“The first night was the worst. People started going crazy, killing each other. It’s not uncommon for a rival to take out someone else, but it wasn’t just the prisoners. Half the guards just went crazy, trying to kill each other and the prisoners. Didn’t even go for their guns, either. They turned into animals, going after each other with their bare hands. I saw two of them hold down one while the third strangled him.”

We listened in rapt attention as the man – Paul – told his story.

“In less than an hour, every prisoner and guard was dead or free of their cells.”

“So, you were in a prison. That explains some of the unsavory members of your group.”

“Look, I’m not going to say that everyone I was in there was a good person. You’ve met them. Lots of murderers and rapists, but mostly people who had a bad time of it in life and made their share of mistakes.”

“And you?” I asked.

“I made my own mistakes,” he said. “Tax fraud. There’s a story there, but it doesn’t matter now.”

I couldn’t tell if he was lying or not. He had an honest face, but he’d just told us he was dishonest. So what could we do with that information?

“Tell us about the town. Why did you want to leave so badly?”

“The men you met,” Paul said. “They’re not good men.”

“How so?”

“There were a dozen or so different factions inside the prison. After the massacre that night, only five of them survived. Those five you met represent the five factions left from the prison. They’re much smaller now, but they’re a powder keg, and Dominic is a lit fuse. He’s trying to play them against each other, so he can stay in power.

“He was in the prison with you?”

“He was one of the guards, actually. They’re the biggest faction.”

“So, a bunch of ex-cons and the people who used to keep them under wraps are running the place. But there weren’t just people from the prison system in there. I definitely saw civilians.”

“Just part of the larger population around the prison. We were a semi-organized group with guns. Anyone who was desperate immediately joined us. Heck, lots of people who had guns joined us. Safety in numbers, right?”

“How many inmates survived?”

“Maybe thirty,” Paul said. “There were over a thousand of us in the detention center. A lot of us aren’t bad guys, right? We just made some mistakes.”

“Paul,” I said. “I can’t speak for everyone here, but this world is all fucked up. If humanity is going to survive, then we have to move past the mistakes that any of us have made. Everyone can turn over a new leaf.”

“No one can walk so long in the shadow, that they can’t return to the light,” Chavez said. We looked at him, eliciting an embarrassed shrug. “It was something I read once. Probably not even an exact quote.”

“I don’t care about what you’ve done,” I said. “I don’t care what the color of your skin is, or whether you were rich or poor. It might have meant something at one point, but it’s fuck-all now, you got that?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, almost reluctantly.

“Good, then tell us about the leadership. Who’s Dominic? What would happen to these women and children if we added them to the town?”

“Nothing would happen to them, as long as Dominic is in charge,” he said.

“Then why would you want to leave?” Andy asked, echoing my own thoughts.

“Because I know at least one person is planning to kill Dominic when he gets the chance. The fat one you faced off with? Angel Pizano. Murder and aggravated assault, and the others are just as bad. He’s been talking like he wants to get rid of Dominic and take over. If that happens, I have no idea what happens. People are scared of the undead and animals turning into monsters, all running around. If Dominic goes away, then they’ll turn to whoever they think is strongest.”

“And Dominic? Who is he?”

“Sergeant Dominic Martinez. He worked at the prison. I personally saw him draw a firearm and shoot down some of his own guards, who had gone crazy in the prison. One of them tried to gouge out his eye, but he just kept going, even after his leg broke. Got everyone who lived out of there.”

I thought about what he said for a good while. Finally, I looked up at Andy and asked, “Kobani?”

“Kind of, yeah.”

“What’s Kobani?” Chavez asked.

“Mission in the Middle East,” I said. “There was a rising threat to the region, and we helped stabilize the power of an ally, so the US could build an airfield in the region.”

“How is that applicable here?” Bragg asked.

“The destabilizing factor here is the dungeon. We take it out, we give Dominic the stabilizing support he needs.”

“Dungeon?” Paul asked.

“We go in heavy or not at all,” I said. “There are several hundred undead between us and the dungeon core, but I think we can punch straight in. They’re slow, and even if we can’t get all the way in, they won’t be able to stop us from coming out.”

“What dungeon?” Paul asked again.

“We’ll have the tiger with us too, right?” Chavez said.

“If she’s up for it. She didn’t hesitate to jump into the fight when I did.” I looked around for my silent companion, but there was no sign of the oversized cat. “Where’d she go?”

No one said anything, and Chavez just shrugged.

“She’ll be back,” I said with more confidence than I felt. The tiger didn’t exactly need us, after all. She’d shown that she was more capable than any and all of us to take care of herself. “We’ll spend the night here, then hit the dungeon at first light tomorrow morning.”

