CHAPTER 22

A MINUTE TO WIN IT.

“Hey! Who do you think you are, stealing the spotlight away from us show hosts?” Destiny shouted into the microphone.

“Yeah, my brother is definitely worth at least 6,000,000 yen, and stop ganging up against him! He’s very sensitive.” Isabelle said.

“Isabelle! Geez, I’m going to become the laughingstock of school. Never mind that. I don’t have time for this.” Reighley thought.

The situation immediately became dire. Reighley was at odds against the behemoth of a man that separated him and his best friend. The arrival of Sunny who was now fighting Ulysses tilted the scale towards defeat. The announcement made about his bounty was just another brick of weight added to that pile and despair began to set in.

“A 5,000,000 yen bounty? How is that even fair?” Reighley looked over at Jim and noticed a look of genuine fear. A man Reighley thought was stoic and unshakeable, quivered at the threat that opposed him.

“Come on now, Todoh! This isn’t what we agreed upon.” Jim attempted to reason with the man.

“A true chef does not discriminate against who they serve!” Todoh yelled.

“Well said, Dad.” Sunny agreed. Todoh’s arms swept at both Jim and Reighley. It was like two large logs were being crushed together and Reighley and Jim were trapped between.

“They’re Fast!” Reighley thought, tracking the incoming attacks. The two ducked underneath the incoming arms narrowly avoiding becoming infected. “You brought him here!?” he shouted at Jim. Reighley took a moment and stared into the eyes of Todoh the tyrant. His aura was as fierce as fire. It almost scorched the earth around him with his blazing battle spirit.

“Why is everyone always against me!?” Reighley desperately rolled away and stood back on his feet. He had no choice but to run away out the end of the barn as Todoh took pursuit. He looked back and noticed that a bunch of weapons spilled out of the bag he acquired from the armory.

“No!” Reighley shouted.

“It looks like our survivors are making a break for it. Go, Reighley! Go!” Isabelle cheered.

“That’s right Frizzy Izzy. Come on chat! Let’s hear it for Reighley!” Destiny attempted to get some hype generated for her friend. Unintentionally, the rest of the world now knew the name of the mysterious R.

“Reighley!” Ulysses shouted. He attempted to charge toward his friend with reckless abandon but stopped.

“Nuh-uh. Not so fast. You’ll have to get through me.” Sunny said, holding his hand on his weapon blocking the path. Ulysses knew that if he stepped into Sunny’s range it would be over in an instant. Sunny was wearing a traditional sports kimono. It was pure white, without a single stain. On it were the characters Shiro, (白) which means white, and shi, (死) meaning death. White Death, was a homage to a famous sniper with over five-hundred-and-five confirmed kills.

“Get out of my way!” Ulysses said, firing his Z-blaster at his brother. It was ineffective as Sunny drew his sword and parried all the blows. He did so with a glowing wooden bamboo sword, labeled Z-Saber.

“You blocked those!?” Ulysses was shocked.

“Did you expect anything less?” Sunny taunted.

“Well… I guess I’m not too surprised. Sunny has always been amazing.” Ulysses thought as he began to lower his head along with his guard, accepting the inevitable. “It’s… no use. I can’t beat my brother.”

“Don’t give up! Do you hear me? You can’t stop now. She’s… watching. She’s watching you!” A loud voice echoed through the barn. Ulysses glanced backward and on the display was Freya, who had taken over the microphone.

“Freya?” Ulysses said.

“There’s no way you can just quit now. Everyone is counting on you!” She shouted into the microphone.

“Freya… I… No, you’re right. I can’t just quit now.” Ulysses bolstered himself.

“Do you think you have the luxury to look away!?” Sunny said. Instantly a slash came at Ulysses. He attempted to guard the attack with his Z-blaster while jumping backwards to dodge but his brother was too quick. The end of the blade phased through the weapon as if it was a phantom glazing Ulysses on the jawline leaving a cut up his cheek. That was all that was necessary for his vest to turn from green to yellow.

“Dude! Watch the face!” Ulysses shouted. He placed his hand on his cheek and saw the small amount of blood on his hand.

