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Chapter 229: Fire and Ice
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FLUX Chapter 230: Heat/Last One
Someone was calling his name. At least he thought. There it was again. Tom blinked. The room was black and hazy."Tom?" Jimmy's face loomed above him."What happened?""A fireman got to you. Are you alright?"Tom wiggled his fingers. He could feel the skin pulling across his arm as he moved. "I'll be okay, just a few blisters." He pushed back to his feet, climbing up over the top of the dead Alphas.Their power suit clad soldiers surrounded the room with guns drawn. Bullets covered the floor along with bodies of the Alphas and a few of his team members. His stomach twisted at the loss of good men.Jimmy put a hand on the shoulder of his power armor. "They died saving us. We need to get moving. We've gotten ten so far. We'll finish a sweep and then start clearing the level below."Tom nodded. "Let's go."Jimmy led the way. His team fell in behind him as they jogged down the streets checking building to building. The battle had tightened in around the Sanctuary. The noise of it s
FLUX Chapter 231: It Only Seems Right
The rumbling throughout the Sanctuary stilled as the battle above drew silent. Tom turned to Jimmy. Jimmy nodded and the team climbed to the Surface.After the light, the tunnel, and the door, they emptied out onto the street. Their men looked tired but had smiles on their faces. The team leaders directed them on searches to find any survivors, whether they were friend or foe."Has anyone seen Alex?" Jimmy shouted.Several people shook their heads.Jimmy turned to his team. "Let's spread out. Knowing them, they'll be up somewhere high."The team diverged. Tom searched on his own, always keeping at least his pistol at the ready. The sun slipped over the horizon casting the buildings in a deep twilight glow. Tom climbed the stairs on several buildings to the top but didn't find anything except dead bodies and empty bullet casings. After five buildings, the night settled in. The tanks disappeared back down into the tunnel. Jimmy recruited more people to help search. Armor-clad bodies
FLUX Chapter 232: Brothers/Set Right
Jack woke with a splitting headache. The white tile ceiling above him looked like that of a hospital room. He gave an inward sigh. The last time had been three months. He wondered how long it had been this time.His fingers felt tight and his hand cramped. He looked over to see they were taped together with someone else's hand. He blinked the sleep from his eyes. As his vision cleared, he saw Alex lying on the cot next to him. Their tactical suits had been removed but the tech suit remained. Both of them were layered in blankets strapped to wires. He racked his brain and remembered the nova they had set off. The third one in a row must have taken its toll.He sent heat into Alex's hand. Her eyes blinked opened. She pulled at her taped hand and then used her free hand to rub her eyes. She looked around. "What's going on?""Wish I knew," Jack answered.She quirked a smile, then pushed the covers back. "It's kind of hot in here, isn't it?""Is it? I can't really tell." Jack sat up, l
FLUX Chapter 1: The File, Part 1
VOLUME ONE: FLUX: FreedomAlex crept down the stark white hallways lit with generic compact florescent lighting. The tile echoed every whisper of her careful, quick movement. A dark line beneath each office door gave away the emptiness of the building. She slowed her elegant stride as a corner approached and pressed her pointed ear to the wall. Alex heard no vibrations and carefully peeked one dark eye around the corner. An empty row of office doors stared back. She continued down three more vacant corridors, exact copies of the previous, as if hallways could be mass produced. Her mental map guided her through the winding maze until she finally faced the door number 1672.Alex flicked a lock-pick set out of the sleeve of her maroon leather jacket and manipulated the lock. The lights wavered as the local magnetic pole fluctuated wildly. Her ears twitched as the tumblers clicked into place and she rotated the makeshift key until the dead bolt released. The door made a whooshing sound
FLUX Chapter 2: The File, Part 2
She spun on her heel towards the door and listened. When she was sure there was no one, Alex dashed out the door and sprinted down the corridor. She slid to a stop in front of the elevator, and then pried it open with her handy crowbar. Alex looked down the dark shaft. Just below her was the elevator. Was that human stupid enough to use the elevator? She jumped on the top and watched the doors close behind her as the elevator started to rise.Alex stayed away from the moving cables and crouched to absorb any sudden movement that might shift her balance unfavorably. The elevator shuddered as another magnetic fluctuation riddled the building. She steadied herself with a hand on the cold steel of the elevator.An alarm system kicked in, sending sirens booming throughout the whole building. Alex covered her sensitive ears as the noise reverberated within the elevator shaft. Now everyone in the whole city, above and below ground, would know there were intruders. She had hoped this wouldn
FLUX Chapter 3: Out of Gas
The clouded sky became dark except for the faded auroras brought on by the local magnetic pole. The green and purple lights pulsed against the tops of the mountains, while the wind turbines glittered under their glow. The night air hung thick, wet, and warm against Alex's skin. The bike sputtered to a stop and the man pulled his helmet off."What's wrong?" Alex asked as she slid off the back of the bike."Out of gas," he said, wiping sweat from his brow.She stretched out her cramped limbs. "Of what?""Gas. Fuel. Energy. It makes the bike go vroom, vroom," he said, irritated. "I swear you hybrids have no sense."Alex scowled at him. She wasn't stupid. She knew it needed energy, just figured it was solar or something. Fuel based vehicles hadn't been used in a hundred years, everything on the surface was solar, wind, or touch powered now."How about you give me the file and you can be on your merry way," he said, holding out his hand for the file.She pretended to protect her jack
FLUX Chapter 4: Fill up
Alex awoke to a scruffy man-face thirty centimeters from her face. She jumped."Easy now, sweet cheeks, I'm not gonna getcha," Jack said, offering her a hand. "You didn't need to stay out here all night. I was done in five minutes."Alex rolled her eyes. "I bet you were," she said, pushing his hand aside and standing up on her own. She stretched out her arms and arched her back. Alex couldn't remember the last time she'd slept in a bed. Jack took this time to look her up and down."Like what you see?" she scoffed and put on her jacket."Not bad," he commented, grinning. "Got me goin' last night.""That wasn't a real question," she said disgusted. Alex smacked him soundly on his wounded shoulderJack winced. "Sounded like one," he grumbled.She rolled up her blanket and tied it to her pack. "Are you ready to go?" she asked."Yep."They took turns pushing the heavy motorcycle as the sun rose behind the clouds at their backs. Alex had wrapped her black scarf around her neck and p
FLUX Chapter 5: Farmhouse
Jack cut the engine to the motorcycle. They had driven northeast past the desert into another set of mountains, bigger than the last. What used to be a grand forest now looked to be more like large dry tinder plunging up through the terrain. Evidence of great fires scorched the rough bark. Jack pulled up in front of an old white farmhouse next to a river. The wheelhouse peered from behind the farmhouse showing its worn siding, looking as if it would fall over in a gentle breeze. An old waterwheel turned under a constant pull from the strong current in the river. Dark grey clouds hung low in the sky, dimming down their normal tan shade."Where are we?" Alex asked after pulling off her helmet. "It's still two hours until sunset.""It's a storehouse. We can stock up on supplies and stay the night in a bed.""We just happened upon a storehouse up here?" Alex asked, her eyes searching his face."Oh, this is just one of many.""There's more than just one bed, right?"Jack grinned back
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