Inside, we found Crunch curled up in one of the dog beds, by all appearances sound asleep. Then he effected one of the biggest, fakest yawns I’ve ever witnessed before, smacked his lips a few times, and turned in my direction.

[Oh, you’re back. Does that mean it’s morning already?]

Leeli and I shared a knowing look as Crunch stretched out his back before ambling over. He circled around me, sniffing a few times.

Just general sniffs. No butt stuff.

[Huh. Smells like you’ve been in a fight or two.] He glanced over at Zapper, where the little dog was currently chowing his way through as much of the dry dog food as his belly could hold, his tail whipping back and forth so quick it was amazing he didn’t lift off the ground.

Finally, Zapper broke away from stuffing his face long enough to answer. [We have, Captain Boss! Lots of fights! LOTS and lots of fights!!!]

[That so?] Crunch glanced back. There was a sudden tension to him that immediately put my hackles up. [Care to tell me what you’ve been up to?]

Briefly as I could, I described our adventures at the Foodmaxx. The longer I talked, the more Crunch seemed to relax. Weird. Had he been wanting me to fight, or something?

Whatever. Point is, by the end of my story he was nodding along. Not exactly in approval, but he didn’t look like he was moments away from ripping my throat out, either.

[So let me see if I got this straight. You decided the best use of your time last night was to go fight a bunch of monsters—despite my having told you not to.]

[Technically, you only told me not to put the rest of the pack in danger,] I pointed out. [And what else was I supposed to do? Staying here in the safe zone would have put the rest of you at risk, and unless I used another one, there was no way to sleep without leaving myself open to attack.]

I left unsaid my real reasons for wanting to clear the Foodmaxx, though I’m certain that Crunch at least suspected my motives. If he did though, he made no comment about it.

[You also brought Zapper along.]

[Yes, but only because he volunteered. Was I supposed to order him back to the rest of you? I’m not the leader of this pack, Captain.]

Crunch grunted, but from the slight twitch of his tail I could tell he approved of my response. [I’m not criticizing your choices, Bubba, just trying to understand them. Do you feel like your little adventure was worth it?]

[Why not see for yourself,] I said, summoning my two loot boxes. They dropped to the ground in front of me with a soft thump.

Everyone gathered around. My heart was thumping in my chest. The excitement in the air was a palpable thing, and I knew I needed to deliver on my promise. The last few loot boxes hadn’t been particularly good, but surely these... one of them was from a boss, and the other was a quest reward. That had to mean good things. It had to.

The silence continued to stretch out. Before it could become awkward, I started nosing the lid open on the blue loot box.

[Now, this one is only a blue quality,] I cautioned the others. [You shouldn’t expect it to be that impressive—]

The lid had barely cracked more than an inch when its contents literally exploded outward. I leapt back as items poured onto the floor. Several bright lights also burst out, popping over our heads in bright blasts of multicolored sparkles. For a brief moment, the word ‘Congratulations!’ formed from them before fading to smoke.

I blinked, the bright lights leaving afterimages in my eyes, and glanced around. Leeli was cowering beneath Benjamin, paws covering her eyes, while Zapper was barking incessantly and Crunch had his hackles up, eyes darting back and forth in search of a threat.

[The fuck was that, Wildling?]

Zapper halted so fast he almost flipped over. [Ooh, swears—]

[Quiet, Zapper.] Crunch’s gaze swung back to me. [Explain, now.]

[I... honestly have no idea.] I admitted. Maybe there was something special about this chest?

As the fireworks died out and nothing else emerged, we all slowly crept forward. A number of items had spilled onto the floor, so I started nosing through them first to see what all there was.

A dozen common cores, plus an equal number of small brown packets with the letters ‘MRE’ written on the side. I sniffed them to see if there was anything edible inside.

