Now, Missouri
Michael Donner.
Archer, Level 21. Flesh Eater, Level 5.
He stared at the top of his Personal Account Page.
The font was nice and neat, easy to read.
The ethereal mist in the interior of the spire flowed around him as he stood and studied what he had gained from the battle at the settlement.
Seven total levels from less than an hour of combat.
A Level 20 Skill to improve the striking power of his arrows.
One Flesh Eater Skill to improve his senses when in the transformed state. He figured it would also help his archery. There wasn’t a lot of available Skills below 20 from what the others had told him. The transformation simply became stronger, more pronounced and lasted longer.
He had learned in the post-battle briefing that his squad of newbies had only managed to hold on to their forms for so long because they were constantly eating as they fought and that several of the ones they had consumed were strong, high-leveled. And as they all knew you gained more from the strong than you did from the weak.
With that done he went to the spires marketplace to do what he usually did.
He stared at all the cool enchanted gear he couldn’t afford. Not even with the huge, for him, amount of Universal Points he had received from the battle and his important part in it.
He had bookmarked the ones that looked promising and legit.
Sexchanter69 had put up a bunch of new swords for sale after someone had bought everything they had in their store.
B4llsLif3 specialized in ranged weaponry and Michael drooled at the fire arrows available.
Sadly, he couldn’t afford a quiver and he doubted that the seller would be willing to sell him a handful.
Perhaps after they successfully completed their Quest to take the city from the betrayers?
He stepped out of the spire and was greeted by Britt’s smiling face.
He blushed and looked away.
“So, how’d it go? Unless you want me to go first.”
“No— I mean if you want— whatever you want to do…”
“Sure. I got Mage up to 18 and picked up the Paralyzing Touch spell. I thought it’d be useful since I’ll find myself in close combat more now that my Flesh Eater is up to 5. For that I got the Skill that lets you heal faster from the sacrament.”
Britt blinked up at him expectantly.
Michael cleared his throat and looked anywhere but at her pretty face. “Same— I mean, the level— five. For Flesh Eater, that is. Improved my senses when in the true form. For Archer, I passed 20.”
“Nice!” Britt clapped. “That’s a good Skill then. I wish I got to 20,” she pouted.
“Er… yeah. Power Shot. My arrows will hit a lot harder.”
“Awesome! I wonder what the others got?”
Michael eyed the spire.
It had surprised him when their impromptu team had decided to stay together. They had moved their tents closer and had started practicing team tactics together.
He and Britt waited for the rest to finish.
“Do you think we’ll have more chances to level up before we reach the city?” Britt said.
Michael ran a hand through his hair and realized he needed to get it cut. “I don’t know,” he shrugged. “The map says there are a few more settlements on the way, but the other noob sections are going to get their turn. I don’t think they’re big enough for multiple sections to share.”
Britt sighed. “I guess that means our best chances to level will be fighting monsters on the road and through training. We won’t get nearly as much from the latter though and the veterans take care of the former. I got 6 levels in an hour-long battle.”
Michael nodded. “Maybe now that we aren’t complete noobs they’ll let us help fight the monsters. I’d think they’d want us to get as strong as possible before we get to Wichita.”
Donald was the next to step out of the spire. More accurately out of the space in front of the gleaming, sometimes iridescent surface of the towering structure.
“Check it out!” Donald said.
“What is that?” the smile melted from Britt’s face.
“This is a lightning sword,” Donald swung the straight, double-edged blade in question as small arcs of blue-white energy crackled across the steel surface.
“You used all your points?”
Michael remained silent.
“Well… not all. Most, but it’s a good buy,” Donald said. “It’s basically a taser, but better. Stunning the enemy will make it easier to take the sacrament,” he shrugged.
“Yes, but you’re a Soldier. You fight with a gun. At a distance.”
“My main is Flesh Eater now. Level 5 and going up!” Donald grinned.
“We need ranged attackers.”
