I didn't lose consciousness, but it might have been better if I had. The world just kept spinning more and more while the pain in my chest got worse and worse. I don't know how long passed, but eventually I got enough of my senses back to realize I needed to heal myself, like yesterday. I cast the spell, feeling the mana rush out and condense before I grasped down on the orb. I gasped as a flood of relief shot up my right and spread through my body, nullifying some of the pain. My head cleared up, the world stopped spinning, and while everything still hurt like hell, it was at least bearable. I try to sit up, only to realize that's not a good idea when heavy pain flares up in my torso. Shit, that's my mana at?
Mana: 2403/17,632
OK, I can afford another heal. So I do just that, condense another ball of mana and crush it in my hand. The second time is just as good as the first, the soothing relief floods me, lessening pain, and even removing it completely from my left hand. I can feel my breathing get easier as the spell settles in and takes effect, causing me to take a big breath and enjoy the moment. One more heal would probably get me back in working order, or close enough to it, but I do not have the spare mana for that unfortunately. I have only fourteen hundred left, so I need to be conservative. I’m lucky my transformation did not give out, though that might have to do with the fact that I wasn't fully unconscious. I shiver a little bit remembering how painful and out of it the whole experience was. How long has it been anyway?
I wait a few minutes and just breathe, enjoying the feeling of being cognizant again. After a while I prop myself up, my stomach and chest protesting a little but not screaming bloody murder like before. Pulling off the crappy fire blanket covering me I discover that I'm almost completely naked, with everything but my panties being stripped away, and a few bandages sprinkled here and there… wonderful. My left hand is wrapped, probably to cover the cut, but as I suspect, pulling off the bandages reveals no injuries. I can see the remnants of some nasty bruising on my chest and stomach and can definitely feel them as well. My poor tits look like one of Tommy's drawings from that time he got ahold of a permanent marker. Definitely healing myself again once I get the chance. And making a personal note to throw that stupid fucking zombie off the building if I ever get the chance as well. First things first though, I should check my stats.
image [https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/_pe5a406MPLH9Cef_Dokrd0dzpPioGfFd2_FmtpzAYVU1vOGRu5ZZPIa3Z5lwyQtStc9iNRlzhUHC0j2sPNkZGRPCYw8WCtqCuwZYtMfXisYlNdZv-UTElU-cLNv0EFVYQePzW50VaAtDXdTwVUGCxo]
Damn, Mana capacity shot through the roof. And where did that extra power level come from? I know I was close to tipping over eight hundred before, but I have no idea what tripped me over the nine hundred mark. Whatever, I’ll take it. Now, what should I spend these points on? Rhetorical question, attunement, duh! Well, first I need to put one point into all the other stats. Can’t forget about that, it’d be bad if my abilities lowered because my other stats didn't keep up. So, one into each, remaining fifteen ino attunement aaaaand done!
image [https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/K3bwJGJr6En3iMRa-koMZT_OXTF83ra0ZndATEHzq7C1hb9STl2_JwKhqvBM6a3h3WVayZHiFcoTgzBPSLQWS7DuDUldxxn3xn0crp5SFFGH9I2Op_sBMsabGt5m-2yjAGoSOxXY6_5m-40xDWudr8Y]
Sweet, twenty thousand mana max. A far cry from the like three thousand I started with. So, how good is my mana regeneration now?
Mana: 1403/20,416
…
…
…
…
Mana: 1402/20,416
Well, better than before, certainly not perfect. Still, I’m close to breaking even, and once I do I won’t have to worry about running out of mana. Actually, I wonder if I could get just enough regeneration back by transforming some parts. Tail is a no go, jacket is in pieces and I don't trust just my torn to shit shirt and pants to hide it properly. Horns are also a bad idea unless I can find a hat, which I might be able to do, though it will be harder given the current ‘situation’. Eyes, definitely not going to risk that right now. It would only take one of the group members or a soldier/defender, if they ever show up, going better safe than sorry to put me up shit creek without a paddle. And I’ve been up a shitty creek to many fucking times in the last twenty four hours! Fuck! Well, I’m not gaining any mana sitting around here.
