Antoinette walked to her bed, wishing that she had something to offer to Ravioli to drink. She turned and sat on the edge of the bed, pulling her shirt down to cover her lap. She waited for him to sit on the bed next to her, but he gave her plenty of space.
"Just so you know, you need to be level 10 for anything really exciting to happen," Ravioli said.
She wasn't sure what he was talking about. What could happen at level 10 that she couldn't do right now? Maybe it was joining a raid. That certainly sounded like fun. He looked at her and saw the confused look on her face.
"Do you understand what I mean?" he asked.
"Not really," She answered.
"You won't believe me unless I show you," he said. "You walked in her knowing full well that your ass was hanging out from under your shirt, right?"
She was going to try and deny it, but why deny something that they both knew was the truth.
"Yes, I think I have a pretty nice bottom, and wanted to see if you agreed," she said.
"I only got to see a small part so I couldn't give you an accurate appraisal," he smiled.
"That's a funny way to ask to see the rest," she said.
His laughter filled the small bedroom. She joined in and after their laughter slowed he continued.
"You could take off your shirt and show me all of you, but there's nothing I could do to you or with you until you are level 10," he said.
"I see what you are doing. You think by telling me that stuff that I'll stand naked in front of you and you'll pretend not to be able to touch me," she said.
Secretly she wanted to take her shirt off. Things had been stressful since arriving and feeling the comfort of someone's arms wrapped around her would be perfect. It would be even more perfect if he was naked and there were more things going on besides just a friendly hug.
"Okay, keep your shirt on. I'll show you what I mean," he said.
Ravioli moved to kneel in front of her. She spread her legs to let him come closer until he was right next to her. Having him so close to her was making her pulse race, especially since she couldn’t remember the last time she was intimate with someone.
"If you don't believe me, lean forward and kiss me. It doesn't have to be anything over the top, but a light peck on the lips," he smiled.
She didn't know what kind of game he was playing. He could have leaned forward and kissed her, like a gentleman would do. Why did he want her to kiss him? She wasn't sure what his motivation was. Maybe if she kissed him first, then he could consider she made the first move and he would take it from there. She wasn't too worried about that, and it was just a small kiss on the lips. Her whole body screamed at her to kiss him.
"Okay, but only as a thank you for helping me out before at the clinic," she said.
"That's only fair," he said.
Her nipples were hard and other parts of her body were sending signals giving her the 'green light' to be ravished by Ravioli. She knew that her white top couldn't do anything to hide how excited she was; she might as well just rip off her top and let him see.
She leaned in and each of them tilted their heads slightly. Antoinette was only inches away and she started to close her eyes and open her mouth. If she was going to kiss him, she wanted more than a grade-school peck on the lips. She moved forward a bit more and then her progress stopped. Her lips pressed against something soft and firm, but she knew it wasn't Ravioli. What kind of fucking tricks was he playing? She opened her eyes and he was looking at her; his mouth open to receive her kiss, but she couldn't penetrate the force field that separated them.
"What's going on?" She asked.
"I was trying to explain it to you before. You are able to have carnal knowledge of another player, but both need to be a minimum of level 10," he said. "Once you reach that benchmark, that’s one of the perks that opens up."
"Bullshit," She said.
"It's not bullshit. So now that you know that there's no chance of hanky-panky, what else can I do for you tonight? He said.
"Are you saying that I only invited you over for sex?" She did her best to sound offended.
"I didn't say that, but I'm flattered that you did," he said.
"If I don't find a better option by the time I reach level 10, I'll ring you up and then I can pay up the kiss for saving me," she smiled.
"I’ll remember that as long as I don't die in the raid tonight," he said matter-of-factly.
The thought of him being killed in tonight's raid made her throat tight. Without Ravioli, she had no one else. She could always meet someone else, but who knows how long that would take.
"Make sure you don't die. Do you have a good tank?" She asked.
"There are several members of the Guild that are quite good for the roles we need. If you haven't signed up with another Guild, I'm sure I can find you a home with the Witchdoctors," He offered.
