“What should we do now?” I asked.

“We could go down a level. Cross to the other side of the building and take the other set of stairs.” Tala answered. She was leaning against the railing looking out at the broken staircase. It was a good ten feet of missing stairs till the next level. Below us the remnants of the stairs sat halfway on the steps while the rest must have fallen to the lowest level. It wasn’t known as the Crumbling Tower for nothing.

“Think we can jump it? Catch the ledge and pull us up. Not really looking to explore anymore,” I said.

“Yeah I get that,” Tala folded her arms and scrunched her eyebrows in deep thought. “I don’t think we have any other choice.”

Tala stepped past me and started her way down to the closest set of doors. I followed in her steps and thought about Theo. Was he already in the building? Was he ahead of us or was he straggling behind? Was he even still alive? I doubted that last thought. Theo was the highest trained kid in The Quarters. A privilege when your father was the strongest person in our colony. He was probably Level 1 already with a good weapon and supplies. It made my chest ache thinking about it. I rolled my shoulder back and rubbed my muscles to ease the pain. Ever since I Unlocked my connection to Trinity my chest pains had become worse.

Tala and I paused at the door and listened. It was difficult to tell what was happening on the other side as the door was made of thick metal. We gave each other a nod and opened it. I felt a bit cowardly letting Tala go in before me but she took the initiative before I could make the decision. I held the door open for a bit as Tala took a few steps into a large open room. It was empty except for a few turned desks and piles of black garbage bags at the far end near the tall windows. We waited a few minutes to see if anything would happen but once we were convinced it was safe I let the door close. A decision I would soon regret.

The carnal light of the crimson day pooled in from far windows basking the room in a deathly blood color. It crashed against the pale white carpet that covered the entire room. It made my eyes hurt to look anywhere. It made me miss the yellow lights of the underground world.

“Do you hear that?” Tala asked as she stopped in place. I almost bumped into her in the process. She was looking around the room as if something dangerous was coming. I couldn’t hear anything. The room was still eerily quiet except for the endless drum of the high winds of the city rushing outside.

“I don’t…” Before I could finish Tala shushed me. I was about to confront her as being told to stop talking was a pet peeve of mine. Don’t tell me when I can or can’t speak.

“There. Did you hear that?” Tala asked again. I concentrated hard on the sounds all around me but still couldn’t hear anything out of the ordinary. I decided to take charge and move past her when I heard it. It was distant. A low hum that drew in deep under the senses then rose high like a cresting wave. It was difficult to hear it at first due to the constant buzz of the wind.

“Yeah. What is that?” I asked.

“I don’t know and I don’t want to stick around to find out.”

“Yeah same.”

We picked up our pace but before we could take five steps the sound crashed all around us. A deep reverberation that shook the glass windows and sent waves up my legs. I had to catch my balance against the force that suddenly encapsulated the entire room, then a line of cold shot up my spine as the room grew dark. I turned my back to Tala as she turned her back to me. We held our weapons up and prepared for a fight. Our training growing up had kicked in and despite my fear there was an underlying comfort that I had someone to watch my back.

The shadow that fell across the room vanished as quickly as it had appeared. That’s when I realized that whatever was casting the shadow wasn’t in the room but flying outside. A monstrous creature had flown past the window. It was too quick for me to see exactly what it was. All I caught in its horrifying flight was its giant wings. Long black wings made of shimmering scales and drenched in oily liquid. The wings stretched farther than the entire floor and its body blocked out the whole sky.

The crimson light filled the room again. Tala and I turned to look at each other, both of us shaking where we stood. Our eyes were wide and we both had beads of sweat dripping down our necks.

“I… I… What in the world was that?” I finally managed to utter.

“Let’s go,” Tala said and started towards the end of the room.

“Wait…” This time I was the one who heard something. A skittering noise that reminded me of the Duskweavers. It was coming from the pile of garbage near the windows. The black plastic bags were shaking. One of the bags rolled over the others and fell with a squishing sound. From the spot where the bag had originally been there was now a series of blinking yellow eyes.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“Tala. We aren’t alone.” I nudged her shoulder and pointed to the pile of garbage. She looked where I was pointing and as she did another garbage bag rolled off the pile. In the shadows of the shifting black plastic another set of yellow eyes peeked out. Then in a burst of violent energy a horde of rats covered in pus filled boils, gushing scabs and twitching spines.

Vile Rodent - Level 0

Condition: Frightened

Weaknesses: ???

Resistances: ???

