Alyssa sagged to one knee, propping herself up with the Spear of the Dragon Lancer. Looking around, she saw that the rest of her party looked just as exhausted as she felt. No one seemed nearly as drained as Bryce, though. But that wasn’t surprising, considering that, as they cleared their way to the first bridge, he’d become their most powerful weapon. Despite his clear weaknesses – long cast times and horrible physical attributes – the Wizard’s spells had torn through the zombies in a way none of the others could replicate.

Again – not terribly surprising, considering that they’d taken great pains to put him into optimal situations, setting numerous traps and guarding his back along the way. But it was still impressive, nonetheless. Now, though, they’d finally reached their goal.

“How many do you think we killed?” asked Chen, her leather armor ripped and her hands bloody. During the short campaign, the woman had put her martial arts prowess on display, and while she wasn’t as powerful of a healer as some Alyssa had seen, she made up for it in versatility. She wasn’t the strongest combatant, but she was far from weak, either.

“Thousands, at least.”

“I figured we would have gotten more experience,” Bryce said. “But after that first bump, it’s been…I don’t know. Underwhelming.”

“Speak for yourself, beanpole,” said Trace as he wiped viscera from one of his blades. “I got a whole level.”

“I got two, but –”

“And you’re complaining?” Trace asked, shaking his head in derision. “You kids today. No sense of –”

“We’re like the same age,” Bryce interrupted.

“I’m an old soul.”

“You’re an idiot.”

Trace shrugged. “A badge I wear with honor,” he said. “Nobody’s looking out for the fool, right? Being underestimated is a weapon just like any other. You should write that down.”

Bryce shook his head. “That would mean a lot more if I thought it was intentional,” he said. “Acting like an idiot is one thing. Actually being dumb is something else.”

Before Trace could respond, Roman cleared his throat. He’d taken a back seat during the fighting, but he was still the leader of Easton. So, he had no trouble getting everyone’s attention.

“We still have a bridge to cross,” he said. “We need to find somewhere to rest that isn’t covered in corpses. Then, we need to move on. I don’t want to be in here any longer than necessary.”

Alyssa voiced her agreement, and the others fell into line soon after. A few minutes later, they’d found their way to an old gas station, where they settled in for some rest. Roman sat next to her on the counter and offered her a piece of dried meat. She took it, pulling a bottle of water from her own pack.

“That was unpleasant,” Roman said, his eyes trained on the others, who’d all congregated in a different corner. Once again, Trace and Bryce were having an animated discussion, though Alyssa couldn’t make out the subject.

“It’s probably going to get worse when we cross the bridge,” she said. “I don’t know how it’ll be presented, but the guides were all pretty clear about the increasing difficulty. The further you progress, the worse it’ll get.”

Roman sighed, then ran his hand through his hair. He looked extremely tired, but that wasn’t so different than everyone else. They’d been fighting for what felt like an entire day, and while they’d done everything they could to mitigate the danger, there’d still been a few close calls. And Alyssa knew better than anyone how thoroughly life-and-death situations could drain a person’s energy.

“It’s hard to believe, you know.”

“What?”

“This,” Roman said, gesturing to their surroundings. “Magic towers and spells and zombies. It really wasn’t that long ago that the worst I had to worry about was a domestic abuse call. I mean, I moved out of Seattle to get away from the stress of living in a big city. Now, I’m responsible for thousands of people. If I make the wrong choice, people die. Even if I make the right decisions, people die. All I can do is mitigate it. I can’t stop it. Not completely.”

That had been true even before the world had changed. Sometimes, bad things happened, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it. It was a lesson she’d been forced to learn when her parents had died, but it had really been driven home during her time as a police officer.

“You’re doing the best you can,” she said, reaching out to grip his shoulder reassuringly. He flinched at her touch, but she pretended not to notice as she went on, “You care, Roman. That’s what matters. You just want what’s best for everyone.”

“I do,” he agreed. “But sometimes…sometimes, I’m afraid of what it’s doing to me. To us. Before all this, I would have tried to save everyone. Rationally, I know that it would’ve eventually killed us all. We don’t have the resources to support everybody. But still…”

Alyssa shook her head. “The fact that you’re worried about it means you’re a good man, chief. You’re just trying to make the best of a bad situation. We all are. So long as you keep working toward the greater good, I don’t think anyone has a right to criticize you. Not unless they’ve been in your shoes. Not unless they’ve had to make the same choices you’ve had to make.”

