They flew past me one by one. Lucas' bewildered mug and the wide eyes of Alice. Aaron's concerned expression and Zoey's panic. Nadim tried reaching out as Specs was raising his crossbow. The ringing in my ears hit me hard as my back broke the wall I slammed into.

Blood came out of my mouth. My palm came up in a futile attempt to save it.

I heard someone yelling. Or maybe it was multiple people. Someone was holding my head. It was like trying to peer through a foggy lake, and it was an age before I could focus enough to see Mei's concern.

Something must have told her I was coming around because she left me to join the others.

It was all happening so slowly. Specs was firing what I assumed to be a second bolt from his crossbow. It appeared to have hit when the dwarf's foot came up, and his head snapped back. Except, the gourd in his hand didn't drop.

The dwarf righted himself and dodged an attack from Lucas and Nadim at the same time, making them knock into each other. He punched them both aside, vaulting over a bulldozing Aaron. Suspended in the air, the hiccuping drunk cracked his knuckles, and they caught fire.

The flaming punch was received by Aaron's shields, knocking him flat.

Alice was by my side, talking to me. Saying something I couldn't understand. I tried telling her it was a sub-boss, but the warning tripped off my tongue and suffocated in the clamor.

Mei joined the fight. The others rallied to her, committing to saving Aaron. Mei was surprisingly skilled with the makeshift stave, able to keep the drunken master interested for at least a moment before he burned the wood to cinders.

"My pack."

The words were sticky.

"Torch 'em."

I left Alice with the garbled words. I transitioned straight from crawling to sprinting.

The tunnel vision was great. It tasted sweet, like oranges.

Bringing myself low, I tackled the slippery fucker into the opposite wall. I found myself choking as he slurmed around me like an earthworm.

"Nighty-night waste bottom."

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

His slurred accent was more disgusting than the dribble on my ear. I reached for the gourd.

"Not gonna share?"

I didn't grab it successfully, but I knocked it, spilling a decent amount on each of us. A fist slammed into the side of my head and I was seeing stars.

"T's flubbin' smither crubbin 'ine!"

Strange. When did he get so large? And why was he standing on the wall? Ooh! He's very bright now. Don't come this way; I'll get hot. That way. That way. Ah. Good. Good. ...good.

Darkness took me.

And then it didn't.

Someone was shaking me. All I wanted was a little rest. How about it?

No? Okay. Fuck it then.

"What!?"

"Good. You're alright."

"Fuck. I'm not alright! Do I look alright?"

"You're lucky he didn't hit you with that flaming fist thing, or you'd both be barbeque."

Mei pointed to the fire. The others were standing around it in shock, rubbing at their wounds. Alice watched the fire burn intently, her murder weapons limp in her grasp.

No fucking way did she use the flint and steel instead of my torch.

I spent half an hour trying to work the bloody thing, but she did it on-command in the middle of a battle?

Well. What works, works. I'm alive. No complaining. Alice was a badass.

I checked my notifications to count my pity points. Most of it went to Alice with the rest getting spread out.

"Help me up."

"Really?"

"Don't look at me like that; my head's spinning."

Mei grabbed my arm and helped me up. It made me dizzier. I opted to lean against the wall for a bit and listen to them bicker.

"His fist was on fire. Was it magic? Ninjistu? Or taijutsu?"

"What's crazier is it didn't burn him."

"My shield's dented. There's a fist imprint."

"Alice, are you alright?"

"Sure, check on the cute one who set a human being on fire. Ugh! Men."

"I didn't see you helping, Zoe. Where did you hide when the rest of us were getting our asses handed?"

"I'm not going to join your murder fest."

"But Zoey, my friend. We will die if we do not defend ourselves. We need to fight together."

"I don't need you guilt-tripping me, Nadim. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to go and kill another person just because someone tells me to. Goddamn aliens can go fuck themselves. He-he probably wouldn't have attacked if Zeke didn't go straight for his throat. He was singing for christ's sake."

The stench of the burning dwarf cleared my head. I let Mei go do her thing and calm everyone down. I pushed off the wall and retrieved the things I'd dropped during the fight. Hefting my pack over my shoulder, I moved away from the putrid fumes.

Alice stared at the body with the flint and steel in either of hand. Passing her, I patted her shoulder twice and met her eyes with my approval. She deserved it.

Shame about the points, though.

Shrugging my pack, I traversed the path forward with my sword in hand.

This was the back route to the supply depot that normal people wouldn't find without a map. With the sub-boss eliminated, it was highly unlikely we'd run into any other enemies until we reached the Depot.

The incline in the floor led me to believe we'd come out near an overlook.

A tug on my pack drew my attention.

Alice was walking a step behind me after having returned my items. I tried to meet her eyes again, but she wouldn't look at me. When I ignored her and continued climbing, I heard her speak.

"Your hand."

"What about it?"

"..."

I held out my hand, and she shook it. A notification made my lips turn upward.