“Them winged beasts,” Clay said. “Like that big skeleton we saw in the museum. The one with all them teeth. But with wings. And flyin’.”
Colt nodded. They sat in the lodge with empty bowls between them. The fire had burned down to coals.
“And you saw all that,” Clay said. “The Father makin’ the world. The poison spreadin’. All them Earths fallin’.”
“I saw it.”
Clay shook his head slow. “That’s a hell of a thing, brother.”
He leaned forward and clapped a hand on Colt’s shoulder. His grip was firm.
“But if anybody can stop it, it’s you.” Clay’s eyes were steady. “You already killed how many of them ninjas? Hell, you got shot at by arrows, stabbed at, damn near killed a couple of times and you’re still here.”
Colt looked down at his hands.
“So what’s next?” Clay said. “We need to get you stronger, right? More of that Puha?”
“That’s the plan.”
“Then let’s go get some damn Puha for ya, brother.” Clay stood up and grabbed his shotgun from the corner. “Where we goin’ first?”
Colt pushed himself up. “Back to the HUB. I got modules to check. Kevin’s got info we need.”
Clay’s face tightened at Kevin’s name, but he nodded. “Alright. Let’s do it.”
They stepped out of the lodge.
The village was alive around them. Women worked near the fires, scraping hides stretched on frames. Men hauled water in clay jugs. Children ran between the lodges, their bare feet kicking up dust.
A few people looked up as Colt and Clay passed. Their faces stayed flat, not cold, just watching. Reserved. The way folks were when strangers walked through.
Colt kept his eyes forward.
They walked through the center of the village and out toward the edge. The grass stretched ahead of them, brown and gold in the afternoon light. Beyond that, the plains rolled toward the mountains.
And above it all, hanging in the sky like a bruise, sat the violet patch.
Colt stopped walking.
He stared at it. At the darkness in the center. At the lightning flickering inside it.
He remembered the vision. The winged beasts tearing through the sky. Black scales and violet fire. The way they’d descended on the city and ripped it apart in minutes. Buildings collapsing. People running. Screaming. Dying.
And the whole time, that patch had just hung there. Growing.
His gut tightened.
Clay stepped up beside him. “You ready?”
Colt didn’t answer right away. His eyes stayed on the patch.
“No,” he said finally. “But we gotta be.”
Clay nodded.
Colt focused on the corner of his vision.
PROJECT: LAST STAND v1.10
Shinki: 1
Puha: 130.2
The main menu dropped into his sight.
PROJECT: LAST STAND v1.10
Stats
Status
Map
Armory
Module Bay
Skills
Help
?????
?????
?????
He opened Map.
EARTH 265
The familiar shapes appeared. The river. The land. The star marking home. And that violet patch sitting over the mountains like a stain.
He focused on the number and thought about Earth 145.
The map flashed.
EARTH 145
The HUB appeared on the screen. Kevin’s spot marked near the center.
Colt looked at Travel, it lit up.
A thin line appeared in the air, hovering vertical in the grass a few feet ahead.
Behind them, voices stopped mid-sentence.
The line widened. Slow at first, the edges peeling back on both sides. Blue light spilled out, then white, bleeding together. The opening spread wider and the light got brighter.
Colt heard movement behind him. Boots scraping dirt. A child’s voice rising before a hand muffled it.
The portal kept growing. The light swirled in on itself now, spinning faster, pulling at the air around it. A low hum started up, quiet but building.
Colt glanced back.
Half the village had stopped what they were doing. Some stood frozen with water jugs still in their hands. A woman near the closest fire pulled her child behind her skirt. Two warriors had moved forward, tightening the grip on their spears. An elder stood with his arms crossed, watching.
One kid pointed. His mother grabbed his hand and pulled it down.
Tavi stood on the far side near one of the cook fires. Her white hair caught the light from the portal. Those blue eyes found his across the distance.
Colt lifted his hand to his hat. He tipped it once. Nodded.
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She didn’t move. Just watched him with that calm look she always had.
The portal finished opening. The swirl steadied. The hum held at one pitch.
Colt stepped forward. Clay followed.
The pull hit and the world stretched. Then they were through.
They stood in the HUB.
Colt blinked. The lights pressed down from overhead, too bright like always.
Clay stood beside him, shoulders tight, looking around like he was waiting for something to jump out.
Footsteps clicked across the floor.
“Welcome back,” Kevin said.
Colt turned his head.
Kevin stood a few feet away, that single eye glowing down at them.
Clay’s jaw tightened. “Hey Kev.”
