It had been such a long day and a half. They were both overtired at this point and apparently feeling silly. They had caught her meaning. At best, she was giving them sass; at worst, though, she was trying to cause a problem.
They were still in downtown Pittsburgh, trying to make their way over Liberty Bridge and back on the interstate. Travis was about to reply to Anna. She was just staring at both of them, trying to figure out what was so funny.
That’s when the world seemed to explode all around them.
Traffic was light, as most cities near the eastern seaboard were evacuated. There were still taxis and other vehicles, as you always had people not heeding the evac order. The two cabs on either side of their SUV went up in flames almost simultaneously. If Travis was driving, he would have floored it, but Clyde froze up.
Anna went into self-preservation mode. She started looking for an exit.
Travis was taking everything in. He didn’t see any monsters through his window. He looked ahead and saw something in the middle of the road. Was it a lunch box, something of that same size? Clyde started to hit the gas, but Travis told him to stop.
Clyde complied, but needed a good reason, and fast, or he was going to drive. Clyde wasn't panicking but he was closer than he was to being calm. Travis pointed to the box in the road. “This is a trap. Try to back up and go down another block.” Clyde nodded his head and started to reverse.
Anna was waiting for the car to clear the flaming piles on each side, so she could open the door and bailout.
*
Adrian had a contingency plan for if they didn’t drive over his bomb in front. It was based on their car being too damaged to drive, not them noticing the thing and reversing out of there. He wasn’t worried, though, as his 14 strength and bag of tricks should be enough to stop them. As people obtained power beyond their wildest dreams, they became overconfident and reckless.
*
Travis was taking everything in as Clyde reversed. He knew Anna was trying to make a getaway, the analytical mind skill improved his already keen ability to make observations during a crisis. He turned to her, “Anna, let’s get through this together. I understand a lack of trust, but we can start to build it here.”
The fact Travis knew what she was thinking gave her pause. They were almost clear of the cars, so he turned back to scope out the scene. He still didn’t see anyone, monster or otherwise. Then he saw something come flying into the back of the SUV. It was a park bench, one of the big ones that sit near BBQ pits. Shit, someone or something strong must have thrown that.
“They are trying to box us in. I don’t see anyone, though. Anna let’s get out and stop this bullshit. Clyde, get us clear so we can go when we do.” His tone was so commanding that Anna did as he said. They both got out of the driver side doors and looked around.
**
Adrian was ducked beneath a car about 15 feet behind them. He had one more scroll and a small kerosene container nearby. He didn’t want to use it unless he had to though, as the journals might get destroyed. He told his two NPC partners to attack if all three people got out of the car. If not, only do so if he called them, two he could handle.
In TV and movies, whenever someone got enhanced strength, it only seemed to show in their arms. Picking stuff up, et cetera. What he loved, though, was his legs were just as enhanced. He used them now by jumping straight up and onto a car about 10 feet behind and to the side of the SUV.
From there, he pulled out his axe. He had got it as a prize for wiping out a small orc hideout. He killed untold brutes and the other faster ones, plus a few priests. The real target was the orc shaman that seemed to be in charge of the group. It had summoned a wolf, but even the orc underestimated his power. He had grabbed it from behind and broke its ribs, then threw it at the shaman. Knocking him off his feet, from there it was easy to beat him to death with the baseball bat Adrian had been using, until he got his axe. He had a weapon proficiency and got +25% more damage with it. “Come and get me, motherfuckers,” he yelled from the top of the car.
---
Travis pulled out his gun and shot him twice in the chest. Adrian just stood there; his look was that of a bully who was roughing up the same kids he always does until one of their big brothers surprised him with a punch to the face.
Travis knew he should put one in his head, but the angle was weird, and he was very low on ammo. A working gun was pointless without bullets. When he thought about it later Travis would realize he had made a mistake. In that moment though he had shot this guy twice, center mass, and had a real ammo shortage.
Adrian just stood there, looking. He thought guns didn’t work. That’s how they killed those first cops who tried to arrest him and his brother. Well, shit, new plan then. Not only did he have a 14 strength, but also a 13 endurance. He had put his remaining 4 points into it after ranking up his strength. One bullet just missed his heart. He would have needed a much higher endurance to survive that. Lucky for him.
