~~~Stanley~~~
Carrying himself through the air was already feeling like second nature, even after only one night of doing so. Flying out the window in broad daylight was something else entirely.
Stanley felt the breath catch in his throat when the ground fell away below. He'd flown the night before, flown a lot, and much higher than this, but it was a whole different experience in the light.
Stanley moved himself back to the rooftop rather than continue. He hovered there, well back from the edge, and tried to catch his breath from the sudden rush. He watched the sky for more of the damn birds while also looking at the new notification which appeared as soon as he left.
Resisted: [Miasma]
That was a positive message, the resisting part, not the rest. It was also uncooperative and failed to provide him with any additional information about what miasma was exactly. Didn't it mean something like bad air? Whatever it was, and wherever it was coming from, he'd resisted it, most likely because of the trait that was costing him cores.
Stanley wasn't sure if he wanted the miasma to be super serious, just so he could feel better about his damn trait...
Meanwhile, the air smelled much better outside despite the so-called miasma, and he hadn't realized just how bad it had gotten inside the building with all the dead rats and pigeons. It also seemed like maybe the birds had learned their lesson after getting slaughtered the night before, and the few he spotted were staying well clear of the building.
Or maybe it was the miasma?
Whatever it was, they didn't stay far enough. Stanley reached out and touched them, which he was pleased to realize he could do even at long range. It was a strain, but they died like the rest, and he dragged the corpses closer until the cores appeared.
+0.1 Vitality
+0.1 Wisdom(Wisdom +0.1 Fortification)
Debuff Upgraded: [Hungry]
Caffeine wanted to run around the rooftop, but Stanley could see and smell the bird shit everywhere up here and didn't let the pug go. Instead, he carried them to the edge and hovered there while trying to get used to the feeling of seeing the ground so far away.
He also used the great view to scan the area, looking for something specific... and finding it. At least, it looked right from here...
They left the rooftop behind a minute later, and Stanely reveled in the exhilaration of flying this time, despite the vertigo. This was a side of his power he hadn't ever explored, and it felt awesome! This was freedom! Even if it was a little terrifying... and cold.
If not for that, he could have flown even faster, and just thinking about it made Stanley consider how he might go about blocking the wind from hitting him, or at least his face. Maybe some goggles... But that was for later. Right now, he had a more urgent goal of finding food. That was where his height played a key role, and Stanley flew toward the large building in the distance that looked considerably like a supermarket.
A few birds wandered close as he flew, coming to inspect the oddly shaped thing up here with them, and paid with their lives for the curiosity. Below, he passed over entire neighborhoods of what looked like apartments, or maybe condos. There was movement down there, but he stayed high enough that he couldn't tell if it was people or more monster-sized animals.
The store was what he'd expected, and Stanley dropped lower as he approached, looking for a suitable weapon before heading inside.
His fighting the night before had highlighted the advantages of attacking indirectly when it came to total power expended. Of course, many of his makeshift weapons had not survived the abuse he inflicted upon them, so he found an alternate solution in the signposts littering the parking lot.
Tearing them out of the ground was easy enough, and shattering the leftover concrete off the ends only took a few hits, leaving him with two steel pipes. Not wanting a repeat of his mistakes, Stanley practiced throwing them with both his arms and his mind, though his arms were pathetic in comparison... His mind, on the other hand, did a great job wrecking the cars still in the lot.
He could have claimed more pipes, but it was already hard enough to aim with only one, though using his arm in the throwing process seemed to help with aiming... somehow. It was probably psychosomatic or something. With two, he could carry one in each hand, and even if he only attacked with one at a time, it was better to have a backup.
The signs he ripped from the top of each post were thin metal sheets that might make good weapons themselves, but they felt too fragile, and he wanted something that would survive a lot of collisions before having to be replaced. So the pipes were it.
Turned out that he wasn't the only one with designs on raiding the supermarket, though the expected looter mob only comprised a small group of people spilling out of the doors in a rush... as if they were running from something.
Stanley slowed to a stop in the air, and his hands tightened around the metal poles while Caffeine huffed.