“Don’t get distracted in a duel between men. It’s disrespectful.” Sunny said.

“It’s just a zombie game. It’s not that serious man.” Ulysses tried to reason with Sunny.

“You’re wrong. That friend of yours, she’s not the only lady who’s watching right now. We need to know if you’re ready.”

“What? Mom's watching? Ulysses thought, "Ready for what, bro? What does Mom have to do with any of this?” Ulysses questioned.

“I can’t tell you that,” Sunny explained.

“You’ve always kept things from me,” Ulysses said. “I’m not a little kid anymore!”

Isabelle and Destiny’s jaws were dropped from the tension.

“Is that allowed?” Isabelle pointed out Sunny’s direct slash at Ulysses.

“I don’t know but it sure looked cool! drone guys, get a focus on this battle! This will be great for views.” Destiny was ecstatic by the content that could be made from this fight.

Four years ago… during Sunny’s senior Kendo tournament. Ulysses was watching his older brother face off against the previous year’s winner of the San Fran Kyoto Regional Kendo Championship. Both contestants sat on their knees and took a bow to each other at their respective starting lines that separated the two a short distance. This was required before the start of each round. The objective of the match was to score points by striking your opponent. However, one could not simply strike at a random spot on the body. There were four areas that, if hit, would score you a point in combat. Because of this, a round could end in a matter of seconds. These four are the MEN (the head), KOTE (the wrists), DO (the body), and TSUKI (thrust to the throat). Once any one of those four points was touched by an enemy blade, the swordsmen would score, reset, and start again. The matches would usually be decided by three points.

“Come on Sunny. Show him who’s boss!” Ulysses thought. The arena was in complete silence. Sunny had his Shinai (Bamboo Sword) at the hip. Readying his Iaijutsu style for combat. It was a completely unconventional fighting style, especially for Kendo. Sunny chose that style for the extra challenge and that it balked in the face of tradition. When he fought back against his opponents it was as if a beast sprang towards its prey with serene grace. Taking advantage of momentary weakness with undiluted ferocity.

The round started and Sunny’s eyes tracked his opponent’s movements with perfect precision. With each step his opponent took, Sunny would adjust his distance and dodge strikes accordingly and when the moment arrived, Sunny struck his opponent in a single blow scoring him a point.

“Wow! He’s so cool.” Ulysses' eyes lit up with excitement.

“He sure is.” Kokeisha agreed. She was lighting a cigarette in the arena next to her son.

“Umm… Ma’am, you can’t smoke in here.” A tournament organizer said as he approached her.

“Huh?” Kokeisha scowled.

The second round started as quickly as the first and the competitor came down swiftly with an overhead strike. Sunny’s movements seemed inhuman. It almost appeared as if Sunny was experiencing reality in slow motion as he effortlessly dodged the flurry of strikes.

“It’s over!” Sunny thought as he drew his sword, slashing his foe. The strike was like that of a phantom. It seemed to pass through the opponent's attempts to guard it and with that, Sunny won the second round.

“So that’s the famous phantom strike, huh? Isn’t that like cheating or something? Pretty dangerous stuff if you ask me.” The tournament organizer said.

“You’re wrong. There’s more to it than that.” Ulysses said. The sound of someone calling his brother a cheater upset him. “Just watch!”

Ulysses' eyes were focused on the movement of Sunny. What others may have called a phantom strike, Ulysses noticed the slight shift in Sunny’s wrist which changed the direction of the attack causing it to glide by the defending weapon.

“See! What he does isn’t cheating. It takes real skill!” Ulysses defended his brother's honor.

“Looks like cheating to me, but oh well. A wins a win.” The tournament organizer announced that Sunny won. He then went on to win that championship and qualify for nationals.

After the fights, Ulysses approached his brother.

“Bro. They are calling you a cheater!” Ulysses said.

“Don’t mind them. They aren’t exactly wrong…”

“That’s because you’re just that good, right Sunny?” Ulysses asked.

“Right…” Sunny reluctantly agreed.

