“They’ve never done that before,” commented Roger as he made his way to the crystal ball.

“Maybe what’s left of the flesh ball wants to keep us in here?” postulated Rubio.

“More likely, it wants to know if we try to leave,” said CJ as he rubbed his sore wrist.

Everyone but Jennifer crowded around the viewing orb. All the skeletons outside were indeed lined up hand in hand on all sides of this building. There were at least two rows of them standing stock still in front of the main entrance. CJ wondered how much of a threat they really were individually.

“I’ve got bad news,” started Rubio, “I blew off a few of their heads when I was up on the roof, and it made little difference. They could still move around although their coordination was off for the first few minutes. If it takes more than a headshot to put one down the problem is going to be time. Anyone on the ground is going to get overwhelmed. I think we need to cut the head off of the jagged bony snake,” said Rubio rubbing the stubble on his chin with his thumb and forefinger.

“Then we’ll need bait to draw it out, a distraction for the skeletons to focus on, and someone to deliver true death to that thing,” explained CJ while he paced back and forth.

“I think young miss Jennifer can help with that last part,” said Roger.

“Right. So, I wasn’t able to make anything that could dissolve bones, but this should be highly caustic to flesh. Do not get it on yourself,” cautioned Jenn, as she held out what looked like a spray cologne bottle.

Roger immediately reached for the bottle with a determined and focused look on his face. CJ took a step toward them to intercede when Jenn gently put the bottle in Rogers hands.

“I’m going to kill it. I assume you will all be helping me. Once that’s done. I agree to return to this safe place with you. I trust there are no problems with that?” asked Roger rhetorically.

“Sure thing. If you need a distraction, you won’t get a better one than me,” offered CJ.

“Got it!” exclaimed Elena holding up a hand sized silver rectangle and a black plastic conical box with an opening on one end.

“Great. Let me see those,” said Roger after slipping the cologne bottle into his right pocket.

Roger brought the two objects back over to different table that was set up with several tools and implements. Some of which CJ had never seen before. He watched as Roger grabbed a flat looking wrench and cored out the silver metal box. Burnt fuses and cracked circuit boards fell to the ground. Roger then placed his hands on the plastic horn section and the remnants of the silver box. Blue light lines lit up across both objects. They began twisting and creating a pattern that Roger attempted to line up. Sweat was pouring from his forehead as his focus intensified.

CJ was not idle during this process. He watched as lines of blue mana raged between both objects. It seemed to CJ that the differing materials Roger was trying to meld were causing him trouble. CJ’s eyes widened as a connection point between the silvery metal and the dusky black plastic fused together. Once that happened many of the blue mana lines began to reorganize themselves. Sparks of white energy leapt between the lines as circles began appearing. One, then three spun around a central linkage. The blue mana center line shot additional segments into the circles around it. Two into the first circle, four into the second, then eight segments attached to the third and final circle.

Roger gasped as he put down his latest creation. CJ walked over and put his hand on Roger’s shoulder before giving it a reassuring squeeze.

“That looked intense. Is it always like that?” asked CJ.

“No… I… I forced it into its next design level. At its first level it would just honk with an expenditure of mana. At the second it would honk in a pattern. I received a notification that I could increase its capabilities further and I chose yes. It drained me of all my mana, but the third design level allows a significantly louder blast of sonic damage. Whoever uses this needs to make sure it’s pointed away from any of us,” explained Roger.

CJ picked up the item whose glow had finally faded.

New Item: Blast Horn. Uncommon/ Mana Forged Item- The Blast Horn has three stages of use. For 10 Mana/ use it will emit a loud honking sound. For 20 mana /use it will honk in whatever pattern the user designates slightly louder. For 50 mana/use it will blast a cone of sonic air magic loud enough to shatter stone.

“So, was that what those circles represented? The design levels?” asked CJ.

“What circles?” asked Elena who standing on the other side of Roger while he worked, “All I saw were flashing lights and then he was done,”

“You saw the circles? I thought only I could see them. While I’m in the process all I can really see are the lines of connections between objects. Then a blueprint solidifies in my mind, and I go to work. Its crazy that you could see that. I should be able to make more of these quicker next time. If there ever is a next time. The blueprints sort of stay in my mind. I have a slate tab for them and everything. This slate shit is wild, man,” extoled Roger, as he stood up and stretched his back.

“Me too. I have an alchemy recipe tab. Once I created the flesh melter I got a notification that said a new recipe was added to my alchemy list. Isn’t that neat?” added Jenn.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Well for me, it’s like when we went into that bolster dungeon. It reminded me of the kaleidoscope of colors we saw as we entered the challenge. Right?” CJ asked Rubio and Elena.

“No clue what you’re talking about. It just went dark for me, and I showed up by myself,” said Elena.

“Same. Just darkness until I could see the slug town,” replied Rubio.

“What’s a bolster dungeon?” asked Jennifer looking between the three of them.

“Long story short, they are pocket realms that evaluate your abilities and grant items or knowledge depending on how well you do. Like magic corn mazes or obstacle courses. We’ve only cleared one so far. That’s how we created that safe zone. Since I’m coming clean on that, monster avoid dungeons. At least that’s our working hypothesis. They instinctively navigate around them,” explained CJ.

“So, if I’m picking up what you’re putting down, there are two of these things in this town and my white whale has been cutting a figure eight of destruction around them?” asked Roger.

CJ was surprised at how quick on the uptake Roger was in this moment. He’d just created a slate recognized mana forged item a few moments ago. To CJ’s eyes it looked like it took everything he had to make it, but he was following the thread of the conversation quite astutely.