"Does it come with a dental plan?" She joked.
"Level 5, Annie, you need to be level 5 to join." He said.
"Okay. Come sit back on the bed and let me ask you some questions," she said.
She wanted him to stay kneeling on the floor between her legs, but having him so close and not being able to touch him was making concentrating difficult. If she was going to get any answers out of him, she needed to have him sitting next to her to focus. She watched him move back to where he was sitting initially. Once he was comfortable, she started peppering him with questions.
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Antoinette woke and stretched in her bed. She took her time to stretch every part of her body she could. Satisfied, she sat up in bed and looked around. Her bedroom looked like it had last night, but there was no Ravioli. She knew that he wasn't going to be there, but a part of her wished that he would have come back after his raid to let her know that he was okay.
She prepared for the day and was going to grab her weapons when she noticed a change to her new shotgun; there was some modification done to it. When she looked closer she saw someone attached a note it, the note said:
Courtesy of the Witchdoctors
This will let you fire your shotgun without having to manually load it. Try it out; you're going to love it! - Ravioli
Holy shit, not having to manually reload her shotgun was a godsend. She wondered what Ravioli was going to want in return for the gift. Maybe he was going to continue to give her things and then when she turned level 10 he was going to expect a little something-something. Wait, maybe she was the one that had sex on the brain and Ravioli was indifferent to the whole thing. No, if he didn't care about it he wouldn't have given her all the information last night.
She gathered her gear and headed down to the ground level. When she walked through the large room to exit the building, there was no change; Bella's Boutique stood by itself. She took a minute to window shop before leaving the building.
On the street some zombies were wandering, but none were paying her much attention. She walked to Wally's Weapons and entered. After some pleasantries with Wally, who was cleaning the same weapon as the last time she was in, she checked the board. There were two more quests on the board:
- Rescue Rover - Rescue the lost black lab puppy. Reward: $100 and 300 XP
- Let's Tinker - Collect 10 crafting materials. Reward $200 and 200 XP
The zombies had a puppy holed up somewhere? FUCKERS! That was high on the priority list. As for the crafting materials, she could probably amass that while working on finding Rover. She left the shop with a wave to Wally and a spring in her step. It was time to put her shotgun to work.
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Antoinette felt pretty badass this morning. She had her bat strapped to her back and her modified shotgun in her hands. The Colt was in her waistband and she was ready to fuck up some zombies. She looked up and down the street and at the far end of the street to her left she saw a sign that read, "Vickie's Vet Services". The sign was blinking like a beacon in a fog, calling to her. It was obvious that the path to rescuing Rover lay in that direction.
As she walked down the street, she stayed in the middle of the road to keep from getting jumped by some undead in an alleyway. She was approximately one-third of the way there when three zombies shambled out of a building. They spotted her and started to run in her direction.
"Okay baby, show me what you got." Antoinette whispered as she held the shotgun hip level. She let them come, digging her heels into the road. At about 15 feet she pulled the trigger. The slug hit the first zombie in the gut and blew a sizeable hole in the creature. It staggered but kept coming. She lifted the weapon to her shoulder and sighted in the zombie before pulling the trigger again.
The first zombie's head exploded in a shower of gore. It took another step and fell to the road. She sighted in the next creature and fired. The zombie took the slug to the shoulder and was knocked off it's feet. She turned to the last zombie and it was less than ten feet from her. She pulled the trigger and hit it square in the chest, knocking it to the road.
Her body was pumping with adrenaline. Having a shotgun was so much better than her Colt, at least today it was. She looked at the zombies on the ground and pulled out her bat. She finished the two injured zombies with several well aimed swings. She looked around for more targets, but there were no enemies close. She gripped her bat tightly as she continued down the road to Vickie's. (XP 50/600)
There were no more encounters before walking across the parking lot of the veterinarian building. Several abandoned vehicles were in the parking lot and she took the time to search the vehicles. The first vehicle held nothing of value, but the second one was a pickup truck. In the bed of the truck, under a shabby tarp was a small box. She picked up the box and when she opened it she knew she found her first crafting material; only nine more to finish the quest.
