The last part of the plan is to set up enough explosives under the bear’s ass for a space launch.

I sneak towards it, my nerves on their ends. Everyone is out by now, so I’m all alone among almost three thousand monsters. Not that I’d stand a better chance with them here if things go wrong, but the feeling of sheer isolation presses down on me.

I get to within fifty yards or so, trying to decide how to do this. I could set up the explosives in the house itself, right under the boss. That would work, but I’m afraid it might not be enough. The structure itself would absorb and redirect part of the blast. Even if that part would be miniscule, it would still be a waste. I want all of it to slam the boss and send it sky high.

The second, less safe option is to climb up there and set them up around the boss itself, all while praying to every deity in existence and beyond that it doesn’t wake up.

Because I’m me, and I don’t like my plans without at least one suicidal element in them, I go for the second approach.

Or I try to, at least. I take another step, careful not to disturb anything, when I hear galloping behind me. The scouts are coming back with more monsters for the horde.

“Fuck.”

I’m out in the open. There's nowhere to hide. The narrow space between the sleeping monsters doesn't make retreat easy either. I look around for anything, but the closest thing is the house.

I won't make it there in time.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I growl as I pull out a knife.

The closest monster to me is some kind of mammal, but what it used to be before it transformed is anyone's guess. Some kind of rodent judging by the teeth. I lift up its head, hand clamped around its snout, and I crawl under it as I slip the knife into its throat.

It wakes up, confused for a split second. The hibernation effect goes away and is replaced with something else, but I don't get to read it. I jerk the knife around in the wound and kill the monster before it can yelp or struggle.

The body goes limp and the weight presses down on me, but it's not too bad. The thing is the size of a cow, but I'm much stronger than I used to be. I shift under it until I'm hidden, pushing a hand into its wound to stop the blood from flowing.

I don't want the smell to give me away.

The new monsters pass by my position, herded from behind by the boss's scouts. I lift the body on top of me just an inch, enough to see without being seen myself. Ten, twenty, thirty pairs of feet. Some are mammals, others are insects. A few are skittering spiders the size of people.

None of the newcomers stop, but one of the scouts does.

Visejaw - Level 14.

Health: 240/240.

Mana: 100/100.

This monster is boosted by a wave boss.

It's some kind of dog or wolf, covered in long, shaggy fur matted with dirt and blood. I hold my breath, not daring to move a single muscle. It comes near, sniffing the ground as its beady black eyes scan its surroundings.

This is it, I think. I'm found. It'll howl and wake up the others.

Behind it, the newcomers approach the wave boss. The massive bear cracks open one eye and yawns, its maw big enough to swallow a human whole.

Come on, leave.

The hibernating status effect appears over the heads of the new monsters. One by one, they look for places to sleep. A few enter the container house, but the majority just plop to the ground and curl up where they stand.

The hibernation status effect appears above their heads, and the timer is the same as the others.

The Visejaw takes a step closer. Its companions leave the area one by one, but it is rooted in place. Another similar monster takes a nip at its hind leg and yowls, as if telling it to move.

It doesn't, and the other monster huffs before it leaves.

Just my fucking luck, I think.

The Vicejaw sniffs again, head lower. It snarls and lets out a deep grumble. I can't move. Can't breathe. My lungs burn for air and my head spins. The monster lowers its head all the way to the ground and we make eye contact.

We stare at each other for a long moment, still as a couple of statues.

It breaks eye contact first. I take a deep breath and push the corpse off of me as the Vicejaw pulls back. Its head rises, ready to howl, and I'm not fast enough.

Thwack.

An arrow hits it in the right temple. A moment later, I plunge the knife in its left temple. Light instantly leaves the monster’s eyes and its body goes limp, but I catch it and lower it gently to the ground.

I pull the arrow out of its head and, with a smile, I add the fourth mark. Emily isn’t visible from here, but I know she’s up in a tree somewhere. I raise the arrow and four fingers before I put it into my inventory for safekeeping.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

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I don’t waste any more time after that. It’s getting dark fast, and I want to get out of here while I can still see.

I run up to the house and I leap, catching onto the top ledge. Pulling myself up the rest of the way is surprisingly easy, I can do it with one hand. Hell, I could’ve probably jumped up in one fell swoop. I just didn’t do it to avoid making unnecessary noise.

The system’s enhancements to our bodies are pretty insane.

The bear wave boss is sound asleep. It somehow feels even bigger from up close, its large presence unnerving me. I get to work stacking the propane tanks and pound bombs around it as it snores.

Half-way through the process, the bear yawns and I nearly shit myself. I move to hide behind its bulk as it opens its eyes, nearly tripping and falling off the flat roof. It takes a lazy look around, yawns again, and then it rolls on its other side.

Right towards me.

The huge monster bumps into me, and this time I do fall. I hit the ground on my back with a loud thud, the impact forcing the air out of my lungs.

None of the monsters wake up, thankfully. I spend a minute staring at the evening sky, fighting the urge to gasp for breath as my chest constricts.

Fuck me, that was close.

When I can breathe freely, I get back up and climb on the roof again. The bear rolled on top of some of the explosives, but that’s not a problem. All the better, actually. They’ll literally go off right under its ass.

