Lindon’s breath was ragged as his left side burned with pain. Warm blood trickled down his waist. One hand was being used to clutch the wound at his side, but the pressure did little to help as blood continued to seep between his fingers. As one of their top Scouts, he thought that he had gotten used to fighting and starting potential death in the face. Yet now that his back was literally against a wall, death felt closer than ever.
Time seemed to slow down as the Warrior standing before him just laughed with a maniacal grin, happily drawing out the final blow to end Lindon’s life. As his mind raced to think of some way to survive, his life began to flash before his eyes. From his childhood to growing up and going to college. To the start of the Apocalypse, and eventually the events from just earlier today that had directly led up to this moment.
---
It’d been a day just like any other. Survival wasn’t easy with the constant threat of undead and other monsters, but the survivors here had managed by sticking together as a group. While the company town of Glendale had mostly been spared from the explosion on that fateful day, the residential zone just across the river had not been so lucky. And since the initial explosion of the Apocalypse had been on most people’s day off, it meant that most of Glendale’s population perished right from the start. Which left the remaining minority like Lindon to try and just explore their new reality one day at a time.
“Why couldn’t I have moved somewhere with more grocery stores and malls,” Lindon grumbled to himself for not the first time. He stared down at the now empty can of food in his hand as his mouth tried to recall the taste of actually fresh produce.
The lifeblood and core of Glendale had been around the big lumber business that basically built and owned the town. Yet while the town did have schools and shops of its own, those amenities were relatively few in number. So as they had spent the last two months scavenging for whatever they could, the supply of packaged food and water was becoming ever more hard to find. It was only a matter of time until scarcity became an emergency, and then…
The young man sighed as he tossed the empty can aside. To think he came here for the always-hiring lumber trade while he got a degree for his actual dream job at the college over in the big city. Now they would eventually need to leave Glendale and likely seek out the city. Though due to the unknown dangers and fear of leaving the shelter they had managed to build for themselves, it hadn’t been a real option so far. But sooner or later, their hand would be forced to take the risk. He was sure of that much, at least.
From an original population of over 5000, the explosion immediately cut that figure down to somewhere in the hundreds. Lindon wasn’t sure of where the exact number was at that point. But what he did know was that over the course of the last two months, it had just continued to dwindle downward. There were those who technically survived the initial blast but sustained heavy injuries, to which they succumbed within the following days.
But the main culling came from the undead. When people still had no idea what they were doing and were panicked, not everyone won their first encounter against a group of Skeletons. Lindon personally found it almost funny that so many died from what would now be disregarded as just the weakest of enemies, in a morbid and somehow ironic kind of way. Then there were people who had family outside of Glendale and left to never return, or those whose families had died in the explosion and simply lost the will to keep living.
Nobody knew exactly how many they started from, and consequently how many had been lost. Only that now everyone still alive, more or less, had gathered together under a single banner. If there was one advantage of living in a town centralized around the lumber trade, it was that there was plenty of building material around.
Though the machines used to process more, along with seemingly every form of technology, had mysteriously stopped working since the Apocylpse’s start. While every attempt and then some had been made to fix them, nothing had worked. Even guns were made into just fancy twigs. Though exactly how those had been rendered inert, nobody knew or could rationally explain as anything but magic.
In any case, the supply of material they did have was used to construct defenses. Walls to keep out the roaming undead, towers for people to keep watch, and such. So after all the monsters within the immediate area of their little commune were cleared out, things eventually became considerably more peaceful for those who stayed within the walls.
Lindon was staring out of one of said towers right now. It was just him and himself for company up there, and he couldn’t help but space out a bit. As a Scout, he was perfectly suited for the job too with his handy bow and arrow to simply shoot the undead from where he stood. But nothing ever really happened aside from the occasional monster sighting. And it wasn’t like the undead were ever sneaky, so he could probably get away with taking a nap and would just wake up upon hearing them.
