As the group continued to walk down the street, they would occasionally come across small groups of zombies that were wandering around aimlessly, passing through the cars that were strewn throughout the streets.
The four of them did their best to avoid a fight as much as they could but they occasionally would engage a small group when necessary. Since both Grant and Jeff were growing in strength, it became easier and easier for them to deal with the low leveled zombies.
Eventually and without much hassle, the group arrived at the intersection where the gun shop was located.
Before they could make a break for the building though, a loud roar echoed throughout the area. It sounded like a lion on vocal steroids had just let loose its loudest and most ferocious roar.
Immediately following the roar, Grant and the rest of the group went on high alert. They could tell from the intensity and volume of the roar that whatever had caused it, was clearly stronger than anything that they had faced up until that point.
No one knew where the roar came from but they didn't have to wait long because moments after the sounded stopped echoing throughout the area, they noticed a cat of sorts walking out from the parking lot that was diagonally across from them. Cat was a loose term in this case though seeing as the cat in front of them was nearly the size of a full grown Great Dane, as wide as a large motorcycle, with thick limbs and torso.
The cat stood directly between them and their intended destination so they had two choices, fight or run.
Grant couldn't stop his body from tensing up when he looked at the oversized cat. Just by looking at it, every cell in his body was screaming danger and urging him to turn tail and run away.
Forcing himself to stay composed, Grant drew his sword from its scabbard and readied himself for a fight that may very well end with his death.
Subconsciously he knew he wouldn't be able to flee unless he used the other three as bait but he refused to succumb to such thoughts so the only choice that he had at this point, was to fight.
Grant noticed that although his body was sending warning signals to his mind non-stop, his mind itself was surprisingly clear given the situation. He didn't give it much thought though because he had no time for distractions at this point.
While the cat was creeping ever closer, Grant glanced at the other people in his group and noticed that they were all rooted to the spot, except for Jeff. He seemed to still be thinking clearly because he had his spiked bat in hand, with a sour look on his face, while glancing around him as if trying to formulate a plan. Out of the corner of his eye, Jeff seemed to notice Grant looking at him because he turned towards him and gave him a curt nod before facing the large cat once again.
In the time that it took Grant and Jeff to exchange glances, the cat had gotten within range to pounce. It moved into the position that a typical house cat would use while it was trying to sneak up and ambush some sort of target.
Grant could tell from the stance the cat was taking, that he was most likely the target of the impending attack.
[Unsurprisingly, it's going to attack me... It's a curse being this good looking, I swear..]
Before Grant could even say anything to warn Tres and Matt of the impending attack, the cat unleashed all the tension it was building in its attack stance and lunged forward.
Suddenly extremely focused, Grant wasn't sure if the cat deemed him the only threat because he was clearly the strongest of the group, or if he was the target merely because he was the closest to the cat itself but that didn't matter at the moment because the second the cat moved, Grant put all of his newfound strength into his legs to dive away from the Incoming attack. Just narrowly dodging the outstretched claw of the cat, Grant rolled a few more times before he sprang to his feet.
The moment the cat's paws hit the ground, it quickly redirected its momentum and lunged at Grant once again, while the cat was distracted going for Grant, Jeff attempted to strike the cat from behind with the spiked baseball bat.
The bat never even came remotely close to hitting the cat though, because the second it sensed the incoming attack, it had leapt out of the weapons trajectory.
Clearly Jeff's speed wasn't up to snuff and it was unlikely he would be able to strike the cat without its speed being hindered in some way. Grant himself was just barely on the same level of the cat, if not slightly behind in terms of speed.
Not even mentioning the other two, it seemed like Grant would be the only one who even had a chance at fighting the big cat. Jeff seemed to notice this fact too, because he slowly started to back away from the scene.
Grant saw what he was doing and had an idea of what Jeff was about to pull, but he didn't want to believe it.
As if to prove Grant's assumption correct, a few moments later, Jeff turned around and started sprinting away from the impromptu battleground with all his strength.
Grant was incensed because rather than trying to cooperate with each other to make sure that they could all survive the fight, he ran away!
Clearly he was more interested in his own survival than anyone else's at this point and unlike Grant, had no qualms with sacrificing someone else so that he could live.
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Matt and Tres also noticed Jeff's movements but they both hesitate for a moment before looking at Grant and giving him a look that seemed to express their apology at his fate, before they too turned tail and ran away.
Seeing this all happening, Grant became more and more livid. "Guys, where the fuck are you going?! Help me fight this thing! We can beat it if we work together!"
Unfortunately, they either didn't hear him or didn't care about his life any longer because they didn't even hesitate in their steps.
"FUCKING COWARDS!"
The cat seemed to realize that the three people that were moving away from the location of the fight no longer posed a threat, because instead of keeping itself angled to see both parties, it turned and faced Grant completely.
At that moment, Jeff paused and looked back towards Grant before he yelled out, "Sorry man! It's everyone for themselves in a situation like this! But don't worry, once that cat kills you and eats your body, I'll make sure to come back and take your sword!" and with that said, he turned and ran once again.
Grant, enraged by Jeff's words couldn't stop himself from yelling back, "Fuck you dude! You'll never get my Wet Noodle! I'll take this thing to hell with me before I let you have it!"
