Dream Drive Ch. 05

"Take your time."

Chaki nodded again. Her toes began to work in the grass. She dragged her foot to and fro, digging a little trench. "Maybe you were right, in a way. Maybe I want this too much."

"The only person here with things wrong with them is me."

"You don't know me, either," she said.

"Not really, I guess."

"When you were gone..." Chaki drew her foot back and rested her head on her knees. "Do you remember, when you said you saw me in the cage - that seeing the hope come back to me made you stay?"

"...yeah."

"You saw correctly," she said. "Since father died, I...I don't know. I've done well with Palla, I think. He'll be a strong man. My mother seemed recovered. But I felt distant. Like I was floating. I'd lost something, some sort of anchor that was holding me down, the thing that made me care about life. When I was put in that cage, it was as if the world had finally come to claim me. So I sat down and got ready, Jackson. I was ready to die. I would fight to get Palla free, yes...and then, whatever would happen, would happen. But then, you came, and things...they were different. It was as if my father's spirit had returned to remind me of something – that he had sent you in his place."

Jackson shifted, draping an arm over his knee. "Like I said. Right place, right time. That was it. It was just a coincidence."

"Let's say you're right," Chaki said. "Even if the hand of fate had nothing to do with it – if my father's spirit has long since departed for another place – well, so what? What does it matter if it's just coincidence?"

"Huh?"

"Isn't that everything in the entire world?" Chaki said. "Things wouldn't happen the way they did if things were in other places at the time. If that makes sense. Relationships happen because people meet under the right conditions. Everyone that has ever cared for anyone else was just in the right place at the right time."

"I get what you mean. But –"

"When you were gone, and I could feel you on the verge of death," she said, "it was as if I was back in the cage. As if I was detached. I never realized how much I hated that feeling until it came upon me again, unwanted. That is why I was angry. I was angry with you, but I was angrier with myself.

"Maybe you don't think you're anything special. But I think you're amazing. I think it's amazing that you think I'm amazing. And maybe you don't understand why. I don't understand it totally, either. I just feel it. I feel like we have some sort of connection, that we're similar in more ways than you realize."

She glanced to him, looking for a response. Jackson made a shallow nod. "...alright. So...what are you saying?"

Chaki cleared her throat. "What I'm saying, is that the reason I...pried, so much, is because those rusty spots - those wounds you have – they seemed familiar to me. It didn't strike me until you told me what you did, just now. The reason I recognized them was because I, too, have them. I wanted to help you, because I thought that, in doing so, I would have earned the help you gave me.

"I accepted your bond, Jack," she said. "I convinced you to make it. I did so knowing what I was getting into." She half-raised her hand, cutting him off before he started speaking. "Perhaps I did not understand or appreciate the details of your life. I don't fully comprehend your experience. How could I? But what I saw made me wonder. How can a person that seems so strong be as weak as I feel on the inside? I understood not the nuance of your history, Jackson, but I knew that feeling so well it hurt me to realize it. I told you that I want to be a part of your life knowing exactly what sort of life it was - because I recognized what I had already seen in myself. Maybe that's what drew me to you so strongly."

Chaki bowed her head lower, hiding her face between her thighs. "I am sorry I pushed you so much. I should have waited for you to speak on your own, in your own time. I just – I wanted to be closer to you. I wanted to earn my place at your side. I wanted to inspire you like you inspired me, and I thought I had to get inside your head to do that. But all I've done is shove you away. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize to me," Jackson said. "Don't ever do that."

Chaki drew her head up, glanced to the night sky, and then looked back at him. "You are not what you claim," she said. "Apathetic. You are just trying to convince yourself that you are."

"It's kinda stupid, isn't it?"

"It says something very sad about your life," Chaki said, "but it is not stupid, Jackson. I won't hear of it."

He could see the tangle of emotions in their bond. It felt like old coals that left soot on his hands. Worry. Affection for him. Fear. Hesitation.

Jackson shoved the feeling of the bond away. He'd had enough magic.

He shifted closer to her and put his hand on her shoulder. Chaki's head lifted to look at him. He studied the contrast between her rich tan skin and his pale white, sucking in the feeling of the smooth warmth. It might be the last time he felt it.