US Military MRE (Meal, Ready-to-Eat™)

Purchased from the finest surplus stores the good ol’ US of A has to offer, these series XXXIII MREs contain a mixture of such classics as chicken fajitas, beef brisket, pork ribs, and lemon pepper tuna. Sure, they may have lost some of their flavor due to age and improper storage, but you’re a dog, so what do you care?

Quantity = 12

[These look like food packets,] I tell the others. [Sounds like they have meat in them.]

Tails wagged appreciatively, and even Crunch gave the packets a curious sniff. I started working my way deeper into the chest, setting packets onto the ground around me.

Under all of the MREs, I found a small bracelet made of silver. A moment later the system helpfully populated a description.

Minor Skill Bracelet

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

Level 10

Once equipped, a single one of the user’s class skills may be assigned to it. Any assigned skill may be used (1) additional time before cooldown is activated. Skills may be switched out at any time, although the bracelet requires a fifteen-minute cooldown between switches. May be equipped to either a foreleg or hindleg.

Would you like to equip this now?

I stared at the description. It was barebones, with none of the snark I’d grown used to seeing, but that was hardly the issue. A second use of Claw Slash? That was... it would give me far more options in combat, or at the very least the ability to deal twice as much damage before needing to resort to more conventional attacks. I start salivating at the possibilities, only to immediately stop as realization set in.

If I wanted to use this, I’d need to give up one of the pieces of equipment I was currently wearing.

My stun bracelets were out, clearly. I’d grown far too used to having their utility in combat to just give them up. That left my replication bracelet or my bandana of cleverness. Both I could technically live without, but not without giving up something rather valuable. Being able to flee quickly had proven invaluable numerous times already, and without the additional cleverness, my stun wands became worth far less as well.

Unsure what to choose, I pulled the skill bracelet into my inventory. I’d have to think it over.

After that, I nosed the cores and MREs into five piles. [We should all put a few of these in our inventories. Usually food items come out ready to eat when you activate them from there. I imagine these will as well, given their name and all.]

[You sure, Bubba?] Leeli asked, eyeing one of the piles. [After all the work you went through to earn them?]

I noticed Crunch watching me out of the corner of my eye but kept my focus on the little dog. [I’m certain. We’re pack, after all. It’s no more than you’d do for me.]

[Hmm, if you say so.] Leeli nosed the pile in front of her, and it disappeared into her inventory. The others did the same. I pulled in my own pile, which was twice the size of anybody else’s. No one commented on that, not even Crunch, so I considered it a small win.

I might be trying to keep the pack’s favor, but I’m still a dog. Sacrificing a limb is easier than giving up food.

[Alright, this is all very interesting,] Crunch grumbled. [But let’s not be all day about it. What’s in the gray box?]

I turned my attention to the ‘red’ loot box. This was only the second time I’d gotten a box of this quality, which was supposed to be the best after black. Last time hadn’t disappointed, either, with not only my safe-zone generators, but the static field generator I was working my way up to being able to use.

And pancakes! Can’t forget about those.

So, sufficed to say, I was rather eager to see what this box had in store for me. Would it explode with loot the way the other one had? That would certainly impress the rest of the pack.

I nosed the lid, which opened with a soft hiss, revealing... nothing. No explosion of loot, or even a pile of it. I frowned and stepped closer to peer inside.

A small, black cube sat at the bottom. I stared at it, waiting for a description to appear. None did.

[What is it?] Leeli asked. Not knowing how to answer, I instead reached down and nosed the small cube.

Immediately, it pulled itself into me, like it was entering my inventory of its own accord. I reared back, unsure whether I should be panicking or not. A quick review of my inventory list didn’t show any change, however.

Then finally, words scrolled across my eyes.

Congratulations! You have unlocked your first hotbar button! It will now be automatically added to your interface.

At the bottom of my vision, a small back square appeared, a 2D version of the cube that had been in the box a moment ago. I stared at it, or tried to, anyway. Like with the timers, I could only see them on the periphery. If I focused on them, they floated away from me, just like one of those little black wriggly things you see on your eyeballs occasionally.

