Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Chapter 3 For That Handful of Silver (10)
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***
“Left! A bit more to the left!”
Vrooooom—!
Thwack!
“Got it! I grabbed him!”
“Pull him up!”
Professor’s hand shot out from the speeding vehicle, desperately snatching the hand of Vex, who was running alongside.
“Uwaaaaaah fuck fuck fuuuuck#@(^[email protected]*#(***@!!!! I really thought I was done for, Happen!”
“Perfect timing, V!”
The Hummer carrying the trio barreled ferociously toward the elevator.
“Hey, H! What’s the plan? The elevator door’s still locked!”
“What plan? Ram it! Everyone’s aboard, so we can control it from inside! This thing smashed through walls like nothing earlier!”
“You called me crazy back then! A wall’s different! Even if we smash in, if the elevator crumples and gets stuck in the shaft, we’re screwed!”
“Then how about politely asking those bastards chasing us, ‘Excuse me, could you wait a moment while we open the elevator door?’”
“Oooooooaaaaaaaah!!!!”
Vrooooom—!
“Verdammter Abschaum! (Damned scum)! Never thought I’d live to see the day my balls shake like this! Grab anything! We’re ramming!”
“The first one to snap out of it hits the up button!”
“Uwaaaaaah! Happen! I-I did my best! Life turned upside down memories today end sky three footprints#!)*#[email protected]^)!!!!”
“Snap out of it, V!”
“Damn old man! Don’t leave some bullshit last words!!!”
Boom!!
Screeeeech—!
“Waaaaah!!”
“Uwaaaaaah!!!”
“Below14hardeyes today breath! Two legs born!
Boom!
With the crash, the elevator doors flew off cleanly, and the wildly shaking vehicle came to a stop.
“Ugh... H, V, you guys okay....”
“Negative.....”
“Stuck... leg.....”
“Keheheh, bulk up more, you pansy-asses.”
Bang!
Ian kicked open the crumpled door and staggered toward the control panel on the corner of the freight elevator. A freight elevator with no walls, just a floor—open on all sides. Knowing their three lives hung on this machine, Ian felt a strange affection for it.
“Keheheheh, cute little baby, take us to heaven....!”
His trembling hand pressed the glowing green up button.
Grind—
Whirr—
After a brief vibration, the elevator slowly began ascending.
“Huh, heh heh heh....”
“It’s moving! I! No, Metal Joe! This thing’s actually working, right? Can’t see from inside!”
“Hahahahaha!!! We’re alive! We escaped that shithole hell! Bye-bye, you retarded fuckers! We’re going uuuup—!”
.
.
.
.
.
“Oooooh—ooooooooh!!!!”
Crack! Crunch! Crackle!
In that instant, a horrific screech drowned out their cheers, turning the faces of the three, drunk on euphoria, pitch black with dread.
“Oh come on, give it a rest already! Phase 3? Boss, we beat the real boss—what else is there? Isn’t this too damn cliché?!!”
“Hurensohn!! It’s that guy! The big one’s climbing up!”
From below the slowly rising elevator, the Abomination hammered what might’ve been an arm or tentacle into the wall, pursuing them. The speed gap was obvious—the distance closing fast.
“Goddamn it!!! Joramento! Anything else in that bag? Explosives! Weird ammo! Anything!”
“Bullshit! You think I’ve got infinite explosives pouring out? None left! Used it all earlier.....”
Click—
Rummaging desperately through the bag, his hand felt something hard and angular.
‘.....No, one more.’
Ian pulled out an item from the bag’s corner—something he’d never imagined using here.
[FRONT TOWARD ENEMY]
A palm-sized rectangular plastic body with the intuitive label [FRONT TOWARD ENEMY]. And the detonator.
“Huh, heh heh heh....”
A dangerous glint rose in Ian’s eyes as he gripped the Claymore mine.
Crack! Crunch!
“Oooooooaaaaah!!!!—Aaaaaaah!!!”
“Hey, th-that..... what is it.”
Rustle—
Ian pulled a crumpled cigarette pack from his pocket, stuck a cigarette in his mouth, and struck a match against his jaw to light it. The faded pack still clearly read [Lucky Strike].
“Picked it up in the garage. Want one?”
“No, no no no, not that! The thing in your left hand?”
“Oh, this? What else? Our last hope.”
“L-Look, I know we’re in a real pinch, but that’s not it. A Claymore! You gotta wire it up, aim it right to detonate! Directional explosion! How’re you gonna hit the enemy below!”
Siiiip— whoooo.
Mmm, killer. Real killer taste.
Ian savored the cigarette, then grinned at Professor.
“Hey, H. Pick one.”
“Pick what?”
Humming, he inserted the detonator and connected the eight-meter wire. A grotesque smile plastered his face.
“Front... or back?”
.
.
.
.
Professor understood instantly.
“You don’t meaaaaan!!!!”
“Kahahaha! Coin toss! All-in on Lady Luck!!!!”
Whoosh—
The Claymore in Ian’s hand sailed over the railing, plummeting straight toward the Abomination.
***
Whoosh—
Trapped in the vehicle, Professor watched the falling Claymore in slow motion. Front meant explosion downward. Back meant upward.
Whoosh—
Each flip brought flashes of his life: his father who died in his place, days in the 14th Special Forces, time in the wasteland with his mother, time alone, and finally, the short time with these two....
Whoosh—
Up front, Vex flailed and babbled nonsense. Ahead, leaning on the railing with detonator in hand, Ian winked at Professor.
“Gooooood luuuuuck, budddddyyy—”
Ian’s thumb rose on the hand gripping the detonator, slowly applying pressure.
