Bang!
Like a runner waiting for the starting gun, Zeke whirled and sprinted. A bullet clipped his side. Rumbling, the large crystal ball followed after him, gun rotating gently around its horizontal axis.
Temporary regeneration lost.
Regeneration rate: +1.3
“Now?” Zeke demanded. He whipped around the corner, his feet slipping on trash. A few pieces of trash popped up from his feet and landed in his palms. Confused, he tossed them over his shoulder. Is this what Pick Up does? It’s kind of annoying…
And that gun! That gun was empty! I’m ninety percent sure. Where did that rock get the bullets?
“Is this the Crystal Apocalypse or something?” Zeke asked.
Crystal Apocalypse
Danger Rating: A
Level: 4
“No kidding it’s an A! It’s a huge rock with a gun! What am I supposed to do about that? I can’t eat a rock! Hell, I can’t even scratch its surface!”
The huge crystal turned the corner, then stopped. It rumbled, rubbing itself in place.
Zeke frowned over his shoulder. “What’s it doing?”
Crystals burst out of the earth beneath it, charging in a straight line toward his feet.
“Motherfuck!” Zeke jumped and ran. He pumped his arms, his stomach and legs aching. His head pounded, and the world swirled around him, shivering left and right. Ugh. I’m healed, but I’m not in top shape. I lost a lot of blood. I need to eat something.
The flavor of the litter apocalypse surged up in his mind, and Zeke retched. He pressed a hand to his lips and forced himself to swallow again. Maybe some real food this time.
He ran and ran. The crystal rolled after him again, giving up on spearing his feet. The road stretched the length of the museum, easily two blocks long. Bullets smacked off the walls and dug into the floor. Zeke darted left and right, avoiding the bullets. The road stretched on and on, seemingly to infinity. He panted, pumping his arms. Damn. How long is this road?
At last, another intersection approached. He burst out of the alley into the museum’s loading dock. The narrow back road expanded to a broad asphalt pad, with a truck dock and a broad concrete ramp with a dolly at its bottom. Stairs led up to a rear door, but so did the ramp.
Zeke shot the ramp a filthy look. How dare you support crystal balls. Rude.
Rumbling sounded from around the corner. He startled and dashed ahead. No time to waste!
A few wooden shipping crates stood at the top of the concrete ramp, waiting to be unpacked and taken into the museum. One of the shipping crates shook wildly as something beat at it from inside. Zeke glanced at it, then diverted his feet, running at it. Crystal ball rumbling after him, he ran up the ramp one leap at a time. At the top, he slammed his shoulder into the crate, sending it tumbling off the ramp to the asphalt below.
The crate struck the ground and broke open. Zeke held his breath. Come on. A mummy, a weapon, something useful!
Cleaning supplies spilled out. From their midst, a spray bottle jumped upright and charged at the crystal ball, desperately spraying the crystal.
Dammit! He spun and sprinted away, racing for the back door. It hung open, abandoned in someone’s rush to flee.
Halfway up the ramp, the crystal ball whirled and shot the spray bottle. All the liquid spilled out. The spray bottle tipped over, dead. Crystals surged out of it where the bullet struck. In an instant, the bottle crystalized.
Turning, the crystal ball raised its gun again.
The back door to the museum swung shut. Zeke was nowhere to be seen.
The crystal ball tilted slightly on its axis. It rolled forward, rolling up the concrete ramp. Gently, it pushed through the doors and twisted left and right, looking around.
Crates and boxes stretched in all directions, labeled neatly and stacked up on metal shelves. A man laid crushed under a suspiciously-empty slot in the warehouse, blood pooled under him.
Slowly, the crystal ball rolled along the floor, keeping the gun at the ready.
Crouched behind the next aisle, Zeke held his breath. He watched the crystal ball through a crack in the crates, waiting.
The crystal ball rolled forward, then tipped over. It rubbed itself on the floor, emitting a strange hum.
Zeke frowned. What is it doing?
His side began to hum. Startled, Zeke looked down.
Crystals crawled out from his gut where the bullet had grazed him. Glowing fainty, they hummed in resonance with the crystal ball.
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Fuck! Zeke grabbed at the crystals. Pain shot through him, only to get shoved down by Resilience a second later. He yanked them free.
At the core of the crystals, a bullet-shaped lump of crystal came out of his body, streaked with blood. He glared at it. That thing made crystal bullets? How does that even work? Shouldn’t they shatter in the gun?
Crystal screeching on the tiled floor, the crystal ball rounded on Zeke.
Zeke startled. He took off. Barely a second later, a gunshot echoed in the concrete warehouse. Crystals burst out across the aisle from him, surging up where the bullet struck.
Looking at the bloodied crystal in his hand, Zeke hesitated, then ate it. It’s part of an apocalypse. Maybe I can get skills.
[Devour]
Crystal crunched between his teeth and scraped down his throat. It slammed into his stomach like a brick. It is a rock, after all.
…Come to think of it, how is all of this coming out the other end?
Let’s… not think about that.
Crystal Bullet
Member of the Crystal Apocalypse
Level +.1
Choose Skill
Can’t
Can’t
Growth (Minor)
Enhances growth rate, especially of non-living entities.
Zeke pressed his lips together. Guess I’m picking Growth.
Ahead of him, double doors led out into the museum. Zeke charged through, sprinting into the museum itself.
