AN: So... This happened. :P

Chapter 5: Dont' Call Me Zombie

The unnatural quiet of the road made Scott's skin crawl as he and his cute new bit of deadweight walked toward the barn where her mother and siblings waited. Scott found that he had to constantly stop and wait for the girl to rest, as her stats were abysmal. She could not even look at them, but it was obvious that she was little different than he had been at the start of the apocalypse.

A few minutes passed in silence as they moved toward the barn. Anna panted for breath with every few steps, but she persevered. Time was sensitive, but Scott could not just leave the girl behind. Eventually, they arrived on scene and Scott's jaw dropped a little.

The moment the hell in front of that barn came into view, Scott knew why this mission had been rated as moderate. There were at least two dozen ghouls milling around the area, a bright yellow light had the place surrounded. It was obvious that the rotten bastards suspected that someone was inside, but could not be certain.

“Can you fight at all?” Scott asked the girl. He doubted that he should waste his breath to ask the question, but it did not hurt to ask.

“N-no. I didn’t even know you could kill those things.” she said.

“What do you mean? Didn’t you get a little treasure box to use the morning after this all started?”

“Treasure box? I- I remember something like that popped up but mom was scared and told us not to touch it. We lost it somehow 'cuz it was gone the next day.” she said.

“Yeah, I get that." Scott could only sigh. The mother had done what he had almost done. She was too afraid to open the box after all of the other insanity, and lost her chance to survive because of it. "Stay here. I’m going to have to clear the area.”

“You’re going to fight that many? You can’t!” said the girl, a little louder than Scott would have liked.

“I’ve already fought that many earlier. Though I will have to be careful.” He did not have a convenient place to retreat this time if things went bad.

Scott told her to stay back then slipped quietly through the area in an attempt to get close enough to view the levels of the monsters. He could see six of them scratching at the door to the barn. Those were probably the aforementioned monsters trying to get into the barn. However, nearly twenty of the beasts were between him and them, and they were too far away to check their levels.

The stragglers roaming around were a different story. The closest one was level one. A few of the others varied between level one and level two.

During his waiting period at the car, and the several minutes spent slowly coming to the barn, he had healed completely. Only his status effects and memories of the harrowing previous battle lingered to remind him to be careful.

Scott had defeated this many opponents previously. The only problem would be if there were more than a handful that were higher than level three.

He continued his surveillance for as long as he could. Time was of the essence. Scott took a deep breath then ran from his hiding spot behind a stack of logs. He was immediately greeted by the sound of several hungry outcries. The yellow light expanded to twice its size and turned a vivid blue.

The battle started immediately afterward. "Mr. Badass versus the Mini-horde! Fight-O!"

Just as before the battle music that began to play was nothing special. It was a techno-dance mix featuring an electric guitar to add a bit of badassery. Scott moved parallel to the small horde for a few steps then stopped. Every zombie in the place took a step or two toward him before his turn came around. A warning sign flared into view telling him that the ghouls were more dangerous as a horde.

Scott spent his second turn maneuvering around in a way to entice most of the ghouls toward him in a staggered group. He needed to line them up in order to quickly take them down. The low-level beasts would be dropped in one or two hits, perhaps three at most. What he wanted was to draw out the stronger ones first.

Danger increased in the next turn as three more zombies staggered into the battle. There was little choice in the matter for Scott, however. Had he the time, he would have tried to lure a few of the ghouls away in order to take them on in small numbers at the time. He did not have that sort of time. He did have time for his current plan, possibly.

"Six steps away..." muttered Scott as he glanced at the edge of the battle field after several turns passed. Time would run out soon. He had only a few minutes left. He moved within a step from the edge then waited several turns as the ghouls staggered toward him. A warning sign flared overhead followed by the announcer voice exclaiming. "Two minutes remaining. Will he make things happen, or will he throw in the towel folks!"

Scott snorted at the announcer guy's voice then stepped out of the battle. The blue light shrank back down to a yellow hunting light that was half the size. Now it was time to get down to business. He had to reach the six ghouls clawing at the barn before time ran out. Thankfully, they did not pay any attention to him since they were focused on the tasty morsels inside.

He cut a wide path around the staggering ghouls. His stamina dropped regularly as he ran, but it was not as severe as it would have been for him before he had gained a few levels and increased his stats. As his speed and movement increased, so too did his ability to actually run around when he was not overloaded.

The luring tactic was not perfect. A large group of ghouls staggered toward him, and would not remain at a reasonable distance for long when he attacked. Still, it was the only plan that he had. If he could not stop the ghouls clawing at the door in less than two minutes, he would fail the mission.

Scott was surprised by the levels he saw when he looked at the ghouls attacking the barn. Five level four ghouls, and one solitary level one ghoul. The truly surprising thing though, was that the level one ghoul had a name.

Brittani Rotten

Ghoul

Level: 1

Species: Undead

Class: Superstar

The ghoul's name was shown in a bright red color and flashed dangerously. It was too late to stop himself from entering the battle field, however. The moment he got within range of the yellow light that constantly pulsed around the ghouls attacking the door, it flared outward and turned jet black around the edge.

