Focusing on the mana pond inside of me makes me feel like it replenishes faster. I don’t know how much faster but it’s a noticeable amount. Opening my eyes I look at the clock and see that it’s about seven twenty in the morning. The sun peeks out over the horizon and into the gym.

  Pillars of black smoke speradicly reach up into the sky. The city looks quiet even for this early in the morning. It’s spooky and unsettling. No cars visible, no people walking around. I would be off shift by this point, already lying in my bed half naked.

  I stretch my back out and make my way into the hallway. With a deep breath I open the door to the stairwell. Taking this one will lead me to the hallway connecting the lobby to the bike room, and would give me access to the lockers that us security officers use. I figure with my Mana Saw I can probably cut the lock and get the gun. With that in hand, along with my spells clearing the first floor shouldn’t be too difficult.

  The only issue is the zombies in the street. I don’t just need to clear the lobby, I also have to silence the fire alarm. I can do that with the panel next to the front door or with the panel inside the Fire Command Center.

  While still on the third floor I think it over. The fire command center is probably my best bet in silencing the alarm safely. The panel next to the door is too exposed and if there’s a lot of zombies in the street then there’s probably a good bit in the lobby. And with the Fire command center I can close and lock the door behind me.

  So with that in mind the plan is to get the gun, race to the command center, lock myself in and silence the alarm. Then fight my way to the open front doors and close them. After that I should be able to clear the rest of the floor and start working my way through the building.

  My hand shakes as it hovers in front of the door. I know that I’m scared and that this is probably one of the dumbest things I’ve done. The zombies before have been easy to handle but they’ve all been in small groups. I’ve had time to react to them and evade them.

  The zombies are generally slow but if I have to deal with too many, or if I get surrounded then I’m screwed. No point in worrying about what will happen. The best I can do is fight until my last breath. I’m not going to be some prisoner lokcing myself into a small room.

  I steel my resolve and push the door open and peek over the railing. Four zombies stand in the landing for the lobby. I sigh and let the door behind me close softly. I take aim and cast Rifle Round, sending spinning mana shots into each of them. They all drop like hammers and I’m left waiting for another zombie to stumble into view.

  After a few moments of nothing I crawl down the steps. I slowly round the corner and get a clear view of the door leading out of the stairwell. Two zombies stand looking down at the bodies of the other zombies. Before they can react I send two more Rifle Rounds into them ending their lives.

  PING!

Level Up

  I let the message disappear and with it gone I feel my mana pool refill. I hadn’t noticed earlier when I leveled up because I never was never focusing on my mana reserve. Looking back at it I realize that every time I level up my mana pool refills.

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  I instantly open up my character sheet and dump the five new Attribute points into my Intelligence bringing it up to thirty and my mana up to seventy. Feeling refreshed and more confident, I exit the stairwell.

  No zombies stand in the hallway but two stand behind my desk and a few more shamble beyond it, blocking my view from the Fire Command Center. Taking aim at the zombie furthest from me I let a Rifle Round race out, drilling a hole clean through the zombies head. The sound of its body crumpling under its own weight brings the attention of the zombies around it to it.

  With the ones closest to me looking in the opposite direction of me I sneak forwards to the closet and open it’s door. The door swings out blocking my view of the desk. I place my baton in it’s holder on my duty belt and take out my knife. The blade should be long enough to cut the bolt holding the lockers closed.

  Four lockers greet me, two of which lie open. They’re meant to be used by the unarmed officers on duty. However with just me working the night shift they’re left empty. The other lockers are dedicated to the two armed officers stationed at this post during the day.

  I know only one likes to keep his gun here in the locker, his wife doesn’t like guns being in their home. However I don’t know who uses which locker. Flipping a mental coin I pick the locker on the left to start with.

  The blade of my knife glows an artic blue as mana coats it. A soft humming sound emanates from it once I start forcing the mana to rotate around the edge. I guess where the bolt holding the locker close is and place my knife above it, wedging the blade in the gap between the side of the locker and the door.

  With as much force as I can muster, I pull the blade down. It catches on something and a horrendous screeching sound tears out of the locker. The knife shakes as the metal resists the flow of mana eating into it. For a second I don’t react, the sound and sensation being very reminiscent of the drill dentist used. Then the knife falls free and the door opens, but the damage is done.

  I hear the moans of dozens of zombies, as their attention is grabbed by a new fancy. Scared to do so but needing to know I peek around the door and see a dozen or so zombies shamble towards me. My face feels cold as the blood drains from it.

  As fast as I can I search the locker and feel dread as I don’t find a gun. I drive the knife into the lock of the other locker making another horrendous screeching sound of metal being torn in half. I fling the locker door open and am greeted with the holster and gun of the armed officer. Thank you Mrs. Reddeck for making your husband keep his gun here.

  I snatch the gun and start backing towards the stairwell. I try to get the holster off the gun but can’t with one hand. The zombies drawing ever closer I point the hand with my knife at the oncoming horde. I concentrate and let loose a handful of Mana Rifle rounds. Four zombies fall to the ground while more seem to stack over them. I turn and run towards the stairwell only stopping when I get to the entrance.

  I drop my knife and take out my baton and cast Mana Saw on it, the mana humming as it rotates fiercely. The rage from before bruns in me as I take my stand. The first zombie reaches me and I kill it in an instant with a jab to the eye. The next I lash out with a swing to the temple. Another jab sends a third toppling over.

  I’m forced to take a step back as more zombies pile into the hallway. I swing and jab and smash my baton into the skulls of zombies but they don’t stop. I’m pushed further and further into the starwell. The moment I feel the steps behind me I know I’m not going to be able to push my way back out into the lobby.

  Seeing no other solution I stop the rotation of my mana and push more out, extending my reach. Swing out in a large arc, knocks the closest zombies stumbling back into others. This buys me precious seconds of breathing room. I focus on the hand holding my baton and force as much mana into it as I can.

  A whitish blue ball of energy floats in front of my hand. I thrust my hand out towards the hoard and let the ball fly. My hand burns as the blue veins of mana flash white. The Cannonball burns a hole in the zombies closest to me giving me the space I need to escape.

  I run up the stairs two at a time and into the second floor. Slamming the door closed behind me. I back away from the window, hoping that if the zombies follow they won’t realize that I’m on this floor.

  I stumble back across the floor keeping my focus on the door. It opens into the starwell, so even though it’s unlocked the zombies shouldn’t be able to open it unless they know to pull. Within a few seconds I hear banging on the door as the zombies try to force their way through it, but it doesn’t budge.

  I breathe a sigh of relief as I let a feeling of safety wash over me. I fall to the ground panting heavily. Well that didn’t go well.