“How about you tell me about this Mason guy? No one needs to die today. Give me some information and we’ll let you go. Sound fair?” asked CJ, while being flanked by Elena and Monty.
“My fucking shoulder is dislocated. He did it with a God damn playing card. Shoot him!” screamed the woman.
“I already tried. He didn’t even flinch. Let’s cut our losses Susan. Live to fight another day,” replied Phil.
New Message from Rubio: I’m coming down. I do not have a target.
New Message from Party Leader CJ: Don’t. Stay put. We’ve got this handled.
“Look, I’ll tell you what you want to know. Mason is the leader of Humanities Saviors,” answered Phil.
“Never heard of them.”
“Then you haven’t been very far North. We cover the Hudson between Newark and Totowa. If you want to survive, you join up.”
“What about the Crimson Knights?”
“After a brawl with the saviors, we were folded in. Mason won’t have competing organizations in his territory. He needs all the bodies he can get now. His words.”
“I’m guessing you’re not really a soldier even though you’re wearing fatigues?”
“No, Mason says it gives an air of authority when we’re out scavenging.”
New Message from Party Leader CJ: These guys were with Humanities Saviors. Some new group claiming territory North of here. Elena, please extract the parts we need from the SUV while I finish our conversation here.
New Message from Psycho: Robert says he’s never heard of them. Now he’s asking about how I knew what you all were doing.
New Message from Party Leader CJ: Deflect that question for now.
“Okay, I think we’ve calmed down here a bit. I suggest you exit through the other end of the alley. Street side is ours. We’ve already made too much noise, and that flesh monster is bound to return. I’m keeping your guns,” said CJ, as if these were facts and no longer a conversation.
“She’s hurt, how are we supposed to make it back without weapons?” whined Phil.
“Should have thought about that before you shot me. Tell Mason that CJ Thompson sends his regards,” added CJ before activating his Smoke Screen spell.
CJ knew at this level the smoke would last five full minutes. That was how long they had to get the alarm and horn components out of the vehicle. Elena had already smashed the window and popped the hood. She asked CJ for a screwdriver and an adjustable wrench. CJ spun his wrist, and both tools appeared in his right hand. Two to three minutes later she was still struggling with the housing over the horn.
“Step back,” said CJ, as soon as she did, he placed his hand on the frame of the car and cast Spatial Compression.
The luxury SUV shrank in fits and spurts, blue and white light illuminating a small section of the street the vehicle used to occupy. It dropped into CJ’s hand before it disappeared into his storage. He then turned to face in the direction of the retirement home just in time to see a cavalcade of white bones stumbling down the street in their direction. The alley way to their right was still shrouded in the smoke cloud spell. CJ hoped those two made an exit from the opposite end.
“CJ, about that kiss. We were going to tell you. I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea and all—” began Elena before she noticed the skeletons.
“I don’t care about that. Live your best life. Speaking of which. We should probably go the long way around to avoid that,” said CJ pointing to the unaware skeletons.
“We can take them. Throw some cards. If anything gets close, I’ll carve them up,” she replied.
“I actually agree with CJ this time. Let’s avoid a fight if we don’t have to. Besides, I don’t see the meat ball anywhere. I don’t want to get into a fierce melee and then it shows up. Your fighting style isn’t very quiet,” added Monty.
“All good points. Let’s slink around the block and come out behind them,” said CJ putting his back against a nearby chain link fence.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
They all managed to circumnavigate the small army of skeletons before coming around the corner to see the CVS parking lot again. Across the street was their destination. Monty ran under cars to scout out the dash to the door.
New Message from Party Leader CJ: We managed to avoid the skeletons. Is it clear to approach.
New Message from Rubio: Negative. I see Monty under a parked F150, but he’s stopped. The Flesh Ball is rolling this way on your left.
New Message from Psycho: Roger says that shouldn’t be its pattern should place it near the graveyard at this time of day. Rubio just said it’s coming from the opposite direction.
New Message from Party Leader CJ: Are the skeletons with it?
New Message from Monty: It just turned in my direction. I think it knows I’m here.
New Message from Rubio: Skeletons are a block behind it. It’s alone right now.
“Shit!” said CJ before he dashed out of cover and into the CVS parking lot, “Over here you big dumb ball!”