I push myself up, my mana regeneration crystal reorienting to float around me properly as various parts of my body still groaning in protest but otherwise comply. The light is low, lightly streaming in through the cracked door, but even the light outside is dim. Must be morning, and just barely at that. A quick look around the room reveals a woman sleeping in the corner. She can't be any older than thirty, and her long blonde hair is a tangled mess partially covering her face. She's so tranquil that for a moment I fear she's dead, and I'm in some kind of corpse room, until I notice her chest o so slightly moving up and down. I take a step towards her with the intention of checking on her, but stop. I should probably find something to wear first. Thankfully my cloths were in the other corner, sitting in a heap of their dried blood, demons guts, and holes….. the prospect of putting these back on versus running around naked have a legitimate battle inside my head as I decide if I really want to actually put these back on. Ultimately I let out a defeated sigh as the pro clothing argument wins with the ‘I'm already covered in blood and a walking horror’ card.
I reluctantly throw my clothing back on, save for my bra, which unfortunately became a pointy boob stabber due to the wires inside it getting snapped and mangled. I'm surprised I didn't feel that on the way up, then again my whole chest was probably numb, adrenalin is a hell of a drug. Unfortunately, halfway through getting my pants on I realize all my looted knives, forks, and my wallet are gone. Great, I basically black out and they commit highway robbery on me, I better get that wallet back. Once I finish dressing I make my way over to the sleeping lady and gently try to shake her awake. It takes a few moments, but she starts to stir.
“Hey lady, you ok?” I ask her as she slowly rouses from her sleep. Her eyes flutter open, and go wide as she shoots up and presses herself against the wall, taking a big breath like she's about to scream. Instead she freezes, takes a long stare at me, then goes from looking terrified to pissed off.
“What the hell! How are you awake! You had more bruises than actual skin and a probably fractured rib! You should be laying down!” She snaps at me. Well, good news is she’s fine at least.
“I healed myself. Most of that is gone now. So where am I? And who are you?” I ask, hoping changing the subject will divert her anger away somewhat. It doesn't.
“We’re on the twelfth floor, I’m Karen. Robert told me to watch you because you dropped and we thought you were too injured to do anything. Which is why you should be laying down!” She barks at me while trying to push me back down onto the makeshift bed of pillows and seat cushions I had been laying on. I reluctantly comply, because I still hurt a bit and I get the feeling that if I don't she'll get angry. After begrudgingly lay back down she proceeds to start poking, squeezing, and jabbing me. You know, the kinds of stuff involved in a medical checkup. When she gets to my stomach she applies a decent amount of pressure, causing me to hiss in pain, making her stop.
“See, you’re still injured. You should be laying down.” She says, sounding like she's calmed down from angry to just annoyed.
“I’m fine, it's just sore is all.”
“All you teenagers think you're invulnerable. Hold still, this might hurt a bit.” She says as she applies a little pressure onto my left ribs, before slowly increasing it and watching me for a reaction. It stings a bit by the end which makes me grunt and grit my teeth but is otherwise bearable.
“You definitely had at least two bruised, possibly cracked, ribs before. One of the reasons you were in so much pain, broken bones hurt, alot. Combined with the massive bruising on your torso it's a wonder you got back up. You said you healed yourself?” She asks, sounding at least placated by my self treatment.
“Yea, I only had enough mana for two uses though. Which is why a lot of the bruising is still there, I guess it got the broken bones though.”
“Bruised, possibly a hairline fracture, but not fully broken. Very big difference, I'm no expert but if I recall correctly only high level magic can properly heal up majorly broken bones. You're lucky, but unfortunately it didn't solve all your problems. You still need to rest.” She says while giving me a pointed look and reaching for the blanket.
“But I'm fine now?” I ask. It's pretty clear this lady has more medical training than me. Still I don't want to just lay around while the world outside continues to go to shit. Especially since that fucking cultist base it probably still active, and the shield, I remember that part. We need to get out of here as soon as we can. But I have a dreadful feeling as to why, something tells me that shield blocks more than just explosions. And if no one can get in, I highly doubt we will be able to get out.
“No you're not, I can't imagine what you've been through but you need to see a medical professional once we get out of this, plain and simple.” She says.
“And you're not?” I ask, slightly confused. Don't tell me I've been worked on by some quack wannabe. Karren, just lets out a light chuckle before explaining.
