As Gary and his uncle walked back towards the McPearson’s farm, Gary relayed the events of the previous twenty-four hours, filling in the blanks of everything that had occurred.

His uncle clicked, whistled and frowned as Gary relayed his efforts to help the survivors, the glitch hunters that had come looking for him, and how things had played out. He was working up to telling his uncle about Rain when David cut him off.

“Bloody hell, son. Sounds like you had a few close calls there.”

Captain Vaughn and two soldiers had formed a triangle around Gary and his uncle, walking just out of earshot, their eyes scanning the terrain. So far, there were no signs of any more undead.

“Yeah, there were a few hair-raising moments. And at the moment I’m trying to see if I can get the decision reversed on the whole zombie thing.”

“Reversed? Reversed by who?”

“The admin.”

“You want them to change the system for you?”

“Well, I guess. I mean, it’s not... it was a mistake, wasn’t it?”

“God, Gary, you can be so soft sometimes. Why the fuck would you want to stop being what you are? I mean, it’s the only thing that’s kept you alive so far, isn’t it? And come on Gary, you can’t change the system, can you?”

Gary frowned. “Well, I don’t know about that. I mean… who says so?”

“Well, it’s just the way things are now, isn’t it? And what were you thinking playing the hero for that sorry lot? What was that all about, hey? Putting yourself in danger for a bunch of nobodies?”

Gary frowned. “It just...it just seemed like the right thing to do.”

“Gary, Gary, Gary. I swear, you and your bleeding heart will be the end of me. You need to put yourself first, son. You can’t run around trying to save everyone now, can you?”

Gary shrugged. “Well, it worked. And I’m not trying to save everyone, you know? That’s ridiculous. Just trying to make things a bit less horrible, if I can. Is that wrong?”

David rolled his eyes, his thoughts on Gary’s attitude clear. He tried a different approach.

“Maybe, but it’s not like you’ve been having much fun, is it?”

“Fun? In the middle of all of this madness?”

“Yes, Gary. Fun. Having a good time, taking care of yourself. As things are now, you and me, we’re built for this world, aren’t we? We can do anything we want. You’ve got those undead powers and the zombies won’t attack you. I’ve got my spells. I doubt that anyone else has the same combination of abilities. We’ve got power Gary. Real power. We can do whatever we want. And that’s what we should be doing. I mean, it’s not as if the fate of the planet rests on our shoulders, is it?”

Gary sighed.

“Well, I don’t... I mean, I see your point, but everything went mental one day ago. And for all we know, it could all go mental again tomorrow, or even go back to normal. We don’t know anything about very much do we? So we should all, you know, be sticking together whilst we figure this thing out.”

Uncle David scoffed first and grunted disappointment second. It wasn’t the answer he’d wanted.

“Fucksake Gary, things have changed now. And we have to do what we always do. Make the most of it. And have a bit of fun along the way. Otherwise, what’s the point, hey? You should have just left that bunch to it and thought about yourself. That’s the thing with you, Gary. You’ve never really played the game, have you? And that’s what it’s all about. Rules might have changed, but you’ve still got to play the game. And by the way, why are you still carrying that bloody shovel?”

Gary was walking with Simon resting on his shoulder.

“Well, it’s a special weapon,” he replied, “I think it got more powerful when I levelled up.”

David rolled his eyes. “Of course it is. Look Gary, I’ll say it again. Put yourself first. Because there’s two types of people in this world, son. Always have been and always will be, even if the rules of reality have changed. There are winners and there are wankers. And you, Gary, you could be a winner if you just accept how things are now.”

Gary shrugged.

“I mean, that lot of sad sacks. What are they, Gary? They were losers before and they’re just a bunch of losers now. They’re zombie fodder. Except maybe that Chantelle bird, she’s a bit of alright, for a darkie.”

“Oh, come on, no-one says stuff like that anymore...”

His uncle rolled his eyes again.

“Well, look, at some point we have to think about the future, aren’t we? Repopulating the planet and everything. It’s only natural.”

“What?”

“Got to be done, hasn’t it? As for the rest of them. Zombie fodder, son. And you, well, with your abilities, with your skillset, you should have just used them to level up, shouldn’t you?”

Gary remembered what he’d never liked about his uncle.

The man was a fucking sociopath.

Still, he had to work with who and what he had.

“I’m not doing that,” he replied, “Killing innocent people for a few experience points? Sod that.”

“Gary...”

“No, and fuck off. This is the exact same thing that Morgan and the others were trying to get me to do.”

