AN: So, the time has come again! The interdimensional death game awaits!

Chapter 32: Trial Run

The heavy petting session over, and one cold look from Samantha later, the team was ready to go. Scott changed the difficulty level to easy mode. He did not want to leave room for surprises on their first team mission. It was not about earning a fortune, it was about getting the job done.

Scott looked through the mission offerings and nodded. "Found one, full-team mission."

The girls gathered round to see what he'd chosen. Samantha eyed the reward section critically. "Only that much of a reward?"

"It's an easy mission, but that's also just a baseline. Even barely surviving from mission-to-mission, I come back with considerably more than the base," said Scott. He did amend his statement, however, "We won't make a fortune, but no one should die in this group if we play it smart."

She nodded to him. He was the mission expert in this field operation, after all. Scott looked over the mission once more.

[Mission Briefing]

Answer the call to arms! Zombies are on the march across the land! Fearless zombie killers wanted for extermination missions across the globe.

Difficulty: H-1

World Type: Survival Horror

Force Response Authorization: Solo | Partner Mission

Primary Goal: Absolute Zombie Extermination.

Approximate Initial Enemies: 112

Time Limit: 4 hours

Reward: [Double zombie kill EXP][Team EXP share set to 10%][Additional EXP for survivor extraction]

Special Note: Side-missions are available. Mission area is quarantined. The quarantine zone will expand if all initial enemies are slain. The extraction door will open at the exact location that the entrance door is located.

[--]

Scott eyed the number of initial enemies carefully. It was definitely an H-1 mission. The total number of zombies was only slightly higher than his solo missions at that rating, but the possibility of side missions and an expanded quarantine zone were new to him.

"I'll tell you ladies a few things before we get started," said Scott. He looked each of them in the eye. "These things are usually slow and sort of stupid. They are next to impossible to kill other than destroying the brain. Sometimes they are incredibly strong, somewhat intelligent, or move at a high rate of speed. If you see a really large one, or hear an unholy scream like someone going berserk, get ready. The situation is about to get much more serious."

Scott pointed to Samantha. "I don't see her having a problem with most of these things because of her skills, and her equipment. She would need to be completely overrun and then attacked by the stronger zombies to even come close to being injured."

"Lucky," said Kitty with a grin. Samantha's expression was ice cold, but Kitty continued, "Scott's praising you. I'm a little jealous."

Samantha continued to say nothing. Now was not the time for goofing around. It was time to get to work.

"I'm not sure if either of you will be able to resist the disease if the zombies bite of claw you. So, I'll hand some cleansing, and healing items to you. If you don't use them, keep them for future missions. Just let me know one way or the other."

Scott passed the girls, Samantha included, a healing pill and some cleansers. "These things are fast acting system items. They cost EXP, not a lot of it but enough to make their constant purchase a significant drain on resources."

"So, only use them if we absolutely have to?" asked Saelil. She tapped the little pills in her hand.

"Think of them like spiritus vials. If you run dry in the underworld, what happens?" asked Scott.

"Ah, I understand the meaning clearly. I was simply uncertain of how beneficial they would be."

"The cleanser cures almost all ailments. The healing pill can rapidly regenerate injured flesh and restore hit points," said Scott. "If you aren't bitten, poisoned somehow, or bleeding out, don't use them. I have a few dozen other items we can use for simple wounds that don't cost nearly as much."

The trauma packs and first aid equipment from Bounty Star were topnotch. They could cure most minor ailments and heal lesser injuries with no trouble. Of course, he'd have to locate a foot locker or closet to get them, but that was neither here nor there as far as he was concerned.

"Alright. The last important thing is elevation. If you are a good jumper, or climber, get to a spot off the ground. The top of a tall truck, or the roof of a building. Anything a zombie cannot easily climb, will become your best hope of survival," said Scott.

Felicia waved her oversized paw at Scott a little, "They aren't that tough. Smell terrible, though."

"Just don't get bitten," said Scott with a nod.

She meow at him then swished her tail. Whether it was because she was happy that he was concerned, or because she was annoyed that he felt the need to say something so basic, it was impossible to tell.

