~~~~~~

Arthur

~~~~~~

Arthur gripped his two pipes tight as he felt the strange force let go of him and drop him onto the street ahead of the crowd.

His ears rang with screams and explosions as he stumbled to a stop. Arthur glanced up as the old man flew ahead of them towards a zombie with glowing red eyes and he flinched when the small dog howled behind him.

The Beast Lord… but Arthur didn't take his eyes off the scene ahead as the zombie abruptly tipped forward and crashed into the ground just as a metal post pinned its head to the ground. The old man turned in the sky looking for more targets.

"Arthur!" samantha screamed. He tore his eyes away from the flying man and saw her thrust her spear clumsily into a zombie's head while trying to stay away from another.

"Brave girl," he thought, "and learning fast."

He swung one of the pipes and the zombie went down just as a booming bark made his ears ring.

He saw the dog disappear in a cloud of dust as it chased after the glowing-eyed zombie that was tumbling across the parking lot. "A pug… that little thing…" He shook his head in disbelief.

Two street signs exploded out of the ground in a spray of concrete and he saw a man fall in front of a zombie when the dust and dirt rained over him. Arthur ran and kicked the zombie back before it could jump on the other man. A loud screech cut off abruptly in the distance.

Arthur bashed in the zombies head and then helped the fallen man to his feet. All around them, people and zombies battled desperately.

Another booming Bark sounded and he saw the pug dash after the red-eyed zombie. "We're winning!" he thought hopefully as he and the man he had helped, killed another two zombies on the way to Samantha.

Then a loud roar sounded out from the direction of the store. Arthur looked over and his heart sank. "It's even bigger…" His thought was interrupted when he saw every zombie in his sight gain the red glows in their eyes.

Something blurred through the air and the big zombie was suddenly holding something which it immediately threw, before leaping into the sky. Arthur's eyes tracked it until it collided with the old man and they both went flying in opposite directions.

The old man slammed into a tree and Arthur was sure he must be dead. Samantha started running towards the downed man but pulled up short when the larger zombie soared overhead and landed in front of the man, a sweeping, clawed strike sent him and the tree behind him tumbling out of sight into the small woods.

Samantha looked back at Arthur before she hefted her wooden spear and continued running after the old man and the zombie. "We are all going to die here."

A wave of newly glowing red eyes leapt towards him and he instinctively swung the two metal tubes against each other as he activated his skill.

Zombies tumbled back through the air and the man next to him yelled something he couldn’t hear and gestured behind him. Arthur turned as his head spun and weakness tugged at his arms but he managed to smash the metal together again and more zombies flew away.

He collapsed to his knees as his Mana drained to empty and a small gray pug blurred into place in front of him. "Hi pup."

The dog's head was turning slowly as if scanning the area before it abruptly stopped and the pug vanished.

A wall of sound, air, dirt, dead leaves and small rocks lifted Arthur into the air and threw him tumbling into a heap on the ground. "What the…" His ears were ringing when the world around him rumbled and vibrated and a notification appeared.

You have felt the Wrath of the Beast Lord.

You are stunned.

A boom from the trees shook him and the Debuff vanished. He sat up and saw that every zombie with glowing eyes was thrashing and flailing on the ground until a heartbeat later, when they all simultaneously collapsed and went still.

Arthur sat there exhausted until he regenerated enough Mana and Stamina to feel alive again. The man he had helped moved off after Arthur assured him he was okay.

While he waited he watched the remaining humans, a surprising number he thought, as they streamed by heading for the grocery store. A few of them were carrying makeshift weapons and moving around the outside of the group, calling out directions and killing the occasional zombie that wandered into the area.

He saw small children in the crowd and his heart ached for them as they clutched at their parents or in some cases, stared blankly ahead as others led them forward.

The whole time Arthur kept glancing to the tree line where Samantha had followed the old man and where he thought the dog must have gone. A deduction due mostly to the trail of destruction leading into the trees. He was waiting for someone or something to emerge, either the old man, or the zombie, in which case everyone here would probably die. Though the way all the Red Eyed zombies had collapsed gave him some hope.