“Sort of, I got my bachelor's and nursing certification back in the day. I was planning to become a doctor until I realized my part time real-estate work made just as much money and didn't leave me miserable. So I went into this full time instead. I'll admit, it's been a while but I still remember everything I learned and the basics. I can see the look on your face, so no, my medical care isn't going to kill you. Now, I'm going to go tell Robert you're awake and moving. He's been worried you'll die on us despite my reassurances.” She says with a little smile as she stands back up and head towards the door
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She steps out, and I’m left alone with my thoughts again. Well, that and the remaining pain. A dull aching in my chest and stomach constantly reminding me that the table that smacked me did indeed do damage, and that I'm stupid for thinking it didn't. I wonder how everyone else is doing, hopefully everyone made it to the southern bunker in time. But if cultists took over the central bunker here, I don't have high hopes for the southern one honestly. This whole thing happened so fast, and is so fucked! I’m also wondering why they haven't smashed that shield. I know from history class, that our fifty midgets in a trench coat excuse for a country has the military budget to fight God and happily uses it on any demon stupid enough to set foot on our soil. Granted they can't kill everything, sometimes wild demons roam the more wild parts of the country and shit. But any previous incursions were either trampled under an exorbitant amount of soldiers and defenders or buried under half the national budgets worth of high explosives.
So as much as I dread the thought because I'm still in it, why hasn't this city been reduced to a wasteland, even with the shield? I don't like any of the answers. I let out a sigh and sit back up. I just can't stay laying down right now, I'm too on edge. I feel like I've got to do….. something, but I don't know what. All I know how to do is sit and wait. It's pretty clear that trying to get to the southern bunker won't go well. So I'm probably going to have to hang here with these guys. We'll at swats they're not cultists, oh wait that's right, those assholes are down stairs doing shit around the central bunker.
I'm moving on to things about what other crap has possibly gone wrong when faint noises get my attention. I'm not quite sure what it is at first, but as I listen more closely the sounds of distant arguing and shouting can be heard filtering through the silence from deeper into the floor. I can't tell what's being said, only that it's getting more heated and the words more charged. Well, I know the doctor said stay put, but I'm probably fine to at least walk a little bit. Beats sitting around here bored off my ass wondering what's happening anyway.
I get up and walk over to the door, I slowly turn the knob until it clicks open and I peak my head through. The door leads to a hallway that matches the rest of the office floor, light beige wood skirt and white drywall on the top. To my left are more doors, a few hanging open to reveal offices and a storage room, the rest closed. To my right are only two more doors before the hallway opens out to the main lobby of the floor. Still filled with file cabinets, desks, chairs, and more erected into makeshift barricades. I can't see the whole lobby, but I can see enough to tell that something went down while I was out. My curiosity piques so I make my way down that way to investigate, despite the still ongoing argument coming from the other way and around the corner. I only get halfway there before the smell hits me, though it might be better to say I ran headfirst into it like it was a brick wall. It was the all too familiar smell of gore and decay I smelt on the street yesterday. I knew what was waiting for me at the end of the hall, but that didn't neuter my surprise as much as I thought it would when I finally walked into the lobby turned makeshift checkpoint. Because instead of a large amount of zombie corpses strewn about like I was expecting, instead what was left of one very big and recognisable corpse laying halfway between the barricades and the now destroyed stairwell door. The top half of the super zombie was nothing but shreds of meat clinging to the lower torso, stale blood and other fluids long since frozen half flowed out of the body. It looks like someone shoved it halfway into a meat grinder before deciding to pull it back out. I think fuckboy met the business end of that dudes shotgun, and I’m all the more happy it wasn't used on me. Probably explains where the extra power level came from too. That thing almost turned me into paste last night, yet now it's dead in a brutal manner right in front of me, a surreal experience that's for sure. I’m broken out of my gaping stupor at the sight of the corpse by someone I've never seen before sitting in the middle of the barricades calling out to me. It's a very old white guy in a janitor uniform, holding what looks to be the very shotgun Robert was using last night, and the one I suspect was used to delete the upper half of the zombie.
“Hey, you. You’re finally awake. You were trying to cross the border right?” He says with a shit eating grin. Where have I heard that before? Wait…. The fucking old man just skyrim memed me! I actually don't know how to feel about that. Skyrim memed on in the middle of a demon zombie apocalypse, what a time to be alive.
“Hehehe, sorry youngin, too good an opportunity to pass up. And when you’re my age you gotta take what you can get. Since you’re up and moving you should probably go see Robert and them. They seem to be in disagreement on whatever they are currently discussing.” He says, gesturing to the hallway I was originally led down last night with his left hand, his right still holding the grip on the shotgun.
