Joe's scream jolted Diana and the guards from their daze. Fortunately, they turned and obeyed. He knew Diana would know exactly what those sounds meant, but he'd been worried that the guards wouldn't move. Joe didn't want to leave them to die, but he was in no condition to fight humans, much less those beasts. The fear in his voice must have carried through because the guards turned and followed Diana straight towards the rift.

The hunting howls were closer now, though Joe couldn't tell for sure how close. His fear beat a staccato through his brain, creating images of them right behind him. He didn't look back because it wouldn't make a difference if that were the case. With a grunt of pain, he caught up to Diana and bodily shoved all of them through the rift entrance. The sunlight hit his face, and Joe stumbled to the ground outside the portal.

Looking around, Joe saw that all of them had made it through together. They hadn't been all touching at the time, so he guessed that there was a timing mechanic involved. Joe used the spear like a cane and got to his suddenly shaky feet. Now that the adrenaline of the fight was wearing off, his hip and shoulder hurt. They were both bleeding pretty freely, blood quickly staining his clothes. He hobbled halfway across the meadow to where Diana and the rest were standing before tripping and falling down.

"A little help here."

The words seemed to jolt everyone out of their staring contest with the rift portal. Diana looked down at Joe and the spreading bloodstains with wide eyes. Then her face hardened, and she was all business. Diana was down on the ground next to him, ripping his shirt off and applying pressure to the shoulder wound. When she spoke, it was in the flat tones of command.

"Carl, keep an eye on the portal. I want to know if anyone or anything comes through. What are your classes? Does anyone have a skill that can help?"

Carl snapped to attention, his focus on the rift portal. He was staring at it anyway, but having a purpose always helped people in crises. The other two stared at Diana and didn't say anything at first.

"Carl, Mike, and Deena, Classes, and Skills! Now!"

"Gardener. Germinate." Carl spoke up first. His eyes never left the rift entrance. Everyone else's eyes swiveled his way, though. Joe had never considered that as a class, as combat-focused as most of the ones he'd seen were. The other two, Deena and Mike, swiveled to look his way with open mouths. Mike spoke up first.

"Gardener? I thought you said that you were a Rigger?"

"Focus," Diana yelled at the two, still staring at Carl. "Now is not the time."

"Rigger," Mike said. "Scavengers Eye for the skill. It just makes things that are craftable at my skill level stand out a bit. Its range is pretty limited."

"Beater," Deena spoke up. "It's a faster Brawler. The skill is Fast Hands. It gives me extra Alacrity for strikes."

"We're doing this the hard way then."

Diana continued to apply pressure to Joe's shoulder with one hand and motioned the two of them over towards herself. They didn't even argue. Diana had taken charge of the group, and everyone was happy for some direction. Joe would have been much happier if they had nabbed a healer somewhere, but he knew that it was improbable that a healer would be guarding the rift on the night shift.

"Deena, keep up pressure on his shoulder. Mike, rip off your sleeve. I want pressure on his hip. Joe, open your damn mouth and start eating the berries I give you. Focus the energy on your wounds the best you can. As soon as it's done open for another."

Joe had already planned to do that, but it didn't seem like a good time to argue with the woman. At least she didn't seem afraid of him for a change. She put a berry in his mouth, and he chewed and swallowed while closing his eyes. The pain and dizziness made sensing the internal energy difficult, but he managed. The feeling was fuzzy and distant, but Joe bore down and shoved everything he could towards the two wounds. The berry's energy was spent quickly, and Joe kept his eyes shut while opening his mouth.

This pattern continued for what felt like hours. Joe had no concept of time, but his focus was flagging from the physical and mental strain. Suddenly the electric tingles hit him, and he knew that some bonus Attribute had been added.

+1 Connection

In the brief moment, he lost focus, and Joe felt the healing energy scatter, going to the closest wounds rather than the most severe ones. He doubled down on his waning willpower and felt the mana get corralled back to where he wanted it to be. An unknowable amount of berries later, Joe opened his eyes instead of his mouth. His wounds still hurt, but he didn't seem to be losing any more blood. Diana knelt next to his head with everyone else in the same positions they were the last time he looked.

"Hey folks," Joe croaked out, his voice hoarse from the yelling earlier. "I think the bleeding has stopped. As long as everything is staying on the inside I think I'll be OK."

The truth was Joe's body didn't feel too bad except for the still aching spots where he'd been stabbed and sliced. He had sensed some mana that matched the berries moving through his system. Except that mana had come from him. He guessed that Regeneration was doing what it could to put him back together. At this point, it was less potent than a berry, but it never stopped working as long as he had mana. Diana stood up and dusted herself off. She stifled a giant yawn with one hand and looked embarrassed.

