“Fancy digs you guys got,” Jye noted, staring at the tents as we walked through the store, or rather their base. The redhead was being completely genuine but to any other person it probably would’ve come off as sarcasm.
I went to elaborate, but Killian let out a little chuckle. “Aren’t they just? I bagsed the biggest and best one.” He pointed to a ridiculously large tent that stretched the size of a master bedroom. “It’s a Zempire Delta Force V2.”
Jye’s green eyes lit up.
“Oh, dude, my family always used to dream about buying the V1!”
Killian nodded enthusiastically. “They had good taste. But the V2 is a slam dunk on improvement, if you ask me.”
Even though no one was asking him, the mulleted man went on to explain all the updates they’d made on the design to an enrapt Jye as we exited through to the employee parking out back. The mouth-watering aroma of grilled meat all but swept me off my feet. It was crazy to think but it was as if I’d forgotten how freshly cooked food even smelled.
The person manning the barbecue, tongs in hand, and an apron saying “Kiss the Chef,” turned to us. Their reaction was a stretch to call a greeting.
They blinked defeatedly at us. “Six more mouths to feed, huh?”
Seemingly about my height, the chef in question looked to be no older than fifteen. They still had the chubby cheeks of a child though their face was dotted with the telltale signs of puberty; a fresh reddening of acne and a wispy scattering of facial hair.
Almost cartoon-like, the six of us hovered closer to the barbecue area, leering at the sizzling steaks with salacious gazes.
“I’m guessing you’re hungry?” the teen asked, voice completely void of any emotion.
Killian introduced her as Phoenix before listing off all our names. How he’d remembered them in such a short time, I didn’t know. It made me wary of him. What else about us was he committing to memory? It was suspicious. Not to mention he got along with everyone in the party so well. Too well.
He’d had Wren and Gigi smiling within moments of talking to us and had even managed to finagle Tam into something resembling a conversation. Well, the fact that he and Jye got along didn’t mean that much. Jye’s hyperfixations of anime and k-pop, and tents apparently, were easy ways of winning them over. It was like feeding a stray their favourite treats to lure them in. And then there was Axel, who Killian apparently was on a middle-name basis with.
Thus, I maintained a neutral distance from him, remaining sceptical of his ulterior motives, wishing I knew more about him and Carrie and Phoenix. That said, part of me was relieved Carrie wasn’t with us.
She had replaced Killian on lookout duty so he could take a break for dinner. I doubted she would have any appetite tonight either. I hadn’t eaten for just over forty-eight hours after I learned about Chrissie. It would probably be worse for her, I imagined. Maybe I’d try and bring her something easy to eat if I could find anything still in our stash later tonight.
I told myself that wasn’t guilt talking.
“That smells so good,” Wren said, rubbing her hands together like a praying mantis before its prey.
“It’s just meat,” Phoenix said.
Jye exclaimed, “I never understood the phrase ‘I could eat a horse,’ but I am not playing right now. I could eat a horse.”
Phoenix replied, “Well, this is cow and kangaroo.”
“He was talking about the amount.”
Jye smiled. “Quick note, dude, I use they/them.”
“Oh,” Killian said, glancing up and down Jye. He cleared his throat. “Sorry, I’ll keep that in mind.”
The redhead shrugged. “No harm no foul.”
“I know they were talking about the amount. I was joking,” Phoenix continued, still as deadpan as ever.
“Were you, Fifi?” Killian’s eyes narrowed.
“Was I, Kilo?”
They stared at each other for a moment, standing off, like they were ready to throw down, but then they both burst into laughter. He patted her on the shoulder and took a seat in one of the numerous camping chairs that they’d set up for dinner. Phoenix returned to cooking, carefully flipping one of the few beef steaks on the grill.
Jesus. They had cute nicknames for each other. Why didn’t Just Friends???
The answer came to me quickly enough. I guess even though we’d been in life or death situations, we hadn’t really… bonded on a level that would develop in-jokes like that. There’d been moments but nothing concrete. Meanwhile, it seemed like these past two weeks since the beginning of the “event” had served to work as a team-building activity for Carrie and the others. Hell, I’d have hesitated to call my party a team at all. We were crudely cut cogs barely grinding each other into spinning.
