Chapter Text
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“Oh n-no!” Alice hissed, recoiling from the animal’s carcass. She whirled around, every sense in high alert, to see if more bears would appear--but none did. Apparently they weren’t like wolves. She’d shot a wolf an hour ago, and the retaliation of its pack was enough that she never wanted to shoot one again. It was too awful.
Maybe she should’ve waited for someone else to help her go through the forest… Of course, if she had, how long would that have taken? Everyone who wanted to explore this kind of place was busy , and half the time even they didn’t know when they’d be free.
No, it was better to press on. Satisfied that she wasn’t about to be attacked, Alice turned as the small bear transformed into a pile of bottles and furs, all arranged around a clean bear skull. She put her rifle back into inventory, kneeling.
Then she froze, looking around again. The forest was quiet. She’d thought she heard--but maybe that’d been leaves under her own feet? She’d been moving. It made sense.
… It was too dark in this area. It was creepy. She exhaled unsteadily, turning back to the pile, but the instant she did the sound returned. This time she sprang to her feet, whirling around.
She came face to face with the open end of a revolver. “Hello,” said the man behind it. Like all NPCs, he had no LED, but he was wearing a face Alice recognized. She froze. The Deviant Hunter. Her knees felt like jelly, and her thirium pump jackknifed in her chest . She knew it wasn’t really him, it couldn’t be, but her processors were stuck on panicked overdrive: looping the rush of cars, a shape closing in across a roaring highway. He’d tried to…
The ‘Deviant Hunter’ smirked, jerking the gun to the side. “You should get out of my way. I’d hate to shoot you after all the effort you’ve put into getting this far.”
He didn’t look like he’d regret shooting her. She swallowed hard, then took a few big steps to the side, hands lifting slightly.
“Don’t try anything,” he told her. Then he raised the gun, holstering it as he helped himself to her rightfully earned spoils. She opened her mouth to protest. These kinds of bears always killed her, and she almost hadn’t survived this time. Then she closed her mouth: she didn’t want the materials enough to be shot.
She should go, and come back with friends. She wasn’t ready for a fight, especially not with the only NPC she’d heard about in this forest.
Alice was just considering making a run for it when he put the last bottle into one of his many coat pockets. Then he stood and turned around again.
“As much as I appreciate your donation, I think it’s time for you to go.” And just like that, he drew his revolver again and shot her. She cried out, but there was no escaping it.
Over three hours in this stupid, rotten place, all wasted. Alice opened her eyes on the edge of the forest alone.
---
“Hey, kiddo! I like the new jacket.”
“N-North!” Alice dropped the carrot stalk she’d been pulling and hurried to her feet. North opened her arms as she grew close, and her hug was far too tight, but in a nice way. Alice smiled as she stepped back. “You’re here!”
“ Finally , right?” North laughed, ruffling her hair. “The last couple of days have just been…” Her expression darkened, and her eyes wandered past her and found Kara. Immediately the smile was back. "Kara! Good to see you.”
“How were your meetings?” Kara said, leaving the farmhouse’s side garden and brushing the dirt from her hands.
“Well, you know,” North said evasively. The smile was gone again, like a light. On and off. “More of the same. Our people are dying. Humans are too and they’re acting like it’s reason to kill us more. Fuckin--uh.” She winced. “Freaking pigs. So--how’s the new place?”
“It’s… ” It was cold, in the real world. They’d moved themselves to Pirate’s Cove as soon as deviants began flooding into Jericho. They had a fire going, and Luther did a good job feeding it it, but either Alice was too close to the fire and it was too hot, or she was far enough away that it was cold. Alice didn’t say this.“... We’re making it work, for now,” Kara finally replied, taking Alice’s hand. “It’s not exactly a place made for… comfortable living…”
“Oh,” North said. “But is it safe? Has anyone been bothering you?”
“No,” Kara said slowly. “Not yet. It’s abandoned, nobody disturbs it.”
