Chapter 119 - Prescott

“Is that Prescott?” Bobby asked as he leaned forward behind the steering wheel of their truck.

“I think it’s Prescott Valley,” Blake frowned as he stared down at the printed map they had scavenged from a gas station.

“Is that a neighborhood in Prescott?” Jennifer asked from the back seat.

Blake shook his head. “No, it’s a separate town, about ten miles east of Prescott.”

Bobby let out a sigh of relief. “Then we’re almost there. I’m tired of driving.”

It had been almost nine hours since they left The Dome that morning. After a four-hour drive to the Payson faction, they stopped for lunch. While he ate, he chatted with Montgomery and Jeff and convinced them to accompany him to their new expansion.

It was harder than he thought it would be.

His two friends were determined to catch up to him, and had completed two scenarios a day, every day, since he last saw them. That amounted to a daily accumulation of five mega-nano, each. While the income was nothing compared to Blake’s earnings, it was impressive for a fighter. The easy access to a scenario combined with a cooled room and steady meals proved too convenient to pass up. 

Technically, they abided by the terms of the deal Blake made with them to guard Payson. However, he felt they violated the spirit and pushed for a new deal, something they could not evade so easily.

It was not until Blake promised them each five mega-nano a day that they agreed to accompany him. After that, they were more than happy with the new arrangement, despite the lack of air conditioning, even if they were not allowed to enter a scenario until the walls were completed. Their entire time would be spent guarding, scavenging, or rescuing the people of Prescott.

I wonder if they made friends with our spies.

Before they left Payson, he asked the two fighters to ride with Jeremy Jackson and Jimmy Lee. Blake hoped the long drive to Prescott would allow the two groups to form a light bond. Both Jeremy and Jimmy seemed to be good people, despite their shady origin. 

Blake had witnessed the two throw themselves into danger multiple times to protect others, something only a good person would do. If Blake could convince them that he had noble intentions, they might decide to abandon their roles and join him truly. Or they would flee from the incessant chatter Montgomery provided.

Blake snorted and shook his head.

Right. Like that’s going to happen.

“What’s so funny?” Jennifer asked.

“Just thinking about the likelihood of Jeremy and Jimmy turning into double agents and working for us,” Blake explained.

She furrowed her brow. “Why is that funny?”

“It’s not, it’s ridiculous. People don’t change their allegiances easily, and I wouldn’t really want someone who could. They swore an oath to defend the United States when they joined the military, and likely see me as a threat to it. Especially after that interview with Warner yesterday.”

Bobby nodded in agreement.

“Did you talk to my dad about them yet?” Jennifer asked.

Blake nodded. “Yeah, he said to keep them close until the time is right. He wants to use them to feed Warner bad intel when the president inevitably attacks.”

Jennifer rolled her eyes. “That was obvious, I meant about the chances of turning them to our side.”

“Oh. He didn’t seem to think it was likely either, but said it wouldn’t hurt to try when the moment was right.”

The truck slowly passed by the first neighborhoods they had seen in over an hour. On the entrance to the subdivision, a gas station stood with shattered windows, while abandoned vehicles sat next to the inoperable pumps. 

With no trees to block his view and little vegetation, Blake could see for miles. What he observed saddened him. There were signs of monsters everywhere, but he had yet to spot any humans. It had been almost a week since Invasion day, and by now, most families would have run out of water.

Dehydration was a looming threat, especially in the desert. Soon, people would be forced to leave the false safety of their homes to scavenge for supplies. While outside, they would inevitably run across roaming bands of monsters.

Hopefully there’s still time to save some of them.

“Is that… people up ahead?” Bobby squinted and then cupped a hand over his eyes to block the bright sun’s rays.

Outside a dollar store, in the distance, was a group of at least fifteen men. All held rifles and stood next to wheelbarrows laden with supplies. The rumble of his convoy’s diesel engines alerted the group to their presence. The few inside exited the store and gawked as they watched the procession of trucks file past them.

However, none of the armed men motioned for the convoy to stop. Instead, they held tightly to their rifles and eyed the vehicles warily.

“Do you think they have a faction?” Jennifer asked.

Blake shrugged and could tell she was recording a video of the men. “Maybe, but I doubt it.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because they all have guns,” he carefully explained in case she was hoping for a sound bite. “There’s no way they gained a billion nano already if they’re using them.”

