"Shut It, as long we are In my world you follow my orders got It?"
I asked as I stared at her purple eyes which kept staring back at me defiantly.
"Fine..."
Hope muttered while grinding her teeth as she broke our eye contact, we quickly got up and gathered our things.
As I looked at my power armor parts neatly arranged on the ground In front of me, an Idea surfaced In my mind.
"Hey by any chance do you have an Inventory?"
I asked while turning my head to look at Hope who was stuffing her sleeping bag back into her backpack while cursing me In all kinds of profanities under her breath.
"You know that I can hear you as clear as day"
I said after seeing that the bimbo was Ignoring me, hearing this, Hope Immediately shut up, stood up, and walked to my helmet.
She grabbed my helmet, only to freeze, I could tell from her micro-movements that she was giving her all.
To lift It up but even then she squatted down and grabbed It with both of her hands she still failed the only thing she accomplished was a leak of gases.
And a one hundred percent sprained back which was going to hurt as hell the next day.
"Not a word"
Hope with bright red cheeks said word by word with dark lines all over her face after standing up once my helmet vanished Into thin air.
"Sure thing boss"
I said causing Hope to stomp her feet In anger as she made my equipment pieces disappear one by one.
Once she was done, I put on my armored vest and slung my rifle onto me, once we were ready we entered the armored car.
This time I found It much easier to fit inside without the added height and mass of my power armor but It still was a tight fit.
"Don't talk, don't leave my side got It?"
I said as I put on a pair of black sunglasses to hide my standing-out-like sore thumb eyes, but after hearing just a bunch of angry murmurs.
I grabbed Hope's chin and forcefully turned It sideways to face me.
Only to see that Hope's eyes were red from crying, seeing this I couldn't help but sigh, It seemed like my social skills hadn't Improved one bit.
It was less than 24 hours yet I already made a girl cry.
"Look, I'm sorry I'm used to the military way of life, I forget that you civies are different, If It makes you feel better grab a pistol from the back and empty Its clip at my face"
I said while motioning with my eyes to the back seats full of looted gear and weapons and to my shock.
I saw Hope grab a .45 cal pistol with lightning speed, pull the top back, causing a fresh round to get ejected while a new one got Inserted Into the firing chamber.
And the next second all I heard was the deafening ringing inside my augmented ears while ricocheting bullets that couldn't even graze my augmented skin which was impervious to small caliber weaponry off my forehead started playing pin-pong inside the car.
I just turned my head back without saying anything, turned on the electric engine, and stepped on the pedal.
Truth be told I actually didn't think she was going to do It, but It seems like this woman might even be crazier than me.
As we drove through the endless desert expense, I kept glancing at Hope who seemed to have vented herself out with the earlier frenzy.
"So where did you learn to operate and shoot like that, don't lie I can tell that you've been trained by a pro, although you're not a pro yourself, you're way above an amateur"
I asked while following the holographic navigation line In my HUD view.
"My gramps is an ex-general, once my mom ran away with my W*stern father and left me to the streets, my grandfather took me In"
Hope answered without going too much Into detail.
No wonder she's got W*stern genes In her and why she gives off a delinquent and rebellious aura.
This perfectly explains her craziness, her mother leaving her to the streets definitely did a number on her.
But can I blame her, my own biological father left my mother when I was only one month old, and after that, a stepfather appeared In my life.
Let's just say he Is most likely the reason why I joined the military and frankly speaking only psychos and crazies voluntarily sign up and stay for the rest of their lives.
I thought In my mind.
As we ventured into the desolate cityscape, where towering skyscrapers had once stood but now lay in ruins, my instinctual caution prompted me to slow down.
Hope, sensing the change in pace, inquired.
"Hey, why did you slow down?"
In response, I asked.
"Can you drive?"
"Yeah, I'm familiar with wheeled military vehicles, gramps made sure of that,"
Hope replied, her tone carrying a touch of hostility.
"Good, hold the wheel"
I instructed as I pushed open the doors, grabbed onto the roof, and vaulted out of the car, executing a somersault before landing in the opened .50 cal gunner's seat.
"You're f*cking nuts!"
Hope exclaimed as she quickly jumped into the driver's seat, narrowly preventing the car from flipping over.
"Says the one who just earlier emptied a mag at my face"
I retorted as I pulled the .50 cal's lever back, loading a fresh round into the firing chamber.
The .50 calls design was over two hundred years old, but it had remained a favorite of army grunts even during World War 3.
I couldn't help but reflect on its reliability as I scanned our surroundings, swiveling the .50 cal left and right.
"Hey, you're the one who said I should follow your orders, you f*cking hypocrite!"
Hope countered, pouting in response, this time, I refrained from replying because her point was entirely valid.
Suddenly, a horde of rotting corpses burst forth from the ruins on both sides with superhuman speed.
These grotesque figures were missing skin, muscle, organs, and limbs, their bodies infested with maggots, as they crawled out from all manner of nooks and crannies.
"CONTACT AT THREE AND NINE OCLOCK!"
I roared as my AI holo marked the zombies In my view with a holographic crosshair appearing next to the heavy machine gun's muzzle.
TRATRATRATRAT...!
"Holy f*ck those are zombies, I f*cking hate zombies!"
Hope shouted as she started turning the wheel left and right In a fit of panic.
"KEEP THE WHEEL STRAIGHT AND F*CKING STEP ON IT!"
I roared as I continued to press the trigger, delivering short bursts of precise 12.7 mm full metal jackets that tore dozens of running dead to shreds.
As I kept rotating the gun left and right and sending salvos of lead I couldn't help but start laughing like a maniac because I was having just too much fun.
After all what man didn't fantasize about cracking zombie skulls open while driving In an armored car?
"HAHAHAH..."
"His f*cking crazy, his f*cking crazy..."
Hope who wasn't really that sound In the head either couldn't help but mutter under her breath.
As she continued to evade obstacles and craters with her foot firmly pressed on the acceleration pedal.
I didn't stop firing for about 15 minutes, until I finally ran out of ammo but by this time we left the zombies In the dust.
"Well, that was fun..."
I muttered under my breath as I leaned against the gunner's round hatch.
At that moment, a loud blast came from somewhere far down the street, Immediately, a monstrous roar followed that sounded like It came from hell Itself and a burst of gunshots ensued.