You’re suffering from multiple tusions, your ribs are bruised but not broken. Your friend's right humerus is shattered, and has multiple cerations across the torso. You both need urgent care, but thankfully nothing critical.

  “Great, we’re not going to immediately die, just survive a few more minutes befettien,” I s the voi my head.

  Dante shot me a ed look, “What was that?” he asked. He was cradling his arm and apparently in a lot of pain, but at least he was scious.

  “I’ve either bee a Samurai, or suffered halluations due to head trauma,” I said as I pushed myself into a seated position. It felt like someone had smashed me in the ribs with a baseball bat, but I couldn’t just y here.

  Dante gave me a strange look, “Seriously?”

  “Seriously,” I replied softly.

  I hate to break up this RIVETING discussion, but you should probably arm yourself a your panion to a safer location before you’re swimming in Antithesis. Nyx barked, reminding me of the situation we were in.

  With the help of the nearby rubble I mao haul myself to my feet and stagger over to Dante. “ you walk?” I asked.

  “Bastards got my arms, but my legs still work fine,” he grumbled as he attempted to stand. He’d lost a lot of blood, and was struggling, so I grabbed one of his arms and pulled with all my might.

  “Good, we gotta go,” I said, dug under his arm. With my size I couldn’t provide him with much support, but it was better than nothing. “We’ll head for Leah’s ic, we need medical attention and the entire building has bars over the windows and reinforced doors to keep people fr to steal the prosthetid drugs.”

  Dante groaned. “Shit, Leah’s pce is on the far side of the shelter."

  “Yeah, but it’ll be a hell of a lot safer than residential buildings around here,” I growled, doing my best to force the big man forward. “Even the best pces only have flimsy pstic prefab doors. They ’t even keep out intruders, I doubt they’d even slow dowithesis.” Dante tio hesitate, so I sighed. “If you keep hesitating I’m going to leave you behind, and you’ll never find out what I found below!” I snapped.

  That seemed to snap him out of his daze. “Found something special, did you?” he asked as he limped forward.

  “I did, but it won’t matter if we don’t get through this alive” I grumbled. “e on.”

  I’m sure Dante wao ask more, but once we started moving he shut his mouth. I’m sure he realized the st thing we wao do is make a bunch of noise and risk atack.

  After that our slow crawl through the ruins was both short, and terrifying. The attack had really put me on edge and I was stantly looking over my shoulder, and peeking around ers. I was vihere was anroup just waiting for us somewhere. Thankfully the only Antithesis we saw along the way were busy chasing someone else. I felt bad watg the pack of pnt dogs chasing that guy dowreet, but there wasn’t much I could do while I was supp Dante.

  Leah’s ic was easy to find, it towered over the ruins like a bea. It was a monolithic structure that, from the outside, looked more like a prison than a ic. Small, heavily barred windows, reinforced doors and security cameras on every approach. It robably the most secure building iire district.

  I could only hope she was inside when the chaos started.

  Once I was vihe street in front of the ic was clear, I half carried Dante across and banged on the door. “Leah, please tell me you’re there,” I yelled. I paused for a minute listening for movement, a sinking feeling in my stomach. I banged on it again “Please…”

  The door swung open. In the doorway was a woman with wild red hair, barely kept under trol by a dark green headscarf. Even though she was scowling, her soft green eyes were filled with worry. Leah was normally a bundle of energy, and to be ho, was a better doctor than the district deserved. She looked exhausted, I could only imagine what the situation was inside.

  “Teddy, I’m so gd you made it,” she said softly befng over at my patriot. “Dante, you look like shit. Get in here quick.”

  The waiting room was pletely packed full of people. It was so crowded that I struggled to find a path wide enough t Dahrough to the back. There were a couple of West Lane gang members standing guard, preventing people from entering the back. They almost drew on Dante when they saw him, but Leah gave them a scathing look. “You try and shoot a human in here and you try your luck outside. Got it?” she growled. The two punks immediately paled, and heir hands flying off their ons.

  I wasn’t surprised, within these walls Leah’s word was w. If anyone wao get a new aug, prosthetic unshot wound looked at they pretty much had to e here. She’d decred the ic as ral ground, and any gangs that started a fight here, or tried to rob her, would be refused service.

  Of course threats didn’t do shit around here, so a couple people tested her early on. That shit stopped real quick when Leah made good ohreats. It turns out most gangs don’t st too long when they lose access to basic medical care, so the gangs that repced them made sure they never made the same mistake.

  As the three of us made our way toward the back of the ic Leah ied Dante’s wounds. “You want to tell me why her of you decided to immobilize that arm, or at least put it in a sling before ing here?” she hissed.

