

“I will hold you to this, my little lamb. I will take the price from your hide should you fail me.”

“I understand and willingly agree, Angel. I do so swear it.”

Ernsta cocked her head to the side, watching him, before finally smiling.

“We will clear the field of our foes! You once said you desired a skull throne? I will build you a skull palace if you succeed, Little Lamb.”