After scavenging around for a bit of bird food, the pair headed back outside toward Chad's waiting bike and started further into the city's center. The whole while, Chad couldn't help but feel positively giddy about his new companion. That was even in spite of the newfound complications his existence presented.

Having been freed from his cage after so long, the parrot had no desire to get inside a new one, even for transport. But between the speed of Ol' Bessie and the ever-increasing number of creatures they encountered, flying or sitting on Chad's shoulder simply weren't options either.

And that's how Chad found himself driving along with a parrot stuffed down the front of his shirt.

"Bleh!" Squawkers spat out another chunk of monster remains. "Could you maybe not splatter these things like overripe fruit?! You've got a passenger here!"

"Look, I'm just trying to make sure they're dead." Chad punched a floating eyeball out of the sky, wincing as it, too, exploded all over his front. "Do you want these things coming up behind us?"

"At least then I wouldn't be eating half of them!" The bird began to mutter grumpily to himself. "This is gonna take forever to get outta my feathers… And the smell…"

Chad couldn't help but sympathize with the bird. At this point, his arm was positively caked in goop, guts, and blood from every color of the rainbow. He could only imagine his face and jacket looked much the same. At first, he'd made an effort to wipe off the gunk on his pants, but all it had accomplished was adding a similar crusty layer to his jeans. Though considering that some of these things had acid blood, the additional coating might have been a blessing in disguise. Especially now that enemies were showing up with more frequency.

"On your left!"

Chad's head snapped to the side. There, the familiar form of a blood imp hurtled toward his face with a high-pitched screech. He backhanded it contemptuously, earning himself yet another explosion of gore.

Ok, maybe Squawkers has a point. The thought flitted through his mind as they hurtled through the shower of bloody droplets. For a moment, he imagined this was what a car windshield felt like as it hurtled through a cloud of insects. If the car was going over a hundred. Maybe I can ease back a LITTLE. This kinda feels like I'm in a cartoon.

"Oh, hey!" A surprised call came from below as Chad returned his attention to the front. "I got experience for that!"

"Really?" Chad blinked.

"Yeah!" He felt the bird squirm a bit to reposition. "Maybe because I called out that it was there? Must mean that I saved you again. I got experience for the python too, but that's obviously because I was the MVP of that fight."

"Huh." Chad frowned in thought. "Could be. I got experience from Annie's kills while driving, too."

"Annie?"

"A friend of mine. You'll meet her when we get out of here."

"Gotcha." He felt the bird nod. "Well, that's good news for me. Maybe I'll try to do it more often. Speaking of, enemy up ahead!"

It wasn't entirely clear to Chad how the whole experience thing worked yet. He earned points from killing things, with higher-level creatures awarding more experience. That much was obvious. But how did the system decide who'd been involved in a fight? Was there any other way to gain experience?

Similar questions whirled through Chad's mind only to be subsequently discarded. Even if he knew, it wouldn't change much of what he was doing. That meant there was no point in worrying about it. Not right now. He twisted the handlebars in the direction of a mutant turtle. Besides, he had to keep his head in the game.

Thump.

You have defeated a Tortalitus (Lvl 1)! +1 Exp.

***

Eventually, something new appeared on the horizon. A blockade of some sort obscured his vision of the road ahead.

Chad eased up on the speed as they approached. The scene soon resolved into a more detailed picture of concrete barriers, dumpsters, and police cars that spanned the entire width of the street before him. A line of people wielding various firearms and other weapons gathered behind it. Some took up positions near the top of the barricade, scanning the area beyond. The rest of the group stood more or less idle near the base.

A few of the gathered individuals turned to look at Chad as he pulled up, their posture tense. The occasional ring of gunshots and screeches of unearthly pain suggested that their caution was well warranted. From this distance, he could clearly see the uniforms and patches that identified these people as a combination of law enforcement and military. One of them - part of the Dallas police, from the looks of it - stepped forward as Chad parked.

"Move along, if you please." The man hooked a thumb into his belt as he called out in an authoritative voice. "It's dangerous 'round here. You'll want to evacuate to a safer area."

"Thanks for the warning, but I'm good." Chad nodded further down the street. "I've gotta get down that way to rescue a friend."

"Ah, so you're one of those." The officer nodded. "One of the folks who wants to go straight in for one reason or another."

"Pretty much. Mind if I come through?"

The officer crossed his arms and eyed him. At this point, Chad cut quite a figure. The monstrous size of his arm had ceased to fit in his shirt sleeve, a problem he'd fixed by slicing through the cuff down to the underarm portion. The jacket he'd left intact as much as possible, wearing it on his left side but leaving it hanging off his right. His belt boasted a hunting knife, ax, and pistol, while a rifle, shotgun, and backpack were slung across his back. On top of it all, the layer of grime and gore made Chad look as though he'd been dipped in blackish-brown paint.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

"Well, you do seem well armed…" The officer admitted as he stroked his beard. "How're you doin' on ammo?"

"I've got plenty." He shifted the black backpack hanging off one shoulder. "If I'm being honest though, I haven't used any of these much yet."

"You haven't?" The man looked at him dubiously.

"Nope. Why would I when I've got this?"

With that, Chad flexed his oversized arm. All at once, the muscles and veins bulged comically into an even larger display of sheer strength. It threatened to even rip through Chad's already modified shirt sleeve. The effect was magnified further as the shell of gore cracked across its surface.

Still, the officer's expression didn't change. "Are you tellin' me you've just been… punchin' these monsters as you go?"

He grinned. "Yup."

"And that's your plan goin' in?"

"Yup."

"...Even though you have a gun?"

"I mean, might as well save the ammo."

Squawkers piped up from his jacket. "It's no joke, believe me. He squeezed the head clean off a python when we first met. Didn't even look hard."