Not unless they’d experienced the same losses, Alyssa left unsaid. Trish’s death had come close to breaking Roman. He’d put on a strong front, and he had kept going despite his grief. But Alyssa knew him well enough to recognize how close he’d come to falling off the edge. That he’d somehow climbed his way out of that pit was just further evidence that he was worthy of her respect.

Despite their frequent disagreements.

For the next few hours, everyone rested. Fortunately, they’d killed most of the zombies, so they were undisturbed. It was a necessary break, and when Roman finally called for everyone to gather up, they did so with renewed vigor.

“We’re crossing the bridge. I want you all to be ready for anything,” he said.

Alyssa added, “Same formation as before. Roman in the back. Me in the front. Trace, you stick close for now, though. We don’t want you crossing before we do.”

She recognized that crossing the bridge likely constituted progressing to the tower’s next level, and she didn’t want the group separated.

After everyone had received their instructions, the party set out across the corpse-strewed outskirts, and they reached the bridge only half an hour later. It was no different than a thousand other bridges across the world, which meant that it was four lanes wide, about a quarter mile long, and supported by thick, concrete pylons.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

The city beyond was wreathed in fog, though, so, despite the sun hanging high in the sky, none of them could see what awaited. That mist had grown steadily thicker the closer they drew to the city proper.

Alyssa took the lead, and the others followed her across the bridge. For most of its length, it was no different from the outskirts. However, when they passed the three-quarter mark, she got a notification:

Congratluations! You have completed Level One of The Zombie Apocalypse. Grade: C

To progress further, continue across the bridge.

An instant later, a small box appeared in front of Alyssa. It was silver, with red trim, but it looked no different than any other metallic box she had seen. She stopped, then knelt beside it. From her guides, she knew that it was the reward for completing the tower’s first level, so she didn’t hesitate to flip the latch and open the lid.

Reward for completing Level One of The Zombie Apocalypse:

Pendant of Ethereal Regeneration

“What is it?” asked Roman as Alyssa retrieved the silver necklace. She held it up so the others could see it, but there really wasn’t much to see. Just a blue gem set in silver and attached to thin chain.

Alyssa told them what it was called, then said, “I don’t know what it does. What should we do with it?”

“Give it to one of the healers. Probably Verin,” Trace said.

They all looked at him in surprise, and he said, “What? If it comes down to that thing making the difference, I’d rather her have it so she can heal my ass.”

“It makes sense,” said Alyssa. If it did what they expected it would do – help to boost Ethera Regeneration – she certainly had no use for it. Only a couple of her abilities even used Ethera, with the rest taking stamina.

The others all agreed, and the pendant went to Verin. The older woman protested, saying that it should go to someone else, but they all insisted.

Once Verin had accepted it and verified that it enhanced her Regeneration attribute by three points, the group continued across the bridge. The moment they reached the other side, another pair of notifications crossed Alyssa’s vision. The first welcomed her to the second level of the tower, while the second gave her the task of reaching the capital.

They’d barely made it a few dozen yards into the city when the heavy slap of skin against asphalt alerted them that they weren’t alone. Alyssa whipped around, her spear at the ready, and she was just in time to see a bulky figure emerge from the mist. It didn’t even attempt to dodge, instead ramming into her spear with the speed of an Olympic sprinter.

The blade cut deep, but the attacker kept coming, sliding past the blade and up the shaft. Before it could reach her, Alyssa spun. Using all her Strength, she flung the monster off her spear. It hit the ground and rolled to a stop.

But it wasn’t dead.

It pushed itself to its feet just in time to catch an arrow in the eye. Trace flashed in from the side, dragging his sword across its hamstrings. And then, Verin was on it, swinging her morningstar with all her might. The spiked head took the creature in the face, once again knocking it to the ground, where another arrow hit it. At the same time, Chun aimed an axe kick at its already damaged skull. Her heel hit with enough force to crack bone.

Still, it didn’t die.

In fact, it seemed mostly unaffected by the deluge of attacks.