But nothing emerged.

When he could stand, he started walking to the trees with a heavy heart. "Please don't be dead."

Another man stepped up next to him as he walked. "Did you see something in there?" He asked Arthur.

Arthur glanced at the man whose dark skin was visible through a disturbing number of what looked like clawed and chewed holes in his clothes.

"Did you see the big zombie?" Arthur asked the man instead of answering.

"I don't think so…" He responded. "Only the normal ones and some with red eyes." He whistled softly. "Man those sons of bitches are a bloody nightmare."

Arthur nodded. "Yes, a nightmare is a fair..."

He stumbled when he caught sight of something ahead but the man next to him caught him in a surprisingly strong grip and held him up.

"Oh Samantha…" Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes as he entered the small clearing and looked at the scene before him.

Off to the side the big zombie was lying motionless and headless and missing an arm as well. In front of Arthur the old man was sitting on the ground with the pug curled up in his lap. His eyes were blank and streaks of dried blood could be seen on his cheeks and in his white beard and mustache. His clothes were torn and filthy.

He was staring at a woman's head lying in the dirt while his hands were gripping the wooden spear and twisting it around over and over.

The pug’s head popped up when they stepped into view but immediately dropped back down with a small whine. Its eyes looked mournfully up at the old man before its eyelids drifted shut again.

"Wow! That is a big one." The man next to Arthur said loudly. "Nice work…"

Arthur stopped him with a hand on his arm and silently shook his head when the man looked at him. The other man looked back and forth before he nodded and made a walking away gesture with his fingers and pointed at himself.

Arthur nodded and tried to muster a grateful smile but he couldn’t pull it off. He heard footsteps receding behind him as he looked at the old man and the bloody head in front of him. "Did he kill her?" He wondered but quickly dismissed the idea.

He knew the guy was at least a bit unstable and who wasn’t after this nightmare started, but he didn’t think that was what had happened.

Arthur moved slowly, like he was approaching a wild animal, as he stepped up next to the old man. He glanced down, Samantha’s glassy eyes were open on her ravaged face and he grimaced and looked away. “Mind if I sit down?” he asked softly.

“I never learned her name.” The man whispered.

Arthur sighed and sat down in the dirt a couple feet away. “It was Samantha.” Arthur said with sorrow in his words. “I never did learn her last name… We only met a few times. Though I did learn not to call her Sam.” His lips pulled up into a small, sad smile. “Said she’d punch me if I did it again… and I believed her.”

“Samantha…” The man whispered.

“She worked at a restaurant I went to a few times.” Arthur continued, a frown pulled at his lips. "I was there when this all started." He paused. "It feels like such a long time ago… but it was only last night."

He continued, "she told you that she didn't pick a better class because she thought it was a hallucination but that wasn't the whole story." He glanced at her head again and quickly looked away.

"Moments after we got the message, someone crashed in front of the restaurant and she ran to help." He ran a hand through his hair and blew out a breath. "It was bad. A man was under the car and in a bad way, bad enough that we didn't want to pull him out. The phones were already down by then and cars failed shortly afterward."

"She stayed with him." He said quietly. "Until the end." He paused for a few moments. "And then it was too late, we got the Dungeon Alert, people were screaming and dying out in the dark. When the Miasma appeared and the man she had been comforting tried to eat her… well we ran and hid in the restaurant's cooler."

He was quiet for a while. "We spent the rest of the night there. Until what feels like only an hour ago, we heard Dan yelling and she wouldn’t stay put any longer."

“She was a brave woman… maybe a bit too brave.” He glanced at the man next to him. He was still staring at her head and twisting the spear in his hands. “She’s the one who saved Dan from the rat that had gotten ahold of him.” He smiled. “You should have seen her, screaming her head off while she kicked at the rat. I think she spooked it, rather than injured it, but it ran away squealing nonetheless.”

