There were sighs of relief. Even when there were more monsters than before, they weren’t forced to fight off all of them. Using the Town Hall as a cover, it wasn’t exactly easy to fend them off but it was doable. After the short round of celebration, there was all the mourning. People holding the injured and the dead, crying and screaming.

Blair hurried off into one of the bathrooms and was met with a grim scene that made her retch. Inside were the tattered corpses of several people, the fragile stall doors snapped in half. Pools of blood had formed on the ground and were now joined together, filled with the tattered remains of people.

She stepped back and slammed the door shut.

“You okay?” asked Dexter and tapped on her shoulder, “At least you’re… alive.”

“Don’t go in there,” said Blair.

“Why? To use the toilet? Do you still do that?” asked Dexter and she closed her eyes. After a few seconds, she opened them and turned to him, “You didn’t realize?”

“No. I didn't,” she said with furrowed brows, shaking her head slowly, “But that isn’t the point. Just- Just don’t go in there, okay? You won’t like what you’ll see in there.”

“Yeah, I got the message already. Those things are dangerous, Blair. Just in and out. Kill one of them and hide. That’s all you need to do,” said Dexter and slowly sighed. He clicked his tongue and tilted his head to the side, “Don’t play the hero. This is something like war. People die, and we’re just civilians.”

“Well, I happen to be a Guard, so it’s kinda my duty now,” said Blair and gulped.

“You became a Guard? That’s practically suicide,” said Dexter and shook his head, “You shouldn’t have. It was the worst choice you could’ve made.”

“Even if those eagles are dangerous, we can beat them as long as we work together. The problem is that some people are just… scared. The people on the other side of this door,” said Blair and pointed at the toilet, “I’m guessing they were wetting their pants when the eagles came. That’s why they died, not because the eagles are dangerous. They didn’t even put up a fight.”

“No. I’m not saying that you can’t fight them now. Maybe you can. Heck, I don’t care,” said Dexter and sucked the air through his teeth. He turned to the side for a second, as if to leave her alone but turned back. He leaned forward and whispered in her ears, “I’m saying you shouldn’t have become a Guard. That’s even dumber than fighting those things. Just don’t get involved with Jeremy. Trust me on this one. He’s a total psycho.”

“And why is that? What’s the deal between you two anyway?” she asked, “Same last name. Relatives?”

“He’s a cousin of mine and I know him. Better than you do, and when he approaches a chick, it’s not because he sees something in them. It’s because he has a hard-on for them,” said Dexter.

“That doesn’t make him a psycho,” said Blair, “That just means he’s a pervert.”

“No. No, it doesn’t. But he’s a psycho. Trust me. Get as far away from him as possible, alright? Do me that one favor,” said Dexter and slowly exhaled, “Not again, for God’s sake.”

“You alright?” asked Blair.

Dexter shook his head and rubbed his temples.

“Yeah, I am. Just should’ve known something was up,” said Dexter and he awkwardly pointed at the stairs with a thumb, “I gotta meet someone now. Bye. And remember keep your distance no matter what. I warned you.”

There was too much noise and all of a sudden, nothing. They were quiet for once. It was rare. Confined within a tiny space that couldn’t even qualify as a town, there was no shortage of noise. Especially when they were held within a single skyscraper. It made it difficult to get a little peace unless she was in one corner of the Zone.

She turned around and saw an uncharacteristic, moping scene. Or maybe it was always there after the Raids —she’d never noticed. The first time, she was unconscious. The second time, she was too busy being glad that she survived. The third time, she was congratulated.

This time, she was amidst the closest thing to a battlefield, complete with all the deaths and injuries.

There were screams, though. Most likely of pain.

Blair turned around to leave the building but she stopped. Her legs refused to move. She sucked the air through her teeth and stormed into the bathroom. Carefully, she closed the door behind her and grabbed the three cards floating in the air, making sure not to step on the puddles.

She scrunched her nose and peeled her eyes off the gruesome sight.

It was one thing to have fallen to death. It was a wholly another thing to be mauled to death and torn to ribbons. The smell. That was the worst. It was a sickening smell that made her want to vomit. Metal mixed with shit and urine didn’t make the most aromatic smell, after all.

The door snapped open and a man walked in. It was a man that was nearing his fifties, with no lack of gray hair and wrinkles. He wore a blue shirt soiled by drops of blood and had a necklace hanging from his neck, the actual thing hidden behind his shirt. His furrowed brows and small frown gave him an almost gentle look.

