My emerald box flashed and disappeared, leaving behind a single item.

“Bracelet of the Tesla Coil. Epic. Absorbs energy from enemies you fight and stores it. Energy will automatically be applied to replenish health and mana. Energy is gathered in direct proportion to how much damage you deal, and will slowly bleed away at the rate of 15% per hour until you enter another combat.”

“Sweet!” I removed my scarred bracer from my left forearm and winced at how battered it looked. The sleeves of my leather jacket were mostly gone, with tattered ribbons drifting around my arms. Those wolves had ripped them to shreds. Hopefully I’d get another jacket soon.

I wrapped the new bracelet around my left wrist. It fit snugly. It was made of braided metal that looked like platinum. My bracer fit back over it easily.

The description did worry me a little. The bracelet seemed amazing, but it would only work as a result of ongoing combat. I would have preferred it simply store all the extra energy I stole using Soul Feed.

Still, I wouldn’t turn away a potential source of extra automatic healing and mana regeneration. I ended up diving into one fight after another, so I doubted I’d lose too much power from the captured energy simply bleeding away.

It was clearly designed to reinforce the build Cyrus was nudging me toward, one focused on constant, close-in combat. As I considered that, I found myself not as reluctant to throw myself into danger as I had been just the day before.

Was it the knowledge that I didn’t have time to hesitate, but had to get stronger? Or had my experience as an apex predator werewolf affected me more than I’d realized?

It didn’t matter. I had a path to gaining power, and I had to walk it. I triggered Soul Feed on the dead pack leader, even though my health and mana were topped off and my physical stats were still enjoying that 50% temporary boost. When the cloud of white energy poured into me, it rolled up to the bracelet, but did not get sucked in.

So it didn’t work retroactively. No matter, it could start charging in my next fight.

“Thanks. This will help a ton.”

“To the bold go the best spoils,” Cyrus responded.

“I love having bold friends,” William laughed as he examined a very authentic looking steel breastplate. It looked medieval, but I had no idea which country might have made ones like that.

Joey had already stored whatever he got from his platinum box and was examining his energy rifle again by the light of his lantern. “And I love these rifles!”

“I have a few more broken ones too.”

“Brilliant,” Joey grinned. “I’m a mechanical engineer. Worked on building siege weapons for the movie. I’d love to work on those parts to see if I can figure out how to cobble together more working rifles.”

I gave him a couple of the busted rifles to check out. Between us, we looted the werewolves and each got a bunch more mana crystals, 1 potion of full poison resistance, a wolf pelt, and half a dozen fangs.

I still barely believed we’d survived. Too bad I’d had to use up Fractal Strike. If I could have permanented it with that Ember Strike spell, they might have formed the foundation of a build that would have been unstoppable.

Since I was already in my inventory, I scanned the other loot I’d gotten from the zombies. A few more rifles, a bunch of random clothing, a few rusty breastplates, more lanterns, and a few more mana crystals.

I’d even picked up five potions of Create Darkness. Each one created a sphere of absolute darkness 10 yards in diameter, centered around the one who drank the potion, or the spot where the potion got smashed. So it could be thrown. That could be useful, especially if I could see through the sphere. I’d have to test it.

I extracted 2 of 3 scrolls of Binding too. “Here, another bit of loot you might like.”

“Scroll of Binding. Bind the limbs of an enemy up to 10 yards away for 5 minutes.”

“You’re turning out to be a good friend to have,” Joey said with a grin.

Before more werewolves tracked us down to avenge their fallen pack, we hustled down the slope. We moved fast, but alert for danger.

We’d barely covered another 100 yards before a deep howl I recognized rang out through the predawn stillness. A shiver of fear seized my spine as I spun back to look upslope.

“What is that?” William whispered, rifle back in shaking hands.

“Sounds like death,” Joey breathed, visibly pale.

With Wolf Sight and Sight of the Explorer, my vision could pierce the distant shadows and bring the vague shape lurking there into clear focus. A giant werewolf, easily twice the size of the pack leaders I’d killed was pacing along the edge of the slope. On his hind legs.

The alpha was enormous and walked in humanoid form, like many werewolves from movies. The sight made me shake with fear. Even at that distance, I sensed the overwhelming power of the alpha. If he came down the slope after us, we could never escape.

Identify didn’t trigger, so I couldn’t see his levels, but from the weight of his aura, I suspected he had to be over level 50. It felt like he possessed a totally different tier of power than any of the other werewolves.

Behind him ranged over a score of sleek, deadly werewolves. None of them moved toward the slope, but all of their crimson eyes stared back straight at me.

“We’re so dead,” William moaned.

“Shhh,” I whispered, not taking my gaze from the distant alpha. He did not advance. Nor did he order his horde of hungry wolves after us, but growled. This time the sound was a low rumbling that vibrated across the distance.