One noticed him and said something to the others, who all slid to a halt, staring up at him in shock. The woman in the group glanced fearfully back the way they had come. Another man stepped ahead of the group… "You have to help us!" He stumbled then, falling to his knees and catching himself with blood-stained hands. "The monsters…"
Stanley wrapped one arm around Caffeine a moment before he tried to jump twenty feet to the ground. The pug had been far too bold lately...
"You have powers! You can save them!" the man shouted.
Stanley frowned. They looked fucked up... like they'd been in a fight, and he could hear screaming inside the building. This was precisely what he didn't want to be involved with.
"Please, you have to help them!" another of the group cried.
The screaming from inside stopped, and all of them glanced back.
Stanley needed food, but it didn't have to be from this particular store, did it? He sighed.
Collecting a few more cores wouldn't hurt, and he could play the hero if it wasn't too bad in there. Though looking at the dark interior through the front doors gave Stanley a better idea. Why should he wander inside a potentially monster-infested and dark building when he could just destroy it instead?
On that thought, he planted one pipe in the asphalt, deep enough that no one would steal it, and used his free hand to keep Caffeine from running. Stabbing the ground also let him test his weapon and strength while also sending a warning to the people nearby.
That wasn't the whole truth. He did it because he wanted to see if he could, and it was cool. Though he should have let go beforehand. Now his hand was stinging from the vibration...
Stanley flew back into the sky, still loving the feeling and ignoring the calls from the humans as he moved above the store's roof. Let's see what's hiding inside.
He held his pipe ready to throw and ripped a hole through the roof... or at least that was his intention.
The roof completely failed to break under his power...
So Stanley threw his pipe, aiming for a skylight... and it ricocheted off what should have been plastic.
You have attacked a Lair Structure. All Lair Residents notified of the attack.
That was unexpected, and his pipe had even deformed slightly from the impact... What the fuck is a lair?
Stanley considered looking for a different place to find food, but for all he knew, they would all be like this. Also, he was curious about what might be inside and whether it might help him gain power faster than the god-awful slow-ass grind he was stuck with now.
He didn't go back to the front right away; instead, trying the side and rear doors first. Unfortunately, they all proved as resilient as the skylight, and all refused to open. Even when he reached his power inside to shove the door bars, which should've unlocked them.
The other people were still there when he made it back around to the front doors, and they watched warily as he approached. Their wariness didn't extend to keeping quiet, though.
"They're dying in there! Why are you wasting time?"
He ignored them, retrieving his extra pipe before flying closer and dropping to ground level at the broken glass doors. In fact, all the glass at the front was broken...
Stanley also watched the other people warily as he passed, ready to defend himself in case this was some elaborate trick, but they only watched from a distance. In fact, they looked just as wary as he felt.
Caffeine woofed softly at them and leaned as far as he could, trying to get a sniff.
You have entered a Lair. [Verdant Echo]
The message was less than helpful about what a lair was. But apparently they had names? Inside, it was dark. Not entirely, as the skylights still let some light through, but it still wasn't enough to make him comfortable, and Stanley looked up as soon as he cleared the doors. Always look up when there are monsters around. He'd learned that last night...
It looked clear enough in the dim light, and he flew close to the ceiling. He would have preferred to attack from high above the entire building, but since the roof was indestructible, this would have to do.
Below, the others followed him inside, which was surprising since Stanley thought they'd have run away. Did they care that much about whoever was in here? They'd run out before... or did they have that much faith in his power?
He didn't see any sign of whoever had been screaming as he flew deeper inside, still hugging the ceiling. All that stood out was a faint red glow at the far end of the store... He couldn't tell what or who was making it.
The people who'd begged for help and followed him inside were moving as a group below and behind him, also toward the glow. A light sprang up, and Stanley glanced down to see one of them was holding a ball of fire in his hand, and he hurled it down the aisle at the red light. So they obviously had magic...
Stanley waited to act. It looked like they knew what was back there... they could lure it out. He heard an explosion echo through the building, but never got to see the monsters, because his world descended into screaming pain immediately afterward.
Debuff: [Deafened]
Debuff: [Concussed]
A shockwave of screeching sound clapped against his skull, and then immediately vanished when his ears exploded. Going deaf didn't help, the sonic waves still pummeled his head like a drum, and he plummeted out of the air. Something he only realized once he hit the ground with a bone-breaking impact and a few more notifications that somehow still came through the brain rattling agony.
