Hey guys, quick announcement before the beginning of the chapter. Last week on October 21st, I finished TBH on my end. It came out to 22 chapters, and about 64,000 words. Not as long as HOR will end up being, but not too shabby.
As a confirmation, TBH will be returning. But before I begin posting more chapters, I need to first of all get the plot for the next two books together, as well as write about halfway into the next book. It'll take some time, but it will happen; I promise you. I am also working on a scifi story that will also be coming to my page here on Penana. I'm going to try working on it and TBH in tandem, so we'll see how that works out
Enjoy!
Had it not been for the 20 ounces of Rage coursing through his system, Daniel would've been certain he was dreaming at this point. What he was seeing before him, defied all logic and reason. How Lunare had built it, why he had built it, was beyond Daniel's comprehension.
“What, the actual hell is that?” Dakota asked, who was equally confused.
Having downed the cans of Rage, Lunare had snuck back to his dorm to grab his staff, before leading Daniel and Dakota out of the dorms and off of Beacon’s campus. They traveled several blocks until they reached a beat-up old garage. Lunare fished out a key from his jacket and unlocked the door. As he did, Daniel heard several mechanical sounds within the garage, as well as something electric power off. Lunare slid the door up and flicked a light switch to reveal, something. Lunare had somehow acquired an ancient first generation car body and had lifted it off the ground and held it up from the ceiling via four metal arms that held it where the wheels would normally be. Up in the dashboard, Daniel could see that several levers had been added in next to the standard wheel.
“This,” Lunare answered, “Is the project I've been working on. If anything can get us anywhere in Vale and back here before the night is out, it's this.”
“But it looks like a heap of scrapmetal!” Dakota protested.
“Interesting how most people assume technological breakthroughs look like junk,” Lunare said. “Although, Scrapmetal is a good name for it, considering where most of the parts came from. I think I might keep it.”
“So, how does it get around?” Daniel asked. “Does it fly?”
“If by fly you mean leave the ground and travel through the air until landing at it's destination, then no.” Lunare answered. “Flying would not suit the purpose I have in mind for Scrapmetal.”
“Well, tell us it can at least do it's job,” Dakota said.
Lunare scratched his head. “Of that, I am not certain. All the systems have performed perfectly on their own, but I have yet to attempt a full on trial.”
“So for all you know, this thing could explode and kill us all?” Dakota said in shock and outrage.
“No, it would be more likely that we would crash at high speeds and be killed,” Lunare replied. “I'm relatively certain I've worked out all the issues that would result in an explosion.”
“Oh, you're,”
“Dakota, stop it,” Daniel instructed. He turned to Lunare. “Are you certain that this thing can get us to Vale's outskirts and back?”
Lunare nodded his head. “If anything else can, I have yet to hear of it. Providing that all systems work as planned, we can be back within our beds before the sun is up.”
“Then I’m in,” Daniel said with finality. Lunare gave Daniel and encouraging smile before walking over to a stepladder and dragging it over to the rear seat.
“Daniel, what the heck are you doing?” Dakota asked.
“There's no way I'm going back to that man,” Daniel said, climbing the ladder. “Either we succeed tonight, or I die trying.”
“Which is a less likely possibility than Scrapmetal simply crashing to the ground upon engine startup; certainly jarring, but unlikely to kill us,” Lunare added
Dakota looked out of the garage. In the distance, he could see Beacon, where his nice warm bed awaited him. He turned back to Lunare, who was watching him expectantly. Dakota stared at the ground and sighed. “I can't believe I got talked into this,” he said before climbing in beside Daniel. Lunare climbed in last without the aide of the stepladder, fishing out a thick set of keys. He selected one and jammed it into the ignition. The engine growled to life with a power that Daniel had not expected to hear. Lunare flicked a switch that lit up the dashboard, revealing a stunning assortment of dials and instruments. Hydraulic pressure, gear status, none of it made any sense. Daniel could swear he even saw a gyro ball straight out of a fighter plane somewhere in the mess.
“Lun, if you kill us in this thing, I swear your ass is haunted,” Dakota shouted as Lunare pushed down on the accelerator, testing the RPMs.
“If you wish to avoid that specific ending, I would highly suggest that you use the seat belts provided!” Lunare shouted back.
Daniel looked at his shoulders to find seat belts that looked like they came from the same place as the gyro ball. He and Dakota looked at each other for a moment before frantically scrabbling for the seat belts. As they did, the bench seat they were on creaked familiarly.
“Lunare!” Daniel shouted.
