Hiro awoke to the sound of voices cheering in his head.
You have new followers!
He was being dragged into the subway system, down the steps, each step more painful than the last. His vision blurred into focus and he found Valeria standing over him, her arms and legs slashed up, the woman drenched with blood, her NYU hat missing.
She spit blood and kept her crossbow at the ready, aimed at the top of the stairs.
“My poison… are you… are you okay?”
“Immunity,” she told him. “It’s a skill I picked up from a dead Survivor I came across.” Valeria flinched like she saw something. “We gotta get the fuck out of here.” She turned quickly and pointed her crossbow at Hiro. “Hold still.”
Thunk! Thunk!
Valeria shot Hiro in each shoulder, her healing bolts hitting him and quickly fizzling out. It still hurt, but the pain was soon replaced by a tingling sensation that soon spread through him.
“I wish I could do that shit to myself.”
“It doesn’t work on you?” Hiro asked as he got to his feet. He shoved his hand into his pocket to find his vape pen and his Buster Kunai. “My blade?”
“At the top of the stairs, I couldn’t bring it and drag you down.”
“I’ll go up for it.”
“I’ll cover you. And no, my healing bolts doesn’t work on me. Believe me, I’ve tried. I got some healing gauze though,” she said as she kept her crossbow trained on the steps. “Anyway. I’ll be fine. Just get your sword, and we’ll get the hell out of here. You didn’t say there were three.”
“I didn’t see three last time, just the two teenagers.”
“That third one is a fucking beast, pro wrestler looking ass piece-of-shit.” She shook her head. “Sorry, I cuss more when I’m stressed.”
“Don’t we all.” Hiro pushed his black Hyotokko mask to the top of his head. It clearly didn’t work on the Hunters.
Bunny Triplets? he thought as he took one step at a time, watching as the light from the streets above began to shine down into the subway. That sounds so stupid.
“Almost there. I got you,” Valeria said, the woman just behind him.
“I can always turn to a wolf.”
“You can, but I don’t know if you’ll be able to take all three.”
“I could hit them with a truck.”
“Nah, save it. I got the boy bunny pretty good. We will fuck them up later.”
“Your wrecking ball?” he asked.
“Exactly.”
“You said it was strange in some way.”
“You don’t want to see how I conjure that thing. But I’m fine now. Let’s just get your blade and get the hell out of here.”
Hiro reached the top of the stairs to find his katana on the ground. After a swift look around, he grabbed the blade and sent it into his sheath. Hewas just starting to head back down when he spotted the three bunnies, only now, the boy was injured.
The large muscled man held the boy in his arms, his ears sluicing around wildly above him in agitation. The bunny girl crouched on the gazebo near him, poised to strike. She blew a kiss to Hiro and flashed the peace sign at him.
“What’s going on?” Valeria asked from behind him.
“They’re taunting me. Or she is. The boy is injured.”
“Good. I crushed his legs. I would have killed him too if he hadn’t been so fast.”
Hiro took another careful step backward. The Bunny Triplets didn’t do anything aside from the girl, who continued to flash the peace sign at them. “I think we’re good,” he finally said.
“We’ll be back for these fuckers.”
“Definitely.”
****
Hiro and Valeria were quiet as they navigated the subway system, which gave him a chance to quickly run through his stats. As he had started to notice, the information seemed fluid, some of the text appearing in a different order from before, like the Doom System was continually testing its layout.
Hiro Johnson
Level Four
Current Title: Wolf Ronin of Wall Street
STR: 1.7 [+1 Roulette Boost]
STA: 2.5 [+2 Roulette Boost]
DEX: 1.5 [+1 Roulette Boost]
REG: 1.4 [+1 Roulette Boost]
MIND: 2.2 [+2 Roulette Boost)
Soul Essence (SE): 32
[38 SE to next level.]
Stolen Valor: 2
Skills:
{Bounce}, Rank D
{Blade Whirlwind}, Rank F
{Beacon}, Rank A
{Sword Proficiency}, Rank D
{Kore Nani Neko}, Rank A
Roulette Skills:
{Lupine Shift}, Rank A
{Refund}, Rank B
{Sacra Limina}, Rank C
Roulette Accessory:
{Aura of Laughter} Hyottoko Mask, Rank B
One Hit Wonder:
{Trucks Volta}, Rank A
Followers: 478
City Survivors: 712, 336
World Survivors: 365, 899, 241
Hunter Death Count: 42/89
Beast Death Count: 273/791
There are still plenty of beasts to hunt, which means I can get some levels before the gates open and maybe try for the Triplet Bunnies on final time. Or the Lady in the Yellow Raincoat. Maybe I go back toward the river, touch base with Juan and Marcello, and see if I can’t find her. Hopefully, I can find another Sentry, too.
Hiro was just looking ahead to Valeria when he refocused on his stats.
Shit. City Survivors have dropped by a lot; World Survivors by a million. People are dying. They’re dying at the hands of these monsters or their peers. And why?