At least the technically important position of guard duty meant getting a bit higher quality rations, so that perk was fairly nice. As he then just casted a lazy look around after now finishing his meal, something caught his attention.
“Wait, what’s that?” Lindon asked himself while squinting. There was movement. But rather than from further within town like usual, it was actually coming toward them from outside of it.
Four people were heading their way, each one running and moving rather quickly at that. None were close enough to identify their Classes and Levels, but even from afar, he didn’t immediately recognize them. He didn’t recall such a group leaving recently, nor had he been informed to be on the lookout for their expected return.
Wait, could they actually be other survivors? People from the city, maybe even here to rescue us? The question came with a spark of hope that he immediately latched onto. Other people from there meant that they had time to clear their own areas and explore. They could maybe, just maybe, have already started to rebuild civilization and were now here to save them from this God-forsaken mess!
Lindon turned to another lookout tower. It seemed like he was the only one to have noticed so far. He raised his arm, moments away from calling them out and alerting the newcomers’ presence.
That was when a small blue object whistled through the air, just a blur of movement that was barely followable when it entered his vision. It shot right for the tower he was looking at, and slammed into it to produce a bright blast that lit up the area. The entire top section was engulfed in blue light. When it faded a moment later, both that part of the structure and the man would have been inside it were gone.
The young’s mouth twitched. His hand was still frozen mid-raise as he tried to process what just happened. He then glanced over to the side, and saw that one of the strangers coming had stopped. A bow in his hand, its drawstring currently being pulled back for another shot. This time, it was aimed right at him.
“Oh- oh shit!” Lindon cursed as he leaped for the tower's railing. His body momentarily entered freefall as he fell toward the ground a few dozen feet below. Yet it wasn’t a second too soon, as where he was standing just before was then engulfed in a blast of blue light. A wave of heat washed over his back, yet a chill ran up his spine from knowing how close he had just come to death.
He hit the dirt with a hard thud. Lindon groaned as the impact sent a shock throughout his system, yet other than having the breath knocked out his lungs, he was fine. He could only be ever thankful to his past self’s decision to put every other free Point into Endurance. Amongst every other non-Warrior of his Level, he was probably one of, if not the most resilient of them.
Forcing himself to quickly get up to his feet, he glanced up to the top of his station. There was a perfectly spherical bite taken out of the upper tower now, and once again, he felt a chill at the sight of it. He shook his head, and glanced around. Everyone was yelling and gawking at the destruction that just occurred. Nobody knew what was happening, only that they were clearly under attack.
Lindon took a deep sucking breath. “ATTACK! Four people coming from the west!” he yelled out as loudly as physically possible. He cupped his hands around his mouth, and repeated himself again and again.
“ATTACK! Four pe-” At the third repeat, the western wall was blasted apart. Shards of wood were sent flying inward as shrapnel, embedding themselves into the ground and close by objects.
Yet fortunately, there weren’t any people near that spot. As Lindon’s calls had done the work of getting them to scatter from that side of the wall, while others rallied a defense. Yet the latter was still a work in progress, as within that time, only a bit more than a dozen fighters had gathered to meet the incoming enemies. They watched with weary expressions as four individuals stepped through the now large hole in the barricade.
Swords were drawn, fists prepared, arrows nocked against bowstrings, and wands readied. The waiting defenders were a general mix of the four Classes. From their equipment, the four attackers appeared to be a Scout, two Warriors, and one Mage. Yet one difference between the two parties very quickly made itself abundantly clear.
“What the Hell? There’s barely anyone here that’s reached the 20s. What have these people been doing for these last two fucking months?” the Scout asked, the only woman of the four. Her gaze swept across them all with an expression of disgust.
Lindon couldn’t help but shudder as her eyes passed over him. There was just something about the way she looked at him. Like he and everyone else were just animals, and she was assessing them for a slaughter. In the corner of his eye, he saw another one of their own Scouts take a shaky breath before slowly drawing back his arrow.