Lunare eased off of the throttle and turned back to look at Daniel, his a grin plastered on his face that Daniel had never seen. “Yes Daniel San?”
“What is this seat made out of?”
“Duct tape and mattress springs,” Lunare answered. “Now, if you two are ready, Daniel can imput our destination into this GPS,” he handed Daniel a bulky, dented GPS attached to the dashboard via wires, “And we can be off.”
Daniel shakily typed in his father's address and handed it back to Lunare. Lunare glanced at the route and shook his head. “Really Daniel, when you said your father lived on the other side of Vale, I expected more of a challenge.”
“Yeah, but none of the main roads go anywhere near it,” Daniel answered. “We'll be taking back roads for the most part.”
“Who said we were following the roads?” Lunare asked. He grasped the emergency brake and yanked it into neutral. Whatever was holding them to the ceiling disengaged and the whole chassis dropped down before coming to a lurching halt several feet above the ground.
“Electromagnets in the legs connected to the emergency brake system,” Lunare said.
“Legs, what legs?” Daniel squeaked, his voice noticeably higher than it was a moment ago.
“Dude, take a look out the window,” Dakota said. “You really gotta see this.”647Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXARBL2LQ4T
Daniel cautiously peered out the window to see that the four 'arms' that he had seen earlier were in fact legs.
“It's got legs,” Daniel breathed. “You gave it spider legs.”
“Technically, to have spider legs, it would require eight legs,” Lunare corrected. But, considering what the Scrapmetal is capable of, it is an accurate analogy.”
Dakota opened his mouth to ask what exactly Lunare meant; but before he got the chance, Lunare floored the accelerator, and the legs surged into action. Scrapmetal shot out of the garage and flew towards the buildings on the other side. A scream built up in Daniel but before he could let it out, Lunare pulled one of the levers and Scrapmetal leapt from the ground and soared up the building, latching itself onto the edge of the roof. Lunare applied more gas, and Scrapmetal clambered up and onto the roof.
Lunare turned back around to the frightened members of DDLN, the grin still plastered on his face. “I assume that your looks of astonishment mean that you are sufficiently awed?”
Daniel gulped, and fought to control his breathing. “Lun, please, get us out of here before I lose my nerve.”
“We have yet to leave first gear, and you're already shaking in your boots,” Lunare said. “If that is the case, I can assume that this will be an interesting journey.
“Oh Lord,” Dakota moaned as Lunare revved the engine once more and shifted into gear. “Did he just say that was just first gear?”
Dakota's answer came in the form of a throaty roar coming from what Daniel would later learn to be Scrapmetal's V8 engine Lunare had somehow crammed under the hood.
Scrapmetal scrambled to the other side of the roof and leapt off the ledge, landing on the roof of the building across the street. Lunare briefly glanced at the GPS readout and yanked the steering wheel to the right. Scrapmetal skittered around and continued on its rampage, following the line of buildings towards the freeway.
“Lunare, we're running out of houses,” Dakota commented. “What're you going to do when you hit the freeway?”
In the rear view mirror Lunare had a wild gleam in his eyes. “Well, I have yet devise a system to give Scrapmetal a 'street form', so I suppose we will be forced to remain in this mode,”
They neared the end of the final building and Lunare pulled the lever he had used to climb the first building and Scrapmetal leaped into the air once more. They sailed through the air, the highway appearing below them and perpendicular to their course. Lunare pulled another lever on the dash board, and yanked hard right on the wheel. Scrapmetal rotated in midair just in time to land on the freeway. The legs skittered to the side before gaining traction and roaring down the street.
Straight into incoming traffic.
Dakota gave an uncharacteristicly high pitched scream as Lunare pushed the lever he had just pulled back into its standard position and eased Scrapmetal over the median and into the correct lane of traffic. He shifted into the next gear and Scrapmetal gained additional speed. Daniel glanced over Lunare's shoulder to see that Scrapmetal was well into the triple digits for its speed.
“Lunare, I think that it is safe to say that your creation works!” Daniel shouted.
“Good! Which reminds me,” Lunare said. He reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a tape recorder and a microphone. He pressed play and spoke loudly.
“This is journal entry number one-oh-seven,” Lunare recited. “I apologize for the noise, but I am currently transporting Daniel Grigio and Dakota Harding on a mission to acquire a thumbprint so that he may continue his education at Beacon.” he paused for a moment to avoid a semi truck that they were approaching by climbing up the steep slope separating the freeway from the buildings above. “Project LM2 which shall now be known as 'Scrapmetal', is performing at expected levels. It is to be noted though that the noise is louder than anticipated. Extra muffling is required for all variants, not just for stealth variants. One exception could possibly be for the 'THUNDERBEE variant', since its primary focus is on intimidation.” He pressed the stop button and returned the recorder to the glovebox before yanking on the jumping lever again to avoid a car that was going far too slow.