  I shrugged, causing Dao wihe extent of my medical knowledge is putting bandages over scuffed knees,” I replied flippantly. “Plus we were more ed about the giant fug aliens at the time.”

  “I really don’t appreciate your tone,” Leah replied coldly, shooting me a disapproving look before looking back at Dante’s arm. “I realize the situation was dire, but you could have caused a lot more damage by not seg the arm first.” She carefully pulled Dante off my shoulder and started pulling him into the surgery area. “I’ll look at it. You sit over there, don’t think I haven’t noticed how you’re cradling your ribs.”

  “Right,” I mumbled quietly, as I slowly lowered myself into the chair.

  While Leah and Dante were occupied Nyx decided it was time to pipe up.

  I think now would be a good time for your first lesson on being a Vanguard. Settle in, it’ll be a minute. Ask questions if you have them, I’d hate for you to die because you didn’t uand the basics.

  First things first, you earn points by killing Antithesis and resg people. The more you kill, or save, the more points you earn. As a new Vanguard you get 100 points to start with, and you earn an additional 10 points for each of the Model Threes. That’s what humanity calls the type of Antithesis you killed earlier. Finally you saved 1 person giving you a total of 131 points.

  I blinked. “So, what the fuck are points for?” I asked.

  You exge points for pretty muything you imagine. ons, armor, vehicles, and more. Assuming you have suffit points, I materialize whatever you ht at your feet.

  “And it’s that easy?” I asked suspiciously. “I order whatever I want right now?”

  There are restris. The different equipment you buy is anized into different categories, or catalogs, and you o spend points to access eae. There are more advanced catalogs, but I think it’s better to cover that ter.

  “Figures, even the protectors have fug admin fees,” I snorted quietly.

  Do you have any idea what you want to start with?

  “Fuck, I don’t know. I’m a terrible shot, that SMG felt like it dislocated my shoulder,” I grumbled rubbing my shoulder at the memory, “and the Antithesis have probably spread to every er of this district by now, how am I supposed to find them all?”

  There are a number of options with recoil pensation and aim assist. There are also a number of catalogs that tain various methods of trag.

  I stared up at the ceiling, an idea f; in the background I could hear Dante yelling in pain.

  “Could I bring them to me?” I asked after a couple seds.

  In theory. There are ways to lure Antithesis, but I wouldn’t reend taking on that many Antithesis alone.

  “So what if we evehe odds?”

  How so?

  “Distribute ons to other people, automated turrets, robots, mines,” I expined.

  That’s certainly possible, you currently ck the points to deploy any signifit numbers.

  “Hmmm… then basics first.” I rubbed my chest while I thought. I was already pnning too far ahead, I o start with something simple. “I need a on, something with aim assist, recoil redu, and preferably a punch. A rifle maybe? I could distribute rifles ter.”

  The Css I Battle Rifle Catalog fits your requirements, it costs 50 points to open. Hooints are you thinking about spending on a on?

  “I don’t know, you’re the fug expert,” I grumbled. “What could I get for another fifty?”

  You’re right, I apologize. Sihis is your first purchase you wouldn’t have a scale to pare it to. Just so you know, five points would get you a ventional rifle, ten would get you a gen model, for fifty I could give you something like the CAR-156. It’s semi-automaties with a 25 round drum, and instead of ventional ammunition it fires a variety of auteting miissiles that cost a point each.

  That took me a moment to process. “Fuck me,” I whispered. “That’s crazy!”

  Quite. I could reend several models at a lower cost if you want.

  “No way, you’ve already sold me on the CAR,” I replied softly. “I assume it has enough punch to deal with whatever Antithesis I run into outside…”

  The rounds will bloart any unarmored Antithesis with a single shot. The armored models may take a couple rounds, but unlike most Css I rifles the CAR will be able to deal with them eventually.

  “Sounds good,” I said, smiling slightly, “give me one.”

  Purchased - Css I Battle Rifle Catalog - 50 points

  Purchased - CAR-156 Battle rifle - 50 points

  Points remaining 31

  A package appeared at my feet, it was a nondescript pstic carton. Just like the ones all over the nearby ndfills.

  “That was anticlimactic,” I muttered.

  fetti costs extra.

  “Smart ass.”

  I crouched doopped the top off the box. The CAR was two feet long, made of matte bck metal, obviously a lot more advahan anything you’d see in the uy. Hell, it robably more advahan anything you’d find in the hands of any of the PMd militia’s above too. It retty in a way. And fug heavy.

  I spent a couple minutes admiring my oy, and it wasn’t until I was dohat I realized the room had gone quiet. I gowards the surgery room and found both Leah and Daanding in the door, staring at me open mouthed. I guess Leah had finished fixing up Dante’s arm.

  Leah’s eyes narrowed. “Teddy, What the fuck was that?"