Again I understood his intent without needing words. I was marked now. He knew my scent. I’d killed 2 of his lieutenants and invaded his domain. He would hunt me down himself and rip out my throat with his own jaws when I returned.

Because I had to return, and he knew it.

“Fridge off,” I growled back before turning away.

“Is it going to come after us?” Joe asked, following, but casting constant worried glances back upslope.

“Apparently not. He’s the alpha, probably the stage boss. I bet he can’t come down to stage 1.”

“Thanks heavens for that,” William breathed.

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“Yeah, except now he’ll just wait till we return. Then he’ll come for us.”

Joey visibly swallowed, but William scowled. “By then we’ll be strong enough to kill them all.”

“I hope so.” The alpha’s presence was like a distant forest fire, threatening and unstoppable, but William was right. We had to get strong enough to face him, and we only had a few days to do it. Otherwise, he would kill us all and everyone else. Then Earth would die, including my extended family and my sweet Isabella.

“I’ll be back, and we’ll see who kills who,” I whispered.

About two-thirds of the way down the slope, we came across a concealed gully like a little oasis, complete with a small pool of water, soft grass, and thick bunches of tall bushes hanging heavy with a lime green fruit I didn’t recognize.

And people.

We pulled up short at the upper edge of the gully just as half a dozen men and women jumped out of concealment behind trees and boulders. A couple pointed bows, but most held steel weapons or raised hands to cast spells.

“Whoa!” I cried, lifting my hands in peace. “We’re humans too.”

William and Joey lifted their lights higher to show our faces. Relieved murmurs spread through the camp and I spotted more people emerging from the bushes. There had to be over 20 people, and I sagged with relief to see so many.

“You lot are a welcome sight,” William called.

“You’re lucky we didn’t attack when you ran up in the dark,” one woman called, a scowl in her voice. “We’ve been hearing wolves.”

“We’ve been killing them,” William said with a chuckle.

“And we were carrying lanterns,” Joey said, waving it to punctuate his words.

A very fit looking man with thinning brown hair and light blue eyes stepped to the front of the group. He held a thick-bladed boar spear easily in one hand and wore a chainmail jacket and black pants. I pegged him at mid-40s, and he carried himself like a leader.

“William (Burns) Turner. Level 21 baby human. Team Pirates of the Caribbean.” Eva read when Identify kicked in. That was weird. I’d never seen a second name in parenthesis like that. Was it a nickname, or something?

Beside me, William Treville shouted, “Burns! By jove, I’m happy to see you, Mate!”

“William!” Burns exclaimed, his grim face breaking into a happy smile. It instantly changed his visage from imposing to charming.

The two embraced, and a couple other men and a woman rushed out to greet William too. I approached the reunion and pieced together that they had all been stuntmen for the movie, and Burns had been the lead stunt coordinator.

Awesome. Stuntmen were some of the most versatile and competent people alive. No wonder they’d gathered such a big group already. I sensed a story in Burns’s name, and hoped to learn it eventually.

“Not your team?” Joey asked.

“Nope, but I’m happy to see them.”

William turned and gestured me closer. “This is the bloke who saved us from the zombie slavers and the werewolves. Let me introduce Lucas.”

We shook hands and Burns’s gaze was piercing as he studied me. He made no comment about my lower level, thankfully, and only said, “Thanks for saving William. He is a good man.”

“We need everyone we can get.”

“Indeed.”

Burns greeted Joey, who then turned to greet several of the ladies who had clustered closer while we talked. His easy charm and southern accent immediately won them over and in seconds, he was chatting happily with 4 of them. Two were from Burns’s team.

“Elizabeth Stevenson. Level 13 baby human. Team Pirates of the Caribbean.”

She was a tall, curvaceous woman with white skin and very blond hair. She wore a medieval brown leather corset that looked pretty tight and definitely highlighted her figure.

“Megalyn Ragettie. Level 12 baby human. Team Pirates of the Caribbean.”

Megalyn looked young and very fit. She was a trim woman with long, straight black hair and features that suggested Native American heritage.

They both chatted with Joey and got very friendly. I even heard him channel his namesake and ask, “How you doin?”

The ladies seemed to love it. Huh. He made friends so easily. Maybe Cyrus was thinking deeper about his team assignments than I’d given him credit for.

“Lucas!”

I knew that voice. I spun, my joy spiking when I recognized Jane. Despite some new clothes, she looked the same as before we got teleported to the death game, except her hazel eyes seemed to glow softly.

“Jane Gardner. Level 16 baby human. Team X-men”

Laughing, I lifted her off the ground in an enthusiastic hug. She gripped me so tight in return, it was hard to breathe.

“Oh, I’m so happy to see you, Lucas,” she laughed when I finally put her down.

