Chapter 5 The Choices

Elysia’s eyes fluttered open, staring up at the cloudless blue sky for several seconds before several dings sounded in her mind, followed by text displaying in her vision.

Achievement! Battery depleted.

“You endured a complete depletion of charge and survived, somehow.”

Reward: +10 charge capacity

Achievement! Crispy.

“By sheer luck or skill, you survived a zombie horde with the aid of the sun.”

Reward: “Nothing but levels. Be grateful you got anything at all.”

Assisted kill: level 1 zombie x15.

Level up! Congratulations, you are Level 2!

Level up! Congratulations, you are Level 3!

Level up! Congratulations, you are Level 4!

Level up! Congratulations, you are Level 5!

By reaching level 5, you are eligible to choose a class. Choose wisely.

Would you like to view your options?

In a daze, Elysia nodded her head, prompting another long list of text.

By fulfilling the following criteria, you are eligible for the class: Survivalist

Has knowledge on basic hunting and gathering. Capable of surviving in the wilderness for several days at a time. Proven resourceful enough to survive when put in high-risk situations.

Effects: +2 Endurance per level, +1 Intelligence per level, +2 Perception per level, 2 skill slots.

By fulfilling the following criteria, you are eligible for the class: Athlete

Near peak cardio conditioning. Has beaten others in athletic competitions. Proven ability to outrun enemies.

Effects: +2 Endurance, +1 Perception per level, +2 Strength per level, 3 skill slots.

By fulfilling the following criteria, you are eligible for the class: Necromancer.

Has died and revived. Spent an unhealthy amount of time around undead without dying. Capable of exerting dominance over superior undead.

Effects: +3 intelligence per level, 4 skill slots.

By fulfilling the following criteria, you are eligible for the class: Channeler.

Is an elemental touched being. Has an elemental affinity. Proven capable of channeling an element. Does not have mana resource.

Effects: +3 charge per level, +2 attributes per level, 5 skill slots.

“Would you like to make your choice? Beware the decision will be permanent and may affect future class evolutions.”

Elysia shook her head, trying to clear the text, but it remained centered in her vision. She sighed, sending a thought for more information, but received no response. At this point, I have to accept this is my new reality as crazy as it seems. It’s pretty hard to deny after getting chased by zombies. Do I have to choose now or can I put it off? I would rather not make a life-changing decision without thinking it over.

As if reading her thoughts, another line of text appeared.

You may make your decision via the status screen by focusing on the class category.

Following the line of text, her vision cleared. She sat up, coming face to face with a charred corpse frozen with a hand reached toward her. Her eyes widened as she scrambled backward before aiming the pistol still in her right hand and spamming the trigger.

The charred corpse crumbled to dust as the bullets impacted its chest.

Her shoulders relaxed, lowering the pistol. She stomped on the pile of ash before turning her furious gaze to the other fried zombies scattered along the sidewalk frozen mid crawl. With a running start, she punted the first corpse, disintegrating it on impact before moving on to the next corpse. She rampaged down the street, retracing her steps, stomping on every fried zombie along the way.

A couple of minutes later, she stood in front of the wrecked police car. She surveyed the destruction, shivering at the prospect of remaining trapped in the car. Every body panel had countless dents, and no windows survived.

Elysia approached the passenger side door to retrieve more ammo, only to freeze at the ever-familiar nightmare inducing groan. Her pistol snapped up, aiming through the shattered back window as she inched closer.

Jammed between the pulverized rear seat and the driver’s seat was a half a torso and head zombie. When its clouded eyes landed on Elysia, it twitched as if trying to reach her but remained stuck.

Elysia raised her pistol, pumping the five remaining bullets into the body, but it continued to twitch, refusing to die. She glared at the zombie, willing it to die, but of course, it remained undead.

A thought sprouted, causing a malicious smile to form. With the extra bounce in her step, she trotted around the back of the cop car before stopping in front of the battered rear driver’s side door. Her hand reached out for the scraped-up handle, yanking it open without mercy.

Sunlight shined into the once dark crevice, bathing the dismembered zombie in light. An otherworldly scream pierced the air, forcing Elysia to cover her ears while watching with fascination as the zombie blackened before disintegrating into a pile of ash.

Assisted kill! level 1 zombie.

A giant smile graced her face as she slammed the door closed before bouncing her way back around the car to the front passenger side. She leaned inside, fetching the last two loaded magazines, reloading her remaining pistol, stuffing the other one in her shorts pockets. Should I grab an extra pistol and a shotgun? Guns don’t seem very effective, at least against zombies, but it wouldn’t hurt to keep myself armed. I’m sure I can find some shotgun shells somewhere. Besides, I doubt zombies are the only thing wandering about.

She grabbed a shotgun, slinging it over her shoulder, but left the remaining four pistols. A shiver ran up her spine when she glanced down the street the zombies trapped her on. Nope, I’m not going down there. The system only gave me credit for 16 kills. I know for sure there were hundreds, if not thousands, surrounding the car. As much as I would love to exterminate every zombie, I’m not ready to face down hundreds of them at once or even one without using sunlight.

