I glanced up and down the street, trying to determine my next step. Bob and Heavy had done an admirable job of clearing up the immediate area, but until the bears started reporting in, I’d have had no idea where the Antithesis managed to breach the town limits. No matter which way I went, I’d be wandering blindly.
Then again, wandering blindly would still allow me to clean out the Antithesis and help improve the situation. I just had to choose a direction.
When my eyes wandered across the nearest cluster of fires, I knew which way I was going to go.
“We’re going to move to the east and try to get those fires under control,” I announced. “We’ll clear the buildings as we go, but if we let those fires rage, they might consume the entire town before we deal with the Antithesis.”
“Sounds good!” Bob declared. “I’ll lead the way!”
The oversized weapon of mass destruction practically skipped down the street, only pausing long enough to backhand a car wreck so hard it flew down a side street to crush a Model Six.
“I’m once again glad he’s on my side,” I muttered under my breath before following him down the street.
After a couple blocks, it became quite apparent that working with the rabbits was different than working with the bears. The bears made excellent line infantry, which could either hold a defensive position or slowly advance.
The rabbits HAD to be on the attack. Their weapons had such a short optimal range that they practically had to be on top of the Antithesis before they could attack. That was exceptionally dangerous in a static defense; they were always at risk of being overrun by a horde, but they were lethal on the move.
I had to implement new hit-and-run tactics, having the rabbits run far ahead of the Kodiaks, engage groups of enemies, and then conduct fighting retreats. It required me to perform a lot more micromanagement but ended up being just as efficient at clearing the streets of Antithesis.
It took us about twenty minutes to work our way down the street to the first cluster of fires. I kind of expected the number of Antithesis to decrease as I approached the fire zone, since they were made of plant matter and all, but despite my expectations, the area was crawling with them.
The heat of dozens of different houses all burning at once was intense, even through my suit. I left Bob and Heavy to deal with the sporadic Antithesis resistance while I tried to find a way to extinguish the flames.
“Nyx, you have anything that could put out a fire of that size?” I asked, taking shelter behind one of the Kodiaks to shelter myself from the heat.
“Of course, it’s just a question of how fast you’d like to put the fire out and how much collateral damage you’re willing to deal with,” Nyx’s panda-colored avatar replied.
“I’d like to limit the damage to the structures that are actually on fire, but beyond that… I just want the fires out before they spread further. I feel bad for the people that have lost their homes, but if this spreads further we risk losing the entire town. Quick and efficient,” I said.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
“In that case I recommend either the Class I Fire Suppression, or Class I Vacuum Weapon Catalogs. Both contain the vacuum wave bomb, which is what I recommend to quickly put out this inferno.”
“Why would a vacuum help here? I’m trying to put out the fire, not clean up the ruins. Shouldn’t I be dousing it in water, or foam, or something?” I scowled.
“Not vacuum cleaner, vacuum. As in the lack of oxygen and other gases. Fires cannot burn without oxygen, so if you remove the air in an area, the fire will go out. Everything that’s pulled in will be crushed burned away by the pressure leaving nothing but a carbon foamy substance which is expelled explosively over the surrounding area when the vacuum ends. Violent, but at least the damage is somewhat contained,” Nyx explained.
“Fine… as long as the prices of the catalogs are approximately the same, pick me up Fire Suppression Class I and one of those Vacuum things. Although the vacuum weapons might have something useful, I’d rather have the option to implement better fire suppression in the undercity later.”
Purchased - Class I Fire Suppression Catalog - 200 points
Purchased - ‘Void Out’ Vacuum Bomb - 10 points
Points Remaining: 48336
I grabbed the football-shaped device as it materialized at my feet and checked it out. A couple dials on the side set the time delay and a massive red button on the end started the countdown. It was so simple that even Bob could handle it.
“This thing isn’t going to melt before it goes off, is it?” I asked suspiciously.
“All its parts are made of an alloy with a higher melting point than tungsten. You could drop it directly into a forge, and it would still go off without a hitch,” Nyx replied.
“Good,” I muttered., rounding the side of the Kodiak and tossing the device over at Bob. “Heads up!”
The big bear snatched the bomb out of the air, then looked at me questioningly.
“Go put that as close to the middle of the nearest house as you can. It should put out the fire!” I shouted.
“But what about me?” he yelled back.
I stared at him through narrowed eyes, trying to determine if he was serious or not. “You’re a Class III bot with Class II thermal hardening. That’s a house fire. I would be honestly surprised if it did more than scorch your fur.”
“So why not make Heavy do it?”
“Because he’s carrying a reactor on his back, and I don’t know what’ll happen if we stress test it. I suspect if it was compromised, the fire would be the least of our worries,” I explained.
“Fair enough!” Bob chirped before he turned and walked straight into the nearest burning house.
I stared at the little brown two-story duplex as it burned, walls and roof engulfed in flames, waiting for Bob to come back out, when there was an audible pop.
The sound around me deadened slightly, and I felt myself getting pulled towards the house. I grabbed onto the side of the Kodiak to stabilize myself and watched as the fire flickered, then died. A couple seconds of silence reigned, then a massive pressure wave erupted out of the house, blowing out the windows and charred walls.
I stared wide-eyed as the remaining structure groaned, then collapsed.
The entire area went quiet for a minute, more because Heavy and the rabbits had cleaned up the local Antithesis than the shock value, until Bob finally punched his way through the roof.
“The fire’s out!” he called cheerfully.
“I see that,” I growled. “It’s still smoldering, but it’s good enough to help contain things. Why didn’t you set the fuse and get out of the house?”
Bob tilted his head to the side, a goofy grin on his face. “There was a fuse?”
“Yes, you oversized smoking fuzzball! You were meant to place the bomb and then come back out before it detonated!”
“Well, you didn’t say that!” The bear dragged himself out of the rubble. “Give clearer instructions next time!”
I felt my eye twitch. “I wish you had common sense,” I muttered under my breath.
Bob trudged to the end of the rubble and hopped down.
“At least it worked. I’ll just set the timer next time,” he said, patting me on the head. “What do you think caused all these fires anyways?”
I swatted ineffectively at the bear’s hand a couple times until I decided to step out of reach.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, normally the fires don’t start until AFTER the Antithesis have been taken care of, and the looters and vandals move in,” Bob explained nonchalantly. “First time we’ve seen them starting while the Antithesis are still around. It’s not like the weeds are starting the fires themselves, right?”
I opened my mouth to reply, but before I could, something exploded a couple of houses down, on the other side of the road.
“I don’t know,” I said, tightening my grip on my rifle, “let’s go find out.”
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