"Mr. Badass versus Brittani 'Lady' Rotten and The Boyz! Fight-O!" announced the overly enthusiastic announcer voice. Everything froze in place briefly as a new window appeared before Scott.

Stranger Danger!

You have encountered a mysterious opponent. There are two types of named opponents in the world, people you already know and those who are introduced by name. The latter are considered so important that the system announcer will announce their name whenever they enter a battle. Opponents who have names or titles are far more dangerous than the common variety.

Cinematic Event... Loading...]

"The hell...?" asked Scott slowly as the world faded to black. All he could see was the absolute darkness outside of a small column of light where he stood.

Suddenly a voice called out in the dark. It was a soft sultry feminine voice that seemed like it had been slightly auto-tuned. "Are you ready for me, baby?" A soft electronic hum and the sound of someone tapping a hi-hat on a drum set began to play in the background.

Pink columns of light shot upward diagonally from various points up ahead. "Can you handle all the love I have to give?" asked the slightly petulant voice.

The light show zeroed in on one ghoul standing alone a fedora pulled downward to cover its face. "Wherever I go..." began the voice in a low, sad, tone. Her voice continued in a slightly more cheerful and sweet sing-song tone. "I go in-cog-ni-tooo."

Suddenly, the ghoul gripped the fedora tightly then the voice sang out energetically in full auto-tune. "But I've had enough of that!" Before whipping the fedora off and throwing it high into the air. Scott watched it fly up into the air, confused by everything that he was seeing.

Fireworks erupted from the spaces next to the hatless ghoul and the spot lights, as that was what they were, all shifted to focus on the lone ghoul. It raised its head then winked revealing something Scott had not guessed at all. The ghoul was absolutely gorgeous! "Time to start the show!" she sang out in a wink before she swiveled her hips then canted them from one side to the other. Another series of fireworks erupted around her as she took three exaggerated steps forward revealing a bizarrely sensual grace in her movements.

The surprisingly beautiful popstar ghoul winked at Scott in an exaggerated manner then leaned forward to show him far more of her equally beautiful feminine assets before she sang out. "Please don't hurt me." before she blew him a kiss.

"Seriously. What the hell?" asked Scott with a flat expression on his face. The supposed ghoul standing before him looked more like an incredibly attractive albino girl with hot pink highlights in her bone white hair, and eyes that blazed like fiery red coals.

She raised a finger to her soft surprisingly pink lips, then softly said. "I know I'm dead, but tonight... Baby..." She bit her lower lip gently then shrugged her shoulders cutely. "Will you make me feel alive?"

Scott raised his bush axe and activated burning soul. He did not know whose turn it was and did not care.

Brittani gasped a little then closed her eyes and ran her hands down her scantily clad body taking extra care to slide them along her ample breasts and well-toned stomach. "Oh... Ahn... Baby, your passion burns so bright." she cried out before unleashing a semi-aroused sounding noise that was half gasp and half giggle.

Just as soon as her hand had reached her most intimate of unholy places her hands flew sideways and her head dropped. "I may be in trouble with this one. Help a girl out boys." she said in a soft, but powerful tone that carried across the darkness.

Five pillars of light erupted upward from the darkness revealing five ordinary looking ghouls. They were rotten and spoiling for a fight.

"Ladies and gentlemen! For your viewing enjoyment. We give you live, from this run down barn on the edge of a war-torn city, Brittani Rotten and the Boyz!" exclaimed the announcer voice.

Cheering voices roared all around and the occasional cry of, "We love you Brittani!" and "He's kind of cute! Is he your boyfriend?!"

Brittani waved at the invisible crowd and placed her hands to her mouth like a microphone. "I love you, too! Also, no! He's not my boyfriend, we only just met! But wish me luck, OK?"

Scott blinked slowly. What the hell was up with this day? Seriously? More to the point, his penis was a traitor. He was thoroughly distracted by the sexy albino antics of a living dead girl. He wasn't that damned hard up, you know? He'd had a girlfriend until recently. On a more serious note, he was pretty certain that he was not going to survive this. He could not move from his spot or he would have tried to run. There was no way that whatever assholes ran this game world would put this much effort into a battle event if there was a chance of him surviving it.

"You're all my beautiful friends and I love you!" cried Brittani before blowing kisses to the invisible crowd. "How about we get started with my new single, OK? You know the one, right?" She lowered her head and gestured toward the darkness. The crowd roared out a word that Scott could not make out.

"That's right!" cried Brittani.

The background music changed to a slowly rising tune reminiscent of the reverb from an electric guitar. A pipe organ started to play a strangely cheerful funeral dirge not long after.

"I died..." sang out Brittani in a soft, sad tone. "So very long ago..." She turned from one side to the other while raising a reaching hand toward the invisible crowd, as though hoping for someone to take her hand.

"My body... My heart... cold and a –looone." she sang out in a slow trailing manner. She then glanced over to Scott then shared a sweet little girlish smile. "You embalmed me, but don't hate me...." She ran her hands down her body in a slow and sensual manner. "Come on necro-feel-me—"

The ghoul behind her threw their rotting heads back and sang out. "Uh-uh, uh-uh, uh-up!"