"I'm wiped out," Joe said to the group. "I know I need to sleep for a couple of hours. Can you three keep watch for us? It should be safe if nothing has come through yet."

Joe didn't wait for a reply and pulled a loose scrap of the shirt off the ground to cover his eyes. He really was tired and hoped that Diana would take the hint to get some rest. If they were here, they needed to clear some monsters for berries and essence. Based on his conversations with them earlier, Joe was pretty sure Carl and Mike were still level 1. He was happy for their help and support, but they would need to level up if they wanted a chance at surviving. He knew nothing about Deena, but she looked tougher than the other two.

Joe was asleep in minutes with the semi-shade of the shirt scrap blocking out the artificial sun. It had been a very long day. Diana talked with the trio for a few minutes, but jaw-cracking yawns were getting more frequent. Eventually, she stopped talking and declared Joe had the right idea. She laid down on a patch of grass five feet away from him and shielded her eyes with her arm. It wasn't long before some light snores in her direction let the guards know they were both asleep.

The three former guards sat in a semicircle facing the rift portal and the entrance. There was a tense silence between them, almost palpable to all present. Finally, Mike took a deep breath and broke the silence for them.

"So, Gardener. Huh. Why did you pretend to be a Rigger."

Carl paused a moment before replying in a quiet voice. "Frank would have me working fields from dawn till dusk. I know it would be important, but I didn't want to be in one of the labor camps. I was starting gardens behind my house before we were all moved to the center of town. I thought that if I was providing food before revealing it, I might be able to stay with my daughter."

Everyone nodded at that. It was easy to say that someone needed to step up for the greater good when you didn't have to pay the price yourself. Carl jumped back into the conversation, unwilling to let it die just yet.

"Beater? I thought you said you were a Brawler."

Deena grimaced slightly before she answered. "I honestly figured it wouldn't matter much and I didn't want people making a bunch of jerk off jokes." The accompanying hand gesture wasn't necessary but felt right to emphasize her point.

The other two nodded their heads again. No one blamed her for what was practically a certainty. Humans had been through war, societal shutdown, and magical alien invasion, and it had done absolutely nothing to curb the impulse for juvenile dirty jokes. Once again, Mike broke the silence. This time, the trepidation was clear in his voice.

"How'd you two do it. I know what you said was right, but I was too scared to do anything. I'm still scared. Every second I sit here I'm scared."

"I looked at Diana, and I saw my daughter. Half of the reason I joined the council was to keep her safe. I just knew that if some stranger did the right thing and I stood by, I wouldn't be able to look at my Jennifer without remembering today."

Deena sighed. "I just knew that if it happened to her, it could happen to any of us. Things are pretty fucked right now, but we don't need to go all Mad Max. I want my family to be safe and this won't get us there. I wish it was more noble, but that's how I felt."

They lapsed back into a heavy silence again. This time it was unbroken as each wrestled with the day's events. All of them continued to keep watch, and they avoided each other's eyes for now. Deep down, all three knew that they'd made the right choice today, but they were worried about the consequences of their actions. Frank was not the type to let a perceived betrayal go, and an actual betrayal would have immediate consequences.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Four Hours Later

An electric tingle searing his nerves brought Joe out of a surprisingly sound sleep. He blinked his bleary eyes to take in the message hovering in front of them.

+1 Vigor

Joe groaned as he rolled over, trying to alleviate the stiffness in his back from sleeping on the hard ground. In his sleepiness, he'd forgotten his shoulder and hip wounds. Once they pulled and made contact with the ground, he remembered them intimately.

"Fuck a duck that hurts!"

His grumble seemed to startle the trio of guards, and they turned to face him. Joe rolled over the other way and levered himself into a sitting position. It took an awkward amount of time, but eventually, he made it without pulling open either of his wounds. He looked over at his shoulder and was pleased to see a sizeable crusty scab sitting on his shoulder. That usually wouldn't be something to inspire joy, but considering that it was a stab wound, it was pretty great. He couldn't check out the hip, but it felt similar and wasn't worth the effort. He pointed to the canteen on Carl's hip. He didn't miss how Carl jumped when he pointed at him, but Joe didn't blame him.

"Mind if I have a drink. I'm pretty dry."

The older man handed over the canteen with a mumbled 'sure,' and Joe took a deep drink. It was warm, minerally, and absolutely fantastic. He drank greedily and stopped himself after he'd drained half of the water. He handed it back and looked over at Diana. She was still asleep, and Joe didn't blame her at all. It had been one hell of a day.