“That’s our working theory right now. Bolsters aren’t’ the only kinds of dungeons though. We should be careful in our assumptions. That could get you killed,” Monty chimed in joining the group.

“Let’s put the dungeon talk on the back burner. We ready to do this thing. Every minute that monster draws breath is an insult to all the people it’s eaten. It’s long past time it gets what’s coming to it,” Roger said adamantly.

The group then huddled together for a planning session. There was some back and forth about roles and responsibilities, but they ended up with an idea they could all agree on. Jennifer managed to brew something she was calling health boosters. She handed out water bottles filled with a red-green liquid. The water bottles were only half full.

New Item: Health Booster- upon consumption, health points will increase by 20.

CJ stared at it realizing what they were. She just handed out health potions to everyone. For a second CJ wished he could store ninety-nine of them and never use them. He chuckled to himself drawing the eyes of all around him.

“Sorry, thinking of some video game humor,” he said.

Some time later CJ, Monty, and Elena were braced against the door waiting for the signal. Shots rang out above their heads and the three of them pushed the door open. Roger was standing by to close and throw the bar across the door once they were out. All three of them heard the door cachunk behind them as they stepped into a line of stumbling headless skeletons. Elena activated Puerto Rico Chainsaw Massacre, and a shining glow enveloped the saw blade.

New Message from Elena: Two minutes, that’s how long I’ll be able to keep this up before my stamina bar runs out.

She waded into the second line of skeletons carving through corrupted reinforced bone like a hot knife through butter. Uneven pieces of bone were falling left and right of her as she scythed her way through to the third line of waiting skeletons. Outside of her range bullets rained down from the rooftop disorienting more targets and causing confusion amongst the ranks of the dead.

CJ was following closely behind her. He had the chord from his thumb ring charged with mana and as skeletons filled in behind him, he would pull the mana filament wire across their forearm bones severing their grasping hand from the rest of the bodies. Then Monty would topple them into their brethren with a well-placed kick. Everything seemed to be going according to plan.

“We just need to get to the middle of the street, then it’s a race to our bikes,” shouted CJ over all the clacking of bones and revving chainsaw noise.

“Shit!” Screamed Elena as one of the skeletons to her right got an arm on her shoulder pad. Elena then pulled the saw up in a diagonal arc from left to right expertly severing the arm of the offending skeleton.

“It’s getting thick out here!” Hollard Monty as he bounced from rib cage to rib cage.

“Fine. Do it!” said CJ as he feverishly waved his arms like he was at a rave making sure to keep the deadly filament from reaching his own body.

Monty’s body began to smoke. It wasn’t the smoke of CJ’s smoke screen spell; this was more primal and earthy in nature. White and mana-blue light shined from between Monty’s fur before he suddenly doubled in size. He was now just over four feet in length and about two feet wide at the shoulder. Each jump kick from Monty sent a relatively light skeleton flying. Bones clattered to the pavement and knocked others down like dominos in a trail running all the way around the corner.

New Message from Rubio: Holy shit! Monty is kicking all their asses.

What Monty may have lost in agility he more than made up for in mass. The crunching of bones could be heard all around CJ as the black furred wrecking ball did its thing. He did it well. Soon enough there was a cleared circle in the middle of the street surrounded by prone skeletons that looked like they all fell down at the end of a game of twister. The only problem was, they were all still getting back up.

New Message from Rubio: Look at your 12 o’clock. It’s coming from the CVS parking lot.

CJ was the first to see it. The meaty sludge was sliding under the abandoned cars on its way to them. It was too slow in this form. He surmised that the skeletons would be back on their feet before the meat got here. He was going to have to improvise again. In front of Elena were the remains of at least a dozen skeletons. All trying to right themselves and grasp at them. Monty’s enlarged form was good for groups of enemies, but it was wasted attacking one skeleton at time as they all got up. The device wasn’t going to be at full effectiveness at this range.

“Earplugs, now!” screamed CJ, as he sprinted with every bit of his twenty speed stepping on clumps of broken bones and absorbing the errant swipe of claws with his kinetic barrier. He made it outside the ring of bone and before the sludge of meat as it exited the underside of an Astrovan. The Blast Horn appeared in his left hand and quickly pumped fifty mana into it. BWAAM

The windows on the Astrovan shattered in an explosion sound. The glass doors of the CVS also blasted inward as the rest of the windows in the building cracked and rained down razor sharp shards. The asphalt of the parking lot buckled and cracked. The monster itself reared up like a wave about to crash into the shore. CJ could see the remnants of faces within flesh, mouths open wide in horror. All the skeletons reached up to their heads as if they were in pain in a mock reflection of life. Then Roger was there. He must have started running the second he heard the sound. Brandishing a spear like lead pipe, Roger thrusted the sharp end into the flesh monster and poured the bottle of cologne down the pipe. It was still wailing from the sonic attack before it realized its insides were melting. Roger held it in place launching into a tirade of swearing fit for a sailor. The flesh monster writhed in place as acrid smoke began to billow out from it. The skeletons all stood still like statues for briefest of heart beats before they all dropped to the ground, motionless.

While he watched the final death throes the flesh monster, a small tear could be seen running down Roger’s cheek. None of this was as important to CJ as the blood that was running from his ears. He hadn’t put his ear plugs in, and his health was down by half. Fumbling the health booster to his lips, he sighed as his ability to hear returned to him.