Once she was done searching the vehicles, she looked at the building. It was a free-standing two-story building with murals of pets decorating the walls. The murals looked like they were subjected to a sandstorm, because the colors were faded and some walls had chunks missing. She shouldered the bat and had her shotgun at the ready before walking around the building to look for exits. Another great tip from the Zombieland movies was Rule 22: When in doubt, know your way out.
She had to jump a chain linked fence to get to the area that must have been somewhere pets could run while at the vet. Sure enough, there was a door that led into the building. When she tried the door it was locked. That was the only other exit she discovered before she returned to the front door.
"Rover, I'm coming for you." She said loud enough for anything on the other side of the door to hear.
Antoinette took a deep breath and pulled open the door. She had her shotgun aimed into the building, and the door led to a large reception area. She walked in and turned her body left and right looking for movement. There was nothing in the room but chairs, a reception counter and filing cabinets behind the counter. A smashed TV hung tilted in the corner of the room.
She crept around and searched the area, but didn’t find any loot. The only other exit out of the room was a door behind the counter. She walked and pulled it open and looked around the corner. There was a hallway with two zombies inside. They hadn’t noticed her so she pulled out the bat and slung the shotgun over her shoulder.
She took a minute to check for a pattern to their shuffling, but there was none. When the closest one turned away she burst into the hallway and hit it in the back of the head, dropping it in one shot. The one several feet away turned but she slammed the bat down on the top of its head before it could react. (XP 70/600)
There were no more zombies in the hallway, but there were six doors. The first two led to exam rooms, yielding a Bag of Dog Treats – 20 Count. She tucked them in a pocket and kept searching. The next two doors led to a utility room where she found 1 Crafting Material and a small kitchen/break room. In the cupboards she found Soda – 6 Pack and put it in a pocket for later.
The next room was a storeroom and when she opened the door she surprised three zombies. Antoinette switched to the shotgun and snapped off 8 shots before the three were motionless on the floor. Even though it was a storeroom, the shelves were very empty, but in a small cylindrical container on a top shelf she found something interesting.
Inside the container was a small pamphlet. On the cover it said Blueprint but when she opened it she couldn’t understand any of the contents. She put it in a pocket and moved on to the last door. She pushed it open and stepped into the stairwell. Antoinette walked to the handrail and looked up to see if she could see anything on the steps, but there wasn’t anything.
The steps were metal and she took her time climbing to the 2nd floor. Once there she opened the door a crack and listened. She could hear the soft shuffle of feet in the hallway and the faint whine of a puppy. Antoinette knew it was a game, but anytime there was a puppy in danger, she had to pitch in to help. She gripped her shotgun and entered the hallway.
The hallway contained more zombies than she expected; there must be at least eight milling about. One turned and emitted an inhumane scream before they all turned to rush her. The sound of her shotgun firing in the hallway was deafening. She held the weapon at her hip and fired over and over, pumping the shotgun to eject the spent shell between shots.
Bones and rotting flesh flew from the zombies as the slugs tore through them. She stood her ground and fired until there were all down, spending 22 shells. Her ears were ringing from the noise, but soon her hearing returned to normal and she looked down the hallway. The hallway opened up to a large room that looked like an indoor play area for the dogs. She walked cautiously down the hallway and stepped into the room.
A zombie larger than any of the ones she saw before stood watching her from across the room; he had a red outline. In front of it were two zombies a bit smaller. None of them made a move towards her; they just waited and watched her.
“I’m just here for the puppy,” she yelled. “Give him to me and I’ll leave peacefully.”
Antoinette didn’t know why she thought bargaining was going to work with the undead, but you don’t know if you don’t try. To her surprise the big zombie answered her in a voice that sounded like someone missing parts of their throat.
“Leave now and live,” he said.
The creature was definitely a male in a grimy white lab coat; assumedly the vet, but the other two were female dressed in ripped and dirty scrubs. Antoinette could see a black lab puppy in a cage behind the boss.
