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Black GOOP Chapter 2

The path to rescue

By Ricky Tucker JrPublished 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago 9 min read
2

With Traces preparations complete it was time to exit his home and start a most excellent adventure. The door slammed closed behind him with a whoosh of air.

Trace mumbled “Even the air doesn’t want to stay in this shell of a house.”.

Ellie asked “What did you say, I didn’t quite understand your command?”.

Trace responded saying “I was just making a comment about how my home has become hollow and empty without my family.”.

Ellie said “With my help we will retrieve your brothers.”.

Trace started moving towards the most likely spot for a reeducation center. As he moved down the street, he started taking stock of his supplies. He was equipped with a Cluster Controller, Nanite Storage Device, and 200 Clusters. He of course knew that this wouldn’t be all he needed for the adventure but everything else can be acquired later.

The trip into Hot Springs wasn’t difficult but it was a long trip down the bypass. This long distance walking made Trace want to come up with a more efficient traveling method, preferable one that wasn’t too loud. Trace ducked behind a building to avoid one of many Task Force Patrols. These patrols were very heavy for an area as sparsely populated as hot springs had become. As soon as the patrol had moved far enough

It was a long trip getting into Hot Springs along the bypass but the difficulty would increase. Trace had barely gotten onto Main Street before a Task Force Patrol started approaching. Luckily he heard them coming and ducked behind a building. As soon as the patrol had passed he started back down Main Street heading for Hot Springs High, the most likely location for a reeducation center.

About every five minutes Trace would have to duck behind obstacles whether it is a car or a building. This particular encounter he had to duck into a trash can. He cracked the lid of the trash can just far enough to verify the patrol had passed. With the knowledge that the patrol was out of sight, he slowly exited the trash can and started to follow his path along main street.

After hours dodging patrols Trace managed to get within a mile of the potential site of the reeducation center. It was also getting very dark. He contemplated finding a light source and continuing his journey. He only entertained the idea for a few moments before coming to the conclusion that traveling with help of the light would make him a moving target. The only available option would be to find some place to camp out for the night.

Looking around, traces spotted several locations nearby. The first location was an old casino named Oaklawn. The second location was an Arby’s restraint. The third location was a sonic drive thru location.

Trace had heard rumors that Oaklawn had been transformed into a social gathering location. This would have to be heavily regulated by the Task Force to prevent the spread of Covid-19. He could see lights blasting into the sky. These are the type of lights seen on an army base or a car lot in the big city.

The last time that Trace had eaten at Arby’s he had gotten food poisoning and had an aversion against their food. In the case of sonic Trace had so many memories of going and picking up ice cream with his dad. It also brought memories up of grabbing sweet tea with this mother and hearing her tell him about his Aunt Mary as a teen. These good memories gave trace the urge to stop at sonic but he knew a pawn shop would provide him with greater resources than sonic could.

The original plan was hidden in sonic until the pawn shop came into view. With the pawn shop as a fourth option Trace knew it would provide most if not all the resources he needed to rescue his brothers.

Whether it was a cruel twist of fate or some guiding force the next patrol turned the corner around the pawn shop. The only place that Trace could get to in time to avoid being caught is Sonic. As he approached the entrance to Sonic, Ellie quietly said “Front door appears to be barred. There might be a broken window, or an unlocked door.”. Trace dashed around the opposite side of the building as the patrol was coming around the other side.

While sneaking around the building Trace kicked a rock , this caused a huge racket. His heart stopped as one of the Patrols shouted “ I heard something around that sonic!”. With a little luck Trace managed to open the bathroom door on the side of the building. He knew that it would only delay the inevitable because they would check every entrance they could get access to. With a little quick thinking Trace issues Ellie a command “Fill lock mechanism with rust!”.

A tendril of nanites erupted from a tube on the Nanite Storage Device, that ran along the strap of the pack. The backpack that was transformed into the Nanite Storage Device was a sports pack with a hydration tube for hikers. The nanite tendrils that shot out started out looking like a tentacle but morphed halfway to the lock into a black spike. The tendril punctured the lock mechanism and spread out like a fluid inside the lock mechanism. Every part of the lock mechanism that the nanites touched was bathed with the low strength deconstruction laser. This laser bathing mechanism started an oxidation reaction causing the lock to rust into a solid piece of rust. With the nanites completing their job the tendril retracted back inside the Storage Device.