Ah, not a bad life.
A tear welled in Professor’s eye,
Click.
With a bizarre sensation like time freezing,
KABOOOOOOM!!!!!
Professor blacked out.
***
Whirr—
Whirrrr— clunk!
Swish—
Itchy, warm. Something softly flowing. The feel of sun-heated sand grains brushing his body.
Like a broken machine powering up, Professor’s senses slowly returned. Exposed freight elevator outside. Sand whipping in the wind, not the rot-stink of mutants, but the familiar wasteland breeze—dust and all.
“This is.....”
He forced himself out of the vehicle. Not far off, collapsed buildings and rising smoke.
“Sector 45 outskirts..... Elevator connected here?”
No wonder no one found it. Floor-opening entrance. A little sand after we passed, and poof—no trace.
‘Vex.... bounced out of the car?’
Vex lay collapsed nearby.
“Hey, Vex. You alive?”
“....Happen, I think I found religion. Never felt like this before.”
“Weird. Me too. Guess I’ll celebrate Buddha’s birthday along with Christmas now.”
“Ughhhh—”
A groan from a sand-covered corner of the elevator. His leg, pinned between cars, freed by the final impact—no major damage beyond scrapes. Professor dragged his creaky body toward the sound.
“Ian, hey..... you okay?”
“F-Fuck. Like I’d be.... okay.... Feels like half my ribs are gone....”
Rustle—
Ian rose from the sand, cackling at Professor.
“Why the.... fuck you laughing....”
“You, your eyebrow, your hair.... keh keh! Burned right off.... Keheheheh!”
“And you think you’re hot shit? Your nose is crooked diagonal....”
“Keheheh! Kuh heh heh heh!”
Screee— screee—
“Kee hee, you two look so stupid.... Kee hee hee!”
Even Vex crawling from the corner.
“Keheh heh...”
“Kek, kuh heh....”
.
.
.
.
“Kahahahahaha!!!!”
“Puhahahaha! No way!”
“Kee hee hee hee! We survived that! All three in one piece!”
“Kehahak, old man, you call this in one piece? Keh heh heh heh!”
“In the wasteland, this is mosquito bite level!”
Finally, pent-up laughter and tension exploded.
“Son of a bitch! It worked! Wasn’t it 50-50 odds?”
“Keheheheh! Desperation bumped it to 51%! Most thrilling moment of my life! Woo hoo! Wow!”
“Kee hee hee, brainless musclehead....”
“Can’t hold back. Can’t let a moment like this pass!”
Ian winced at his chest pain, opened the bag on his back. Alcohol stench wafted out.
Amid settling breaths, a forgotten scent seeped deep.
“Damn, a few bottles broke.”
“Man, you grabbed that in that chaos?”
“Spotted ’em on the garage shelf. Bag was empty, so swept ’em up. Don’t worry. Sell the car, split three ways even.”
Whoosh—
Ian tossed a cloth-wrapped bottle to Professor, handed one to Vex beside him, took his own.
“You amateurs. Wastelanders move fast—empty hands? Fair warning: think of selling this booze, and you die by my hand right now.”
“Puhahat! Amateurs? Listen to this cocky punk.”
Professor burst laughing, unzipped his bag.
“N-bread in the wasteland? Everyone grabs their own.”
“That’s.... what?”
“Heh heh heh! That house had one of the few garages in the habitats! You think that’s all the good stuff? While you were losing it in the garage, I poked around the house for fire-starting goodies!”
Out came a small painting, a fancy box with a watch and necklace.
“Watch and necklace are nice, but the real prize is this painting. Some tycoon grabbed it foreseeing the apocalypse—worth way more than your junked car.”
“Keheheheh! We’re total burglars now!”
Creak— pop!
Between bickering Ian and Professor, quiet Vex uncorked his bottle.
“....Ah, sorry. Forgot about you.”
“No worries, old man. I’ll split half.”
“Kee hee hee hee, who’re you calling retard and scrub.”
“Hm? Oh, talk like that—you grabbed some too?”
“Old man, you got no bag? Stuffed in pockets?”
“Hm? Yeah? Lost the bag I had on entry.”
Gulp, gulp
“Kuh—!”
Vex downed the liquor heartily, pulled a two-finger-sized key from his pocket.
“Who needs a bag.”
“Hm? Key? How much’ll that fetch?”
“No.... wait. Vex, that’s not....”
“Kee hee hee!”
Vex dangled the intricate metal key in sunlight, waving it before them.
“Yeah, Happen. That’s it. One of the two security keys plugged into the master system panel.”
“!!!!!!”
“!!!!”
“Kee hee hee! Told ya. I like small things.”
Professor stared, mesmerized, at the key in Vex’s hand. That facility would end up in someone’s hands. Competition meant whoever got it would rush to normalize and fortify—starting with the system panel. But with only one key, unable to do shit—what would they think?
“That thing..... sell it....”
“Kee hee! Sure, they could fabricate one to fit... but keys like this ain’t easy. More than that, seizing a facility like this—normalization time is life or death. Selling this saves them time. They’ll pay top dollar, no question.”
“Hoooo....”
“Woooow....”
They gawked at each other, then burst into laughter without warning.
“Guess no matter what, we’re all prime wastelanders.”
“Pisses me off that this Metal Joe lost to such small-fry.”
“Kee hee hee! Can’t hear the scrub.”
Under the wasteland sunset, three raised their bottles.
“Heh heh heh, to hot-blooded lives.”
“To regret-free deaths!”
“Kee hee, to old favors!!”
Clink!
The liquor glowed amber in the sunset light, beautiful as jewels.
***