“Same. Have you seen Tomas or Ed or Patrick?”

Her smile faded. “Patrick . . . He . . .”

“Oh, no,” I breathed, pulling her into a gentler hug as the world seemed to rock around me.

Patrick had been my friend since grade school. He’d moved to Boston for college and we’d lost touch for a while. We reconnected over adventure motorcycle riding, and our ride through Colorado had been our first reunion in ages.

Now he was gone. I hadn’t gotten strong enough fast enough to save him.

Jane leaned against me and whispered, “I heard he went quick.”

I wasn’t sure what to say. The last time I’d glanced at the survivor counter, it had dropped to the low 700s. I tried not to look often. At some level, I knew that meant nearly 3 out of 10 of us had already died. Chances were good one of my friends hadn’t made it past the initial craziness, but I had still hoped we’d all reunite.

“I don’t know about Ed or . . . Tomas,” she said in a choked whisper, then pushed back and savagely wiped her cheeks. Her gaze hardened and she added with her usual confidence. “I’m sure they’re fine.”

“Me too. I actually got a clue that Tomas is okay.”

Her eyes widened. “How?”

“I can’t explain more, but it was a good sign.” I refused to believe my brother had died since Cyrus dropped that hint. Forcing a happy smile, I added, “And look at you. Level 16. What spell did you permanent?”

Her usual ready smile flashed. “No spells about motocross, unfortunately. I ended up on team X-men, so my first permanent spell is Telekinesis. Check this out.”

She turned and pointed. A rock about the size of my head shot into the air. She swept her hand to the side and the rock followed the movement, shooting across the ravine to crash into a boulder so hard the rock shattered. The echoes of the impact reverberated through the gully several times before fading.

A woman’s voice shouted from down in the gully, “Hey!”

“Sorry!” Jane shouted back, but then shrugged and smiled.

I whistled softly. “That’s amazing.”

“I love it already, but if I can upgrade it, I’ll be able to toss monsters around like toys.”

I chuckled. “Of course. Jean Grey, the Phoenix. X-Men is a powerful team. Tomas is going to go nuts when he realizes he’s dating a superhero.”

She smiled, but I read worry in her eyes. She only said, “And you? How are you still only level 6? You’re so competitive.”

“It’s a long story, actually. I got some special loot that increases my stats a lot, but slows my leveling.”

I didn’t like sharing the same line of half-truths with Jane that I’d told the others, but I had to be consistent. I reminded myself it was for her own good. I almost told her about Harvest, but how could I have a permanent spell if I was only level 6?

“I did get several limited-use spells that are proving really useful,” I added.

“You’ll catch up,” she said encouragingly.

“You’d better believe it.”

She peered closer suddenly. “What happened to your eyes?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your irises have a solid gold ring around them. That’s wild. Did you get some magical contacts, or something?”

“Not exactly. I got something called a title. They add gold to your eyes.”

“That’s what it is. Burns’s got gold flecks, but nothing like you.”

I shrugged. “Competitive, remember?”

That made her laugh, a sound I hadn’t been sure I’d ever hear again. I would need to talk with Burns more and find out about his titles. I didn’t want to share everything about mine, but I did want to compare stories at least at a high level.

Reuniting with Jane renewed my hope. She was safe so far and seemed to be thriving. Once we found Tomas and Ed, we’d keep each other safe. Whatever it took, I would get stronger, strong enough to defeat whatever insanity Cyrus threw at us.

Jane and I joined the main group and Burns said, “William said you might know more about those zombie slavers.”

“Yeah, they’re based on the second stage. We’ll have to deal with them eventually, but they’re tough. Most are about level 35.”

That generated a wave of fearful muttering and Burns asked, “How did you defeat them?”

“It’s kind of a long story. The important thing to know right now is that they’re sending raiding parties down here to capture people. We’re not strong enough to deal with them, so I recommend we move down into the valley and meet up with other survivors.”

“That’s what we were planning on doing come sunrise,” Burns confirmed, then leaned closer. “Do you have any more of those beam rifles?”

“I’ve got a couple.”

“Good. Keep them under control until we decide how best to distribute them.”

Interesting turn of phrase. He was speaking as if I’d already accepted him as my captain and would hand over anything he wanted. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

He flashed that charming smile. “Sorry. I’m used to taking charge. If we’re going to survive, we’ll all need to cooperate.”

“I’m sure we will. Speaking of which, anyone need shoes?”

“Me!” Someone shouted, followed by 4 more in quick succession. For some reason, Cyrus was not as free with footwear as he was with other articles of clothing. At least he did give us clothes. Surviving a death game in the nude would be just wrong.

I pulled out several pairs of zombie boat shoes and won all the goodwill I’d failed to get from Tony Waldau’s team, plus some.