Debuff: [Crippled]
Debuff Removed: [Deafened]
His ears popped, sound returning, and immediately burst again.
Debuff: [Deafened]
Stanley tried to get up, his hands pushing against the floor while it tilted wildly under him, his legs violently protesting any motion with bone-grinding agony. Then a searing pain drove between his shoulder blades and sent him back to the floor.
Debuff: [Paralyzed]
Debuff: [Bleeding]
His legs stopped hurting... and he barely felt the next impact on his back. Just a dull thud...
Debuff Upgraded: [Critical Bleeding]
Then the burning pain in his back dug inward, turning into a deep ache inside his chest, followed by a growing chill and numbness that spread a crushing weight through his body.
The pain faded away beneath the leaden ice filling him... everything was fading... even the cessation of those waves against his head was far away...
Stanley could feel the cold taking him. The heat of his body flowing away, leaving him. He could feel it rushing out, draining away, and he knew he was dying...
Just like that. It was over. All that work training on the truck... all his insistence on getting stronger... it was all for nothing... he had failed... and now his brother would be alone.
Lee... Stanley's thoughts were thick and sluggish as the world spun slowly away and he sank into the dark.
No...
Debuff Downgraded: [Heavy Bleeding]
Buff: [Sonic Shield]
The thud of his heartbeat starting up again was deafening in the swallowing darkness. A drumbeat that felt as if it would shake the world. Along with it came a spark of painful heat in his chest.
Stanley still couldn't move, couldn't breathe... but the heat was growing.
Debuff Downgraded: [Bleeding]
Debuff Removed: [Deafened]
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Debuff Upgraded: [Famished]
Sound faded back into his awareness and brought with it voices. "...were going to have trouble with this one, but he went down like a bitch, just like all the rest!" The voice laughed.
"Yea, you took down one guy," a different voice said. "How amazing."
There was still a faint background screaming… then it faded slightly.
"Where did the dog run off to?" the first voice again.
Stanley's mind was thick and sluggish, the words he heard all nonsense mutterings underwater, but one word broke through. Dog.
Caffeine... where's Caffeine... The thought dragged him further toward the light.
"It's just a pug. Who cares?"
The screaming in the background faded more, and Stanley's lungs started itching.
"It's killing the flowers," the first voice said, "Go kill it." Stanley finally recognized it as the man who had spoken to him outside. Outside...
It was all coming back to him. He'd flown into the store... the other people... they'd attacked something...
"No way is the pug killing them! It's probably already dead. The flowers are just stopping on their own."
"Clara, put your shield on them. Sturgeon, go and..."
"I ain't going nowhere. This cores mine, and you know it."
Core... what were they were talking about... what core?
"Fine," the man spoke again. "Clara, shield them and keep your dome here. All of you go get that dog."
Debuff Removed: [Concussed]
Right behind the notification, clarity came rushing into Stanley's mind and he started looking for a way out of this mess. He needed to fly away... but he couldn't feel his legs...
There was some grumbling among the voices, a few flashing lights against his eyelids, and then footsteps vanishing behind the faint screaming.
They were splitting up. That was good. But they split to hunt the pug... to hunt Caffeine! Which didn't make any sense... Caffeine had run away, and Stanley couldn't blame him. That sonic attack had been awful. At least Caffeine hadn't gotten hurt on the landing...
"Where's the core?" a man said, and it wasn't the leader. So probably Sturgeon.
"It takes longer to form with stronger enemies; you know that." That was the leader. "This guy had to be F-grade, at least." Something shook Stanley's body, like he'd been kicked, but he didn't feel it.
"As if anyone could get past F-grade..."
They were talking about him... about his core... they'd tried to kill him... and almost succeeded.
Debuff Removed: [Paralyzed]
Debuff Upgraded: [Starving]
It was all Stanley could do not to cry out or flinch as the full sensation of his body came back all at once. It helped that the pain was bad enough to lock up his muscles completely. He couldn't move if he wanted to.
His legs, especially his knees, ached with a throbbing pulse, probably from when he hit the ground. His back was worse, though, and Stanley still felt like something was sitting on his chest. Then the growing itch to cough started a timer on how much longer he could pretend to be dead.