"Saelil, do you have any sort of shielding spell? Something to bolster defense?" asked Scott.

"Unfortunately, nothing but an actual shield spell. That one has to be held continuously to work. Those sorts of spells are still locked as they are secondary to my basic skill-set, according to the little sphere."

"Do you need time to prepare your spells?" he asked.

"They are prepared already. It was stated as a beginning perk," she replied. "My staff needs to be recharged, but that will require an obelisk or a few EXP. Though, I could use one or two of those crystals."

"Ah, they do that sort of thing sometimes," said Scott. He asked how many EXP she'd need to recharge her equipment. The cost was minimal, twenty-two points. He did not have any EXP at the moment, however. He took her aside and looked at the crystals in storage. She found two of the appropriate size to fit her needs and performed the recharge. From that point on she would be required to perform, or pay for, her own maintenance, however.

He looked the girls over once more then nodded. "Follow my lead, and we should get through this with little trouble. The last time I went on a mission of this level, I barely survived, but I was alone and a bit of a slacker at the time."

He asked if everyone was ready then nodded. "We have sixty seconds to enter this door. It will close once we are through. After I accept the mission, I'll run in. You girls follow. When it opens again we'll have another sixty seconds to reach it. If you are left behind, you will remain where you are."

"We get left behind?" asked Kitty. "Doesn't the door just stay open till you enter?"

"Not on missions! There's a timer. Just stick close, and try not to stray too far from where we enter," said Scott. "For you, it's fine. You'll be stuck there until we can somehow find each other again. If I don't make it back, I die and everyone gets sent back to their original world without their system gained power-ups."

Further, he told them. "I'm not even sure if you'll keep your memories of our time together."

Scott did not want to sugar-coat the situation. His ass, and their collective asses, were on the line each time they went on a mission. Everything readied, he nodded and said, "Let's go."

Scott accepted the easy mode mission, and the door immediately opened. He looked through it briefly then said, "I've been here before. Stay with me and don't move from where we enter for now."

They nodded at him while the clock counted down. Forty-eight seconds remaining, he rushed into the door. Samantha followed first, but Kitty and Saelil came rushing after.

"What is this? A school?" asked Kitty before moving toward the entry gates. She immediately smacked into an invisible wall.

You can't go that way!

"Yeah, but I cleared that place before. I guess it's time to clear the area surrounding it," said Scott.

"Look alive ladies! We got guests!" he cried before firing off a plasma round at one of the oncoming zombies. Its head snapped back, and a solid portion of the top of its skull exploded upward. Six more shambled out from a nearby corner store.

He pointed at a building, a single story post office, just down the street. "On that roof! Go!"

The group raced off to their combat platform of choice. Scott asked Samantha to cover everyone from the ground, and then made the leap first. He easily caught the edge of the concrete overhang in front of the post office entrance. He climbed up without a problem. Saelil floated upward via some strange power she'd neglected to mention previously, followed by Kitty simply leaping straight onto the top of the awning with no climbing needed. After they all got onto the roof, it was time to take up combat positions.

"We're clear!" called Scott to Samantha. She followed suit by leaping straight up onto the roof of the building with no need for the overhang.

They scouted the roof quickly and Scott pointed to two areas. "There's an overturned truck on this side. Saelil, you watch here and look out to see if any special zombies pop up. If anything tries to climb up here, tell us. Save your magic, and don't risk poking it with your staff. We don't want to lose either you, or it."

He told Kitty something similar about the concrete overhang. "You don't have much in the way of ranged attacks, and don't like guns. Your job will be to watch the area in front and to the side. See a special zombie, let us know. If anything climbs up tell us about it. Kick it back down if you have to."

Scott looked to Samantha and nodded. "Let's make it happen."

They opened fire on the dozen or so zombies staggering down the road. Samantha's energy beams completely destroyed the head of any zombie she targeted. Scott was not envious of her gun at all. So what if her weapon was bigger and more powerful. His little pistol still got the job done!

"Hey, what's with the little floating numbers?" asked Kitty as she watched the death of the nearby undead.

"That's the EXP we're earning per kill," said Scott before ending the life of another zombie. It fell sideways while black ichor splattered outward from its destroyed brainpan.