“Great,” North said, setting her jaw grimly. “Then I have to ask: is there room for more? Because Jericho is too full, and we keep having to turn people away that are looking for shelter. I know you’re not close, but if we could at least give them a direction, it would mean a lot.”
Kara stood with her mouth open for several seconds. “I… suppose so,” She said quietly. She didn’t look like she was meaning to frown, but her lips turned down at the edges. “...The Jerrys would be happy with more company.” Her eyes flicked towards Alice, and she forced a smile, gently squeezing Alice’s hand. Alice squeezed too, smiling back. Kara was doing the right thing. They hadn’t liked how crowded Jericho got, but Pirate’s Cove was big. What’s more, people needed help, and it wasn’t fair for Alice’s family and their friends to have the whole place to themselves.
“Thank you,” North told them sincerely. “I’ll pass that on to Markus. Meanwhile, if there’s anything you need, let us know, alright? We’re stretched tight for supplies, but… if you call, we’ll do our best.”
Kara’s smile softened, more genuine. “Thank you, North.”
Warmth eased into North’s expression. After a second or two she looked away, producing her rifle from inventory and taking a step back. “Come on, Alice! You said you wanted me to show you cool tricks, right?”
Alice dropped Kara’s hand and materialized her own rifle, rushing forward. “Coming!”
The two of them started down a slope near the house. There was a slight overhang, and the dirt beneath was bare and soft. They shot at the slope for a while, North demonstrating quick ways to bring her rifle up and keep steady. Alice had okay aim, but it was hard to shoot quickly, and while playing by herself she had a problem with dying before she’d lined up her shots.
While they were taking a break, Alice told North about the new forest she’d visited, with its packs of enormous wolves and the occasional bear. She also told her about the NPC that robbed and shot her. North’s smile vanished at that part, and Alice felt a thrill of gratitude.
“What a total piece of shit,” North complained. Her LED--present in the game, despite being long gone in person--blinked an irritable yellow. “What the hell? The humans on the Red Rock trail don’t rob you. They just kill you, and then you shoot them for vengeance afterwards.”
Alice shrugged, nodding in agreement.
“Here’s the deal,” North said. She pressed her rifle’s end at the ground, leaning an elbow on it like a walking stick. “I’ll go with you the next time, and together we’ll get to that cabin you were aiming at. Meanwhile, you practice hard so that the next time that asshole shows up, you shoot him in the dick.”
Alice beamed, nodding quickly. North picked up a stick and went to the earthy incline and started scraping out a rough approximation of a target. It was a man-sized silhouette, and when she was done she looked around. North found a short log near the end of the incline and hoisted it up, moving it between the shape’s legs.
“There, a target!” she declared. Alice took one look and clapped a hand over her mouth, giggling. “What?” North asked, eyes glinting wickedly. “First one to knock the log over wins.”
They shot at the log for a while. North was the one whose shot made the whole thing tilt, but another shot accidentally righted it again, so they were back at square one.
They were just running out of bullets when Kara arrived. “What are you two doing?” she asked, frowning faintly at the slope. Alice’s eyes widened, and she followed Kara’s gaze, hoping that the outline would be too hard to make out from her angle.
“Target practice!” North announced blithely. Kara narrowed her eyes, and North put her rifle away. “Keep practicing, Alice. It’s time for me to go.”
Alice jerked around to face her, Kara following suit more slowly. “O-okay…”
“Stay safe, North.”
North waved to Alice and inclined her head to Kara. “Sure thing.” Then as briskly as she’d appeared, she was gone.
Kara turned back to the slope. “... Alice. Is that a person with a…?”
....Suddenly Alice was aware that North had left her to deal with this alone. “... No?” Kara lifted an eyebrow at her. “... It was North’s idea.”
Kara didn’t seem surprised (or impressed), and she walked over to the target, nudging the log until it was on its side at the target’s feet.
“Come on,” Kara said. “Let’s go back.”