The same questions that had sat with Hiro since the start of all this came to him. Why was this happening? What did the Doom System want? And how do I stop it?
They reached the subway platform and Valeria turned to him. “Any plans?”
“Head toward the river and see what I can get into.”
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
“New Jersey or Brooklyn side?”
“Brooklyn. You?”
“I need to check on Rena. Do you want to meet her before you go? You should probably meet her.”
“Sure. How close to my parking garage is she?”
“It’s your parking garage now? I thought you lived in the fallout shelter beneath it?”
“Imminent domain? Squatters rights?”
Valeria smirked. “Something like that. Owning property means something else entirely different now. As for how close we are? Close. A building a few blocks away. The bottom floor used to be a sushi restaurant.”
Hiro distinctly remembered seeing the restaurant, its entrance partly shielded by collapsed scaffolding. “I know the place.”
“Let’s go there. It’s good you meet Rena.”
“She could come out with us.”
“She could, but that’s up to her.” Valeria’s shoulders settled to some degree. “Not everyone that is still alive is meant for this life.”
“Not everyone is for the streets.”
“Heh. Exactly. Let’s do this.”
“Lead the way.”
Both Survivors looked up at the subway exit.
Valeria headed up first, crossbow drawn. “We’re good.”
Hiro came up to street level, his hand still on the hilt of his katana. He settled his mask over his face.
Beyond, he could see the {Beacon} he had set for his parking garage. Beyond, seemingly cutting through the buildings, were the markers he’d set over Bryant Park, Wayne the merchant, the pigeon merchant, and the one on Billionaire’s Row, marking the apartment he had stayed in.
Maybe I should stay there again tonight, he thought.
“Those are new,” Valeria whispered once they reached an alley, where they found two dead bodies, their arms torn out.
Hiro shook his head in response. He followed Valeria up a fire escape, through a window, and then into a hallway where all of the doors were barricaded. They reached a door at the end and she knocked lightly to the pattern of We Will Rock You.
~knock, knock, KNOCK~
~knock, knock, KNOCK~
The floor creaked as furniture was moved on the other side.
This was followed by locks clicking until the door opened to reveal a small woman in a torn wool sweater that read C’est Beau. Rena had light red hair the same color as the freckles painted across her face. She held a single fist behind her, which glowed with enough power to cause bits of static in the air.
“Is this him?” she whispered, her eyes bulging at the fact that Hiro still wore his mask. Her cheeks twitched and she started to laugh.
“Are you okay?” Valeria asked as she came in.
“Am I okay? Are you okay?” Rena asked, still chuckling. What happened to you?”
Valeria motioned to her wounds. “I’ll use the gauze. They’re fine. Why are you laughing?”
“I don’t know why—”
“It’s my mask.” Hiro removed it. “Sorry. I usually put it on when I head out to the streets and I get used to it.”
“What kind of mask is that?” Rena asked. “Japanese, obviously, but… it has properties?”
“It does for now. Roulette Accessory. It has something that can cause my enemies to laugh.”
“Am I your enemy?” Rena asked.
“Your fist.”
The power fizzled out. “Never can be too careful. What happened out there?”
“We took out the blue-skinned hunter in Battery Park. We tried for a pair of Hunters in Bryant Park and failed. We’ll go back. Maybe.”
Rena approached Valeria and took her hand. “Are you thirsty? Want some tea? Instant coffee?”
Hiro looked around the mostly empty apartment. Aside from the furniture they had used to barricade the door, there was a single couch with a blanket draped over it and a chair in the corner. The kitchen had an island that was covered in supplies, Hiro noticing there were also a few slabs of meat laid out that looked like chicken breasts.
“Are you hungry?” Rena asked. “I can warm up some pigeon.”
Hiro raised an eyebrow at her. “Pigeon?”
Valeria, who had already removed her crossbow, leaned against the kitchen counter. “Don’t judge us. It’s a lot better than Survivor Tenders.”
“We just got supplies from a pigeon,” he reminded her.
“Yeah, that was weird.”
“Wait, what?” Rena asked Valeria.
“A merchant we came across. It was a pigeon. A talking pigeon on a silent musician’s head. In the subway.”
“Alright,” she said, her eyes bulging slightly.
“Who got the pigeons? You?” Hiro asked Valeria.
“I did. From the rooftop. I wish there were seagulls—more meat—but they would be further out on Long Island, not worth the trip.”
“It’s good,” Rena said. “We have plenty of spices too. Sort of tastes like chicken.”
“How do you have heat?” Hiro asked Rena.
“My Roulette Skill. It’s called Fire Ants.”
“Ah, I think Valeria mentioned that.”
“Watch closely and you’ll see why it’s called that.” Rena placed one of the small breasts on the pan. She lowered her hand over it and her fingers began to glow. The heat that soon radiated from them looked like sparkles. Upon closer examination, Hiro saw that these bits of light were actually ants that moved all around the pigeon breast until it started to sizzle.
Valeria came into help, seasoning it and flipping it over.
“And tea?” Rena asked.