The officer glanced around in surprise for a moment before noticing the wiggling spot on Chad's front. "What in Sam Hill is that?!"

Chad glanced down. Sure enough, the parrot had been rendered unrecognizable from the mess splattered across his front. "Ah, one second."

He pulled at his collar and helped the bird free. It popped out of his shirt with an overdramatic flutter of feathers. "Finally! You don't know how darn cramped it feels in there. Yuck."

The officer's expression rapidly shifted from surprise, to disbelief, then to utter bewilderment as Squawkers perched on Chad's shoulder. "Is that… a talking parrot?"

"I know, right?!" The arm wrestler's grin broadened. "Isn't he awesome?"

He heard the man mutter something under his breath. He couldn't make out all the words, but he was fairly certain that "nonsense" and "don't get paid enough" were in there. Eventually, the officer cleared his throat. "That is certainly something, yes. But I don't know how a talking parrot is gonna help you survive out there."

Chad let out a sigh of frustration. "Look, officer. I'm not asking for anyone to go with me. I just need to get through to help my friend. What happens after that is my problem."

The two men held each other's gazes for a while longer. The officer had a point, and Chad knew it. Had he been in the man's place, he would have hesitated to let anyone throw their life away by running straight into danger as well. He already had, in some sense, by keeping Annie out of here. But at the same time, he couldn't turn back. Not when he was so close.

Besides, what would I tell her? That I just gave up? No chance. He met the officer's eyes with steady determination. I'll just go around if I have to.

"...Fine." The stalemate broke with a resigned sigh. "We'll let you through. But be careful. No one's comin' after you if you get in trouble out there."

You have displayed rudimentary knowledge of how to convince people that something is actually a good idea, trust me bro. Persuasion (E) proficiency earned!

Chad tried to manage a solemn nod despite his growing grin. "That's fine. I've been taking care of myself pretty well so far." Chad stretched his arm, rotating it in wide circles. The motion made him wince slightly as the twinge in his back redoubled its complaints. "I'll be back before you know it."

"Suit yourself." With that, the man called back over his shoulder. "We got a civvy coming through! Make a path."

The officer's declaration was met with calls of acknowledgment as people began shifting one of the dumpsters to the side. Chad glanced around at the group of defenders as they worked. Most of them appeared to be between levels five and seven. The sight made him wonder just how long they'd been here.

"I was wondering why these monsters hadn't taken over the whole city yet. You're doing a pretty good job at keeping things under control."

The man chuckled. "Appreciate the compliment, sir, but you'll be wantin' to thank the ones actually pushin' this nonsense back. They're closer to the center. We're just keepin' watch and holdin' the line back here."

"Don't sell yourself short." Chad grinned and clasped the man's hand in an intentionally gentle handshake. "Does that mean I should expect more barricades like this further in?"

The officer nodded. "Dunno how many, but the further in you get, the more heated it's gonna be. They won't let anyone but military near the front lines right now. Too much risk of collateral damage."

Chad gave a nod of understanding. "That's fine. I'm not going too far, so it shouldn't be a problem."

Chad approached the newly made gap in the wall and looked out. The area beyond had seen better days, to put it lightly. Craters and potholes rendered the street almost unrecognizable. Scorch marks adorned the sides of most buildings, though they were often obscured by the rubble and piles of mutant bodies scattered every which way. Needless to say, whatever conflict had taken place here had also annihilated most of the windows.

As he took in the scene, ice ran down Chad's spine. Not at the proximity of the portal or the sheer number of fallen monsters beyond. No, it was a different realization that made his blood cold.

Slowly, he turned back toward the group of defenders. The officer arched an eyebrow at him. "Having second thoughts?"

"No. I just…" He swallowed thickly. "...Can I leave my bike here?"

The road ahead was treacherous and uneven, full of holes and obstacles like nothing he'd seen so far. Navigating Ol' Bessie through it all would be nigh on impossible. Even if he did manage it somehow, the bike would certainly come through worse for wear. And that was even before Chad considered the fact that he could certainly use a second free hand for dealing with anything that came his way. No, all signs pointed toward one thing - he'd have to leave his faithful companion behind.

"Sure." The man shrugged, obviously indifferent to Chad's internal dilemma. "I can't guarantee it'll be safe or anything, but I can say we're not gonna steal it. We'll be holdin' down the fort here as long as we're needed."

With a sober nod, he knelt down next to the bike. "It's ok, girl. I'll be back before you know it. You did good so far. Just take a little rest with these nice people, ok? You'll be safer here than with me."

"Uh…" A chirp sounded from his shoulder as he straightened once more. "Are you talking to your bike?"

"Yup." Chad rubbed at his face.

"...Why?"

"Because I wanted to say goodbye."

"...Why?"

Chad looked at the bird as though it were obvious. "Well, we're going into danger, here. I can't take her with me."

"Oh, but you can take me?!"

"I mean, yeah. Why not?" He frowned.

"Because I'm an actual living thing, you dimwit! Not a hunk of metal!"

Chad gasped in horror before turning a glare on the parrot. "Don't say things like that. You'll hurt her feelings."

"Her feelings?! I'm the one about to throw myself into a warzone, here!"

"I mean, you don't have to come either, if you don't want to."

"Yeah, and leave your sorry ass to die? No thanks." The parrot scoffed. "If I don't go, you'll be mincemeat within five minutes. Someone needs to watch your back."

A wide grin spread across Chad's face. "Awww, that's nice of you! Thanks Squawkers!"

The parrot closed its eyes and let out a long-suffering sigh. "You know what, whatever. Let's just go already."

With that, the pair squeezed through the small opening and headed deeper into the city.