"Oh, hell no." muttered Scott his eyes wide in disbelief. The damned rotting bastards were singing backup.

The darkness faded away around Scott, but remained around Brittani and the Boyz. Several ghouls appeared in the newly revealed lit areas. The battle began from there.

"Darkness surrounds me... My cold body... Warm me with your neckbeard, baby..." sang out Brittani soulfully as ghouls staggered toward Scott from all directions. They did not move fast, but he counted at least a dozen of them already.

Once it was Scott's turn he trotted over to a nearby ghoul and took an experimental swing. Despite the vast stat increase due to the sheer number of ghouls, Scott easily tore through the beast. He did the same to the next closest ghoul another step away. Even as his turn ended, four more ghouls staggered into the area. His eyes narrowed.

"The way you touch me... It still tempts me... Oh they stopped... My beating heart. But. You. Still. Want. My bo-dy.... Oho-whoa-whoa Necro-feel-me—"

Once again, the ghouls behind her threw their rotting heads back and sang out. "Uh-uh, uh-uh, uh-up!"

Scott wasn't certain which was worse, the never ending supply of weak sauce ghouls or the fact that he sort of dug the lyrics of the song. He had issues, man.

The ghouls were slow, but the horde continued to grow. Soon there were twenty. He moved to intercept and tore through another ghoul. Its body was split down the center and it fell into two distinct halves.

The song continued and the ghouls continued coming. Soon Scott was forced to retreat back a little when his burning soul ability wore off. After his next turn came up he tried to move toward the singer on her stage, but the field of darkness would not allow him to cross. Instead, he chose to wait for the ghouls to come to him. It was obvious that this would be a war of attrition.

Eventually, the song came to an end and Brittani greeted the crowd. "I'm so glad you all came out to hear us perform! We've still got plenty of show left, so let's party till he dies!" she exclaimed cheerfully.

The staggering ghouls stopped then turned toward Brittani. They each suddenly began to cheer and shake their fists in the air. One overly fat ghoul called out, "I love you so hard Brittani! Have my babies!"

"Careful now! That sort of talk could scare a girl!" she shouted back with a laugh. The ghouls in the crowd roared their approval. Scott merely sighed and waited for the turns to start again. He was stuck in one place once again.

The busty undead pop idol continued to play to the crowd for a while then took a step back and lifted one hand to her chest. "You know, I've never had a boyfriend."

"No!" or "So sad!" cried some of the female ghouls. A few of the male ghouls cried out. "I'm available!"

Brittani smiled sadly then took one foot and slid it around along the ground in a semi-circle. "I've often thought about it, you know... The kind of guy I'd like to be with..."

"Oh it's coming!" cried one of the girl ghouls.

"He's the kind of guy who would say yes when I asked..." She glanced over to Scott then bit her lower lip a little while granting him a hopeful expression. "Be my braindead valentine?"

Scott groaned a little. "Seriously? You trying to kill me or date me?"

She tilted her head to the side causing her ponytail to shift sideways. "A girl can do two things with her day, you know." she said coyly before she offered him an absolutely killer smile. She then turned energetically and flashed a peace sign to the crowd of ghouls.

"Alright! Let me hear how sad you are for me!" cried Brittani before she started to jog in place. Her hot pink pants artfully torn in the proper way to make her look rough and slutty, made a slight whipping sound due to the sudden movement.

She stopped jogging by hopping into a wide-legged stance then sang out. "Sometimes... a girl wants a boy...."

The ghouls started to cheer again as Brittani continued her song. "Who just listens to her, and does everything to please."

The background music became a cheerful and upbeat tune. "He doesn't talk back, and always a-grees."

"Not really digging the lyrics." muttered Scott.

It was not long after that before the ghouls turned toward him as a single-unit and the war of attrition began again. The battle itself was simple enough. After he had killed a few of the ghouls before he realized that they were not received any bonuses for being in a horde. He had originally thought that they were, but they died in a single hit if he had burning soul activated.

"He'll hold all of her bags, no matter how much she buys. Never complains, even if she dates other guys." sang out Brittani.

"Not making your case here!" called out Scott lightly. He was not certain why, but he was sort of getting into the spirit of the event. He was sure that he was going to be torn apart any minute, but this whole thing was strangely fun.

Brittani laughed a little before she canted her hips to the side then stretched out a hand to Scott. "He'll always be there, never leave her behind." She then giggled a little before flashing him a slightly fanged smile. Unlike the other ghouls she did not have shark teeth, though she did have cute little fangs next to her normal looking teeth. "He's her braindead valentine..."

Scott groaned as he scythed through another ghoul. The battle was never ending. He could not attack the band, but the ghouls did not stop coming.

Just as before, the song eventually came to an end and Brittani started to work the crowd. "I'm so glad you are all enjoying the show! I love you all soooo much!" she said before kicking up one of her heels and laughing.

She then said something that made the crowd sad. "I do love you all, my little ghouls. But this will have to be the last song for the night."