“Uhhh, thanks. But um, what the hell happened to that thing?” I ask while pointing my thumb at the giant pile of half ground meat laying in the middle of the lobby.
“Oh that? It came stomping sometime after you did apparently. They said something about it probably fought a bunch of the other ones downstairs. Either way, it broke in the door alone so Robert put it down using this shotgun here. Been quiet since then.” He says while gesturing with the shotgun. And now I’m double happy that the shotgun wasn’t used on my face instead. That stupid thing almost ran me over and turned me into goop, but it gets up here and gets fucking anhililated. All the more reason for me to stick around until this shitshow comes to an end I guess. The old man stares at me for a second, before going back to watching the broken and bent door to the stairwell in a bored manner.
“Might want to hurry over and see the others soon, sounds like they are getting a bit heated.” He says. Sure enough in the few moments we’ve been talking the noise filtering up the hall has gone from heated argument to full on shouting fest, so loud I’d be able to make out the words if they weren’t shouting over one another.
“Yea I’ll get on that, thanks.” I say, turning to head over to and down the hallway towards the noise. It only gets louder as I get closer, and I can’t tell if its because I’m getting closer or because they are getting progressively louder. By the time I make it to the conference room door from last night, the shouting is so loud I can barely hear myself think. But at least now I can understand what they are saying, so I stop with my hand of the handle and listen in for a bit before I enter.
“... She killed them! Why would you leave her unsupervised! We need to get rid of her before she does the same to us!” I hear George screaming, at least it sounds like George.
“We don’t know that! She’s a defender, she’s probably been fighting her way through the city until now!”
“Then why is she covered in so much blood?”
“Because those things infect people, George! We’re not going to tie her up or get rid of her, end of discussion. We need everyone we can get here, especially now that Billy and Clark are gone!”
“Because she killed them! She’s way too young to be a defender anyway! I bet it's fucking cultist magic or something! She probably got it from her demon overlord!”
“I’ve already shown you her fucking card! She is a real defender, she told us that big one got them and nearly got her. You saw how big it was, it broke down the door by itself, barely fit through the frame, and it took the whole mag from my shotgun to put down!”
“A convenient cover to get her up here!”
“Not everyone is out to get us George, her injuries are consistent with large blunt force trauma. The kind that normal people can't inflict. I highly doubt that she got them from Billy and Clark, that thing is a more likely cause. Why would she injure herself so badly getting in here that she couldn't do anything anyways?” Karren cuts in, trying to be another voice of reason.
“Cultist bullshit! Who knows what she has….”
“Enough Goerge! This conversation is over, my decision is final! Go help Seymore up at the front.”
George lets out what sounds like a half curse and half grumble before stomping towards the door. I step to the side as he throws it open and stomps out, stopping just in front of me as he notices my presence. He's a head taller than me, staring down at me with an anger filled piercing gaze. He opens his mouth to say something, before stopping, looking over his shoulder back into the room, then huffing and stomping off. I'm going to go out on a limb and say he doesn't like me.
“I thought I told you to lay down and rest!” Karen barks at me, having apparently noticed me when George glared at me while walking out of the room.
“Yea well, I heard yelling and didn't feel like dying alone.” I say sarcastically while stepping into the room. Which I immediately regret, because everyone is staring at me, and I look like shit. The conference room has been rearranged since last night. The guns have disappeared, probably backed into the bags sitting on the conference room table. The table itself has been pushed off to the side, creating a large space in the middle of the room that's taken up by a rolling white board with all sorts of things written on it, ranging from a poorly drawn layout of the cultist base to a diagram of the zombies. Inside the room Robert, along with a dude and lady I don't know but recognise from last night sit in chairs across the room from each other. Karen is standing near the door while Toby is leaning against the far windows of the room.
“So she’s up, is that what you were coming to tell us about Karen?” Robert asks as he turns to the blonde.
“Yes, but she should be resting. She says she healed herself but frankly I wouldn't be surprised if she still has minor fractures or worse.” Karen replies while giving me the why aren't you following instructions glare.
“Well I’m up, so what was all the arguing about? And why does that guy not like me? Fucker wanted to shoot me last night too.” I say, glancing at Karen but not darring to make eye contact.
“George is….. He was friends with Clark, he’s not taking his passing well. He’s angry with everyone, but I think he blames you particularly.” Toby says as he sits down in a plush leather chair belonging to the conference room.