“I guess we will have to do this the hard way,” she said.
Antoinette fired at the closest zombie and hit her square in the chest. She pumped the weapon and ripped off another hitting her in the neck and knocking her head off. The other two closed in on her and she contemplated which one to target. It was the age-old question of focusing on the boss while the henchmen attacked, or knock the henchmen out first allowing the boss to close the distance. She opted for the other woman and after three shots the creature dropped to the floor. (XP 90/600)
The boss was almost upon her but she managed to hit him square in the chest with a shotgun blast. The boss continued coming and backhanded her across the room. Her vision flashed and she saw her Health drop (10/18). She didn’t bother to stand up and fired the shotgun from where she sat on the floor. The first shot sailed harmlessly past him but the second one hit him in the shoulder.
The zombie raised his fists to smash her where she sat, and the words ‘Hulk Smash’ floated through her head. She rolled out of the way just in time, but not far enough away as he grabbed her and tossed her across the room again. Her vision flashed more urgently and her Health was pulsing red. (3/18)
Antoinette reached in her pocket and grabbed a +EpiPen. She jammed it in her thigh and the red pulsing went away. (13/18)
She didn’t fire immediately and waited for him to charge. When he was ten feet away she fired a shot and hit him squarely in the knee and he toppled forward; hurray for Accuracy. He landed only feet from her and she brought the shotgun around to shoot him in the head, but he swatted the gun aside so hard she lost her grip.
Antoinette reached for her bat, but he was already on her. Instead of tossing her around the room, she felt his strong hands wrap around her neck and he started choking her. She pounded on his arms and kicked, but he was too strong for her measly 10 Strength. Her display showed that her Health was starting to decrease. (12/18)
She administered another +EpiPen and her Health returned to max. (18/18) The choking continued and her Health started ticking away. She was going to have to do something quickly and the answer wasn’t a continuous dose of +EpiPens until her supply ran dry. She reached around for something to use as a weapon, then remembered her Colt. (Health 14/18)
Antoinette pulled the revolver from her waistband and stuck it under his chin and pulled the trigger. The zombie squeezed tighter and she fired again and again until the chamber was empty. Her vision blurred and her Health was flashing, but the zombie rolled off her. (Health 2/18) (XP 120/600)
The room was quiet except for the barking of the puppy. She noted that her Quest Log updated so show 1 of 20 Lvl 2-3 zombies killed. She stuck a +EpiPen in her thigh and then got up and walked to the cage with Rover in it. (HP 12/18)
“Hi buddy,” she said. “I’ve come to set you free.”
Rover barked excitedly and wagged his tail. He barked and barked, waiting for her to open the cage. She pulled the latch and opened the door. Rover jumped into her arms and her display flashed.
Quest Complete
She didn’t see her XP increase or her any indication of the monetary gain. She figured that she would have to return to Wally’s to collect. She took time to load the revolver, secure her bat and retrieving her shotgun before leaving the Vet building. On the short walk back to Wally’s she encountered several zombies. Before encountering them, she set Rover on the ground where he barked encouragement while she fired her shotgun over and over until the way as clear. (XP 170/600)
Rover followed her into Wally’s shop and she walked towards the quest terminal.
“Hi Wally,” she said.
“What can I help you with today?” Wally asked.
She ignored him for the time being, logging in and clicking on the COMPLETE button by the Quest to rescue Rover and her credits updated, along with her XP. (XP 470/600) The screen changed and asked her a question.
Would you like to keep Rover as a companion?
Wow, she didn’t know she was going to be able to keep the puppy. She clicked on ACCEPT and the terminal asked her another question.
Would you like to rename Rover?
She was filled with excitement. Rover was such a generic name that of course she wanted to rename him. She clicked on YES and then typed in his new name: Midnight. She felt like she was on a high with the success of rescuing Midnight. She wondered if she would be able to train him or if he was just a collector item. She would try the terminal in her place first before calling Ravioli, but she wanted to call and share her success with him; and to hear him say her name.