Brittani placated the crowd by telling them that she would come back again someday soon. She even eyed Scott and saucily said, "Quite soon, maybe."

Scott snorted, but could not help but smile. This was all so damned weird, but it beat the constant near death experiences.

"As you know, it's been a hard few centuries for our people. The vampires keep trying to enslave us, but you know what I say." asked Brittani with a loud and energetic cry.

"Awww, yeah! Here it comes!" called out a ghoul at the far end of the area.

The lights on stage dimmed a little and the music turned somber once more. It was a low, slow, melody completely with violins and the gentle strum of a guitar. "You can hate me..." sang out Brittani in a voice barely above a whisper. She curled her hand into a fist. "You can kill me..."

Scott blinked as the girl put more effort into the song's opening than in the last one. It was as though she actually felt something. She slid her hands down her chest then further down along her stomach. "You can even take my bo-dy..." she sang out in a discordant sound that seemed to come from two voices at once.

Flames exploded on both sides of her just as her eyes snapped open and the music stopped altogether. "But don't call me zombie!" cried out Brittani. The musical score returned, this time in a sudden surge of pulse pounding guitar and synthesizer sounds that made the ghouls start to thrash around wildly.

[System Warning!]

The ghouls have become overly stimulated. Their stats will increase by small increments each turn until the source of the stimulation ends.

"Of course." said Scott with a sigh. He knew it.

Brittani sang out. "We are the people of the grave, won't ever be your slave, always standing proud and ready...."

The ghouls roared out their approval then turned toward Scott. He had at least twenty of the bastards still left to fight.

"Our bodies may be rotten, but our homeland's not for-gotten..." sang Brittani in a heartfelt series of notes.

The closest ghoul trotted three steps toward Scott. That alone caused his eyes to widen. He had to get this party started hard. Burning soul was activated as soon as his turn came around.

Brittani leaned forward and poured her heart into the strange lyrics. "Who needs a beating heart or working veins to be some-bo-dy..."

Scott tore into the closest ghoul with a hard strike to its solar plexus. It tried to slide sideways, but it was not yet fast enough to dodge the strikes of its more agile opponent. It did not go down with the first strike, but the follow up attack that connected with its shoulder bit down hard and tore through its rotting clavicle.

-37

-39

"We'll bare our fangs, use our claws to tear down all that stands before us.... Yeeaah!" sang the girl as she put every bit of herself into the words. It was obvious that they meant something to her.

Scott managed to defeat two of the ghouls before his turn ended. No more appeared like they had done earlier, but the ones still in the area had grown stronger already.

Two ghouls rushed up to him from four steps away. Only one was able to strike, however. Scott tried to counter the hard diagonal strike that the fat ghoul launched his way, but he was not fast enough to do so completely. He ended up partially deflecting it with his bush axe. The beast's claws tore into his shoulder ripping through his coat and tearing several shallow cuts in his flesh.

-6

Brittani swayed her hips from side-to-side rhythmically while she reached out the crowd. "Always we roam" Brittani took a breath then sang out sweetly, "But never a-lone..."

The ghouls in the crowd all sang out in one eerie voice. "The eternal horde is now our home."

Scott would have taken an involuntary step back if it was his turn. As it was, he was only able to take a half-step, while the rest of the mini-horde made their moves.

The undead songstress started to clap her hands and stomp her feet. "We are... We are... the children of the grave."

The ghouls on the battle began to stomp their feet in time with the music, much to Scott's growing discomfort. Brittani sang out again. "No matter what... Our future, we will save..."

The ghouls started to pant heavily. A few began to growl. Scott gripped his bush axe tight then went back to the business of killing. The fat ghoul slipped away from his first strike, a hard lunge toward his neck, but Scott twisted his weapon in his head and cut a hard sideways swipe that cut deeply into the monster's rotting neck fat and cleaved through its windpipe.

Black blood sputtered weakly from the wound while the monster staggered back. Scott finished him off with a hard overhead strike that tore open the ghoul's skull.

He did not stop there, he immediately moved one step toward his other opponent and activated [Flame Strike] before utilizing [Power Cleave] to further boost the destructive potential of his next attack. The ghoul tried to avoid the blade wrapped in blazing blue flame, but Scott sheared through its shoulder and continued downward to cleave through her thigh. The ghoul fell sideways as a high damage number appeared above the dying beast.

-167

Brittani continued to sing, and Scott continued to try his best to survive. With each turn that the ghouls took, they grew a little stronger and even faster. Soon they were all easily equal in level to Scott when it came to speed, and movement.

He was forced to become inventive to do as much damage during his attack phase as possible before pulling back. He used burning soul to give himself a chance. It lasted three turns and was his most economical power.

The most creative thing that he learned to do was launch a feint attack to force a ghoul off guard then reverse his movements while executing a [Power Cleave] that delivered an attack that they were ill-suited to dodge due to their previous dodging movement putting them off-balance.

Unfortunately, that also meant that his stamina plummeted like a rock after a few turns. He was forced to start walking away as much as he dared in order to rebuild a little stamina. Soon, the ghouls were strong enough that they could all move four or five steps per turn, however.