“It was going to kill me.” The old man whispered. Arthur didn't say anything, just waited for him to continue.

“And she stabbed it…" The old man said, still whispering. "Right through the head.” He gestured with the spear.

“She was learning so fast.” Arthur thought, but he held his tongue as the other man continued.

“But it didn’t die… Why did she do it?” His bloodshot eyes turned to Arthur. “Didn’t she see how strong it was? I didn’t even know her name… She didn’t even know my name!” His voice rose in volume for the last bit.

Arthur shook his head. “I don’t know why she followed you.” He shivered and tore his gaze away from the old man and his disturbing soul skill and looked at Samantha. “Maybe she wanted to repay you for saving us before… or maybe she knew that thing would kill us all as soon as it finished with you.” He shuddered and drew in a slow, cold breath. "Maybe she just wanted to help."

“We should bury her at least.” He finally said, and looked back into the bloodshot eyes that were searching his own for answers.

“Yes…” The disturbing gaze turned from him and he flinched when the ground shuddered beneath him. He turned to see a large block of dirt lift up out of the ground at the foot of a tree and settle back down to the side. Samantha’s body floated silently over and disappeared into the hole followed by her head. The dirt poured back in until a small pile of dirt next to a tree was the only sign of what happened.

He flinched again when a scratching sound intruded on the silence. Letters were carving themselves into the tree above the grave. When the small woods were once again silent Arthur read aloud, “Samantha Rest in Peace”. He swallowed back the lump in his throat and glanced down to see a faint glow.

“Is that…?” He whispered, horrified.

“Yes.” The old man said sadly. “That is her Core.”

Arthur felt sick looking at the small thing. "Humans drop cores…" The implications were not lost on him. “A lot of humans will die to other humans.”

The glowing core floated slowly into the air and settled into the old man’s hand. “It’s only a chip…” He said. “I wonder if mine is as well.” He whispered and then held it out to Arthur.

“You knew her better than me. Why don’t you take it?”

Arthur almost fell over as he scrambled backwards. “No, no! I… I couldn’t… just, no.”

The old man nodded. “Yea it feels a bit… not good.” He lifted the spear and the core floated into the air and up against the spear where it slowly sank edged side first, into the wood, until only the barest hint of a glowing line was visible. “She made something special here.” He said as he gazed at the spear. “Do you think she would mind if I kept it?”

“No...” Arthur told him. “I don't think she would mind.” He looked up at the sky visible between tree branches. He couldn’t see the sun but the sky was definitely getting darker. “We should get inside with the others before dark.” He shuddered. “I don’t want to see what comes out tonight.” He held a hand out towards the man. “I’m Arthur. I’m glad to have met you.”

“Stanley.” He said but didn’t take his hand. Instead he stared up at the sky and whispered something that Arthur couldn’t hear.

“Will you punch me if I call you Stan?” Arthur asked in a weak attempt to bring a smile out.

Stanley floated upright and into the air with the pug still curled up in front of him. “No.” He whispered into the cold gloom. “You can call me whatever you want.” The pug lifted its head with a whine and Stanley kissed the top of his head, then gently floated the dog inside his jacket, where it snuggled into his chest as he zipped back up.

On the way to the store they passed his backpack, surprisingly intact with only one strap ripped off but all the contents still secure inside. Arthur watched the man nervously as they both walked back, at least when he wasn’t jumping at every sound as the wind rattled through the trees.

Inside the store Stanley sat down at the end of an aisle just past the front doors where people were hurriedly trying to build barricades and pile up whatever they could find as obstacles.

Someone had placed a glowing ball of light inside and above the doorway. Its light didn’t reach far into the deepening gloom outside but did provide some light inside the front of the store.

“I’ll be here.” Stanley said softly to Arthur. “Call me if anything dangerous shows up somewhere else.”

Arthur left him there and went looking for whoever was organizing things. He found the man from earlier, with the shredded clothes, who appeared to be giving orders that were being listened to and obeyed.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

Arthur followed the man, who introduced himself as Nate, around the store as he handed out candles and matches. He also was instructing a young man, who was summoning little balls of light, on where to place them.

