The group was standing out in front of the store waiting for Terry to give the all clear when they heard a smashing sound on the left side of the building. Tamara and Izzy ran over to see what was going on and were just in time to see Terry’s body skid across the ground fifteen yards from the building. They looked at the garage door and saw a body sized hole in it.

Claws quickly filled the hole and the door was then ripped apart and out stepped a fifteen-foot-tall monster. It looked like a giant black bear mixed with an ogre. It had black fur but was patching and dead looking, it stood on its hind legs as it walked through the door but then bent over onto its forelegs and walked towards Terry.

The smell hit the women as it came out of the garage, it smelled like decomposing bodies had been left outside to rot and was eaten then crapped out. Izzy drew her sword and rushed to Terry’s side, making it just in time to head off the monster. Tamara stood in shock by the corner, just watching as the thing advanced on Izzy and Terry.

“Terry, wake up!” Izzy shouted as she backed up to his body and back-kicked him. She heard him groan at that and was thankful he wasn’t dead. At least not yet. “Come on Terry, this isn’t the time to sleep on the job.”

The air had been knocked out of him as he was hit and then when he hit the garage door whatever remained had blasted out of him. When Izzy had kicked him, it had made him suck in a breath and he started breathing again. His head felt groggy and he was having a hard time getting full breaths in but he opened his eyes and saw her standing over him with her sword drawn.

As fast as he could he reached into his inventory and grabbed a potion and poured it down his throat, not even minding the taste this time. Luckily the monster was having a good time stalking Izzy so the potion had time to work its magic. In ten seconds, he was as good as new, if still in a bit of pain.

Rolling over and pushing himself up took a lot of his strength but he made it and stood up behind her. Drawing his sword, he stepped to her side.

“Glad you felt like joining me.”

“Ha, oww, don’t make me laugh just yet.” With that he ordered his skeletons to come and jump on the things back. They came running towards it, which made it turn and look at them. He took the distraction to rush the thing and stabbed it right in the eye. Luckily, he pulled his sword out and was able to jump back and dodge the paw the thing swiped at him.

At that moment the five skeletons jumped onto the things back and started to stab it with their swords. It roared back and stood up, shaking three of the skeletons off and onto the ground before it stomped on them, crushing them to dust. He swore under his breath and rushed the thing again, swinging his sword down and across its face.

He caught sight of Izzy running around to his left to get behind the thing and when it tried to swipe at him again, he dodged and brought his sword across the things paw, cutting it deep. It roared and lunged at him, which he barely avoided but could smell its hot stinking breath on his face, which he tried to stab upward with his sword.

She got behind the thing and saw the remaining skeletons cutting and stabbing the thing’s back. She dashed in and slashed at its Achilles tendon but only nicked it. It turned towards her and fell onto its front paws, though was favoring the one that Terry had cut. She cast shield on herself just before the thing lunged and snapped its jaws around her, breaking a couple of teeth but shattering her shield and sending her flying a few yards away.

He cast leech life on the thing and watched as it started to lose health. As it turned to attack him, he saw a laser like light reach out from the corner of the building and strike it right in its remaining eye. It reared up onto its hind legs and spun looking for the source of its pain but with it now blinded it couldn’t find it.

Izzy was back up now and rushed to finish what she had started and aimed for the same spot, this time cutting through the tendon, sending the thing crashing onto its belly. The skeletons had made a mess of the things back and she hopped up on top of it to help them out. Tamara kept sending beam after beam of light to scorch the thing and Terry ran up to the things face and drove his sword straight down into its brain, finishing it off.

He left his sword sticking out of the things head as he fell to the ground and groaned. Izzy and the skeletons hopping off its back and coming around towards him.

“So, uh, what the hell happened?”

He looked at her from the ground, “I was cleaning up inside the garage and when I was done that thing smacked me through the garage door.”

“Ouch, that had to have hurt.”

He just nodded his head.