“I figure you and my man Mike have got that covered. But don’t worry. I won’t just drop my carbine. I’ll still shoot, but ammo’s getting harder to get and I don’t want to be useless. I’m even practicing with the crossbow, like you said.”
“Yes. You are. And I appreciate the effort,” Britt said.
Apparently that was all that needed to be said as their impromptu leader gave a stiff nod and found something else to focus her attention on.
“Nice, but you might want to turn that off,” he said.
“Oh… right. Off,” Donald deactivated the enchanted blade.
“What’s the activation word? ‘On’?” he snorted.
“Actually, yeah. Makes it simple and easy. You don’t want complicated words,” Donald said.
“How long does the mana last?”
“About 20 to 25 full powered hits, but I think I can stretch that to 30 if I just, sorta, tap people. The seller’s note said it’ll recharge slowly over time or I can have anyone capable of focusing mana into it do the recharge.”
“What else did you get? How many more levels in Soldier?”
“Nothing for Soldier, but I don’t care about that,” Donald’s tone was light, but Michael was more perceptive now. He noticed the forced nonchalance like a flashing sign in the dark.
“Yeah, you don’t need it now that you’re a Flesh Eater.”
“Truth,” Donald nodded. “Anyways, I got that up to 7.”
“Woah! My man! That’s two more than me and Britt,” he slapped his friend on the back.
“Really?” Donald’s eyes brightened. “Ah. It’s not big deal. I think it’s just cause I want this so bad. I bet you guys got levels in your other classes too, so it’s not like I gained more than you. I probably actually got less.”
Truth, but Michael didn’t see the need to confirm it.
He shot the shit with Donald while waiting for the rest of the team to emerge from the spire.
Sunny, Charlie and Lincoln joined them and they headed back to their temporary housing.
The town they had conquered had an excess.
So much so that they had an entire three bedroom house to themselves.
A taped notice on the front door was waiting for them.
“Section meeting at city hall after dinner,” Britt said.
“That’s it? Nothing about the day’s assignments?”
That seemed odd to Michael. He was used to a regimented schedule where every hour was accounted for.
“It says we have a free day,” Britt said.
“A reward for yesterday’s win? I’ll take it,” Sunny yawned and unlocked the door before stepping inside. “I’m going to sleep. Wake me up for dinner.”
Britt’s eyes narrowed on the smaller girl’s back.
“She healed a lot of damage during the battle. Took a bigger toll on her than the rest of us,” Charlie said.
“There’s a grill out back and some burgers in the freezer. I’m going to make a few. Does anyone else want some?” Lincoln said.
“We just had breakfast, like, two hours ago,” Charlie said.
“Need protein cause I’m going to workout,” Lincoln shrugged.
“Yeah man. I saw the power cage in the garage,” Donald gave him thumbs up. “I’ll get in on that!”
“Which? Burgers or lifting?”
“Er… both…”
“No problem,” Lincoln grunted as he followed Sunny into the house.
“What about you, Mike?”
“I’m good, Donald. I’m thinking of going to supply. I need to get arrows,” he replied.
“Shit! I need more ammo, but they’ll probably be out. Gunsmiths struggling to keep up,” Donald shook his head.
“I can check for you.”
“Thanks, dude!”
Britt sighed.
“What?” Charlie said.
“I wanted to go over our battle. We did good, but there’s a lot we can do better next time.”
“Er… uh… I can go after we talk.”
“No, that’s okay. We need to do it as a full team. You go do your thing,” Britt smiled.
He waved awkwardly, turned around and headed to city hall.
The wall around the small downtown had been relatively undamaged during yesterday’s assault, so they had moved their supplies inside.
The gates were wide open and was busy with the comings and goings of his fellow brothers and sisters.
Dried blood stains painted the street and the walls.
He had missed much of the melee on main street and had only overheard scant snippets of conversation from those that survived it. From appearances it had been a fierce and bloody battle. He still didn’t know what the casualty count was.
The smell of death was enticing.
A tingle of hunger rattled around in his stomach despite a large breakfast.