I waited, half-expecting a tutorial to appear at any moment. When one didn’t after several minutes, I turned back to the others. [I’m not sure what that was. But it came from a red loot box, so it must be pretty good. I think.]

[Red?] Crunch glanced at where the loot box had been, but it had already disappeared in that way they did. He grunted and turned back.

[Fascinating little performance. Now that it’s over, mind if I talk to you in private?]

[Uh, sure.] I padded after him towards the door, casting a quick glance back at the others. Zapper had started opening some of his own loot boxes, and I heard Leeli let out a gasp of excitement as he opened the first one.

Whatever had got her attention was hidden from my sight, and the next moment they all slipped from view as we passed through the doorway.

Outside, I found dawn was fully on its way now, with light spreading rapidly across the horizon towards us. I took a moment to close my eyes and feel the first rays of light bathe over me. As I did, a message appeared in my vision.

Warning: Rat Rot infection rate now at (29%).

Bleh. Way to ruin the start to a perfectly good morning. Also, it reminded me I’d now gone a full 24 hours without sleep. In some ways it seemed impossible that so much had happened in just a single day, but in other ways, I very much felt it.

I was ready to head back inside and crawl into bed for some much-needed rest, but there was no way to do that before having it out with Crunch. Might as well get it over with quick.

[So,] Crunch began. He glanced towards the approaching sunrise, his gaze contemplative. [I’ve been thinking. About what you said last night.]

[Oh?]

[And you’re right. I’ve been squandering opportunities to get stronger—for the pack to get stronger. Not to mention secure long-term supplies. This whole time I’ve been letting my natural instincts rule me and only focus on our immediate situation. We’re not dogs anymore, though, we’re canids. It’s time I started trying to think like one.]

My tail started to wag. [That’s good to hear, Captain. So what’s our next move?]

[What, you don’t have any suggestions?]

I did, actually, several of them. But I was also smart enough to know to keep them to myself. Crunch needed to feel like his authority was unquestioned, and the best way to do that right now was to leave decisions like this to him.

Besides, he already knew about all the supplies now available back at the Foodmaxx. If he chose to take us elsewhere, well... I guess I’d just have to live with that loss. Somehow.

Crunched eyed me for a moment, then grunted. [You’re a good dog, Bubba. I see my initial suspicions about you were wrong. Don’t misunderstand—I’m glad for that. But until I was certain I didn’t want to fully induct you into this pack.]

[What, you’re saying I wasn’t a member before?] I asked jokingly. Crunch’s expression, however, was dead serious.

[It’s time we talked about our next move. I’ve been avoiding this until I knew enough about you to be certain. Knew whether you were actually committed to this pack. I’ve... been wrong before. It wasn’t pretty.]

In my mind, something finally clicked. I remembered what hints Zapper had dropped before, and what gaps my suspicions had tried to fill out. Even the way Crunch had been acting, especially since we returned. It all made sense now.

[Is this about the humans?] I asked. The sudden stiffening in Crunch’s demeanor told me I’d guessed right.

[Zapper told you?]

[Well... yeah. This is Zapper we’re talking about.]

[Hmmph.] Crunch growled, but there was no real malice behind it. [Should have known that was a bad idea from the start. But the fact you didn’t track them down already is a promising sign. You knew to come back here and talk it over with me, first. That’s what I like about you, Bubba. You understand this world better than the others do.]

[Um, thanks?] I wasn’t entirely sure what he meant by that, but I sure wasn’t going to admit my ignorance.

[So yes, our next move involves the humans. Why don’t we go gather the others, and I’ll explain...]

He trailed off, his gaze swinging to the side. I followed it, and as I saw what he was looking at my heart suddenly clenched tight in my chest.

On the building across the street, two dots were steadily moving in our direction.

Two blue dots.