“Um, Sure,” Hiro said, who had since taken a seat on a stool at the end of the island.
Rena produced a pot, which she filled with water from their Survivor supplies. She held her hand over it and the water started to boil.
Meanwhile, Valeria placed the pigeon breast on a clean plate and gave it to Hiro along with a knife and a fork. “Bon appetit.”
“When in post-apocalyptic New York…” Hiro said as he cut into the breast. He took a bite and nodded. “It does taste like chicken.” He chewed it, swallowed, and sighed with deep satisfaction. “I can’t remember the last time I had warm food.”
He nearly mentioned he could probably grab something from the past using his teddy bear, but decided against it.
“The Survivor Tenders warmed up aren’t half bad,” Valeria said. “But meat is nicer. I guess if we traveled upstate, we could find some barnyard animals to slaughter and get some real meat. There are always rats, but nah. Nah. Fuck that.”
Rena set the cup of warm tea in front of Hiro. “We could always go to Connecticut.”
“No,” Valeria said in a tone that told Hiro the pair had discussed this before.
“You don’t have any limitation to how often you can use your power?” Hiro asked Rena after another bite.
“Nope. I can use it constantly. The only issue is that I have to be close to the object,” she explained. “I’m not really a fighter type. Never been in a fight, actually. So it’s not the best skill for me.”
“The Doom System gave you a weapon, right?”
“It did,” Rena said. “A pair of knives. I have an idea of how to use them, and I have done so successfully, but it doesn’t suit me. I’d rather something long range like Val has. So maybe I’ll get something like that next Interim.”
“Or,” Valeria said, “come out there with me and we try to find something like that. I know, I know—” she cut Rena off. “I know it’s fucked out there, but you’re going to fall behind if you stay here.”
“I’ll go out. Soon. I think I’m ready.”
“Maybe we can all go out together,” Hiro offered. “There’s always the Statue of Liberty.”
“What?” Rena asked.
“Yeah, that bitch is alive and not happy,” Valeria told her.
“Seriously?”
“Why would I lie? She literally threw her crown at Hiro and me. But I don’t think we have the right stuff to deal with her yet. A team up could be nice, though.”
“The only problem is we won’t be able to get additional skills if we’re in a party,” Hiro reminded them. “But there’s always Stolen Valor.”
“Did your Companion tell you that part about additional skills?” Valeria asked him.
“Yep. It told me that this was the disadvantage of being in a party. You can still get experience, though, and level up through Soul Essence. You just won’t get any bonus skills. I was planning to head out and meet with the people I’m hoping to bring to the gate tomorrow, Juan and Marcello.”
“That means there’d be five of us at the gate,” Rena said. “The Doom System said three other people, for a total of four. Or, it told each of us to find three people for a total of… twelve? No, we’d count as each other’s—you know what? Let me ask.”
“Wait, maybe you’re right,” Valeria said as she got out her phone and spoke into it. “Yo. You told me to find three people. I already had my girlfriend with me. She got the same message. Do we each find three people? And if so, would we count as one of each other’s persons?”
Hiro got his phone out and asked a similar question. “Does each Survivor need to find three people, and how is that counted exactly?”
“Well?” Valeria asked Hiro.
Hiro showed her his phone screen, the countdown timer visible:
01:17:22:46
01:17:22:45
01:17:22:44
He shrugged. “It’s not saying anything.”
Rena squinted. “If everyone needs to bring three people, and we’re not given any more information about this, it means that the Doom System is either setting us up for failure; it wants us to bring as many people as possible; or, and back to setting us up for failure, it has given us an impossible task, and it wants to see how we will react.”
Level up!
You have new followers!
You have received an Interim Bonus!
“Did you just get a level up?” Hiro asked, his eyes lighting up.
Valeria nodded.
“Holy crap, I did too,” Rena said.
Hiro looked down at his phone “How?”
The sound of the Doom System’s creepy voice startled Rena, who nearly dropped her cup of tea.
[I am impressed, Survivors. You really are learning. My goal remains to entertain you. To do so, I need as many Survivors as possible to join when the gates open. I set up this requirement to force you to band with others and bring as many as you can with you. I also set it up to create urgency and complications. For realizing this, you will receive a 5X SE bonus for the next hour and a half. There may be similar challenges in the future. Good luck, Survivors. Happy hunting.]
Hiro’s phone buzzed.
An additional countdown timer started.
“We should get out there,” Hiro told them, excited at the prospects of earning more Soul Essence.
“I’m definitely going.” Valeria turned to Rena. “It’s time. We can hunt some of the smaller monsters.”
“And Sentries,” Hiro added. “There are bound to be some of those.”
“But definitely not the Bunnies. Not yet. Let’s get some levels first,” Valeria said.
“Okay,” Rena said with a huff. “I can’t stay in here forever.”
“No, you cannot, baby.”
“We fight our way toward Juan and Marcello and take the streets. No subways.” Hiro placed his mask over his face and Rena started laughing again. “Guess I won’t be wearing this for the time being.”