Alice quickly put her rifle away, and then went to take Kara’s hand. Together they went back to the farm.
---
Deviants began arriving the next morning. They were on foot: scattered groups of two to four. Individual Jerrys had been rushing around all morning, and by the time the newcomers reached the front ticket stands a few of them were eagerly ready to usher them in, opening up old offices the park’s human managers had once used.
Alice helped clean out offices where she could, but the Jerrys were a whirlwind of activity. Soon she retreated to the calm of Kara’s orbit, clasping her hand and pressing close for warmth. Luther was helping her carry a tower of folded up banners that could be repurposed as blankets, and they both smiled down at her when she arrived.
They were looking for more ‘blankets’ when Kara received a transmission and stopped, staring into space. “... North?”
Alice looked up, immediately interested. Unfortunately, Kara wasn’t smiling. “What channel?” Kara asked softly, eyes flickering to Luther, whose eyes half closed as he connected to the conversation.
They stayed silent for several long seconds, focused on nothing in the room. Alice tried to imagine what they could be watching, wondered if she should look up the news channel Todd sometimes watched before getting high. Alice shifted restlessly from foot to foot, deciding against it. Kara would tell her any second, now.
Eventually Kara shook her head a little, focus shifting from whatever they’d seen. “What should we do?” Luther turned to look at her, and Alice bit her tongue, wanting to ask to be let in. She couldn’t bring herself to try: this was an adult thing. She was pretty old, especially for an android, but…
“I understand,” Kara was saying. “I know. Don’t worry about us, North, we’ll be fine.”
Were they fine, though? Kara looked worried, and though Luther looked as calm and unmovable as he always did, he was still listening to whatever Kara was hearing.
“You too,” said Kara. A moment later she blinked, eyes returning to their surroundings. The call was over.
“What’s going on?” Alice asked softly.
Kara looked at Luther, then down at her. “... There’s been an official announcement,” she explained quietly. “With the current state of national emergency, any android caught away from their place of official employment will be detained and… recalled.”
Recalled. Dismantled. Killed, taken back. Alice wanted to hold on to the softer word, as though it could hide the truth from her if she let it.
“There were a few other things,” Kara added, looking over Alice’s head at Luther. “But you won’t have to worry about those here. Just stay close to us, we’ll… we’ll wait this out.”
Luther’s eyebrow twitched, and Alice couldn’t tell if he was frowning. After a moment she nodded. “I’ll stay close,” she promised.
Deviants continued to arrive. They looked more frightened, now, glancing behind themselves as though they expected to be chased. Alice wandered a little, torn by the need to stay close, and also by the urge to look for hiding places, or ways out. She couldn’t find many by the heart of Pirate’s Cove where they were staying, and she couldn’t bring herself to wander further.
Alice took a break and texted North at around the time she would usually log on to their game, but North replied saying she wouldn’t be able to make it. Alice was disappointed, but not as surprised as she could have been. Of course North would be busy, now. Looking after people was much more important than helping Alice play a little game. It was what North and her friends did , and it was part of why she was so cool.
Alice logged into Oregon Trail and went back to the slope by the farmhouse, practicing shooting alone. When she logged off, she saw Kara at the other end of the old restaurant they’d reclaimed, sorting through a pile of papers someone had brought. Alice hesitated, watching her-- then pillowed her head in her arms and closed her eyes, sinking back into the game.
---
She went to the forest, leaving her gun in her inventory. She had a rough idea of where the cabin was supposed to be, and maybe there was another way to approach it. She found a river she knew would pass nearby and followed it, watching the water carefully. She also watched the trees.
It was only because she was paying so much attention that she noticed him first. The NPC was kneeling by the river’s edge, refilling his canteen, and Alice ducked out of sight behind an old ash tree, thirium pump pounding. She was in such a hurry that she kicked a rock into the water on her way, and she winced instinctively at the soft splash. Nothing came immediately, and she stilled, listening hard. Were those footsteps? Was that someone else’s breathing, or her own?