It became a battle of wills and placement strategy. Scott had to survive until the end of the song. If he did, the ghouls would supposedly lose the incredible power boost they currently received. His movements were not perfect. He took several glancing strikes that did terrible damage to his body. Soon he sported nearly a dozen new heavy scratches that bled profusely. His hit points were close to zero, and his stamina was little better.

"Seriously, how long is this song?" panted Scott while he staggered six steps away from the ghouls chasing him. He had stopped attacking altogether a while back. There were at least a dozen ghouls left and he was not certain he could withstand any more attacks. His blood stained the ground wherever he was forced to a stop after each turn.

"You can hate me..." sang out Brittani softly. Scott hopped back to avoid the swipe of a ghoul's claws.

She continued the wind down of her song, "You can kill me..." while Scott whirled his blade to the left to block the next strike from his opponent. He finished his counter with a hard upward cleave that split open the chest of his foe. "You can even take my bo-dy"

The ghoul fell backward and hit the ground just as the songstress finished her song. "But don't call me zombie..."

The word zombie echoed several times while Scott dodged a few strikes from yet another ghoul. Once the trailing echoes finally ended, so too did the attacks.

Scott found himself unable to move much once more, but it did not matter. The ghouls had stopped their attacks and turned to Brittani.

"Thank you all for coming out." she said in a sweet, sad, tone. "I'll see you again soon, my little ghouls."

"We love you Brittani!" cried the ghouls energetically.

She smiled at them then turned to glance at Scott. A shy smile crossed her lips then she nodded. "Everyone stay safe out there! Good night!"

He did not know why he said it, but for some reason it seemed important to say something. "Good night Brittani."

The ghoul superstar's eyes widened a little, and so did her smile. "A first name basis, huh?" She curled her hands into fists then punched one of them up into the air. "Yes! I finally talked to a boy!"

"I'm a boy!" shouted one of the male ghouls.

Brittani laughed at her rotting friend. "That's true, but I meant that I talked to a living boy..."

"Way to go girl!" cried out one of the female ghouls.

Scott looked around at the strange group of ghouls and wondered what would happen next. Could the day get any weirder?

The popstar canted her hips to the side then raised a finger to her lips. "I'm out people, play nice with humans!"

"We will." answered the ghouls in unison via a sing-song style of voice.

She glanced back at Scott. "And... As for you Mr. Badass...Maybe we could like get coffee or share a brain or something sometime?"

"As long as it's not my brain." said Scott without thinking. At this point he was still glad to be standing.

Brittani laughed a little then placed her index and middle fingers to her lips. She then cocked her head to the side, closed one eye and made a finger gun. "Bang! Right to the heart."

For a moment Scott expected to get shot, but as it happened the strange undead popstar was just being cute. "Bullets. My one weakness. How did you know?" asked Scott just before his vision became fuzzy. Blood loss and low-stamina were a hell of a combination. Though, one would think that he was used to it by now.

Brittani laughed then blew him a kiss before sauntering off into the darkness. The moment she left several agonized shrieks erupted from the ghouls left behind. A rapid fire series of numbers erupted into the air followed by nearly twenty ghouls falling to the earth simultaneously.

The light of battle faded and all that was left behind was one badly injured man, and the corpses of the fallen. At least, that was what was originally left. Not long after the battle ended, six columns of light rose up. Five came from corpses. The sixth was much large and arose from a point just in front of the door to the barn.

Scott snatched up the loot from the corpses then glanced back toward where the girl had been hiding around the corner of a pile of logs. He saw her peeking out at him, and he smiled. He waved her over. Timidly, she stepped out then looked around wide-eyed.

He repeated his waving gesture more emphatically. He did not want to call out to her. The fight had made enough noise as it was no doubt. The last thing he wanted to deal with was another wave of ghouls while he healed up from the concert from hell.

While she ran over, he moved to the door to the barn and collected the small golden treasure chest that floated there. He suspected that it was his rewards for the quest.

The girl caught up and she started knocking on the door. She called out for her family and Scott closed his eyes tight. She was so damned noisy. He doubted that he had made so much noise even during his fight.

“Anna?!” called a frightened female voice.

“Mama! Open up! We have Daisy’s inhaler!” called out Anna, loudly.

Scott hissed, balled his hand into a fist, and place a knuckle to his forehead. “Quieter!”

Anna looked at him, her eyes wide once more. “Oh! Sorry!” she said, still a little too loudly.

The barn door opened and Scott was greeted to the sight of a pretty older woman, and a young boy. The boy was holding a pitch fork that was twice his size.

“Come on.” said Anna to Scott.

The one called mama looked at Scott then glanced to the pile of corpses behind him. Her eyes grew frightened. “N-no. Stay back.”

“What? Mama, he saved me! He saved all of us.” said Anna.

“No! Don’t.” The pretty woman’s eyes were wide in fright and she waved her hands around in a warding gesture.

Scott glanced back at the corpses, noted the gore covering his own body, and recalled the terrible wounds on his body. He sighed a little then said, “No, I get it.”

She was a little unhinged by recent events, but he had to get through to her. “Look, you can’t stay here. These things will come after you again.”