The rolling ball of viscera stopped rolling towards the truck Monty was hiding under and spun in place to face the screaming man in the parking lot. It rolled forward at an alarming speed before bouncing into the air. CJ didn’t even flinch. He extended both of his hands to cast Half-A-Bitch. His left hand spun counterclockwise while his right spun clockwise. Blue mana light sparked between his fingers and as the monster was bearing down on him each palm passed the other. Right hand went up and his left hand down. Unaspected mana formed two flat blades that sunk into the monster splitting in half. Both halves plopped to the ground on either side of CJ.
“That was incredibly stupid!” yelled Monty from the other side of the road.
“What? It got the job done,” bragged CJ.
“Run you idiot!” screamed Monty.
Both halves of the monster began moving independently. Instead of one Volkswagen sized ball of meat now there were two loveseat-sized domes. The one to CJ’s left slurped its way toward him. CJ danced backward to avoid it. His deck of cards appeared in his hand. The one on the right lunged at him and CJ extended his right hand palm up. Flaming alcohol spiraled from his inventory coating flesh blob all over. Unfortunately, the heal of CJ’s hand also lit up like a candles singeing the cuff of his sleeve. The last of the Molotov cocktails contents dripping to the ground with a hiss.
“I’ve got your back,” said Elena as the rev of her chainsaw grew closer.
“No! Don’t cut it. It just makes more of them,” chided CJ cradling his burned hand.
Now the burning half was flailing back and forth in the dirt and gravel. Hands, feet, ears, and faces were roiling under the intense flames. Then suddenly it went still. The other half began making its way back to join up with its skeleton army. Shots rang out but were deflected off of garbage cans and derelict vehicles as the composite flesh monster wove between cover and the north side of the retirement home. Rubio couldn’t get a clear shot at the thing, so he began shooting the skeletons from the rooftop. Skulls started blasting apart but the rest of the bodies continued to stumble forward. His rifle fell silent as he opted not to waste anymore ammo.
New Message from Rubio: The thing is smart. It’s keeping out of my line of sight. What about the burning one?
New Message from CJ: It looks dead. It’s not moving anymore, and the stench is atrocious.
New Message from Psycho: Hurry up, Roberts going to open the door.
The burnt up flesh of the monster started to curl in on itself as it blackened and charred. Monty, Elena, and CJ jogged across the street to the door of the retirement home. Once inside, CJ cleared some space in the sitting room and returned the SUV to its normal size. It took up most of the space but from in here, Elena would be able to work with the help of her dad. CJ managed to learn a valuable lesson today. Not everything can be cut in half.
“Why did you call its attention to yourself?” asked Jenn after everyone discussed the events outside.
“I didn’t want it to get Monty. I just acted, didn’t think about it. I’d been wondering if I could cut it in half earlier. No idea it would become two monsters. That’s on me,” replied CJ.
“And that’s why Jenn has to put burn cream on your hand. We had a plan, why didn’t you just stick to it?” asked Rubio shaking his head.
“That plan required Robert to make something electronic work with magic. That plan required us to lure the monster into a trap away from all the skeletons. We had half the plan in hand, so I took my shot,” explained CJ.
“What if next time its surrounded by those skeletons and we don’t get our chance?” asked Elena, half hanging out of the SUV attempting to disconnect the parts she needs.
“Not everything is going to go according to plan. We found out it’s weak to fire now. That’s a bonus. Not magical fire, just your run of the mill alcohol fueled inferno,” answered CJ.
“And how hurt are you? How many points of health did you lose?” asked Jennifer.
“About twenty, but our regeneration is going to take care of that. Right Monty?” CJ said trying to deflect the conversation toward Monty. CJ’s wrist mounted fuel container for his fireball trick was ruined after the expulsion of the Molotov from his inventory. He unlatched it and tossed it onto a nearby table. It slid to a stop right next to Roger.
Monty was sitting on the stool in front of the crystal ball. He was rolling it back and forth using the provided crank handle. Turning his head left and right as the ball moved back and forth. His ears were flat to the back of his head and his tail was intermittently twitching.
“Monty, you okay over there?” asked CJ.
“I think we have a problem,” Monty said flatly.
“I still can’t believe the damn rabbit can talk and fight,” commented Roger from the makeshift alchemy setup on the table. They had a rudimentary Bunson burner going for Jennifer who was heating up fluid in a vial while Roger fiddled with something in his hand.
“The thing is the entire building has been surrounded by skeletons. That’s not the worst part, for some reason, they are all holding hands,” explained the rabbit.