Chapter 5: Burning the Midnight Oil

Nestling myself into a booth I quietly prepare myself for the first watch. With nothing much to do while the clock counts down to midnight, I let my mind reflect over the last few hours…

***

“Quiet!” Matt yells to get everyone’s attention.

Our return was met with great jubilation, especially so with the addition of Brent. The sight of the officer sent relief into everyone’s eyes. But the moment was soon spoiled as the crowd began bombarding him with questions.

Matt and Brent are soon encircled by the crowd and I am quickly pushed away to the background. I am a little annoyed with my lack of fanfare. Everyone seems to have forgotten that I also had returned.

Slightly annoyed I move through the crowd and claim a booth where I quickly drop off my recent acquisitions. Resting in the comfy booth I am tempted by exhaustion to take a nap. But there are still many plans for tonight that needs to be made.

Several minutes later I see Matt and Brent walking towards me. “Have your fangirls gone home for the day?” I ask sarcastically, but there is still a slight spite in my tone.

“Dude, I am too tired for your sarcasm.” Matt speaks exhaustedly before plopping down into the adjacent booth.

Brent pulls a chair up and sits down beside the table. “So Matt was telling me that you had some kind of plan?” Brent asks and the look in his eyes shows his weariness.

Looking over at Matt I see him shrug his shoulders at the statement.

“Well, I do have a couple of plans, but first I think we should explain all the game details for you so that you will understand my reasoning.”

I quickly go through all the system details I have discovered so far with Matt occasionally chiming in. Brent seems to be adapting to the changes and follows the conversation with great focus. We all share our point distribution among one another and I am impressed with his stats. I guess the rigorous training for law enforcement really paid off.

After looking his stats over, we soon begin discussing his path towards peak. Non-surprisingly, he wishes to follow a front line fighter path similar to Matt. But instead of building Strength he will develop his Endurance first. It seems losing his partner really left a deep scar and he doesn’t wish to fall so easily.

I try to encourage him to use the redistribution, but he adamantly rejects. So instead we rely on his two level ups to reach peak Endurance and soon discover the new feature.

StatusNameBrentRaceHumanLevel3ClassN/ATitles----Health(120/120)Stamina(120/120)Mana(120/120)-Strength12Endurance20Perception10Agility12Intelligence10Wisdom9Charisma11Luck10Unallocated Points0-[tr]Resistances[/tr]

Resistances

Physical14%Mental8%Disease11%Poision9%Earth2%Darkness0%Fire5%Light6%Water1%Ice3%Wind2%Lightning4%

“I wonder if there are any restrictions on raising these percentages.” I quietly express my thoughts after Brent has finished detailing the new features.

“Restrictions?” Brent’s eyebrows scrunch in confusion at my question.

“Like if we are able to raise any Resistance or only ones we have experienced. For example ‘Darkness’, I figure this is probably a magic affinity. But it is not something our bodies have ever had to deal with. So it might be the case that we have to meet a special requirement to start raising it.” I finish my explanation and sit back while thinking more deeply about these facts.

“Jack. Enough game details. Tell us what you found out at the gas station and what your plans are.” Matt pulls me back to the present and I realize I never told him the details about the vendor.

With a smirking look, I begin sharing the details of the ‘vendor’. The realization of these potions provides a new aspect to our survival that boosts our morale. However, I soon share the costs and explain the limited amount we could get. The discussion then proceeds to the need for Matt to invite more people into his party.

“What if there is a limit to Party size?” Matt carefully asks after realizing a potential hinge to my plan.

“Well…” Biting my lip I hesitate to speak. “Then we will have to find people to redistribute into Charisma. This was why I wanted us to check on the vendor location today, while we still have the option to make more parties quickly.”

“I’m surprised you are willing, figured you would be against others having high Charisma.” Matt’s scrutinizing stare looks me over after speaking.

Sighing dejectedly, “No, I’m not comfortable this could cause tension and possibly split our meager forces. But the rewards are too beneficial to let my paranoia stop us…. However...” Reaching over I pull some notepads and a pen out of my supplies before handing them over to the others. “Not just anyone should be asked to do this. While trying to recruit party members, I want you two to collect data on everyone here. Name, age, Stats, occupations et cetera.”

“Why do you need this information?” Brent asks as his eyes stare questioningly at me.

“We need to make use of every resource we have, that includes people. If they are not fighting then they will have to contribute to our survival in other ways. We don’t have the luxury of coddling them. There is no longer a given right of safety.”

Brent is quiet for a long time before speaking. “You’re right. Honestly I have been torn between helping these people or running off to search for my family.”

With a tense atmosphere, we all sit quietly while worrying about our families.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to dampen the atmosphere.” Brent meekly apologizes.

“No, it is fine. It’s important for us to stay rooted in what our ultimate goal is. Tomorrow we will make plans to search out other survivors this will include your family.”

Nodding appreciatively, Brent soon stands and he and Matt leave to start their interviews. In the mean time I begin working with the alcohol bottles to make Molotov’s. The two were surprised when I had mentioned their purpose, but they understood the impact it could make for our defenses.