Without realizing it we had engaged in combat with a horde of putrid rats. At first I was feeling lucky that they were frightened, then I remembered that when rats get scared they become violent. Looking at their frantic eyes, these rats were out for blood. Whatever had flown by the window had sent them in a fury.

The first three rats were on me before I realized it and started attacking at my feet. I had to skip back several steps in order to avoid their attacks. I then leaned down and started stabbing. It was difficult trying to land a hit. They were bigger than the average rat but they were fast and reacted as if they understood the damage coming at them.

Tala was swinging wildly at her legs and upper thighs as a few rats had jumped on her pants. They were scratching at her and trying to claw their way into her flesh. She landed a few attacks here and there but she was struggling. As was I.

I turned from stabbing downward to trying to swipe at the rats. I caught one across the leg and even cut one across its forehead but I was barely doing enough damage to make a difference. We needed to figure out a better tactic than simply attacking like rabid animals.

“Tala. There’s too many of them. Our attacks aren’t working,” I said as I kicked a Vile Rodent away from me.

“You got a better idea?” Tala asked, knocking one from her knee.

I looked around me for anything we could use and even thought about running for the door to the stairs but they were all over us. I didn’t think we could out run them or even get through the door without a bunch of them following us. I looked at the turned over desk several feet away from us and then got an idea.

“Tala, the desk!” I nodded to the turned over desk and I think she knew what I was thinking. We both let out a few more wild kicks to knock several rats away and then ran for the desk. We ran around it so that it was placed between us and the rats. The mutated rodents ran straight for the top of the desk not even bothering trying to go around. We gave each other an agreeable look and pushed on the desk. It rolled over and landed hard on a large gathering of the creatures. There was an awful crunching sound and the feeling of pus filled bubbles bursting under our weight.

The smell that wafted out from under the desk was putrid causing me to stop my breath in my throat. My eyes watered and I almost lost the oatmeal breakfast my dad prepared for me that morning. I swallowed hard and stabbed at a rat’s head sticking out from under the desk. Tala had stomped down on a rat that got its tail stuck and slipped a little when its body collapsed like a rotten grape.

There were only a few Vile Rodents left and Tala and I made quick work of them. A fet slashes here and a couple of stomped feet there and we were left standing alone in the large office space. Then I got a notification that surprised me.

[8 Lesser Infested Rats Defeated]

[Experience Points Earned: 80]

[Leveled 1 Achieved!]

Level: 1 (35/300) XP

[1 Free Stat Point Obtained]

[Choose Your Stat Upgrade]

[Body, Mind, Spirit]

I leveled up! It was incredible to see my first level increase. Not only did I feel a rush of excitement from hitting my first major milepoint but I also felt a rush of energy flow through my body. The energy started in my chest and warmed me from the inside. It then flowed outward reaching each of my fingers and toes. That’s when the pain in my leg ceased entirely and I noticed my Codex mark my Condition as [Unharmed].

I looked over at Tala and she looked refreshed, the blood on her face all but gone, and she even had a smile on her face. It looked as though she leveled up as well.

“I leveled up,” I said.

“Me too!” Tala said, her smile bright.

I now had to choose what I would put my first Stat Point into. I looked over my three Stats and decided I hated the fact my Mind was set at 1. I placed my new Stat Point into Mind and suddenly a whole flood of past information came rushing back to me. It was as if my memory had expanded and all my lessons as a kid came clearer to me. It made sense. I had such a low Mind Stat that it was affecting my memory. It was crazy learning these things and how the connection had essentially changed who I was. Was I still the same person or had I been reborn into a new nightmare. Walking through the darkness like a newborn calf.

“What did you pick?” Tala asked.

“Mind,” I answered. “Feels great, almost like my mind has finally awakened. I’m starting to remember things. Basic things the First Unlocked taught us. It’s so interesting to see how the Codex affects us. How about you?”

“I chose Body. Most of my stats were already in Mind, felt like I could use some help in the fighting department,” She stepped off from the desk and flexed her arms and turned to stretch her back. “Hey look!”

On the ground, right at the edge of the oozing yellow slime pooling out from under the desk, there were two small gray orbs floating above the ground. We gave each other a smile and took one for each of us.

[Obtained: Rodent Bile]

“Ugh… Bile?” Tala said, scrunching her face in disgust.

“Same,” I said. “But hey could be useful.”

“I guess. Let’s keep going. Hopefully the next fight will get us some actual loot.”

“Yeah, that’d be nice.”