The one bright side was his hand still clutching the pipe. He must have held on through everything, and it gave him a weapon ready to go.
Now the next step was to find his targets.
Stanley didn't dare open his eyes, but drew in the shallowest of breaths his body was demanding. Just a little, only enough to ease the pain, and it was almost too much. The choking urge to cough welled up in his throat...
Instead of coughing, Stanley reached out with his power as he did with the truck for so long, trying to feel what was around him. He couldn't push very hard, or they might notice, and he wasn't sure how dangerous this group was. From what little he'd heard so far, he didn't think they were the ones who knocked him out of the air.
They had a shield to block the sound... but one of them had definitely stabbed him in the back... Stanley could still feel the hole. Holes... fucker had stabbed him twice!
"What skill are you hoping for, Sturgeon?" the leader said, his voice almost directly above.
Stanley tensed. Holding his already shallow breath as he finally felt out the forms looming around him—two almost directly over him and one off to the side.
"I want that flying skill," Sturgeon said.
It sounded like the woman was the further one, and she was also the one creating the shield. He didn't want to be subjected to that sonic attack again, so Stanley lined up his attack on the leader, the one he suspected of stabbing him, power focusing as he prepared to throw the pipe.
He needed to end this quickly and find Caffeine...
"I bet you would like that," the leader said, moving abruptly next to the other man. "But like you said..." Stanley's touch on them didn't give enough of a picture for him to see what happened, but it looked like he'd attacked the other man. "You ain't going nowhere." Were they killing each other?
The wet gurgle from Sturgeon was interrupted by the woman's gasp. Then someone fell almost on top of Stanley and didn't move again. What the hell? Stanley cracked his eyes open and found two eyes staring back at him from the floor mere inches away.
"Are... are you going to kill me too!" the woman's voice sounded scared, almost panicked, but the man's glazed eyes staring lifelessly back at him held Stanley's vision in place. The man sure looked... dead, and while Stanley had never seen a dead body in person before, he still knew he was looking at one now. There was just something...
"Relax, Clara. You're still useful. Sturgeon's been getting a bit too cocky for his own good. He forgot who's in charge around here."
"The others..."
"The others know who's the fucking boss!" the man yelled and Stanley almost flinched. Then his voice was calm again, menacing. "I might even let you have Sturgeon's core... little shit thinking he can take..." The man's voice had drawn Stanley's gaze, and he looked up just in time to meet the widening eyes of the very alive killer. Stanley saw his pupils dilating, recognition dawning, and muscles tensing...
He threw the pipe. He threw it harder and faster than before, putting everything he had into pinning the man to the ceiling...
Clyde reacted at the same time.
It all happened in a blur, and then the man had a pipe impaling his shoulder when he stopped sliding back. Meanwhile, Stanley was flying away, at least right until he passed some kind of invisible barrier, and the deafening screech in his head drove him almost reflexively back.
Buff Removed: [Sonic Shield]
Buff: [Sonic Shield]
"How the hell are you still alive?" Clyde demanded, while ripping the pipe out of his flesh. It had penetrated a disappointingly shallow distance. "I got your heart. I know I did!"
The man's words brought back the chill from earlier. That was what he had suspected but hadn't wanted to believe, couldn't believe. People died if they got stabbed in the heart... Stanley didn't answer or wait to see what would happen.
He grabbed the man around the waist and lifted him up, intending to suspend the man above the ground and render him helpless. It worked, sort of, but the bastard was heavy as shit! Lifting his entire truck off the ground had been easier than this...
The woman took a step away while he was struggling with the man, and Stanley pointed a finger at her. She froze. As far as he knew, she was the source of the shield, and it would probably move with her. He couldn't let her run away.
"Move..." Stanley meant to threaten her, but the cough he'd been fighting down finally chose this moment to escape. He noticed the man moving even as he choked and hacked, but couldn't do more than try to block whatever was coming.
Something struck his mental shield hard and forced Stanley backward in the air. It was a knife. An ugly, cruel-looking bloody knife.
Stanley could see the pool of blood where he'd been lying, and it was so big... His back was still wet, and he could see the trail of blood that was still dripping from his feet. He felt light-headed... but still blocked the thrown knife.
