The Lantern Bearers

chapter 10: the darkness stares back

After we carefully navigated the anomaly field in front of the mattress store and made it to camp, Yui and Zeus were very excited.

"And then i stabbed it when it slung me around just right and it screamed like a woman! Then i got the loot!" Zeus said with excitement.

His arm was in a makeshift sling, because he sprained his arm really bad fighting the shadowman. He almost broke his arm, but luckily he didn't.

Medication is worth its weight in diamonds and if you see a doctor, its a gamble if they'll actually treat you, give you sugar pills or snake oil, or make you indebted to them so heavily, your children's children will be paying off your debt. The stuff needed to treat a broken arm would require a elastic bandage, splint, and a orthopedic cast, as well as pain killers of sorts and with internal bleeding being a factor, probably some rough field surgery would be needed too.

His sling is made from stripped cloth from the sheets and quilts me and yui ripped up. While we were at it, we made bandages and wraps out of all the fabric and cotton. Because if you need something to stop the bleeding, these will be a god send.

"Glad you had a thrill, but you broke my gun! Frickin flash welded the bitch! Not just one spot, its the whole damn gun!" I said as i struggled to get it to do anything.

"Allow me master." Yui offered.

I passed her the gun and with one good yank on the slide, she snapped it off. It was flash welded on the inside. The gun gun is about as useful as a makeshift hammer or a brick.

"I'm sorry master, it appears i have broken it." She said sadly.

"You didn't do it, zeus flash welded the whole damn thing." I grumbled.

"I said i was sorry! I had to do it to kill it!" Zeus whined.

"Which you didn't and had to borrow my knife." I pointed out.

"How was i supposed to know about the crystal!?" He exclaimed.

"Because-......haaaaaa.......least now ya know. Now pick your spots to sleep." I said.

"I wish to sleep near master." Yui said.

"I wanna sleep next to the fire." Zeus said.

I suppose you can....it never rains." I said.

"Never?" Asked yui.

"Nope, because there are no clouds anymore. There used to be some before the god eye fell, now its just darkness." I explained.

"I see." She said.

"Whats more bizzare is that the ground is always moist, as though it rained the day before. In theory you could grow food out here, but solar lamps are almost government exclusive and only the aristocrats have." I explained.

"Arisocrats?" Yui asked.

"Basically, those that are rich and didn't earn a dime. They ride on the backs of those that work hard, simply because they own the business. They don't contribute to society really and are just rich to be rich." I explained.

"Beings that contribute nothing to the society of humans.....why not kill them and distribute what's there's to the common people?" Yui asked.

"Connections...." zeus chimed in solemnly.

Yui tilted her head.

"What he means, is the aristocrats tend to have people that are paid highly to protect them. Even a whiff of a threat and they send them out. Either gangs or the striders." I said, with the last word leaving a bitter tinge on my tongue.