Ray

Ray got his first good look at the area around the chemical tanks as he got to the bottom. Rolling his eyes at the fact that he probably should have done some scouting from the top of the tank, he pushed the thought process aside to appreciate just how close to his objective he was.

He only had to cross a small highway, get through a green belt, and he was practically at his destination on the terminal. Getting a move on Ray began crossing the gravel lot to the far side of where the dozen or so chemical towers were. Climbing a chain link fence, he dropped to the other side to find himself face to face with overgrowth.

Grumbling to himself, Ray shoved through the branches and overgrown brambles to the side of the road. He took note of numerous abandoned vehicles and semi’s on the highway. There were probably a lot of supplies still bunkered down in those airtight containers. Supplies he could use at some point. Taking note of that idea, he climbed over the guard rail and quickly traversed across the six-lane road.

Casual everyday vehicles were very close to being obsolete with the advanced rail and public transit systems that were in place around the city, however, moving large quantities of goods by truck had never gone out of style. With the advent of high-powered electrical vehicles and sub-orbital travel, this signaled the slow death of adventuring by road.

Climbing over the railing on the opposite side of the by-way, Ray found himself facing another chunk of overgrown vegetation. He could still see the remnants of an old steel track underneath them all, but he wasn’t about to go exploring yet. He had a mission to complete. The terminal was close, which meant he was only a few hours away from possibly saving mankind.

He took three whole steps before growling froze him in place.

Turning very slowly, he saw two orange eyes staring at him from under a pile of refuse. Swallowing, Ray figured it could only have been the skinless demon that kept following him. Taking a few slow steps back, he brought his multi-tool to hand and prepared for a fight.

He couldn’t have been more surprised when what slowly emerged wasn’t a zombie, demon, or monstrosity, but a dog. A skinny, malnourished German Shepherd. Blinking at the growling animal, Ray slowly put his tool away. Reaching into his inventory, he removed a bottle of water and a couple of packets of dried noodles. As he moved, the dog's eyes followed the food and water as it emerged. Its demeanor went from one of hostility to one of cautious curiosity.

Ray opened both packets of food and tossed them to the dog. It moved to them slowly, sniffing them for a moment before tearing into them savagely. The crunching of noodles echoed in the greenbelt alleyway between the two large warehouse-like buildings.

“Boy, you must have been hungry,” Ray said kindly. “I wonder how you survived this long? Maybe a bit of luck? Skill? It couldn’t have been easy, that’s for damn sure.”

He had always had a soft spot for animals, in particular dogs and horses. Having grown up in the Midwest of the North American Common Wealth had made him intimately familiar with such animals. The dog eyed Ray speculatively as it ate, and all too soon both sets of noodles were gone. It looked back up at him and cocked its head to one side as if asking for more.

“Sure thing bud, I have a bit to spare,” he said, opening another two packages. The dog didn’t even wait this time, trotting right up to him and taking each one right from his hand.

Ray reached out tentatively, petting the matted fur on top of its head. “Boy, you need a bath. Well, then again so do I,” he chuckled.

The dog finished the last two packaged meals as Ray stood up. “I’m heading this way, you’re … uh … welcome to come?” he said, feeling a bit strange at talking to an animal.

The dog just looked at him, cocked its head to one side, then turned and ran back into the overgrowth.

“Ah well, there’s gratitude for you,” he grunted.

Ray continued his trek down the old byway in between the factories and warehouses. He saw dozens of old and new tractor-trailers, as well as very outdated train cars that had been abandoned behind their respective buildings. Taking note of everything that he could for later, he was laser-focused on getting to the terminal and planting the node. He had a lot to do, and the node was only the first step in a very long process of getting mankind back to the level of dominance over the world that they had once held.

He stopped suddenly, taking note that in front of him, for roughly two hundred yards, the foliage had grown over from one building to another. This created a shaded canopy that was shrouded in darkness. While he could see the other side clearly enough, he had no idea what was lurking in those shadows. Once again, Ray was facing a choice. Take the risk and get through, knowing that his goal was on the other side. Or try to find a way around and possibly get caught outside at night. Where he would most likely be killed.