Elysia stared through the fence into the heavily wooded cemetery before jogging across the street westward, putting some distance between both the street and cemetery. She fell into a rhythm, effortlessly running down the sidewalk for a kilometer before taking a right back on Main Street. Upon reaching her goal, she stopped. Wow, I feel great! I barely broke a sweat. Is it because of my levels? I should check the status screen later. First, I need to find something to eat. I’m starving.

She wandered down Main Street, scanning her choices among the intact buildings. Once again, she ended up in front of the sub shop. While releasing a sigh, she entered, building a foot-long sub before exiting. I’m starting to regret not taking up Sereia’s offer to teach me how to cook.

At the thought of her twin, a pang of sadness pierced through her. A moment later, a slight compulsion directed her to the West. While munching on her sub, she wandered westward, reaching the marina several minutes later. She stopped, staring out at the Pacific Ocean with a longing expression. Are they across the ocean? Maybe they evacuated the area because of the zombies. How do I even know that? I’ve always had a general idea where Sereia was at all times, but not like this. At least I know she’s okay. I just need to do what I can to make it to her. I hope she feels this connection too, so she knows I’m not dead.

She eyed several ocean worthy boats tied to the piers, imagining herself captaining a luxury yacht. After a few seconds of drooling, she shook her head. While it would be awesome to hijack a ship, it would be incredibly stupid to cross the ocean alone without a ton of preparation. I’ve driven a fishing boat but never more than a dozen kilometers from shore. Besides, I have no idea how far away they are. I do have the advantage of a Sereia trail, but still, I think I’m better off preparing. Maybe they will return.

Despite her thoughts, Elysia gravitated down the pier, scanning over the selection of ships. She skipped past the massive yachts and sailboats requiring multiple people to run in favor of smaller luxury boats under fifteen meters long.

Her eyes landed on a sleek, sparkly red speedboat but shook her head. As much fun as it would be, it would be stupid to take a long trip in a speedboat without living quarters. Besides, it’s not designed to cross the ocean.

Elysia tore her eyes away from the pretty boat, moving on to the next pier filled with more manageable sailboats. She ogled a beautiful classic wood sailboat but moved on a moment later. While pretty, there’s no way I could handle the sails myself and it doesn’t even have a motor.

The next boat caused a giant smile. She jumped on the polished wood deck of a fifteen-meter black luxury sailboat. Standing on the open deck area at the back of the ship, she spun in a circle while nodding her head. With a bounce in her step, she approached the door to the interior, only to find the sturdy wood door locked. Her pistol hand twitched, but after a few seconds, she pet the door longingly before turning away.

She stepped back on the pier and turned back to the futuristic black yacht. I guess it was too much to ask for this beauty to be unlocked. I could shoot the lock open, but I can’t bring myself to hurt her.

Unable to look at the yacht any longer, she trotted away, stopping at an older white fishing boat with a cabin. She hopped on the weather worn wood plank deck. As she reached for the enclosed captain suite, the sky darkened once again, followed by rumbling thunder. The wind picked up, causing the boat to rock. She reached out to grab the metal railing while staring up at the menacing clouds with a scowl.

Not again. I’m sick of zombies. While I love rain, packaging zombies is just wrong. Elysia grumbled as she turned her attention out to the turbulent ocean. She glanced back at the darkening town torn on what to do.

Before she made up her mind, Elysia opened the unlocked cabin and walked up to the console, finding the key sitting in the ignition. She made sure the engine was in neutral before turning the key, causing the ship to rumble as the engine turned over, struggling to start. After several turns, the cadence jumped as a couple of cylinders fired, but it refused to start.

She hit the console as she stopped turning over the engine. A glance at the gauges revealed the problem, causing her to stomp out of the cabin. No wonder they left it unlocked. They weren’t afraid of anyone stealing it without gas. Besides, if they were going to steal a boat, they would steal the luxury yachts surrounding it. Why even pay to dock it in the ritzy piers? There’s plenty of space at the other marina for a boat this size.

Elysia glanced up at the menacing clouds. Should I risk running to get gas? Probably not worth it. The boat is barely ocean worthy anyway. I don’t even know what the owner used it for. It’s obviously a fishing boat, but it doesn’t have the fishy smell. Oh well, it’s not my place to question their decisions.

A sudden wave caused the boat to lurch, sending her stumbling into the wall. After catching herself on the railing, she hopped off the boat onto the much more solid pier. Zombie infested town it is. It would be stupid to take a boat out there.

As if to confirm her decision, the pier rumbled, causing her to glance down to find the water receding. Her eyes widened as she sprinted down the pier toward land, terrified to look behind her. The rumbling intensified once on land, as she ran almost drunkenly, putting as much space as she could between the ocean and her as she could. She reached Main Street, scrambling into the nearest intact building with a second story. After scrambling up to the roof, she stared toward the ocean, mouth agape.

A massive fifty meter tall wave loomed over the shore. She dashed to the stairs down, pumping her arms to push herself faster out of the building and eastward. The wind whipped through her hair as she sprinted down Main Street, weaving through trees ignoring several zombies shambling out of dark buildings.

Her breathing became labored, but she pushed on as the sky darkened further, blocked out by the looming wave.