I'll be taking a week off here to catch the Patrons up and then I'll start publishing book two on the 27th! I'm also finishing a cowrite with Luke Chmilenko out later this year, hence the need for a bit more time.
Here's a preview of the opening chapter -
Doom System Survivor: Book Two
The sudden drop in energy levels came mere moments after Hiro, Samuel, and Valeria were told to get to the nearest gate. Hiro knew what it was immediately. The Doom System took away the boosts it had given me in the previous Interim. It—
“Not great,” Samuel said as he lurched forward, trying to catch his balance. The fabric of the trench coat he wore moved to protect him, surrounding the Australian like a cocoon. “Nah, yeah, powers are gone.” He laughed painfully. “I forgot what it was like to feel normal.”
Hiro glanced at the nearest rooftop. He thought about bouncing away but stopped himself. If I jump to the nearest roof without any stat boosts, I could actually break my legs!
“Wait. Wait! What’s happening to Juan?” Valeria asked as the dead Puerto Rican man’s body ignited. The flames quickly subsided, leaving nothing but ash. She dropped to her knees in front of it.
“Bugger,” Samuel said, his eyes bulging.
“The System… no.” Valeria trembled. “No, no, no! It’s getting rid of Survivors that didn’t make it.” She glared at Hiro, her rage clearly meant for Rena, her girlfriend, who had also died when the gate opened and a giant hoarding spider exploded out, killing her. “This is your fault.”
“Now, let’s not do that Val,” Samuel said.
“It was just a suggestion—” Hiro felt the fuzzy pink shield on his arm tighten.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“As much as I love a little Real Housewives of Post-Apoc NYC,” Bianca told him. “We don’t have a lot of time. Let’s go, big bro!”
While Samuel calmed Valeria down, Hiro spoke to the shield: “I’m back to my normal power levels, you know, before the Doom System came. That’s what we’re discussing. That, and the, um, burial situation.”
The shield buzzed again. “And? We can hash that out later when there isn’t a literal timer ticking.””
He let out a short breath as he looked up again. “I can’t just jump to a roof. If I use {Bounce}, I could actually hurt myself. There’s no way I’ll be able to reach the gate.”
“Must I do everything around here?” Bianca surged forward with a set of tentacles, flinging Hiro and herself onto a rooftop where she deposited him lightly. “See?”
Hiro released a quick breath as his heart settled. I was not expecting that, he thought, looking down at Samuel and Valeria. “What about the others?”
“I can’t bring them too,” she said. “Or maybe I can. Sure? I’ll get you to the gate and come back for them. We have, what? Less than four minutes?”
Hiro looked down the street and spotted another gate closer to the East River. That’s it! He cupped his hands around his mouth. “There’s a gate two blocks east,” he called down to the two Survivors. He pointed in the direction and Bianca mirrored him with one of her tendrils. “We’ll meet later!”
“Got it, mate!” Samuel said, moving on with Valeria, while Hachi, Hiro’s demonic Shiba Inu, stared up at him. The dog didn’t exactly wag its tail, but it was attentive.
“Get our put and let’s get a move on,” Bianca said.
Hiro whistled and Hachi followed as Bianca carried him from rooftop to rooftop. The city looks even worse than before, he thought as he saw several buildings that had collapsed and much more debris in the streets, from overturned tanks to train cars that had somehow come up from the subway system after the road caved in. I don’t know if everyone had to fight a giant hoarding spider capable of attaching things to its body, but it certainly looks like they did…
“We’re here!” Bianca lowered him in front of the gate near his fallout shelter, where all the bodies from earlier were now gone. Shit.
“You’re going to need to write an apology letter to Valeria.”
“I’ll get right on that,” he said, looking up at the gate.