It’s Not Easy Making Money In The Apocalypse

I tried to call out, but the pain in my chest was too much and it made it only come out in a hoarse wheeze. I could tell that the person who had aimed at Hazel was a confident aim, so when he pulled the trigger, I expected Hazel to collapse to the ground just as I did. However, after he fired, there was a brief pause, and the soldier who shot at Hazel looked confused.

“You… shot my brother…” I heard her voice over the sounds of distant fighting, but it sounded somewhat strange.

The man frowned, took aim again, and fired again. Hazel still didn’t react. Did he miss that badly?

“What… the…” I could see him mouthing the words in confusion.

“You hurt Brother!” She screamed.

At that moment, Sovereign Gunner fell back and let out a cry. This was because the pile of garbage that she had been hiding behind had suddenly burst into flames. The man who was shooting stumbled several feet back and then began opening fire freely, aimed directly at Hazel. He emptied an entire clip, yet Hazel didn’t appear to be struck by a single one. These actions were seen by all of the other nearby soldiers who were backing this guy up, and it was enough that the fighting stopped in the immediate area as everyone on both sides watched this strange anomaly.

It was because of the sudden silence that everyone could hear the sound of metal falling on concrete. At Hazel’s feet, dozens of bullets collapsed to the ground. They were smashed at the front as if they had hit some impenetrable wall of air, floated there for several moments, and then fell to the ground. Hazel stepped forward.

“You killed Brother!” Her voice sounded furious.

“Fire!” The man cried out, and dozens of soldiers all aimed their rifles at her.

However, before they could pull their triggers, she lifted her hand. The guns the men were holding were suddenly ripped from their hands. They ended up landing on the ground and sliding, stopping just short of Hazel’s feet. As this was happening, I felt a sting in my neck. The pain in my stomach diminished slightly, but then I felt to arms wrap around mine and start pulling me away, dragging me down the hallway away from Hazel.

“W-wait!” I cried out, looking up to see Jacques pulling me.

“This is our chance to get out of here!” Jacques declared. “I shot you with Regen X and Painall, but that wound is going to need a medic.”

“N-no!” I kicked. “My sister…”

“Yeah… I figured you two looked too alike to be lovers.” He snorted. “We can’t worry about her now. We need to save ourselves.”

While Hazel distracted the guards, people were jumping down into the sewer system to escape the situation. Sovereign Gunner had also taken the opportunity to abandon the flaming remains of her hiding place to make it down into the sewer as well. I even spotted Red and Katarina, who looked to be wanting to run toward me but were being held back by some of the others who were aiding in the escape.

“I won’t leave her!” I fought with my arms, causing him to lose his grip. “She’s in trouble!”

“Stubborn!” He cursed.

I flopped to my side, planning to crawl back if I had to. The two of us looked up to see a small tank-like vehicle driving down the hallway. It was skinnier than a tank, but it had a massive gun on it. Jacques went white as he saw it approaching. Behind us, there was panic. A single shot of that thing could destroy the entrance and strand everyone topside.

The tank aimed at the girl though. The men had retreated once they lost their guns, and it appeared that had signaled for a tank to back them up. To my horror, the tank fired. Hazel made a swatting motion, and the shot suddenly turned, hitting the building to the side, and causing it to explode. She then reached out and made a grabbing gesture, and suddenly the tank rose into the air. She threw up her hand and it flipped back, landing upside down.

“H-how is she doing this?” I couldn’t help but ask out loud.

“Master, before I was disconnected, I registered the Perco in her name. She’s utilizing the spells Pyrokinesis and Psychokinesis. She must be doing it instinctively.”

My eyes widened. “Those spells are that powerful?”

“No… they aren’t. At least, they are not supposed to be. The spells are triggered by the device, but they are dependent on the strength of the user. It’s like giving someone a bat. If you’re a baby, you can hit anyone, but if you’re a muscle man, you can swing it enough to kill someone in a single blow.”

“She has Sorcery then?” I grimaced as I felt like I was holding my insides in.

“Master, I checked her status when I unlocked her collar. Most of her status is unremarkable, but one of her stats is extremely abnormal. That’s sorcery.”

“H-how large?”

“She’s a 10, Master.”

“You know, I would have taken her home if I knew she had sorcery!” I cursed.

“Master didn’t ask. If I told you every piece of information I gleaned, your head would explode!”

I felt irritated, but she was right. I hadn’t considered that she would be able to read the information for quickly digitally than I could with my eye. It was my inattentiveness that put us both in this situation. I didn’t have time two dwell on it though. I felt some hands grab me. It was Jacques again. I tried to fight him, but he made an irritated noise.