He hurried to the huge supply tent set up in the city hall parking lot.
A line stretched out to the sidewalk and ran next to part of the street set up as a large holding area for the enemy that had survived or surrendered.
Fearful eyes stared out from behind the chain-link fence.
He knew their fear from the smell in the air. It was stronger than he had remembered. Or rather, he was better able to notice and parse it know that he had leveled up.
There wasn’t a lot of fighting age people in the captive crowd.
They were mostly the old and the young.
He regarded them as the line slowly inched forward.
How many would join his family?
The kids were a certainty.
As for the adults… how many would decide to take the sacrament?
A beautiful smiling woman emerged from city hall, flanked by a pair of hulking young men armored only in a vest with strips of iron sewn into the thick fabric. It looked a few sizes too big for them, but he knew that was to accommodate their transformation.
“Heya, Michael!” April waved as she walked past him.
He stammered a greeting, surprised that she remembered him, but she was already headed into the holding area.
He listened as she addressed their captives with a warm and happy voice.
“How was breakfast? Good, I hope? Did everyone get enough to eat and drink? We don’t want you to go hungry or thirsty—”
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“You fed us with our food and water and you expect gratitude?” an older woman pushed her way to the front of the crowd to shove her finger in April’s face.
April’s smile never wavered. She simply held up a hand to signal her two bodyguards to step back.
“That is accurate. We fed you… with your supplies.”
“We know what you want from us. We’ll never join you. We’ll continue to walk in Jesus’ light,” the older woman snarled.
“Then you have much in common with our blessed sacrament.”
“The blasphemy spewing out of your pretty mouth. But I know the true ugliness just hidden beneath. I saw it yesterday.”
“Uh huh… don’t you eat the body of Christ? Drink his blood? Literally, too. There’s a word for it...” Britt snapped her fingers until she recalled it, “transubstantiation, right?” Silence. “Well… anyways… the update. Normally, these things will take more time. Perhaps, days or even weeks. We want those that join us to fully understand their commitment. However, unfortunate circumstances require sacrifices. But, be assured that each and every one of you will be given a choice. We would never remove that agency from your hands.”
“You’re joking. You’d have the children choose? They don’t understand the evil you things are. You’ll just frighten them, mislead them and damn them to hell!”
“Oh no,” April shook her head sadly, “we explain things. Patiently and thoroughly. See, that’s where we’re different. We don’t indoctrinate based on lies.”
Other people emerged from city hall.
The women were a mixture of ages, but all had one thing in common.
A warm smile in an attractive package.
They were accompanied by noobs bearing folding tables and chairs, which they began setting up outside the fenced area.
“Our knowledgeable members will be ready to answer any of your question about what it takes to become part of our sacrament. They’ll go over details. What you can expect to happen. Obligations. Most importantly, benefits.”
“We refuse,” the older woman said through grit teeth.
“You may certainly do that. Each individual here has the choice.”
He didn’t observe what happened next as his turn to enter the supply tent came.
Later that evening he stood in a knot with his team within his larger section a short distance away from the mess tent.
It appeared that several other such teams formed during the battle had decided to stick together as they had.
“How many do you think we’re down?” Charlie whispered.
He glanced around and did a quick count. “There’s about 30 left.”
Almost half his section was missing.
He wondered if he had seen the last of those faces and heard those names.
“Gather round newbies,” Fred said. “I’ll make this quick since I don’t care much about these things. I lie. I do care, but its time to let you go.”
A susurration of concern spread through the gathered crowd.
“You have survived and leveled from your first real battle. Monsters don’t really count. There’s nothing quite like facing another thinking being to challenge you,” Fred continued. “And so, you’ve graduated. Normally, there’d be a huge ceremonial feast thing, but that’ll have to wait until after we complete our main Quest.”
“What does this change on an operational level?” Britt raised her hand.
“Uh… usually you raise your hand first, then I point at you, then you ask your question… but I’ll allow it since you’re full-fledged members now. Blooded and all that. You and your team did good work, Britt.”