She strained her ears, but eventually gave in to the urge to very, very slowly peek out from behind the trunk. He wasn’t by the river anymore. Was this a good thing or not? She couldn’t see where he had gone. Swallowing hard, she ducked back behind the tree again, turning away.
Then she jolted back, stifling a small shriek and pressing as far into the tree as she could. He was standing there in front of her, twirling his revolver idly in one hand.
“You’re terrible at hiding. Did you know that?” he asked conversationally.
She hated dying, and even though he was just a program, he was scary . It wasn’t all in his design, though the black coat, hat, and bandana were certainly ominous. It was in the way she knew his face, and in the way he used his features: eyes resting on her like needles, brandishing smiles like the wicked edge of a knife. He was creepy , and she hated it.
“You know,” the NPC continued pleasantly. “I remember another little girl that was terrible at hiding. She and her mother were cowering like mechanical rats in an old, abandoned dump. It was useless, of course… They couldn’t have picked a more obvious place.”
She couldn’t move. She couldn’t move at all, because... somehow he knew. The game had read her memories, and he remembered, just like she did.
“... What’s the matter?” He said, studying her with interest. “Does this story sound familiar?”
Alice didn’t answer. She wasn’t stupid, she knew this was just the game trying to scare her by pretending he was the actual Deviant Hunter, but--it hit home in ways most dumb NPC stories didn’t. This wasn’t a generic villain with a one-size-fit-all storyline. This was her story, and she didn’t like it. Since when did NPCs do that?
He must have read her expression, because he huffed a little laugh. Now his smile was all teeth. “How does the rest go?” he mock-wondered. “... Oh, I remember. When I flushed them out, they ran . I caught up in the middle of the highway. Do you know what would’ve happened if I’d caught them?”
Alice didn’t know for sure, but she had guesses. Sometimes she had nightmares.
“The things Cyberlife does to captured deviants, you can’t even imagine…” His eyes had a nasty glint.
“... Now, I’m not Cyberlife, but I’ve certainly learned a few things. If I catch you here again, maybe I won’t kill you. Maybe I’ll make you regret coming here enough that you’ll just never be the same.” He lowered his empty hand, pointing the one with the revolver towards her. “Do you understand?”
He probably would have shot her then, except for the movement in the river behind him. He swung around and aimed at the water instead, taking a few graceful steps to keep both Alice and his target within view.
… He was… he was distracted. Hands shaking badly enough that she wasn’t sure she could aim, Alice produced her rifle from inventory. The movement caught the NPC’s attention, and he drew a second revolver, pointing it at her without moving the first. “Don’t you dare ,” he warned grimly. “I’ll--.”
She squeezed off a wild shot before he could finish. It didn’t hit him where she wanted, but it got his upper thigh. For most enemies, it wouldn’t have mattered; one shot was enough to take anyone down. Unfortunately for her, the latest round of updates had included higher level challenges. Instead of dying, this NPC cried out in apparent pain, one knee buckling as his gun came up--
--before an alligator surged out from the water, clamping his other leg and dragging him under. He had time for one last shout before the water swallowed him up, and all that was left was thrashing, splashing, and bubbles.
...Alice stared . Then, with trembling hands, she put her rifle away, following the river again and taking care to give it a little more distance.
The river ended where it met a large rock formation, water flowing under it and out of sight. Alice adjusted her heading, striking out at an angle. This eventually brought her to a large clearing, with a similarly large cabin. She went up its creaking front steps... and froze in the open doorway.
The cabin was occupied. “Who the hell are you?” Said one enormous android, pointing a rifle at her. There were three of them, each easily the biggest androids she’d ever seen. They looked like they might even be taller than Luther, a feat Alice hadn’t thought possible.
“Whoa,” said a different android. All three of them looked identical, with pale skin and black hair, but his shirt was lighter than the other two, and his undisguised fascination made him seem kinder. “Are you a YK model?”
