Four days passed at a snail’s pace, and worse, with no news. The system hadn’t given any more morsels for us to chew on, and, without much to do, most of that time was spent inside away from the curious eye in the sky. It was an uncomfortable feeling… being watched.

My attempts at finding out more about our Humble Abode proved useless. The skills that I didn’t own, or were gated by levels, were not selectable in the menu. It wasn’t possible to glean any more insight into what came next. I felt as if I had become a tower in a tower-defense game, simply waiting for the enemy I needed to slay to arrive.

It was on the fifth day, though, when the marvel of having warm water and beds and electricity started to be replaced by an overwhelming boredom. Alan badly wanted to explore, as did Anna and Mark. Their focus had shifted to our new professions, and I had to admit I was also tempted to mount an expedition.

The idea of finding the herbs or minerals or gems listed in our profession books was exciting. “Are we the only ones in the world with professions?” Maria asked excitedly. She was also a herbalist, like me. I was the only Alchemist of the group, though.

“I hope so,” Anna said. “That way the materials are all ours.” Which got an approving nod from both Maria and Alan. I found myself agreeing with them as well, but kept it to myself.

“You should be fine exploring in a twenty-mile diameter with the abode at center,” I said while checking my map. It was mostly greyed-out, but from what we could see it was also mostly farm land. My suggested limit wasn't based on safety concerns, but more so out of time concerns.

In the end, Lucas, Jessica and I decided to remain at the abode. The expedition was originally meant to be just the three of them, but Mark insisted on going, and with that so did Richard. By then, with so many bodies, Thomas felt obligated to go in case of emergency, and Glenn joined for any potential experience.

I felt more comfortable discussing the negatives of our situation with just Jessica and Lucas, anyway. They were level-headed, and didn’t get overly emotional when discussing the potentially horrific things that could happen.

“First and foremost,” I started, “sooner or later people are going to see us on their maps and show up. Do either of you have any rules you’d like to dictate to new arrivals? Things that would be deal breakers, and I want you to keep in mind turning them away will likely mean their deaths.”

It was silent for a minute before Jessica spoke first, “Their vibe. If they feel wrong… I suggest we turn them away.”

“Only that?” Lucas asked.

“That will be enough for me,” she answered.

I understood where she was coming from and did my best to explain it to Lucas. “Before we met you, we ran into two brothers, or cousins… I don’t remember. We did everything we could to accommodate them and help them—giving them food and water. But the feeling they gave off was not great and we didn’t allow them to come with us. Long story short they nearly killed Jessica.” I left a bit out about the sexual assault.

“What about basing it on whether they have killed other people?” Lucas asked.

“If there was a way to confirm that I would agree,” I said, “unfortunately, outside of what Jessica can detect with Inspect, we most likely can’t guarantee anything they say is truthful.”

“So we admit anyone who comes as long as they don’t feel ‘bad’?” Lucas asked again.

“I don’t know what else there is we can do,” I said. “We can make rules once they’ve admitted themselves under our abode.”

“Alright, we should discuss that then,” Jessica suggested.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

“Thoughts on house arrest?” Lucas asked.

“How about probationary period?” I said, “same thing but it just sounds nicer.”

“The probationary period, how long?” Jessica asked.

“One week, and during that time their movements are restricted,” I suggested, “they can have free access during the day, but they remain in their living quarters at night without exception. Also, any weird snooping or behavior is a no-go. We tell them from the get go about it so they know what to expect.”

“And if they don’t agree?” Lucas asked.

“They don’t have a choice but to agree. If they don’t agree I won’t allow them to stay here,” I said.

“What if they agree, you grant access, and then they decide they don’t want to follow the rules? Can you remove people?” asked Jessica and Lucas nodded. They were looking for potential loopholes.

“I don’t know if I can remove people,” I replied, “but I believe the threat of force will be enough to remove them if it comes to that.” My undead warriors looked menacing enough, but they also could be quite deadly if the threat of violence wasn’t enough.

“Fights will eventually break out and there will be disputes. We need some basic rules,” Lucas suggested. I knew that as well, with the new powers everyone had gained since the apocalypse, there was surely going to be a clash of egos. How people handled their power was a good judge of their character.

“Let’s keep it simple then: Fighting inside is strictly prohibited. Using your abilities to harm others is strictly prohibited. Verbal disputes can be taken care of if they reach a point where they might explode into violence, but that will not be our job to police. I guess the simplest rule is to be a decent human,” I said.

“Fair enough, I guess the rest can be taken as it comes” Lucas agreed. “Should we plan for the worst-case scenario?”

“Which would be?” Jessica asked him.

“The demon waves over-run us and we can’t defend this place.”

I answered, “Let’s just make it easy and say we flee. We can probably survive quite a long time in the wilderness what with potions and Thomas’ healing.” I knew it wouldn’t be that simple, but discussing something potentially far in the future when we had a lot coming up on our plate didn’t seem pertinent.

“They’re back,” Jessica said suddenly.

“It’s only been a half-an-hour though?”

“There’s three extra people with them.”

“Our first arrivals?” Lucas asked excitedly. We all stood up from the living room couch and made our way outside to greet them.

We heard the excited chatter before we even opened the door, and couldn’t immediately make out the newcomers when we stepped outside. They were thoroughly surrounded, and while that sounded ominous, the atmosphere was cheerful and happy.

Once Alan and Richard moved out of the way, we could get a good look at the new arrivals. Three haggard-looking young women. It seemed the journey to get here had been a rough one for them, and the slow depletion of the crimson sky had taken a toll.

“I’m Mike,” I said to them, “Introduce yourselves and then we can talk inside.” I could tell from the atmosphere the group had a good feeling about them, and Jessica didn’t give me any sign they failed the vibe test.

“I’m Bethany,” The first spoke. She was the tallest of the three, somewhere around 5’9 and just slightly shorter than Richard. Her hair was orange, and, bathed in the crimson sky, almost looked demonic. Her shoulders were broad and the exposed muscles were toned and refined, indicating she had put a lot of points into STR. The sword and shield suggested she was a melee class of some kind, probably a tank.

“Are you a tank?” I asked her to be sure.

“I’m a knight.” She said.

“Welcome to our humble abode,” I said. It sounded cheesy, but rolled off the tongue quite nicely. I looked to the next, “And you?”

“I’m Nicole.” Funnily enough, Nicole was very similar to Bethany. She was a few inches shorter, but her body still held the explosive power gained from having a high STR stat and fighting in melee. She also wielded a mace and shield, and I felt a sense of deja vu before looking at Richard.

“Are you… also a tank?”

“And kind of an off-healer…” she replied. I couldn’t help but wonder if this was normal or an extreme coincidence. Maybe those two classes were just very common?

I repeated the same line, “Welcome to our humble abode.” The way these three survived was becoming quite clear, and before the last even introduced herself I knew she must have been a healer.

“And you are?”

“I’m Rebekah, but you can call me Bekah.” A soft spoken, yet soothing voice escaped her lips. It almost had a calming tranquility to it. Her brunette hair twirled at the ends and her eyes sparkled. She was the shortest of the three, and most petite. The signs of STR were not there, and instead she had a mystical, intelligent quality about her.

“What class are you?” I asked.

“I’m a druid.”

“A healer then?”

“Yes, I’m a healer.”

“Welcome to our humble abode. Let’s all continue to talk inside so we can better get to know each other.” The three were smiling and then walked forward with the rest of the group. As they came into the doorway, the system notified me and asked if I wished to accept them.

Yes

The decision was a complete no-brainer. Two new tanks and a healer? Who could say no to that?