Unfortunately, he dropped Clyde in the process. The man charged instantly... and Stanley threw the knife back.
The bastard snatched it out of the air like it was nothing, and then he was in melee range...
Stanley couldn't fly away without leaving the shield... but the door was right there. He could probably make it outside and just fly into the sky. Their chatter from before seemed to show that none of them had a flying skill... though it sounded like they might already be F-grade. Still, if they couldn't fly then they couldn't do shit to catch him.
The only other issue was Caffeine. Hadn't they mentioned something about him running deeper inside?
Obviously, that was bullshit. Caffeine had to be outside. So Stanley went that way.
He pushed the man to the side as he charged, sending the knife further from his body while pushing himself in the opposite direction. Stanley even added a shove to the man's back as he passed, hoping to send him out of the shield where he should be easy pickings.
It didn't work out nearly as well as he hoped. The man did indeed leave the protection, but only staggered slightly on his way back in. Seemed his F-grade body held up better against the attack than Stanley's.
In a bout of inspiration, Stanley grabbed the woman and dragged her with him away from Clyde. That proved more successful, though she was heavy as fuck too! What was wrong with these people? Aside from being murdering psychos, obviously.
Unfortunately, Clyde sprinted after him despite the pain he had to be feeling, and he was fast.
Stanley was over the row of checkouts and he threw everything around him directly at the man in a storm of debris.
The man blasted straight through the mess with barely a stumble, even punching aside an entire checkout table without missing a beat. So Stanley picked him up and threw him deeper into the store.
It took a lot of effort, and his flight suffered from the distraction.
He saw the woman still in his mental grip reaching his way and glanced over just in time to take a blinding flash to the eyeballs.
Stanley dropped her, more out of shock than intention, and with an added mental slap toward the ground as he did so.
She screamed, but he guessed it was likely only reflexive. Given she was as heavy as Clyde, which probably meant they were both F-grade, he doubted the fall would hurt.
Buff Removed: [Sonic Shield]
She didn't go that far, so she must have dropped the skill on purpose. Fortunately, the screech that assaulted his ears wasn't nearly as debilitating, but it still sucked. It also disrupted his concentration even further after the flash, and Stanley didn't realize Clyde was back until a burning fire ran down his leg.
Debuff Upgraded: [Heavy Bleeding]
He pushed everything away from himself, eyes still useless, and found his target by the simple fact that it was the heaviest thing around.
Stanley latched onto him, immobilizing the man while he drew out the only weapon he'd kept from the skyscraper. A fancy letter opener.
It wasn't much, not even very sharp, but he threw it point first. Ideally, he would send it through the man's eye, straight to the brain. Unfortunately, Stanley was still blinking spots from his vision and he missed... barely.
The little silver knife stabbed into the man's nose... Sadly, it didn't go to the brain via that route and instead lodged on the bone.
Stanley was unprepared for how fast the man ripped it out and then threw it right back. He didn't even see the whole maneuver. The man's arm whipped forward, and something punched Stanley in the chest, leaving a cold line straight out his back.
There was a moment of distant panic, where Stanley expected that horrible chill to reclaim him... to drag him back into the dark... Instead, he only choked on his own blood and coughed violently.
Then the monster was before him, face dripping blood where he'd nearly cut his nose in half, and his own knife plunging toward Stanley's face.
Stanley grabbed him, his fear and anger growing to rival the pain as he forced the man into immobility. His head pounded from the effort, and Stanley slammed the man into the ground as hard as he could. Then he did it again, this time flipping him upside down to go headfirst. Then again. Then he threw him at the woman when she showed herself with hands pointing his way.
He should have kept flying.
The man collided with the woman and, without hesitation, threw her back at him... Stanley wasn't ready, and she slammed into him before he could stop her.
Somehow, Stanley felt the man coming as he untangled himself from the woman. He pushed against the incoming blow, pulling himself in the opposite direction... and the knife plunged into his ribcage.
Debuff Upgraded: [Critical Bleeding]
"Just die already, you fucking cockroach!" the man screamed as Stanley threw him away with one last herculean effort... but the voice was distant, far away, and muddled in the growing darkness that was dragging him back down.
No... not again... Not like this...