Aside from the two significant wounds, he felt pretty good. His lack of control of all the berries' mana and his zero control over his regeneration skill meant that the bruises and muscle strains had all healed while he slept. Joe didn't want to know how many berries he'd burned through before he stabilized. They were by far the most valuable thing he'd found so far. Money was great, but none of the system pillars in this rift had used it yet. Healing and nourishing berries were far superior at the moment. He looked at the guards and did his best to use a friendly voice.

"You three look tired. I'm good enough to keep watch. Why don't you get some rest? I don't think we'll be leaving right away."

"You're going to keep watch?" Deena sounded incredulous. "You were stabbed twice five hours ago. How the hell are you even awake right now?"

That was a fair question, Joe thought. If the strongest people in town had common classes and were level two, then Joe would be almost superhuman by comparison. If they hadn't been earning their extra Attributes, then it wouldn't even be close. With a start, Joe opened his menu and confirmed that Vigor had made it to ten. He had been hoping that something special would happen when an Attribute reached ten but no such luck.

"Vigor hit ten." Joe shrugged as he spoke. "I'm still tired and injured, but I can keep watch easy enough in the entry clearing."

All three guards' jaws hit the floor with Joe's casual statement. None of them had an Attribute, even close to ten. Joe noticed the look and figured he'd get the hard conversation out of the way since he'd just put his foot right in it. He explained the bonuses from his Uncommon class and the information he'd purchased about bonus Attributes. That part got their attention. Carl and Mike looked thoughtful, but Deena looked pissed.

"You've got to be kidding me. I could have had three more Attributes? Why didn't someone tell us?" Her face was red enough to have a contest with Frank while she seethed in her seat.

"They may not know here. I'm sure someone in Dublin knows, but they might not have shared that info. It's pretty valuable when you think about it. It doubles the Attributes per level for common classes. It's too good to ignore even for Uncommon classes. If it makes you feel better, I only earned two before I was forced to hit level two."

Deena humphed and sulked for a moment. Joe looked over and saw the light go on in Mike's head. He knew the question that was coming before it ever left the man's lips. Someday, Joe knew he would have to learn to think before he spoke. These guards had earned some trust, but it was too early to spill all of his secrets.

"What's your class? How's it different? What's your skill?"

"I earned the uncommon Feral class." Joe saw them flinch at the class name. He was expecting it, but it still stung. "I wasn't going to survive the challenge I'd started and bit a monster's throat till it died. The upside is it gives me three fixed and two free stats per level."

Carl whistled to himself. "Yeah, almost double our stats even before bonuses. No wonder you're still living after taking on six men with weapons."

"Oh, that's a big part," Joe nodded as he spoke. "But, they were too scared to fight effectively. Even with my advantages, I would have been a pincushion if they had been calm and organized. It's the difference between bossing people around all day or putting your life on the line in a rift."

Mike and Carl hung their heads slightly as Deena nodded at his words. If she'd leveled up, then she probably had some idea what he was talking about. None of this conversation had gone the way Joe wanted. There was no chance of unlocking a silver tongue skill today. There was nothing to do but charge ahead and hopefully put them all back on the same page. He walked them through earning bonus Attributes. Joe stressed it wasn't much more than a series of educated guesses, but it had worked so far. They were all thinking about it when Joe spoke up again.

"Seriously, get some rest. We can do the easy part of the rift before we leave and get the two of you moving forward. We could use the berries anyway. I imagine that I went through most of them."

Everyone looked a little nervous at his statement. Joe realized maybe only he and Diana found the first part of the rift easy. Still, they laid down, and exhaustion overrode their nerves after a few minutes. A snort followed by a soft snore came from Diana's spot in the grass. Joe let her rest. They all needed it.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Plain City - Walled Center - Frank's Office

Frank walked back and forth in his office. He was alone and clenched a glass of bourbon in his trembling hands. His face was red with rage though anyone looking at his eyes might note the wideness of fear from time to time. Frank had ordered double guards on the wall, and his building emptied. He'd said it was to provide more security and keep everyone safe. In reality, it was so he could rage unobserved, yelling to himself in the dark room lit only by a single candle on the desk.

"How the hell did he get so damn strong? How did she see my Skill? What the hell happened in Dublin that they aren't telling me?"

Frank downed the whiskey in a single gulp. He only had a single bottle left, and getting more was beyond difficult. The burn helped center him slightly, and the alcohol helped bank the fire eating at his chest. He'd come too far to go back now. Frank knew he'd need to be more careful with his skill use now. It was his ace in the hole. Convincing people had always been his strong suit, and this just was the icing on top that made sure it stuck.

He shook his head before pouring himself one more. He'd need to go in the rift and get stronger as well, and he'd need the guards that were with him tonight to do it. Frank would keep them close and ensure no one was talking about his Skill. If they did, well, people died in that rift all the time. It would be a shame, but it wouldn't keep him awake at night.