I stack the rest around it, point at the two of the tanks, and then I point at two gunmen to take aim. Now that that’s done, I have to leave. The gunmen are waiting for me to exit the park and give the signal before they’ll blow it all to hell, and we’ll all have to book it while the monsters are still reeling.

At least that’s the plan. A plan that, despite some hitches, went surprisingly well so far. That should’ve been my warning that something will get majorly fucked.

One of the monsters howls and my skin tightens a couple of sizes.

How? I wonder. How did I not hear them coming back?

I look around and get my answer. They didn’t return with more monsters for the horde, it’s just a single scout. The one that nipped the Vicejaw to get it moving. It now stands over the corpse of its fellow monster, letting off a long, whimpering howl.

Some of the monsters stir in their sleep. Behind me, the wave boss does the same. I have to do something and I have to do it fast. My only chance, I figure, is to blow it early and get out during the confusion.

I raise both arms up in the air. One is an open hand displaying all five fingers, the other is a flat palm that I bring down in a chopping motion. It basically means shoot the charges in five seconds, and I hope all of the gunmen get it.

I charge up a dash, take a bit of a head start, and I burst into a full powered sprint. The sheer speed is insane, I can barely react and maintain control. I launch myself off the roof in the blink of an eye and hit the ground still running.

A moment later, loud gunshots claim the silence. The charges all explode. Chaos erupts.

A bunch of things happen in quick succession. All of them unfold in a fraction of a second, as I go at a cozy five hundred miles an hour.

The shockwave from the boss bomb slams into me from behind. I’m thrown off-balance as the heat burns my backside to a crisp, but I still run. Something, probably a monster’s flying, flaming corpse, hits me in the side. I somehow still run dead ahead, right towards another explosion’s fireball. I plow into one monster, pick it up off the ground, and trip over another one I can’t see just as dash abruptly ends.

Problem is that I still have a ton of momentum. I smash into the ground, killing the monster in my arms instantly. Its body throws me up in the air like a trampoline, and I soar through the fireball in my way.

I tumble, debris and monster parts pelting me from every direction. My health takes a huge dip. I crash to the ground and roll through the dirt, using the leftover momentum to right myself and break into a run again.

Fireballs and plumes of smoke rise into the dark sky, blotting out the night’s first stars. Half the horde was vaporized instantly, and the other half is waking up to their world on fire, probably confused out of their fucking minds. Howls and yelps erupt around me as the monsters scramble.

I keep running, taking blows and glancing collisions. My health drops like a stone. I hit back, pushing monsters out of my way and gaining small amounts of frenzy. It holds back some of the pain that shoots into me from every direction, but plenty still makes it through.

The fence gets closer. Two hundred yards, a hundred yards, fifty yards. Something crashes to the ground on my left, shaking the entire world. I spare a side glance as I run and I see the God damned bear.

It’s pissed. It’s wounded. It’s scorched. But the one thing it isn’t is dead, its health only about half-way down. I wonder what the hell it will take to kill that thing as it roars and takes off towards me.

The huge paws rise up and slam down as it gallops. Any lesser monsters in its way get bowled aside or turned to paste. It will catch me, I just know it.

There’s only one solution, but I have to time it right. I wait until it's nearly upon me, swinging its oversized arms. At the same time, two random monsters that fail to read the room try to pounce on me.

I trigger dash again, turning into a blur and narrowly avoiding the bear’s claws. They slice one of the pouncing monsters into ribbons, and I body slam the other one, saving its stupid ass from a similar fate.

Then I use it as a battering ram to push the riff raff out of my way. Dash only lasts a fraction of a second, but in that time, I pick up enough speed to hopefully break through the chain link fence. The thin metal mesh bites into the monster, turning its back into cubed meat. The fence bulges, wooden posts groaning until one snaps.

Resistance vanishes as the fence crashes to the ground. I throw the thrashing monster away and I keep going, but I notice that its status has changed. The hibernation effect went away, replaced by something called groggy.

I focus on it, and this time, the system gives me more details. I push the notification aside and leave it there to read later.

Pops waits for me in the treeline, his eyes wide with shock. I peek over my shoulder to see the monsters spilling out of the trailer park, with the bear chasing after me again. Then I turn my attention back to Pops, and I notice that something is off.

He holds his arms out in a Jesus pose, and although it’s hard to make out in the darkness, I see the glint of guns floating in the air around him.

“Duck!” He yells.

I bend down. The guns bark in unison, sending streaks of red hot lead flying over my head. Monsters die behind me by the dozens. I peek again, this time between my legs, and I see the bullets pinging off the bear but doing minimal damage. Its health barely budges with each impact.

As soon as it starts, Pops’s skill runs out. The guns vanish back into his inventory. I straighten and push with all my might, running for all I’m worth.

“Go! Go! Go!”

Pops turns and bolts, but I overtake him. I grab him in passing, pull him into my arms, and I trigger dash a final time. My mana depletes as we speed up, ricocheting off of every tree in our way.

My control still isn’t great with the full length dashes, I’ll definitely have to practice with them.

I’m just about ready to collapse in pain and exhaustion by the time my momentum falters. It puts some good distance between us and the monsters, but it’s not enough.

“The pets! Where are the pets?!” I yell, not seeing them anywhere.

“Here!” Chris yells.

The group, pets included, burst out from the forest in a tight formation. They stop just long enough for me and Pops to jump on, then we’re off.