CJ kept from retching as he stumbled back into the hallway. He was till in his socked feet at this point. Making over to the stairs he took a seat to equip his new kicks. They were incredibly comfortable considering he had spent the last few months in discount dress shoes. Then he thought about the boots and the other sets of sneakers in there. How lucky could he be to find someone who’s shoe size was relatively the same?
Fuck it.
CJ converted his clothing back into the High Examiner’s robes. He pulled one long sleeve over his face and nose before jogging back into that apartment. Sweeping his right sleeve with the extended openings through the closet he stored away several sets of clothes as well as the specialty footwear. Then he sprinted out the door again.
“How can you stand it?”
“It’s pretty bad. I’m not happy about it but I now have some more options for shoes and clothes now that my old ones are gone.”
“No, I mean how can you stand being so dumb?” Began Monty as CJ started down the stairs wincing at what was about to be another classic Monty rant. “Why not just rob a shoe store? No one is going to stop you. In fact, there is probably a warehouse full of shoes somewhere. But I get it, you needed that sweet smell of carrion go along with your new clothes.”
Monty had a point. CJ was going to have to launder the clothes he took before letting the robes absorb them. He also had a point about just breaking into stores and shops. Ever since the bike shop, he’d fallen back on the old way of thinking about other people’s property. He even thought of the pharmacy as some nameless corporation and not some mom and pop store front. No one was around anymore, and he hasn’t yet found the limit of his storage ability. It might be time to stop driving past every storefront and start gearing up.
Fifteen minutes after CJ began his burglary of a small apartment building, he and Monty emerged into noon day light. The girls had ventured on without them, but it was alright considering they knew where they were going.
New Message from Party Leader CJ: We just finished. Did everyone make it back to the retirement home?
New Message from Psycho: We’re all good. Loaded for bear and we’ve got better directions than west.
New Message from Monty: Be right there. Ask Roger if he got his washing machine prepared. Fearless leader grabbed himself some corpse rot smelling clothes.
“Traitor!”
“If the corpse stink fits.”
They quickly caught up with the others at Roger’s. Elena and Jenn met them outside the door. CJ had stopped in the pharmacy parking lot to examine their bikes. He didn’t have the mana to try and store all of them. Especially considering they were about to hit another dungeon. Should he attempt to use the boss monster core to enhance his kinetic barrier? The prompt didn’t say anything about boons, but something deep inside him told him it was possible. The only problem was how? Talking to Wukong was his only choice. Wasting something like that would be criminal. He mentally commanded his robes to change back to his tuxedo. Then he crossed the street to speak with the others.
“…three apartments before he found something. God, it wreaked in there,” finished Monty.
“I’ll bet. Hey, Roger says he can work on the washing machine if you want but he mostly scraped it for parts.” Said Elena.
“We’ve got intact ones back at Leaf’s Bend.” Answered CJ while reloading his revolver. “They just need to be powered. He can work on that. Where’s Rubio?”
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“He’s going to sit this one out,” said Elena as she began walking toward their destination. “I don’t want to talk about it, let’s just get going.”
The group took a left at the end of the block as they headed toward the second dungeon location. CJ stepped on every loose piece of stone, crinkled paper, and errant twig to see if it would make a sound. Nothing. The sneakers worked as advertised. CJ did wonder why the description specifically called out zero decibels. That is the limit of human hearing. He wondered if animals or even monsters might still be able to hear his footfalls.
“I know what you’re doing and it’s freaking me out. Stop it.” Complained Monty.
“I had to evaluate them.” Replied CJ while kicking an empty aluminum can soundlessly into the distance.
“Pipe down. We’re leaving the area we cleared. Who knows what kind of monsters have moved in.”
CJ knew Elena was right. It was time to get serious. That’s when CJ’s new tracking skill kicked. A well worn path of skeletal feet could be seen breaking through a picket fence. It was attached to a two story home, with blue siding, and white shutters on its windows. The door was slightly ajar with bloody hand prints marring its surface. The trail led around the house to the left and into an open parking lot.
It was this lot that the macabre parade cut through to avoid the textiles factory that loomed to their right. There were cracks in the pavement here and there. Small patches of weeds were growing up as mother nature reclaimed the land. Subsequently, corrupted mana also wanted piece. There were pods littered all over the most direct path into the abandoned building. The pods were green with veins of deep purple and their leaves had a yellow and pink coloration running along the edges.
“I count fifteen of those obvious plant monsters between us and the entrance,” explained CJ as he stopped to survey the three story building with most of its windows broken out. “We can shoot at them from here or attempt to get closer. You know what I’d choose.”
“You think I carry this chainsaw around for my health? Well technically I kill monsters with it and that’s good for my health, but you know what I’m saying.”
“We could try to get in the building by going around and climbing in a window,” added Jenn as she filled her knew enchanted sprayer with a mix of ingredients before standing back up. “You know, avoid the fight all together. It doesn’t seem like they move much.”
“Best plan I’ve heard yet.” Interjected Monty.
New Message from Party Leader CJ: Alright battle protocol. All conversations in party chat until we’re sure we are safe again.
New Message from Psycho: Okay, are we circling around?
New Message from Elena: Yes. I can carve my way through those things, if necessary, later.
New Message from Monty: Do you all hear that? Sounds like vehicles. They are still a ways off. Definitely more than one.
New Message from Rubio: We’ll keep you posted if anyone rolls through town. Stay focused on your mission.
New Message from Party Leader CJ: Thanks.
With that, they circled around to the west of the parking lot pods. As they grew closer to the large building, they could see a fire escape that led to the third floor. The ladder was down making for an easy ascent. Vines could be seen hanging from the interior walls through a first floor window. That solidified their decision to go up the ladder instead of just hopping through the first floor window.
Once they reached the second floor landing, they peaked through one of the remaining intact glass windows. It was mostly green in color with some hexagonal metal fencing running through it. The inside showed an office with a desk and a nicely upholstered chair. There was a cracked pc monitor on the desk and piles of paperwork. Beyond the desk there was two expensive looking sofas on either side of a coffee table. It looked like people were having meetings in this room. No plants in sight.
New Message from Party Leader CJ: I say we go in from here.
New Message from Elena: I second that.
CJ attempted to lift the wide window to no avail. Elena pushed him aside and levered her right hand into the metal handle. She heaved one handed using her legs to add force. Something in the interior popped off the window and shot across the room with the sound of ringing metal. As the window slid open with multiple groans of the wood, both CJ and Jenn aimed their weapons through the portal.
Nothing came running and no roars were heard. CJ took a second to wonder just how many attribute points Elena had stuffed into Strength. She had to be pushing twenty points by now.
New Message from Party Leader CJ: How many points did you put into Strength?
New Message from Elena: Never ask a lady how she distributes her points.
New Message from Psycho: Winky emoji. This thing needs emoji’s.