Exhibits stretched in all directions. Wax figures stood stiffly under bright lighting. Skeletons of all sizes and shapes hung on metal poles or sat displayed on pedestals, all of them lying still and dead, unlike the t-rex that had stepped over Zeke earlier. Strange minerals and shining crystals laid under bright lights, a giant pendulum swung in the distance, dead beetles glistened from pins, and off in a corner, a cat sarcophagus shot him a judging look.
Phew. Not everything became an apocalypse.
He furrowed his brows. Wait. Why is it so… twisted in here? I don’t remember it being like this.
Paths led off left and right, splitting and branching near-infinitely. Exhibits abruptly dead-ended routes, and some routes turned back in on themselves. Lights flickered, entirely dark in some places. A staircase dropped down onto the top of an exhibit, and around the corner, an elevator dinged as it went sideways.
Museum Apocalypse
Danger Rating: C
Level: 5
Rumbling sounded from behind him. Zeke ran off. No time to waste. If I stand here for too long, that thing’s going to crystalize me!
He charged off, running toward the staircase. Not only do the stairs keep the crystal from chasing me, but also, the café is on the fourth floor. That’s where Mia is… or was. This might be a wild goose chase, but I can’t just abandon her.
Especially not with Ryan right there. Who knows what’s going through his head right now? Guy needs a psychiatrist and some jail time.
As he ran, he passed a diorama with a wax figure inside. He passed it by, then paused. The Neanderthal figure raised a stone tool in one hand, smashing it toward a rock below. He jumped into the diorama and pulled at the stone tool. Come on! Give it to me!
The wax figure stared into infinity. Its grip on the stone tool didn’t shift an inch.
Zeke scowled. “You aren’t even real.”
The crystal ball rumbled close enough for him to see its shiny top poking around the lower-slung exhibits. Abandoning the tool, Zeke ran on. Dammit.
Behind him, the wax figure turned its head, watching him go.
Zeke turned the corner and found himself face-to-face with a dead end. A glass-covered bookshelf exhibited ancient books, their dusty spines turned toward the visitor. Gritting his teeth, he lowered his right shoulder and charged the glass, only to bounce off.
Come on! Break! He backed up, preparing to charge it again.
The crystal ball rounded the corner. It raised the gun. Zeke ducked out of the way.
Bang!
Glass shattered behind him. Old books rained down around Zeke, flapping their fragile pages as they fell.
That works. Zeke jumped up, climbing the bookshelf. Glass shards dug into his fingers, but thanks to Resilience, he ignored the pain. Scurrying up onto the top of the bookshelf, he half-ran, half-crawled over to the next exhibit, then the next. Only when three exhibits separated him from the crystal ball did he dare to stand and run.
“Hey! You there! How do we get down?” someone shouted from atop the staircase.
Zeke looked up. People?
Instantly, his stomach grumbled.
Calm down there. I’m not that hungry yet. He reached the staircase and jumped up two stairs at a time. The crystal ball fired after him. Crystal bullets slammed into the stairs, bursting out into beautiful pink growths.
The people at the top of the stairs screamed and fled, their voices suspiciously high-pitched. Zeke jumped up the final stair and found himself facing an old, tired-looking teacher and a group of about twenty elementary-school aged kids.
Ah. That’s a problem.
“Everyone! What did I say? Quiet and calm, quiet and calm,” the man said, keeping his voice steady. “Come this way. Let’s back away from the stairs, okay? Get around the corner. We’re all going to be okay.”
The children cried and wailed, mostly ignoring him. As a lump, they moved somewhat toward the wall. Seeing his success, the man sighed and turned to Zeke. “I take it… oh dear god! What happened to you?”
Zeke glanced down. “Uh. A lot of things.”
“Are you okay? Do you need help? First aid?” the man asked, panicking.
Weren’t you telling the kids to be quiet and calm ten seconds ago? Zeke chuckled. He waved his hand. “I’m fine. If you want to get out…”
He pointed behind him. “Just climb down an exhibit, then hook a left. The loading dock isn’t far from there. You’ll be out in the streets, and…”
And, is that better? There’s apocalypses out there, too.
The man peered down the stairs to the bottom, where the gun-wielding crystal ball awaited them. “What about that?”
“Oh… uh, it’ll probably get bored and leave in a bit. It already left the museum once,” Zeke said, shrugging. He looked over the class. Dammit. That’s a lot of kids. I want to help, but what can I do? Where can I take them? I…
No, I’ll help. I just have to find Mia first. Once I find Mia, we can all go find safety together.
The man nodded. “Alright. We’ll stay up here until then. There’s still running water, at least, so…”
Zeke nodded. “Stay safe, okay? Give me a minute, and I’ll come guide you guys out. I have to find someone first. A girl, short shorts, chestnut hair to her shoulders, blue shirt?”
The man shook his head. “I’m sorry, I can’t help you. I’ve been too busy watching the kids.”
One of the girls looked up, her straw-blonde pigtails bouncing. “Was she pretty? Like really pretty. And had this biiiiiig drink!”
“Yeah,” Zeke said. The big drink clinches it.
The girl pointed behind her. “I saw her! In the café.”
“The café is…?” Zeke pointed up.
“Not anymore. If she’s in there, good luck,” the man said ominously.
Zeke took a deep breath. “Okay. I’m going to go get Mia. If you guys see a break, run for it. If not… if not, I’ll be back, and I’ll get you out of here, okay?”
The man nodded. “Thank you. I appreciate the offer.”
With one last nod, Zeke took off, leaving the man behind.
Mia! I’m coming!