He jumped down off the car and grabbed the healing potion from his bag, hoping it was fast-acting.
When Adrian's brother and cousin saw him get shot, they both panicked a little. One was terrified, and the other was consumed by intense rage. The angry one, his brother, wanted blood now, even though he had been told not to come out of hiding unless called for. Adrian's brother, Todd, didn't listen. He ran out with his police baton and riot shield. He also carried other police paraphernalia - mace and a taser. Like I said, those were their first cops; the others supplied them nicely with non-gunpowder-based weapons.
**
Clyde was out of the car, trying to move the bench when he saw the guy pop up seemingly out of nowhere and start to run at him. He looked and saw Anna at the back end of the car; she was closer, so he called for her.
Anna was really running on empty. She had never taken great care of herself to begin with, and since this all started, she had hardly had anything to eat or drink. Even with the adrenaline pumping, she still felt exhausted. She heard Clyde call her, so she turned in that direction.
An average-sized man was coming in their direction. He had on a riot gear helmet and shield, plus he had a baton in his hand, but it didn't reach past the shield. "What a stupid motherfucker," she thought. "He should pay for that." She went from standing in a daze to bursting towards the man in a flash. She would enjoy this.
As he saw this small female come at him, the cousin was flushed with confidence and thoughts of revenge. He put his weight behind the shield and pushed once she was within reach. The goal was to knock her off her feet, then let the baton do its work. Adrian had always said that his little brother didn't have the stomach to do what needed doing. He was going to prove him wrong with the screams of this girl.
Anna had a different idea, she leaned into the shield but then spun off it with her top tier speed and reflexes, using the man's own force to bounce off of it. He stumbled forward, expecting someone to absorb the force of his push. As Anna had done to orcs numerous times, she used her opponents' size and strength as a cudgel. After finishing the spin, she was facing the back of the man.
The cousin was watching and started to scream when he saw the women bring a large knife down into his cousins' shoulder. He cried out in agony as the blade cut through bone. He fell to one knee and was done for all intents and purposes, but Anna was not. She walked right behind him, reached around and slit his throat from ear to ear.
Clyde watched her perform the spin move and thought, "Damn, this girl is good." Then the stab to the shoulder. "Ow, that hurts, I bet. Well, that's that then." When she walked up behind him, he wasn't sure what to do. Should he call Travis to stop her, should he try to do it. This guy is out of the fight, no need to murder him. He ended up just watching with rising unease in his stomach as Anna executed the near helpless cousin of their attacker.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
In Anna's defense she had seen people “out of the fight” cause great carnage before. But that wasn't why she did this here, she needed a release. As the blood flowed, she felt a sensation. One that she always denied feeling when confronted in the past about it. It was something she hid even from herself. The feeling was that of pure ecstasy.
---
While this was going on Travis was trying to find the man behind his current troubles. This guy had two shots in him, he couldn't be too hard to locate and finish off.
---
Anna watched as the cousin started to run, she thought about chasing him, but they needed to get the main culprit and get out of there. All of this action got her thinking, Travis was a killer like her she thought absently, maybe less rough around the edges but she could work with him. Clyde on the other hand had to go.
Anna walked over towards Travis. She was ready for this play to be over, so she yelled, “your buddy is dead asshole! Come out and fight if you're a real man!”.
---
Travis looked at Anna like this was his first time seeing her. She looked pretty happy with herself, but why enrage this guy that could still have magic bombs or whatever he was using.
What he did say was, “don't provoke him, we just want to get out of here in one piece.”
She looked over and actually made a baby face, then she said, “I'm sworry big bad MC, don't punish me”. She was doing the dry my eye hands and everything. She was going for playful, but it came off as psychotic.
As Travis contemplated his life choices at that moment, he felt a brief sense of danger. "Get down", he yelled.
Adrian jumped clear over the flaming car and came down with his ax. Travis had just moved out of the away. Anna was a bit slower, and it nicked her on the shoulder. Adrian came up and swung again this time Anna ducked. But she was in a bad position.
Unfortunately for Adrian he went after the wrong person, blinded by his rage. Not only did he bring an ax to a gun fight, but he let the gun wielder aim and fire at him in his convenience.