Swallowing, he brought his multi-tool up and began flicking through the options. Eventually, he settled on an odd-looking hammer with an elongated handle. As the tool took shape in his hand, he realized that things were moving in the shadows. Not many, but they were there. He only hoped there were none of those odd undead with weird abilities. Or those Skinwalker demons. Any one of them could kill him quickly.

Hefting the hammer, Ray took a deep breath and then sprinted into the overgrown tunnel.

As soon as he crossed from daylight into the shadows, a cry went up. All around him bodies began to shuffle and move. He was already a dozen meters in when he realized that he was being chased. And that they were so close he could hear the clicking of teeth behind him.

The utter fear of being eaten alive consumed him, and he poured on the speed to put distance between whatever was in pursuit and himself. Sprinting down the alleyway he pulled in deep breaths and could taste the stench of decay. This may have been a very, very bad idea.

Ray was more than halfway through the tunnel when the worst possible thing that could have happened, did. Something stepped in front of him.

Careening sideways and slamming into whatever he had hit, he spun on his feet and somehow stayed upright. But his advantage in momentum and distance was now gone. A boney hand latched onto his arm, slowing him even further. With a strangled cry, Ray brought raised his hammer and brought it down on the appendage, smashing through the dried skin and bone. It separated completely, and the moment he was free, and with his panic giving him a massive dose of adrenaline, he exploded into the fastest sprint he had ever done before.

It was mere seconds before he burst outside the other side of the tunnel and into the sunlight. Continuing to run, he gave himself some distance before turning around. What he saw terrified him to his core.

There were dozens, if not hundreds, of undead that had stopped at the line of shadows dividing life and certain death. They were clacking their teeth at him in rage, raking clawed hands into the air. Every so often they would misjudge and a hand would swipe through sunlight, causing it to smolder and smoke. Ray could smell the singed flesh from where he was.

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DEATH TRAP SURVIVED

COULD HAVE MADE A BETTER CHOICE, BUT WHATEVER I GUESS

NATURAL GROWTH MEASURED - STR +1

NATURAL GROWTH MEASURED - AGI +1

NEX CALCULATING – DEPLOY NODE FOR NEX ACCRUAL

The surge of stats left Ray breathless. He feltstronger, faster, and generallymore hearty than before. In fact, he felt so good he nearly forgot about the horde of undead that were trying to inch towards him across the sunlit ground. Nearly, that is.

Grunting while he struggled through the surge of energy, he forced one foot in front of the other to move away from the threat. He got a half dozen steps in before he fell to his knees, panting. He enjoyed the boosts to his abilities, however that worked, but getting two points at once made him feel like he had gotten kicked by a mule. Mules sucked.

Struggling to his feet, he continued down the alleyway and out onto a road that crossed the tracks. There had definitely been more activity here than the end of the railroad behind him. Here he could see burned-out tractor trailers, smashed cars, and dozens of old shipping containers.

Hesitating between heading down another alleyway, the more straightforward route, Ray opted to take the road. It was mostly clear and he didn’t see any more overgrown areas going this way. Sometimes not taking the straightest path ensured the best results.

It was only a couple hundred feet to the intersection. He reached it without issue and turned left … and then stopped.

The road curved away, with a small electro station on one side and the end of the factories on his right. However what caused him to pause was that there was not one ship terminal, or two, but three. Three major choices to pick from.

Eyeballing a nearby sign, Ray deduced that he had a cruise ship terminal that had just been finished, a commercial terminal, or a residential terminal. Why the hell anyone would take a boat across the ocean when they could fly was beyond him, and the residential terminal didn’t seem like it would have the resources he may need going forward. Making a quick decision, he made for the central commercial terminal.

As he got closer, he cheered to himself. He could see a massive container ship still docked. In addition to that, there was a road that led straight down to the end of the massive pier. Near the end was a large building, probably a warehouse or office complex of some kind. He could clear and fortify that, place the node, and activate it.