“Um… my question…”
“Right, yeah, so, it’s like this. Basically, you’ll be assigned into a squad if you aren’t already. That’ll be the base unit for anything we need. We generally know what you can do, so you’ll be assigned tasks that fit your abilities, but please feel free to voice any concerns you might have. We don’t want to waste lives on doomed missions. Your daily schedule will no longer be controlled on an hourly basis. Eating times are the same. Training is the same. Prayer and reflection is the same— huh? I guess it’s not that different. You’ve got a few extra hours to do with as you will now that you’re done with the newbie stuff.”
“When’s our next fight?” a brawny young man said.
Michael didn’t know his name.
“Nothing currently scheduled. There are several settlements on the way to our target, but we need to get the other newbie sections blooded like you guys did yesterday.”
“But we need combat to gain experience and levels,” Britt frowned.
“I know it’s not ideal for you, personally, but think of the whole. The others deserve the same opportunity you got.”
“What if we’re too weak when we get to Wichita?”
“I can’t promise anything, but I imagine you’ll get opportunities to fight monsters we come across. According to our scouts there are more spawn zone towns than there are claimed ones on the way. So, turn that frown upside down,” Fred shot Britt finger guns.
A tight smile crossed her face.
“Can’t we just go to those places then?” Michael said.
“Time is a concern.” Fred gave them a conspiratorial look and beckoned them closer. “I’m not supposed to talk about this, yet, but we’ve got a prophecy. I don’t know the full details, myself. Something about a song that will end our world by burning it in fire or covering it in molten gold if we can’t get to Wichita and stop it.”
“How much time do we have?” Britt’s eyes widened.
Fred shrugged. “Now that is a question. There are conflicting words on that. Could be months. Could be a year or two. Leaders figure we should be early, not late. That’s why we’re rushing.” He grinned. “To be honest, I like it this way. Reminds of the early days when we were smaller and less organized. When we went where the sacrament called us.”
“My team requests a spot in the vanguard,” Britt said.
“Hold on! You’ve got good guts and you guys kicked ass yesterday, but don’t bite off more than you can chew,” Fred laughed as if only he got the joke. “You leveled, but you’re still too weak to take on the top level.”
“Yeah…” Britt frowned.
Michael’s thoughts turned back to the fight against the high-leveled mercenary team. If it could be called one.
“We got our assess kicked by those guys,” Donald said as if he had read Michael’s thoughts.
“Look, you’ve memorized the chart. I don’t need to tell you this,” Fred said.
“Flesh Eater levels are equal to the basic warrior type at roughly ten levels higher,” Britt said.
“Those guys I saved you from… I’d put them somewhere in the thirties. Learn to walk before you run,” Fred nodded sagely. “Well, anyways. You are no longer ducklings. You are ducks. Enjoy dinner, have some fun tonight, but get enough sleep. You’ll probably be getting your next orders tomorrow.”
“He’s so weird,” Donald whispered.
Michael shrugged.
“That’s what you took away from that?” Sunny flashed her teeth in a mocking smile.
“What?”
“Apparently there’s a prophecy… an actual prophecy…” Britt frowned.
“How does that even work?” Lincoln said.
“Someone cast a spell, probably,” Charlie shrugged.
“Whatever… let’s eat. I’m starving,” Sunny stalked into the mess tent, pushing her way past several much larger people.
“Sorry,” Michael waved apologetically.
They grumbled, but let it go.
“Yeah, me too,” Donald patted his ample belly.
“I’ve been hungry all day,” Lincoln said.
“You ate like 6 burgers and a pile of fries and chicken nuggets,” Charlie followed the two into the tent.
“What do you think, Michael?” Britt held him back.
“About?”
“The prophecy thing…”
He thought for a moment. “I guess they’ll tell us what we need to know,” he shrugged.
“We should try to find out more. It’s important,” Britt nodded.
----------------------------------------
Now, Oklahoma
Loud roars, snarls and growls echoed across the flat plain.