“No, don’t.” she said.

Scott sighed then reached into his pocket. He pulled out the mission letter that he had received. “Was this you? Please God don’t let them in. Please. Don’t let them get my babies?”

The frightened woman acquired a strange expression then she started to cry. “You… Who?”

“Just a guy answering an earnest prayer.” said Scott. It was true enough, it seemed. Whatever the hell that weird concert had been about, it was still just a precursor to making it to this barn.

“Oh! God… Oh…” She started to babble.

“Ma’am, the longer we stay out here with the door open, the more likely it will be that more of these things come.” said Scott.

“Of- of course.” She moved aside and they went inside. Scott shut and barred the barn door.

“Where’s Daisy?” asked Anna.

“Daisy? Oh, yes. She’s up in the hay loft.” said Mama.

Anna ran off to administer the inhaler to her little sister. Scott was left alone with the babbling pretty woman, and the young boy who still actively pointed a pitchfork at him.

“What’s your names?” asked Scott.

“Names? Oh, uhm…” she stammered softly.

“It’s OK, I’m not going to bite you or anything. I just want to know your situation better.” said Scott. What he really wanted to do was check his loot and run back to his house. But he had gotten involved so he felt a slight hint of responsibility for the situation. Not enough to care that much, but enough to at least see what these people were all about.

“Tammi, Tammi Rhoades. This is my son, Wayne. You’ve met Anna.” she said, finally.

“Your other daughter is Daisy then? Is there anyone else here?” asked Scott.

“Yes, Daisy.” She nodded, but then sighed. “No, no one else is here. My husband was called in to deal with the rioting. He’s a deputy.”

Scott nodded. In other words, it was very likely that he was dead. He hoped not, for the sake of these people.

“My name is Scott. Look, you can’t stay here. Nowhere is safe, but my place is slightly safer than this. Your family is welcome to come stay at my place for now.” said Scott.

She shook her head. “I-I have to find my husband.”

Scott looked at her. He knew that she knew the truth. Her husband was probably dead or walking around trying to kill other people. “What about your children?”

She winced. The little boy spoke up then. “What about us? Who do you think you are?”

“The guy who just saved you.” stated Scott simply.

Wayne snorted and poked his pitchfork forward. “We aren’t going with you!”

Scott glanced at the little kid. “That’s your mother’s decision. I’m not going to force anyone to do anything. Though, I doubt any more prayer requests will be getting answered.”

Tammi hissed then placed her hand to her mouth. Her perpetually wide eyes began to tear up. “We’re being so rude. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s not like any of this makes sense.” he said. “Look, while you make up your mind. Is there a window in the hayloft? I need to see if any more of those things are coming right now.”

“Yes.” She made a sniffling sound then bit her lip. “Do- Do you think more will come?”

“Definitely. It’s only a matter of time. I’m leaving soon, either way. You have till then to make up your mind.” Scott had no problem with helping people, but he would not force anyone to do anything. He did not owe these people anything, and he did not own them either. Everyone had to make their own way in the world now.

“You would just leave us here?” she asked desperately.

“I made an offer. If you say no, what right do I have to force the situation? You’re the one choosing to stay here.” he asked.

“How far? You know, to your house?”

“We aren’t going!” snapped Wayne. “We have to wait for dad.”

“Wayne.”

“No!” snapped the mouthy little brat.

“I’m sorry…” she said to Scott.

Scott quirked an eyebrow. “Who’s the parent here? Are you really going to let your kid kill your entire family?”

“Kill us?”

“You stay here. You die. That is not open for debate. Those things nearly clawed through that door by the time I got here. By tomorrow, you’ll be shambling around looking for dinner.” said Scott.

“We aren’t going!” snapped Wayne. He thrust his pitchfork toward Scott.

Scott easily dodge the attack and grabbed the handle. “Kid. Shut your damned mouth before you get your whole family killed.”

“Let go. We have to wait for dad.”

“Your dad’s dead.” said Scott calmly.

The little kid glared hatefully at him. His face turned bright red and he shouted, “No he’s not.”

Scott was not particularly good with kids. “You keep acting like that and everyone you care about is going to be dead, too. Now shut your damned mouth before you bring every hungry thing in town down on us.”

“Fuck you.” said Wayne. It was obvious that the kid had a major chip on his shoulder, as the saying goes.

“Wayne Delilah Rhoades! What did you just say?!” Tammi spoke heatedly.

“Delilah?” snorted Scott. He’d have had a chip on his shoulder too if his middle name was Delilah.

“Mom! This guy just wants to fuck you! Just like that guy you leave with at night.” snapped Wayne.

Tammi’s hand snaked out and slapped her son hard across the face. Scott tried to determine whether that was justified or child abuse. Either way, this nice and happy family had its problems.

“You don’t talk to me like that.” said Tammi.

Wayne glared at his mother then huffed loudly and looked down at the ground. “It’s what dad says…”

Tammi snorted. “Your dad says a lot of things that people shouldn’t say.”

