When I woke up the next day I was confused. I had been dreaming about a world where kids left on journeys at young ages to develop their whistling skills, every aspect of the world from politics and war to simple childhood fights revolved around the ability to whistle. Like I often did in the mornings I found myself half awake half convinced the real world followed my dream logic. For this reason when I woke up in an unfamiliar place in bed with a good looking naked woman my first reaction was to whistle.

As I began to panic slightly and my heart kicked into high gear with a flush of adrenaline, my memory started to catch up with my mind. On second inspection Clarissa was only half naked. She must have stripped down to her underclothes and then removed her bra revealing her well maintained body and her…. Then I suddenly remembered hearing at some point that it wasn’t healthy for women to wear their bras to bed. My still sleep addled mind took this as an explanation for her bare skin, which was why my next reaction sent me rolling off her bed and onto the floor as I realised that still didn't explain the lack of her other clothes.

Even as I was panicking like this another portion of my mind observed her as she opened her eyes and sleepily considered me. She smiled and yawned subconsciously reaching to scratch an itch on her chest. As I fell out of her bed she was reaching up to cover her breasts with the blanket she had draped over me before falling to sleep herself. As I sat up I saw a blush rising on her face as, as she recounted getting ready for bed the night before. I felt heat on my own face which was made it clear to me that I was at least as embarrassed as she was. Clarissa covered her face with the blanket and wrapped it around herself as she curled up into a ball.

I turned to the doorway to make my exit from the room and suddenly remembered that the door had fallen off the hinges as I entered the room the night before. Two things drew my attention, a pair of pajamas lying on the ground, they were only half unfolded before she must have dropped them to the floor and one of the cups of her bra was peeking out from under them. The other thing I noticed was her father, whose name I still hadn’t learned, standing there watching us.

The old man, who didn’t look as old as he had the day before, stood there glaring at me. I said something, I was in such a panic by this point that I can’t even remember what it was I said. Clarissa and her father both forgot it as well albeit for different reason. Whatever I said caused his face to crack into a smile that was quickly followed snorting and then laughter and him slapping his legs in his sudden mirth.

“Goodmorning Lucas, Ginny has some pancakes going in the kitchen. I’ve got the news on in the livingroom. They keep repeating the same stories every half hour. I think you should watch.

Thankfully the news killed the mood better than any cold shower ever could. In essence the mayor had declared a state of emergency overnight. So had the governors of all fifty states and most of the heads of the world’s governments. The UN elected not to do so, stating that it would be redundant to do so at this point. Numerous reports of dangerously mutated animals attacking people were listed but no details were given because of the excess of incidents. The announcer, who I idly noted wasn’t the regular news anchor, tried to lighten the mood by talking about an incident in Wisconsin where a mutated dairy cow had been killed by a mutated section of pasture grass. “Revenge, like milk is best served cold.”

In the end the news report made it clear that society was collapsing,that we were all likely to die within the year, the pancakes were delicious, and we all had to think about how to survive. Clarissa walked into the room right as her mother carried the pancakes into their living room. Clarissa was carrying four plate and enough tableware to match. Clarissa’s face blushed again when she saw me. I ignored it, it wasn’t a good time for flirting like teenagers, we could do that later if she wanted.

After we finished eating I took a breath and spoke, “System, what options do we have for shelter right now?”

In addition to the CAMPING Projection skill you currently possess, the most optimal option for your current plans would be to purchase an expedition class lander from the Mall. Based on the system data currently at your disposal you can gather the necessary credits within seven days Earth time. This would require cooperation with your current companions to achieve. An alternate option would be to purchase a Journey class lander. This option could be accomplished in five days Earth time and would be able to support you and one other companion. This time could be shortened to four days with the aid of the companion you know as Clarissa. This information has been shared with your companions however, the second option has not been shared with the companion you know as Clarissa as she would refuse to entertain this option at the present moment.

“Well Frank, this is more than I’ve gotten out of this MENU thing. What do you think? Clarissa, Lucas, should we go with this option?”

Clarissa’s dad answered first. “Yeah, I’m worried about this growth rate thing in the status. We both have stunted, what about you two?”

Clarissa took a breath and answered “I have average. You don’t have to help us Lucas, we only met by chance after all. I don’t want you to think you have to take responsibility for us.”

Clarissa’s mom chuckled and I shook my head before responding, “No, I wouldn’t be doing it out of a sense of obligation. You said it yourself yesterday. Keeping me around is convenient for you all. The logic works for you too. I will probably be better off in the long run if we work together now. No need to worry about anything else right now.”

After that we discussed the details of our plans moving forward. Clarissa used the small amount of credits she had earned so far to buy herself a healing spell. Her father bought a set of defensive skills. Her mother bought the Detection Skill and a sword that offered an increased growth rate when used on MONSTERs. The woman wielded the sword with a surprising amount of skill, though she claimed she didn’t buy a skill for it. Once we were ready we all went outside, I moved my car to the side and Frank opened their garage and drove out a pickup truck. Our first task for the day would be to drive to my apartment and pick up some of my things.

“Claire, Lucas, Hop in back. Luke, just knock on the window if you want me to stop.”

I gave him the address and then we were on our way.

“Lucas, I want to apologize for this morning. I was tired and scared last night. I just…. If I could keep my parent safe, I thought anything was okay. I was worried that you would just leave first thing in the morning and leave us to our fates.”

We sat in silence as her father drove down the road.

“If I have to be used by someone then I would prefer they value me…. You smiled when you saw I hadn’t left. Besides….”

We sat a while longer. Eventually she prompted me. “Besides?”

I gave her an awkward cough. It had occurred to me that it isn’t exactly proper to talk about how a lady looks naked in front of her. “Rather, I was thinking that you look nice?”

Clarissa gave me a quizzical look then blushed. It was interesting, the transformation I saw in her. At work she was professional and to the point even as she was worried, and visibly distracted about the safety of her parents. Outside of work she was still strong and confident but that didn’t cause her to constantly on guard. Rather her confidence seemed to show itself in how much she had lowered her guard around me. I felt a smile creeping to my face.

Unfortunately that smile was quickly killed by a large cluster of MONSTERs in my apartment complex. I knocked on the back window of Frank’s truck and pointed to the side of the road. Clarissa’s parents got out of the truck and walked around to the side of the truck bed.

“The whole place is infested with MONSTERs. I think we should go on foot.” Frank nodded and opened the cab of the truck. He reached under the seat and pulled out a shotgun and a pistol.