Nobody else seemed to notice the man’s actions, including these strangers. He tried to slowly look away. Miguel was one of their few people in the 20s, Level 22 to be exact. So if he could get a sneak attack off, then perhaps that’d be enough to take one of them out.
Wait a minute. What Level even are these people? The thought came to him suddenly. And as he then identified them and looked at the subsequent golden screens, his eyes widened. They were all in their 30s. Not only that, but they had an additional line of being… Evolved?
“Well from what I can see,” the sole Mage of the four began. “None have the promise of joining us. So let’s just give them the honor of being killed by the Chosen few, and-”
His words were cut off by the twang of an arrow being fired. The projection was perfectly aimed for his skill, yet before it could reach its target, it slammed into the air directly in front of him. From where it stopped, there was a shimmer as an almost transparent blue shell briefly became visible around the Mage.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“And have fun,” he finished with a wicked grin. With a flick of his wrist, a bullet-sized bolt of Mana was flung from his wand. It shot through the air in just the blink of an eye, and pierced straight into Miguel’s chest. There was a shower of blood and mistified gore, and a soft thump as the lower half of his body dropped to the ground. Everything above the waist was now turned into the red stain that covered both the dirt and those who’d been standing nearest to him.
Everything after that point blurred together. As soon as the initial shock was broken after a second, chaos erupted. Lindon didn’t even try to join those who sent an attack back. Even though it could be called cowardly, he had become instantly aware of the vast difference between them and this smaller group.
So he just turned around and immediately ran as fast as his legs could carry him. While pained screams cried out from behind him, all he could do was just shut his eyes and focus on preserving his own life. The honest truth was that there was simply nothing else that he or anyone else could do.
“Lesser Slash!” A voice called out from behind him.
Lindon briefly looked back, only to see that one of the Evolved Warriors was facing his way. His sword was already mid-swing. Hearing the name of the Ability being called out, Lindon immediately threw himself to the ground. Why the Warrior had said the Ability’s name outloud was unknown as such a thing wasn’t at all necessary, but that question was quickly deemed as not important right now.
His reaction was both just in time and a moment too slow. He gasped as the Slash caught his side, immediately cutting straight through it. The pain was immediate and burning hot. Yet if he hadn’t dodged, it would have likely bisected him instead. He tried to get up, but a heavy boot slammed into the same side of his torso that had just gotten slashed.
“Gah!” Lindon cried out as it knocked him away by several feet. There was a soft crack as that casual kick likely just broke a rib. Spots danced across his vision as his consciousness flickered. For a few moments, he couldn’t even tell up from down. Yet what should have been a key chance to finish him off was left untouched, as the Warrior just allowed him to writhe in agony against the dirt.
“You know, I can actually appreciate the runners. At least you have the Goddamn sense to listen to your survival instincts. Unlike the idiots that just die in two seconds, as if they had any chance to win. So, go on! Keep trying to run!” the Warrior exclaimed as he laughed.
Tears were already rolling down Lindon’s face as he took a heaving breath. Adrenaline coursed through his body as he struggled to get back up to his feet. The movement alone caused him to wince as it agitated his broken rib and the deep gash in his flesh. Cursing himself, cursing these Chosen Few, and just cursing everything in general in his mind, Lindon tried to run. Ahead of him was a small building. Maybe, just maybe, he could get around it and try to throw his purserer off from there.
However, he was only allowed to take a few steps before a heavy foot hammered into his lower back. The blow sent him tumbling forward, right into the side of the structure. Now coughing, the young man’s clothing was already feeling wet as his own blood soaked into it. With a ragged gasp, Lindon knew that it was over. With his back against the wall and the Warrior still laughing, he was simply a mouse being batted around by a cat.
As the screams of those also being cut down dully sounded in his ringing ears, Lindon couldn’t help but be filled with regret. Perhaps if he’d been half a second faster in warning the others, could this have been avoided? Maybe not, but the “what if” of that idea would follow him to the grave. Now that he’d given up, the Chosen would likely get bored and send him to that grave.