“But…”

Scott sighed loudly. He already hated himself for what he was about to say next. “Look, if it will keep you two from slapping each other stupid, I’ll go look for your husband Mrs. Rhoades.”

“What?” asked Tammi in surprise.

“You’ll look for dad? I want to come!” exclaimed Wayne. Suddenly, everything was right in the world for the kid.

“Yes. I would look. No, none of you can come. I need to rest too, so I won’t be able to go till tomorrow.” said Scott.

“You really do think he is already dead, don’t you?” asked Tammi.

“Yeah, sorry. Unless he survived till dawn the next day, he wouldn’t have even been able to properly fight these things. Normal weapons don’t work. Guns were useless till then.” said Scott.

“Dawn? What happened at dawn?” she asked curiously.

“Did you receive a little treasure chest?” asked Scott.

“Oh! Those? Yeah, four of them popped up out of nowhere.” she said.

"Anna said that you did not open them?" he asked Tammi.

She shook her head. "It—They just came out of nowhere."

"That was a mistake." said Scott with a sigh.

“A mistake? Why? What’s in those boxes? I was so scared that I didn’t want to open them.” she asked wide-eyed.

"A way to survive."

Tammi shook her head slowly. "What do you mean? I don't... I was so scared, it could have been a bomb or something."

“Yeah, no. Those treasure chests had a way to make you stronger and able to fight back against the monsters. If there was four of them then that meant that there was probably one for you and each of your kids." he said.

“Oh, I didn’t know.” she said in a helpless tone.

Scott said nothing for a moment. What was there to say? She had given in to the fears that he had experienced as well. Now she and her kids were at the mercy of everything in the world. They had lost their chance to increase their ability to survive.

“I don’t see anything out there right now.” said Scott. “We should go soon, if you’re coming.”

“Yes. Of course.” said Tammi. She smiled at Scott then brushed a bit of her hair back over her ear.

He nodded to her then turned to look back out the window. There were no monsters in sight, but he could see a fire in the distance. That could be where the other ghouls were congregating. Something had drawn most of the monsters away from the area, that was good for Scott and his rag-tag band of burdens, but it was not necessarily a good thing.

Having a conscience was a terrible thing at times. It would be so easy to abandon these people, but he was not that heartless. Getting them to move out had been difficult. He had even had to tell them a convenient lie.

Look for their dad? Sure, if Scott ran across some guy who fit the man's description and answered to the name given, he'd tell him about his hidden family. Otherwise, he had no intention of roaming about the countryside in search of a man who had probably been dead for days.

Scott left the window and watched the little family deal with preparations to leave. While they did so, he decided to check his loot. He had received six copper coins from the columns of light, two chests, and what looked to be a set of gloves. He looked at the gloves first.

[Arms & Armor]

Inferior Leather Cesti

Both arms and armor, these low-quality Cesti are perfect for punching your way to victory. They can be worn while also wielding a weapon.

Attack: +3

Defense: +2

Value: 30 Copper Daemons

[--]

“Sweet. Martial arts stuff.” said Scott. He took off his riding gloves and put on the cesti. They were a set of leather gloves with a flat, hard, part near the knuckles and on the back of the hand.

Inside the smaller chest, one that he had gotten from the zombies, there were three different items. One item was actually several. There were three more copper coins. The other two items wear a small red gemstone, and a vest.

The red gemstone was something called a blood stone. Place it into water and it became a healing tonic that regenerated wounds. There was a twenty-four hour shelf-life once placed into water, however. The less water used, the more potent the regenerative effect, though there had to be enough water to completely dissolve the stone.

Scott decided to use that when he got home. He felt like he had been beaten half to death as it was. The vest was something he was interested in checking out now.

[Armor]

Sleeve-less Bubba

A denim jacket suitable for rural citizens who have a strong love for freedom. Sleeve-less for easy maneuverability and for inviting people to watch the gun show.

Defense: + 4

Value: 50 Copper Daemons

[--]

“Ah, so it’s a sleeve-less denim jacket and not a vest?” Scott removed his coat, put on the jacket, and then re-equipped his winter wear.

The main item he was interested in was the chest he considered to be his quest reward. Scott opened the bigger golden chest. Inside he found twenty silver coins, a glowing marble, and a small thumbnail sized crystal. There was also a scrap of paper taped to the inside of the lid.

He stuck the coins into his coat pocket along with the rest of his recently acquired loose change. He viewed the information for the crystal then his eyes widened. The salvation crystal was an item that created a safe zone for twenty-four hours. No monsters would sense or enter the area. It did not prevent humans or normal animals from entering, however.

“Bigger crystals can be used more than once.” Scott nodded to the crystal. This was another way that humanity might survive. The one that he held only worked once.

The last item of the probably original items in the box was the glowing marble. He picked it up and it crumbled to dust. A small current of energy raced up his arm, but nothing else happened. “Guess I’ll have to check my status when I get back to see what that does.”

He pulled the piece of paper free from inside the chest and read it over.

To my number one fan... XOXO

~ Brittani Rotten

PS: Don't keep a girl waiting to long.

Address: Brittani Rotten care of Skull Orchard.

