You’re suffering from multiple contusions, your ribs are bruised but not broken. Your friend's right humerus is shattered, and has multiple lacerations across the torso. You both need urgent care, but thankfully nothing critical.

  “Great, we’re not going to immediately die, just survive a few more minutes before getting eaten,” I snapped at the voice in my head.

  Dante shot me a concerned look, “What was that?” he asked. He was cradling his arm and apparently in a lot of pain, but at least he was conscious.

  “I’ve either become a Samurai, or suffered hallucinations due to head trauma,” I said as I pushed myself into a seated position. It felt like someone had smashed me in the ribs with a baseball bat, but I couldn’t just lay here.

  Dante gave me a strange look, “Seriously?”

  “Seriously,” I replied softly.

  I hate to break up this RIVETING discussion, but you should probably arm yourself and get your companion to a safer location before you’re swimming in Antithesis. Nyx barked, reminding me of the situation we were in.

  With the help of the nearby rubble I managed to haul myself to my feet and stagger over to Dante. “Can you walk?” I asked.

  “Bastards got my arms, but my legs still work fine,” he grumbled as he attempted to stand. He’d lost a lot of blood, and was struggling, so I grabbed one of his arms and pulled with all my might.

  “Good, we gotta go,” I said, ducking under his arm. With my size I couldn’t provide him with much support, but it was better than nothing. “We’ll head for Leah’s clinic, we need medical attention and the entire building has bars over the windows and reinforced doors to keep people from trying to steal the prosthetics and drugs.”

  Dante groaned. “Shit, Leah’s place is on the far side of the shelter."

  “Yeah, but it’ll be a hell of a lot safer than residential buildings around here,” I growled, doing my best to force the big man forward. “Even the best places only have flimsy plastic prefab doors. They can’t even keep out intruders, I doubt they’d even slow down the Antithesis.” Dante continued to hesitate, so I sighed. “If you keep hesitating I’m going to leave you behind, and you’ll never find out what I found below!” I snapped.

  That seemed to snap him out of his daze. “Found something special, did you?” he asked as he limped forward.

  “I did, but it won’t matter if we don’t get through this alive” I grumbled. “Come on.”

  I’m sure Dante wanted to ask more, but once we started moving he shut his mouth. I’m sure he realized the last thing we wanted to do is make a bunch of noise and risk another attack.

  After that our slow crawl through the ruins was both short, and terrifying. The attack had really put me on edge and I was constantly looking over my shoulder, and peeking around corners. I was convinced there was another group just waiting for us somewhere. Thankfully the only Antithesis we saw along the way were busy chasing someone else. I felt bad watching the pack of plant dogs chasing that guy down the street, but there wasn’t much I could do while I was supporting Dante.

  Leah’s clinic was easy to find, it towered over the ruins like a beacon. It was a monolithic structure that, from the outside, looked more like a prison than a clinic. Small, heavily barred windows, reinforced doors and security cameras on every approach. It was probably the most secure building in the entire district.

  I could only hope she was inside when the chaos started.

  Once I was convinced the street in front of the clinic was clear, I half carried Dante across and banged on the door. “Leah, please tell me you’re there,” I yelled. I paused for a minute listening for movement, a sinking feeling in my stomach. I banged on it again “Please…”

  The door swung open. In the doorway was a woman with wild red hair, barely kept under control by a dark green headscarf. Even though she was scowling, her soft green eyes were filled with worry. Leah was normally a bundle of energy, and to be honest, was a better doctor than the district deserved. She looked exhausted, I could only imagine what the situation was inside.

  “Teddy, I’m so glad you made it,” she said softly before glancing over at my compatriot. “Dante, you look like shit. Get in here quick.”

  The waiting room was completely packed full of people. It was so crowded that I struggled to find a path wide enough to drag Dante through to the back. There were a couple of West Lane gang members standing guard, preventing people from entering the back. They almost drew on Dante when they saw him, but Leah gave them a scathing look. “You try and shoot a human in here and you can try your luck outside. Got it?” she growled. The two punks immediately paled, and nodded, their hands flying off their weapons.

  I wasn’t surprised, within these walls Leah’s word was law. If anyone wanted to get a new aug, prosthetic or gunshot wound looked at they pretty much had to come here. She’d declared the clinic as neutral ground, and any gangs that started a fight here, or tried to rob her, would be refused service.

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  Of course threats didn’t do shit around here, so a couple people tested her early on. That shit stopped real quick when Leah made good on her threats. It turns out most gangs don’t last too long when they lose access to basic medical care, so the gangs that replaced them made sure they never made the same mistake.

  As the three of us made our way toward the back of the clinic Leah inspected Dante’s wounds. “You want to tell me why neither of you decided to immobilize that arm, or at least put it in a sling before coming here?” she hissed.