“Hey, how did you do that thing where your sword went right through his defense?” Ulysses asked.

“I’ll tell you when you're older buddy.” Sunny smiled.

“Hey, that's not fair. No keeping secrets from me!” Ulysses pouted.

“You’ll know one day. I promise.” Sunny patted his younger brother on the head and walked away.

(Back in the present.)

“No matter how hard I tried, I was never able to replicate what you can do, but… I’ve watched you. For years, I’ve watched you. I know just how dangerous you are with a blade,” Ulysses thought while stepping into the striking zone.

Sunny was surprised by Ulysses' choice, and ecstatic that he chose to face him in close quarters.

“Show me what you can do!” Sunny drew his blade as fast as the wind, ready to end it all in a single motion. Ulysses went to guard the strike coming at his side using the end of his Z Blaster. He watched carefully as Sunny’s wrist began to shift ever so slightly to bypass his weapon. However, this was what Ulysses was waiting for. At the moment of impact when the weapon clashed against Ulysses' rib cage, Ulysses lunged towards his brother effectively absorbing the blow and closing the distance between the two. In doing so, his vest began flashing red as he simultaneously wrapped his arm around the blade. He managed to grab a hold of it with his free hand. In a battle of strength versus skill, Ulysses had Sunny beat one hundredfold. Sunny desperately tried to pull free, but when he realized he had lost he couldn’t help but grin with pride.

“I know you better than anyone. With a sword, you’re a monster, but… without one, you’re just my amazing normal older brother.” Ulysses thought as he snapped the sword in two holding his Z-blaster a mere inches away from his brother’s head.

The audience was in silence. No one said a word as Ulysses stared down his brother. Sunny let go of the weapon and then untied his vest and tossed it on the ground lifting both hands in the air.

“Congrats bro. You win.” Sunny said. “Now go and save your friend from Dad.”

“He did it!” Isabelle, Destiny, and Freya all screamed into their respective microphones as the chat went wild.

FunnyUser232: Bro, popped off!

Definitely_not_lover_boy: Rigged.

JIMnasium: YO! He had no right going that hard.

DHARC_Blade: One fell swoop.

Lily had to stop her search to look for Guinevere. She couldn’t help but cheer on Ulysses far more than the people around her. Many viewers in the crowd knew that she was who was watching. The girl Freya mentioned before.

“You don’t look surprised that he won that,” Elise said.

“I never doubted for a second that he would win,” Lily explained with a smile.

“Where exactly does that faith come from? You would make an excellent Cleric.” Elise asked.

“Love… probably,” Lily whispered embarrassingly.

“Atta boy, Ulysses!” Reighley cheered.

Reighley and Jim were in a full sprint, shooting their weapons at Todoh. It appeared that weapons did not affect him. Todoh, who was in pursuit of the two, was falling behind at a steady pace. Luckily for the two, Todoh’s enormous frame was more of a hindrance as it prevented him from being an effective sprinter. Reighley knew that he couldn’t just run out in the open either. That would make him an easy target for those wanting his bounty. Looking over his shoulder at Todoh as he ran, Reighley almost felt like he had better odds facing hunters than he did against Ulysses’s dad.

“The finish line is straight ahead.” Reighley pointed towards the pagoda tower that marked the end of the race. It was just past one more landmark. Just ahead was a town pulled straight out of a Flint Wastewood movie. He noticed that the path up ahead was strangely absent of competitors. “Something’s wrong.” He thought. “I’m certain that besides Ulysses, we’re in last place.” He looked up at the remaining survivors and to his surprise, the number hadn’t decreased since they took out the two people in the barn and lost Joy as an ally.

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(Remaining Survivors: 8)

“Jim… I think there is a trap set up ahead.” Reighley panted heavily.

“What makes you think that?” Jim said.

“Look how many survivors are left, yet there’s no one up ahead. They must be hiding somewhere.” Reighley claimed.

“Hmm, you’re probably right.” Jim agreed.