“So,” I said, sitting across from Killian, “is it just you three?”
He laughed.
“It varies day to day. Six, generally. But people come and go, you know?”
I mostly certainly didn’t know.
Axel had sat next to Killian. He poked an accusing finger into the man’s shoulder and said, “You still love to host, huh?”
Killian swatted away his hand, grinning. “Says the man with the rotating party schedule.”
That explained why he’d looked familiar to me. He’d probably been in our apartment at one point. Oh. The memory flashed in my head. No. It had been more than that. I’d seen him coming out of Axel’s room in the morning, hair mussed, shirt buttoned all wrong. Huh.
I cleared my throat. “You guys meet in uni then?”
A bark of laughter escaped Killian. “Uni? Me? Please. Academia is my brother’s domain. I’m what the officials call a failure.”
Concerned I’d poked a wasp’s nest, and not knowing how to respond, I sought Axel’s gaze, pleading for assistance. He poked his tongue out at me, so quickly that if I blinked I might’ve missed it. This fucking guy. It was clear where his loyalties lay.
“There ain’t any stock standard path for life, Killian. The dice are rolled and you just gotta hope you can work with whatever they land on,” Tam said, joining us.
Bitterly, I realised Tam had never once called me by my name. She’d called me a hundred endearments under the sun, ranging from “sunshine” to “dandelion,” and none of them ever genuine, but not once had she addressed me by name. Scrap nicknames. Our party was barely on a first name basis.
“My teacher once said that failure doesn’t exist as long as you’re alive,” Wren said.
“That’s a nice sentiment,” I replied, smiling at her.
Jye shook their head. “Sorry, Wren, but I disagree 100%. Failure’s everywhere. It’s how you learn, man. Without failure, you’d never improve in anything.”
The Linnikian who’d been quiet until now, and had chosen to sit cross legged on the floor, said, “I believe both points carry merit. Failure is not an end condition, as Wren’s teacher implied, and is rather continuous events one must work through while we continue living, as Jye has stated.”
“Jesus christ, you can talk?” Killian said, brows high in surprise.
“And philosophise.”
The man groaned, running a hand through his hair. “I tell you that academia is not my forte and you guys open up Aristotle’s auditorium in my outdoor dining space.”
“You started it with your whole ‘woe is me’ routine,” Axel said, teasingly.
“Hey, I’m allowed to wallow in my flaws. It’s called reflecting.”
“It’s called being a sad sack and a downer,” Phoenix announced from the barbecue, her voice monotone despite its increased volume.
I was surprised she could hear us so clearly from there. Maybe that was one of her traits?
“I gotta say it's nice to get a chance to talk to you, man,” Killian said.
Blinking, I lifted a finger and pointed it to my chest. “Me?”
“Yeah, you always shut yourself in your room whenever I was over. I don't bite, you know.”
“Liar,” Axel remarked flatly.
He chuckled. “Okay, you got me there. I bite, affectionately.”
“You nip.”
I stared at them as they continued to joke back and forth. Clearly Axel was having a good time. I hadn't seen him smile this much since the Gates had appeared. It was like whatever haunted him had been completely forgotten. Which was good, wasn't it? He deserved to be happy, to enjoy himself.
Why, then, did it make me feel unsettled?
No, I knew why.
The chemistry between Axel and Killian was hard to ignore. The two of them clearly got along well. I wondered why they'd stopped seeing each other. Though Axel did tend to go through guys quickly. He was just that kind of person. Killian didn't seem to mind about their short shared past either, entertained as he was by Axel's wheedling. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen Axel flirting with other people in front of me.
Though it was for Tam, and frankly it was surprising she hadn't commented on it or remarked something snarky to me. She loved to poke fun at us on the daily. The cutthroat in question was idly taking in the outside dining area, her brown eyes carefully and slowly absorbing all the details. Noticing me staring, she coolly met my gaze.
Ever so minutely I shook my head.
No, Tam, we are not going to be robbing or attacking or making an assault on these nice people who are offering us steak.