“Look, would anyone tell me what’s going on with this ‘dungeon’!?” Paul demanded.

“I got you,” Bragg said. “Come on, and the two of us mere mortals can talk while the rest discuss plans. Bragg put his arm over the man’s shoulder as they walked away. “I’m about to blow your mind with how the world works,” I heard him say as they walked away.

“Mere mortals?” I asked after they were out of earshot. “Does he not see himself as being on the team anymore?”

“He’s… different,” Chavez said. “Hasn’t been the same since his core went dark. I think that since he doesn’t have any mana in his body anymore, he thinks he’s somehow less than us.”

“He’s more or less right though,” Carter said. “Look at him. He’s a big guy. Former olympic shooter, and he’s in really good shape. But now, I could probably take him with one hand tied behind my back. He’s just not as fast or strong as me, and he’s not going to get any stronger without mana.”

“So, that’s it?” Chavez asked. “He’s just off the team because he can’t keep up?”

“There comes a point when someone could be more of a liability than a benefit on a given mission.” It was Andy who spoke this time. He lifted his hand when Chavez opened his mouth to argue further. “We don’t bench him completely. He’ll be invaluable for the foreseeable future, as long as we can still get our hands on ammunition, but for this mission? You heard Ward. We’re going in fast and hard. That’s not him this mission. And he knows it.”

Chavez frowned as he thought about what Andy said. “I don’t like it,” he said at last. “It makes sense in a military setting, but eventually?” He paused for a moment, clearly thinking through his words. “Aren’t we just creating a class system, where one person has mana, or at least more mana, and so they’re more important than everyone else?”

“That’s a bridge we’ll have to burn when we come to it,” I said. “Right now, this is essentially a military setting. We have to choose individuals for the mission who are best suited for the mission. This time, it isn’t Bragg.”

“Yeah, but how long before it’s never Bragg?” Chavez pressed. “You heard Carter. How long before we’re so strong that we’re bulletproof? Or the monsters are? When that happens, his bullets, his gun will be useless.”

“We’ll figure it out,” I said. “I promise.”

I hated the words as soon as they were out of my mouth. I wanted to find a way, but I couldn’t see it.

“Let’s get some rest.”

“You even need sleep anymore, mister Citrine?”

“For now,” I shrugged at Andy’s jibe. “Speaking of which, when do you think you’ll be able to move to the next rank?”

“A couple more weeks,” Chavez shrugged. “I keep working at it every day. It’s slow-going, but I’ll get there.”

“I told you that we may not have time for that. You need to clear the corruption, so you can absorb more mana quickly. That’s the only way you can advance.”

Chavez looked chagrined, but didn’t respond. He simply looked at the ground and nodded.

“If we attack the dungeon tomorrow, we’re going to absorb a lot of energy. That means you will need to clear as much corruption as you can tonight, so you can handle the new corruption tomorrow. Can you do that?”

“Not all of it,” Chavez said, “But I’ll get most of it.”

“Good,” I nodded. “Carter?”

“Any time. I probably just need to kill a few more things, and I’ll be ready for Citrine.”

I looked at her core and confirmed what she was saying. It was completely clear of corruption. All that she needed was the last bit of energy to push her past whatever threshold there was between the two ranks.

“Andy?”

He didn’t say anything, so I took a look at his core. The corruption hadn’t grown in his core, but it didn’t look like it had changed at all. If anything, the corruption somehow looked darker. Darker, stronger, more solid.

“Any luck?”

“Watch,” he said.

His face slackened in concentration, and his breathing steadied. It was just like before he took a shot. I could practically sense his heartbeat steady. Actually, I could see his heart rate slow, the red and blue mana pulsing through his body to the paths of his blood, both steadied and slowed. A spear of red mana extended from his core toward the corruption that surrounded it. The red mana sunk into the darkness. To my mana sight, the seemingly solid corruption rippled around the spear as it passed through, then spun back into the core.

“I don’t know what I’m doing,” he said. “I can’t seem to get rid of the corruption. It just doesn’t seem to be at odds with my core, like it is with you.”

“I’ll take first watch, but I think it would be good for you to take some time to think on it tonight. How much more corruption do you think you could take?”

“That’s the thing,” Andy said. “I don’t feel as if it’s trying to twist me in any way. There just doesn’t seem to be something to fight.”

“It was the same with me,” I said. “I had no idea it was messing with my head until you pointed it out to me.”

“Yeah, but… has it been messing with my head? You would have told me if it was a problem.”

“Fair.” I shrugged. “Yeah, I don’t know.”

“We should make that our motto.”

“I feel like everyone is probably in the same boat with this though. Not much of a motto, if it applies to everyone.”

“Yeah, we’ll have to work on it.”