The path ahead was riddled with artificial tumbleweed and sand. There appeared to be a few structures before the end of the race. This made the pagoda tower at the end feel more like a mirage as the setting sun reflected off its multiple rooftops. Reighley had lost some deadweight thanks to him spilling the weapons he worked so hard for, but he still had some firepower to spare. He had two Special Grade-Z Blasters, four Z-grenades, and a Special Grade-Z Rifle left over in his bag. He knew he would need every last piece of ammunition to reach the end.

Finally, Reighley and Jim arrived at an outpost. The area up until now had been marginally open, but now it was as if they arrived in a small western town. The town itself was only a mere crossroad that had a saloon, inn, and other commodities.

“It looks like our main survivors have arrived at Deadwood Outpost. This original town was imported from Spain.” Destiny said.

“It’s a ghost town. This is the place where dreams go to die! Your ambitions, hopes, and aspirations all mean nothing when looking at the barrel end of a gun.” Isabelle said with a country accent.

“You mean a muzzle right? Also, you do know those words basically mean the same thing.” Freya explained.

“Don’t steal her thunder, Freya. It’s the narration that keeps the spectacle alive.” Destiny said.

“Imported? Glad to see all my hard-earned money go to good use.” Jim groaned.

“Really? That’s it? That’s what caught your attention and not the entire zombie run itself?” Reighley asked.

“Well. Fair point.” Jim agreed as the two approached an old wagon tipped over on its side.

“How much did those Elite Zombies cost?” Reighley interrogated.

“What Elite Zombies…?” Jim began sweating nervously.

“Right…” Reighley rolled his eyes.

Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by the sound of glass being stepped on coming from the saloon.

“Hold it right there!” a voice came from inside the saloon to the right of them.

“Who’s there?” Reighley sighed.

“It’s me Deven Stallik. The dashing gunmen here to win the race.” Deven growled.

“Who?” Reighley asked.

“Ugh! You’re so annoying! You very well know who I am. I’d quit acting so smug if I were you. You’re not in the position to bad mouth me. You’re completely surrounded.”

“Is that so, then why don’t you stop hiding then Deven?” Reighley was feeling brave; he then noticed the red lasers all pointing at his chest. There were people set up on the balconies of the buildings. Each with their own Z Rifle pointed at Reighley.

“Crap. I didn’t think he would get everyone to work together.” Reighley whispered.

“Is he one of Freya’s fans from SocialLight or something?” Jim asked.

“Stop mocking me!” Deven yelled. “I’m Freya’s ex-boyfriend.”

“Oh, you mean Todd! I remember you now. Why are you going by your last name?”

Deven could only scream in annoyance. His rage was deafening to the ears.

“Go on, Mr. Young. We have no business with you. You can go on ahead.” Gunman B shouted on top of the Inn.

Reighley was up in arms ready to draw his weapon at his enemies like a good old fashion standoff. He noticed something was odd. There were only four enemies including Deven and no infected. Ulysses was not far behind them.

“But if there are eight remaining survivors, who’s the last one?” He thought. His attention was immediately drawn towards Jim, who he expected to abandon him altogether.

“What’s the hold-up, Mr. Young?” Gunman A questioned from on top of the Saloon’s balcony.

“Don’t make us shoot you.” Deven threatened.

“Oh? Go on, try me.” Jim scowled. Deven, who was peeking out of the saloon’s double doors aiming his weapon at Reighley, had a shiver sent down his spine.

“Looking cool,” Reighley said.

“That bravado of yours ain't so bad either kid. You’ve sure got guts.” Jim smirked.

Before they knew it the two enemies were back to back in a standoff against four gunmen.

“So that’s it huh? You guys are going to kill me and split the bounty?” Reighley asked.

“Yeah! What of it?” Gunmen C asked on top of the General Stores balcony.

“What exactly makes you all think that the one who finishes me off is going to share that 5,000,000 yen prize with the rest of ya?” Reighley asked.

Reighley’s eyes were dead set on victory. He knew that question alone was all it took for their alliance to waiver even just for a second. He carefully watched as three of the four lasers swayed off his body momentarily. He seized the opportunity, quickly drew his special grade Z-Blaster, and fired directly at Deven, who was the only remaining one targeting him. Reighley’s aim was true. He hit Deven and watched as a single shot turned his vest to a flashing red. This caused Deven to retreat into the Saloon in panic.

