Heavy Metal Thunder Read online

  You lose 4 Blood from the terrible ordeal.

  If you have any Sticky Fix, quickly turn to section 456.

  If you do not have any of this stuff, turn to section 54.

  449

  Your jet kicks to life behind you, pulling your feet into the air as bullets whizz by all around you. It picks up speed and you nearly catch up with the others. While Uther and Sybel expertly guide theirs with mastery you had not known possible, Marcus scrapes along the wall the entire time. You come to a curve in the hallway and Uther swings around, disappearing from view; Sybel brakes, kicks off from the far wall, then turns as well; fortunately for Marcus, the others curved along the same wall which he seems stuck to, and so he naturally falls that way at the turn, cursing all the while as precious gear drops from his belt due to being scraped along the wall at high speeds.

  You try to brake, but crash into the far wall as bullets smack and ricochet off the steel wall. You lose 5 Blood from the impact; however, if you have the Jetpack Skill, then you may subtract 3 from this amount; furthermore, you may also subtract your Defense rating.

  If you die, then you may Regenerate by turning back to section 161.

  If you survive, then you join the others further down the next hall, where you see Uther helping Marcus to his feet. While it is difficult to hear anything besides Marcus’s wild, sharp tongue, you dimly make out the Commander saying, “... it’s alright, soldier, everyone has different skills that they bring to the table...”

  You all jog away from the scene of the battle until you are sure that your pursuers are far behind. “Let’s track that other heat signature,” says Uther.

  “On it,” says Sybel, reading his strange gadget. “This way.”

  Turn to section 558.

  450

  You glance over at the girl, who is trying to look tough but is visibly shaken, then step over the dead laborer’s body and inspect the gear you can take with you.

  (2) First Aid Kits (Each Kit has 3 bulk; each kit heals 3 Blood.)

  Clopadropin (bulk 1) (Each dose of this prescription painkiller heals 1 Blood when taken. There is enough for 2 doses.)

  Flexadrone (bulk 1) (Whenever you temporarily lose Strength points due to injury, this drug will heal 1 Strength point. There is enough for 1 dose.)

  Slippery D’s Hip Urban Snacks (Food, bulk 1) (The bag has a picture of a man who looks very cool and in control, and an equally cool-looking young lady hangs on his arm. Their posture implies that they will soon perform the reproductive act with one another and, if you eat their snack, they may let you watch.)

  You gain 3 XP for surviving this ridiculous, dangerous situation.

  “Well,” you say, finishing up, “looks like it’s time for me to hop on a space ship and get the hell out of here.”

  As you turn to leave the room, you regard the girl. She is looking back at you, her grey eyes cold and hard.

  If you want to invite her to come with you (since, by your own personal moral code, her life now belongs to you), turn to section 105.

  If you want to leave before she pulls some kind of trick like she did to that laborer (bless his heart), turn to section 254.

  451

  The coil flops around and sears bits of floor before you. You glance back and see the mist advancing rapidly. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, you run at the coil as fast as you can. This isn’t fair at all, you think.

  If you have a Dexterity score of 2 or more, turn to section 554.

  If your Dexterity score is not that high, turn to section 548.

  452

  Your spear slams into the mouth of the deconstructor, tearing up its insides and running its body into the ground. You duck and lean to the side as a tentacle from the other swings over you. You yank on your weapon, trying to free it. The deconstructor charges, catching you in the chest with a heavy blow. You lean, dig your foot into the fallen one, and finally yank the weapon free. Bouncing away from the other, you wait, see it raise two tentacles for a power-attack - then you dive at it, catching it in an eye with a spear thrust. Jarred, it falls sideways. You pounce on it, slamming your spear into it until its top cracks open and it falls to the floor, lifeless.

  You lose 1 Blood in the fight. If your Blood has dropped to zero or less, then you lie down to rest… asleep among the dead, doomed to never wake.

  If you have survived, turn to section 298.

  453

  You hoof it down the hallway, legs pumping frantically as bullets whizz by all around. While Uther and Sybel expertly guide theirs with mastery you had not known possible, Marcus scrapes along the wall the entire time. At a curve in the hallway, far ahead, Uther swings around, disappearing from view; Sybel brakes, kicks off from the far wall, then turns as well; fortunately for Marcus, the others curved along the same wall which he seems stuck to, and so he naturally falls that way at the turn, cursing all the while as precious gear drops from his belt due to being scraped along the wall at high speeds.

  As you run, one bullet smacks directly into your jetpack, nearly causing you to lose balance. Hope that stupid thing still works, you think. Might be important later. At the intersection several more bullets smack into your bulky jetpack. You trip, fall, and crash into the far wall. You lose 7 Blood from the impact; however, you may subtract your Strength stat and your Defense rating from this Blood loss.

  If you die, then you may Regenerate by turning back to section 161.

  If you survive, then you join the others further down the next hall, where you see Uther helping Marcus to his feet. While it is difficult to hear anything besides Marcus’s wild, sharp tongue, you dimly make out the Commander saying, “... it’s alright, soldier, everyone has different skills that they bring to the table...”

