The beast had disappeared once more, but Owen remained vigilant. He knew what was out there.

After everyone received their new Classes, they had discovered something deep within them. Confidence. Although how long that would last when they were face-to-face with a Dreadclaw was yet to be determined. At least with a mountain of tables and chairs covering both doors to the stairwells, their better spirits remained.

Having a barrier of security, although not much, offered Owen and the others valuable time to tend to their wounds. Thankfully, there was a first-aid kit mounted to the wall in the centre of the office. It didn’t have a lot; it had just enough fresh bandages to wrap the worst of the injuries.

Caroline was already busy ripping up spare clothes that had been used if people had to work overtime and sleep in the office. Owen helped her, sitting on a chair as a reprieve from the pain of standing.

“This is all crazy, isn’t it?” Caroline said, ripping a strip of fabric off a t-shirt. Her hands held a faint tremble. “Like a nightmare coming to life.”

“We’ve survived widespread viruses and war,” Owen said, also tearing a shirt. “Now we have a System granting us superhuman strength. We’ll live.”

“Can you promise that?” Caroline looked at him and he froze, tongue tied. He couldn’t make such a promise.

She smiled in response and said, “I have a sister back home. And parents. We all do. You’re right, we’ll live—we have to.”

Owen nodded. He also had parents, and although he wasn’t exactly close with them, he also wanted them to survive this. But he knew the grim truth. They were most likely already dead. Feeling a lump form in his throat, he cleared it with a cough, then said, “Didn’t know you had a sister.”

“You never asked.”

“I should have gotten involved more,” Owen said, then changed the subject. “I was surprised you were so calm back there; handing me that stapler, I mean. Although I would have preferred a magical sword.”

Chuckling, she joked, “What, because I’m a woman?”

Owen scoffed at the teasing remark. “No, because that monster was absolutely terrifying.”

“Trust me, if I found a magical sword laying around, I’d have given it to you without a second thought,” she said and they both smiled. She continued, “Before this, I was training to be a paramedic. Almost got my qualification, too. Saw a lot of blood and, well, other things a civilian should never lay eyes on.”

“And why’d you give it up? Was it too much?”

“No,” she said with a small smile. “Although it was tough, although every time I got into that van, my heart started thrashing, I still wanted to do it. I wanted to help people. I did a lot of good, but—” She sighed. “—the money wasn’t there. Along with staff cuts, I had to get out. Then I found this place.”

“And lived happily ever after,” Owen joked.

“Hardly.” She laughed and said, “although it’s boring, it pays well, and I’m in the running for promotions. I work 9-to-5, and I get weekends off, for the most part. It’s comfy, if a bit boring.”

“But comfortable isn’t what you want.”

“No, it’s not what I want. Although, it seems I don’t have to worry about that any longer, do I?”

“Appears not,” Owen said sarcastically. “So, what Class did you choose?”

“I had access to the Healing Class, so I picked that one,” she said. “I don’t feel too different. And yet, I don’t think it was a wrong choice. What if I get my hands on a healing spell?”

Healing Class, Owen thought in surprise. Lucky.

Owen ripped another shirt, the last of them, and said after a moment, “Yeah, I’m sure you will. Healing is a good one. I just wanted everyone to go Warrior because if we stick together, well, our chances will improve considerably. You know, apes together strong.” Owen smirked. “But it didn’t feel right saying it like that.”

“I’d have laughed if you did,” she said, chuckling.

“I’m not cut out for public speaking, am I?” Owen asked. “Not like Chris.”

Caroline shook her head. “You did well. It’s nice to see you coming out of your shell a little. If only it didn’t take you until the apocalypse to do so. But, Owen?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t beat yourself up about it,” she said, in an attempt to comfort him. “Even if they all picked Warrior, what would be the chances in getting everyone to work together?”

Owen stilled. Yeah… she was right about that. It wasn’t very likely to get them all working in unison. He had one idea and stuck with it, not even thinking if it would pan out in the end. He had to think further than that.