The moment Jim saw Reighley act he capitalized on Deven’s dismayed reaction. He took his Heavy Z-Sniper Rifle and aimed down his sights towards the survivor on top of the General Store. The weapon immediately turned the vest on the gunmen from blue to a solid red, eliminating him in one shot. A person’s weapon functionality was directly tied to their vest. If their vest signified them dead, then their weapons would not fire. This gave both Reighley and Jim enough time to find cover to hide behind. They both dove toward the knocked-over wagon. It was positioned with just enough room for the two to survive the onslaught of shots from the gunmen.

“Man, Mr. Young, that gun sure is overpowered,” Reighley complained. He couldn’t help but talk with an old-fashioned southern drawl the longer he stayed in this place.

“Well it’s technically a cheat weapon, but I’ve got some bad news. It’s out of ammo.” Jim said.

“Cheat weapon? What type of cheat weapon runs out of ammo?” Reighley didn’t hesitate in giving Jim his spare Special Grade Z Assault Rifle.

“Yeah. I had it especially made to be used on you to eliminate you in a single shot and I was going to do it too.” Jim said.

“Then why didn’t you?” Reighley questioned.

Jim paused. The sound of incoming fire was present during their conversation but that didn’t stop the two from conversing, it only drowned out the drone's ability to pick up their voices.

“Because… shooting you would make me look like the bad guy. I couldn’t just shoot you after you dove out and tried to protect my little girl. You know, I had a realization during all this. I thought to myself, ‘Just when did my daughter get so many friends and why didn’t I notice it before? When I looked at those surrounding Freya, they genuinely cared and supported her. I came here ready for war, but I couldn’t find an enemy amongst them. Even you, who was someone I didn’t approve of. I could no longer deny the efforts you made to make my daughter happy. It was just so frustrating for me. When Freya chose to run over to you rather than her own father. That hurt me more than you could ever know. I tried to control her, but I only ended up pushing her further away. Instead of being a businessman, I should have just been her father. I’m so used to getting what I want because of my profession so when she rebelled I was irrationally angry. I let those emotions of anger consume me and I blamed you. I wasn’t sure what to do. All the money in the world would mean nothing to me if my family wasn’t my legacy. And now, because of my actions, my only child refuses to look me in the eyes. But with you, I had never seen Freya so happy before.” Jim confessed everything that had been on his mind as of late.

Reighley thought the man before him was stone-cold and borderline heartless, but that changed when he looked into his eyes. Reighley saw his aura. It was simple in shape and brown in color. There was no spectacular image, no knife held to Reighley’s throat, instead just a normal man with a normal brown aura.

“I’m… sorry I made you feel that way. You won't have to worry about me after tonight.” Reighley replied.

“You were serious about leaving her?” Jim asked.

“Yeah,” Reighley said.

“Then why are you trying to win?” Jim asked.

Reighley didn’t have an immediate answer. There could have been a multitude of reasons why he tried so hard. Part of it was due to the sacrifices others made for him to get to this point. Another reason was that he wanted to give Freya a memorable birthday. However, he knew the truth.

“I just really want to dance with the girl I like,” Reighley answered honestly.

“Would you look at the two! These two opposing forces have continually been put under pressure and seem to have formed an unlikely alliance. What could possibly be more inspiring than the bond of a man with his future inlaw?” Isabelle asked.

“Yeah sound crew, what’s the big idea? How come we missed out on all that spicy content.” Destiny was outraged.

“It appears the sound of the gunfire is distorting our microphones.” Sound Guy A answered.

Freya had stepped outside of the display and was watching the run from a setup. She looked at the onslaught of incoming fire at the two most important men in her life. “What… are they talking about?” Freya wondered. “I’ve never seen my Dad look as vulnerable as that. Reighley… even now, you’re trying to help us aren’t you?”

“That’s some man you brought here. I’m not sure what those two are talking about but I’ve never seen Jim look like that before.” Prismarine said.

