“So, what the hell is that?” Liz said motioning towards the screen hovering between them, she had been the first to recover from shock. Her eye brows still hadn’t come back down from the surprise of something just coming in to existence out of nowhere.

“I just told you we had a lot to talk about. I met someone when I was unconscious. It’s hard to explain, I wouldn’t believe it myself if not for the prompts I can see, and the voice in my head.” As he was talking Glen pointed at his eyes and ears, “My memory is a little fuzzy of the place where I went. The person I spoke with, I can’t remember their face, but he told me this was a tool I could use to grow stronger.”

Douglas, who had stayed silent while reading over Glen’s stats finally decided to ask, “So what do all the numbers mean? Some of this stuff I get well enough, but other parts don’t make sense at all.”

“The person I spoke with didn’t really have a chance to explain any of it either. Where we were, I don’t know why, but we couldn’t stay there… System, I am going to have to come up with something else to call you, can you tell me any more about these stats?”

“(User Glen), I cannot. Apart from the obvious. Also, I do not require a name.”

“Is there a reason that you can’t? Also, you may not need it but if I’m going to be talking to you often, I would feel more comfortable if you had a name.” Glen asked out loud not only because it was needed, but also for the benefit of the group. While he was waiting for a response, he looked out the window and could see the first light of morning in the distance.

“There have not been enough people of this planet to achieve a connection to The System. Of those that have, only a few have advanced past the mid-novice rank. There is not sufficient data to gauge how access to stats will change your people. Though The System is designed for equity for all, that translates differently depending on which system design is being used here. Only time will tell what effects greater stats will have.”

“Alright, thank you for that, I guess. Please think on a name, I will name you if I have to, but I’d rather you come up with something you feel like fits ‘you.’” With that Glen ended what looked to the outside world to be a very one sided conversation. “Okay, so the short answer is even my system interface really doesn’t have a clue what these numbers mean in the long run either.”

“We will just have to figure it out in time. We can’t wait here any longer though. While you made a recovery, she has not.” Douglas gestured towards Pirah. He didn’t have the tools or knowledge to help Pirah now, but maybe if they got her back to Skytop the elders would know how to help her.

Everyone watched contemplatively as Pirah laid there, her breathing still slow and shallow. Glen’s hands balled up in to first at his side, he got too caught up in all that had handed, Douglas was right, they needed to go. With the sun rising it was time they left this dusty shelter and continued on towards their home.

“Let’s get packed up. Be ready to leave in the next couple minutes. As soon as we have enough light to travel quickly, I want to get on the road. It’s only a could blocks, Douglas do you think you can carry Pirah?”

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“I can do it, but what about you? Should you really be moving around on your own? Liz can help Miles, but after what your body just went through, there is no polite way to say it, but you look like hell. You look like you haven’t eaten in a week. It’s not natural man.”

For the first time, Glen realized there was a gnawing pain in his stomach. How had he not noticed it? His skin clung tightly to his all too visible ribs. The voice came back in his head again.

“In order to prepare your body for the integration, I had to remove the inferior nanites. They would have lowered your potential in the long term. I had to rebuild years of work from scratch. Your body was used as fuel. Not enough to leave any permanent damage, you will recover given time. You are currently not suffering from anything critical maladies that would prevent you from making the walk home.”

Well, that was a comforting thought. He would only look like shit for a little while, at least it would not last. “I can walk on my own. Though I feel weak, you already saw yourself I am stronger than I look. It’s just going to take time for me to adjust to the changes.”

Neither Douglas nor Liz looked convinced, but they couldn’t afford the time it would take you to argue about it. When they were all packed up Douglas did his best to gently lift Pirah out of the bed when he made a terrible discovery.

Pirah had been bleeding from her ear through the night. There was no way of telling when it had started, everyone had been watching Glen due to his strange the situation was. They overlooked that their friend had been slowly dying next to them the entire time. Blood had soaked completely through the top layer of the mattress.

“Sneaking back is no longer an option.” Liz said as she made her way to the door. “We’re going to have to make a run for it if we want any chance of saving her.” She held the door open while looking Douglas in the eyes. “Let’s get a move on!”

The group all but flew down the stairs, Douglas moving as quickly as possible carrying Pirah in his arms. When they got to the bottom floor, they stopped just long enough to peak out the door up and down the street. With no creatures or rampant in sight, they pressed on.

Almost as soon as they started jogging down the road towards the tower, they knew something had spotted them from a nearby building. The only noise that they heard at first was the rhythmic smacking of their feet on pavement, the quiet running was drowned out instantly by the sound of glass exploding out at them. A creature had lunged directly at Liz from the shadows inside of a building as they passed.

Glass shards were blown out towards them so quickly almost no one had time to react. Liz leaned back trying to assume a defensive stance, but she wasn’t going to be quick enough. Miles was the closest, but as banged up as he was, there was no way he could intercept the attack. Glen watched as the hairless dog like creature came into the light, it’s Jaws seconds away from snapping closed on Liz’s shoulder.

The world slowed. Before Glen knew what he was doing, his body was already moving as if in its own. In less than a second, he had covered the distance. On instinct he swung with all the force he could muster. The wild swing missed his intended target. Rather than connect with the dogs head, the punch landed solidly on its shoulder.

Glen felt something shift inside himself. Somewhere deep in his soul, a piece of him clicked in to place in a way he could not have imagined before this moment. His skill activated for the first time. Momentum had been charging since they started running down the stairs, though only a couple stacks had built up. The power was less than he needed, but it was more than he had dared to hope for.

The dog was thrown backwards as if it had been hit by someone several times larger than Glen. The dog landed in a pile of trash and debris that showed all the rot and rust of lying there for the last hundred years. Everyone stopped running long enough to look at Glen in amazement. Then down at his arm which was dripping scarlet drops on to the concrete. His body had handled the force even less well than the dog.

The now very pissed off dog, which was getting back up. Its shoulder had been ripped open, exposing the flesh and bone underneath. It growled, it’s body was crouched low to the ground shaking off all the trash it had been covered in. The dog was getting ready to lung again.

“Just keep running! I think I can handle this. Get her home. I’ll be right behind you!” With that, Glen got in to a defensive stance, readying for the first fight of his new life. He didn’t need to kill it, he just needed to survive. He always was an overachiever though...