“Ezekiel? Buddy?” Milo asked. “Do you still know we’re friends?” Milo’s crossbow bolt smacked into the deer, going straight through the rotting flesh. It shuddered, looking dead, but honestly, they all looked dead. Its neck snapped back into place, shrieking at Milo, who pointed his cannon at the fox. “I don’t want to shoot you, Ezekiel.” Milo was too distracted to focus on aiming, and the energy beam did nothing more than sheer the ears off of the undead fox.

“This is bad. What are we going to do?” No one answered Alejandra’s question, but then she realized time had frozen when she asked her question. Alejandra let out a breath, wanting to discuss strategy with everyone else. She chose the fox, since it was the closest. A part of her wanted to believe Ezekiel wouldn’t attack anyone.

It was no longer a surprise for her to hit the creatures no matter what she rolled, and she was happy to get ten damage total. Time resumed and Hraktar let out a yell before slamming his axe, splitting the fox’s skull. Matter tumbled out, and the fox didn’t move. At least that was easier than the tarantula.

The last deer stumbled toward Ezekiel, but the changed cleric grabbed the creature, picked it up with unhuman strength and slammed it to the ground. Ezekiel shoved his hand through the rotting, zombified flesh, grabbed the spinal cord, and jerked it out. Alejandra gasped, watching as the deer gave a final jerk before it died.

“We might make it through yet,” Tyler said.

Alejandra took a few steps back. “As long as Ezekiel doesn’t turn on us.” Being so near to the wererat cleric made her uneasy.

With a shout, Grizzizzik ran forward before bringing his rapier down hard against the mountain lion’s skull. Grizzizzik hardly had time to celebrate before Ezekiel’s mace swung toward him. The rogue barely dodged it, spinning toward the cleric and holding out a hand. “Stop. I’m your… friend.”

Ezekiel lifted the mace again before smashing it across Grizzizzik’s face. The rogue shouted in pain as blood and teeth landed on the ground.

“Ezekiel! Stand down!” Milo said.

“He doesn’t know what he’s doing!” Rafael shouted. “He’s in a frenzy mode! Talking won’t help!”

Ezekiel punched Grizzizzik, and the rogue stumbled back. Alejandra gasped. She made eye contact with Hraktar right as time froze.

Roll for athletics.

Hraktar was going to tackle Ezekiel. The d20 landed on a four. Alejandra winced, gripping her hair. The +6 brought it to a ten, but if she remembered the rules right, it would be pointless if Rafael rolled higher.

Time resumed, and Hraktar sprinted toward Ezekiel. The cleric was not himself, losing more chunks of hair as he raised a fist to hit Grizzizzik again. With that distraction, Hraktar wrestled Ezekiel to the ground, successfully pinning him.

“Knock him out, Hraktar!” Tyler shouted.

Time froze at that.

Roll with advantage.

The first one was a twelve, the second a nineteen. A d6 appeared, and she rolled them, the total adding up to six. She glanced again at Ezekiel’s hit points.

Hraktar grabbed the back of Ezekiel’s head before slamming it against the ground. Ezekiel’s snorting stopped cold, and Hraktar let the cleric go. As Clarissa knelt down to make sure the cleric was alright, Hraktar detangled himself and crawled away from everyone, his hands trembling.

Clarissa looked at Rafael, keeping a hand on Ezekiel. “Should we bring him back to consciousness?”

Rafael shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. According to my roll, he’ll wake up naturally in two hours.”

“Might be a good idea to make sure he’s properly restrained before we try anything.” Grizzizzik wiped the blood from multiple wounds on his forehead.

“Anyone who doesn’t magically heal themselves from mana, are you all okay?” Señora Florez asked.

“Thanks to you two, none of us got hurt,” Rafael said, glancing at their teachers.

Mr. Anderson covered his face, taking a huge breath in before letting it out through his fingers. “This is so unsafe. So incredibly unsafe.”

“If it makes you feel better, this is the first-time zombie creatures have tried to attack us,” Derek said.