When the summoner ran out of Mana, Nate gave him encouraging words of gratitude and praise. Arthur could see that it meant a lot to the youngster just by the look on his face when Nate moved on.

"He seems to have a handle on leading these people." Arthur thought. At the very least everyone who interacted with him, did so with respect and gratitude visible on their faces.

Along the way Arthur told him everything he knew about the old man. How powerful he was, how Arthur was pretty sure that the pug was even more powerful.

Nate seemed to accept that news well since apparently he had gotten the same stun effect from the ‘Beast Lord’ as it seemed everyone in the area had. He even looked happy about it since he had thought there was another dangerous monster lurking somewhere outside and now he had found out it was one of their allies.

Arthur told him about his observations of the man’s mental state. “I don’t know exactly what's going on in there but I’m glad he has his dog to comfort him.” He told him about the outburst on the roof and how the dog had stopped it. “I recommend that nobody mess with the dog. Not that anyone here could even hurt it.” He added. “But we need him to stay with these people.” He shuddered at the thought of another monster like the last one appearing.

“He also said something about a healer to the north.” He added.

Nate perked up at that bit of news. “We had a healer in the beginning.” He shook his head. “The first Red-Eye we met went straight after him… never had a chance.”

Arthur opened his mouth but didn’t speak as they came around the end of the aisle and saw the man they had been discussing. Three men were crowding around him where he sat on the floor. His pack was next to him, bags of jerky plainly visible in the open top, as he fed a strip to the pug sticking its head out from his jacket.

One of the men near him was speaking and as they approached he heard what he was saying.

“...starving and you’re hoarding food and feeding a fucking dog!”

Arther felt his heart sink. “Oh no.”

“You’re going to share with everyone.” The man finished.

“No.” Stanley said. “Go away.” He fed the half asleep dog another strip that it ate with its eyes closed.

Arthur watched Nate quickly take it all in and start walking towards the confrontation.

The man that was demanding food leaned forward and reached for the bag while he laughed. “Hah! I'm not scared of you. I'm the second strongest here, and I wasn’t asking...” His hand paused when he saw the spear leaning behind the bag.

“Nice stick but since I didn’t see you fighting out there, you obviously don’t need this.” He reached to take the spear and his body froze just before his fingertip touched the wood while small gasping and choking sounds came from his mouth.

The other two men with him glanced back and forth for a moment, confused about why the man wasn't moving. “What did you do?” One of them finally said.

Stanley ignored them and one yelled. “Stop it!” They both stepped closer and reached for him and like the first, both froze immediately. Heads turned to look at the shouting while the scruffy and white-bearded old man calmly pulled another strip of jerky out of the bag and fed it to the dog. The three men floated slowly, up off the ground.

~~~~~

Nate

~~~~~

“Hi! Stanley, right?” Nate casually sat down cross legged in front of him. "Definitely on the edge." Nate thought. A wild emotion, raw and unfocused, was in those eyes but it vanished and was replaced by a very focused and very deadly attention as those eyes slid to Nate.

"He sees me as a potential threat." Nate realized, even as his own instincts screamed at him and started flooding his body with adrenaline in preparation for a life and death struggle.

“I’m Nate.” He smiled. “Arthur told me what you and this adorable pup did for us.” He gestured at the dog with one hand and immediately regretted the movement.

"That was a mistake." He realized, as he immediately felt something invisible wrap completely around him and clamp down, tight. A wild and primal fear was surging in the old man's eyes.

"Very protective of his dog." He thought as he took in the way it was tucked inside his jacket with one arm wrapped protectively around it.

"Only option now is to go all in on the dog."

Nate kept his smile in place as he fought against the pressure, just enough to slowly move the back of his hand near the dog. He felt death breathing down his neck.

“Is it okay if I pet him?” He asked, still smiling even as sweat started breaking out across his body from the strain. "Always befriend the dog."