He stood there with a bated breath and finally mustered out words, “This is a bloodbath.”

“The Eagles did it,” said Blair and stood up. She gulped and shook her head, “None of them survived.”

“Those horrible things. Even demons from Hell wouldn’t do this,” said the man with a massive frown. He knelt next to one of the corpses and whispered under his breath, holding a cross necklace to his forehead. After he did that, he knelt near the next one and prayed again.

It took him a minute to finish, and taking the time, Blair activated her Inspect. She had an odd feeling that she recognized him from somewhere, but couldn’t put her finger on from where.

Name: Brian Murphy

Status: Citizen

“Amen,” he said and turned to Blair, peering right into her eyes, “Can you please tell me their names?”

She looked through the window in front of her and recited, “Lisa Bram, Arthur Bram, Liu Fang.”

“Arthur. I used to know him,” said the man and then turned to the only female corpse, “Lisa was his wife. They’ve been married for thirty-two years.”

Blair nodded as she stared at the screens in front of her face.

Two of them, most likely the older couple, didn’t have their weapons and only one of them had a Starting Skill, and that was Vigor of Ancients. She chose that without a second’s doubt. The other two truly had nothing useful. All that Lisa Bram had was her Daily Ration Card, Citizen Card, and a single Blank Card. So Blair made the wise choice: she chose the Daily Ration Card.

The last one was rich.

He had an Ice Shield and a Fire Ball. He also had Canine Tracking and Claw Retraction.

Blair’s choice was clear.

She needed another level in Ice Shield. That would most likely let it remain longer and give her more room for maneuvers if she needed them.

But she couldn’t just say it out loud when the man was next to her.

“You’re a Guard, aren’t you?” asked Brian and stared at the corpses on the ground. He let a single tear drop and turned to Blair, “Will you help me bury them?”

Every cell in her body screamed at her to say no, but she didn’t.

She couldn’t look like a jerk.

Not to such a nice man.

“I’ll try,” said Blair.

“Thank you, and sorry. It was selfish of me to ask for such a thing. Making you witness this gruesome scene for any longer… If you’d like to refuse, please do so,” said Brian and gulped.

“It’s fine. That’s part of my duties. I am a Guard, after all,” said Blair and gave him a nod.

It was only the smell that was bothering her. If they didn’t smell, she could cover them up in their own clothes and drag them out. That wasn’t very difficult, especially if she borrowed the strength from her Steel Spear.

Not that they had any reason to be heavy, but she tried to think of other things —good things. So she thought about her so-called ‘loot’. How much better it would be when she could spare a canteen of water for basic necessities without being worried that she’d run out of water, not to mention food.

“Can you stand guard outside while I go and fetch something to put their bodies on? I wouldn’t want anyone else to witness this scene,” said Brian and gave him a wry smile with tired eyes.

“Yeah. Sure,” said Blair and promptly walked out the door.

She didn’t feel regret or fear or any other feeling that you experience when you see a corpse. It was just disgust —the desire to get as far away from the stench as possible, almost like she was near a pit latrine.

Before Brian even climbed back to his feet, Blair walked out of the room and took a deep breath. Even the air outside the toilet was filled with an odor that made her want to puke but it was manageable. The amalgamation of sweat, blood, burnt flesh, and bile wasn’t the most comfortable smell, almost making her want to lock herself up inside the toilet and stick her head out through its open windows.

The older man came out of the room and decisively walked down the stairs, his visage fading away far slower than she’d expected.

The moment this nonsense was over with, she’d retire to the building she’d spent the first few days in.

That’d get her away from all the noise.

No one bothered to come near the toilet. Maybe standing in front of the door with crossed arms helped fend people off. She closed her eyes and tuned everything out, trying to find a little respite from all the noise.

Brian came back in a handful of minutes. He brought with him two others: a man that looked to be in his early thirties and a girl. Probably in high school, as evidenced by her ragged uniform. They held what appeared to be the top of a desk.

“Umm, so something actually came up just now,” said Blair as she looked at the two behind him and scratched the back of her head. She flashed Brian a fake smile and stood aside, “I’ll be taking my leave. Oh, and you should stay outside, kid. It’s not something you’d want to see.”

“Worse than everywhere else?” asked the girl that Brian brought with him.

She looked around the large room again and caught sight of more corpses than she expected. Not as gruesomely murdered but dead nonetheless. Or maybe they weren't dead.

“Yes. It’s worse,” said Blair, “The ones out here were killed. The ones in there were eaten.”