“Obviously,” sneered the third, who’d lifted his rifle but hadn’t pointed it. “She’s a little girl, what else would she be?”
“I don’t know,” replied the nice-ish android. All players had an LED, and now his flickered yellow. “I was just checking. It’s not like you’ve ever seen one either, Ike.”
“Both of you, shut the fuck up,” the android still holding her at rifle-point said. He rolled his eyes before glaring at her. “You. Kid. Do you know how to trigger the battle, here?”
Three pairs of eyes turned to her expectantly, and Alice swallowed dryly, looking from one to the other. After a few seconds she jerked her head from side to side.
“I just got here…” she whispered.
“Fuck,” snapped the android with the rifle, lowering it and turning away. “Another fucking useless civilian…”
“Ease up, Molotov,” said the nice one, frowning. “We’re new too.”
“Yeah,” drawled Ike, leaning against a wall with his arms crossed. “But at least we’re not useless.”
“No, we’re just standing around and letting other people do the searching,” said the nice one, grinning.
“Oh, fuck you , Bravo,” Ike muttered pushing away from the wall toward a shelf and pulling a crate from it. He emptied its bottles out onto the floor, then tossed it to one side. The bottles vanished into his inventory, and he moved on.
For the first time Alice looked around. What she’d at first thought were signs of an abandoned, neglected shack were actually the results of a destructive search. Bookshelves had been emptied and pushed over. The cot was lying on its side, blankets half buried under the remains of a clay pot. The fireplace had probably once had a fire, but ashes and chunks of half-scorched wood had been pulled out and dumped on the floor beside it, where they’d been tracked across the rest of the single large room.
Sitting almost untouched by the chaos was a weathered wooden chest by the window. There was one rusty lock, as well as soot-marks where someone with dirty hands had tried to open it.
“This place is a waste of time,” Molotov complained. “We should cut our losses, get the fuck out of here, and kill something.”
Ike grunted agreement, dropping another crate and ignoring the materials it spilled. “Let’s go.”
Bravo turned to her, smiling earnestly. “It was very nice to meet you, little girl.”
“Y-you t-too,” she stuttered. Molotov started towards her, and she jumped back onto the porch and out of the way. All three androids filed out, and when Bravo stepped onto the trail after his friends, Alice called out, “W-wait!”
They stopped, and Alice swallowed, a little surprised by her own daring. “I… I don’t know how to activate the fight, but… I--I think I found the boss over that way, once. And then by the river.” She pointed, then dropped her hand self-consciously. “... I didn’t get anything from it, s-so it, um, still probably wasn’t right, but…”
The three of them exchanged looks before Bravo looked back at her, beaming. “Thanks! That’s almost useful. I mean--it’s a little useful?” He glanced at his friends as though looking for advice, but found no support.
That’d stung a little, but he didn’t look like he was trying to be mean. “... Y-you’re welc--”
A gunshot interrupted her, catching Bravo in the side of the head. Alice gasped, and the other two drew their rifles. They were executed before they could finish turning. The boss they’d just been talking about strode out of the trees, ignoring the bodies and walking up to her. No--past her, to the edge of the cabin, where the destruction they’d left was in plain view. He stood there a moment: shoulders stiffening, grip on the revolver tightening until it creaked.
Then he rounded on her, and she quailed. He wasn’t as tall as the androids he’d just killed, but he radiated hate like a physical smog, and Alice found himself shaking uncontrollably as he brought the revolver up. His bandana was up, covering his mouth and nose, and all she could see was a pair of burning eyes.
She opened her mouth to apologize, but she didn’t know what for. She was fighting the urge to cry when he shot her point blank.
---
Alice didn’t want to play after that. She opened her eyes instead, pretending to wake up from a nightmare. Kara gave her a big hug, which she leaned into, soaking in the comfort like a sponge. It would have been even better with Luther around, but he was nowhere in sight.
