We’d just hit Ohio Beach, and Union Pier’s Ferris Wheel spun slowly overhead, when the crab attacked.

This one looked a lot like the Knife Crabs we’d fought on Montrose Beach, but it was a lot bigger, and instead of knives, it had a massive vise on its claw.

Crush-tacean: Level 21 Monster

I tried not to laugh as the single monster rushed me—it was hopelessly out-leveled. “Let me take care of this,” I said.

Tori nodded slowly, stepping back to give me some space.

The sand crunched below my feet as I set my stance. The Trip-Hammer hung low, its motor sitting on the beach near my feet as I readied the gauntlet around my right hand and wrist. I wanted to test it out; I’d run power through it, but I didn’t want to spend bombs—or Charge—on nothing. The Crush-tacean wasn’t a big threat, but it was big. It’d do for some research.

I flexed the Voltsmith’s Grasp.

It sparked orange, and the crab closed to melee range. Its vise-claw slammed shut with a deafening thud, but I sidestepped.

Then I shoved the Voltsmith’s Grasp against the crab’s body and pushed Charge through it.

Stored Charge 10/15

It wasn’t enough to stun the crab, but it did stagger backward, claws skittering in the sand. I made a note that a single burst from the ‘taser’ wasn’t enough to stop something that massive. Then, I grabbed a single bomb. I didn’t really want to spend it, but I needed to know how this worked.

The bomb glowed orange the second it hit my palm, and a timer appeared.

Bomb: Active

Timer: Five Seconds

The bomb started pulsing with orange Charge, and I lobbed it toward the Crush-tacean. It detonated on impact, flinging nuts and bolts across the beach. Tori yelped behind me, and I took a few hits that my Body tanked. The monster’s shell cracked in a spiderweb pattern out from the explosion’s center. It glowed weak spot orange.

I shifted my Trip-Hammer to a two-handed grip, and got to work taking the Crush-tacean apart. It took three swings before the shell cracked, plus one more to finish the monster off. I absorbed its experience orb and looked around for any other monsters.

There were none. The Crush-tacean was the only thing on the beach.

“Well, that worked reasonably well,” I said.

Tori shook her head. “Why didn’t you keep testing things?

“I could have, but I want to keep some energy in reserve in case we have a bomb fight at Union Pier. Spending everything to learn only works if we can stay safe for a while until it regenerates.” I looked at the Ferris Wheel again. “Let’s get moving, alright?”

“Fine.”

Navy Pier wasn’t exactly my stomping ground.

I’d last been here when I’d first gotten to Chicago. I’d ridden the towering Ferris Wheel, bought ice cream, then hung out on the beach nearby. But I’d never been back since.

The skyscrapers loomed over Ohio Beach just like they had before, but I was struck by how quickly the windows had grown dirty. They didn’t shimmer in the sun anymore; without constant maintenance, the wind and rain had covered them in a thin but growing layer of dust.

“Rituals like that were pretty common in Vietnam,” Calvin said. “When we lost people we always had a ceremony with something of theirs.”

“Did you lose a lot of people?” Tori asked quietly.

“None of your business,” Calvin said. “I lost enough to know what it felt like, and then a few more on top of that.”

“One time, we had a funeral for a friend who’d played a few games with us. We all spawned into the wilderness, set up torches and fireworks, and talked about him in Discord for a couple of hours. There was a lot of crying.”

Calvin shook his head. “Hopefully, you won’t have a real friend’s funeral to go to anytime soon, like Zane and Carol just did.”

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“He was a real friend,” she said. Her fists tightened, and Calvin raised his open hands placatingly.

“Tori, tell me about your games,” I interrupted.

“Sure. I played a little World of Warcraft.” She took a deep breath, trying to get herself under control. I raised an eyebrow; I knew how WoW players were. “Okay, too much World of Warcraft. That’s what all this feels the most like. But I don’t get how these aliens could have modeled it so perfectly off one of our games.”

She rattled off a dozen similarities as we crossed the beach. Then, she stopped. “You’re sure this is a Tier One dungeon?”

“I’m not sure about anything,” I said. I stepped onto the pier, where a tall fence stretched across the entrance. The fog gate was there, but it was barred and sealed. When I approached it, a new message appeared.

Tier One Dungeon: Jettytown

Limited Occupancy: This dungeon can only be attempted by one party at a time. Currently occupied. Please wait for the current party to finish.

“We should move on,” Calvin said after a moment.

I was tempted to agree. Either the team inside would clear the dungeon, in which case there’d be nothing for us, or they wouldn’t. Waiting for them to win or lose could take a long time, and there was the three-week timer to think about. It was down by almost a full day now, and even though three weeks felt like a lot of time, I had a bad feeling about those Tier Three dungeons. We needed to be ready for them when they opened.