"...I don't deserve you," he said.

"I feel likewise," Chaki said.

"I made..." Jackson's lips twisted. His face felt stretched too tight. "I assumed you didn't...but you do. You said it exactly how it is. Floating – I guess that's one way to put it. Like you're in a bubble away from the world, and the landscape is all grey. Because someone turned the colors off and you don't know how to put them back."

"I don't want it to come back," she said. "I don't want it to happen to you again. To either of us."

"It's not your mission to patch me together, Chaki," Jackson said. "You shouldn't abandon your life to try and fix me." He rubbed his nose. "Jeeze. I feel like an asshole, venting about stuff like this. I wish I could just get over it."

"Oh, Jackson." Chaki made a small smile. "I promise that one day, I'll be worthy enough to have you."

Jackson put the heel of his hand on his forehead. "I just can't get through to you."

"People seem to think that I'm stubborn," Chaki said. "I think they're right."

"Yeah."

"I want to know you better, Jackson," she said.

"...that might be hard."

Chaki tilted her head, and made a little smug smile. "It'll be harder if you keep going off on your own without me."

"Are you sure, Chaki? Really, absolutely?"

"Jack," she said, "I'm sure. I won't leave you."

Jackson wiped at his eyes. "Alright then, I guess."

And then, it was quiet again. Wind blew. The coals of the fire glowed as fresh air rolled over them. Strands of Chaki's hair were flicked over where Jackson's fingers rested on her skin.

"How long has it been since you told someone these things?" Chaki asked.

"I've never told anyone this stuff," Jackson said. "Ever."

Chaki put her hand on top of his. "Then we have a lot of time to make up for."

"Yeah." The fingers of their hands twined together. "I'm glad it's you."

"Me, too," Chaki said.

"...let's take things slow, for a bit. Let's get to know each other, like you said."

"I think that's a good idea."

"Maybe..." Jackson thought for a moment. "I want to go home. Back to my world. Do some research. There's things I need to look into."

"I can't go there, though," Chaki said.

"Well..." Jackson met her gaze. "Actually, you can."

****
Jackson explained to Chaki how the game had prompted him to bring his bonded back with him when he logged out of Isis. Jackson didn't want to leave immediately; he still wanted to focus on transferring Shaka's runes. Chaki was subdued, after their conversation, but he could see her intense curiosity. She wanted to see his world for herself.

He wondered what she'd think of it. Nothing good, probably.

They stayed together for a while longer, then Chaki retreated to her family's tent to sleep. Jackson considered grinding his skills, but he just wasn't in the mood. He crashed in Shaka's tipi. The old woman was sound asleep.

He didn't need to sleep anymore, but he found that, if he relaxed for a time, he could doze off. His brain was relieved to unfocus for a little while.

It was almost funny, when he gave it some thought. He'd just spilled his guts to a woman that he'd seduced.

But it made perfect sense, in a twisted sort of way. When he hadn't cared as much, just feeding the carnal desires was easy. He didn't have to think about the consequences. Now that he knew her a bit better, he appreciated her. He'd gotten attached, and the paranoia and the fear had set in.

She wasn't going anywhere. She wouldn't betray him. She wouldn't sell him out. She wasn't like the others. He had to believe that, repeat it, chant it in his head like a mantra. He was afraid his body would forget if he didn't.

He wasn't sure how much time passed as he lay in the tent, listening to Shaka sleep. After taking the time to rest and sort through his thoughts, he felt a lot better, though he cringed when he remembered how he went off at Chaki. He owed her a bit more of an apology than a simple sorry.

Still, he felt like his normal self, physically. He went back out and found the straw targets at the edge of the camp. He'd learned about something new in the caverns – something he knew would be incredibly important. He had combination attacks.

When he'd swooped in to save Rachel, he burned a ton of essence very quickly to stave off the rattok. He ended up killing a lot of them, but his goal was just to delay them. He used his abilities in quick succession, flinging his spear around as fast as he could.

At some point, he'd used his Power Spin, turning in a circle with his spear to knock back the enemies that had surrounded him. There were so many, he just kept turning, using it a second time in quick succession.