Mr. Anderson dropped his hands. “That does not make me feel better. At all.”

Everyone glanced at Tyler. He had his arms folded, looking off into the distance. Evelyn, who was still getting over her panicking, was backing away from the carnage.

Hraktar gave a dry heave, and everyone’s attention was on him. The fighter’s back arched before he vomited a tar like substance. Alejandra’s eyes widened. It was like with Ezekiel and the wight. As Hraktar vomited the black tar, his overall hit points went from thirty-four to twenty-four.

Hraktar’s vomiting had pulled Tyler into the present. “We’ve got to take Hraktar and Ezekiel to Calawit’s. If we don’t get that mummy rot cured in three days, he’ll shrivel to dust.”

Alejandra knelt beside her character. “We’re going to Cal’s. She’ll fix you. Do you need help getting up?”

Hraktar shook his head, then stumbled to his feet. He pulled out the axe and dropped it next to Milo. “When Calawit fixes me, I want my sword back.”

Milo nodded, then started struggling to get the great axe back in the bag. Rafael and Derek helped.

“Um… what about these things?” Mr. Anderson asked, nudging what was left of the tarantula.

“What about them?” Derek asked.

“They’re… from earth. Can other people see them?” Señora Florez asked.

There was a pause, then Alejandra’s gaze dropped to the fox with an axe wound through its head.

“Uh…” Derek started to say.

Mr. Anderson sighed. “Better safe than sorry. Molly and I will stay behind and bury them.”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Rafael said.

“Milo, Grizzizzik, you get Ezekiel,” Clarissa said.

Grizzizzik pulled out some rope. “Not before I get my own peace of mind.” It was almost scary how fast Grizzizzik had Ezekiel’s ankles and wrists bound. As he did that, Alejandra watched as four hundred and twenty experience points filled Hraktar’s bar, making a grand total of 2,980.

Hraktar ready for level four.

Alejandra sighed, looking at her fighter, who trembled as he walked toward the cars. She needed to do something, so she walked over, her hand around his waist as she tried to steady him. There was no way she was actually helping him, but he didn’t push her away. Instead, he placed his hand on her shoulder.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“Did everyone get to level four?” Tyler asked.

Everyone muttered yes as they moved as a group toward the vehicles.

“Actually, Tyler?” Mr. Anderson asked.

Tyler turned around. “Yeah?”

“Could you stay behind? We could use some help, and we’d like a word,” Mr. Anderson said.

There was a silence that perhaps lasted a few seconds, but Tyler’s face dropped. “Yeah.” His second yeah was not nearly as confident.

The group split up, and Alejandra walked next to Hraktar.

“Do you need a bucket or something?” Alejandra asked.

“I’ll be fine.”

It was the response he always said when he hated being a burden. Despite everything he did, doing massive damage against the undead, it disappointed him how he didn’t come out of the fight uninjured.

Alejandra eased Hraktar into the minivan as Derek opened the back of the car. Alejandra sat next to Hraktar, who was leaning his head against the window. His skin was clammy and cold. Grizzizzik and Milo placed Ezekiel in the back, and Grizzizzik climbed in with him as Milo walked around the front.

Alejandra remained by Hraktar, who had his eyes closed, gripping his stomach. Alejandra didn’t know what to do, other than to mentally go through the attributes for level four. For a fighter, she could now add two points to whatever of the six abilities she wanted. This would have to take some deliberation between her and Hraktar.

They must have been a sight, stumbling into Calawit’s tent after a long drive. Hraktar gripped his bleeding stomach with thin ribbons of black spreading across his body. Grizzizzik and Milo trailed behind, carrying a bound and unconscious Ezekiel.

Calawit watched, an eyebrow raised. Quetzal ran over to Hraktar, rubbing his body against Hraktar’s leg, chittering worriedly. Ezekiel was pale, his fingernails sharper and harder, his nose more pointed. Chunks of his hair were missing, and every time he breathed, he sounded like he was growling.

