Welding

The soft taps of our shoes resounded in the environment. Abby quickly wrapped one of his arms up over her shoulders and walked along with him. I trailed behind them a couple of feet behind.

"Those two from before aren't normal. Agh… The ones that our group had fought before didn't have any kind of special abilities, they were more like fast zombies."

"It must be determined by the kind of mutations those bodysnatchers develop. But I've seen a number of them with similarly long legs, yet they have never once leaped like that before. I know there was one that had developed a bony sword arm though and its intelligence seemed a bit higher than the mindless ones."

I quietly listened to their conversation before bringing the hammer up to look at the blood that was smeared around it and down at the little splatters that had painted themselves onto my work pants.

They were darkish red, and curious, I wafted a bit toward myself. A familiar metallic smell went up my nostrils.

Honestly, for a second I berated myself for thinking that the blood would smell otherwise.

'So these things can both take over a living person as well as the deceased? That's the only way to explain the one she had encountered leaving the bathroom. If that's the case, are we ever going to be able to get rid of these things? Not only that, but they can also develop specializations?

Maybe I'm just thinking about this whole situation the wrong way. Perhaps there is no way back, instead, this is our new future. I guess that is how apocalypses work most of the time.

I'm pretty sure the blood was brighter earlier on my hammer. Does that mean that anyone's body they take over comes back to life? Or is it that those two happened to be caught before they had died?

I should follow one carrying a body with them when I have a chance.'

"Take a right up here."

We turned the corner and I could see the entrance to the welding room. There wasn't any sign, but the door had a glass cut out in the center spanning the whole door beside the frame, and behind the glass was a red-tinted plastic translucent curtain. 

As I looked through a bright light appeared from within that was heavily dampened by the welding curtain.

"Ah, they must've started already. Hope these tools are helpful. Agh, I really need to sit down. That headbutt fucking hurt!"

Once we opened the door the light halted and all the eyes in the room stared at us. I noticed the ones that must have thought we were monsters tense up their grips on their weapons, take a step back away from us, and stare at us wide-eyed. 

"Calm down everyone, it's just me! We got the tools."

The tension was quickly released by that statement. Abby quickly started taking Josh to a nearby chair on the right. Five large stronghold lockers separated the welding section of the room on the left from the repair and other machinery like sheet metal benders.

I looked to my left where six welding stations were surrounded by the translucent welding curtains. Two of the stations were occupied and both of the welders were looking at me. Upon noticing me one of the guys went back to welding while the other waved at me. As a courtesy, I waved back before heading the other way.

I dropped the bag off on a nearby table noticing the sheets of metal and some other varied shapes that looked like it could be useful.

All in all, there were seven people in the room before we came, now ten. 

As I looked at the metal on the table I got a little excited thinking about making armor. I remember watching several videos of blacksmiths making weapons and armor before. But before I start I should ask about Robert and one of the PAs here knows Robert too.

I walked over to a shorter man who held a metal rod as tall as he was with a jagged piece welded onto one end as a makeshift spear.

I could see in his eyes as I approached that he seemed to relax a little. The PA was someone I had known for a good while and I thought that he was feeling better since I was a familiar face.

"Nova, nice to see you here. Where's that partner of yours?"

"Well, I guess that answers the question I was going to ask you."

"What? … Oh I see, well I don't know if this helps or not, but I saw him with a group of people toward the nearest security station. I thought you would've been with him."

'The security station? I guess I got my next lead. I'm just trailing whatever little traces of him I find. It feels like I'm gathering clues to piece his journey together.'

"What does your group plan to do after welding armor and weapons together?"

"Uh… Escape? … Honestly, we haven't thought that far, at least planning-wise."

"Hmm… well you keep thinking about that I guess I'ma go make some weapons!"

"Hey! Make me something! I want a sword!"

"Okay, but give me that rod you have."

"Sure, sure, take it!"

The crude spear only had a single sheet of broad triangular metal attached at the end. The weld job was quite even and would probably hold for a long time. The gauge of the metal was thin enough that if we tried we could bend the metal by hand.

I was going to reinforce this spearhead into a more angular head from all sides and add some wings to stop it from penetrating too deep. I would have to make a sword and a little dagger for the spear trade. I'll make a weapon for Abby too if she wants one.

As I went to put on some welding equipment from those strongholds I noticed that she was speaking quite a bit with a man who was wearing some casual attire.

'They know each other? Must be someone from her tour group then.'

As I went to the back to start welding I noticed that the weapons those two were working on had already reconciled their potential durability problem by doubling the thickness of the blade with an additional sheet.