“How much more of this are we going to have to endure?” Dakota desperately asked.
“Approximately ninety three minutes, providing that we do not experience any unexpected traffic,” Lunare answered. He shifted into an even higher gear and they sped off into the night.
Ninety five minutes later, Lunare pulled off of the freeway, skidded down a steep slope, and came to a complete stop mere inches from the wall of a local convenience store. He cut the power to Scrapmetal and popped the door, dropping down with ease. Daniel followed suit, albeit with slightly less grace. Dakota threw threw his door open and fell out of Scrapmetal. He scrabbled away from the legged vehicle on his hands and knees before finally collapsing a few feet away, shaking in fright.
“If I didn't know you better Dakota,” Daniel said as he offered an equally shaky hand to Dakota, “I'd say you were scared.”
“There are things to be scared of, and things to not worry about,” Dakota replied, taking Daniel's offered hand. “That, thing,” he said as he pointed a trembling finger at Scrapmetal, “is to be feared beyond anything else. Give me your gun Daniel. I'm going to shoot its creator, destroy his creation, and take my chances with hitchhiking back to Beacon.”
“At least we got here in one piece,” Daniel said. “Now all we have to do is break into my father's house and get his thumbprint.”
“Just tell me which way to go, and I'll get us in,” Dakota said.
Daniel nodded and walked to the edge of the convenience store. Peering around, he saw that they were on the main drag of his hometown. If they followed the cracked dirty road, they could be at his house in five minutes.
As he peered into the night, he felt someone remove his sword from his belt. Whirling around, he saw Lunare placing it within the depths of his long coat. “What the heck are you doing?” Daniel asked
“Due to the distance between your hometown and Beacon, I can only assume that a Huntsman walking down the street with a military sword is likely to draw attention,” Lunare answered. “Speaking of which, I would advise you put this on.” He reached into his coat and brought out a black beanie that he handed to Daniel. “It would be preferable if you were not recognized by anyone here. If word got back to your father, it might be possible for him to trace you.”
Daniel nodded in consent and took the beanie. He jammed it down over his bright red hair and stepped out from behind the store. A moment later, Lunare and Dakota followed suit. Daniel reached the sidewalk and almost instantly settled into the path that he had followed almost every day for most of his seventeen years. He crossed the street and passed by the very alley he had been beaten up in multiple times. He passed by the doctors office where he had learned that he lacked an aura. Directly across the street was the gun shop where Daniel assumed his father had acquired the handgun Daniel now carried underneath his denim jacket. Right next to it was his fathers favorite liquor store. It coincidentally had yet to be robbed.
This was Daniel's life for seventeen years. He felt he should be nostalgic for it, but all he felt was relief that after today, he would never have to step foot within the town again.
They continued on for several minutes before reaching the end of the road they were on. There at the end was a run down house. The front window had been shattered what looked like years ago, the hole duct taped shut. The porch sagged and the roof looked like it couldn't hold back any rain worse than a mild sprinkle; yet it held up surprisingly well Daniel knew and instead diverted the water into the basement and directly to where Daniel slept.
It was his father's house. They had reached the entrance of the lion's den.
So yeah, that just happened.
Fun facts about this chapter. The longest gap between when I finished a chapter was between the last one, and this one. Reason being was that I wanted Scrapmetal, or "Lunare's ride" as it was known while it was being completed, to be Croe's own creation. He created the characters, I felt it was only right for him to be allowed to create the vehicles. Unfortunately, Croe was in a bunch of advanced classes at the time, AND was the Senior Patrol Leader of our Boy Scout Troop (loose translation: he was the head honcho). It wasn't until one of my other friends, the real life inspiration for Miles in HOR, caught up and wanted to read more. He learned what the holdup was, and convinced Croe to work on it. 24 hours later, I had Scrapmetal.
It was so worth the wait. When I initially thought of a ride for Lunare, I imagined some form of a hovercraft or something. That's what I expected from Croe, but when I got the design of Scrapmetal, I had no complaints whatsoever. That's Croe's ability right there. When he designs something, especially if it is for one of his characters, it is undeniably their's. Scrapmetal is no exception.
Since Penana can support pictures, I'll post a picture of Scrapmetal with the next update if I can get Croe's permission to use his pictures.
Until then, I'll see you all in two weeks!
-Wrench
ns 15.158.61.8da2
