When Nick came home from the hospital almost three and a half years ago, Walt had gone through the entirety of their house and got rid of all the ski masks they owned. Nick thought it was a little extreme, but he eventually came to expect that level of extremity.
Nick pulled out an old beanie that he’d cut holes out of. It was enough. The school might have cameras, and he needed to not get caught. He stuffed it in his pocket and took a deep breath.
Nick slipped out the window again, shivering. It had dropped into the fifties the past few nights, but this was the first time he’d stepped outside intending to stay out. He’d have to work fast.
He circled around the house and grabbed his bike that he conveniently left outside, leaning against the garage with spray paint cans in it. He had the same thought about this as he did the moment before he went toilet papering. Walt would get stricter after this. His dad had finished checking the toilet paper, so his focus would undoubtably be on whatever punishment he deemed fit this once news went around.
It didn’t matter if Nick didn’t get caught. Walt would punish him somehow. Just like toilet papering the park. He had to wonder if it was worth it to get caught now. Now, instead of succeeding in vandalism and getting Walt’s wrath anyway.
The thought made him shudder. Nick carried his bike out onto the road so there’d be no marks on the ground before climbing on and buckling his helmet. He probably looked like an idiot, riding to commit vandalism while wearing a helmet.
Vandalism. That would be quite the crime on his record if he got caught. No doubt his dad would force Nick to pay the fine out of his own earnings, as well as whatever else the police might force him to do.
So, he’d just not get caught.
Nick rode by in the quiet evening. His house was getting farther away, and the park he’d toilet papered was coming into view. It was incredible how fast he could go on a bike, but once his dad heard about vandalism at his high school, he’d lock the bike up. Or sell it. He’d not have his bike next time.
No. No next time. He couldn’t think about a next time. He didn’t want to know.
A roar reverberated around the park. Nick’s stomach lurched, and he glanced behind him. There were only a few streetlamps, and he was human, meaning he didn’t have dark vision.
A completely different realization hit him. He was in Elmwood, where there were level six monsters all around that could cover his body in scratches.
“Shit.” Nick used his adrenaline to pedal harder. There wasn’t much else he could do. He was sailing on his bike, hoping that whatever it was stayed in the park.
There was a clopping sound, almost like a horse, but something was different. Nick was panting, the hooves getting closer. Whatever this thing was, it was fast.
Something clipped his bike, and Nick shouted in surprise as it wobbled. He tried to keep his footing, but the bike toppled to the ground. At that same moment, Grizzizzik appeared out of nowhere. Nick must have teleported him here out of instinct, and it looked like Grizzizzik was asleep before he’d been jolted awake by being teleported into the middle of a street.
“Nick?” Grizzizzik asked before something in the darkness caught his eye. “Oh, shit.”
“It knocked me over,” Nick panted. “What is it?”
“Minotaur.” Grizzizzik pulled out his rapier. “Nothing I can’t handle, even at a lower level.”
Grizzizzik froze with his rapier out.
Roll for initiative.
Nick took the time to check himself for injuries. His arms had some road rash on them, and he cursed. He could not leave DNA evidence. That would get him caught. Why the hell was he still worried about this? There was a minotaur in Elmwood, and there was no one else to help fight it.
Nick was lucky he wore his helmet, as it seemed like most of the injury was on that. He took it off and dropped it on the ground. Something was stinging his leg, but nothing was broken. None of his gray marks resurfaced, either. That was good. It looked like most of the injuries were from falling off his bike when it wobbled.
Grizzizzik got a high number of seventeen, but he was surprised and worried when time resumed.
“I don’t like this. You’re only one person. Let me call Evelyn,” Nick said.
“No,” Grizzizzik said before leaping out of the way.
Nick gasped, scrambling to his feet as the minotaur sailed past Grizzizzik. It was a dark brown creature, with hooves on his feet and a bull’s head. Everything else was human. He realized what he thought was a galloping horse sounded odd to him because he was only hearing two hooves hitting the ground instead of four.