“Sure…” Stanley said softly, cautiously, his eyes locked on Nate’s hand as whatever had grabbed him eased up slightly. The wooden spear that Nate hadn't seen move, now hovering in the air, stopped advancing and hung poised above him like a snake coiled to strike.

"Please be friendly." Nate thought desperately as he fought against his instincts that wanted him to fight for his life. Instead he held the back of his hand up to the pug who sniffed at it. One slightly bulging eye rolled over and cracked open to look at him. "Poor thing." He thought. "Such a deformed breed…" His train of thought was shattered when he made eye contact with the dog.

His senses told him that a small, weak little pug was looking at him and sniffing his hand.

But his instincts saw something else.

Beast Lord

Inside that dog was a sleeping monster. No, not sleeping, he realized. Waiting. Waiting for anything that would threaten its happy place. A monster that covered the world in its shadow while simultaneously hiding unseen in the corner of his eye, its teeth hovering around his throat.

Nate's heart stuttered and his instincts that had carried him through a highly successful career as a professional fighter. His instincts that more recently had given him the edge to not only survive but thrive in this new world and lift him beyond what had been the limits of humanity. His instincts didn't scream at him of danger, no. His dependable, life saving, primal instincts told him to be friendly… and nice...

The Beast Lord sniffed once and then it was over. The pug’s eye slid shut and it sighed with a small whine and nuzzled its face back into the old man. Nate had been Seen and deemed acceptable. And had, at that moment, also come to the realization that form no longer mattered at all when it came to power.

Intuition +1

Nate managed to hold onto his smile, while his mind rapidly processed the new information and pushed it away to be analyzed later.

He gently stroked the top of the dog's head, his hand steady despite the adrenaline. "I think he likes me." He said softly, somehow keeping his voice calm and at the same time realized his instincts were in agreement with his statement.

"Damnit Arthur!" He thought. "I know you told me it was the dog but maybe you could have emphasized it a bit more." He hadn’t really believed that ridiculous story. "It's a freaking pug!" But now… Stanley was watching him closely, and seeing who knows what with those eyes. Nate slowly sat back and gave them both their space.

"He likes everyone." Stanley finally said dismissively. "He's a teddy bear."

"Bullshit! He is not a…" He calmed his mind with a force of will and years of practice at keeping his cool under pressure. There was almost a hint of a smile on that old face. "He knows I saw something."

Then it was gone and Stanley was back to staring at him with that strange energy in his eyes. “A sensory ability of some kind.” Nate guessed. "Has to be. Also something you forgot to mention Arthur."

“I want to thank both of you.” He said to Stanley, hiding his thoughts as he forced his mind back to the reason he was here.

The old man gave no reaction, only continued to study him with those disturbing eyes.

“The two of you saved a lot of lives today." Nate continued as he looked at the blood and dirt covering the man. "And I can see that it must have been quite an ordeal.” And yet somehow, the dog still appeared spotless.

He glanced at the frozen men around him whose faces were starting to look a bit blue. He saw that two of them couldn’t breathe and the third, their idiot leader was barely pulling in tiny gasps. “These fellows here also fought hard and saved many lives today. Understandably they are also tired and all our fuses may be a bit short right now. So could you do me a favor and let them go?” "Please don't escalate this." He thought.

“Why are you so much brighter than everyone else?” Stanley asked him with a curious look in his eye.

"Did you hear a word I said?" Nate thought as he strained to hold onto his smile. “But I was right about the ability.” He took a breath. “I think I know what you're seeing and I would be happy to tell you all about it, but first could you?” He gestured at the frozen men. "They can't breathe."

Stanley glanced up and looked surprised to see the men, two of whom collapsed and the third who suddenly gasped and staggered as he backed up.