Half an hour later and minus two table cloths ripped to shreds, the table is now overflowing with the improvised arsenal. Just as I finish the two man census bureau returns.

“Just finished, Matt can you store around half in your inventory? The rest will be stationed here.” I issue out the command and Matt immediately causes the bottles to disappear.

Sighing heavily, I lean back and look towards the other two. “What did you find out?”

“Well, we have bad news, good news, and something odd.” Matt speaks first giving me an overview of what to expect.

“The bad news is that I can only invite four people into my party.” I grimace at this news as this was well below my expectations for the party system, but I hold my comments as I urge Matt to continue speaking.

“The good news is that we found two people we feel that we could trust with redistribution.”

With a quick calculation in my head I realize that the numbers don’t add up. “Matt, we would need at least three more leaders to put everyone in a party.”

“Actually, we only need two more leaders to cover everyone. There are two people who can’t join a party.” Matt’s smirk annoys me as he intentionally holds back on giving me the final information. However I ignore him as my mind is racing trying to figure out why there would be two people who couldn’t join. “I’ll give you a hint, they are at level 0.”

I am shocked by this information and I stare openly at Matt questioning if he is making this up. Yet his insistent nodding and the reassurance from Brent confirm the information.

Given a few moments to think it over I start looking for key facts. First, there is a level 0. Second, the fact that the majority of us are level 1’s while only three of us have killed anything proves that we didn’t all start at level 0. Third, this means there is another factor besides experience that raises levels….

Could it be the amount of attribute points?

Perhaps, but mine were all roughly average when I first observed my status. So for this to be the reason the person would have to be drastically below average in attributes…

In a moment of epiphany, I turn to look across the room and stare at the scene of the lone mother and her two small children.

“It is the two youngest kids… right?”

“Dang, how in the world did you figure that out?” Brent oddly confirms my hypothesis while looking flabbergasted.

Chuckling at the scene Matt quickly responds. “Told you the bastard was clever.”

Rolling my eyes at Matt’s comment, I inquire more details. “So besides their screens saying they were level 0, were there any other differences?”

“Actually yes, at the bottom where there should be the display for unallocated points they have a timer instead that is steadily counting down.”

“Did you write the times down?” Matt nods while handing the sheets over.

Their stats are all rather poor and the timer value was also recorded. It seems the oldest at nine has only roughly three months while the youngest at seven has almost three years. Seeing these times I immediately realize truth.

“Both of them are not level 1 because they are under ten years of age.” Matt slightly nods his head as he is able to understand this reasoning, but Brent seems confused.

“I mentioned earlier that a value of 10 was considered average since peak is 20. I think this means that until someone reaches the age of 10 they are still in their growth phase and thus can’t access the system completely.” With my explanation Brent is able to grasp the concept, but I have more to fret over.

“However, what really bothers me is if they are still ‘growing’ then they can probably manually raise their stat values which is good, but…. does that mean once we reach level 1 we can’t?”

We all look at one another in utter silence before turning to look at the two zeros.

“Jack, if that is true… then we can only get stronger by leveling up.” Matt quietly speaks as this bombshell slowly sinks in.

“No… we can only get stronger by fighting for our lives.”

***

Standing up to stretch, my mind focuses back on the present. The room is fairly quiet minus the occasional screeching of rubber as someone wiggles in a booth. Despite the growing concern of safety, sleep came relatively quick for everyone.

When Matt had begun assigning sentry duty, I was the first to volunteer for the first shift. I gave the excuse that I wanted to be awake to see how the rewards would be sent. But truthfully, I really hate being awoken while sleeping, so I chose this shift so I could sleep unperturbed later.

Glancing at my phone, I notice the time.

11:32

Good, there was only half an hour left in my shift. With nothing else to do I pull up my status to play around with the screen. I try various other commands and poke around but I am unable to find any other functions. Bored I switch over to my Map and look over the details.

This thing is just too nifty. The lighting has changed to a black and blue outline of the city once it became night. The displayed area also grew slightly after we had made it back to the restaurant. The area now looks more like a bent balloon in stead of just a circle. It seems as I move, the radius around me will continue to unlock more areas.

While engrossed in this novelty, my ears soon pick up on an odd barking noise. Closing my screen I turn and lean towards the window. Peeling the curtain back I cautiously look out through the glass and I am horrified by the sight.

1...3...7…13 …23…. Crap. There is a small horde of goblins gathering around outside. I had lost count around 30 as they kept drifting in and out of the shadows of the trees. They are well armed compared to last time as I see more variety of weapons and even scraps of armor tied around their bodies.

Pulling the curtain back, I quietly get out of my seat and move over towards Matt.

“Hmm… is it my shift already?” Matt asks as I shake him awake.

“Wake up, we are about to be attacked.” The words seemed to have registered in his mind as he is wide eyed and alert now. Turning around I am about to wake up Brent, but am surprised to see that he had somehow heard me and is standing up.

The two follow me and confirm the situation.

“How did they know we were here?” Brent asks while his eyes carefully scrutinize the scene.

“When we were first attacked, there was one that got away.” Cursing myself I regret not chasing that vermin down.

