The Last 100 – Ch.4

Strolling down an empty Bunning’s was a unique experience. I had with me a shopping cart, half filled with planks of wood, nails and tools. The purpose of these was to help reinforce wherever it was I chose to when the time came. I refused to hole up within my home. Too many memories. Too distracting.

A strange thing that people rarely ever realise about a Bunning’s is the drought of windows. Its walls are made of almost bare concrete. It had never really occurred to me in my sporadic visits over the years. But now, devoid of the glow of artificial light, my way illuminated only by a newly liberated torch and batteries from the front desk, I was becoming keenly aware of this lack of windows. I would complain if there was anyone to complain to.

I was now in search of weapons. Australia had almost entirely eradicated the ownership of guns within itself, so they were out of the window. Also, my town was devoid of any hunting goods store or any close by farms or loges so bows and crossbows were also a non-starter. Besides I wouldn’t know what to do with them even if I had found them. So, Bunning’s was where my addled, emotional wreck of a mind had taken me. I had been drawn here with the irresistible allure of axes, one of the few things in this town I could think of with any combat use.

The problem was, Bunning’s was large, larger when you can only see a few metres ahead of you. And I had no fucking clue where axes were, only that they were here, information sourced from a childhood memory of begging my mother to buy me one. I shook my head again.

So, this led me to my current situation, wandering aimlessly around a pitch-black Bunning’s, hoping and praying that I stumble across the isle with the axes in it. It was an oppressive atmosphere, this. The darkness seemed to encroach upon me and Wilhelm every second that I looked away from it. My tiny pocket of brightness dwindling with each passing second. It was my just in my head however.

Eventually our odyssey of a search was rewarded when we came upon a small hoard of axes, piled up upon one another at shoulder level on one of the shelves. My fingers danced over the metal edges and fingered at the rubber handles. I hoisted it above my head and felt the weight. It was rather hefty, the weight was comforting, it felt more dangerous that way. I dumped it into the cart and dashed toward the entrance, running toward the tantalising portal of light that was the doors. Running from the dark, childish? Yes, did I care? Not at all.

I emerged into a parking lot, it was bathed in the midday sun and covered with a light smattering of cars, they ranged in colour and design, the most common of which being the Ute. Tradesmen must have come here to buy more materials. I thought. It was then that I realised I had forgotten something.

The fucking specialisation points, I’m an idiot. I chastised myself. The telepathic communication with Wilhelm must have shook me more than I thought and the whole allocation of the points had slipped my mind entirely. I sat on the hood of a random red car, revelling briefly in the feeling of the warm hood that had been sitting in the sun for days. I then opened my status and cast my eyes over to the specialisation points.

Then things got a little weird, for instead of a window opening like I had expected it to my vision instead went dark, standing in the darkness was a glowing figure of a man, I couldn’t make out his features because of the light that emanated from his form but casting out form his hand was a lead of white light, it lead to a dog, it was made of the same materialised light. From this I deduced that it was representing Wilhelm and I.

Inside of me, the entity that was me not the model made of light, was a form of… I don’t know how to describe it, it was like when you breath in way to deeply and you’re swollen with air. Sought of like that but in a much more ethereal and grandiose sense. I knew, somehow that these were the specialisation points. And so, I did what felt right, I exhaled them in the direction of my head, I saw a diaphanous stream of golden light pass from the invisible entity that was my mind and into the model that represents me, I watched as the head of the being flared brighter than the rest before eventually burning down to a steadier, but still more luminous than the rest.

My vision returned to me in spots. It was like when you enter into the outside world after being in a dim room for a long time. When it came back to me I checked the countdown and saw that it had gone down a full half hour. Note to self, don’t allocate points in battle. I could already feel the results, however subtle they were there my mind seemed to work just the slightest bit faster, it was one hell of a rush.

I hopped down from the hood of the car, the sound of my feet landing echoing across the car park. I called to Wilhelm in my head and began to move. I knew where I wanted for us to hunker down and it was a bit of a trek. I gripped the handles of the shopping cart that held my materials and began to leave the carpark. This would be way fucking easier if I could drive. Wilhelm barked his affirmative and for the first time since this had started I laughed. Yeah boy, you’re right.

When we arrived at the town observatory the sun had just started to set. I had chosen this building because it was at the top of a hill and on the edge of a cliff. From here we could only be attacked from one side and also have a few of the entire battlefield. Yeah, this is where we stand. For better or for worse eh boy. He barked again, and I smiled tragically.

“For better or for worse. We’ll get through this.” I muttered it aloud to try and convince myself. I failed.