“Shouldn’t we stop and talk with them?” Jennifer pressed. “Find out where they’re staying and see if they want to join us?”

Blake shook his head. “No, not yet. If they’re organized and armed, they should be safe until tomorrow. Once we get the faction town started, then we can go out and talk.”

“Where are we doing that?” Bobby asked and then clarified. “Building the town.”

“From what I remember, if you go through Prescott and drive into the mountains, there’s a lake next to a trailhead. There should be a portal inside the restrooms.”

“Please tell me it’s not in a stall,” Jennifer pleaded.

Blake snorted. “No, it should be in the utility closet.”

“Which lake?” Bobby asked.

“I don’t know,” Blake admitted. “I never came up here myself, I just heard about it from another combat team.” He glanced down at the map again. “There’s two on the map, Goldwater and Lynx. Looks like Lynx is closer, so I guess we’ll try that one first.”

“Why there instead of in town where the people are?” Jennifer asked.

“Having a portal inside your walls is a huge advantage. It makes the town almost impossible to siege. You can just keep farming nano without ever having to leave the shield.”

Jennifer frowned. “Then why didn’t you do that with The Dome?”

“Because I was trying to hide from the cops,” Blake reminded her. “But, I made sure the Arachne portal was within Payson’s walls. I wanted to do the same in Eagar with the Tiefling portal, but that was over a river, so I just built the town nearby.”

Bobby slowed to swerve around multiple stalled vehicles. Blake unconsciously cast Mind Sense, which revealed life within one of the nearby vehicles. As they passed, he watched the minivan warily for any sign of ambush, but whatever was within remained hidden. 

Suddenly, Blake saw a flash in the rearview mirror. He whipped his head around and watched a fireball shatter the driver’s side window. A high pitch squeal resounded from within, and a short Kobold ran from the other side, half burned. Moments later, it collapsed from rifle fire.

Blake grinned.

Montgomery always was a firebug.

As they entered the city, abandoned vehicles became more common. Twice, Blake was forced to exit the truck, run ahead, and drag cars off the road. The second time he did so, Jennifer recorded it for posterity. After he quickly executed an Arachne found within the bed of a truck, she was especially satisfied with the footage.

They passed through Prescott Valley without incident, and entered the hills on the outskirts of Prescott. When they reached a big box store, they turned off the main road to head into the mountains. Twenty minutes later, they passed a campground and reached Lynx Lake.

Bobby idled the truck in the boat ramp’s parking lot, pistol in hand, while Blake left to explore. He did a complete circuit of the area, but all buildings remained portal free.

Damn. I was hoping this was it.

With a shake of his head, he popped back inside the vehicle. Bobby turned the truck around, and they headed back to the main road. 

Once they turned back onto the main road, they passed a mall, more large stores, and even a builder depot. However, tensions did not rise until they entered the downtown area.

Up to that point, the road was wide, and buildings were offset at least a few hundred feet away. However, once they reached the older section of town, structures butted right up to the road, which forced them to remain wary at all times.

Blake felt a headache emerge, as he used yet another Mind Sense.

We need to get through this, quick.

While Blake was in no danger, the same could not be said for the rest of his group. With six trucks, each with their own trailers, the convoy stretched back over a hundred feet. He could not be everywhere, and he feared humans far more than the monsters. 

The metal doors of their old diesel trucks provided enough of a barrier that Blake could easily eliminate any creatures before they reached the humans inside. A bullet, however, was almost instant. It could pierce through glass and thin metal alike, and could be fired from a window or rooftop over a hundred feet away.

“You look nervous,” Jennifer remarked. “Is everything alright?”

Blake glanced toward the back seat and frowned. “So far, yes. I’m just worried about an ambush.”

“You think the monsters will lay a trap for us?” she asked.

“No,” Blake shook his head. “People. If I were going to lay a trap, this is where I'd do it.”

As if to validate his fears, Bobby was forced to stop when the road became completely blocked by a multi-vehicle pileup. 

“Stay here,” Blake called over his shoulder as he stepped out of the truck and climbed atop its cab. 

Well, shit.

Their path was blocked for almost a quarter mile. 

This is going to take forever to clear out.

The sun would set in an hour or two. Without light to guide their way, they needed to arrive at their destination before that happened. 

