"Fuck!"

I was already shaking, now I could barely control myself.

"Eriasson! Eri – What the fuck do I do?!"

I was desperately trying to get to my feet as adrenaline rushed through me. As a healer, hopefully I could fix the fatigue that'll inevitably come over me when I calm down. At this point Oliver, my English Bulldog was up and whining, nosing at my face. He was very old for his breed, actually making it to ten years with minimal difficulties despite his seven to nine year life expectancy. Usually his presence would be enough to calm me down at least a little bit, but this was not in any way a 'usual' situation.

Survive. I won't be much help for you now. I'll be here, and you can talk to me, but I used up most of my waning power to intervene in the system's process. Should you need help…

Make sure it's worth it.

"That's…"

Incredulity washed over me. I pushed Oliver aside and made it to my feet. Staggering over to the window, I barely moved aside my curtains and peeked through my blinds outside. I steadied myself with my left hand on my headboard.

"You need me, and you're going to leave it up to chance if I live or die?!"

I could already hear screaming. People were panicking, and the usual joggers and general populace hanging around outside were running as fast as they could to wherever they needed to be. To the right of the street from me was the elementary school. Lee, the road that came off Alico, was the main road that cut through our neighborhood. My house sat on the last road before a four way, and was the first house on our road on that side. Across from me was a dorm house, which I could hear crashing sounds from.

I could only sigh in relief when I looked at the school.

'At least it's a Friday afternoon. At most, there'll be a few teachers there. It's a bit heartless to be so relieved but… I wouldn't be surprised if it was a dungeon now. A closed off space like that is prime material.'

There's little I can do, and I've done what I can.

I could feel her annoyance as she spoke, but also… guilt? I was nervous confronting her, being a deity and all, but if this wasn’t the time to establish at least a somewhat respectful relationship, what was?

I… I gave what I could. It's up to you now, and whatever the system decided to thrust upon you.

As I started to move away from the window, I caught movement behind the automated fence that blocked off the bus entrance to the school. It used to be open to the public almost all night, the open fields behind the school, but after too many people brought dogs into the place they locked it off and no one was allowed in anymore. As I watched a zombie push up against the sturdy 8 foot steel fencing, all I could be was very, very glad they did.

Zombies were one of my greatest fears.

I could barely watch the Walking Dead when it came out, though after a while I got used to it, and occasionally watched it with -

"FuckinghellLiam!"

I screamed Eriasson's name.

"My fucking brother's out there, and I need to know if he's okay! Now! Please!!"

My brother Liam had just out of the military, and after months of persuading him, I finally got him to come home. My father had died, leaving me with a house that was nearly paid off and a fuckton of life insurance. I paid it off, of course, and my college debt too. Liam of course got half of it, but who wouldn’t want a stable home while you got on your feet? And more than that… who wouldn’t want to bring home a family member who was treated so badly that he developed severe depression? My brother… he was in a bad way, and bringing him back to a stable home and a stable support system was a success I fought hard for.

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This shit, ruined it all! And now he was alone, likely tired after a road trip over 24 hours long with a young English bulldog like my own in the car with him, and who the fuck knows on the road with him?! With other people on the road with him?!

I could trust him to keep his head about him, I know him well enough for that, but fuck! He's got a big ass truck with a trailer attached to it on a highway an hour away, maybe full of monsters, but definitely full of panicked. Fucking. People.

"Tell me!"

I felt a tugging on my mind and once again, a detachment from my body. It was gut wrenching, having your perspective just ripped away from what your senses were telling you, but when it settled I couldn't care less.

There he was.

Liam.

He was on the side of the road. I could tell what he saw had freaked the hell out of him, but not enough to stop him from keeping his composure. He was parked almost haphazardly but still largely out of the way of traffic, which was… crazy. I could see vehicles crashed all over the place, smashed into railings and each other, and more weaving madly through whatever obstacles they could. People were out of their cars and running and as I looked at one of the crashed cars, I could see why. There was blood splattered over what was left of the windshield, as the body that had been thrown halfway out of it began to thrash wildly. It clawed at the crumpled hood of the car, managing to the get some grip on the metal. It pulled itself out and over, falling and rolling onto the pavement. It was then I saw it was a young woman as it stood up, and it was abundantly clear from the way glass fell from her ravaged mid-section and flayed upper body that she wasn’t moving on any will of her own.

Liam was looking grimly ahead of him, trying to find a way through the chaos ahead of him and holding onto his panicking dog. He was muttering to himself, running a hand through his long brown hair.

'Which actually looked good on him?' An intrusive though came barreling to the forefront of my mind.

I had seen some pictures of him after he got out of the army, sure, but this perspective was much better than any crappy pictures. It was as if I was there with him, seeing him with my own eyes. His eyes were blue just like my own, and as he covered them for a brief moment with the hand not comforting his dog, I realized I actually couldn’t hear anything as he continued to speak to himself.

"Eriasson." I spoke her name, hoping desperately she was still paying attention. I knew that she was the one showing me this, and I could only be grateful for her help. However…

"Eriasson. My brother isn't like me. He definitely wouldn’t have any skills like mine. Please, if you can do anything, anything at all. Give him some protection."

I waited. I could feel anxiety beginning to bring me to another panic attack as she continued to be silent. I watched my brother pull his dog, lovingly named Tychus, into the passenger seat and grip his steering wheel tightly. He knew how drive, and drive well. As he put his foot on the gas pedal, I could only trust in his experience and training to get him out alive. At that moment only one thing came to mind to help him. I prayed to Eriasson.

'Let all those tests, and hours, and licenses do him good! Let him get here safely!'

I finished, and I felt a ripping sensation deep inside me. An energy I had never felt before was being pulled from my core. Magic, I could only assume, as it pooled into a ball in front of me, bright and burning gold. It pulled from me until I was nearly empty and then… popped. I was barely able to feel bewildered before a screen popped up in front of me and presumably in front of Liam, as his foot jerked off the pedal.

You have blessed another.

Major Protection (Light) granted to Liam Clearwater.

Minor Healing (Light) granted to Liam Clearwater.

Buff Granted for: 24 Hours.

I could see Liam read the pop up in front of him quickly. His eyes widened and he glanced around quickly in alarm. My view of him was quickly fading and in those last few seconds I could see him mouth,

"Thank you."

I was thrust back into my body only to curl into myself where I stood as I keenly felt my lack of magic. It was like whiplash combined with a deep, deep ache. I had just gotten magic and having it torn away so suddenly was genuinely awful. I pressed a hand to my chest to try to use pressure to relieve my ache, but it was in a place I definitely could never reach with my hands alone. As I settled, gratitude and sincere happiness washed over me.

"Thank you Eriasson. Thank you."

I stumbled backwards to fall onto my bed. Oliver continued to whine at the edge of it, trying to comfort me. I reached out to pet him and slowly began to calm down. Then, I heard the slap of the doggy door and scrambling paws against tile. In only a few seconds, my second dog had run into my room. He was a German Shepard, only two years old. I had got him shortly after my father's death. Oliver was old, and as much as he tried he really wasn’t guard dog material anymore, and I was a young woman living alone. I had brought him to as many training courses as necessary to make sure he could properly protect me. His name was Gabriel, and as he ran up to me, frantic and on edge, a thought pierced through my haze.

I had just used up most of my magic, and now all I had was two dogs and a few guns hidden around the house to protect me.