“Well, I think they were right to a degree.”

“To a degree? What the hell does that mean??”

“They’re zombie fodder, Gary. So you might as well make something of it.”

“Okay, whatever. Look, you need to know about Rain...”

“Rain? Why?”

“No, not that kind of rain. She was one of the hunters, but she switched sides.”

“Another of your strays, hey Gary? So what are we doing, taking in refugees from other worlds now as well? You and your bleeding heart...”

“Look, just listen, would you? She’s helped a lot, but she’s also going to freak people out. She’s got blue skin, so she looks different.”

“And she’s some kind of assassin?”

“A very fast one. Level 19. Talk about powerful and being able to do what we want? She’s powerful and has helped keep us all alive.”

“Right,” uncle David said with an approving tone, “I see, well, that could come in very handy I suppose. I better let the captain and the soldiers know not to shoot her, then.”

“Yeah, that would be good,” Gary replied. They were a few minutes away from the McPearson’s farm now, the sun beginning to descend casting long shadows as they walked.

“Not to worry, son,” his uncle nodded, “Just give me a second to let the soldiers know.”

“Okay.”

Uncle David pressed on ahead and talked in a low tone to Captain Vaughn, who relayed the orders to the other two men. The orders given, David returned to Gary as they closed in on the McPearson’s main building.

“Right then, let’s see what we’ve got here, shall we? I have to say, it’s not all bad if we can just wander round picking up properties for nothing, is it?”

“Yeah, one more thing,” Gary said. “Would you mind just holding this for a second?”

Gary held out the glitch stone. Its ochre colour was still suffused with a faint red glow.

“What’s that, some kind of magic crystal?”

“Something like that.”

David took the crystal with a smile, which dropped when nothing happened.

“What’s it supposed to do?”

“Never mind,” Gary said and took it back.

As he’d let go of the glitch stone, the faint red glow registering him as an anomaly had faded. Once it was in his uncle’s hands, it had stopped glowing altogether.

So, he’s not a glitch then, Gary thought. There’s got to be another explanation for how he levelled up so fast.

What isn’t he telling me?

*

Gary entered the McPearson’s house, calling out to the others that he’d returned and not to worry. The soldiers and his uncle waited outside as Gary filled Rain, James, Gemma and Martin in on the latest developments.

“It’s fine,” he said.

He stepped outside again, with the other four following. The soldiers stood at ease.

“Well, well,” his uncle said, looking at Rain, “Aren’t you an interesting one?”

He paused, then muttered.

“Hold Person.”

Rain glared at him. “Your magician’s tricks won’t work on me.”

“Uncle, what the fuck?” Gary shouted.

“Never mind,” David said, “Captain?”

Rain was fast, but she wasn’t faster than bullets fired from SA80 assault rifles.

The soldiers raised their weapons and shots rang out.

Rain saw the sudden danger she was in, but caught off-guard by Gary’s assurances and slowed by the Hold Person spell, she didn’t stand a chance. Three bullets ripped through her, two hitting her legs and another hitting her shoulder, spinning her to the ground as blood sprayed from her body. She screamed in pain, jumped back up and flung herself at David, only to be caught mid-air by three more bullets, two in the torso and one to her chest.

“FUCK!” Gary shouted. “What the fuck did you do that for?”

He raced across to Rain’s prone body, shielding it from any further gunfire.

James, Gemma and Martin had thrown themselves to the ground as soon as the shooting started.

“Gary, for fuck’s sake, wake up! You said it herself. She’s a level 19 assassin, and she’s a freak from another world! How did you think this was going to play out?”

“You didn’t have to shoot her!” Gary shouted back, still covering Rain’s body.

Rain gasped, blood flecking her mouth. Gary couldn’t see her hit points as he hadn’t attacked her, but he guessed they were low. He could feel her life draining away.

“Fucking hell, uncle David,” he screamed, “This is just you all over, isn’t it? Just a pig-headed arsehole who doesn’t give a shit about anyone else and does whatever the fuck he wants?”

David clicked his tongue in irritation.

“Gary, I have to say, I’m disappointed in you. Is she dead?”

“No! Stop shooting!”

“Okay. Captain, I think Gary here needs a little time out. Actually, I think this lot could all do with one. Let’s keep them here for now, shall we? Leave the two lads to guard them.”

“Yes, sir! And the... alien, sir?”

“Well, if she makes it, she makes it, but it looks like she’s a goner. Best to tie her up just to be on the safe side.”

“Sir!”