《Dark Wolf》Book Two: Chapter 13
Advertisement
"Copper, can we stabilize the power plant from here?" Lena asked.
The robot shook back and forth. "Bloody no! The power plant has its own control center there. You must head there to cool down the system manually."
"Why can't we shut it off instead?" John asked.
"That would be stupid as fuck! The power plant keeps everything running here with unlimited nuclear power. Without it, the entire planet will go blacker than your black ass. And without power, nothing can keep the nuclear core at normal temperatures. We're all fucked if we don't stabilize the blasted thing!"
Why the fuck do colonies use nuclear power? John never agreed nuclear power was an excellent energy source to keep an entire colony city running. If the nuclear plants were so dangerous, then why use them? There were plenty of alternate energy sources to use. Solar, oil, water, air, heat, and electricity. But too many dumbasses were running the intergalactic government.
John crossed his metal arms."How long do we have?"
Copper waved his arms up. "Two hours. Maybe less. Depending on how long the dumbass didn't check on it."
John gritted his teeth. "Fuck…… We have to get there first. How far is it?"
"It will only take half an hour on the train."
"Then we better keep our asses moving and pray it doesn't blow up." John sprinted back toward the door. "Let's move!"
"Just to be clear, I have no ass!" Copper shouted behind John.
They charged through the leftover carnage in the hallway and entered the freight elevator.
“Which level?” John asked.
"Level one," said Copper.
John pushed the button, and the doors closed. The elevator vibrated down slowly, making John wished it would move faster.
Advertisement
Suddenly, something snapped from the top outside, and then the elevator fell faster. John and Lena flew up, and their backs hit the ceiling. Copper hit John's crotch, making John scream.
Metal brakes outside screeched as the elevator slowly stopped. John fell to the floor first before Lena landed next to him. Copper pushed John off and levitated up. "Bloody hell!"
After John rose, he rubbed his arching crotch, which didn't last long. "What the fuck happened?"
Copper glanced up. "A sneaky bastard probably cut the line from the top. We can't go down further."
"Shit!"
Lena approached the doors and yanked on them. Although she was super strong, the doors wouldn't budge open. "Crap, they're shut tight!"
John glanced at a square hatch on the ceiling. "How about through there?"
"The only way out, I suppose," said Copper. "If we are lucky, there might be a ventilation shaft at the top. We can go through there to reach the bottom."
John nodded. "If it is our only option, so be it."
Advertisement
NOVA INTERIT.US
It's 2063, and the town along with much of the nation are in disarray. The decay started years before the Great Event. Our town still had hope thanks to the five families, who'd created a blockchain based water distribution system for the locals, a valuable secret hidden from the Global Water Commission and their network of mercenaries. Earlier in the mid-2040's, right after the state secessions of Idaho, Montana, and Texas, the Global Council of Water Commissioners made their deals and moved into towns throughout the country. They called it "the integration." The Commission and their contractors integrated with municipal water departments, using their organized network to invade like parasites on local services. It all coincided with the 29th Amendment to the United States Constitution, later referred to as the Regional Trident Plan. Nova is a story about survival, power structures, the turning of relationships, and the networking between people and the systems to which they belong. It’s about A.I. blockchain possibility, and its potential for human betterment versus our detriment. It’s about the question of whether or not we need to be saved from ourselves, and by who or what? The Great Event at the end of the first chapter might just be what actually saves us. The epilogue will take place in 2517. This scene is fully sketched and the full arc of the novel is set. I expect to finish Nova Interitus by summer of 2023. This is realist hard-sci-fi dystopian fiction. I hope you find Nova to be a challenging and consuming story. This is not something I planned to write. It all came to me in a dream and I haven't been able to stop writing it. This Royal Road posting is basically a beta test with chapters and drafts to get some feedback and see if there's any readership for this narrative. For the full experience read Nova on Substack. I will be narrating a podcast version later this year there. https://novainteritus.substack.com/
8 143Harmony: An Assassins Tale
As a child, Johnny Wellington was different than others. He didn't know what, however. Soon he was captured by the government who found out about his potential. A few years passed and now his life is about to change. Not only his but the entire world. Will our friendly neighborhood main character manage to protect the world from the evil that waits for him?
8 307Gangster's Son
Robert is not a regular eighteen year old boy. Nope he doesn't have super human strength, neither is he a charming boy. The thing that makes everyone afraid of him is that he is the son of the biggest gangster. Everyone presumes him as a dangerous fellow. His goal is to leave everything behind and make a name for himself so that his mother can live peacefully, away from any danger.
8 84Quid Pro Quo
Satchmo Turner is a failed private detective from the rusting heart of the Black Country who is reeling from the loss of his sister and fiancee. He's going nowhere at work, and treading water in life, until he picks up a simple missing person case and stumbles into something much bigger. Satchmo soon finds himself in over his head and embroiled a hunt for ancient treasure, unrequited love, violence and murder in a quiet English village stocked with a cast of characters he could never have imagined.Praise for Quid Pro Quo from Wattpadders:"Damn you for writing such a good book. I'm dead serious when I say you should look to get it published.""Overall, I think it's a great book and something I'd expect to see on a shelf in a bookstore somewhere.""I read another chapter and devoured the whole damn thing over an afternoon.""All-in-all the book was thoroughly enjoyable and very professionally written. Definitely better than almost everything else that I have encountered on Wattpad... it was a compelling read.""Your style of storytelling is lovely to read. I'm trying desperately to convince my husband to sign up to Wattpad so he can read it too."
8 118Dark Slate
This is a story about a 27-year-old Lennart Klein who after returning from a Business trip. Is on his way to see his family. Being exhausted from the trip his body breaks down while driving and ends up crashing. After his death, he gets reborn into a new world. He doesn't want to accept it as he enjoyed his previous life. Due to this event, he felt it was hopeless. Now being emotionally shattered he doesn't care for this new life. It all changed once he discovered the existence of magic. Since he had nothing to do, he started learning it. Because of this, he started becoming closer and closer with his new family. He is born in one of the highest ranking noble houses in the kingdom as Arata Arumani. Making new friends, refining his abilities, facing powerful foes, and finding love. He thought that maybe he could start living his new life to its fullest. He now wanted to experience everything that this new world had to offer and face every challenge head-on.
8 203From This Dream
Life for Karen Fairchild is complicated in so many ways. But some moments are beautiful and amazing.
8 76