“I’m not going to take you. I’m helping you up. If you’re going to be stupid, then at least take my assistance.”

As he helped me to my feet, another wave of soldiers appeared, coming from all three directions of the intersection in front of Hazel. It was nearly a hundred armed men, and they included those with shields, who stepped out in front and protected the rest.

“Stand down! Lower your head, and accept a slave collar.” A voice came out over the boom. “If you do not comply, we will kill you!”

“So…” Hazel’s voice still sounded dark and distant. “You wish to hurt Brother too.”

“Fire!” A hailstorm of fire suddenly came down on my sister.

My heart hurt, or maybe it was just the giant hole in my stomach. Hazel let out a scream, throwing out her arms. A wave of fire was tossed back, knocking all of the soldiers down.

“I see now… you won’t let us be! You won’t let Brother be… I must make you. I’m sorry if I’m no longer polite!” As she spoke, Hazel’s feet left the ground and she began to float up into the air.

This was enough that even Jacques stopped moving, his mouth falling open. The other soldiers let out cries and those that could get back on their feet started running. I started feeling wind pick up, and then there was a feeling of heat. Fire exploded out of the nearby shops. It seemed to be caught up in the swirl, creating a tornado of fire around Hazel. The wind grew faster and faster, and the buildings started to break apart around her.

“I-I think we should run…” I spoke as a growing cyclone of fire began to move down the hallway toward us.

“I agree!” Jacques said, helping me turn around.

The pair of us limped away as the massive cyclone grew larger and larger. The tank that was overturned was picked up and tossed into the nearby building, but the combination of the fire and wind caused even the building to fly away.

The cyclone grew larger and large, tearing apart the mall a building at a time. We finally made it to the sewer system. Katarina was the last one there, waiting for me with her arm out.

“Come on! That girl is going to tear apart the entire wasteland, we need to go!” She cried out.

Just as the two started moving down into the sewer, I looked back at Hazel. I couldn’t say if it was my imagination, but through the flames, I swore I could see her face. Tears were running down her cheeks, and she looked to be a woman in mourning. Seeing such a look on my usually happy sister struck me like a brick. I suddenly pulled away from Jacques as he was halfway down the ladder.

“What are you doing?” He cried out.

“Daniel!” Katarina shouted, her voice barely heard over the violent sound of tearing metal and fire.

I looked back at her one time and smiled. “I have to go.”

“You’ll die.”

“I don’t believe… Sister will hurt me.”

I turned to the wall of flames and then began limping forward. It had seemingly stopped growing right at the edge of the mall. Everything on the inside was being torn apart and blown around in a flame wind. I could feel intense heat. However, I didn’t believe that Hazel was consciously aware of what she was doing, and I also believed that Hazel, even unconsciously, would ever hurt me.

With the sound of the pair crying out behind me, I stepped into the flames. I was already in a lot of pain. It was very hot, and it was hard to see. However, I forced myself to keep moving forward. The dryness was extreme, and end if I wasn’t getting burned, I was certainly getting cooked. I stumbled farther and farther into it. It was worst at the edges, so the farther I moved into the center, the easier it got. My eyes locked on the form.

She had ended up back on the ground, just standing there in the leveled complex that had once been the mall. Nearly a square half-mile of land had been turned into, well, wasteland, once again. My eyes remained only focused on her. I moved closer and closer, even though it felt like it was getting harder. I was fighting a bullet wound in my stomach, intense heat, wind, and flying debris. Yet, I didn’t stop moving forward.

“Hazel!” I reached out and grabbed her.

She spun around, fury in her eyes, but as soon as she saw me, that fury turned into utter shock. I grabbed onto her shoulders, wanting to say so much at that moment. However, I reached my limit. My hands tightened on her shoulders, pushing down to keep me from collapsing, but I couldn’t stop myself. Her knees seemed to bend, and the loss of support caused me to fall forward onto her.

“Brother.” She let out that single word, and then our lips met.

Her eyes rolled up in her head, and then she fell back. The storm disappeared as it had never been there.

“Ahhh!” I desperately tried to stop her from falling, but in my position and my side, it was impossible.

Instead, I fell on top of her, my face planting right into her breasts. When I finally had the strength to look up, it was extremely quiet. I could see the Syndicate army running away as fast as their vehicles could carry them.

“You did say sister, right?” Red asked.

I looked up to see that she had abandoned the sewer escape with Jacques and Katarina and they went to check on me. The three of them stared with slightly complicated expression. I looked down to see my hands were on Hazel’s breasts, holding them tightly as I used them to push myself up.

“Mmm… Brother, not in front of Mom…” Hazel murmured in her sleep.

“It is the Wasteland…” Jacques coughed. “Anything goes.”