“Mom…” Freya said.

Reighley was feeling the pressure from the incoming fire and knew something had to change.

“Here. Can you cover me? I want to get into the Saloon.” Reighley asked.

“I can’t. There isn’t an opportunity to fire back. Don’t these guys ever run out of ammo?” Jim scoffed.

“This is getting bad… It looks like Todoh has caught up with us.’ Reighley said, pointing towards the entrance of town at Todoh. He looked winded but managed to catch up being forty meters away.

“We have to make a move now!” Jim said assertively.

“No. Not yet.” Reighley said.

“What? Why? We’re screwed if he makes it to us.” Jim explained.

“He won’t! My friend was behind us. He’ll stop him.

“How can you be sure?” Jim asked.

“Because that’s the type of man he is. He’ll definitely show up for sure.” Reighley said.

The two waited in anticipation as Todoh gradually grew closer to them until suddenly he fell to the ground straining to move.

“Sorry to keep you waiting!” Ulysses shouted over the incoming fire. He wrapped Todoh from behind and put him in a Full-Nelson knocking him to the ground. It took every ounce of strength out of him to hold his father in place. “Go! I can’t hold him forever.” Todoh touched Ulysses' arm, turning his vest green, starting the timer to his demise.

“Took you long enough dude!” Reighley said with a wholehearted laugh.

“Sorry to burst your bubble, kid, but that doesn’t change that we're boxed in and under fire. Once his vest times out we’re done for.” Jim worried.

“Don’t be so sure. Isn’t that right Herald!?” Reighley shouted with a smile.

“Herald?” Jim was astonished. Immediately, one of the gunmen stopped firing, and then the next. Herald, the eighth and last remaining survivor, strolled out of the shadows after shooting both armed men on the two balconies.

“Glad to see you still believed in me, Master Summers,” Herald said with a smile.

“Look how the tables have turned. The last remaining contestants were eliminated leaving Deven in first place, with Jim, Herald, and Reighley just behind him, with Ulysses in last.” Isabelle said.

“Somebody please don’t let Deven win! We can see that he snuck out the back of the saloon and is headed towards the finish line," Destiny shouted.

“I’m calling my lawyers after this! This game is completely rigged!” Deven hollers from a distance.

“Oh, would you look at that? Breaking News! It’s been rumored that apparently Devin Stalik and Freya Young kissed during their recent movie recording session.” Destiny said.

“What?!” Both Jim and Reighley both jumped up simultaneously.

“DESTINY!” Freya shouted.

“Alright, we have to cut the commentating momentary-” Destiny was immediately shut off from the screen as the monitors now displayed Deven who was en route to the pagoda tower.

“Come on, let's go!” Reighley said.

“You go on ahead… This old man has had enough adventure for one day.” Herald said completely out of breath. “I’ll cover you in case the undead show up.”

“Well done.” Jim praised his butler.

“Yeah. Thanks again, Herald, and thank you, Ulysses!” Reighley waved off his comrades and rushed towards the pagoda tower. He couldn’t waste another second. However, some part of him knew that reaching the tower wasn’t the end. He had a sneaking suspicion that once there, you would have to climb the tower.

When the two arrived, Reighley half expected the undead to start rising up from beneath the earth. When he entered the building, a quick look at the interior showed the structure was built like a giant spiral staircase. The floor was made of a sleek dark wood and hanging on the walls were Japanese black ink paintings of ancient warriors of the past fighting Oni. Up above, the sound of a weapon was being fired only a floor above.

“Come on Jim, Let’s go!” Reighley beckoned. “You still have some fight left in you? If you slow me down I’ll leave you behind.”

“Heh… Plenty. Don’t underestimate me, kid.” Jim replied, gasping for air.

Suddenly both ankles of the survivors were latched onto by hands below the wooden floors. This caused both Reighley and Jim’s vest to turn green, initiating the countdown towards infection, afterward the hands broke their hold on Jim and Reighley.

*Time Remaining: 58 Seconds*

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Jim complained.

