The truck tore through the crumbling streets of the abandoned town, kicking up dust and debris in its wake. It crashed into opened mailboxes, faded fences, even ripped holes into a couple houses—nothing was safe from these horrible drivers. And the one who had to bear the most of the chaos was me, trying to get myself on top of the damn vehicle. I didn’t feel the pain from anything they collided with, but it was like my human instincts kicked in and made me flinch from the incoming objects anyway.

Damn those stupid instincts! I had to get these idiots to stop before they destroy the status board!

“Hey, I said stop!” I shouted, gripping my fingers through the roof of the truck. “I’m not gonna hurt you!”

“W-W-What the hell are you, huh!?” the man screamed. “Get off our car, already!”

“No! Not until you give me back that status board!”

My gaze locked onto the truck’s front wheel and an idea popped into my head. I aimed my shaky fingers at the spinning wheel and fired two bullets. The first bullet destroyed the wheel’s rubber instantly, while the second struck the ground, forming a small crater. The back wheel dropped into the hole, bringing the truck to an abrupt halt before it began to tip.

Before it could fully flip, I regained my footing on the land and caught the top of the truck. The two adventurers fell from their seats, their startled cries filling the car. Then, I carefully placed the vehicle back on the ground in front of me, hoping all that swerving and reckless driving didn't break my only safe path to Hallowsville and back to Sunshine.

“For the last time, would you people please give me back my status board!?” I asked, opening the door to let them out.

They looked disoriented, oblivious to my presence for a few seconds. Both crawled out of the car and collapsed at my feet, clutching their bleeding heads. Ignoring them, I approached the car and checked everywhere for the status board and fortunately, the device was in a small pocket on one of the backpacks on the seat.

I took the phone out and…No!

The status board’s screen had cracked and no matter how much I tapped on it, it wouldn’t turn back on.

Damn it! Why couldn’t Jesus just have some pan-

“What? How the hell did it break my knife so easily!?”

I turned my and it looked like the male adventurer had pierced my back with a small knife. Or at least he tried to as I noticed his weapon had broken and the other half had fallen next to me. “You got a lot of nerve to attack me after you idiots broke the most important thing I had on me!”

“How the hell is a zombie like you speaking!?” he questioned, jumping out of the car and aiming his damaged knife at me. “Or…are you just some guy in a costume? From Hallowsville?”

“I’m n-” I was just about to deny that accusation when I realized their misunderstanding could go in my favor. They also didn’t seem to notice that I was the one who stopped their car rather than some obstacle in the ground. “I am! And you just shoved a damn knife in my back, man. You could’ve ruined my costume!”

“Oh shit. My bad, dude,” he said, dropping the knife. “That’s a pretty realistic costume, you know. Felt like touching rock-hard gelatin. That must’ve cost you a fortune.”

“Uh, yeah,” I replied, climbing out of the car. “Got it for about…five hundred.”

His light brown eyes lit up as soon he heard that. “F-F-Five hundred? You have to be some kind of resource adventurer. That’s the only way you can get that kind of money.”

“You guys are too, right? I can tell from all that gear.”

“Actually, I’m the only adventurer in our group right now. There used to be two of us but…” He looked down as he rubbed his buzz cut. He sighed and then said “And then there’s her…”

The woman looked pretty shaken up, her trembling hands clutching to a plushie of a cartoony yellow mouse. It looked kinda familiar.

“Her name’s Rosey. Don’t mind her. She…freezes whenever she deals with something ‘scary’. We didn’t intend on bringing her along but she was very insistent on finding this kid of hers who, according to her, got kidnapped by another adventurer from our town.”

“Damn. Seriously?” I asked, sympathizing with her plight.

“Well, Rosey says her daughter got kidnapped, but I don’t know…from her story, it just sounds like she simply ran away from home. I don’t even know why she thought it was smart to tag al-”

His sentence was interrupted by me suddenly appearing before him, gripping his shoulders. “Did she get kidnapped or not!?”

He furrowed his brows. “Even if she did, I don’t see why she wanted to come so badly.”

“Because she’s a parent who wants to save her kid,” I quickly answered, strengthening my grip. “There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. She’ll come with you no matter what, got that?”

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“Ow, ow! Ok, man! I get it,” he exclaimed, pulling off my hands. “What are you so tense for? You’re talking as if you’re going to come with us.”

“Oh, definitely not,” I denied, approaching the scared mother. ”Trust me, I got more important things to do than help you guys.”

I lended Rosey my hand who, after a couple seconds of hesitating, finally grabbed it.

“You said you’re a Resource Adventurer, right? What are you doing here anyway?”

I helped Rosey to her feet. “I was actually…assigned a mission to…take pictures of a Type Two Radion.”

“Type Two Radion!?“ His voice climbed, almost cracking. “That’s impossible! Why would they assign a mission like that to some Halloween fanatic like you? Only the strongest of the strong can handle those monsters and the only way you can become one of those is if-”

“You’ve gained powers from the effects of the apocalypse, right?” I interrupted, stepping closer. “Believe me when I say I’m one of those lucky few.”

“No way! Just because you’re wearing a costume of a Type Two, doesn’t mean you’re as strong as-”

A deafening screech ripped the air, cutting him off mid-sentence. The ground shuddered beneath us as a shadow with wings darkened the area, growing wider by the second. Then, the sharp talons of a radioactive bird zoomed towards the man’s head, intent on snatching him with a murderous drive that even he felt.

However, before that could happen, I swiftly fired two shots at the hungry animal, destroying its fragile golden legs and planting two holes in its giant head. I yanked the two out of the way with ease, watching the bird slowly collapse in front of me, blood painting my body like a canvas.