Time froze, and Nick rolled for his turn. He was relieved to hit, and more relieved when the d8 landed on an eight. They needed way more of these lucky rolls, but chances were low.
As the minotaur ran past Grizzizzik, his rogue sliced the creature’s arm, and it bellowed in pain again.
“We can’t keep doing this. You’re not strong enough to take on a minotaur,” Nick said.
“Yes, I am.”
Nick shook off the annoyance of Grizzizzik’s words. A part of him acknowledged that if Grizzizzik died, a large portion of his problems would be solved. But the idea of that stung. If Grizzizzik was gone, that was one less person to help fight off the apocalypse. “If it’s just you, then don’t hold back. Stop hiding your warlock spells and actually use them.”
Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
Grizzizzik glared, but focused again as the creature swung his great axe at him. The rogue leapt out of the way, holding his arms out. “Fine.”
Time froze again, and the spells that Nick couldn’t choose before were freed. Nick sighed, then hit eldritch blast and rolled.
The fifteen hit, and he grabbed the d10 floating in the air. “Please be high. Please be high.” If Grizzizzik was going to be stupidly stubborn about all this, then he needed to at least do more damage.
The d10 landed on an eight, which still felt pretty good.
Dark light filtered into Grizzizzik’s palm. A cacophony of odd noises filled the air around the rogue like a whisper. Nick scrunched up his face in confusion before Grizzizzik threw his palms out, the black light sailing toward the minotaur. The black light shifted and changed into a handheld radio, of all things, smacking the minotaur in the face. Nick frowned, starting at the radio as it clattered to the ground before blipping out of existence.
Grizzizzik stared at the place where the old radio dropped. “That was… odd.”
“More like chaotic,” Nick said. “It still did damage.”
The minotaur shook his head, touching the small trickle of blood running down his forehead before he again focused on Grizzizzik. It shouted, picked up his great axe, and swung. Grizzizzik stumbled back, but the blade sliced him across the belly. The rogue shouted in pain. Nick almost screamed at him to reconsider getting more help when Grizzizzik pointed at the minotaur and time froze.
Roll for hellish rebuke.
Nick raised an eyebrow. “Oh, right!”
He hadn’t played a warlock before. Hellish rebuke was a reaction after getting damaged. Nick grabbed the two d10s and rolled.
Sixteen total. This minotaur was powerful, but Grizzizzik was slowly chipping him down.
Fire leapt in front of the minotaur, and he glanced at the flames until they rammed into him. He shrieked, trying to put it out as Grizzizzik’s hit points dropped to sixteen.
“You need help! You can’t do this on your own! That minotaur just cut your hit points in half!” Nick shouted. Which is when he realized the scene had frozen before him and Grizzizzik hadn’t heard a word. “Goddammit!”
Nick chose eldritch blast again. It was a cantrip stronger than Grizzizzik’s rapier. They needed every bit of strength they could get.
Ten damage. That felt incredible, but Grizzizzik needed help. Their luck could only last so long.
Grizzizzik threw both arms out, collecting the dark light, listening to the noise before he again shot the darkness at the minotaur. The darkness shifted until it became a large metal key that at first didn’t seem too harmful until it slammed into the minotaur’s eye. The creature howled in pain as the key dissolved into darkness. The minotaur grabbed his great axe and swung as hard as he could. It slammed into Grizzizzik’s side, and his rogue screamed as his hit points dropped to seven.
The scream was cut off as words appeared.
Roll for hellish rebuke.
Nick used the time to think. If he called Evelyn now, she wouldn’t reach them in time. If he joined the battle, he risked getting hurt. He thought again about letting Grizzizzik die. That thought brought a lot of mixed emotions in Nick that he wasn’t prepared to deal with.
Not only that, what if Grizzizzik’s death still didn’t give him the opportunity to tell anyone? Grizzizzik was the only one. His death might not break the contract.
Nick sighed, then grabbed the two d10s. Grizzizzik needed to live. For now. Grizzizzik still had seven hit points and no way to heal himself if he dropped to the ground.
