Chad heard Annie's quick footsteps as she hurried into the room, coming to a halt behind his shoulder.

"Everything ok-- what the actual fuck?!"

Yeah. That's what I thought.

Annie spluttered at the morbid scene as Chad's eyes roved over the back porch with horror. Some distant part of his mind registered that the cats had gained quite a few levels from their murder spree. Most of them sported tags identifying them as level two to five. But mostly he just stood in shocked silence.

"Told you they're damn demons..." Squawkers muttered with a gulp. He pulled his head a little deeper into Chad's shirt where he was currently stuffed.

The arm wrestler watched a Siamese lick its bloodied paw clean, then turned back to Jerry. "What the hell happened?"

"I-I don't know!" He stammered, raising his hands in surrender. "I told you, I was just sitting here practicing when I noticed I hadn't seen the cats in a while. And then I smelled the blood. And..."

"Oh, Chadwick! You're back!"

Gram Gram emerged from her bedroom as Chad stepped back from the door, slamming it closed in a rush. He heard the wood crack, but not shatter entirely. "Gram Gram! Hey!"

The old woman chuckled and shuffled her walker forward. "You made it just in time for dinner. I made beef stew tonight..."

Gram Gram continued talking, but her words felt distant to Chad. Instead, he was focused on the tag above her head.

Crazy Cat Lady (Lvl 4)

Ok, seriously. What the actual fuck is going on here?!

"Sounds great, Gram Gram." He gritted his teeth in a forced grin. "Here, how about you go rest while it finishes up?"

"Oh, thank you, Chadwick." She graced him with a warm smile. "But that's quite alright. It's ready to eat. In fact, I was thinking that we could eat outside..."

"I think it's a little late for that, Gram Gram." He stepped toward the old woman, ushering her back into her room.

"Is it, now? Goodness, I must have lost track of the time." She straightened slightly to peek through the window at the dwindling sunlight. Chad blocked her view with his body.

"Yeah, the sun's already setting. But I gotta wash up anyway before we eat. Just rest for a few more minutes, ok?"

"Are you certain?" She frowned thoughtfully. "Well, if you insist. Don't take too long, though. I think your friend Jerry is getting hungry."

"I-I'm alright!" The Musician squeaked. "I can wait!"

Gram Gram chuckled. "If you're sure. Just let me know when you're ready. Why, I just got to the most wonderful part of my novel..."

After gently escorting Gram Gram back into her rocking chair, Chad closed the door behind her and sighed in relief. I don't think she noticed. Somehow. I never thought I'd be so happy about her awful eyesight.

He stepped toward Annie and Jerry where they still stood by the back door, closing the curtains on his way. His voice came out in a harsh whisper. "What the fuck do we do about all that?!"

"I don't know!" Annie replied in equally hushed tones.

"Well, I don't want Gram Gram to see it!" Chad muttered. "I don't care how bad her eyes are, that is not good for the heart right there."

"Can we bury them?" Squawkers hissed.

Annie snapped her fingers. "Right! Your granddad had that excavator, right? We can dig a big hole and toss everything in!"

"We could... or I can just dig one by hand," Chad shrugged. "I mean, it's not that hard."

A loud grumble cut through their conversation. Chad looked down at his stomach as it let out a second complaint shortly after the first.

"...Though let's do it fast. I actually am kinda hungry."

***

Between Chad's strength, a nearby shovel, and their combined efforts, they were able to quickly toss the bodies into a freshly dug hole. None of them were particularly enthusiastic about the task -- Jerry in particular -- but they all agreed that it was better than waking up to the stench of rotting corpses the next morning.

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The cats didn't seem to care one way or another as they worked, shifting out of the way with annoyed expressions whenever their thrones of mangled squirrel bodies were disrupted. However, Squawkers elected to stay hidden inside Chad's shirt for as long as possible to avoid any unwanted attention.

"Seriously though... why does Gram Gram keep leveling up?" Chad dumped a wheelbarrow of carcasses into the hole before turning to fill another.

"I have no idea whatsoever," Jerry called over. His voice came out nasally as he pinched his nose shut. "The only things she's been engaged in are reading, cooking, and listening to my practice. We've had nothing but a peaceful afternoon!"

"I'm pretty sure it's a class thing." Squawkers suggested. "It could have to do with one of her traits. You should ask what they are."

"Hmmm..." Chad frowned. He could do that. The issue was, he didn't want to. He'd gone through a lot of effort to keep his grandmother away from all this apocalypse nonsense. So why shove it in her face now?

"I don't think she knows how to bring up the system window," he evaded.

"That's even more reason to ask," Squawkers pointed out. "She's probably sitting on stat points and skills, then!"