"Did he actually forget about them?" He wondered. "Just what is that ability… Arthur said it was Telekinesis or something like it but…"

Fear was in the idiot's eyes as he gasped for breath and stared at the old man who grimaced at the men collapsed near him. Their unconscious bodies slid slowly away across the floor. Nate could hear their heartbeats still going strong even as they started breathing again. Nate sighed internally. “Great, now I’ll have to soothe their damaged egos, but at least they're alive." These fellows had terrible instincts. "Why did you idiots have to pick the absolute worst person to antagonize?”

The spear settled back down to lean against the shelf." Thanks. I appreciate it.” Nate told Stanley with a forced smile.

“Tell me about…” Stanley started but trailed off, his eyes widened, and pupils dilated as he looked past Nate’s shoulder towards the darkness outside. Nate saw fear fill those eyes, quickly replaced by rising anger.

Nate heard it then, the rapid scratching of claws against cement. A sound that after today he fully expected to feature in his nightmares.

Something crashed through the flimsy barricade in the doorway at the same time that a voice screamed. “Red-Eye!!!”

Nate’s powerful body surged to its feet easily in a smooth motion and he had to be careful to not launch himself into the ceiling or even just into the air.

His maneuver left his feet sliding over the floor as he spun in place, legs bent and ready to move him in any direction. Power surged through him and glows began forming around his hands and feet as he prepared to face the threat.

Thanks to his enhanced perception allowing him the time to take in everything as he turned, when he stopped he had the full picture. So he stayed in his fighting stance but held his ground.

A zombie hung motionless in the air. Frozen mid lunge, with reaching claws outstretched and mere inches from the trembling man before it. The same idiot who had been harassing Stanley moments before.

The man toppled backwards onto the floor and scrambled away while screaming. Nate watched him go and looked back at the zombie. He could see its muscles flexing and spasming as it struggled to move.

Nate remembered the strength of those muscles. He had blocked a strike one time and it nearly broke his arm. Luckily the zombies still utilized the same body mechanisms as the humans they had once been. His newly gained power had allowed him to cripple them in short order, at least once he got used to the wild, animalistic way they fought.

The zombie strained those powerful muscles but all it could manage to do was glare at them with its glowing red eyes. “No.” He realized. “Not at us. At him.” He turned his head slightly and looked to the side. The old man had one hand outstretched towards the zombie. His hand was trembling slightly and bright red blood was oozing from his eyes and nose. His lips were moving behind his blood stained beard and over the cachopany of people screaming and feet scrambling as the others prepared to fight, Nate heard his whispering.

“No. No more running. No more fighting. Just... Die.” His hand clenched into a fist. The zombie’s outstretched arms, that ended in bloody clawed hands, crumpled down into its body while simultaneously its legs collapsed up into it, all with loud cracking and squelching sounds. Its neck disappeared as its head tried to sink between its shoulders. “My Will...” Stanley said in a barely audible whisper as blood dripped past his lips. “...will be done.”

Nate heard the spine crunch loudly as the body collapsed further inward.

“Ah, wait a sec." Stanley was smiling a dark, bloody smile. "I forgot, I have something for you.” The old man whispered as the glow in the zombie’s eyes started to dim. There was a snap and Nate saw the wooden spear appear inside of the zombie's face.

“Blood for blood.” Stanley murmured as the spear slid slowly and inexorably through the zombie’s head and then the rest of the torso behind the head. The now blood soaked spear floated back to the old man as the zombie, its one remaining eye dark, collapsed further into an almost perfect sphere.

A small whine sounded in the silent building. Nate looked away from the zombie sphere and saw the pug licking at the old man's bloody face as he whimpered.

“Sorry Caff.” The man murmured. “I know you're still hungry. Here.” He pulled another piece of jerky out of his bag and with shaking hands, slowly broke it into smaller fragments to feed to the dog.

A heavy thud and a crack brought his attention back to the former zombie, now the size of a basketball, and the cracked floor where it had landed. A quick glance around let him see the terror on many faces as the fighters who had gathered were looking back and forth between the old man and the zombie and realizing what had just happened. “Gotta do this right.” He smiled his best smile and broke out into a deep belly laugh.

