Road to Black Rock
990 Words
First light painted the warped desert in blood-red and gold. Jax stood beside his patched-up pickup, rifle slung across his back, while the small crew loaded gear into a reinforced dune buggy and an armored supply hauler. The air already carried the bite of coming heat and that faint metallic tang that seemed to cling to everything in this place.
Reyes tossed a duffel of spare ammo into the buggy. “You’re riding shotgun with me and Milo. Tank takes the hauler. Keep your eyes open — Nexus activity always spikes at dawn.”
Tank, true to his name, was a mountain of a man with permanent metal plating across his left shoulder. He grunted and climbed into the hauler cab.
Milo adjusted his glasses, looking nervous but focused. “I’ve got stabilizer shots ready if anyone’s patches start malfunctioning. Just… try not to push brand-new abilities to the limits.”
Jax climbed into the passenger seat. The Alpha Core Fragment had settled overnight, leaving faint circuit-like lines across his chest that glowed faintly under his shirt when he flexed. Only he could see the new "Core Overclock v1.0" sitting ready in his system interface.
“Any idea where Riley might be in that cave?” he asked as Reyes started the engine.
She shook her head. “ I have ideas about where to check, but nothing certain yet. People get pulled through the rifts at different times. Some weeks ago, some in the big tear two days ago. Black Rock’s pulled in plenty of supply runners. If your brother came through earlier, the strongest signal might have drawn him there. We’ll sweep the upper levels first.”
The convoy rolled out, tires kicking up dust on the old mining access road. The desert flew by, littered with twisted Joshua trees, rusted rail tracks, and the occasional bleached skeleton half-buried in sand. Every few miles Jax caught glimpses of green shimmer on the horizon: pulsing veins in the ground and faint rifts flickering in the distance like wounds in the sky.
About twenty miles in, trouble found them.
A pack of mutated coyotes burst from a dry wash, their bodies elongated with extra joints and glowing green veins under patchy fur. Their howls were chilling.
“Contact!” Reyes yelled, swerving hard.
Jax leaned out the window, rifle up. He squeezed off three shots. One coyote dropped clean, but the rest kept coming at unnatural speeds
Tank’s hauler rammed two of them, metal screeching as claws raked the armor.
One coyote leaped onto the buggy’s hood, claws screeching across metal. Its jaws unhinged wide, revealing rows of needle teeth dripping green.
Jax didn’t hesitate.
He triggered Core Overclock v1.0 in his mind.
Power surged through him like lightning in his veins. Muscles swelled with fresh reinforced tendons. Reflexes sharpened until the world slowed to a crawl. He smashed the butt of his rifle through the windshield and drove his fist straight into the coyote’s open maw.
The impact caved in the creature's bone and sent it flying twenty feet. Ichor sprayed across the hood.
[Core Overclock v1.0 active — All physical stats +200% for 60 seconds.]
Reyes glanced sideways, eyes widening at the raw power behind the punch. “Nice hit. What the hell did you just slot?”
“Something fresh,” Jax grunted, not offering details.
He felt unstoppable until the timer in his head hit sixty seconds.
The crash slammed into him like a freight train.
Vision blurred. Strength evaporated. Pain lanced through every joint as Toughness dropped sharply.
[Overclock ended. Toughness reduced by 40% for 9 minutes. Severe muscle fatigue and locking incoming.]
The remaining coyotes smelled weakness.
Two leaped at the buggy from the side. Jax tried to raise his rifle, but his arm barely responded.
Reyes spun the wheel, slamming one into a rock outcrop. Milo leaned out the back and fired a small EMP device — blue arcs crackled, dropping the second coyote mid-leap.
Tank’s hauler crushed the last one under its heavy tires with a wet crunch.
Jax slumped in the seat, breathing hard. Sweat poured down his face.
Milo scrambled forward with a syringe. “Hold still — neutralizer incoming. I can see the feedback tremors.”
The injection burned going in, but the seizing eased. Jax’s arm unlocked.
Reyes kept one eye on the road. “Bold move burning a major upgrade on the road. Most fresh arrivals wait for a safe zone before testing something that heavy.”
“Had to test it sometime,” Jax said through gritted teeth. “Better now than inside the mine when something bigger shows up.”
She gave a short, dry laugh. “Fair enough. Just give the rest of us a heads-up next time before you turn into a one-man wrecking ball.”
The convoy slowed as Black Rock Mine came into view. The air hummed with low static.
Reyes killed the engine. “We go in careful. Milo scans for signal pockets. Tank on point. Jax, you’re with me on flank. Save the special abilities for when we really need them.”
Jax nodded, reloading his rifle. Only he saw the new private update:
[Destination reached. High Nexus density. Multiple mutated entities nearby.]
[Personal objective: Search for Riley Harlan. Probability he arrived via precursor rift: 67%.]**
He stared into the dark tunnel entrance. Somewhere in there might be what was left of his brother.
Tank shouldered his heavy machine gun and grinned. “Time to earn our pay, folks.”
Jax checked the glowing lines under his shirt one last time. The hunger for more cores from the mutations was stronger now.
He chambered a round.
“Lead the way.”
The crew moved into the mine together, boots echoing on cracked stone. Green light grew brighter ahead, accompanied by the wet sounds of things that used to be human shifting in the dark.
The real test was just beginning.
- Writer