Either I’ve gotten stronger or that bird was way weaker than Jerry one. No, getting stronger sounds way better.

“What the hell! Did…you kill that beast!?” the man asked, still reeling from what just occurred.

“Yeah.” I flaunted two fingers at him. “With these two fingers I did. Still think I'm some Halloween fanatic?”

“That power…are you with-”

A phone began to ring. But it wasn't my status board. That still wasn't turning on.

I glanced at the guy and noticed him digging through his camo jacket pockets until he took out a status board–a little bigger than mine. A beam of blue light shot upward, forming a blue rectangle that read “CALL FROM BRANDON”. He pressed on the projection and words came on like subtitles for a movie as someone spoke.

[Hey, Elias! Where…Where…]

“Damn, the service must be shit over there!” He slapped the back of the device a bit until it started to work again.

[Hey, why aren’t you responding?] The man on the call was whispering, like he was hiding from something.

“Sorry Brandon, I didn’t hear that last thing you said. Can you rep-”

“Brandon!” Rosey suddenly yelled at the screen, making Elias jump. “Where the hell did you take my baby! Answer me!”

[Keep your damn voice down, woman. She’s…safe with me. But we won’t be for much longer if you keep screaming into the call like that.]

“I want to speak with my daughter. Put her on the call.”

[I can’t exactly do that right now. I’ve run into a problem.]

Elias covered Rosey’s mouth. “What kind of problem? Are you ok?”

[Well, the thing is…Me and the kid encountered that Type Two Radion we were talking about before I left. The one in Barclay’s Center.]

Barclay’s Center? That’s in Brooklyn. I’m in Brooklyn! Geez, how did I run for so long that I ended up all the way in the worst borough in New York!?

More importantly, this guy found exactly what I was looking for over there!

“And what happened?”

[I had my sniper on me, about to shoot the thing’s head off, when these…plants sneaked up on me. They knocked me out and next thing I know I’m face to face with this feminine looking Type Two. I think it was trying to communicate with me…but I blacked out again and ended up in this secluded spot in the arena.]

“Where’s the Type Two? Is it looking for you?”

[That’s the thing. I just woke up here and I’ve been hiding ever since. She could be outside or dead for all I know. And regarding Victoria…I don’t know where she is.]

“What!?” said Rosey, her voice muffled by Elias’ head. “How could you lose sight of the girl you took from me!”

[Don’t worry. She’s a smart girl. Probably ran off when she saw I got captured. At least, I hope she did.]

“You know this isn’t gonna look good for you once you come back home, right?” Elias sighed in disappointment. “Taking a child with you on a dangerous journey like this? Plus, someone died trying to find your location. The Adventurer’s Board is not going to like this.”

[Elias, you know that's not fair. Why should I be punished for teaching a child in the apocalypse how to actually survive the apoca…Oh no. Shit. Shit. Shit.]

“What's wrong, Brandon? Something the matter over there?”

[Oh, God…it's at the door. Damn it. Where's my damn rifle.]

Elias tightened his grip on his status board. “Ok, just calm down and find some kind of hiding place. Like a closet or something. Or if you can't just…make sure to aim for the-”

“A rifle isn't gonna kill a Type Two. Probably won't even damage it.” I took a few steps forward. “Tell him to hide if he wants to live.”

“Um, shit…ok. Brandon, you have to-”

A door was bust open, and I could hear the sound of something quickly sliding on the floor, Brandon’s whimpering turning into loud shrieks. A single gunshot echoed from the status board and, in the same second they were fired, abruptly stopped.

Along with Brandon’s screams.

[My baby…you tried to take my baby…]

The last thing I heard before the call went out struck a bolt of fear through my imaginary heart. That voice wasn't Brandon. It was…a woman.

That Type Two Radion…just spoke!? Is it the same situation as me? But then those Radius guys made it seem like I was a special case.

The only case.

“This is bad. Really bad. I don't know who that woman’s voice was but…the Type Two probably killed them too.”

“Victoria…Victoria…My baby.”

“Hey! Get a hold of yourself, will ya?” said Elias, shaking her shoulders. “That girl obviously wasn’t Victoria. It sounded nothing like her…I think.”

“Hey, I’m going to Barclay’s Center with you.”

Elias turned to me, dumbfounded by what I just said. “You serious? You’re not afraid of that thing?”

“Why would I be afraid of that zombie?” I spoke in a such a bold tone that Elias must’ve thought I was crazy for even suggesting that.

He paused for a bit and then asked “You’re not a photographer, are you?”

“No, I’m not. I plan on using that zombie for something else.”

“Then…you’re not with that Radius organization from the Underground cities?”

Cities? There’s more than one?

“No, I’m an outsider doing his own thing.”

“Look, I acknowledge you're a strong adventurer but…no, you know what? Fine, you're coming with us. But that means you're going to protect us on the way there and when you're fighting that monster, right?”

“Sure. But on one condition…” I showed him my status board. “You idiots destroyed my device in your little joy ride across town and now I can’t even turn it on. Give me yours and I won't be giving it back to you, obviously.”

I tapped on the screen to further my point. These young people needed to appreciate the value of things!

He scratched his head, seeming to consider the offer. “Um…dude? You know that's not how you turn it on, right?”

“What do you mean!?”

“There's like a small button on the side…you know, like a real phone?”

I checked the sides and realized…he was right. The map was still there once I turned it on.

“God, this is why I hate talking to old people.”

“I'm not old! I'm only 43!”