“But, that wasn't my fault. Billy screamed and brought it to us.” I say, trying to defend myself.
“Yea, I’d believe it because Billy was an idiot, dude couldn't use a computer to save his life. But man was he good at sales. Why Clark wanted to go with him, to keep him out of trouble. Unfortunately it just didn't work out for them.” Toby says.
“We're getting off topic. It's good to see you awake and better Lucy. Your things are on the table. Sorry but we had to check to make sure you are actually who you say you are. Before you came up in conversation we were trying to figure out a course of action to take. Unfortunately while you were out things got worse, come take a look.” Robert says while gesturing out the window. I hesitantly cross the room, Karen and the other lady watching me while everyone else looks out the window.
My heart skips a beat and a pit opens in my stomach when I finally get across the room and look outside. The cultist base has undergone some changes while I was out. The layout is the same, but now three huge crystals float in the centers of the open areas within the walls of the compound. The mass of bodies outside the walls has only grown larger, save for a few areas along the wall it seems to thin out and even completely disperse. However, several noticeable streams of what I assume are zombies seem to be standing in lines between the outward and crystals.
“Fuck…” is all I a manage to mutter.
“Understatement, they pulled the crystals out of the bunker and set them up just before dawn started to break. Then they started herding the zombies through the walls and to the crystals. We don't know exactly what they are up to, but from what we can tell the zombies touch the crystal and get absorbed or something. Take a look for yourself.” Robert says while holding out some binoculars to me.
I take them and have a look for myself. Sure enough when I check the closest crystal I can just make out the individual bodies within the ocean, slowly marching their way forward towards the crystal. I watch as one more reaches its destination, not even bothering to reach out or anything it just walks into the crystal. The moment it makes contact it flashes, and nothing but a puff of dust remains. This repeats again, and again, and again, at all three crystals.
“So they are using them as sacrifices?” I ask while pulling the binoculars down.
“Yep, no idea why though.” Toby replies.
“Unfortunately the shield is still up. Meaning nothing gets in or out. It's taken some pretty big hits the last few hours but doesn't look like it's come close to failing at all. Which unfortunately means we are S.O.L in terms of getting rescued.” Robert says.
“So, what then? We hunker down and wait it out?” I ask.
“That was our first plan but I don't think it's a viable option anymore. They are moving too fast and help doesn't look close. The problem is we aren't exactly equipped for attacking what is effectively a cultist stronghold.” Robert says.
“Yea, we try to rush in there, we're gonna get toasted and roasted. But at this rate waiting it out is just as bad." Toby says as a thought occurs to me. No way in hell is that shotgun is legal, and I distinctly remember seeing a rifle last night. Why the hell do these people have all those weapons? Whatever, now is not the time for that kind of question.
“So we're between a rock and a hard place, but we might be able to wiggle ourselves out of it.” The man I don’t recognise says.
“I still don’t think it's a good idea. What if you all get caught, you’ll be killed.” Says the unknown woman in a pleading voice.
“And we are probably dead if we stick around here and wait.” Robert replies.
“Wait, what's not a good idea?” I ask, not caught on to whatever they seem to have been scheming during my downtime.
“Well, the cultists send out regular patrols to search the city. Sometimes they just walk around the streets, other times they search and loot buildings. They send out one group an hour, every hour, for the last six hours. The groups seem to stay out for between one and a half to two hours then head back to their base.” Toby says while pointing out the window down at the street below.
“The patrols look lightly armed. Only one or two might have a rifle of some kind and they don't have any armor we can see, just their gimmicky cult robes. So we were thinking, we might be able to jump a patrol and steal their gear, and use it to infiltrate their little camp.” Robert continues.
Wait, wait, wait, these crazy fuckers want to walk into a cultist camp? I thought I was the one supposed to be injured, but these guys have clearly hit their heads. That place is going to be a death trap and a half, not to mention the zombie horde loitering around nearby. I don’t know what black magic fuckery they use to keep the zombies under control but I’m not gonna hedge my bets that it will work for them as well.
“I know you just recovered, and judging from Karen's continued glare it isn't a full recovery. So, I’m sorry to ask this but, Lucy, would you be willing to help us sneak into the cultist camp and put a stop to them?” Robert asks me. Oh god, they wanna drag me along to die with them.