“Hmm… you don’t see that everyday.” Cal watched the awesome scene unfolding a few thousand yards away.
“See what? I can’t see anything. It’s just a cloud of dust. Is it a stampede? Mutant longhorns? But we’re not in Texas? Weird.” Jayde’s head appeared next to his as she forced her way past others and into the front of the bus before practically pressing her face against the windshield.
“It’s not like they can’t cross state lines,” Dayana said. “Moron,” she added under her breath.
“I can barely see anything through the cloud. Just very large shapes. Shouldn’t we back up?” Nila said.
“Nah, it should be fine. I can keep them from noticing us. Besides, they’re occupied with each other,” he replied.
“They?” Nila eyed him before reaching over and taking the toddler from his lap and moving to the back of the bus.
“Yeah… what they?” Jayde said.
More heads poked out of the back, everyone, except Nila, cramming into the front area for a look.
“Do any of you remember those movies with the dinosaurs?”
“I remember a lot of those,” Hayden said.
“The one with the genetic engineering dinos for a theme park.”
Everyone replied in the affirmative.
“Alright, so one sorta looks like the T-Rex from those movies, minus the tiny arms, plus a clump of tentacles in place of said arms. It’s also pitch black, like inky, almost seems like its skin is dripping oil.”
“That sounds properly terrible,” Monsignor said.
“What’s your danger sense at?” Marci said.
“It’s not,” Jimenez shrugged. “I know it should be, but— it’s not.”
“Skills don’t break,” Shrewed grunted.
“That we know of,” Trevor added.
“What’s the other one?” Amber’s voice was a whisper.
“Not as weird… it looks like what I’d imagine bigfoot would look like were he real—”
“Sasquatch is real, man,” Trevor pronounced. “The spires turned our myths and legends real. Sasquatch is definitely out there… like, literally in front of us in that dust cloud,” he pointed.
“Look, dude… bigfoot is supposed to be a missing link apeman-type deal. Like, 9-feet-tall. That thing out there is closer to 20-feet-tall and is yoked as fu— crap.”
“Shouldn’t we be doing something?” Hayden said.
“Let’s not interrupt a giant monster fight, please,” Amber said. “I just— what if they turn on us… together.”
“King Kong and Godzilla have been known to put aside their differences to work together against a common enemy,” Trevor nodded. “Good thinking, Amber.”
“Man, I’d love to watch this,” Shrewed eyed Cal. “Might be… uh… informative,” he nudged Monsignor.
Who sighed. “That is correct. However, one must weigh the risks of getting closer.”
Jayde nudged Cal. “You can fly us closer, but high enough that they won’t notice or even reach us.”
He considered it.
The two giant monsters weren’t dangerous to him.
And the two rangers had been right, which was why he was committing everything to his memory.
The dust cloud wasn’t a hindrance when he could watch with more than his physical eyes.
Then again.
Many of the others really wanted to see what he saw.
He didn’t need telepathy to know that.
A thought blew the dust cloud away to reveal…
“Awesome!” Jayde squealed. “Now, move us closer!” she pointed imperiously.
“Sorry, but that’s not happening.”
“I can barely see,” she whined.
“Better get some binoculars.”
There was a mad scramble as Jayde, Dayana, Trevor and Amber rushed to the back.
“Dignity,” Monsignor warned.
Shrewed grumbled as he restrained himself.
“I can see fine. They’re really scary,” Jimenez shuddered.
“I have a camera, but it’s too far,” Marci said.
“Give it to me.”
Marci returned with the other four, only three of which managed to procure binoculars.
“Three binoculars doesn’t seem like enough,” Trevor grumbled.
The three young women crowed into the front compartment.
“Jesus Christ! Look at those teeth!” Jayde said.
“Bigfoot’s got guns and abs,” Dayana said.
Cal took the camera from Marci and floated it out the window toward the giant monster fight. “Can I get a copy of this?”