“Hey Bobby, can you come out and help?” Blake yelled as he jumped to the ground. While he waited, he messaged Montgomery, Jeff, Jeremy, and Jimmy to exit their vehicles and guard the convoy.

The door opened behind him, and Bobby asked, “Help with what?”

“Help drag cars,” Blake explained. “We need to clear the road, fast.”

“Uh… you think I’m strong enough to do that?”

“Strengthen makes you twice as strong. If you can’t drag a car off the road with the equivalent of twenty-four in Physical Power, what’s the point of the spell? Just give it a try.”

Bobby frowned doubtfully, but followed his directions. Blake watched as the inexperienced bodyguard holstered his pistol, bent low, and heaved with a grunt. The man was so surprised by his enhanced strength, that he stumbled backward and collapsed to the ground.

“Holy shit!”

Blake rolled his eyes and strode over to a cargo van. “Come on, we don’t have all day.”

While they worked, Blake released an Oblate Mind Sense every sixty seconds. To his relief, the area held few threats. Occasionally, his guards fired their rifles, and once he even heard Montgomery whoop after he cooked an Ursa with a fireball. However, there were no suspicious groupings within buildings or behind vehicles. 

A half hour later, Blake spotted an incoming monster that came from the west. A Mander slithered between vehicles at speed.

This’ll be a good test for Bobby. Let’s see if he’s actually cut out to be a bodyguard.

“Hey Bobby, we’ve got an incoming Mander,” Blake calmly announced. “How about you go ahead and take care of it?”

The ex-cameraman released the compact car, and nervously drew his pistol. “Where?” he asked nervously as he searched for the threat.

Blake pointed west. “There.”

After he pointed, Bobby quickly found the target and carefully raised his revolver. Blake watched as he aimed down the sights and then squeezed the trigger. 

Too early.

When Bobby realized he missed, he quickly fired off two more shots. Those also went wild. 

Blake readied to intervene, but held himself back.

He needs more practice.

After that, the Mander was close enough that Bobby panicked and quickly fired every round in the revolver’s cylinder. He continued to squeeze the trigger after all rounds were expended, even as the Mander collapsed to the ground in front of him.

“Easy there,” Blake said calmly.

Sweat dripped from Bobby’s brow, despite being protected from the summer heat by Blake’s Shared Improved Flame Shield.

“You’ll want to reload,” he advised.

Bobby nodded and reached into his pocket for spare ammunition. While he reloaded, Blake said, “If you’re serious about protecting Jennifer, you’re going to need training.”

“I am,” he said hoarsely.

“Then, I’ll get Jeremy to start on that tomorrow.”

“Isn’t he a spy?” Bobby whispered.

Blake shrugged. “Yeah, so? He seems like a good enough guy, and he’s probably special forces or a SEAL or something. You couldn’t ask for a better teacher.”

“Can’t you do it?” Bobby pleaded.

“I’ll help where I can,” Blake replied. “But, I’m incredibly busy, and I’m not the best teacher. My skills are self-taught or through the system. I’ve never had formal training, so I don’t really know where to start.”

“Oh,” he said, disappointed.

“But, as a bodyguard, I’d say you should get a big ass shield and the Shield Mastery skill, if you haven’t already. At level one, it’ll stop a rifle bullet, and the higher level ones are even better.”

 “Did we bring one?” Bobby asked.

“No, but we’ll have a portal in town, and I plan to run it often. Eventually, I’ll get a shield as a reward and hand it over.” Blake smirked. “Actually, scratch that. I’ll charge Jennifer for it.”

It took another hour before they cleared a path through town. By the time they exited onto Senator highway and began the climb into the mountains, the sun had almost set and Blake was getting concerned they would not make it to their destination before dark. 

They entered the national forest, and bushes and Junipers turned to short pines. When they reached the sign for Goldwater Lake Park, Blake let out a sigh of relief. They turned off the main forest road and drove through the forested spur. 

Finally, they reached a large parking lot, and the convoy stopped. Blake jumped out of the vehicle and sprinted toward the large restroom in the waning light. It was too late to travel anywhere else, so they would stay the night here, no matter what he found. However, he hoped to find a portal inside the structure, so he could begin construction on the faction hall.

While he ran, he received a message from Montgomery, and read it.

Montgomery Brown: Dude, you must really have to go!

Blake rolled his eyes.

A moment later, he yanked open the locked custodial door and breathed out a sigh of relief.

Thank God, it’s here.

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