Kevin’s head tilted. “Hello, Clay. I trust your time outside the HUB was adequate.”
Clay’s hands curled into fists.
Colt put a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Easy.”
Clay took a breath. Let it out slow. “Yeah. It was great, Kevin. Real great.”
Kevin’s eye dimmed for a second.
Colt walked past Kevin to the table and sat down in the chair. “Alright Kev. We got work to do.”
“Affirmative.” Kevin walked over and stopped beside the table.
Clay came over and leaned down, his hands gripping the back of Colt’s chair. “We need to get another chair in here.” He looked over at the bed. “Another bed too.”
Something moved in the tabletop beside Colt’s arm. Metal slid out of a slot near the edge. The plug. It stopped there like it was waiting for him to pick it up.
Colt turned his wrist over and found the seam. His fingers pulled the flap of skin back, showing the metal port underneath.
Clay’s breathing picked up. He looked away and dragged a hand down his face.
Colt grabbed the plug and lined it up with the hole in his wrist. He pushed it in and it went with that wet click.
Clay made a noise in his throat and stepped back. “That’s disgustin’, man.”
The screen on the table lit up, displaying Colt’s interface.
PROJECT: LAST STAND v1.10
Stats
Status
Map
Armory
Module Bay
Skills
Help
?????
?????
?????
Colt opened Status.
Status:
Shinki Reserves: 1
Puha: 130.2
Software: v1.10
Class: Frontier Operative
Secondary Class: Spirit Weaver
Lineage: 3 (1 Primary, 1 Secondary, 1 Corrupted)
Next Upgrade: v1.11 — 81.5 Puha
There it was. Spirit Weaver.
Kevin’s head tilted. His eye brightened for a second, then dimmed. “Your software version has not changed since you left the HUB. Yet a secondary class has been integrated into your system architecture.”
Colt looked up at him. “That a problem?”
“Negative. However, this should not be possible without a software upgrade initiated from this terminal.” Kevin’s head tilted the other direction. “How did you acquire this class?”
Clay leaned in closer to the screen, squinting at the words. “What the hell’s a Spirit Weaver?”
Kevin’s eye stayed on Colt. “Spirit Weaver is a class derived from indigenous energy manipulation traditions. It requires specific genetic markers tied to Shoshone lineage.”
“Toyahdoh gave it to me,” Colt said. “Said it’ll filter the shinki I absorb. Turn it into Puha or somethin’ like that.”
Kevin’s eye flickered. “Toyahdoh.”
“Yeah. Chief of the Wolf Band. Children of Esa.” Colt kept his eyes on the screen. “He did somethin’ to my wrist. Unlocked it.”
Kevin didn’t respond right away. His light dimmed and brightened twice, like he was running through something in his head.
“I was not aware any indigenous operatives remained active,” Kevin said finally. “This is significant data.”
“He ain’t an operative,” Colt said. “He’s just… Shoshone.” That’s what Colt wanted to believe.
Kevin’s head angled down a fraction. “Affirmative.” His light dimmed.
Clay waved a hand at the screen. “So what’s this Spirit Weaver thing do? Make him stronger?”
“It modifies his core energy processing,” Kevin said. “Standard operatives absorb corrupted energy directly. Spirit Weavers possess the ability to purify that energy before integration.”
Clay blinked. “In regular words, Kev.”
“Colt will no longer poison himself when he takes shinki from enemies.”
Clay’s eyebrows went up. “Well hell. That sounds pretty damn useful.”
Colt backed out of Status and opened Skills.
Skills:
Frontier Operative
Spirit Weaver
?????
?????
“I also remember him givin’ me a skill,” Colt said.
He opened Spirit Weaver.
Spirit Weaver:
Cleansing Breath (Passive)
Clay leaned in closer. “Passive. What’s that mean?”
“Passive skills activate automatically,” Kevin said. “They require no conscious effort or resource expenditure. Cleansing Breath will purify all absorbed shinki without action on Colt’s part.”
“So it just works?” Clay said. “He don’t gotta do nothin’?”
“Affirmative.”
Clay clapped Colt on the shoulder. “Well damn, brother. That’s one less thing to worry about.”
Colt forced a smile. “Yeah. Means somethin’.”
He laughed, but it came out short.
“Alright Kev. Let’s see what modules you got for us.” He backed out and opened Module Bay.
Module Bay:
Module Inventory: 3
2/3 Gear Equipped
Modules Display
He opened Modules Display.