I sheared some metal and brought it with me to one of the welders. Thinking that I should finish his sword first, I got a strip of the metal and a nearby vice I bent it in a little shorter than the width of a handle and continued compressing the metal into a rolled-up strip with the use of the use of the convenient ball-peen hammer I had brought along.

With a couple of sheet metal, I sheared them into more precise shapes with the shear I had taken from before. They were shaped into somewhat crude-looking blades with a cross guard and sharp angular points.

Finally, I was going to weld it together with my shoddy skills and hoped that I wouldn't blow a hole in it.

I held the finished product up in my hand and even through the thick welding gloves I could feel the heat within. The blade on its own was already considered sharp, but that was just because the metal was fairly thin. I put it off to the side so I could use the grindstone to sharpen it further later.

Now onto the spear, I cut a couple smaller versions of the spearhead sheet they had already attached. With those two pieces, I put one on either side and welded it on a few spots for additional durability as well as a larger puncture wound. I added smaller versions on either side until it leveled out with the rod before putting a single circular weld where they all met. 

A little bit inward of the rod I had a couple pieces of metal jutting out as the wings so my spear wouldn't get lodged in too deep.

While that was cooling down I got the sword from earlier and sharpened the blade to the best of my ability along with getting rid of the edges near the handle and guard. Wouldn't want anything but the blade itself to be sharp for safety.

When I finished that I tried to sharpen my spear, though the only part I could actually reach to sharpen was the largest piece in the middle.

I looked at my two creations with pride! The sword looked burnt on the welded edge and my spear only had a few small holes in it. All in all, I'd say I did pretty well for someone who only touched these welders for a bit, years ago.

With the new weapon I made I brought it over to Jordan, the man from before, and I could see the sparkle in his eyes as I neared.

"Damn, that looks pretty cool! You even improved that spear from earlier."

"Yeah, thanks, man! The welds can't compare to the ones you had on your spear earlier, but they aren't a failure by the metrics. Here."

I handed him the sword and he looked it all over. It was mostly the design at I chose to make his blade into rather than the welds though.

*Vvvrrrrm*

*Vvvrrrrm*

*Vvvrrrrm*

I felt my pocket vibrate a few times in quick succession and pulled out my phone. I turned around so that Jordan could inspect his sword and I walked a couple steps away. Three messages appeared from the banner all of which belonged to the same person.

[Juni: I was starting to think you died already!! I knew you'd survive though! 12:26 PM

When do you think you'll be back?! 12:26 PM

Since it is clearly the apocalypse now, I'll start preparing and organizing what we have. 12:27 PM]

I was somewhat amused by her first message and responded in kind. 

[Me: Oh, you're actually still alive? I sent that for shits and giggles. Glad you're still kicking though. As for when I'll be back I don't quite know, I think it should be back by the end of the day. 12:28 PM]

A soft voice whispered in my ear as I was distracted by the message I was typing.

"Oh? Who's this Juni person?"

"Ahh! When the fuck did you get behind me?!"

It was Abby peering around my shoulder to see the screen.

"Just now, you turning around was basically an invitation for someone to sneak up on you. I just so happened to be the one that took up that chance. But don't think that I forgot my question, who was that?"

"Oh, Juni? She's my girlfriend."

"H-huh? G-girlfriend? Hmmm… is that so?"

Her expression twisted from surprise to thoughtful to a seductive smile as looked up at me.

"You know, for a man that's already taken, aren't you looking at other women a bit too often? Fufu~"

'Is she trying to guilt trip me on morals? Little does she know that Juni actually discreetly allows it. She doesn't mind me peaking a bit, but that's just cause she knows who's still going to end up as my number one in the end. Heh, I bet you feel like you have the upper hand, huh? But what if I simply leaned into it?'

I tilted my head a little up at an angle and grinned at her. I gave her a slow leer up and down.

"And what about yourself? Aren't you a married woman in your own right? Why are you deliberately coming so close to another man?"

Her eyes widened for a moment before returning as it was before.

"Touché, so what's your next move?"

"I suppose after I help these guys out a little more I'll head to the security office nearby, what about you? Are you going to stay with this group?"

"No… I wanna go wherever you're going to go."

Now it was my turn to be surprised, she wanted to continue following me instead of staying with this decently sized group?

*Shunc* *Shunc*

*Thoom!*

The door opposite the one that Josh, Abby, and I entered from, quickly opened and two people scattered inside with one of them slamming the door close behind them.