However, in the corner of his eye, there was suddenly something new. A bright flash of red light. When he weakly glanced over to see what it was, it had already gone as soon as it’d come. Yet while his gaze was looking in that direction, he then noticed something up in the air. A bird, specifically a hawk, if he guessed correctly.
Lindon then looked back at the Warrior, and blinked in surprise. The other man was also looking in the same direction as that bright flash had come from, yet his mouth was fully agape with pure shock. Exactly what had he seen that Lindon hadn’t just now? Something that wasn’t visible from his angle?
“What the fuck? What the fuck?!” The Chosen yelled out as he stumbled backward, falling onto his ass. His face was now twisted with horror as all of his attention was clearly focused away from Lindon. The young man tried to take his chance to get up and escape, but as he tried to stand, he was immediately hit by a massive wave of vertigo.
Shit. Lost… too much blood, he thought to himself. Though at this point, the blood loss was also making it hard for him just to think clearly. Before the System, he would be knocking on death’s door and would already have passed out. With his Endurance being what it was, however, he would hopefully not bleed to death. Though that “hopefully” was carrying a lot of weight.
Yet aside from his own survival, another issue was at the forefront of his mind. Exactly what was so scary that it could make someone so much stronger than him panic?
As Lindon sat there, dazed, the Warrior’s panic turned into rage. With a roar, he swung his blade and shot out a Slash. Lindon followed the path of where the Ability was aimed, and couldn’t help but raise a brow. It was at the hawk?
The bird was currently facing another way. But as though it had some sixth sense, its wings flapped as its form gracefully moved away from the incoming Slash. It then turned toward the Warrior, and flew right for him. As it did so, an arrow imbued with blue energy whistled through the air from behind. Yet once again, as if it had eyes on the back of its head, it just subtly adjusted its flight path and made the arrow fly toward some unknown destination in the distance instead.
While the hawk was still mid-flight, it slightly opened its beak and released a narrow beam of fire. The Chosen quickly reacted by raising his shield. His defense was solidified further as an aura enveloped the shield, signaling the activation of the Block Ability. The shield was raised to protect his head and upper body to protect himself from the attack.
Yet when the beam came, it punctured just straight through the shield and, seemingly without losing any power, then pierced his neck. The Warrior gargled as he dropped his sword to clutch his throat. Yet the desperation only lasted a precious moment before he fell forward, already dead the instant he hit the ground.
I… he’s dead? Just like that? Lindon asked himself in disbelief. Unable to stop himself, he forced his body to crawl forward toward the Warrior. And when he got up to it, he confirmed that the man had indeed died, just like that. Lindon looked up at the bird, and saw that it briefly looked his way in turn. While the exchange was short, there had clearly been intelligence in its eyes.
If it wasn’t obvious before, now it was. This hawk clearly wasn’t just some regular bird. Struggling to sit up, a golden screen popped into Lindon’s vision as he identified it. When he read the resulting screen, he had to read it again just to make sure he wasn’t seeing things.
Druid (Hell-Touched Human)
Evolved (True Shifter)
Level: ?
A Druid? Lindon asked himself. It was the first time he’d ever seen such a Class. Actually the first time he had seen any Class aside from the usual four, that is. Yet what really grabbed his attention was the question mark there. Lindon himself wasn’t one of the people in their commune who was in the 20s, but at Level 19, he was just one small step before that.
He had at least been able to see that these Chosen Few were all in the early 30s in Level. However, just how did this bird have to be for it to not be visible? High 30s, maybe even more than 40? And it being a Druid meant that it wasn’t actually a bird, but instead a person using an Ability, right? It said that it was Human, yet one that was Hell-Touched. But what did that even mean?
Now that he was away from the building and next to the road, he had a better view of things. While looking around, on the street at the intersection was another corpse that quickly caught his eye. It was the Mage of this group of four. Lindon couldn’t see how exactly he had died from where he was, but the fact that he was dead as a doornail was obvious enough. It took him a few moments to realize that it must have been from that earlier flash of red light. Had that been from another fire beam used to kill that Chosen first?