The first wave of zombie attacks ended in less than a minute. Scott and Samantha fired with deadly precision and easily took down each of their opponents at a distance.

More shambled toward them in the distance, but not many. "Shit, there are probably some trapped in these buildings."

Scott looked to Samantha. "You looking to earn some extra extermination pay for this mission?"

"Always," she said. The suit's digitized voice rendered her speech more monotone, but slightly masculine to the ear. Yet, it was easy to remember that under all of that armor there was a girl who loved to kick ass.

"Good. We'll hold position here. I want you to clear the four buildings on this road. Start with the post office here," said Scott.

"Why just her?" asked Kitty with a pout.

"She's got armor these zombies can't bite through," said Scott. "Even the special zombies I know about would have trouble dealing with her."

Samantha hopped down from the roof, then kicked in the front door of the post office. Inside, she immediately shot down two undead postal workers. The poor bastards died as they lived, wearing tan colored short pants.

Another zombie was found in the back room. After dispatching it, she went back outside. "She's back out!" cried Kitty.

Scott called back, "Alright! I'll focus on this side then!" before turning away to aim for the shambling trio of walking corpses bearing down on him from the left.

Samantha stalked the streets, neatly dispatching zombies as they staggered around corners or crawled from the high grass between buildings. She busted her way into the convenience store and indiscriminately annihilated her way through the handful of zombies found within.

It took only a few minutes for the team to dispatch more than half of the initial zombies in the area. Suddenly, a hellish screech raged throughout the area. Scott's eyes widened. "Fuck! Look alive! Tell me where it's coming from!"

Saelil saw it first and shouted. "It's going for Samantha!"

Scott whirled toward his partner just in time to see the armored space mercenary turn to her right and leap high into the air with her feet tucked toward her metal-clad ass. A berserker hurtled through the air toward where she used to be.

Inhumanly graceful, Samantha turned around in mid-air and fired upon the thing before it the ground. Several plasma bolts slammed into it destroying large sections of its body in the process.

Despite the incredible damage its body received, the beast rose up and shrieked once more. Gaping holes in its torso dripped with thick black ichor. She silence its screeches with a plasma bolt to the face.

"So, was that one of the berserkers?" asked Saelil.

"A slow one, but yes," said Scott. "Those things will be on you before you know it."

"Slow, huh?" Saelil nodded then returned to her vigil. Her eyes were tense now, however. The obscene speed of that creature was similar to some of the better warriors she'd encountered in her time. Definitely not something to be underestimated despite how easily her comrade took the creature down.

After that, the battle continued. Once the buildings on that road were cleared, it was time to move to a new position.

"That collection of buildings on the other side of the big field... We'll probably find most of the remaining zombies there," said Scott.

"So, we simply need to cross this field?" asked Saelil.

"No, it's too open. There's also no guarantee that there aren't trigger happy survivors in the area. We need to keep the cover of the buildings and cars as we move," said Scott.

Scott sent Samantha to scout the next collection of buildings to the east and to report back what she found there. The team moved after she gave the all-clear. Slowly, they circled the area while cleaning out zombies. Samantha was sent in to clear the buildings on the far side of the field, and the team took a quick break afterward. Roughly half an hour passed in that manner.

"We're missing a few zombies," said Scott.

"How can you be sure?" asked Kitty.

"There would be a lot more, probably, if the quarantine zone expanded already," he said.

The team searched under every bit of debris, inside each closet, and even in the trunks of abandoned cars. They found six remaining undead.

Everything froze in place. The world turned grey, and Scott looked to the blue screen that appeared. The quarantine zone would be expanded in a direction of his choice, or he could end the mission now. He deliberated for a moment, noted his companions were doing well, and made his decision.

He chose to expand it toward the heart of the nearby town. Immediately, the difficulty level of the assignment increased to G-3. He was also shown an overhead map of the area, and given access to a system clock to tell how much time had elapsed. Two sections were marked in red. He could acquire side missions there.

"Man that could be good, or go wrong, quick..." Either way, they could not afford to spend too much time in the expanded area. There was only one ride out of here and it was coming in a little under three hours whether they were ready or not.