After that was done, Owen shifted over to Callan, Louis, Grace, and Jock, who were speaking amongst themselves. “How’s everyone holding up?” he asked, sitting down on the floor next to them. Caroline had also noticed and walked along.

“With duct tape and glue,” Louis said in visible pain, the awe of his new body wearing off. “Hi Caroline.”

“Louis,” she said, crouching down to get a better look at his wound on his cheek. “The cut is deep. You’ll need stitches.”

“Just my luck.”

“You are lucky,” She said, frowning. “If it was any deeper, you’d be the next Joker. I can’t stitch it here,” She continued. “We’ll need more supplies. We need to wash the wounds as well. I don’t know what is under those claws. Could be filled with alien-like germs for all I know.”

“You’re not making me feel any better,” said Louis with a grimace.

Owen grinned. “Wanna know how I got these scars—”

“Piss off,” Louis said, smiling through the pain.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Caroline started tending to their wounds. Cleaning it to the best of her abilities. The sound of pained yells and howls filled the office.

“We were talking about the mission,” Callan said, breathing heavily after having his wound tended to. Caroline and Owen listened. “We have one week to reach the subway station. But why? Grace, tell them.”

Grace shifted on the spot, obviously not too keen on being in the spotlight. Owen didn’t blame her. She said after a moment, “Although the message hasn’t told us why we should enter the subway station within 7 days, I think it’s important we don’t test it. It has given us that time limit for a reason.”

Owen nodded. “I’m with you there. There’s a reason for everything. I’d rather not test it either.”

“So,” Louis added, “what do we do? If we want to move, we’ll have to fight those… things. Sure, we’re a little stronger now, but I still don’t like those odds. Maybe with a weapon in hand. But all we have is a half empty fire extinguisher, staplers, and chairs.”

The Dreadclaw had stopped attacking a while ago, and most of the screams had also been silenced. Owen knew the worst was yet to come. They had to make a move sooner rather than later, before the warriors arrived. This was just the first wave.

Owen glanced over his shoulder and noticed that Chris had directed everyone over on that side to take stock of the supplies within the kitchen. Lunches, canned goods, he counted them all. Owen’s stomach rumbled. It was lunch time before all of this happened, so he was already hungry. It would continue to get worse.

“We’ll have to get over that fear quickly,” Owen said. “We don’t know if these monsters get stronger day-by-day. I mean, so can we, right? We can level up, so it’s only common sense to believe that they can as well.”

“Not only that,” Caroline explained, “we have to worry about food. Chris is already on it,” she said, glancing over to the other side of the office, “But how long will that last? A couple days at most? If we don’t have fuel in our bodies, we’ll grow weaker each day that passes. We should fight while we’re the fittest.”

Everyone frowned, the realisation of their situation sinking in.

“Shit,” Louis spat. “That sounds logical.”

“Obviously it’s still going to be very dangerous,” Owen said. “But while those creatures are still hunting en masse, we can use it to slip by.”

“Using other people as decoys?” Callan grit his teeth.

“Callan’s right,” Grace agreed. “I don’t like the sound of that.”

“I shouldn’t have said it like that,” Owen muttered. “But you know what I mean.”

Callan sighed, then nodded. “I do. It’s true what they say about doomsday events, isn’t it? We have to think about ourselves first and foremost. So, what’s the plan?”

Callan, and then everyone else looked straight at Owen.

“Wait,” Owen said, putting up his hands in protest. “Why are you all looking at me?”

“You seem to know the most about what’s happening,” Caroline said. “Not only that, you were the first to act when the monster arrived. I’d say you’ve earned the leader position.”

“Me, a leader?” Owen could hardly believe it. “Absolutely not. I’m going to be responsible for your lives. What if one of you gets injured. No, what if one of you dies because of what I say? I don’t think I can live with that.”

“Hey,” Louis said, scowling. “We’re old enough to decide for ourselves. If we end up getting injured then that’s just how it is.”

