Meagan was the first of us to settle on something. She said that she used to play hockey when she was younger so I guess the old taped up hockey stick was a good choice for her. Only a few minutes after that Mike found an axe in a pile of camping equipment. After a few experimental swings he put it on his shoulder and left me alone in the garage. I was having a hard time.

I was swinging around a hammer thinking it would be hard to use it on the 6-inch tall Shattered Squirrels. I settled on a crowbar I found next to a stack of scrap wood. It reached much further than the framing hammer I had been swinging, almost brushing the ground as I gave it a test run. I pretended it was a light saber for a few minutes, then decided I wouldn't find much better.

That settled I returned to the living room to find Soccer Mom sitting up on the couch. I thought it was a good sign until I saw her eyes. They looked way too dead. Stacy had gotten a new diaper made out of a shirt from somewhere and was now sleeping next to her mother.

Sam had returned to the window, this time joined by Meagan. Mike seemed to be messing around with his interface. I joined Sam and Meagan at the window. I quietly asked what was going on. Sam just shook his head and continued staring out.

Meagan replied in a voice as quiet as mine had been. "I'm working on [Analyze]. Sam raised his level and says he can see names and bars next to all of them." "Not quite how strong they are, but kind of how tough. These skills, this system just puts stuff in my head and I'm not sure about all of it." Sam said.

"Sounds like it might be an HP bar. Seems like a it might be useful. Mind if I join you?"

Meagan shook her head and moved to the side to give me room.

Fifteen minutes later both Meagan and I had raised it five levels. We had started by telling each other when we gained a skill point. That quickly turned into a type of contest, where we just said Ding and poked each other in the ribs whenever a notification popped up.

I had just Dinged after a long few minutes without raising it when Stew came down swinging his bat.

Nodding at his dad Stew was much more subdued when he sat back down in his chair. Sam got up and clapped him on his shoulder. "Is everyone ready?"

Mike and Meagan both nodded when I had a sudden thought. "Does anybody wear size 11?"

"I wear a Mens size 11." Meagan replied.

"I'm a 12. Why, what's up?" Sam asked.

"I was hoping I might borrow a pair of boots from someone." Stew and Mike both said they wore size 10.

Sam gave it a minute of thought. "I've got an old pair of work boots. Maybe wearing a few pairs of socks would make them fit."

A little of Stew's energy came through his next comment. "Leave it to Dave to wait until the last minute to get dressed."

I was pretty happy with the boots by the time I put on a couple thick pairs of socks and slipped them on. Just giving them a once over when Sam handed them to me gave me a skill.

‡ Inspect - Sometimes it's nice to know what the hell you got. Higher levels show more information. ‡

‡ Worn Work Boots - Heavy duty boots that have seen a lot of use. ‡

Once I finished tying the laces I got another skill.

‡ Equip - Some people just throw stuff on, you have a purpose. Higher levels allow for higher item bonuses. ‡

Mike wrote the skills down when I mentioned them. He was being way more into it then he ever was with school work. While he did that I remembered the points I got from [Analyze]. Turns out it was enough to get the next bonus with one left over.

Loner - You dealt with your first shattered alone •Attack +5%, Per+1 •Health Regen +1/15min when not in party •Dodge +5%, Dex +1 •XP +5% when not in party ?

"Oh."

"What now." Sam sounded a little exasperated.

"I just unlocked the next bonus on my Title. It increases XP by 5%."

"Nice" Mike wrote it down in his notebook. "Can we clear out the back yard now? Then we can use the side gate to head out onto the street." It didn't seem like a good time to mention that this was the second reference to party in my Title. Also, I had noticed I was getting the health regen bonus which meant we weren't considered a party.

"Sounds good." Mike was the one in our group that played the most strategy games. "The fence should limit what we have to deal with and it gives us more depth to work with. Less chance of being over run."

"Yea." Sam led the way into the kitchen then looked out the window. "I can only see three squirrels sniffing around," Sam pointed to Mike "Left." Me "Right." Stew "Center. Meagan you can help anyone who has any trouble. I'll keep an eye on any others that may show up. If I start shooting then get inside quick."

Stew stepped up and grabbed the knob. "I'm first. Strength before wimps." He yanked the door open and ran forward. Giving a war cry he charged at his six inch target.

I thought I heard Sam sigh as I followed Mike out, but I was too focused on my own six inch terror to be sure.

Stew's furious charge managed to get the attention of all the creatures, not just the three we saw. I focused on the rightmost of the three in front of us while it focused on Stew.

Bringing his bat down Stew missed his own target as it hopped to the side. Mine was about to join Stew's in climbing up his leg when I got there and swung for its head.

Stew dropped his bat and started dancing. "Get it off. Get it off."

I swung just as my target jumped towards Stew. I missed the head I had been aiming for but hit its hind legs. It flipped in the air and struck the ground right where it had jumped from. ‡ Target is Stunned ‡

‡ Improvised Weapon Skill Unlocked ‡

‡ Congratulations! [Stomp] is now level 3, +1 Skill Point ‡ ‡ You have defeated Lvl(1) Shattered Squirrel +31XP ‡

I looked over, ready to help Stew, only to see Meagan sweep the squirrel off him with the hockey stick. She then wound up and slapped the squirrel clear across the yard and into the fence. Stew grabbed his bat and ran over to start beating it.

"David. Watch the fence." Hearing Sam I ran my eyes over the fence in time to see four more jumping into the yard and bounding towards me.

I started swinging my crowbar, forcing them to break off or be hit. Three veered around while one zoomed under a swing. I continued swinging at the three while I lifted a foot for a [Stomp].

‡ Congratulations! [Stomp] is now lvl 4, +1 Skill Point ‡

I was surprised when I lifted up my foot and found the squirrel still alive as well as wildly attacking everything it could reach while it tumbled around. Oh, well. Once more for luck.

‡ You have defeated Lvl(1) Shattered Squirrel +31XP ‡