Modules Available
1.Trajectory Analyzer MK-I — Earth 198 — Rec: v1.15
2. Displacement Drive MK-I — Earth 329 — Rec: v1.10
3. Penetration Optic MK-I — Earth 156 — Rec: v1.20
4. Ablative Shield MK-I — Earth 401 — Rec: v1.25
5. Ammunition Fabricator MK-I — Earth 109 — Rec: v1.12
Colt stared at the list. His eyes moved down the modules one at a time.
Clay leaned over his shoulder, squinting at the screen. “What the hell’s a Displacement Drive?”
“It allows short-range teleportation,” Kevin said. “Approximately fifteen feet per activation.”
“Tele-what?”
“You blink from one spot to another,” Colt said. “Like disappearin’ and showin’ up somewhere else.”
Clay’s eyebrows went up. “That’s some magic shit right there.”
Colt kept reading. The Trajectory Analyzer showed where bullets would go. The Penetration Optic let you see through walls. The Ablative Shield stopped one killing blow. The Ammunition Fabricator made bullets out of Puha.
His eyes went back to the Displacement Drive. Recommended version one point ten. Same as what he had now.
“This one,” Colt said. He tapped the screen. “The Displacement Drive. I can get it without dyin’.”
“Probably,” Kevin said.
Clay shot him a look. “Probably?”
“The recommended version indicates optimal survival probability. However, local threats on any Earth remain variable.”
“So he could still die,” Clay said.
“Affirmative.”
Colt focused on the Displacement Drive.
Displacement Drive MK-I
Location: Earth 329
Recommended Version: v1.10
Status: Available
Function: Enables short-range teleportation up to 15 feet. Requires line of sight to destination point.
Current Location Data: Natural limestone cave system. Coordinates correspond to region that will later be known as North America, southern territory.
“It’s in a cave,” Colt said.
Clay scratched his jaw. “Well that don’t sound too bad.”
“What kind of Earth is this?” Colt asked. “Is it like 447? With all them tall buildings and cars?”
Kevin’s eye flickered. “Negative. The temporal index for this retrieval predates human civilization.”
Colt blinked. “Pre-dates what?”
“There are no humans on Earth 329 at the recommended temporal coordinates.”
Clay leaned forward. “Wait. You’re sendin’ us to a place with no people?”
“Affirmative. The module was concealed approximately forty-seven thousand years before the present era. Prior to human migration to that continent.”
Colt’s gut tightened. “Forty-seven thousand years.”
“This particular module exists in the Pleistocene epoch.”
“The what?”
“Ice age,” Kevin said. “Though this region experiences a warmer climate.”
Clay let out a low whistle. “So it’s just… empty? No towns, no people, nothin’?”
“Correct. However, the environment contains significant megafauna.”
“Mega-what?” Colt said.
“Large animals. Some of which are predatory. Saber-toothed cats. Short-faced bears. Dire wolves. Giant ground sloths. Mammoths.”
Clay’s eyebrows went up. “Like that big skeleton we saw in the museum? The one with all them teeth?”
“Similar, though smaller. The most fearsome predator in that region would be Smilodon fatalis. Approximately five hundred pounds. Canine teeth measuring seven inches.”
Colt stared at the screen. A cave system forty-seven thousand years ago. No people. No guards. No crowds. Just him and Clay and whatever was hunting in those hills.
“What’s the date?” Colt asked.
Kevin’s eye flickered. “Estimated arrival: 45,000 BCE. North American continent. The cave entrance sits at the base of limestone bluffs overlooking a river valley.”
“And the module’s just… in there,” Colt said.
“Affirmative. Sealed in a chamber approximately two hundred feet from the cave entrance. The seals were designed to last until retrieval.”
Colt looked at Clay. “What do you think?”
Clay shrugged. “I think shootin’ a big cat’s easier than sneakin’ past guards. And at least there ain’t no crowds.”
Colt turned back to Kevin. “Alright Kev. That’s where Clay and I will go next.
“Acknowledged,” Kevin said. “Prepare for temporal and spatial transfer to Earth 329.”
Kevin walked to the big screen on the wall. It flickered and an image appeared.
Rolling hills covered in grass that was greener than anything Colt had seen back home. Thick forest in the distance with trees so tall they made the pines look like saplings. A river cut through the valley below, wide and clean. The sky was clear blue with no smoke anywhere. No buildings. No roads. No fences. Just land that had never seen a person.
And at the base of one hill, a dark opening in the rock face.
Clay leaned in close to the screen. His mouth hung open.
“What in the fuck is that?”