  I shrugged, causing Dante to wince. “The extent of my medical knowledge is putting bandages over scuffed knees,” I replied flippantly. “Plus we were more concerned about the giant fucking aliens at the time.”

  “I really don’t appreciate your tone,” Leah replied coldly, shooting me a disapproving look before looking back at Dante’s arm. “I realize the situation was dire, but you could have caused a lot more damage by not securing the arm first.” She carefully pulled Dante off my shoulder and started pulling him into the surgery area. “I’ll look at it. You sit over there, don’t think I haven’t noticed how you’re cradling your ribs.”

  “Right,” I mumbled quietly, as I slowly lowered myself into the nearest chair.

  While Leah and Dante were occupied Nyx decided it was time to pipe up.

  I think now would be a good time for your first lesson on being a Vanguard. Settle in, it’ll be a minute. Ask questions if you have them, I’d hate for you to die because you didn’t understand the basics.

  First things first, you earn points by killing Antithesis and rescuing people. The more you kill, or save, the more points you earn. As a new Vanguard you get 100 points to start with, and you earn an additional 10 points for each of the Model Threes. That’s what humanity calls the type of Antithesis you killed earlier. Finally you saved 1 person giving you a total of 131 points.

  I blinked. “So, what the fuck are points for?” I asked.

  You can exchange points for pretty much anything you can imagine. Weapons, armor, vehicles, and more. Assuming you have sufficient points, I can materialize whatever you order right at your feet.

  “And it’s that easy?” I asked suspiciously. “I can order whatever I want right now?”

  There are restrictions. The different equipment you can buy is organized into different categories, or catalogs, and you need to spend points to access each one. There are more advanced catalogs, but I think it’s better to cover that later.

  “Figures, even the protectors have fucking admin fees,” I snorted quietly.

  Do you have any idea what you want to start with?

  “Fuck, I don’t know. I’m a terrible shot, that SMG felt like it dislocated my shoulder,” I grumbled rubbing my shoulder at the memory, “and the Antithesis have probably spread to every corner of this district by now, how am I supposed to find them all?”

  There are a number of options with recoil compensation and aim assist. There are also a number of catalogs that contain various methods of tracking.

  I stared up at the ceiling, an idea forming; in the background I could hear Dante yelling in pain.

  “Could I bring them to me?” I asked after a couple seconds.

  In theory. There are ways to lure Antithesis, but I wouldn’t recommend taking on that many Antithesis alone.

  “So what if we evened the odds?”

  How so?

  “Distribute weapons to other people, automated turrets, robots, mines,” I explained.

  That’s certainly possible, you currently lack the points to deploy any significant numbers.

  “Hmmm… then basics first.” I rubbed my chest while I thought. I was already planning too far ahead, I needed to start with something simple. “I need a weapon, something with aim assist, recoil reduction, and preferably a punch. A rifle maybe? I could distribute rifles later.”

  The Class I Battle Rifle Catalog fits your requirements, it costs 50 points to open. How many points are you thinking about spending on a weapon?

  “I don’t know, you’re the fucking expert,” I grumbled. “What could I get for another fifty?”

  You’re right, I apologize. Since this is your first purchase you wouldn’t have a scale to compare it to. Just so you know, five points would get you a conventional rifle, ten would get you a next gen model, for fifty I could give you something like the CAR-156. It’s semi-automatic, comes with a 25 round drum, and instead of conventional ammunition it fires a variety of auto targeting micro missiles that cost a point each.

  That took me a moment to process. “Fuck me,” I whispered. “That’s crazy!”

  Quite. I could recommend several models at a lower cost if you want.

  “No way, you’ve already sold me on the CAR,” I replied softly. “I assume it has enough punch to deal with whatever Antithesis I run into outside…”

  The rounds will blow apart any unarmored Antithesis with a single shot. The armored models may take a couple rounds, but unlike most Class I rifles the CAR will be able to deal with them eventually.

  “Sounds good,” I said, smiling slightly, “give me one.”

  Purchased - Class I Battle Rifle Catalog - 50 points

  Purchased - CAR-156 Battle rifle - 50 points

  Points remaining 31

  A package appeared at my feet, it was a nondescript plastic carton. Just like the ones all over the nearby landfills.

  “That was anticlimactic,” I muttered.

  Confetti costs extra.

  “Smart ass.”

  I crouched down and popped the top off the box. The CAR was two feet long, made of matte black metal, obviously a lot more advanced than anything you’d see in the undercity. Hell, it was probably more advanced than anything you’d find in the hands of any of the PMCs and militia’s above too. It was pretty in a way. And fucking heavy.

  I spent a couple minutes admiring my new toy, and it wasn’t until I was done that I realized the room had gone quiet. I glanced towards the surgery room and found both Leah and Dante standing in the door, staring at me open mouthed. I guess Leah had finished fixing up Dante’s arm.

  Leah’s eyes narrowed. “Teddy, What the fuck was that?"

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