It had been around twenty four hours since the System descended and Nolan was feeling something close to confidence. His glaive had been working perfectly to keep his people safe, though the thought of the growing number of dependents behind him was a burden. It was a weight he would bear gladly if his daughters could see the new day. The fact that others who couldn’t defend themselves began to flock to him was a blessing and a curse.

Could Nolan trust those people around his children? He had no choice in any case, so he asked Peter to protect them in his place. He returned not long after the initial battles had finished, looking as guilty as a person could. Nolan placed a bet on him not wanting to relive that feeling. The look of relief on the older man’s face when Nolan asked for his help let Nolan sure he would do his best this time, at least.

He simply couldn’t be in two places at once, and the further he kept the growing swarm of monsters away from his girls the better. Instead of letting the fear and doubt set it, Nolan ploughed forth and set about freeing the other survivors from their battles. A few people had taken up arms, but none had done as well as Nolan. The panicked and scared, he sent to the growing sanctuary of Peter’s bed and mattress store. Those who held a fire in their eyes came with him.

Over the proceeding hour, Nolan and his group cleared the shopping centre of its monster problem. His level had risen to four by the end, and his strength was becoming shocking in its own right. He wasn’t the only one. There were six fighters alongside him, all with a level or two under their belts now. Of them, A woman named Cassie was standing out amongst the other survivors, having found a literal cleaver that was being used to great effect.

The lizardmen which made up the bulk of the enemy weren’t much more dangerous than a grown man with fangs, which is to say fairly dangerous, but nothing unassailable. They prowled in groups, smashing into stores looking for humans to devour. Their numbers were never more than three or four, however, which meant that they were now outnumbered when the groups met. All it really took was bravery.

They could hardly even be called a team, but their strategy was working all the same. Nolan would smash into the monsters like a bull and focused attention onto himself, leaving the other fighters to tackle a single enemy. They would use their greater numbers to hold them down while Cassie hacked off limbs. They took damage, but gaining levels made them whole again. The food they looted from the corpses helped, too.

With the danger seemingly removed, and Nolan no longer the only one capable of dealing with it, he rushed back to his girls. He was surprised to find Peter’s store nearly empty, just Peter and his daughters inside. Instead of getting everyone in, it seemed Peter had let them take most of his stock outside. A few of the nearby businesses had been taken over for space. It was already beginning to look like an encampment as he pushed his way through to the innermost store.

“Good job out there,” Nolan said to Peter as he walked past him with a nod. Peter threw his hands up and shrugged.

“It wasn’t my idea, they forced me to do it. It makes sense, but still… they’re putting their shoes on the linen.” Peter looked truly distraught at the thought, but Nolan snorted. That was very like his girls. They took after their mother in that way. Nolan’s lip quivered as he thought of Maisie out there in this chaos, knowing all he could do for her was protect her legacy. “What are we going to do, Nolan?”

Nolan didn’t answer immediately, instead hugging his daughters. Or, tried to. His clothes were disgusting and he didn’t blame them for keeping him at arms length, even if it stung a little. He produced two burgers, still piping hot, from his inventory with a grin and a magician’s flourish. The flinch of surprised from Lucy was a nice touch, and Sarah giggled as he knew she would. “So, it turns out that the monsters were hiding all the food!”

Nolan explained the situation to both of his girls, using a well practised control of language to keep Sarah from getting too frightened. Pretending the apocalypse wasn’t happening didn’t work, so keeping them abreast of the situation was the best choice. “So, that’s how things are. Daddy’s going to have to go back outside and see if there’s anyone else he can help, though.”

Sarah reacted to this news as he expected, ignoring the dried gore on his clothes and wrapping him in a squeezing hug. Lucy maintained eye contact and simply nodded. Nolan had never felt so proud as she took her sister’s hand and distracted her with some of the other surviving children. They were the whole reason Nolan would fight. He would be damned if anything happened to those kids while he still drew breath.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

And if he could save someone else, he would do that, too.

Alarms began to scream and loud crashing could be heard from the front of the shopping centre. Nolan was already sprinting, shouting for anyone who could help to come with him. He didn’t wait, returning his glaive to its spot in his inventory so that he could sprint with both hands free. Nolan knew the shutters couldn’t actually hold against monsters, so he needed to get there as quickly as possible.

Within moments, he was throwing himself from the second story of the shopping centre and landing in the main foyer. The banging was ongoing, but the shutters had held. Now Nolan was close enough to hear it, he could tell it wasn’t monsters on the other side. At least, not ones created by the System. “Let us in! It’s dangerous out here, the monsters are coming!”