It was late enough by then that Kara put Alice to bed. As she did, Alice asked after Luther. Kara didn’t pause, but her smile... faltered. Then she brushed back Alice’s hair, saying, “Jerry needed help moving something heavy. That’s all.” Alice hesitated only a moment before nodding, rolling over, and going into stasis.
The next day when Alice logged on, she went back to the forest. Giant wolves ate her the first time, and when she came back she tripped and had to use some of her precious spare biocomponents to fix her broken leg. Then she got eaten by wolves again, and then…
Eventually she got to the cabin. It had been cleaned up since the day before, but not reset altogether. The floor still had grey and black smears where soot had been ground in, and though everything was back in its place, the shelves and boxes were mostly empty.
There was no one around, and after a skittish look she left the place untouched.
Once outside she was attacked by a bear, and when she came back she decided to follow the river away from the forest for a break. She wasn’t expecting to find the NPC she’d been searching for an hour later, stretched out on a sandy part of the bank. His clothes were wet and his skin and hair pulsed a splotchy, mottled red. His eyes were closed. When she reached speaking distance, he produced a revolver without looking, cocking it towards the sky.
“Turn around now and go back the way you came.”
She stopped.
When she didn’t leave he aimed the revolver at her, tilting his head and cracking one eye open. His mouth twisted like he was tasting something sour.
“... What are you doing here?”
The sun was shining, the fields around the river were green, and the opening of the revolver’s barrel looked like it was watching her. “... I… I…” He turned his head so he could watch her with both eyes, which made him somehow look even more unimpressed. She cringed. “... I… I j-just wanted to say… s-sorry for yesterday…”
Whatever he’d expected, this obviously wasn’t it. The sneer flattened to something nonplussed. “What.”
“I-I…” She pressed her hands over her coverall pockets, looking down, then at the river. “... I didn’t mean for the crocodile to get you. Then, those androids… th-they, they broke your stuff, and. I thought it’d be fixed now, but it w-wasn’t, and… and I’m s-sorry…”
He didn’t say anything in reply. She’d sort of expected him to shoot her or give a weird, ominous response, staying in character with the badguy he was, but he didn’t do either of those. He was acting strange in general. She hadn’t thought NPCs could get sick in a game they were supposed to help run.
After a few more seconds of staring she picked at a loose thread in her sleeve, glancing at his skin.
“... Y-you have measles,” she told him softly.
He groaned, breaking his heavy stare to roll his eyes to the sky. “Thank you for pointing out the obvious . Where would I be without someone to tell me I’m dying from an obsolete human children’s disease that I should be physically incapable of contracting in the first place?”
She looked down quickly, cheeks flushing, and for a moment she kind of wished someone would shoot him. She wasn’t trying to be stupid, even if she was anyway. This was why talking was so hard. She knew everything she said was pointless, and that someone would probably shout at her over it sooner or later. It didn’t matter that she was just trying to help. She should have just shut her damn trap and stayed quiet.
She opened her mouth and closed it, trying to get to the point she’d had before he replied. She couldn’t bring herself to talk, and after a while she just drew a little jar from her inventory, tossing it towards him. It scattered sand across him when it landed, and she winced at the accident. She wanted to hide and run away now that she’d said her stupid thing to an NPC that didn’t even care.
The NPC frowned at the jar. He freed up his closer hand by putting the revolver away, then picked the jar up, reading its side as though unable to believe what he’d probably recognized at first sight.
“... This is a measles cure.”
Alice nodded.
“Why are you giving this to me?”
Alice looked at her shoes, then shrugged. When it didn’t seem as though he was going to thank her (or move at all), she turned, walking away.
He didn’t call after her, or shoot her, or do anything she would’ve expected from a villain NPC. She did hear the faint rustle of someone sitting up, and then unscrewing the little jar’s lid.
She went back to the farm, where she tended to a field for the rest of the afternoon.
---