It was a name and address for sending letters to Brittani Rotten. There was a perfectly placed pink kiss next to it where she had kissed the paper. "Seriously? Damn, ghoul chicks be thirsty..." he said with a tired grin. He still didn't know what the hell that had all been about. More to the point, how the hell did anyone send mail anymore?

Scott shrugged then put the paper in his pocket. There was probably a way to do it.

Just like before, the treasure chests disappeared once their contents were removed. Scott glanced over to the small family and they all stood up. The younger daughter, Daisy, looked at him nervously but she smiled a little. She was a cute kid with honey-blond hair.

“We ready?” asked Scott.

“Yes.” said Tammi.

Scott told them that he would briefly scout the area and that they should be ready to move as soon as possible when he returns. Not long after that, he went outside and made certain no monsters were in the immediate area.

Soon, they were on the move. It was a tense journey as they walked as quickly as they could through the remnants of suburbia. It was slow going due to the fact that they were incredibly weak and had abysmal stamina. Scott was forced to fight two more small packs of ghouls on the way back to his home, but otherwise it was an uneventful trip. Thankfully the fire had kept the other ghouls and various monsters busy.

“This is your house?” asked Tammi once they made it inside over an hour and a half later. It seemed nice enough, but it was a bit bare.

Scott turned on his LED lantern then shut and barred the door. “Yeah, it’s dark in here for now. Sorry.”

“No, its fine. Creepy, but fine.” said Tammi with a short laugh. She ran her hands down her hips slightly then sat down on his couch.

“Right. It’s boring and dark, but still home. There is food in the fridge. A lot of it. In fact, please eat it if you're willing to risk eating something that was cooked yesterday and left in the fridge. I’ll have to toss it out later today otherwise.” said Scott. He doubted that they would get sick from eating it, even if it smelled slightly funky.

Anna spoke up. “Food?” Her eyes lit-up.

“Already cooked. I cooked everything in the freezer the day this all started because I figured the power would go out.” said Scott.

“Smart.” said Tammi. “Are you sure you want to let us eat?”

“Sure, it’ll go to waste otherwise. You guys eat, and I’ll go see if the water is still working. Need to clean some stuff and change clothes.”

“Hot water?” asked Tammi, a hopeful expression on her face.

“Nope. The water might not even still be on.” said Scott.

“Ah.” A cold bath did not sound as appealing.

Scott grabbed the first aid kit that he’d acquired earlier, then took his bush axe to the bathroom. The small family tore into the pre-made food like a pack of starving wolves. They had not eaten anything since the day before.

The water still worked, so Scott cleaned his weapon, and then cleaned himself as well. The LED lantern that he had stationed in the bathroom revealed dozens of cuts and several hideous bruises. A bright fanfare erupted around him as a surprising, but welcome system message popped up while he treated his wounds.

[Level-Up]

After a series of harrowing encounters, you have risen to level seven.

Upgrade Point utilized. Pick one stat to upgrade before updates will take effect.

"Seriously? Level seven?" Either there was little difference in the amount of monsters that needed to be defeated between levels, or perhaps he had garnered extra experience for completing a quest?

Scott blinked at the screen after he read further. "My stats will update after I upgrade one of them?" He checked his status carefully. The most logical ones to increase were strength or vitality. They were part of almost all major stats. The only problem with choosing either one of those was that he already knew how to increase them easily enough.

No, what he needed was to increase his weaker stats such as agility or reflexes. They had increased the least after his class change. "Reflexes... probably good for countering." Scott chose to upgrade his reflexes then blinked again when a four sided die appeared in the air before him. He reached out to take the strange floating die then received a message that told him to roll it to determine how much his reflexes would increase.

Scott followed the directions. The four-sided die came to a stop on three. "Sweet." said Scott. His reflexes had increased by three points!

[Level-up]

Hit Points: + 60

Mana: + 78

Stamina: + 63

Attack: + 6

Arcane Attack: +9

Defense: + 6

Arcane Defense: + 9

Evasion: + 6

Arcane Evasion: + 6

Speed: + 6

Counter: + 9

Movement: + 12

Jump: + 3

Load = 70

Scott eagerly looked to his stats to see what had changed.

Scott Keen

Age: 20

Profession: Arcane Slayer

[Level: 7]

[HP: 108[97][107/107]

[MP: 133[133][153/153]

[SP: 146[141]][151/151]

COMBAT

[Attack: 12[16][Arcane Attack: 19[23]

[Defense: 10[20][Arcane Defense: 16[18]

[Evasion: 9][Arcane Evasion: 11[13]

ABILITIES

[Strength: 7][Agility: 4][Vitality: 7]

[Durability: 6][Reflexes: 4][Arcane: 10]

[Intellect: 7][Charisma: 4][Luck: 4]

MANEUVERING

[Speed: 12]

[Counter: 13]

[Movement: 19]

[Jump: 5]

[Load: 70]

[Moderate Injuries]

“So, this is level seven?” Scott was slightly surprised originally that his level increases had increased his stats so much. He had no way to be certain about anything to do with the system, yet. The concert earlier had also proven that such problems also stretched out to encompass the actual combat system.