“Was that the only one in there?”

He stopped nodding his head and slowly started to get up. “I guess we better go find out.” He said as he yanked his sword from the monster’s head.

Izzy and he headed into the garage. Now that the door was mostly open there was enough light to see inside. There was blood all over the place, some of it dried, some of it in pools. Terry saw his torch where it had fallen when he was hit. He went and picked it up. There was nothing above but there were the bays in the garage where it must’ve been sleeping or something.

“How did that thing get in there and kill anything if the garage door was closed?”

“I’m not sure” he said as he took his torch and stuck it down into one of the bays.” It was just as bloody as the garage floor.

Hopping down into the bay he kept the light in front and his sword out, just in case. Making his way to the back of the bay he found nothing but blood, which he secretly picked up what he could. Hopping out of the first bay he went to the second one. At the back of that one was a giant hole, at least twenty feet wide and going down into the ground.

He made his way back up to the garage. “I don’t think we want to stay here tonight. There’s a hole down there that’s huge and goes on for some distance.”

“I agree, let’s loot this place and head out.”

The two went outside, Terry going over to the thing, which he saw was called a Zombie Ogre Bear, looting it and putting the body into his special inventory. Going around front he saw the group huddled together, many of them shaking. “It’s alright guys, we took care of the thing.”

Susan broke away from the group and went up to him and gave him a big hug. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“I’m glad I’m okay as well. Thank you. Also…” He pulled out the smaller of the two bows and a quiver full of arrows and handed them to her. “Here, I got you these, so that you can start practicing.” Her face lit up with joy, even though the weapons were kind of gruesome.

“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you.” She took them and immediately equipped them.

“You’re welcome and I hope it works well for you.” He patted her on the head and saw Bradley approaching. Turning to the boy, “I also got you something.” And hand him one of the two daggers.

“Uh, thanks.” he took the dagger and looked at it. “What is it made of?”

“Bone.”

He immediately dropped the dagger and looked horrified.

“You don’t have to keep it, I just thought it might come in handy.” Terry bent down and picked it up.

“Bradley, don’t be rude.” Susan admonished her brother.

“Uh, sorry, it’s just, I wasn’t expecting it.” He stuck his hand out for the dagger and Terry placed it in his hand.

The rest of the group had already gone into the building to loot the place of its food and drinks. Susan and Bradley both went into the building admiring their new weapons.

“You think it’s a good idea to give them such weapons?” Sam asked.

Sighing, Terry turned around to face the woman. “Yes, they will need them to defend themselves, if need be. And it’s better for them to learn how to use them as soon as they can.”

“They’re only children.”

“Yeah, children in an apocalyptic world. Did you not just see the giant bear thing that we fought? They’ll be fighting things like that before too long.”

“Not if they just stay in a city and not fight.”

Terry shook his head, “do they seem like the kind of kids to just sit back and not do anything?”

“Well, if they were my children, I wouldn’t let them out of my sight in this new world.” With that she turned and walked towards the vehicles.

He made his way into the building and saw that the group had made their way through the store. He cleaned up what they had left behind and grabbed anything he thought would be useful. When he was all done and the store was basically empty, he walked out of the store. The sun was still just barely above the horizon when he had the group start back on the road.

“And why are we not staying at the station?” Sam asked for the tenth time.

“Because the garage was compromised and who knows what else could have come from the tunnel while we were sleeping.”

“Well, we have us a big strong man to protect us.” She said sarcastically.

“You’re free to stay if you want, you know.”

That shut her up. The group didn’t make it too far but they did find a nice grouping of rocks to climb up on for the night. The two remaining skeletons stood on the ground looking out as the last of the light disappeared. Tamara and Izzy were the first to lay down and fall asleep. He couldn’t blame them, that was pretty much their first big fight.

Terry stood at the top of one of the rocks looking out over the area wishing, not for the first time, that he had some sort of night vision spell or something.