Chapter 10

...

Floor 1 – Day 40

[Status]

Name: John

Attributes

Class: None – Skills: 2/6

Titles: None

Perks:

Strength:

15

-

[Domicile] – 1st floor

Dexterity:

12

Archery 5

Constitution:

14

Resist Poison 6

Intelligence:

10

-

Wisdom:

10

-

Charisma:

10

-

I had pushed myself hard. Probably too hard, as I set myself towards desperately trying to gain just one more Attribute, just one more Skill.

But time was up.

I knew I couldn’t stay much longer.

The medicine was really starting to dwindle, and so was the food. Working out as much as I was, I’d misjudged how long the food was going to last, and how long I could really put up with eating the same things over and over. Relying on the fruit in the forest might be an option, but that kind of thing took more medicine to deal with, and I was running on a finely-tuned balancing act as it was.

Against my better judgement, I took my bow and the dozen best arrows I had left. From there, I swapped out all the target-heads for broad heads, and tied them and the bow onto my pack with an extra bowstring and glove.

More weight on the pile.

It was heavy.

It was probably too heavy.

I was still going for it.

With a packed bag on my back, dressed to the brim with what I could carry, pistol in my holster and shotgun in my arms: I headed for the mountain. I didn’t dare look back at my homey little house and truck, or my crooked mailbox.

I didn’t turn and stare sadly at my truck, wishing I could take it with me.

But, I still thought about it.

Years.

Years and years of my life, and I was walking away from it all.

Life is not easy. Maybe for some people it is, but for people like me? There were so many days I had just wanted to give up. Even before the world ended, I had to fight for my tomorrow. To convince myself it was all worth doing, and I should see everything through to the end.

How hard I’d worked for that tiny slice of sanctuary...

There’s no easy way to say this without sounding negative, but life when you’re sick, is tough. In bumfuck USA, medical related things are hit or miss. Often, you opt for reliable, but expensive. And that sort of compromise often comes with little “gotchas” that nickel and dime in the best case, and absolutely empty your bank account in the worst.

I’d worked hard for years, just trying to keep the money flowing so I could buy medicine. Just trying to hold onto insurance, to make sure I could fight the battle with my doctors to get not just enough, but a little extra in case something went wrong. I’d had to be so outrageously careful, just to carve out a place to live. To pay the loans, to make even a little bit of progress.

And I had done it.

Even when I wanted to give up: I kept going.

All the struggles in life I’d fought through, for that small space. The 9 to 5, the overtime, the stress.

So, I suppose I might have gotten a little bit too emotional. I suppose, in a sky that was always cloudless, and the sun was always out, it was a strange day for rain.

To leave everything I’d worked for behind was difficult.

But god damn it all, I decided to keep going.

That was in the past.

My whole life had been centered on that humble little home. But, maybe I'd been centered around it too much. In fact, maybe I had been tethered to it, in an unhealthy way. Not just metaphorically, but physically. My medicine, my food, my shelter. I had become too attached.

And if I was going to survive, I knew I had to go.

I had to leave.

I knew that waiting any longer would be too dangerous.

So, I began to walk.

Following the trail of white paint within the forest for hours and hours until I reached the tent and supplies where I’d left them.

When I reached the base of the mountain, I looked at them for a time, debating. Deciding on any final adjustments. On any last thing I might leave, or keep.

With my [Strength] now at 15, I wasn’t even winded by the march. Perhaps due to my Constitution, I wasn’t tired, or sleepy. The task was tedious, but I was more than strong enough to push on through without difficulty.

So, I decided.

This was it.

It was do or die.

All the time I’d spent, had been for this.

Without wasting further time. I began my ascent.

And then, for the first time since I had come to the first floor, the sun began to set.