Calawit placed her hands on her hips. “Well, something tells me you’re going to ask me to be a healer.”

“Hraktar’s got mummy rot. And Ezekiel changed a bit into a wererat at the end.” Milo wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.

“Ezekiel might be okay.” Calawit touched the cleric’s chin, moving his head to one side. “Ah, pity. He’s losing some of his gorgeous locks.”

“Do you have a chair we can tie him to?” Grizzizzik said.

Clarissa frowned. “Don’t you think that’s a bit of an overreaction?”

The rogue pointed to the wound on his head, the dried blood giving him a far more threatening and terrifying look. “No. I don’t think it is.”

Clarissa sighed. “Cal, where’s your chairs?”

“Take the one from behind the desk.” Calawit waved in the general direction of the front of the store.

Clarissa frowned, glancing at the tent. “I’ll… find one.”

Calawit moved toward Hraktar, placing her hands on her hips. “Alright, big guy. Kneel, I can’t reach you.”

Alejandra helped him get to his knees. Calawit studied it closer with her glasses before touching it with a glowing hand. The light entered Hraktar’s body, following the ribbons of blackness. Hraktar shuddered as the blackness disappeared. Gold mana left Calawit’s hands, weaving through Hraktar as the wound in his stomach closed. The hit points returned to the full thirty-four. Hraktar blinked, touching his stomach.

“Do you need me to pay you for that cleansing?” Hraktar asked. Calawit shook her head, and he changed tactics, already reaching behind him. “Please let me pay you?”

Calawit grabbed his wrist. “No. I will refuse. We’ve stumbled on this world, and my best payment is for you all to be healthy to destroy the monsters as fast as possible. I need to live in peace.”

Hraktar sighed. “Well, thank you.”

“So, um…” Milo trailed off, studying Calawit. “Exactly how far does that charity go?”

Calawit’s face dropped. “Don’t even try it, Milo. I’m not giving you stuff for free.”

“Okay, but… here’s the thing. We need to sneak up on Akshi and steal something from him. You have an entire store of gadgets we could use to aid us. Akshi is so much stronger than all of us. We need the advantage.”

Calawit narrowed her eyes, but she didn’t burst into hysterical laughter. She studied Ezekiel closer as Clarissa brought over a chair. Grizzizzik eased Ezekiel into it before he wrapped the rope over the cleric’s torso to keep him in place. Calawit climbed onto the armrest. “So, he morphed into a wererat?”

“Toward the end of the battle,” Milo said.

Calawit grunted. “The closer it gets to the full moon, the harder time he’ll have controlling himself. Especially if he’s been weakened.”

Derek glanced at Rafael. “How many hit points was he at when you were prompted to roll?”

“Four,” Rafael said.

Derek let out a sigh. “Okay. So… if Ezekiel is creeping toward the single digits of health, there’s a chance he might turn into a wererat.”

“My rolls have sucked for those checks,” Rafael grumbled.

Grizzizzik gave a second knot to the rope. Clarissa reached over, taking Ezekiel’s hand as she whispered something in elvish. Ribbons of gold mana came out of her wrists, weaving into Ezekiel’s arm. Five hit points filled the bar above his head as Ezekiel moaned, struggling to blink.

“What happened?” His voice was slurred.

“You started attacking Grizzizzik,” Clarissa said.

This woke Ezekiel even more. He studied her before his gaze shot around. “Grizzizzik? Grizzizzik, are you okay?”

“Fine.” The rogue folded his arms. “Hraktar was there to stop you.”

Ezekiel about said something when he realized he was bound to a chair.

“The wererat is gone,” Milo said. “Grizzizzik, untie him.”

The rogue gave Ezekiel a once over before obeying Milo’s instructions.

“I have the worst headache,” Ezekiel said.

“That might be my bad,” Hraktar said.

“Hraktar gave your head a good pounding to knock you out,” Milo said.

“Good.” Ezekiel closed his eyes. “You have my permission to do that every time.”

“Cal?” Milo asked. “Have you thought any more about my offer?”