She shrugged back, not even slightly perturbed that I’d seen through her plans.
“Putting you on the spot a bit, but you ain't got a cold one lying around, do you?” Tam asked.
Killian shot a finger gun to an esky by the back door. “Help yourself. We're running a little low, but first in, first served.”
She got up and, instead of grabbing one drink, plucked the navy 10L esky from the ground and brought it back over to us, popping open the lid so each of us could grab something, offering it to us one by one. I’d never been a beer person, but I honestly figured I might need one. The past couple of days had been rough.
When she came by to me, I said, “Didn't think you were the type to share.“
“Drinking alone is depressing, babes.” There was a slight shift in her expression, miniscule, even. “And I've had my fill of that for today.”
Dipping my head in appreciation to Tam, partly out of genuine surprise she’d felt anything about what had occurred today, I pulled a bottle out from beneath the ice and found I'd selected a pear cider instead. Well, that was a nice surprise. They fit my palate a little bit better than the rank bitterness of a beer.
I’d always been more of a cocktail person; a habit that was fuelled by Axel’s guests bringing mixer drinks for his “get-togethers” and then never finishing them. The blond on the other hand was a beer-only type of guy, so I wasn’t surprised when he searched through the remaining ice to track down the second last one.
Briefly I questioned where they’d gotten ice from but realised they would’ve had generators in the store and fridges plugged into them. All they’d need was fuel, and if they’d acted fast enough, they could’ve gotten a lot. I didn’t doubt their group was capable of it.
Tam returned to her seat, her beer in hand, and I twisted the top off mine, then raised my drink into the air.
“To…” I paused, unsure what dedication would be appropriate. “To new friends.”
In that I was including everyone I’d met since the Gates appeared. Jye, Wren, Tam, Gigi, Carrie, Killian, Phoenix. It was a reach to call them all friends, but that was something we could work toward. Something I wanted to try, anyway.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
The clink of glass bottles sounded against mine as they all completed the toast, echoing, “To new friends!” to varying levels of excitement, followed by everyone downing their first sip of their beverage.
The cider was cool and crisp and I savoured it, letting out a sigh of enjoyment that fell into sync with the others, as if someone had pressed a button to cue a group satisfactory moan.
As we glanced around at the chorused coincidence, we all laughed.
Wren had joined in with a bottle of coke and was sipping it with relish. We should hit another grocery store and see what we could loot. Maybe there'd be some leftover soft drink we could ration out for her later. Actually better than that, it might be the right time to try and take her home. Her parents were probably dying with concern. Honestly… she might have a better chance with a different party than us… Tomorrow that’d be on the top of the list to talk through with the rest of the party.
“Dinner's up,” Phoenix said, and it was all she needed to.
Within seconds, our party was lined up at the fold out white tables, piling meat upon meat onto the plastic picnic plates that had been prepared. It'd felt like forever since I'd been to a barbecue proper. Apartments weren't really the best place to host, and I wasn't exactly the most social person.
I found myself standing beside Killian, and we reached for one of the serving tongs at the same time.
He pulled his hand back, gesturing for me to take it. “Guests first.”
As I debated if I should do the polite thing and play the “No, you” game, Axel slid between us and sniped the last piece of steak on that plate.
“You snooze, you lose, guys,” he said with a smirk, then he retreated to a chair.
Shaking his head with an amused smile, Killian commented, “Classic Zeke. Selfish to the bone.”
“He's not,” I replied instantly without thinking. I wasn't sure why. Axel could be self-serving and almost always put himself first, historically. Killian wasn't wrong, not really, well, regarding the Axel he knew, at least.
But I knew better.
The mulleted man's smile slipped slightly, and then he shook his head. Was he disagreeing? Self-correcting a thought? I couldn't tell since I'd only known him for such a short time. I hoped it was the latter, that he was reconsidering his understanding of Axel. I know I’d had to recently.
Unsure how to continue my exchange with Killian, I decided to pretend it didn't happen.