“Well, I’m gonna hit the sack,” Carter said. “Wake me when it’s my turn on watch.”

“I’m gonna meditate,” Chavez said.

“Is that what it is though?” Carter asked.

“Well, I’m not an expert,” Chavez said, “but I’m sitting on the ground, focusing my thoughts inwards and waging an internal war to better myself. If that’s not meditation, then I’m not sure what is.”

“That math checks out,” I said. “So, we do meditation now. Not sure if I should pick up a Buddhist monk’s robe or yoga pants.”

“Bald head,” Carter said, pointing at my face. “Definitely the robe.”

“Plus, you don’t have the legs for yoga pants,” Chavez said. “Bragg could probably pull it off though.”

“Low blow, man,” I said. “He’s not here to defend himself.”

“Just saying that the man could be a serious contender for ‘America’s Ass’, after Chris Evans.”

“I’m now uncomfortable with this conversation,” Andy said. “I think I’ll do some meditation before hitting the sack as well.”

“Goodnight, sweetheart!” Chavez said with entirely too much enthusiasm as he followed Andy.

“Fuck off.”

“Oh, don’t be like that.” The two bickered as they headed off, Carter following behind the pair.

I settled into my seat. The house, large as it was, had only three entrances. The front door, obviously. The glass sliding door in the back, which we’d barricaded with furniture, and the side entrance from the garage. This was a solid wood door, secured with a deadbolt. Honestly, if something was strong enough to get through that door, it wouldn’t take long. However, even a split second could be just what I needed for the proper defense of the house and the people under my care.

I reached into my backpack and pulled out my most annoying companion. Seriously, I have one that can’t talk, feeds herself, and she can even fight. And I have Corey.

“Who calls on the wise and powerful Corey?” the voice said in my head as soon as I touched the rock.

“The only person in the world who can stand you,” I said.

“That is not how you should speak to an immortal being of my station!” Corey said in outrage.

“You’re a rock. In the past I would have cut you up and stuck you on a necklace as a present for my wife.” That was an exaggeration. Corey was way too big to be practical as a necklace. Maybe a light catcher for my daughter’s room. Yeah, I could tie some wire around him, then hang it over her window. When the light came into her room in the morning, the colors would be beautiful. She would really enjoy that.

“Oh, I’m way too valuable for you to do that.”

“I mean, I could wear you around my neck,” I said. “Then you would be in constant contact with me, and we could talk all the time.”

“As much as I enjoy demonstrating my superior intellect and understanding of the universe, I have to admit that sounds like a special kind of hell.”

“But I like talking to you so much.”

“Oh, shut up. What do you want?”

“What is wrong with Andy’s mana core?”

“Which one is Andy again?”

“Andy, the one with the most corruption in his core.”

“Not ringing any bells,” Corey said.

“Seriously, you can’t be this dense.”

“Excuse me for not paying attention to the smallest details of your insignificant friends.”

“He’s the one with one arm.”

“Oh, yes!” Corey said with entirely too much joy in his voice. “That was fun, wasn’t it?”

“Yes,” I forced myself to say. “It was the most fun I’ve had in a fight. Now, what’s wrong with his mana core?”

“I have no idea.”

“You, the great, all-knowing Corey… you’re clueless?”

“Not clueless, you monkey!” Corey yelled at me, causing me to wince mentally. Then, he added in a smaller voice. “But yes, I don’t know what’s wrong with his mana core. How should I know!? It looks like he’s following a different type of cultivation style.”

“Cultivation style?”

“Yes! What I mean is that there’s something different about the way he interacts with mana than the rest of you. I simply have no idea if that is good or bad. Mana is too new to the world and humans, there is no telling how each individual will react to it.”

“That makes sense.”

“It does?”

“Fuck no! We’ve got animals and people turning into monsters, other animals and people getting stronger, but otherwise unchanged, and we have the dead climbing out of the ground like a bad 80s movie. Nothing about this makes sense.”

There was a long pause before Corey’s voice came into my mind, somehow subdued. “Well, you don’t have to be a dick about it.”

“How are my mana channels?”

“A little worse. You rapidly healed them a while back. Your legs are find, but your arms will need some improvement. If you could find another one of those mana-concentrated bottles that helped with your legs, then you could probably recover fully. As it is, you will need to conquer several more dungeons before you can ascend to Jade like me.”

“Okay, so right now I just need to be focusing on getting more power and healing my mana channels with it?”

“Yes. Also, focus on your Will. That’s all I know.”

So, I settled into a cross-legged position. I kept my eyes open, my gaze flitting back and forth along the street outside the house. Nothing impeded on the silence, however. No zombies or mana-corrupted humans. Nothing living or unliving rustled outside. In that peaceful quiet, I let part of my thoughts slip inward, to my core.