He had no idea what would come after that, but planting the node should give him an idea at the very least. Those cowardly alien fucks in orbit gave off that vibe at least.

Ray jogged down the road, amazed at the lack of effort it took to move at a decent pace. Whatever the System had done to make him stronger didn’t have much of a drawback aside from the moment of disorientation when it first happened. He could get used to that. Although, purchasing stats seemed to be an option as well. Thoughts of lifting cars and punching through walls came to his mind.

Pushing the idea of being some kind of superhuman out of his mind, for now, he focused on the upcoming set of buildings at the end of the terminal. Slowing down as he got closer to the three-story structure, Ray opted for maximum stealth. This included him walking across the gravel pad up to a window, probably causing enough noise to literally wake the dead.

He peeked inside and, true to form, there were several dozen of the undead standing around the first floor. That didn’t take into account any that may be on any of the other two floors or the attached warehouse. Shrugging, he looked up. The sun was high, nearly directly above him. This meant he had a good four or five hours before dusk. At a minimum.

“Can probably just … open a door and lead them outside? That should work. Probably? I can always run away I guess,” he mumbled, debating various tactics with himself. “Right. Can't waste any time. Let's just open the door and see what happens.”

Walking over to the front door, Ray brought out his multi-tool in hammer form. Then he opened the door and stepped back.

For a moment, nothing happened. He was at a loss as nothing came rushing at him out of the building. Cautiously stepping forward with the hammer cocked to the side, he reapproached the dimly lit interior of the doorway. He had only taken one step on the gravel only to have an undead lunge out of the door at him.

Ray caved its skull in with a single swing.

“Get fucked!” he yelled, only to repeat the process again as another one followed it out.

Ray repeated this process a dozen times before the things stopped coming at him. A pile of smoldering bodies in the sunlight was all that remained of the undead on the first floor. At least those that he could see. He highly suspected that there would be more on the second and third floors, as well as the warehouse, that would be a far more difficult fight.

Stepping cautiously through the door he examined the interior of the building, confirming that this first level was some kind of office and processing center. Moving past the front desk and into the back area filled with cubicles, Ray was filled with a nervous apprehension as he waited for the next attack to come.

Lunging from the top of a desk to his side, Ray caught the movement just in time to bring his hammer up. The undead bit down on the head, shattering most of its teeth on the tool. The disgusting sound of molars grinding up their fellow teeth filled the room, nearly causing Ray to vomit. He powered through, punching the undead in the side of the head and knocking it down. As it fell, he pulled the hammer back and smashed its head in.

“Another one bites the dirt,” he muttered, stepping back and re-scanning the room for threats. He took note of two more undead moving towards him.

The two undead, two men in overalls and toolbelts, moved towards him, teeth clacking and gnashing. Ray could see their white, decaying eyes locked onto him and eager to dig into his flesh. Stepping forward he slammed the hammer into the side of the first one's head, causing the tool to sink into the skull and get stuck.

Panicking, Ray braced his foot on the side of the body and ripped it out in a shower of gore. But the extra movement had taken a few extra precious seconds that the second undead had used to get within his winging arc. So Ray did the only other thing he could think of and kicked the creature in the kneecap.

His foot went through the joint with a cracking noise, as if he had put his foot through a chunk of dried-out wood. The separated leg caused the undead to fall over onto its side. Ray, never one to let an opportunity pass by, ended the fight by bringing the hammer down on the thing's head. Its movements stopped entirely as he dislodged his hammer from the caved-in skull.

This would have to be the process. Find a few, and kill them. Step back. Re-scan for threats. Rinse and repeat.

This was going to take a while.

***

RAYMOND ‘RAY’ FINNEGAN

RACE

HUMAN

CLASS

NONE

NEX

CALCULATING

LEVEL

1

PHYSICAL STATE

HEALTHY

MENTAL STATE

DETERMINED

ATTRIBUTE

BASE

CURRENT

NEX TO INCREASE

STRENGTH

5

7

50

AGILITY

3

4

30

POWER

0

0

100

WISDOM

4

6

40

LUCK

2

2

400