Travis aimed, thinking about what Anna did to this man's partner, and just shot him in the shoulder. He dropped the ax and fell to a knee; blood was still dripping from his other wounds. He put the bullet right into the joint where the arm meets the shoulder. It was one of the most painful places to be shot.
---
Anna composed herself and walked around the man. Then she pulled out her knife to finish him. Thats when Travis grabbed her, “no! he yelled. "We do not execute people."
“This asshole tried to execute us” she replied. “Fuck him and get out of the way”.
Travis did not support murder, but he also wasn't going to have some type of B movie drama, you know, where he pulls his gun on her and threatens to shoot if she does it. People die and this guy made his own bed. If he had to go so be it, but she would not come with them afterwards.
“Fine, but you are on your own then.” he said and started walking off.
“I'm always on my own. I don't need a fucking ma…” she trailed off.
Adrian who was lying there bleeding out a second ago had gotten up enough strength to cut her across the stomach with his concealed pocketknife. He used every bit of that 14 strength that he had left and cut her deep.
Travis starring at her helpless as it happened so fast, instantly felt intense guilt. He walked up to the man who started to monolouge, Travis put his pistol to the side of his head and fired, killing him instantly. Then he grabbed Anna as she fell. He put her on top of the SUV and looked at her wound.
It was so deep, the entire length of the 4-inch blade. She was bleeding out and would be gone very soon.
“I'm so sorry Anna, this is my fault, it didn't have to happen like that.” he said. Travis believed in closure, for him to continue on the way he did and full of zeal, he needed it.
Before the life left her body all she said was, “your damn right it is…”
---
They were finally there he thought as Travis drove into the lot, the building appeared to have been abandoned for decades. It was an old meat packing plant, evident from its weathered façade. A white stone wall surrounded about half of the perimeter, matching the building's color. Then, as if half a wall wouldn't suffice, someone had encircled the complex with a chain-link fence.
Clyde was sleeping as they pulled up to the locked gate. He had battled some orcs with his new blade (Anna’s old one) and powers. Travis anticipated opening the chest he was supposed to have. Once that women's weapon was out of sight, it would be out of mind.
Travis wasn't sentimental, but this wasn't like being overseas for a tour. He wouldn't have a few months of R&R to reflect on everything that had happened. He knew he had only just met the girl, but he did feel directly responsible for her death.
However, there was work to do now. The place appeared abandoned, but that was not a safe assumption to make after their journey so far.
“Wake up, Clyde; we're here,” Travis said.
“You gotta open that lock".
A lot had happened since they left Pittsburgh after Anna died. Travis had taken both her bag and journal, along with the guy who attacked them. His name was Adrian, judging from the cover of the journal.
Clyde hadn't reached level 5 when he became a PC as he was supposed to. It turned out that Travis had the ability to make anyone in his party a player character. All they needed was access to a journal, and he had to “promote them” in his party members' page. Considering Clyde's intelligence stat, it was no surprise that he would eventually learn spells. Once you accepted that magic existed in this world anyway.
The surprising thing was that he had received two magic tomes from completing what were essentially fetch quests. That's what Clyde called them at least. He said they were classic video game missions where you had to perform mundane tasks repeatedly or kill X number of monsters. He had to kill an Orc Priest and take his staff, and then he had to help find and clear an Orc hideout with a shaman. Not exactly fetching 10 ingots of iron, but close enough. Using the map functions in Travis' journal, they were able to find both of them quite easily. It was as if the game wanted him to have them.
Clyde was of the opinion that there was some kind of entity running the game, an alien or something. Travis wasn't so sure about that. Regardless, he had gained two very useful spells and had leveled up two more times.
Clive Sanderson - PC
Race - Human
Tier 3/Level 4
Class - NA (not available)
Subclass - NA
Faction - Pending..
Alignment - Neutral
Base Attributes
Strength: 6
Intelligence: 14.5
Reflexes: 6
Endurance: 7
Charisma: 6
Secondary Attributes - Luck: 9 Willpower: 10 Perception: 11
Skills
Trusty Lieutenant - Passive
Spells
Fire Starter - Level 1
Thermal Vision - Level 1
This concludes part 1