No more than a second after the nanite tendrils retracted the footsteps could be heard outside. Then the door started to shake as the Patrol officer tried opening the door. This patrol officer put a lot of effort into trying to open the door, but no matter how much effort he exerted the door wouldn’t open. The Patrol Officer cursed under his breath. The Patrol Officer shouted to the others saying “The noise must have been an animal.”. The comment must have been unanimous because the Task Force Patrol continued on its Patrol path.

Trace examined the hallway to the bathroom and realized that there was a second door.

Ellie commented “Looks like our luck is changing, The door seems to be ajar!”.

Trace responded to the comment with “I didn’t know computers believed in luck. Can’t every result be calculated with enough details and computational power?”.

Ellie responded “Yes almost everything can be predicted and there is nothing random in the universe! Though it would take so much insight and computational ability that even a quantum computer would struggle.”.

Trace responded “I guess that means random is random. How is it you can see so much better than me?”

Ellie answered with “One upgrade to the Cluster controller was ocular upgrades. This allows the nanites to process infrared and ultraviolet spectrums.”

Ellie paused and then continued with “ If you found something with a frame structure such as glasses could be upgraded to see in the infrared and ultraviolet spectrum.”

With great difficulty Trace started moving toward the open door. Before reaching the door he kicked something in a plastic package. He bent down to pick it up and found a toy. Examining the toy it was a spy glass or power meter that covered one eye and had a ear piece to stay in place.

Trace asked “ Could this work for an infrared and ultraviolet viewer?”.

Ellie answered with “Yes, this would be perfect”.

With this confirmation Trace issued the command to Upgrade the device. Almost before the command could be issued the nanites exited the pack and slid down his shoulder. As the nanites slid down his arm , the cold nanites caused him to shiver. The nanites continued to move down his arm towards the toy, the trail of nanites looked like a tattoo of circuit board tracks. Reach his hands the nanites engulfed the toy and started transforming it into ocular device. After the nanites finished processing the toy they withdrew and returned back up traces arm.

Trace asked Ellie “I thought you were upgrading the toy to become some kind of infrared viewer?”

Ellie responded “It is easier for the nanites to analyze the structure of the device and then mimic the device on command with MIMIC HUD”

Trace issues the command MIMIC HUD. With the command the nanites climbed up his neck and formed a copy of the HUD. As the HUD came online , Trace could see through the darkness. This allowed trace to navigate through the darkness with little to no trouble. Opening the door into the kitchen a red alert displayed on the HUD. With just a warning Trace ducked down just in time for something zipped passed millimeters from his face. Whatever went past is head embedded in the wall. Ellie highlighted the assailant on the HUD display. He instinctively grabbed the closest object, a pan.

The assailant yelled “Please don’t take me to a camp!”.

Trace yelled back “You're not a Task Force Agent!?!”.

The assailant said with a shake voice “No, I am hiding from them.”.

Trace responded “That's what I am doing also.”.

The assailant and Trace said in unison “Truce. Agreed!”.

The assailant said “My name is Caden.”.

With this truce, the two boys introduced themselves. Caden explains that he is actually trying to go to a Covid Isolation camp to rescue his mother. He explained that his father had passed away during the riots in 2021, trying to get food for his family. He then went to explain that his mom and him struggled to survive until, Caden mom got a positive test on Covid-19, a year ago.. He had managed to evade the Patrols while trying to find the correct Isolation Camp. He had figured out that she was at the convention center Isolation Camp.

Trace started to tell Caden his story. Starting out he tells about both his mothers family and fathers family. His mothers family had perished in the Initial racial riots in 2020. This put him and his brother under his fathers household. His step mother and father passed away with the initial Covid-19 vaccinations caused an instant month long agonizing death. Then he explained about his brothers being taken to a reeducation camp. He informed Caden that he was on his way to the Hot Springs High reeducation camp.

While Trace was telling Caden about his plans Caden interrupted him.

Caden informed Trace “There is no Reeducation Camp at the High School. All new orphans are transported to the apartments next to the convention center.”

With this revolution Caden and Trace decided to work together to rescue their family members.

Thank you for reading my second chapter. I hope to have the next chapter out soon. If you enjoyed my story please give it a like and or share. If you like my stories please consider supporting me with a donation either on here or paypal.me/devricky . Donor’s that leave a message or provide proof of donations can request to be integrated into the stories, or influence how the story comes. You can follow announcement at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/rickytuckerjr

science fiction
2

About the Creator

Ricky Tucker Jr

I will be feeling my stories with amazing adventures fueled by all the intangible ideas that float through my mind.

You can leave comments, help shape my adventures or buy me a coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/rickytuckerjr

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