Taking one more kangaroo steak, I returned to my camping chair. There were no utensils out. It might’ve been a contingency against water concerns. Washing cutlery was probably a waste of the resource. Using my fingers, I picked up one of the beef steaks, I couldn't tell what cut, and took a bite. It was well overdone and over seasoned with salt, but as the savoury flavour of it and the char of its bark hit my tongue, I felt my eyes water.
That first steak was gone in a second.
The silence surrounding us as we ate was all anyone would need to know about how much this meal meant.
I let my gaze drift over the content expressions on everyone’s face. Tam was chewing aggressively at one particularly sinewy steak, tugging with her hands. Jye’s plate was already empty, and they were side-eyeing the remaining vestiges we’d left on the serving plates. Gigi seemed to treat the meal with a scholar’s interest, nibbling on the edge of a steak, thinking deeply, and then repeating the action. Wren had retrieved some napkins from her inventory and was using them as a barrier between her hands and the meat, her eyes alight with joy as she took bites. Axel ate his steak absentmindedly, his gaze drifting into the infinities before him.
Phoenix had taken a seat beside Killian and the two were sitting in companionable silence as they dined.
It was nice, eating like this.
We’d been through so much in the past couple days that this quiet, this pleasant moment, seemed like a different world entirely. For this meal it was like the world wasn’t ending. That humanity wouldn’t be eliminated until there was but one party left. That our lives weren’t literally on the line, even right now, as other people progressed in levels while we remained stagnant here, eating.
When we finished, a casual conversation began to flow between everyone, prompted by Wren saying she wished she could learn how to cook as easily as it was to use an ability. The discussion naturally moved on to what abilities we wished we’d gotten instead of what we’d been granted.
I listened intently to Phoenix and Killian, trying to glean what kind of skills they had, but the two of them kept dancing around the details. As Jye went into their desire to become 2D, I started to tune out, and instead focused on my menu. It’d been awhile since I’d brought it up. In fact, none of us had really discussed our separate screens beyond that first conversation Jye, Axel, and I had had back in the gym.
That seemed like an eternity ago now.
We’d practically been different people.
My Upgrade screen came up from my prompting and I figured it was as good a time as any to start breaking down the components of our stats. There probably wouldn’t be another lull like this again. Not when I knew the breakneck speed Just Friends would have to be earning EXP at, if we wanted humanity to even get past this tutorial.
And so I paid the credits required to increase each attribute one by one while Wren started talking about invisibility, and Gigi nodded sagely, agreeing with the strategic usefulness of such an ability, pointing back to our fight against Test Name.
Glancing between my health, mana, and stamina as I spent the credits, I noticed the following:
1 CON increased HP by 5.
1 INT increased MANA by 5.
1 STR looked to increase STAMINA by 2, but when I got to DEX and added 1 point, my STAMINA went up 3, which led me to believe it rounded down but both attributes’ points were worth a 2.5 STAMINA increase.
None of these changes really made me feel any different which sucked a little bit. And I also didn’t see a tangible difference when I increased END and WIL, which could mean they were more passive. I’d keep an eye on them when I exerted [Channel] later. Maybe the changes would be more noticeable then.
I’d spent 30 credits out of the 453 we’d gotten, putting the remainder at 423.
If each attribute cost 5 credits each time, that meant I could level up my attributes eighty times and have a few errant credits left. That was… insane. There was no way that’d be right. I couldn’t imagine being that strong or having a health pool so wide that my life wouldn’t be in danger. There had to be a catch.
Maybe there was something else to spend our credits on. Maybe upgrading abilities? There was also the marketplace, Twilight. The last time I’d checked, all the items on auction had seemed useless, and some were still censored. But with the knowledge I had now… Perhaps I could buy something that might be useful for the future?
But what really irked me was that even with the upgrades, my singular ability remained greyed out. Had I still not unlocked it? What prerequisite was needed? Why were the fucking Deities so stingy with information? What was the point in giving us these powers if we didn’t even know how to use them properly? What kind of show could we put on as stunted as we were?
Grumbling to myself, I finally noticed an almost invisible arrow beneath [Channel]. It had definitely not been there before. The system updated as I discovered new information. This was possibly an extension of that. As if feeling my gaze fall upon it, the arrow expanded to a dropdown to show two empty slots.
I could get two more abilities?
