Then I felt pinpricks of pain as needles pierced my skin. I had a sudden vision of mini-tentacles with bone tips and suspected that I’d made a good guess.
But could they control me through my feet? It didn’t seem likely, but bearing in mind that I was an engineer, not a xenobiologist, I had no idea.
It became a moot point as I felt more pinpricks of pain further up my leg. Could it reach my brain given time? Yes. Continue reading Motor City Intern: Part 52
I didn’t want to hurt Mateo, but I also didn’t want to discover that he’d figured out Amy’s trick for ignoring armor. The question then became how to stop him. Lashing out with the full strength of my armor might kill him, but yanking the tentacle out might scramble his brains.
Deciding to go with what I was already trying anyway, I directed my mental energies toward the tentacles. Knowing that for Lee, they weren’t directed anywhere so much as everywhere around him. Of course, it could be that he didn’t try to direct them. Continue reading Motor City Intern: Part 50
Sarcasm aside, the one good thing about being completely surrounded by your enemies is that your enemies are easy to find. At the same time, if you want to survive, it’s good to have a strategy that’s better thought out than, “kill everybody.”
Talking over the comm, I said, “Let’s help Blue Mask with the xosk.”
Off to the side and above me, Amy glanced over at the vampires in the middle of the room and then over to where Mateo and Vincent fought off tentacles. “Is that what it’s called? Yes. Let’s free up Blue Mask to fight the normal vampires and maybe open up a window.” Continue reading Motor City Intern: Part 49
Jumping over the tentacles, Vincent dove into the room, but not before drawing two curved knives which he used to chop at the tentacles that tried to grab him even as he landed.
Knives were his weapon, I remembered. I’d always wondered why, but this didn’t seem the time to ask.
Stopping out of reach of the tentacles, Amy muttered, “Don’t go in before we know what this thing is—“ Continue reading Motor City Intern: Part 48
It wasn’t as if he was wrong. The V4 armor wasn’t made with stealth in mind. I felt lucky that Book Tower had high ceilings. Otherwise, I’d be bumping my helmet against the ceiling constantly.
Amy didn’t make any noise that I noticed. Given that it appeared out of nowhere when she transformed, I had no idea what it was made of. Mystery magic stuff was my best guess so far–with the distinct possibility that it was the physical manifestation of the remains of souls that the Bloodmaidens had consumed over the millennia of their service to Amy’s family’s empire.
Her ancestors weren’t nice people. Continue reading Motor City Intern: Part 47
Leaning back against the wall, Mateo closed his eyes. His lips may have moved, but if they did, I didn’t hear anything he said.
I did feel something though, a warm wind—except bearing in mind that I was covered by armor, it was impossible for me to feel anything of the kind. I had a suspicion of what it might be, but I didn’t have time or any realistic direction to explore it.
In front of me, Mateo pushed himself away from the wall, still walking stiffly for the first two steps, but normally by the third. He took a deep breath and smiled, “Ready?” Continue reading Motor City Intern: Part 46
“I…” Checking the armor’s status report, I learned that while the rocket fuel systems had been fully repaired, I had less fuel than I thought.
I hadn’t designed it with as much fuel as the Rocket suit to begin with, so losing some made more of a dent in the total supply. Did I have enough to fly up ten floors, maybe a little more?
Yes. Probably. Continue reading Motor City Intern: Part 44
It wasn’t hard to keep up with her. The biggest issue was remembering to keep my head down so that I didn’t hit the ceiling. It’d be a shame to trash one of the paintings above the landings. Destroying a window was one thing. Glass could be replaced, but the paintings couldn’t.
“What’s with the extra-large suit?” Amy asked over the comm.
“Nothing. I wanted to try it and it fit V4’s theme. V8’s mech is even larger.” Continue reading Motor City Intern: Part 42
As I ran, I glanced over at the train station. A bus was parked under the pavilion and a small crowd stood near it, all of them looking in my direction.
I pointed back at the two shattered sets of powered armor and the vampire on the ground. “She’s a vampire. Whatever you do, don’t pull out the stake!”
If they replied, I didn’t hear them. I didn’t know that she’d revive if they pulled out the stake, but better safe than sorry. The sheer variety of vampires in this mess argued that caution was a good trait. Continue reading Motor City Intern: Part 40
Using my implant, I opened up a comm connection to Mateo and Vincent, “You guys aren’t anywhere near the tower yet, right?”
Vincent laughed, “We’re at the fourteenth floor at most.”
“We’re almost at the seventh,” Mateo said, taking a long breath. “Look next to the door up there.”
Vincent muttered, “Crap. How many floors does this place have?”
“Thirty-eight,” I said, “according to Wikipedia.” Continue reading Motor City Intern: Part 38