As the hawk turned in the air, its body suddenly began to grow in size. Until, just a couple seconds later, the feet of a human man hit the dirt with a light thump. Yet as he appeared, Lindon could only watch bug-eyed as the Druid then seemed to grow much taller and extra muscular. The young man opened his mouth to say something, but could’t find his voice. As he just continued to stare, the Druid knelt down by the Warrior’s corpse and patted it down for a few moments, as if he was looking for something.
“Ahah, thought so. Knew I heard something sloshing around,” he said while pulling out a vial and turning toward Lindon. “That wound looks really bad. Here, drink this, it’s a Potion of Healing.”
The Druid quickly removed the cap and forced it into Lindon’s hand. He gave him a kind, reassuring smile. But then when the mysterious man stood up and looked down the street, the kindness in his eyes quickly vanished to become cold and murderous.
Lindon suddenly felt dizzy again. So without delay, he just decided to trust what the other guy said and chugged down the vial of red liquid. He did so for a few mouthfuls, before stopping after the sweet contents inside became bitter out of nowhere. The unexpected shift in taste made him retch a little, but the effects were immediate. Warmth traveled down to the wound in his side, instantly numbing the pain. He gasped as he felt the broken rib get knitted. Lindon reached down to the side, and cringed as he could literally feel his flesh wriggling as the wound closed in real time.
But now that the pain was almost entirely gone, his thoughts had suddenly cleared up. He looked over and saw the Druid running in toward the intersection, and then made a sudden turn toward the left. Unable to help his curiosity to see what would happen next, the young man quickly got to his feet and scaled to the top of the nearest building. From there, he’d be able to clearly see what was happening on the other streets.
He got up there to see that the woman of the four was down the street the Druid had turned into. And that by the time he started looking, the two were already engaged in a chase. Though while it’d been the Chosen chasing their people before, the scenario was now fully reversed.
“Fuck! Just fall already you monster!” the Scout loudly cursed. She continued to flee while looking back to fire an arrow every few seconds. It seemed that she was doing so at every chance as soon as the Ability was readied. Aiming would have been the simplest part for her even while running, as the Druid just chased after her while moving in a straight line.
Yet even after arrow after arrow shot into him and exploded on impact, it didn’t even slow him down. Lindon himself couldn’t believe it as he stared, simply slack jawed at the sight. Just one of those arrows had been enough to blow up the top of a tower. Each was basically a bomb, yet they were currently being tanked like they were nothing. Just what kind of insane amount of Endurance did it even take to become so tough?
Not only that, but the sheer difference in Agility was also made just as apparent. With every arrow the Scout fired, the gap between the two only grew ever smaller. After the fifth shot, she didn’t even turn to fire another. Even the delay from that action was too much in terms of slowing her down when every bit of speed was now needed.
The Chosen disappeared from Lindon’s sight as she moved right behind a building, with the Druid just a few feet behind her, his staff raised. Then, just a few seconds later, he alone reemerged. Yet what happened was clear, as the top of his staff was now stained red with fresh blood.
Lindon looked around the different streets for the fourth and final Chosen. There was just one Warrior remaining. However, even from his current vantage point, he could not see the man anywhere. Was he just in a blind spot right now, or maybe had he chosen to flee while the other three were being killed?
He turned back to look at the Druid, and saw him just standing there on the road, his eyes seemingly closed. After a few seconds passed, he opened them and immediately ran down the street. He then made a turn, went down that road, and then stopped right before the wall of a house. The Druid then raised his arm and pressed his finger into one spot on the building’s exterior.
Then there was a flash of red. One that was a bit more muted this time, as his hand was right against the wall. A few seconds later, a woman and child ran out the front door of the building. Lindon just watched them, his eyes narrowing with confusion at what had just happened. The Druid simply nodded to himself while walking toward the street, and yelled out.
“All four of the Chosen are dead. You’re safe now!”