Chapter 18: Nightmares and Headaches

Marcus was tired, hot, but most of all thirsty. 

As Marcus sat down on a old wooden bench he looked out at his work, a half acre of tilled soil. He had been working since morning and is a little past noon judging by the sun. 

looking past the patch of dirt Marcus gazed at the vast expanse in front of him. While generally boring to look at, the wasteland has a quaint beauty to it. The pale blue sky contrasts with the browns and sparse patch of greenery nicely. The old road leading out of the settlement adds contrast to the scenery. 

"Hey, Marcus!"

Marcus looks behind him to see Alice with two paper bags in her hands.

"Alice! You know you don't have to bring me lunch right?"

"I know, but having made lunch for Mick, I thought i'd bring you lunch too!"

Alice sat down next to Marcus and gave him one of the bags. Inside was a sandwich, an apple, and a fresh bottle of water. While it was a simple meal, it's the best he had in a long time. As Marcus is finishing his lunch a strange thought hits him, giving him a sense of deja vu.

"Hey Alice, where did you get such fresh water? Actually, I hadn't eaten an apple until I started training...."

Marcus turns to face Alice, her eyes look sad for some reason.

"It's not your fault Marcus."

"What do you mean? What's not my fault?"

"I'm saying its not your fault I d-"

*BANG!*

Marcus watches in horror as Alice falls back onto the ground. A large oozing wound appearing on her chest. Marcus looks to find he's surrounded by burning buildings, and the distant screams of Dirt Mound's townsfolk being butchered like animals. Marcus rushes to her side, but it's too late. Alice lies dead at his feet.

His chest starts to ache. Marcus is overwhelmed with emotions like anger, hate, sadness, but most of all he felt...

"GUILTY"

Marcus recognizes the deep gravelly voice; Looking up he sees the large raider boss with a small cannon in his hands. Marcus stares at the burning red eyes of the killer when he hears a deep chuckle escape from behind the gasmask on the raiders face.

"YOU WEREN'T FAST ENOUGH"

"We were ambushed! I only had an old knife, what could-"

"YOU WEREN'T STRONG ENOUGH"

"I was only fourteen! I couldn't have-"

"AGE IS NO EXCUSE IN THE WASTELAND. YOU WERE WEAK. YOU ARE WEAK."

"Shut the FUCK UP!!!"

Marcus draws his laz pistol and fires three shots into the raiders chest faster than the eye could blink. The raider starts to laugh as the wounds on his chest quickly close. Before he could fire again, Marcus feels a tug on his legs. Looking down he watches the bodies of Mick, and Alice grabbing his legs, their eyes solid black, and crying tears of blood. Marcus finds himself surrounded by the crawling bodies of the townsfolk. From the chef that worked at the Grub Hub, to Tom the farmer he used to work for.

All of them yelling at Marcus in a cacophony of agonized wails. Marcus yelled back in desperation.

"Why didn't you save us!"   "Stop it!"        "Your weak!"

"You let us die!"    "Leave me alone!"    "You abandoned us!"

"Your a coward who ran!"    "SHUT UP!"  "Why didn't you protect Alice!"

"Weakling!"   "NO!"    "You should of died, not us!"

                      "NOOO!!!"

Marcus screamed awake in a hospital bed, drenched in sweat. His heart is pounding in his chest, and Marcus was finding it hard to breath. The nurse was beside him, picking up the clipboard she dropped in shock. Doctor Strauss turns away from a computer screen to look Marcus over.

"Hmm~ Had a nightmare dear Viper? Drug induced nightmares are always a doozy, trust me I know!"

"Ughh, my head is killing me."

"Also quite normal! We did just put a machine in your head after all~. Just finished running a diagnostic, and the HUD should be powered and operational! Lets run a few tests shall we?"

"...Fine."

"Excellent! First things first, go ahead and think the word 'status'!"

Marcus looks at Herr Strauss with an incredulous look.

'Status'

Suddenly a list of information pops up right in front of his eyes, making Marcus jump.

_______________________________

User: Marcus Callsign: Viper

Condition: Stable

Radiation Level: Acceptable

DNA Stability at: 83%

Stats:

Strength 10

Dexterity 17

Stamina 12

Mind 14

Augments: (Any augment enhances all stats by +2)

1. General Senses Enhancement: Enhances all 6 senses.

Additional Stat Increase: Mind+3

Tier 0 

Stability 8

Origin: Lycan/Abomination

2. Strengthened Reflex Time: Enhances Reflexes/Quick movements by 5X. 

Additional Stat Increase: Dexterity+5 

Tier: 0

Stability: 9

Origin: Hunter/Abomination

____________________________

"OK~ So you should be seeing your status window now yes? Most of this information is self explanatory, but I shall go into more details about stats.

Strength determines your physical might, and resistance to damage.

Dexterity is not only your base movement speed, but the fluidity of movement like hand-eye coordination, accuracy with weapons, ect.

Stamina is how long you can keep going before tiring out, or needing food/water. It also dictates your resistance to poison/disease, and the natural elements of nature.

Mind is a little more complicated. It determines how fast you can make a snap decision, how quickly you can deduce a problem, or how fast you register a threat. It does NOT however, make you smarter. You can make a well thought out decision in a fraction of a second with a high Mind stat, but it doesn't mean that decision is a good one~.

The average adult human with no augments/implants will have a base statline of 5. Each augment enhances all stats by 2. Most augments also enhance an additional stat by a certain amount. Any questions dear Viper?"

"Yea, my stats seem to be higher than what they should be."

"That is because through diligent training you can naturally get stronger, but only to a point. About 2-3 additional stat points. You could also just be naturally talented! Take me for example, my Mind stat was 18 before I took any augments, or implants!"

"Now that we went over the status screen, let's test out the communication function."

Herr Strauss puts a finger behind his ear. Marcus then hears a light jingle in his head with a green symbol of a phone with the words 'Herr Strauss' next to it appearing in the top right corner of his vision.

"Go on now Viper, don't be shy~ accept the call!"

Marcus then thinks about accepting, and the call connects.

"There, now you should be hearing me in your head as well~."

"There, now you should be hearing me in your head as well~."

A shiver flows down Marcus's spine. The feeling of having a voice in his head is foreign, and nauseating. The voice of Strauss in his head makes Marcus's headache worse. He quickly disconnects the call.

"Good! Now you try. Just think about the person you want to contact, and they will receive a ping. They can then accept, or decline to answer."

Marcus then turns to the nurse, and tries calling her. The phone symbol flashes red.

"Hmm. I tried calling you, but it didn't work."

"Ah" The nurse pulls out a card with a name, and number on it then hands it to Marcus.

"That's because you need to be specific with the call request. Either use their full name, or their contact number."

Marcus reads the number the nurse gave him, then tried calling again, this time it went through. 

"Hello." Marcus says.

"H-Hi." The nurse blushes

Herr Strauss then clears his throat.

"Listen up dear this is important. You can only call someone if they are within 100 Kilometers of you, or if you are both connected to a landline, which is rare outside major city states.

Finally while in Devil Maw you will have access to the 'Network'. The Network is a hub of information you can browse through. The kind of information you can read is locked behind certain clearance levels. As a Red Scarf, you have access to about 70% of the Network. You can look through it on your own time, for now that should be everything."

"If that's all, then i'll be going."

Marcus gets up, and gets ready to leave.

"Alright little Viper! If you ever need a new implant, or just want to say hi, don't hesitate to come back~"

Marcus turns, and makes a hasty retreat, hoping to never enter this hospital again.