“It’s alright! I have a sterilizer! One of us can still make it-” Reighley said, pulling out the temporary cure for his infection.

“We’re sorry. Healing and curing items are temporarily disabled for dramatic effect.” Destiny’s voice said from within Reighley’s vest.

“Now that’s just cruel.” Reighley groaned as he was given no choice but to scale the tower in a minute's time.

Deven was ahead, but not by much. He too was infected, now racing against the clock. As Reighley ran up the staircase Deven spotted him from above.

“Come on man! Let me have this!” Deven shouted, he was half a floor up and was firing down across the interceding space. He had no luck hitting Reighley, as the railings on the staircase had subsequent wooden pillars in between, making for a hard shot.

“Fat chance!” Reighley said, aiming his weapon to return fire at Deven. “He’s hard to hit!”

“You don’t understand!” Deven screamed while taking out the undead that lay before him. “I need to win this!”

“Dude. All you do is win! You’re basically blessed.” Reighley argued.

“Me? Blessed? As if! My blessing is a curse! Because of my father and his career, no one will ever attribute anything to me. No matter what I do, people will always say that I only got the opportunities I was given because of my Dad! I’m always living in his shadow.”

“His dad is a famous actor from the eighties.” Jim nodded.

“Ugh… Come on heart, don’t make me sympathize with this guy!” Reighley thought. “He’s a scumbag, who kissed your girlfriend and he doesn’t deserve to win.” Reighley couldn’t help but reflect on himself at this moment. “Then again… neither do I.”

Reighley knew what he had to do. He took his pistol and aimed a shot at Deven Stallik directly in the back. The shot connected right before Deven made it to the second floor staircase eliminating him from the competition.

“Sorry man, but tonight isn’t about you. Nothing personal, but I can’t let you win.” Reighley shouted. Eventually, Jim and Reighley passed Deven, who was looking grim. His head was down and his weapon was dropped.

*Time Remaining: 25 Seconds*

Reighley and Jim were on the third floor. They could see the finish line from the top of the stairs. With their Special Grade Weapons and leftover grenades, They made swift work with the undead that appeared out of nowhere like ninja. They would be hidden behind paintings or underneath floor mats. When the two made it to the final staircase to the top floor, Jim was falling behind. Reighley was halfway up when he noticed Jim had stopped running.

“Go on kid… You earned it.” Jim praised, while exhausted. He bent over, putting both hands on his knees. Reighley completely understood what Jim was feeling as his legs felt like he had lead weights strapped to each of them. Behind Jim was an undead ready to pounce on the now exacerbated-looking man.

*Time Remaining: 12 Seconds*

“Ahhhhhh!” Reighley yelled with determination. He turned around and went back down the staircase, shooting the undead and hoisting Jim up, lending him his shoulder.

“What are you doing?-” Jim was confused.

“We started this together, and we’re finishing it together!” Reighley said, exerting all the energy he had left in him to help move Jim.

“This kid…” Jim couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought.

With that Jim and Reighley made it to the top floor, and awaiting them were two flags and a red ribbon to cross.

*Time Remaining: 3… 2… 1…*

Before the countdown could finish, Reighley shoved Jim across the finish line, ending the race. Reighley’s vest turned a solid red, eliminating him from the race. The sound of fireworks went off, signaling the end of the competition, bringing back the commentators' feed, as confetti rained down around the victor.

“But… why…?” Jim asked with shock.

“Like I told Deven, tonight isn’t about us. It’s about what Freya needs.” Reighley explained. “And right now, she needs her dad to be here for her birthday.”

The fact Reighley was willing to give up his earned victory, so Jim could have a father-daughter slow dance, seemed like lunacy to him, but even so, Jim couldn’t deny the boy’s feelings.

As the feed returned to normal, it showed Freya who held Destiny in a headlock while Isabelle was smiling and waving at the cameras.

“And the winner is… Jim?” Isabelle announced.

“What?” Destiny and Freya said together.

“Dad won?” Freya let go of Destiny, completely stumped by the results of the race, along with the millions of viewers, who were also shocked by the result.