Hearing what Grant said, Jeff actually stumbled for a second before he looked back at Grant incredulously after regaining his balance.
"What the fuck? Is that sword called Wet Noodle?" was the last thing Grant heard before Jeff and his two friends disappeared around the corner of a building.
The moment that the group disappeared around the corner, the big cat finally made it's move again. Grant once again dove to the side in an attempt to avoid the attack as he had the first time but the cat seemed to predict that he would dodge in the direction that he did because it managed to swipe at Grant's leg as he moved, which caused a deep gash across the top of his thigh.
With blood spilling down the side of his leg, and knowing now that his movement would be restricted, Grants mind worked at top speed trying to come up with a viable strategy to get away form the cat. The more he thought about it though, the more dire the situation seemed.
The big cat, seeing that it had managed to inflict damage on its prey, once again attacked.
Since the cat was lunging through the air trying to tackle him or bite at his neck, Grant dove down and forward instead of moving to either side or backwards. A split second after he hit the ground, the cat flew over the top of him.
Unfortunately, because of the angle that Grant dove at, he wasn't able to attack the cat as it passed over him. The only thing that he managed to achieve, was a second or two more to try and formulate a plan.
While Grant was struggling to get to his feet, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that someone was running towards him and the cat. He was hopeful that some random passerby had seen him and was coming to assist, but it turned out that it was Tres. It appeared that he had come back to help him. Before Grant could even react to Tres' reappearance though, the cat also noticed Tres and instead of attacking Grant, it immediately attacked Tres.
"WATCH OUT TRES!" was all that Grant managed to get out before the cat was on top of Tres, both figuratively and literally. Pinning Tres to the ground, the cat roared before opening its jaws and biting down on Tres' exposed neck. While chocking on the blood that immediately filled his throat and ignoring the pain of the cat's jaw on his neck, Tres wrapped both arms and legs around the neck and heal of the cat, as if he was trying to hold it down.
Seeing what Tres was trying to accomplish, Grant roared at the top of his lungs and forced his legs to move as fast as they could and despite the pain of his wound and the blood flowing down his leg, he charged at the now bundle of big cat and Tres.
Grant managed to reach the two in a split second and just before he got to the two of them, he raised his Wet Noodle high into the air and brought it straight down into the head of the cat.
The sword immediately pierced straight through the head of the cat and embedded itself into the ground right next to Tres' head.
[Congratulations on killing Ferocious Agile Cat Level 16.
You have reached level 10.
Gained ten status points to be distributed freely.
You have absorbed +10 Strength, +24 Agility, +10 Health, and +15 Stamina.
You have gained +250 Credits and 5 Random Rolls for successfully leveling up.]
Without even looking at the message, Grant struggled to kneel down next to the now dead cat and drag the choking Tres out from under it. The cat which had been attempting to crush Tres' wind pipe opened its jaws momentarily in pain when its head was pierced which released Tres from between its jaws.
Once Grant got Tres free from the cat, he started to examine the wound in his neck. Grant took his shirt off in an attempt to stem the constant flow of blood but he knew it was a fruitless effort because Tres' neck, at least externally, looked like shredded meat which meant internally it probably wasn't much better.
Tres saw the look on Grant's face and knew that their was nothing that Grant could do and his life was probably going to come to an end momentarily. Before that moment came though he struggled to say, "Thank you... *cough* for trying to.. *cough cough* protect me. Be wary of Jeff... *cough* he will come back like he said.. *cough cough*" and with those final words, the light in his eyes dimmed and he breathed his last.
Grant let out another roar after seeing the light fade from Tres' eyes.
[Fuck fuck fuck! If those two bastards had just worked with me then we could have avoided this! I know that everyone is just trying to survive but do we have to abandon our humanity to achieve that?! That's not living! That's just surviving at someone else's expense! FUCK!]
Grant just sat next to Tres' body for a few more minutes, boiling with rage, before he struggled to his feet, walked over to the dead cat, and pulled his sword from its head.
The day wasn't over yet and he couldn't stay out here in the open where another one of those cats or maybe even something more dangerous could find and attack him.
Before he left though, Grant made sure to say a small prayer for Tres and thank him for sacrificing himself so that he could live. He had no idea why someone he had just met would do such a thing, but he was grateful nonetheless. Tres was probably the only one who knew why he had done what he had done.
Grant, using Wet Noodle in its scabbard as a cane, dragged himself to the gas station that was located on the corner nearest to him.
He wasn't sure if Jeff and Matt had gone to the gun store but he didn't want to take the chance of running into them while he was injured and unable to move freely. And since he could hardly walk, he had to settle for the closest place to himself.
Luckily for Grant, the gas station had a bathroom whose door was located on the outside of the building, had no windows, and only the one door. Which meant he only had to focus on the one entrance to make sure no one uninvited appeared.
Cautiously, Grant opened the door and peered inside. Luckily, it was an open bathroom with no stalls or anything that could hide a zombie or monster so when he saw no monsters, he was sure it was safe.
He dragged himself into the bathroom, locked the door, and then sat down with his back to the door.
Before his ass even hit the floor, Grant was crying. The events of today would leave a scar on his heart for a long time to come.