Dancing fire appeared around the minotaur before beating against him. Nick stumbled to his feet, grabbing his spray can and running close to the minotaur.
“Nick?” Grizzizzik asked.
He shot his character a dark glare. “You owe me one.”
Once the fire was out, the minotaur looked up to see Nick, and he sprayed the minotaur’s face. It shrieked in surprise more than anything and stumbled back.
Roll to hit.
Nick grabbed the d20, assuming this was for Grizzizzik. He only had spray paint, after all. It wasn’t that big of a weapon.
The damage dice for eldritch blast landed on a four. After the nice rolls he got, this felt hard.
Grizzizzik threw his hands out, backing away as more dark light entered his palm. When he threw it forward, the light turned into a playing card. It still sliced the minotaur’s arm, but it didn’t seem like much. But damage was damage.
Nick waited, holding his breath.
Let the minotaur come for me, Nick thought. Come on. The last time you damaged the snake guy, he hit you with fire. You don’t know he can’t do that anymore. Basic instinct, go for the weaker of the two.
The minotaur turned toward Nick and raised his great axe. Nick did not let out a breath of relief until the minotaur slammed the great axe down near Nick, missing him. It wasn’t even close. Instead, Nick tried to spray the creature’s face again, but the thing got jammed.
Grizzizzik threw his arms out again to collect the dark energy into his palm before throwing them forward. Nick expected the dark light to miss the minotaur, but a rubber duck appeared and bounced pointlessly off the minotaur’s face. It confused the creature more than anything. Nick rolled his eyes and almost missed dodging the massive great axe that came a few inches from his toes.
Out of instinct, Nick lifted the can, and the minotaur got another face full of spray paint. The creature shrieked again in surprise, hissing and sputtering.
Grizzizzik’s eldritch blast turned into a plate, shattering across the minotaur’s head. Nick wondered if there was any pattern to these blasts, but quickly got rid of the thought. Of course there wasn’t a pattern. This power was from Chaos himself.
The minotaur stumbled back, blood from the multiple cuts of the shattered plate. It was looking bad, and Nick needed the creature to die soon. The longer he was away from home, the more likely he’d get caught.
The minotaur picked up his great axe and tried to hit Grizzizzik, no doubt angry after that plate attack. Nick hardly had time to think about how bad it’d be if Grizzizzik got knocked out when his rogue dodged the attack with a smile.
The smile didn’t last long, though. Nick again rolled badly, and the minotaur got smacked in the face by a pair of wadded up socks.
Grizzizzik shook out his hands. “Okay, you know what? I hate this spell.”
“It’s a cantrip, and it’s the most powerful one we have now that you’re out of your level one spells,” Nick snapped at him. He sprayed the minotaur’s back to get its attention, but it was proving difficult.
Nick rolled a nat one on Grizzizzik’s turn, and he was frankly terrified of what it would do. Grizzizzik made a big show of trying to get as much energy into his hands as possible before shooting it forward. The black light did little more than immediately turn into a leaf and gently drop to the ground at his feet. Grizzizzik snarled at the leaf, making him unprepared for the horn attack from the minotaur. Nick gasped, then watched the hit points drop to three. Grizzizzik coughed, blood trickling from his mouth.
“Grizzizzik!” Nick shouted. The minotaur spun, and Nick held up his spray can, realizing just how futile this looked. The minotaur snarled at Nick before a random baby doll smacked the back of his head. If the minotaur wasn’t already at death’s door, it wouldn’t have hurt, but it weakened the creature as the plastic doll hit the minotaur in just the right spot.
Yet the minotaur was still standing. He started charging for Nick, and he leapt out of the way.
Nick rolled for Grizzizzik’s turn. This had to be it. The minotaur was already in terrible shape.
A heavy wooden clock smacked the minotaur in the back of the head before dissolving into blackness. The minotaur shrieked, then collapsed to the ground, closing his eyes. Nick panted, staring at the creature who was now dead.