“Hahaha. That was great Stanley.” He turned to the old man and felt that same jolt when they made eye contact. “You don’t need to show off so dramatically though.” He continued, his eyes trying to convey his desire for the man to go along with him. "Next time just kill it quickly."

He laughed again. "But I guess this way everyone now knows that they can sleep safely tonight." He continued, making sure to speak loudly enough for everyone to hear.

“I know we will all be grateful for that.” Out of the corner of his eye he saw the people’s expressions changing from fear of the monster in their midst to relief and realization that this monster was someone who would keep the other, worse monsters, away tonight.

Stanley didn’t say anything and when Nate finished his performance and started giving people instructions, he went back to feeding the dog.

Nate’s enhanced senses could hear the man murmuring to the pug. “Eat as much as you want and have a nice cozy nap. I’ll keep watch for you." He glanced over once to see him kiss the top of the dog's head. "Good boy." He whispered.

"Two bloody monsters."

When Nate came back around the pug was hidden under the zipped up jacket and small yips and twitches were coming from underneath as he dreamed of a hopefully happier day than this one. Arthur was sitting near the old man and talking quietly while holding a pack of wet wipes. Stanley was cleaning his face while staring at the now blood stained spear hovering in front of him.

Nate paused near the now wide open doorway and his foot took on a faint shimmer as he kicked the former zombie, now meatball, out into the darkness and picked up the core that was underneath it. "Plus to all… damn." He considered giving it to one of his fighters but decided it was better to keep the newcomer on his side rather than gain a few measly points. There would be more, he was sure of it.

"Thanks for saving one of my people and killing that," he said as he sat down next to Stanley, this time facing the door, and handed him the core. Stanley accepted it silently and it dissolved into his hand. "Were you testing us?" Nate wondered. "Waiting to see who came for the core?"

"So why are you brighter?" Stanley asked.

"Straight to the point." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "It's no secret, I'm up to E Rank."

Stanley nodded slowly, understanding dawning. "All Stats to twenty?" he asked.

"Yes." Nate nodded.

"How did you pull that off?" Stanley asked. "I'm not even close yet." He looked out the door into the dark. "Dammit!" He cursed under his breath. "I forgot about the other cores."

"He wasn't testing anything… he just forgot… and... wait a minute!" He realized something. "You did all that at F Rank?" Nate suppressed a shiver. "I was close by the time I fought my way out of the city and after the first Red-Eye, I convinced everyone to give me all their cores to push me over the edge." He told Stanley.

"How bad is the city?" Stanley asked.

"It's... bad. Between the undead and… well everything else." He shook his head. "I never realized how much wildlife lived in the city before this."

"So how'd you get out?"

Nate smiled sadly. "I was a professional fighter before this and… well it let me improve quickly." He mimed boxing with his hands and a faint glow covered his fists.

"You unlocked an extra attribute didn't you?" Stanley asked.

Nate hesitated. "How would you… you did too." He guessed, as he realized that if Stanley knew about that, then he must have unlocked one as well.

"Soul." Stanley told him.

Nate nodded slowly. "Yes I got one, right at the start of all this. It was Intuition."

Stanley was looking closely at something only he could see as he smiled slightly. "I knew it. I knew you saw something in Caff here, most people don't see it but you reacted to something."

Nate smiled slightly. "He is not a teddy bear."

"Of course he is!" Stanley objected. "He just wants cuddles, belly rubs and snacks. Also chasing sometimes." He was smiling as he looked down at the dreaming pug under the jacket.

"Still a human in there… just wounded." Nate thought.

"What did it do?" Stanley asked him, changing the subject. "When you ranked up?" Nate glanced over at Arthur who was also listening.

"It hurt." He said softly. "For maybe an hour. But afterwards… it was like my Attributes all got more, well more." When Stanley just stared at him he clarified. "Every time I gain a point now it feels like a bigger gain." He paused then added. "Unfortunately the F Rank cores now only give me point one and sometimes nothing, no more lucky point fives." He sighed. "That one you just absorbed, what did you get?"