The creature lunged to its feet, pouncing on Chun before she had a chance to react. Another arrow hit it, and Alyssa rushed forward, using Charge to enhance her speed. She knew she wouldn’t get there in time, though.

The thing reared back and then, with the speed of a striking snake, descended upon Chun’s exposed jugular vein. It only took an instant before Alyssa rammed her spear into it, but by that point, it had already ripped the woman’s throat out. She fell away, limp and dying. Verin tried to cast a heal, but the impaled monster took her with a backhand before Alyssa could drive it away.

The older woman went tumbling across the asphalt, but Alyssa couldn’t do anything to help. Instead, she rammed her spear further into the monster’s chest until the blade got lodged in its ribs.

She shouted, “Burn it!”

Bryce had finally finished his spell. With the influx of experience during the first level, he’d earned a new one, which he let loose at Alyssa’s prompting. A fireball the size of a softball arced through the air, taking the monster in the shoulder. It quickly caught fire, and though it went wild, screeching in pain, Alyssa’s spear kept it under control.

A few moments later, it died, falling to the ground. The flames remained, continuing to burn through the monster’s body. It was a bulky thing, with the sort of muscles that would’ve qualified it to compete as a professional wrestler, and though it looked vaguely human, it clearly wasn’t.

With maggoty white skin, huge eyes, and pointed ears, it was something else entirely.

Alyssa only took it in at a glance before she turned her attention to her fallen comrades. When she did, she saw Verin kneeling beside Chun’s still form. The older woman’s hands glowed with blue light, but no matter how much she tried, it wouldn’t make the jump into Chun’s body.

Because the younger woman had already died.

Tears fell down Verin’s cheeks as the woman continued to attempt her casting. But it was too late. She knew it. Everyone did. Still, she tried. Over and over again until Roman rested his hand on her shoulder, saying, “She’s gone.”

Verin didn’t respond. Instead, she rose, then collapsed against the man’s chest. He wrapped his arm around her, comforting the Priest as best he could. After a moment, he looked at Trace and said, “Find us somewhere to rest. We need to get our bearings.”

As Alyssa watched the man disappear into the mist, she realized what had happened. On the surface, they were powerful enough to fight the monster. However, because of the nature of the previous level, where the zombies were all relatively weak, they’d gotten sloppy. And this new enemy had taken advantage of it.

That was her fault.

She was the battle leader, and now, because of her failure, one of their number was dead. She had always known it was possible. Likely, even. But knowing it was coming and watching someone die were two very different things. It was especially impactful because, at the end of the day, Chun had been her responsibility.

Then and there, she vowed to keep everyone else alive as they climbed the tower. But in the back of her mind, she couldn’t help but doubt herself. Did she have the ability to follow through with that promise?

Maybe.

Maybe not.

Only time would tell.

With that in mind, she collected Chun’s body, and when Trace returned, the subdued but alert group followed him into the lobby of one of the skyscrapers. Once inside, they found their way to a side room, where they blockaded the door with disused furniture.

Thus secured, they turned their attention to saying goodbye to the woman. Verin was the most affected, but none of them could look at their party member’s corpse without at least some guilt. As it turned out, Roman had known the woman best, and he handled the impromptu eulogy.

“She was a good person. I didn’t know her for long. She only arrived at Easton a little less than a month ago,” he said. “But she led a group of forty people across the wilderness, personally keeping most of them alive. She was a protector and a healer, and she will be missed.”

He delivered the short speech in a dry, emotionless voice, but Alyssa knew Roman well enough to recognize his guilt. Probably because she felt it, too.

For a long while, they just sat there, stunned. It hadn’t been that long ago that they’d been joking amongst one another. Now, though? None of them even considered making flippant remarks. Eventually, they started planning for the immediate future. They had a destination, though they didn’t know where it was, so finding the capital was the first order of business. Next, once it was found, they needed a safe way to make the journey. None of them thought that the monster that had attacked them was the only enemy, after all. Likely, there were a lot more of them out there.

In the end, it came down to taking the journey in steps. They intended to go from one building to another, using Trace and Roman as scouts. It wasn’t elaborate, and it certainly wasn’t a perfect plan, but it was the best any of them could come up with.

So with that established, the group set out, leaving the corpse of one of their own behind. Alyssa could only hope that it would be the last time they would be forced to do so.