  You all jog away from the scene of the battle until you are sure that your pursuers are far behind. “Let’s track that other heat signature,” says Uther.

  “On it,” says Sybel, reading his strange gadget. “This way.”

  Turn to section 558.

  454

  The gaping mouth opens wide, ready to clamp down on your head and shatter your helm. You feel a dozen small tentacles probe at your feet, your legs, your knees. You raise your gun and point it at the back of the creature’s throat. You think about saying, “Bon appetit, asshole,” but instead scream out, “Show Mama how a piggy eats, you beautiful bastard!”

  You must now compute a number that will determine the outcome of the battle. This number is your Dexterity stat. If you are skilled in Weapon Proficiency: Ranged with the gun you are using, add 3 to this number. For every Rifle bullet you fire, add 1 to this number, or for every 2 Handgun bullets you fire, add 1 to this number. Note that you must fire at least 1 bullet.

  If your number is 5 or less, turn to section 114.

  If your number is between 6 and 12, turn to section 284.

  If your number is 13 or higher, turn to section 428.

  455

  Your voice wavers. “Stuh-stop!” you shout. “Ch-ch-chu-chill!” The dogs smell your weakness and redouble their efforts. You dive under the support beam. The dogs drop down into the room behind you. You feel teeth sink into the soft flesh behind your knee: Lose 2 Blood. You pull away and scramble through the rubble.

  You rise to your knees on the far side of the pillar. You feel ahead in the darkness and find a control panel. You pull a small emergency latch and an unseen door opens, flooding the chamber with light. You enter and shut the door behind you. The barking of the dogs disappears suddenly.

  You have survived your encounter with the dogs: Gain 2 XP.

  Turn to section 187.

  456

  You quickly spread one dose of the stuff onto your suit, sealing it before the vacuum can make your flesh its home. You gain 1 XP for surviving your encounter with the head of the beast.

  As you fly away from the head, you see scattered around the bulk of the massive beast even more heads, more seas of tentacles. They are alarmed at your fight against their brot
her, but cannot reach you. You laugh wickedly, hungry to hurt this pet of the Invader. Wise to the monster’s tricks, you look for weak points that you can investigate.

  If you want to look at the hole you see in the distance, turn to section 384.

  If you want to follow one of the blue channels that runs throughout the beast’s skin, turn to section 373.

  457

  You lean back on your palms. “Sure is nice that they put this stuff in here with all of these traps,” you say. “Now that’s just playing fair, I say.”

  You close your eyes just before the mist kisses you. You feel intense burning on your face and in your eyes. You roll away in agony: Lose 2 Blood.

  The mist touches the floor. You note that a cluster of loose papers on the floor blacken and crumble under the mist’s touch. Your face hurts terribly. You imagine it in your suit, your lungs. You turn towards the other door and run. The mist expands to fill the hall behind you... and keeps coming.

  Turn to section 229.

  458

  Your stomach heaves suddenly and you tilt your head back, then spray vomit in a great shower all around you. Before you can pass the act off as a normal occurrence, you fall backwards, dizzy and weak. “Hah ha!” Buford bellows. “Looks like I done gone an’ shown two ol’ boys who’s the King o’ the Eatin’ Ring.”

  With that, Buford proves himself the better eater and, by extension, the better man. You grit your teeth in impotent rage, knowing that you can do nothing to challenge his superiority over you. While Buford struts around, proud and in agony, you roll Cletus into a corner and take stock of what’s left of the food. Erase 8 Foods from the Narrenschiff’s inventory.

  “We kin have a rematch tomorrow,” says Buford, hovering over his beaten foes.

  Turn to section 143.

  459

  You blast at the advancing robot but it’s head only wobbles about like a jack-in-the-box caught in a tornado. You yelp and flail your arms about as you barely move out of the robot’s way before it plows into a pile of food supplies. The robot swings about, then drives toward you again.

  You will have to take it out the old fashioned way.

  Be sure to erase the ammunition that you used, then turn to section 228.

  460

  You draw her near you so that her belly presses up against yours, then mash your lips against hers, hard, until her body bends backwards. She seems to give in, and so you force your tongue into her mouth, then twirl your tongue around against her own, as if you were swinging a chain at a scared puppy.

  Then she makes a groan of protest and pulls away. “Stop,” she says. “This is...”

  “Come on, babe,” you say. “This is totally ill.”

  “No, it’s not ill,” she says, then wiggles her way out of your arms. “In fact, it’s kind of weird. I thought you were... thought you were different.”

  Resentful of the way she has toyed with you, you say, “Well if you thought I was gay, you’re wrong. When you’re ready for a real man -”

  “Okay, I get it,” she says, seeming bored, as if she’s heard such tough talk before. She turns to leave all in a huff. You watch her ass hopping left and right as she goes.

  But overall, you’re not exactly sure what just happened.

  Turn to section 571.

  461

  You bounce lightly through the icy field of white flowers. Your helm light casts long shadows among the frozen stalks. One of the thick blossoms breaks off at your touch - and you realize that the flowers are made of meat. The Invaders must have developed these meat flowers to grow on the hide of this creature in the cold of space to help feed their soldiers.

