xp_logs | GenX: Ready or Not

xp_clea posting in

It is the final count down with the GenX making a last stand in a town where the other surviving players have gathered.

“We need to be smart about this.”

Maya looked out at the town as they stood at its North edge. They knew the Monsters were out there, not yet visible but vicious and formidable. There were enough of them now that they wouldn’t be sitting ducks but that didn’t mean they couldn’t plan some moves ahead.

“How many power ups do we have left?”

"I have one." Clea checked her wrist for inventory stats. "But I am full on grenades. Three." Lowering her wrist and checked her ammo. "Glad there is a crate nearby."

"Yeah," Stephen glanced back at the crate resting nearby, "but I'm not sure how we're gonna hold up once they start coming, those monsters are pretty tough to kill." The teen glanced back at the others, "I'm fully stocked."

“We’re gonna lose people.” Maya sighed as she turned back to the others, and moved back toward the group. “There’s no way to save everyone and if we try, more are gonna die. So, we make a plan that saves as many as possible.”

She hadn’t studied for this, hadn’t read up on battle theory or gone through years of training but she’d heard the conversations that the adults had at the mansion sometimes. She knew that sometimes there weren’t any good choices, just the ones you could live with.

Xavin shook their head. "This is fucked. We're not trained in this."

"But we do have GX training," Nica reminded the group, but using the initials since she wasn't sure if they were being monitored. "We're used to working together. This isn't so different. Just keep your heads and watch each others' backs. These things are tough, but their eyes are vulnerable. Concentrate your fire there as much as you can." She hoped she sounded more confident and calm than she felt right now.

Rahne couldn't help but give Nica a look that clearly said that she thought the other girl was crazy. "There's that training and then there's this," she said, waving a hand around them in an attempt to encompass the insanity. "Not like we've got much of a choice, aye, I know that. At least we've got the teamwork part down. Mostly, anyway." She meant it as a joke, really.

"Remember, we aren't the only ones." Clea nodded towards Gracie and the others standing nearby. "I think we are all on the same page of not getting fucked."

By this point, Gracie had managed to calm down, find a weapon, and re group. Greg's broken head was no longer flashing through her mind. Her only goal was to get out of here alive, and that's what she was going to do. Looking out at their ragtag group, she could see the same determination in their faces. "I'm not dying today," Gracie said, barely holding back tears of anger. "This stupid game has taken enough from me."

"Yes. No more." Clea nodded at Gracie.

The sounds of the town's bell started to ring signifying that the Predators were closing in. Dozens of people held up their guns at the ready and then the silence that seemed to have settled among the small town were filled with gun fire.

Maya pushed the safety off on her weapon, hearing the distinctive power up sound that reminded her of so many science fiction shows. The people who had invented this game had spared no expense when it came to immersion, she just wished that perhaps they'd had the same attention to detail when it came to day zero bugs that caused people entering the game to become trapped there.

"Look, I don't want to be that person, but time is entirely not on our side and if we want to get anything from that crate before it gets all epic in here, we need to hustle."

Stephen racked his gun, hearing the weapon charging up as he levelled a impish grin at Maya, "But where's the fun in that? In all the movies you have the last mad scramble for ammo at the end as the monsters charge at you, or collect all around you. Are you saying," he gave her a playful shocked look, "you don't want us to be epic?"

((Placehold for Zolia))

"Focus," Nica reminded them. "Here they come."

Things became... blurry. There was a barrage of gunfire and lasers targeted at the hoard of Predator X monsters charging into the rough town square. Blood and smoke and screams and roars and for a while it wasn't clear which side was winning. But with so much opposition, the monsters were slowly being decimated. And then...

"Ten seconds remaining. Thank you for playing Predator X."

Clea had just emptied her clip and was reloading when she heard the computer stating that the game was ending. "They did it."

"Five seconds remaining."

Rahne sighed happily, she'd been almost out of ammo again. "It's about bloody time. 'Come and play this game, Rahne', they said, 'it'll be fun, they said'. I'm going back to Bejeweled after this. Less chance of getting sucked into a match three game."

"Three seconds remaining."

Stephen let his gun slip from his hands, slumping down to the ground as a sigh escaped his lips, "We made it...I mean, I never had a doubt. Way to go us! I think for the next....week I'm gonna be going outside to play something."

"One second remaining."

And... Just like that, it was finished. Xavin began to shake. "That was... That was cooked. You all okay?"

“No.” Maya ripped the helmet from her head and ditched the gloves now that the game had finally exited. “Let’s just go find Wade.”