Matt takes a deep breath before asking. “Do you think we can escape?”

“Where could we go, we would be running blindly in the middle of the night. Not to mention there are several people who couldn’t keep up.” I quickly demolish the notion of running.

“Then we will fight, but first we should move the women and children to another room.” Brent confidently speaks up and we immediately agree with his decision.

Matt is able to rapidly usher all the children, women, and elderly into the back freezer. I am impressed at not the speed, but the efficiency and subtlety of the action. They barely made any noise.

The remaining people are huddled together as we start handing out the Molotov’s. I try to give out a few strategies, but the sound of shattering glass interrupts and we all take cover from the flying shards of glass.

“Spread out!” Matt gives the call and we separate to cover different windows. I can tell that besides us three veterans the rest are terrified and move hesitantly.

As the projectiles slow down I take a glance and notice that the goblins are charging out of the woodwork.

“Now!” I scream as I quickly chunk the first cocktail. The glass shatters at the feet of a goblin and the bastard quickly is engulfed in flames from the spewed fuel.

A torrent of flames covers the asphalt from the hastily thrown bottles. Soon several burning goblins are flailing around in distraught. Sadly, just as we are getting into the swing of things, a loud harsh barking occurs from behind the goblin line.

Next there are arrows flying towards our direction from beyond the ember wall.

I was lucky to avoid the first wave of arrows, but not everyone came out okay. The sound of breaking glass is accompanied by a blood curdling scream. I turn in time to see flames engulf one of my allies. The human torch is running around frantically and slowly spreading the flames as his flesh is roasting.

Dodging the spreading flames and flying projectiles, I run to retrieve the fire extinguisher. Returning the man has luckily fallen to the ground and is rolling in an attempt to put out the flames. Spraying him the flames are immediately dosed out, however, his moans of agony continue and I stare aghast at the charred man.

Choking back my vomit, I turn away from the horrifying scene. As much as I would like to help, there is nothing I can do right now.

“Jack!” Hearing my name I turn to witness Matt rushing towards the barricaded door. A heavy axe has splintered through the soft wood.

“Brent go help…” Just as I am trying to call out, I feel a burst of heat off to the side. Turning I see a puddle of flames spreading out. At the edge of the flames I see another person sprawled on the floor. Their head is cocked towards me revealing an arrow shaft lodged within an eye. The flickering light from the flames highlights a surprised expression as blood trickles down the skin.

Cursing loudly I finish telling Brent to go help Matt before rushing to put out the flames.

Dropping the empty canister I turn to look over the disheveled room. Our situation is looking dire and my mind frantically races to find a way to survive. An idea pops into my head, but it is ridiculously crazy it would require perfect timing and amazing luck…

Just as I am thinking this I receive a chime signifying that I have leveled up. In a moment of serenity I feel the world is telling me to go for it.

For being the first to reach the peak of human Luck

Reward + 1 Luck

With my points spent I rush towards the door to share my plan with Matt and Brent. They look disbelievingly at me like I am crazy.

“Just trust me!”

Matt hesitates but the resolved look in my eyes persuades him to agree. Soon we are pouring all the alcohol onto the floors while retreating towards the kitchen. I pause to grab my gear before chunking it into the kitchen.

I turn to run back towards the door, but I am stopped as Matt grabs my arm. “Good luck….”

Snorting I laugh at the double meaning.

Reaching the door I can see feral faces staring sinisterly through as their bony fingers rip and pull at the cracked wood. Performing my duty I begin stabbing with a dagger to enrage and entice them. There shrill cries increase and the door quickly bursts open as they come charging through.

Turning around I quickly sprint back towards the kitchen. My heart is loudly pounding in my ears, but despite that I can still hear the splashing of their feet as they come charging after me. I feel the stinging of an arrow across my arm and push harder towards safety.

Bursting into the kitchen I am met by the sight of a heavy refrigerator falling towards the door. The heavy thud of the refrigerator is soon accompanied by several smaller thuds as the goblins try to push through the new barricade.

Not wasting anytime I jump over towards the serving window. Throwing the last lit Molotov through the window before quickly ducking as a torrent of flames blasts through the window.

The fire spreads quickly through the dining room and overwhelms the beasts as they scream running for cover.

Just as I am getting worried about the fire spreading too far, the sprinkler system finally kicks in. The hissing of flames is soon followed by steam rolling through the window.

As the noise dies down I take a peak through the window to see several charred and squirming bodies.

Giving the command we open the door and cautiously step out into the war room. “Somebody find a way to turn off the water.” I yell out as the water is pouring down my body and seeping into my clothes.

Soon the water slows down to a trickle and I command the others to move out and finish off any living goblins.

Moving towards the door I notice a goblin trying to crawl its way out. This one is larger than the others and added with it being placed near the back it seems to have been the leader. The body is black and scorched, but despite the evident pain the creature is still struggling to escape.

With no remorse I crouch down and jab my dagger through the skull earning another chimed level.

Standing up I look over the devastated room and sigh heavily after our victory.

Congratulations for completing the Quest:

Survive the First Day

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