Stanley tried to flee. Tried to fly fast... but he could see the daylight behind the man leaping after him. He'd gotten turned around... and everything was going black again.
He saw the man leaping toward him, one hand outstretched to catch him, the other high with a dripping blade poised to strike.
Stanley tried to push him away again, tried to pull himself away, but everything felt too heavy...
A hand caught his shirt, and the blade plunged.
~~~Caffeine~~~
Caffeine spit out another bite of flower. They didn't taste good, but they were screaming at Dearest Human and hurting him, so Caffeine had to bite them to make them stop. It was gross, but Dearest Human needed lots of help.
Another flower started screaming, and Caffeine ran after it. He was in the wonderful food place and there was food to eat everywhere! But he had to bite the flowers instead.
Caffeine didn't eat the flowers. He was saving his stomach for after when Dearest Human would for sure share all the wonderful smelling food! Then they would eat and eat and nap and nap. It would be the best!
"Fucking hit it already!" One of the Not Dearest Humans chasing him said something, but Caffeine didn't stop. They weren't nice. They didn't offer him any food, only chased. Chasing was fun! But they chased with meanness, not with fun or play. He could smell them now. They were bad Dearest Humans! This was why it was always better to smell new Not Dearest Humans. Smells were good for finding Friends and Not Friends.
But Dearest Human didn't let him smell the Not Dearest Humans. Now they were Not Friends. Very Not Friends!
The next screaming flower tasted just as bad as the first. Just as bad as they all did. Flowers were not food!
While he was chewing it to make it stop screaming, one of the Not Dearest Humans caught up in the chasing and tried to hit Caffeine. That was not nice. That was mean!
Caffeine didn't want to bite them. Dearest Human didn't like it when he tried to bite bad Not Dearest Humans, but Dearest Human wasn't watching... and they were trying to stop Caffeine from biting the Bad Flowers that were hurting Dearest Human. Which meant that they wanted Dearest Human to be hurt!
That made them Very Bad Humans!
Bad Humans deserved to get a bite, so Caffeine bit the next one that tried to stop him. The Bad Human screamed, and another one threw fire at Caffeine!
"That's for trying to hurt Dearest Human!" Caffeine barked at them as he ran to the next flower. There were a lot of bad flowers in this food place.
"The little shit almost took my hand off!" the Bad Human didn't like getting a bite. He should be good then!
"Then stop just chasing it and kill it!" another of the Bad Humans said.
"I'm fucking trying! How is a goddamned pug so fast!"
Caffeine bit another flower, and it stopped screaming. Still tasted bad, though.
"He's wiping out the trap! Clyde is going to kill us..." They were still talking, but Caffeine didn't listen as he chased the very fastest after the last screaming flower.
Just one more and he wouldn't have to eat anymore gross flowers! Then they would have Pizza! or Sausage! or Bacon! or... or... maybe... Chicken! Yes, Chicken! That would be the best! Caffeine could smell some in this food place... Dearest Human would make it hot and delicious!
Then Caffeine smelled something very bad... it was Dearest Human's blood! Too much of it! Dearest Human was hurt! The Bad Humans were hurting him!
Caffeine bit the Bad Human that tried to block the last flower. That Bad Human was making a not warm light that hurt when it shined, so Caffeine bit him very hard, and he stopped being alive...
It was bad to do that. Caffeine knew it was bad, but right now he didn't care if Dearest Human was mad at him. He would rather Dearest Human scream and yell than for him to be hurt... and he could smell Dearest Human hurting very bad!
The flower stopped screaming when he bit it, and Caffeine bit the next Bad Human even harder. "He Is My Dearest Human!" Caffeine growled his warning at them, but they wouldn't listen... They hit Caffeine and made bad lights that hurt and threw mean things at him.
So he bit them all very hard and very fast, and made them stop being alive. It wasn't nice... but they weren't nice either.
"I didn't want to bite you..." Caffeine barked very sad and very tired. He was running so fast for so long... he needed a nap! And a snack! And then a nap!
But there were still more Very Bad Humans, and one was chasing Dearest Human! He was Hurting Dearest Human...
Caffeine ran faster. He didn't care that the floor was slippery or that he was tired. He had to be fast enough to save Dearest Human!
He ran even faster!