His spear had flared brighter, and the white circle the tip drew around him thickened. It blasted out almost twice as far as a normal Power Spin. The sheer force of it made even the heavier rattok warriors stumble backward. The game announced the information with its usual prompt.

Double Power Spin: Combine two Power Spin attacks into a single motion, adding a stronger knockback effect and heavy damage to nearby enemies.
- Essence Cost: 70
- Level: 1
- Progress: 78.9%

He had a new heading under his tabs. Passive Skills, Active Skills – and now, Combination Skills.

A normal Power Spin cost 30 essence. The combination attack was extremely expensive, but it had killed one and injured several weaker rattok, as well as blowing back everything around him. In the right situation, it was worth the expenditure.

He'd played a few games with similar mechanics. Usually combinations could be discovered by combining the right moves, but that wasn't the first time he'd used them in quick succession. They probably had to be used in the right order,and there were likely level requirements for the involved skills to trigger a combination. He wouldn't be surprised if his passive levels had to meet a certain minimum, either.

Combinations opened up a whole new field of potential. Could he make new ones with practice, without using essence? Could he string together more than two attacks? It all made being a tank a lot more palatable.

He did have that new ability, too – Spear Toss. It might be handy in a pinch. He'd have to grind it up.

Jackson gripped his spear and sighted down his target.

****
Jackson worked through the rest of the night.

He was able to practice his Double Power Spin without using essence. The experience went up slowly, but steadily. He pushed it up a few levels.

Despite trying out a variety of moves, he wasn't able to unlock any other combinations. After wearing out his options, he settled on trying to use a Triple Thrust followed up with a finishing Power Thrust. His Triple Thrust was level 16, and his Power Thrust was now level 26; on top of that, his spear skill was now level 29. If he had to exceed some hidden minimum to unlock a new combo, those were the best candidates.

He worked on just that for a good hour, but no luck. He suspected he could only unlock a combination while he burned essence. It might be worthwhile to do it out of combat, but if he was wrong, he'd waste life-saving ammunition. He couldn't quite bring himself to risk the experiment, and decided just to focus on making his fundamentals stronger.

****
The next day, the camp moved.

Jackson was an accessory to the efficiency of the Windseekers. Most of their things were already packed up; the moving process was a matter of folding up the tipis, which were then placed on triangular wooden sleds. The sleds had no wheels or runners – they were just dragged along the ground behind the horses. It was a simple system, but the ground was flat enough that it worked.

The entire camp was moved that way. Some people dragged their own small sleds, or bore packs; Jackson saw a lot of the camp's dogs carrying their own weights. The horses did the majority of the work, pulling along a huge train of possessions and bundles.

They went at a hard pace, following the creek toward the mountain. A long trail of dust rose around them as hundreds of feet and hooves stepped across the prairie. Many of the tribe wore cloth masks tied tight around their mouths and near their eyes to shield themselves from the dust; Jackson quickly adopted the practice.

Shaka had recruited him for her own purposes. He wore her wooden trunk like a backpack, strapped to his body with thick leather belts. He thought he'd tire quickly with the protruding load weighing him down, but he was able to keep up without problems – with ease, even. He didn't have any sense of super strength, but the weight felt very...even. As if his body just knew how to carry it without a struggle.

Out of curiosity, he checked his game menu. His carry weight, wearing his outfit, his spear in another strap under the trunk, the energy cannon, and the strange gold cylinder, was 28.4/59. With the trunk on his back, he was up to 52.3 – not enough to be overburdened.

Come to think of it, he didn't know what would happen if he tried to carry more than he could hold.

"Hey, Shaka."

Jackson didn't know how old the woman was, but she was carrying more than her fair share. The triangle-sled roped to her waist and shoulders was teetering with leather bundles and bladders holding water. Gnarled old muscles moved under her dress to pull the load. She wasn't even breathing hard.

She looked up at him. "Hmm?"

"I'm going to try something for a second," he said. He started taking bundles off her sled. Most of them had their own straps; he slung them around his shoulders. The carry weight on the translucent menu floating in front of him jumped a bit as he took up each new item.

"I can handle this much," she said. "It's not even noon yet."

"Just trying out an experiment," Jackson said. He picked up an oiled water skin.