Clicking into one of the slots resulted in the following information:
Current available abilities:
Test Name: [Volley] [Locate] [Smithing] [Fireball] [Cloak]
Anna Dainsworth: [Mirror Aid] [Track]
Mouth going dry, I stared, letting the full momentum of what this meant hit me. This was all so very Chronicles of Riddick that I needed a moment.
So, I took a breath, we had access to the abilities of the people we killed. All this did was give further impetus for the slaughter that was sure to come. There was no way that literal murderers, who killed for fun, weren’t going to become aware of this soon. Maniacs would take advantage of this.
Forget us not making it out of the tutorial.
Humanity could implode upon itself with this knowledge.
Breath held, experimentally, I selected [Mirror Aid] to see what would happen.
Insufficient credit
Holy shit. How valuable had Anna’s ability been? I shifted my focus to [Locate].
Purchase [Locate] for 250 credits? Accept | Reject
I rejected the purchase, and then tested the others. I could afford the remaining abilities, but only [Fireball] was cheaper, at 50 credits. So some abilities started inherently better than others. Or maybe they’d been upgraded already?
Still, without knowing the details of each ability, I was hesitant to spend any of our hard-earned currency on them. I could hazard a guess what each meant based on how our past opponents had used them, but there’d likely be some sort of balancing restriction to each one. And, to be honest, [Fireball] was just kind of shit, in my opinion.
As it was, I still didn’t have the mana or stamina pool to really take advantage of anything. Well, not yet. If I spent more points on my attributes, maybe I could–
“Earth to Lee. You catch that?”
I frowned, not expecting to be addressed by Killian. “Huh?”
He rolled his eyes. “I asked what ability you’d want.”
Meeting the expectant gazes around the group, I was put on the spot with not a relevant thought in my head except that the more selfish a person was in this fucked situation, the more they'd be rewarded. The more you killed, the more you won.
“Uh.”
Axel’s blue eyes seemed to rest heavily on me, searing into my own. I truly could never understand him.
I looked away. “I guess mind reading?”
At that, everyone groaned.
Jye said, “That’s so cliche. Just say you wanna be Edward and get it over with.”
Defensively, I explained, “I just thought that it’d be useful in battles! Being able to know everyone’s next action and all that.”
“Sure, sure, sure,” Jye replied, and a wicked expression formed over their face. They waggled their thick brows. “I know what you’d really use it for.”
This elicited a peal of laughter from the others sans Wren. Mortified, my mouth fell open. “Jye! I’d never– I don’t even– Why would I– Who would I–”
The giant snickered and slapped a hand onto my back, putting a stop to my sputtering objections. “I’m yanking your chain, man. Besides, the only person you'd use it like that on is pretty easy to read anyway.”
I didn't parse their words, still shaken by their casual assumption of my relationship with sex and sexuality. And here I’d been thinking Jye had guessed. They were kind of dense, so I don’t know why I’d ever thought the redhead would be able to put two and two together regarding this.
Okay, so I had never specifically told Jye I was ace. But they’d just defaulted into thinking I'd be into stuff like that. It annoyed me. The expected allosexuality of society sometimes rubbed me the wrong way. But I wasn’t about to lecture everyone. I didn’t have the energy in me for it.
Besides, it’s not like I was disgusted by, hated, or looked down upon people's sexual desires and fantasies. Just that I didn't relate to it in mind or body. I never wanted to peek in someone's dirty thoughts, as Jye had implied, about me or otherwise. All that stuff kind of just existed in a realm that didn't overlap with mine. It wouldn’t do anything for me. And it would be a complete invasion of privacy, which was my other point of contention.
“That's true enough,” Killian said, replying to whatever Jye had said last, and his gaze lingered over Axel for a moment.
He'd been staring at the blond half the night and Axel had shared glances back, occasionally tucking a loose strand of hair behind his ear. I didn't need to be allosexual to know what that all meant.
Tam let out a chuckle. “You know, I mourned the loss of shitty soap operas when power failed. But fuck Bold and the Beautiful, this is the good drama, right here.”
Confused, I raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”
She laughed again and didn't answer.