Nolan hesitated, but no one was around to see. He was joined by Cassie and the others quickly. They looked to him for what to do. Stifling a sigh, Nolan nodded. “We’ve got to help them.” They set about opening some of the shutters and letting the crowd outside become a crowd inside. Cassie, with her butcher’s cleaver, was standing guard of the path towards the encampment they had already set up. This new group was directed elsewhere. Cassie caught my eye and we shared a look that told me she was on my side, which is to say she cared about the children, too.

The mood shifted again not long after when a new type of individual arrived. Flanked by two others, this man was clearly more like Nolan than the general populace. He wore impressive looking armour, wielding a fantastical looking sword and shield to complete the look. It was as though he had stepped right out of a fantasy novel. Nolan didn’t know what to make of him but approached him anyway.

“Are you leading this group?” Nolan asked. The man turned to him and sized him up. Nolan almost brought his glaive to his hand at the look one of the other men gave him but the armoured man held up a hand as though he expected it. Nolan tilted his head and committed the man’s face to memory as one of the people he would let protect themself in the future. A nose broken a few too many times and cauliflower ears told Nolan this guy wasn’t many people’s best friend.

“It’s fine, Trevor. My name’s Seth, and yes,” the man, Seth, chuckled as he spoke, “I suppose I do lead this group. I’ll be taking over here, Nolan.” The kid couldn’t be much more than a teenager, but the two grown men following him were serious enough that this wasn’t a joke. Nolan scoffed and rolled his eyes. Just what they needed, someone playing a hero.

Nolan’s perspective must have shifted massively because he considered the screech from outside of Westfields’ to be something of a blessing. The bravado in front of him crumpled slightly and Nolan got a much better understanding of Seth. A paper tiger, Nolan decided as he stepped forward towards the shutters. “You,” he pointed to Seth, Trevor and the final man, “with me. Now.”

They were clearly fighters, and while Nolan didn’t need dramatics, he did need bodies. “Wh- what are we doing?” Seth asked. His voice cracked on the first word, and he needed to clear his throat to finish his question.

“If you want to be a leader, give people a reason to follow. You’ve got the armour and sword, right? Use them. We’re going to protect these people. Maybe I might actually give you some respect if you show you’re worth it, kid.” Nolan stalked forward, removing his now familiar weapon from his inventory. Trevor shied away as Nolan pushed past him and stepped into the daylight outside.

The alarms were drawing attention of all the wrong kinds. A few singular survivors were approaching, but they were few and far between. Instead, a wave of beasts and monstrosities were approaching. Nolan was a little surprised when Seth stepped up beside him, levelling his weapon and shield, glancing between Nolan and the horde. Nolan decided to take a chance.

“Listen, kid,” he began, “my daughters are in hiding. You’ve got some levels, right? Well, let’s just think of that incoming crowd as a bunch of levels waiting for us. We’re going to use those levels to protect the people behind us. You want to be a leader? Good, I don’t. If we survive today, and my daughters are kept safe, I’ll do whatever you want.”

Nolan mostly wanted to psyche up the person who was most obviously carrying some levels and abilities, but his words worked even more than he could have hoped. “So, what you’re saying…” Seth’s voice became less shaky with each word, “is that right now… I’m being a hero?”

Nolan felt an electricity in the air that he didn’t understand but he nodded all the same. “Yeah, kid. We definitely need one right now.” There was a snapping, like Nolan’s ears had popped. He felt slightly drained, like he had just run a long sprint, but his eyes widened as Seth started to glow. A golden aura surrounded the young man, and even Nolan felt his heart get moved a little. Maybe this kid wasn’t all talk.

“I got a quest as I walked up here to protect Westfields from the horde. The reward just says safety, but I think that’s enough to bet on for now. Let's be heroes, shall we, old man?”

Nolan sized the boy up, shaking away the strange influence that followed him now he could feel it. He was just a kid, but he seemed to be trying his best. That was enough. “I’ll believe you for now. You want to protect this place? Perfect. Let’s do exactly that. And it’s Nolan, you little shit.”

“Fair enough, Nolan.” the boy said with a smile. The next few hours were a bloody, awful mess with more than one loss of life. Nolan watched Cassie get her arm eaten, cleaver and all, by a massive beast that looked like a crocodile mixed with an ox. The lizard held her on one of its huge horns, not able to reach her now lifeless body which hung from it like a grotesque bauble. Nolan couldn’t stop for a second. This was the world now.

One, long, bloody fight for survival.