“Sure. After I get it back to R&D. They’ll have to do their magic,” Marci said. “Do you guys want a copy too?” she turned to Monsignor and Shrewed.
“We have the same capability… assuming Cal will share?” Monsignor ventured.
“Yeah, don’t worry about it,” he replied.
A loud crack echoed across the plain.
“Ohhhh!” Jayde, Dayana and Amber echoed.
“Can one of you at least give me the play-by-play?” Trevor grumbled.
“You can watch the recording,” Amber said.
“Yeah, but on a tiny screen,” Trevor whined.
“Giant bigfoot just cracked tentacle T-Rex across the side of her head. I think I saw teeth flying. We should grab those later, we can make swords out of them,” Dayana said.
“T-Rex just shot out his—” Cal began.
“Her,” Dayana said
“Her tentacles, but Big bigfoot blocked it with his right arm— you okay with that?”
“Yeah, he obviously has a dong,” Dayana scoffed
“It’s a tug-of-war now. Tentacles versus muscle. The brown-haired destroyer seems stronger. Oh! And he just pulled T-Rex hard enough to send her flying toward him. He winds up for a punch… and, what a twist, T-Rex slips her head to the side and bites down on the arm heading toward her head like a missile. Is it just me or did her neck stretch impossibly longer?”
“It looked like it,” Amber said.
“Oh shit—”
“Cal! Language! He can hear you!” Nila’s voice came loud and clear from somewhere in the back of the bus.
“Sorry, Love, but it’s an epic battle… anyways… BB just bit down on the T-Rex’s nose? Snout? Nose? Whatever… they’re really digging into each other! The blood is flowing!”
“T-Rex is winning though. More blood,” Jayde said.
A small earthquake shook the bus.
“Wow!” Cal and three young women echoed.
“BB just did a trip takedown. The impact jarred T-Rex! And he’s got his arm out of her mouth! Bang! Hammerfists to the face! Those look painful! I can hear bones cracking and breaking! God all mighty!”
“Seriously, Cal?”
Nila again.
“T-Rex is trying to defend with her right tentacles, but noodly arms aren’t meant to stand up against rock-hard muscle!”
“What the fuck!” Jayde, Dayana and Amber echoed.
“Girls!”
Nila again.
“Sorry!” they called back.
“What happened?” Trevor and Shrewed echoed.
Cal cleared his throat. “Some of the tentacles appeared to turn into hardened spikes and there are a few of them in BB’s gut. Yeah— sorry guys, but I’m going to stop.”
The fight lasted surprisingly longer despite what appeared to be several fatal wounds.
The giant bigfoot did everything he could.
He threw dirt in the tentacle T-Rex’s eyes. Jammed a cactus in her mouth. Ripped up a chunk of road and slammed it on her head.
In the end the spearing tentacles brought the dinosaur-like monster the victory.
The battered monster settled down to replenish the energy she had just spent in the hours long contest.
“Oh god,” Amber gagged as she put the binoculars down.
Trevor grabbed them with the speed of a cobra. “Oh… that’s gross,” he put them down.
Cal brought the camera back and returned it to Marci.
“Are we going to have to wait for it to finish?” Amber grimaced.
“Nope. She won’t notice us. On top of what I’m doing, it’s way too hurt and tired. All it wants to do is eat and sleep,” he said.
“How do you know that?” Hayden said.
“I mean, look at her.”
“You know how fights go. You want to eat and sleep after,” Shrewed said
“Eating’s the last thing I want to do after a bloody fight,” Hayden frowned.
“Smarter to replenish the energy you dumped,” he shrugged.
“Do we— do we— do we need to collect samples?” Jimenez said.
“We’ve got a whole specimen kit,” Marci rolled her eyes.
“I suppose we can wait for it to finish then kill it.”
They could collect samples from both monsters and get on with their trip through Oklahoma.
The further along they went the more he was able to zero in on where they needed to go.
The eternal church was based somewhere in Kansas or Oklahoma according to the information the Golden Eagles had.
He was certain that they had to travel north.