Chad's frown deepened as he lifted the deer carcass into the wheelbarrow. Seeing his expression, Annie sighed. "Look, Chad. I know you want to keep her safe. But maybe this is the way to do it."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, Squawk has a point. If she's levelin' without getting in danger herself, then that's a great thing!" She explained. "Plus, if she's got a bunch of stats that need spendin', why not get her to spend em' on constitution? Then maybe you won't hafta worry so much about a stiff breeze knockin' her over."

"...I guess so..."

Chad considered that. Really, they made good points. Not only would it help them learn something, but it would also help keep Gram Gram safe from harm.

Heck, who knows? Maybe it'll even fix her health issues, too.

"...Ok." He relented. "I'll talk to her after dinner."

"Great!" Squawkers crooned from within his shirt. "Also, I think that's the last of 'em. Let's go wash up and eat."

"Finally." Annie stretched, her reddened hands reaching toward the darkened sky. "I'm starving."

"How do you still have an appetite after that?" Jerry gaped. "This was disgusting!"

"Eh, you get used to it." Chad elbowed him in the ribs with his left. "Now c'mon, let's go."

After rinsing their hands outside and a series of quick showers, they finally settled down for dinner. Although the grass and porch still bore rather obvious smears of blood and bits of entrails, Chad was fairly certain that his grandmother wouldn't notice the details -- especially not at night. Still, he made a note to ensure she didn't go back there until they'd had a chance to clean up more thoroughly.

The beef stew was delicious, as to be expected of Gram Gram's cooking, and Chad ate much more of it than he'd expected after the long day. Even better, he managed to do it without completely mangling his spoon.

Huh. I didn't destroy the door either... maybe it's that dexterity coming in handy? If that's the case, I wouldn't mind getting some more of it.

"And how was your day, Chadwick?"

"Pretty good," he shrugged his oversized shoulder. "Got a lot done."

"Oh, good." Gram Gram beamed. "What have you been up to? Did your wrestling take you all the way out here?"

"Kind of, yeah."

"I see." Gram Gram turned toward Annie. "I'm glad you came out to cheer him on, dearie. He's a lucky man to have such a supportive woman at his side."

Annie nearly shot stew out of her nose as Chad groaned. "Gram Gram, for the last time..."

The woman tittered. "Really, Chadwick. Don't be so embarrassed about it."

Aside from Gram Gram's occasional comments about Annie and Chad's "relationship", their dinner proceeded pretty peacefully. They made small talk about the day's events, ensuring they stayed away from more details about the invasion and fighting. They would catch Jerry up on those later. In the meantime, the old woman was more than happy to fill in any awkward gaps with a story or tangent of her own.

After filling their bellies, Chad leaned back in his seat with a contented sigh. Damn. Who knew the end of the world would have such good food?

To his left, Annie cleared her throat and gave him a pointed look. At his questioning glance, she nodded toward Gram Gram.

...Right. The system thing.

With a much different kind of sigh, he braced himself. "Hey, Gram Gram?"

"Yes, Chadwick?" The grandmother stooped in her chair, a handmade shawl pulled tight about her shoulders. "What is it, dear?"

"Have you ever..." He thought about how to phrase the question. "You ever looked up and seen a blue box? With text in it?"

The woman frowned. "Well, I suppose I must've seen one on the television at some point. Though I don't watch it much nowadays. Why, I'd much rather curl up with a nice book..."

"No, I mean, just hovering there." Chad pressed on before the conversation got entirely derailed. "Not on the TV. Kinda like a projector's shining on your eyeballs."

"Chadwick," Gram Gram chuckled, "My eyes may be bad, but I promise that I'm not hallucinating yet. Why, I've still got years left in me before I'll start worrying about that."

"It's not-- well, I guess it does kinda look like that..." He hummed for a moment, stumped as to what he should say next.

"Miss McMasterson?" Annie chimed in.

"Please, dearie, call me Gram Gram."

"Alright... Gram Gram." Annie spoke the nickname with obvious hesitation. "Can you focus on the word 'Status' for me? Just, er, imagine it in your head, I guess."

"Well of course. Is this one of those meditation exercises? Mary Beth is all into those nowadays-- Oh!"

The old woman gave a start, her usually half-lidded eyes widening in surprise. Annie nodded in satisfaction. Chad couldn't see it himself, but he was pretty certain she'd managed to pull up the window.

Gram Gram adjusted her glasses and leaned forward, staring into empty air. "Why, what's this? 'Status?' What does that mean? And why does it say my name right there?"

"You can read it?" Chad asked to confirm.

"Yes I can, dearie. In fact, it's quite easy to make out." The woman adjusted her glasses a little more. "Did someone fetch my readers when I wasn't looking?"

Chad and Annie shared a look of relief. Gram Gram could open her status screen. Now they could really get some answers.

And get her some more constitution, too.