Runner - You have raised the Skill of Running to an Art •Learn:[Silent Running], Running stamina use -5% •Vit+1 •Learn:[Broken Running], Running stamina use -5% •Dex+1 ? After Megan showed us her Title and its bonuses that she had unlocked Sam suggested that if someone made sandwiches we could all have a bite to eat. It was a bit early for dinner but it had been a hard few hours since lunch. Mike and I decided we would see what we could do. I was glad the sun was shining in the window because I didn't feel like turning on a light and attracting attention. We found out that there was only enough lunch meats to do four sandwiches so we had to use the last of the bread to make two PB&J sandwiches. We both ended up gaining a skill from it.

‡ Basic Cooking Skill Unlocked ‡ ‡ Basic Cooking - Because sometimes we feel like having more than one ingredient in our meals. Increases chance of successful meal. ‡

I carried the plate and set it down on the coffee table, grabbing a PB&J. "Sorry we don't have more but you guys are a little thin on the ground in there."

Sam finally walked away from the window. "Nancy, my wife, was going shopping today." He grabbed a turkey and sat next to Stew, who had stolen our seat on the couch. "I put a point into Per. Almost as soon as I looked out there I gained a new skill."

"I told you dad. Put it into strength, not those second level attributes. If you're big enough they won't even scratch you."

Mike ignored Stew and asked Sam about his skill.

"Its called Analyze. I can see numbers above those monsters out there. Has to do with how strong they are. I might have seen a three but mostly they're just ones. I think we can clear in front of the house, there aren't many. I'll get my .22 and I should be able to take care of them if anything happens while you're out there. Then you might be able to head home and we could stop at the store. See what's what and maybe get enough supplies for us all." "Why not just shoot them all?" Stew asked. "It might attract the wrong kind of attention."

"I only live a few streets over on Burr. I can go at least that far with you." Meagan said.

"It sounds like a good idea. I'm in."

"Me too." I agreed with Mike.

Sam studied Soccer Mom for a minute then nodded to himself before he continued. "Either of you boys need to head home?"

Mike answered first. "My parents were on a day trip to the beach. I was actually hoping I could stick around here for a bit."

"My mom took the bus downtown. She probably wasn't even going to come back until Tuesday." I said.

Mike and Stew both looked at the ground when they heard that. They knew as well as I did what that meant.

"You're welcome to stay here. Hey Dad, when do you think Mom will be back?"

"That's a good question Stew. I'm going to get my pistol from upstairs. Why don't you come up with me?"

"Why, you forget the combo? Cause Mom's the one who keeps track of that."

Sam stood up. "Just come upstairs with me."

The Meagan, Mike, and I stood and moved over to the windows. We each tried to look outside without moving the curtains. After assigning our attributes we all had sufficient Per to get the skill shortly after starting the attempt. Like Sam said it showed numbers. One for each monster. Taking turns pointing out monsters we quickly found out what it felt like to use a skill. I could only use it for about four seconds before the strain was too much.

After resting my eyes I activated it again.

‡ Congratulations! [Analyze] is now level 2, +1 Skill Point ‡

That was quick. Then I had a thought, maybe I could get more information on it. ‡ [Analyze] - Focus on a target and learn what you can, higher levels reveal more information and reduce Stamina use by 1% ‡ ‡ Cost: 5 Stamina per second ‡

"I already gained a point. And did you know this uses Stamina?"

"Whew. I was worried about doing permanent damage with the way my eyes were feeling there. But my [Sprint] uses Stamina too, does that mean this is as tiring as sprinting?" Meagan looked towards me.

"It felt like it."

"Huh." With that she returned to analyzing evil squirrels, Shattered Squirrels according to the info we could see.

I was about to get back to it myself when I heard Stew yelling. "How can you say that! We should at least look!"

There was a brief pause, for Sam to respond.

"I don't know, just somewhere. It's your job..."

That was as much as I could understand. Steve quieted down with only a few garbled phrases audible now and again. I had been looking at the ceiling while listening and turned back to the window when it quieted down. I saw both Meagan and Mike looking up too. They had been listening. We shared some uncomfortable looks and then returned to analyzing monsters outside.

About ten minutes later Sam came down the stairs. He stood in the entry of the living room and spoke into the silence. "My wife was shopping today. She talked about going to the fabric store on the way back but I don't know if she decided to go or not. I have no clue where she might be. I also think cars nowadays aren’t much different from TVs or DVD players. It won't work like it should anymore, it just does what this thing wants."

Sam took a deep breath and looked at the three of us. "You kids haven't even graduated yet but this is a world that will force you to be an adult. Or kill you. I am going to do the only thing I can right now, I'm going to make a safe place for my family, a safe place for my wife to come back to. I would like your help to clean out our street and then go with Stew to the store. After you get what supplies you can you can go on your way, though I would welcome any of you who would like to stay."

Mike and I quickly agreed with his proposal.

Meagan was slower. "I can go with you to the store but I have to go home after that."

"We all have our responsibilities, thank you Meagan."

"But." Meagan hesitated before continuing. "But I will talk to my parents, and maybe we can set up something more?"

Sam smiled at Meagan. "Well that seems like a good idea. I seem to have two new rowdy boys for any heavy lifting you might need." Sam's face grew serious again. "Stew will be down in a bit. You can look through the garage, most of the tools are in there. You should be able to find something to use as a weapon. There is a hammer and I know at least one of you has the skill for that." Sam gave Mike a small smile before he turned away.