Owen rubbed his finger tips together. “That sounds almost mature coming from you.”

Louis grinned. “I have my moments.”

Jock still clutched at the fire extinguisher as if it was his saving grace. He muttered under his breath, “I’m with you, as well. My daughter… is at school. She needs me. She might have gotten that message and headed to the station with her mother.”

“Shit, alright,” Owen said after a moment's struggle. “But don’t be expecting miracles.”

“That’s just what I want our leader to be saying right before leading us against monsters,” Louis said sarcastically, eliciting dry laughs from everyone else.

Owen scoffed and shook his head. “Alright, let’s get prepared then. First off, Louis, what was that Fragment you got?”

Louis' smile broke out into a wide grin. He stood up and stuck out his chest. “Watch this,” he said and suddenly, a dagger that looked more like a pincer appeared in his palm.

Callan, Caroline, Grace, and Jock all looked on with amazed expressions plastered on their faces.

“What is that? How?” Callan said, almost tongue tied. Seeing something suddenly appear almost as if by magic, was a lot to take in.

“Cool, right?” Louis said then swished the blade in the air. “If I had this bad boy when that monster was here, I’d have killed it right there and then.”

“The notification when we killed it,” Owen said. “Did anyone get something similar? I know Louis and I did. We Levelled up.”

Callan nodded. “It must be when you killed it—the Draedclaw. I Levelled up to 3.”

“Same here,” Grace added.

“I didn’t get anything,” said Caroline.

“It must be because of a contribution thing,” Owen said. “Now’s the time to add the points. What’re your Talents?”

Louis was the first to speak. “4-Stars. I have 8 points to add.”

Owen clicked his tongue. That was quite good. Above average, actually.

“6,” said Callan.

Owen sucked in a breath of bloody, stale office air. He’d already known it, but hearing it in person was quite a different feeling. He was in the presence of future greatness.

“Is that good?”

“Very,” Owen said. “I don’t know much, but all of this is very similar to an RPG game, right? You have Classes, Levels, and Skills, too. 6-Stars mean you get 6 points to add to your Stats every single Level.”

“3,” said Jock.

Owen nodded. “Alright, think about adding them carefully. Each point could mean life or death, literally.”

“Owen,” Louis said. “What should I put it into? You know, I used to think you were always wasting your time playing games or reading novels. It seems like I’m eating my words.”

“Yeah, you are,” Owen replied. “Maybe go 2-1 in Strength and Vitality. Best defence is a strong offence, right?” He stopped mid-sentence, feeling a surge of urgency. He couldn't afford to stay passive—not with his friends' lives on the line. His expression hardened. “No, seriously—2-1 in Strength and Vitality. The faster we kill them, the safer we will be.”

Louis nodded and he added the points straight away. He marvelled at the change, dragging in a deep breath as he inspected his body in amazement. An instant acting steroid. It must feel amazing.

“What about me?” Callan spoke up.

“All into Magic.”

“All?” He said, almost not believing him.

“Trust me.” Those were the only words Owen could say. With his insane talent for magic, he’d most likely learn a spell on the first day. Placing all 12 points into the Magic stat pretty much guaranteed that. Maybe. Honestly, it was a gamble. But one that would pay off massively if the person in front of him really was the Iron Fortress.

The moment he did so, the chair he was holding warped, turning jagged and unrecognisable. Everyone gawked, including Owen. Callan ripped off the leg and transformed it into a crude blade. Owen’s lips twitched.

Just how talented was he, exactly? He was a monster.

“Well that’s just fucking insane, isn’t it?” Louis said with eyes wide.

“Wow,” Grace added from the side.

“Well,” Caroline said in amazement. “That’s our weapon problem solved.”

Owen smiled. Yes, yes it was.

Then, Louis turned to Owen. “Well? What Talent ranking do you have?”

Owen’s smile faded. “1.”

“1 what?” Louis asked, head tilting.

“That’s my Talent ranking. I have just the 1-Star.”

Looks of nothing but pity bit into his flesh.