In the corner of my eye, I saw Wren yawn, covering her mouth politely, and as it often is, the yawn caught on, infecting Gigi, then Jye, and then finally me. As my jaw stretched open, suddenly I was aware of what toll the day, the discoveries, the emotions, had taken on my energy level, the fatigue sinking deep into my bones.
Cutting my own yawn off, I turned to Killian. “It might be time to head to bed for the night. Could you show us the guest tents?”
Phoenix demanded, without any inflection, to take his place, since as she put it, “I cook therefore I do not clean.”
We threw all our trash into the rollybin and I momentarily lamented the amount of items we should've recycled. But that was for a world we'd left behind. A world where we didn't kill people for gods.
“I'm kind of in awe that I got to hang out with a party that cleared a Dungeon,” she said, not betraying an iota of emotion, as she led us back inside to where we'd be staying.
Carrie had invited us to stay permanently, but that was a weight too great for me to handle. So I'd accepted lodging for the night for Just Friends and said we'd talk about it in the morning after I figured out a way to politely reject her offer. But she'd briefly informed Killian who we were and he'd relayed that to Phoenix, obviously.
“Yeah, well, there's nothing special about us, really,” I replied.
“I wouldn't say that. Most of the first clears aren't done by the people who enter first,” Phoenix replied.
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, well, the announcements we got today, for example. Dungeon 3 was cleared by party XXX. It was first entered by Rohit or something, right?”
Had we stopped receiving Dungeon notifications because we'd cleared one? It wasn't like we could ask Phoenix that. But it made sense. There was no reason to inform us about the Dungeons after we had that conversation with Nabu. Or maybe it was just another way to control us by limiting the information we received.
I just nodded. “I guess we're just lucky.”
“Well, this is you. Sorry, but we're expecting some guests later tonight. We’d usually have enough single tents for all of you, but this is what's open.”
We'd arrived at a little grouping of tents. There were two single tents with the zipper doors open, four closed, presumably taken and prepared for their scheduled guests, and two larger ones which looked suitable for two people or so. I would’ve thought they’d have more available in general, but Killian’s words came back to about people coming or going. Perhaps they gave away the tents to people.
The six of us shared a look.
Phoenix said, “I'll let you all sort it out amongst yourself.”
“Mine, mine, mine,” Jye declared, sprinting to one of the single tents, giggling uproariously. It was a humorous sight to see such a large buff person dive full-force into an open tent. Where they had hit the back of the tent material, it formed an indent of their head.
“I am not comfortable sharing an enclosed sleeping location,” Gigi said, and as if we agreed, which we hadn't, xe set off to claim the other one.
Tam eyed the rest of us before letting out an exaggerated sigh. “The things I do for my people.” Her shoulders slumped. “You ain't a kicker or snorer, are you?”
Wren frowned. “I don't know.”
Defeatedly, Tam trudged towards one of the double tents. “Well, come on. No lollygagging, sugarpea. I want a full undisturbed eight hours for once.”
Wren followed her into their tent, quickly wishing us goodnight with a smile. As the brunette zipped the tent up behind them, I heard Wren saying, “Can I plait your hair, Tam?” There might’ve been a grumbled agreement but I couldn't be sure.
Feeling confident that Tam would protect Wren with her life, I made a move for the remaining two-person tent, as did Axel. This stopped me in my tracks.
“Oh, you're… staying with me?” I asked, confused.
He paused, as if frozen.
“I can't?” His tone was neutral, but just under it I could detect a shakiness.
Immediately worried that this might cause a slip in sanity, I replied, “No, no, it’s not that you can't, I just assumed… I mean, you and Killian…”
Axel's blond brows met in consternation. “Killian and I, what?”
I swallowed back the words, and they were sticky in my throat. “It's nothing. Well, you can get settled in first. I wanna check in on Carrie.”
Exhausted as I was, I still felt responsible for Carrie sitting out there alone. Axel seemed a little concerned, but he nodded and went to the tent whilst I fumbled through the remaining food we had that we looted from Test Name. At the very bottom was something hard and small. It must've gotten lumped in with everything else and lost in the divvying.
It was perfect.