"Plus one to all." Stanley told him.

"Yea, I wish I had those before." He said. "Now all it gives me is point one to all. Better than the chips, sure but it's going to be a grind from here."

Stanley was staring out the door. "I don't think you should worry about that." He said. "I'm pretty sure everything out there is leveling, or evolving, whatever you want to call it. You'll get your cores… probably more than you want." He added in a whisper.

Nate was silent for a minute before he started speaking hesitantly. "Speaking of what we want… how much food do you have." Stanley looked at him and he quickly added. "I'm not saying that you have to share, it's just… Well a lot of our combat capable people have Hungry Debuffs. That on top of the Miasma…" He sighed. "This store had a lot less food than I had hoped."

"Not enough." Stanley said and opened his pack to show only two bags of jerky remained as well as some bottled water. "But…" He said, as a grin grew on his face. "How do you feel about some giant rat meat?"

Nate stared at the white-bearded, grinning old man. "What are you?..." He thought about it and shrugged. "I guess I'd try it at this point." Stanley looked out into the night and something squealed. Arthur jumped and Nate smiled. "I was wondering if you saw them." Nate remarked to Stanley.

Stanley nodded. "I was hoping for a swarm leader to show up." When they looked curiously at him he explained. "About four times bigger than the small ones, smart, oh and it spits acid."

Arthur shook his head and muttered under his breath. Nate smiled knowingly. "The good Cores?"

Stanley nodded and there was another squeal outside. "So… Do either of you know how to butcher a rat? Or anything, for that matter."

They both shook their heads before Nate suddenly snapped his fingers. "There was a guy that joined us… had a bow and said something about being a hunter." He stood up. "I'll go find him."

Later that night, Nate watched his people, many of whom now sat around a firepit inside the store as meat roasted over the fire. Stanley had ripped small holes in the ceiling above, which mostly let the smoke out and Nate had helped move away some shelves to provide more space. Now Stanley was feeding raw chunks of meat to the dog after wrestling him away from one of the corpses and muttering about blood showers.

The Hunter, a man named Marshall, hadn't been bothered by the idea of eating rats, though they all let Nate try it first, just in case, because he had the highest stats. And despite Stanley’s assurance that the dog had eaten a large portion of the leader with no ill effects.

Stanley had caught most of the viscera from the butchering and had thrown it into the parking lot for, as he called it, bait.

A few people in the group had decided against eating the meat but most were just glad to have something hot to put in their bellies as they crowded around the warmth of the fire. They even gained a small buff to Regeneration from the meat.

Nate dozed nearby. His improved rank came with many perks, including requiring less sleep and his enhanced senses allowed him to doze while still listening for threats to his people.

"My people." He felt some pride in what he had accomplished so far but he knew it was only the beginning. Nate knew that if humanity was going to prevail in this new world, they would have to work together. A tale as old as time, yes. But they needed more than just the people like himself and Stanley.

The violent Destroyers.

They would need someone who could clean and dress a kill. Someone who could cook it. Someone who could grow food.

The Creators.

Someone to build homes, provide plumbing, make clothes, armor, weapons and art.

Someone to love. To raise children with.

All the trappings that turned humanity away from simply being animals and helped them be Human. He would see that part of humanity upheld. A lofty, maybe impossible goal, but someone had to do it.

He chuckled quietly to himself when he saw Stanley, who had insisted he would hold the door, now asleep. His chin on his chest and a snore on his lips. Nate didn't bother him, the man was burning it at both ends and sleep could only help.

The dog, whom he had learned was named Caffeine, was lying in the man's lap and staring out into the night. Occasionally Nate could hear him let out the smallest of woofs and huffs and every time Nate heard something scrambling away outside. When Stanley stirred and yelled at something in his nightmares, the dog would sit up and lick his face until he calmed back down. "Dog people…" Nate shook his head but a smile lingered.

Content in the knowledge that the monsters were on his side tonight, he dozed, lightly.