But before I could say anything, the entrance flashed, and four men stepped out.

I was in pretty good shape; digging around in engines and using my arms and legs all day did wonders for that. I didn’t hit the gym, though; I’d never been an iron pumper in high school. Even when I’d worked on the farm, I was farmer strong, not ripped.

The first guy put the time in, and it showed. His black beard hung down to his chest, and his arm muscles rippled as he shifted his weight. The others weren’t as big, but they all looked similar: beards, leather jackets and chaps, and a few magic items. Their weapons and armor made them look more like Mongols than bikers. Most of their levels were in the mid-20s and their classes were defaults—rogue, warrior, and mage.

The big guy was different.

Eddie Petrovich: Level 28

Class: Shield-Bearer

I watched, waiting for them to make a move; something about these guys rubbed me the wrong way, but…I could just be biased.

Every year, we had hundreds of bikers come through town as they rode for Sturgis. Most of them were fine. The town even liked them—mostly. But Dad held a grudge because, one year, they’d set up a camp in the corn field, and we hadn’t figured it out until harvest, when the harvester’s blade hit their fire ring. It had cost us thousands to get it fixed, and we had to harvest by hand or lose the crop.

I needed to keep Tori safe until we got to the Field Museum, but that didn’t mean I had to mistrust these guys. I took a deep breath and stuck my armored hand out. “How was the dungeon?”

----------------------------------------

Tori was frustrated; if Hal hadn’t screwed around with his metal glove for so long, they’d have gotten this dungeon instead of these biker dudes. They’d full-cleared the Menagerie, and she'd been looking forward to getting at least one more before they caught up to Jessica.

It’d be a lot harder to fight stuff after reuniting with her.

“How was the dungeon?” Hal asked. He stuck his hand out, and the gigantic biker shook it.

“Hell. Absolute fucking hell. We’ve cleared two today, and another one’s on the schedule for tonight. I’m trying to get my boys ready for the Tier Twos. You?” Eddie asked.

“We’ve cleared out a couple,” Hal said. “Lincoln Park’s clear, so don’t go checking there.”

“Damn. Kev’s team’s heading there.”

As Hal talked with the big guy, Tori turned to look for Calvin. The guy was nowhere to be found, though; where had he vanished to? She was a little concerned about that, but Eddie waved for his guys to take a seat, and they found spots on the concrete ramp.

“Yeah, we’ve got a few teams running,” Eddie was saying. “We’ve got a place near that aquarium. There’s four dungeons right there, all Tier Twos. When they pop, the rest of the gangs are gonna rip through ‘em. Four teams, four clears, then pool the loot. One guy’s got a whole plan for this shit; we’re building a whole new world order here, and my boys are at the center of it.”

Tori perked up. “You’ve got a place near the museums?”

“Yeah. It’s a whole damn village.”

Tori’s mind went into overdrive. “Which dungeons?” she blurted.

One of Eddie’s eyebrows raised. Then his eyes narrowed suspiciously for a second before the youngest biker dude shook his head slowly. Eddie nodded, closed his eyes, and breathed out. “Planetarium, aquarium, the Field Museum, and Soldier Field.”

Hal interrupted, asking question after question. Tori only half-listened. Mom—Jessica-Mom, that is—was definitely in their little village. She wanted to see her. She needed to see her. But at the same time…Jessica didn’t want her playing games, and whatever this was, it was a lot like gaming. Would this be too much for her?

“Why don’t you two come with us?” Eddie asked. “We’re heading for Millenium Park, then we’ll go back to Museumtown.”

He didn’t know about Calvin. Where had the old homeless guy gone? Tori had no clue, but she couldn’t see him abandoning them; even with the experience he’d gotten for the boss kills, he was hopelessly behind. He needed this village as much as she did. More, even.

Hal shook his head, glancing her way and shooting her a look. “We’re thinking about heading west downtown, actually. There’s gotta be another cluster of Tier Ones in there, and we’re doing just fine on our own.”

Eddie’s eyes narrowed.

One of the biker dudes stood up and walked toward the pier’s south railing. He tapped his boot against the railing, staring out across the harbor toward a pair of towering buildings. Tori watched him as he lit a match, used it to get a cigarette burning, and crushed it below his boot.

“You’re sure? Listen, man, we’ve got everything people need to survive there. That girl would be a lot safer with us protecting her, and your class sounds like the boss could put you to work. There’d be a spot for you in town.”

Hal shook his head.

Something flashed across the harbor. For a split second, Tori thought it was light off a windshield. Then the man with the cigarette whirled, a crossbow in his hand, and leveled it right at her.

He started screaming a second later.