  You still have a long way to go in your journey, and your supplies are limited. If you want to gather up the Pork Chop Flowers (bulk 0 while in space), you can put them in your net with the rest of your gear before you return to your investigation of the glowing blue circle.

  You hover over the blue. Its periphery is a bundled mass of sparkling veins. Its center is a glowing blue organ that pumps slowly, sending liquid nutrients throughout the flesh of the beast.

  “So this is the heart,” you growl. “Looks like the Invaders are going to be short one space-pet pretty soon.” Your pulse races with fiendish delight, for you are about to kill something.

  If you have a gun and want to shoot the heart of the beast, turn to section 369.

  If you have a hand-to-hand weapon and want to use it, turn to section 194.

  If you have no weapons, or choose not to use them, you can stomp the thing by turning to section 46.

  462

  You maneuver about until you are one member of a long line of spearmen with lances held outwards. You race toward the cluster of Invaders charging toward your ship. Your pulse hisses in your skull as you draw nearer, nearer. For an instant you see the horns of the monsters, their black swords and axes, you level your spear, then -

  Both groups collide. Your spear jars in your hand as you skewer one Invader through his armpit. You rotate one another rapidly, then the Invader’s weapon flies from his hands. You blast your jets and force the point of your spear through his back, impaling his entire torso.

  You gain 2 XP for killing the Invader. You pull your spear back, then jam your boot into the corpse and push it from your weapon.

  All around you, it seems the enemy’s charge and the defense against it have dissolved into an all-out melee. An Invader armed with a mace flies toward you. It seems that he is flying slowly, and so you prepare to charge.

  If you are skilled in Sixth Sense, turn to section 325.

  If you do not have this skill, turn to section 116.

  463

  As bullets crash all around you and your comrades scream in your ears, your mind catches on the fact that there are radiation suits in the closet. The shield generating technology used by the Invaders and the human Black Lance Legion does not rely on nuclear energy - but the engines that drive the ships do. In case of a meltdown or any other accident, such equipment has to be kept on hand to deal with the problem.

  “Commander Uther!” you shout. “Uther! Sir, listen to me!”

  “What?!” says Uther, ducking as a great chunk of the doorway explodes, peppering you all.

  “There’s rad-suits in here! That means the heat signature we’re following is coming from the engine room, not the shield generator!”

  The Commander looks back and forth, then says, “Damn, you’re right. Even if we did manage to blast through these guys, the most we could accomplish is stalling the Invaders in space. They’d still be able to blast our ship if its shields get knocked out! Fall back! Everyone fall back!”

  Marcus pulls several grenades from his belt. “Get ready to run like hell,” he growls.

  You gain 2 XP for your astute observation.

  Turn to section 112.

  464

  You draw your knife and, as the shrieking man swings his rifle, you raise your free wrist to absorb the blow. You step in and jam the knife into his gut. He drops the rifle as your free hand falls limp, numb with pain. Suddenly the man bites your neck and shoulder, growling like an animal. You step into him, forcing him against a wall, then jam the blade in his gut again and again. Eventually he falls, white in the face and spewing blood and dying for no good reason.

  You have lost 2 Blood in the fight. If your Blood score has dropped to zero or less, then the man has torn a vital artery in your neck, and you join him in death.

  If you have survived, turn to section 530.

  465

  The gun jerks in your hand and a cloud of dust sprays up around the sniper. He disappears in the cloud. As you prepare for another shot, the cloud drifts away and you see the sniper scrambling for cover behind a stony rise.

  You curse and draw back for cover. Paranoid that the sniper is calling in your position to his spotter, you turn and see the gladius-wielding fighter flying toward you. In the light of his jetpack flare you see his black armor, his great curved horns. You freeze,
staring into the shadow that is the enemy from another world, wondering what he thinks, wondering if his thoughts are even comprehensible. He blasts toward you at high speed and you must act quickly.

  Be sure to erase the amount of ammunition that you used.

  If you want to try to shoot him, turn to section 421.

  If you want to draw a hand-to-hand weapon to fight this thing, turn to section 159.

  466

  “Nothin’s wrong, baby,” you say. “Mister Wiggles has got everything under control.”

  She makes an elaborate show of seeming scared - most likely, so that you will feel “in control” - by writhing beside you in a wiggly, jiggling dance of fear. “It’s just that everything’s so different now,” she says. “I always heard people talking about the Invader, but I thought it would never happen to me.” She suddenly grabs your arm and throws herself against your body, shivering against you. Part of you is disgusted, because rationally you know that she is not twelve years old. Another part of you immediately flares up when she pushes herself against you.

  “And I can tell,” she says, “that you’re a part of some weird cult that’s fighting those alien monsters. You seem... God, you seem like they’ve done something terrible to you. Done something terrible to your mind! So that people like me...” she turns her face up to you, eyes half-shut like she’s going to take a nap. But it would be an erotic nap, because her lips are moist, hot, red. “So that people like me could stay asleep, living easy lives.”