Jackson almost tripped. It felt like lead bars had dropped on his feet. A low alert tone played in his ears. His carry weight was at 59.6/59 – and was now highlighted in yellow.

Jackson felt the strain quickly. Just a moment ago, he could have kept walking forever. He was forced to take deeper breaths to relieve his muscles; he had to mentally drag his feet forward. Sweat beaded on his neck and forehead.

Shaka frowned at him. "Jackson, are you alright?"

Jackson grunted. "Fine." He stopped for a moment. Shaka stopped with him, a confused look on her face. The rest of the tribe walked around them like a river flowing around a rock. They got a few looks, but no one said anything.

Jackson gathered his legs and jumped. He only got an inch or two up before he was dragged back to the ground. And he could feel it; a force was actively pulling him down. It felt like being on an elevator just when it started to rise – everything was heavier.

Jackson reached for another pack, adding it to his load. His carry weight jumped another point, but he didn't feel any change. He took another, and another, until bags and parcels were swinging from his shoulders and elbows.

Another satchel brought him to 65.3/59. The tone played again, louder, and the number flashed red.

The lead bars had attacked in force, but now they felt tied not just to his feet, but to his legs, arms, and back. Even his neck wanted to stoop. Jackson sucked in more air as his body tried to compensate.

He could still move, but it was like trying to walk underwater. He made as if to jump, but now he couldn't even get off the ground. The game was stopping him from jumping.

He dropped the satchel, and his number flashed back to yellow. The burden lifted. He straightened out, blinking in relief.

"Mother Earth, boy. What are you doing?"

"Uh..." Jackson thought about trying to explain, and then he just shrugged. "Don't worry about it. It's a matter of Shakhan."

Shaka gave him an odd look. "...then I'll just not ask."

Jackson reloaded Shaka's sled, though he kept one of the water bottles for himself. He felt very thirsty. Once he'd gotten his carry weight in the black, he recovered with his usual video-game speed. They started walking again, now much further back in the tribe's long train. Shaka pushed hard to retake lost ground; as spirit guide, she was supposed to be near the front.

Jackson did some number crunching in his head. Yellow seemed to come immediately – that was the penalty for going overboard. Red had taken a little bit more. What number would make sense for a programmer? Something nice and round.

He nodded to himself. Ten percent excess was the limit. 10% of 59 was 5.9 - added to his maximum capacity, that made 64.9. He'd turned red after jumping over that gap. He didn't have it down precisely, but he was sure that was the number.

If his weight capacity worked one way, would it work the other? He hadn't noticed changes before, when he wasn't carrying as much around – but then, he didn't have his Strength as high. If he raised his carry weight capacity to the point that he only used a small fraction of it, he might get a speed bonus. In other words, if he dumped a lot of points into Strength, he might stand to gain Agility as a side effect. He would have to run tests.

They walked quietly for a time, Shaka with her sled, Jackson hauling the trunk. He took another sip from the water bottle and offered it to her. She waved it off, and he tied it to his belt.

They made the front of the train. Yukutan and Boonta were off to their left. Shaka and the elder exchanged nods. Jackson and Boonta exchanged stares. Shaka drifted to the side of the column, away from the father and son pair; Jackson followed.

"Jackson," Shaka said.

"Yes?"

"I heard your conversation with Chaki last night."

Jackson heaved a sigh. "Seriously?"

"I set that campfire so the three of us could speak in private, but my tipi wasn't that far away. You were loud."

"...alright," Jackson said. "I guess you probably have some advice you just can't wait to get off your chest."

Shaka shook her head. "Not in particular."

"...then why bring it up?"

"It weighted on my conscience," Shaka said. Her eyes studied him through the strands of her grey hair. "What was said was very personal to you. It is better that you know that I know. That way, when we speak, we do so on even terms."

Jackson was surprised. Shaka hadn't eavesdropped, really. It would have given her leverage to come at him knowing more than what Jackson thought she knew. She wanted him to stay with the tribe; she wanted him to fight the iron men. If he and Chaki were on the rocks, she might use his past to try and keep him around some other way.

But she didn't. She threw that away because it railed against some sense of fairness. Just like she'd told him she wanted him to fight the iron men upfront. Just like she'd told him she'd intentionally set him up with Chaki. She was just that honest.