Calawit pursed her lips. “My tent is not a place to stock up for a heist. It’s a few odds and ends. And…”

“Enchanted items? Which we need?” Milo said.

Calawit grumbled. “I will search through my inventory and see if there is anything that might help you when you infiltrate Akshi’s headquarters. Most of my items won’t work if they sense too many of the same kind on you, so you can’t go in there too overpowered. I want you to understand that if it was for anyone else but Ezekiel, you’d be out of luck. Also, this is not permanent. You get it the night before your mission, you do your little heist, and if you survive, you bring the trinkets back. If any become lost or stolen, you will pay for them. Understood?”

“Yes, Calawit.” Milo already looked excited.

She replied by grumbling again.

Tyler walked back in, and Alejandra picked up on his sulkiness immediately. “Mr. Anderson and Señora Florez send their regards. They’ve got to get back home, but they dropped me off here when they saw the van.”

Derek raised an eyebrow. “Dude. What did they say to you?”

Tyler said nothing, though he folded his arms as Clarissa helped Ezekiel to his feet.

The cleric touched his hair, an arm around Clarissa’s shoulder. “My hair.” He brought his hand down, seeing a fresh clump falling off. “What is happening to me?”

“Lycanthropy,” Calawit said, standing on the chair Ezekiel previously occupied. “You have less than two weeks until the full moon. The wererat personality will get stronger. But… you already know this, don’t you?”

Ezekiel stared at Calawit, then rubbed his forehead. “Yeah. I know.”

“Come on, guys. We’ve got to get everyone back home. It’s late,” Tyler said.

Milo raised a hand. “Actually, would it be alright if I stayed behind? I need to go check the undead again and extract enough substances for black mana. The ones we didn’t bury. The hell hound essence is incomplete, and I need more ingredients.”

Everyone stared at Milo. He met all their gazes with a smile. “Do you know how to get back?” Derek asked.

Milo gave two thumbs up. “Absolutely. I will see you back at your house.”

Derek sighed. “Alright.” Milo slipped out of the tent, heading into the darkness. “I don’t know what Milo expects when he hasn’t been in the lab all week.”

“We’ll figure something out,” Rafael said.

“Come on, guys.” Tyler motioned toward the door.

They all filed out of the tent. “So, are you going to tell us what Mr. Anderson and Señora Florez said?” Derek asked.

Tyler grumbled as they climbed into the minivan. “Just… giving suggestions.”

“Ah.” Derek turned on the van. “Suggestions to keep us safe?”

“Yeah. And I felt like a child the entire time.” Tyler had a hand in his hair.

“I get their concern. This one was a bit more violent than normal. We rarely have to fight the creatures,” Rafael said.

“Yeah. They did help. Honestly, they did… a lot better protecting you all,” Tyler said.

“You protect us all the time,” Derek said.

“Do I? Sometimes I can’t tell if being your friend makes you all a little more reckless,” Tyler said.

“You do, Tyler. Mr. Anderson and Señora Florez can’t hear the game masters.”

“Sometimes I wish they did.” Tyler let out a breath. “Alright, we survived, no one’s got any…” his eyes lingered on Ezekiel’s thinning hair, “…horrible side effects. And we’ve all reached level four.” Tyler shook his head. “It’s still not as high as I’d like, but I doubt we have time to get everyone to level five before then.”

“Cal promised to give some trinkets from her store for free to help us on the mission,” Clarissa said.

“Every little bit helps.” Tyler didn’t sound convinced.

Silence descended. Alejandra thought about facing Akshi at level four. She glanced at Hraktar, how he was recovering from their fight with the undead. Akshi was so much stronger than the wight and the mummy. She had a terrible feeling about this.

They needed to steal something from the crime lord. That was all. Sneak in, steal something, then slip out. They weren’t actually going to face him.

But if something went wrong…

Alejandra closed her eyes. Somehow, they were going to do all of this while she sat across from Nick, with Walt not that far away. The thought made her nerves triple.