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24. Outbreak
🕑 Added 2024-03-03 03:44:02 +0000 UTCGrabbing tight hold of the horse beast’s hair, Levi pulled to the left. The monster fought his direction. He threw his whole weight behind it, forcibly moving the monster’s head, and it turned, unable to point its head straight forward. Letting out a frustrated whinny, it turned, charging to the left.
The beasts ahead of it ran on, pounding straight ahead down Old Town’s main street, but the horses behind it turned along with Levi’s beast, too tight held to ignore Levi’s beast’s lean. They poured down a side street, galloping toward the no-man’s-land, and beyond that, Central City.
Before I get too close. Levi reached over his shoulder and yanked his mask out of his bag, tying it on. He slapped the horse monster again, egging it on. “Let’s go! Faster! Yeehaw, cowboy!”
As he said the word cowboy, Levi paused. “I call this gear ‘Night Sparrow,’ but that doesn’t really fit with the theme of ‘cowboy.’ And here I am, doing the ultimate cowboy-themed crime! Come on. Think. Something Wild West. Something cowboys. Uh… vulture-something? Howdy Vulture? Dry Bird? A Really Fuckin’ Lost Sparrow? Uh, Ten Gallon Skull?”
A signboard swooped at him, advertising gas prices in long-shattered plastic. Levi ducked, falling flat on the horse’s back, as the horse itself lowered its neck to dodge. He shook his head as he hugged the sweaty, muscular back. “No, that’s shit. They’re all shit. I’ll figure it out later.”
Zipping out in front of him, a slender man in orange bounced up onto the horse beast beside Levi. Levi stared at him. “The hell are you?”
“Speedster! And you?”
“Fucking hell, man, I’m in the middle of something, you think I have time to come up with names?”
Speedster put his hands up. Without skipping a beat, he pressed on, totally ignoring Levi’s flippant response. “We couldn’t help but notice you from atop the buildings—”
“—and you’re really digging my vibe?” Levi asked.
Continuing to make the good decision of ignoring Levi, Speedster continued, “—and we were wondering what the plan was. Seems like you’re taking the beasts toward Central City, instead of out into the suburbs.”
Levi nodded, pursing his lips. “Yeah, uh, yeah, that’s basically the plan.”
“Why, my man?”
“Those supers who were guarding the Gate just fucked off rather than doing their job. I thought I’d make them, you know, do their job.” Levi shrugged.
“They won’t protect Old Town or the suburbs, but they’ll protect Central City,” Speedster realized, his eyes widening.
“Yeah, basically,” Levi said.
Speedster nodded. “You know, usually I stand in the way of crime, but I think I’ll look the other way this time. We’ll put up a token effort until the Central City bigwigs show up.” He sighed. “I mean, shit, let’s face it. I’ve got a hundred points in speed, but a single-stat hundred-pointer is pretty much the limit, when it comes to Old Town heroes or hunters. These beasts can take more damage than we can put out.”
Levi nodded, frowning in agreement. “Exactly. Exactly! Those douchebags abandoned you guys to your fate. Let’s bring them their fate, back to them!”
Speedster furrowed his brows. He pointed left, then right, then left again, then shrugged. “Sure. Yeah. And I was digging your vibes, for the record. My wife and I would love to have you.”
Levi looked up sharply. “What?”
Shooting finger guns, Speedster leaped backward off the beast. He hung in the air for a moment, only to whoosh off the second he hit the floor.
Levi sat up on the beast, staring after Speedster. He let out a low whistle. “Fuck, he’s cool.”
He slapped his cheek and turned back around. “Focus, Levi.”
Ahead of them, no-man’s-land gaped wide, a suburban wasteland turned into a true wasteland. The beasts kicked up dust and chunks of asphalt as they galloped over the ruined streets. Levi’s horse whinnied, tossing its head and kicking its rear legs, but he held on. Tired, the horse gasped and settled down once more.
Shaking his head, Levi patted the horse’s shoulder lovingly. “You and me, babe. We’re going all the way to Central City.”
All around them, empty land gaped. The until-now tightly held horse beasts splayed out, spreading out over the breadth of no-man’s-land. Levi scowled. “Hey! Get back here! We’re all in this together. This is a group project, and we’re graded by effort, dammit!”
On the outskirts, bright colors and worn armor flickered through the gaps in the decaying strip malls. Levi sat up, peering left and right. Who are they? Are the Central City supers finally stepping in?
In a wide gap between the buildings, Levi caught sight of both groups. Speedster and a few other Old Town supers herded the horses from the left, Speedster tossing a friendly wave at Levi. From the left, a ragtag herd of hunters, some of them riding tamed beasts of their own, pushed the herd back together. Between the hunters, the supers, and Levi’s guidance, the horses charged ahead, toward that shining pillar of Central City.
“Let’s fucking goooo!” Levi shouted, slapping his horse to urge it faster. His eyes locked on Central City, a grin stretched across his face. Hooves pounded all around him, as the Outbreak made a beeline for Central City.
