Stephanie sat up suddenly from her cot, her body felt a little different than when she fell asleep. Walter had warned her that she would feel differently after this. Each increase in a stat would be a small step in strength but by the time she raised to a new grade level, each stat would leave her twice as strong he explained.

Doing some yoga to test her new limits, she was pleasantly surprised by the changes. Wanting to ask Walter some more questions, she started looking for him but couldn’t find him. As she searched for him, she couldn’t help but think of all the idiosyncrasies he head. Not talking about school or his home was could be seen as being quiet. But not acknowledging any of her pop culture references or making any was extremely peculiar.

She realized he never used a flashlight while walking around in the dark either. It was like he was from an Amish settlement or something.  That was it, he was one of those people who never used technology and did everything the old-fashioned way.

Once she found him, she would have to apologize for not being understanding of his religion. If this was the end of the world but she didn’t want to go out as a bigot.

As she thought more about this, but it didn’t explain why he was so adept at using The System or his skill with the spear. The traps and bow made sense though, Amish probably hunted for food a lot. She didn’t know if they did or didn’t but it made sense.

The soft jingling of cans coming from the front of the building stopped her dead in her tracks as she walked through the aisles.

“Walter?” she said her voice an active higher than usual. “Is that you?”

The only response she got was the scratching of nails on the floor heading in her direction. Pulling her can of mace out she started backing away from where she was, silently as possible. Willing her invisibility to come into effect, she felt a difference in it since she upgraded it. She felt the thrum of its power covering her more densely.

She knew somehow her power would hide her from more monsters than before, she just wasn’t sure how many. Thinking about her power, she wanted to test it and make it more potent but she knew she had to kill monsters for the experience to power it up. The idea of killing monsters scared her though but if she were going to survive in this new world she would have to kill again.

She shivered at the memory of her first kill but couldn’t stop thinking about it. She didn’t want Walter to look at her with disgust when she told him.

Her first kill was a person but not just any person, it was family. Her uncle was the only family she had left after KOVID wiped out most people in Uhmerica. After the dead began to rise and their doom all but guaranteed her Uncle became a little touchier. He started to refuse to let her out of his sight even when using the bathroom, using the excuse zombies.

The night she slit his throat he had been drinking as they hid from the horde of the dead in the suburb. After excusing herself for he followed her and tried to climb into bed with her. She would never forget hot smelly breath blowing on her face as he went for a kiss. She didn’t want to become an after school special story and pushed him away from her.

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Her power activated at this point when her Uncle hit the floor and lost sight of her. He climbed to his feet and began screaming at her, calling her names, and demanding she gets back there this moment. The look in his eyes at that moment scared her more than any of the zombies or monsters they had seen. She knew that he would hurt her in ways that nothing else could if he found her.

When he couldn’t find her, he stomped out of the room muttering “I’m gonna kill the little bitch!” That phrase was the straw that broke the camels back and she acted

She followed him through the kitchen stopping long enough to grab a knife before heading to where he stored the guns. He was loading a shotgun when she walked in invisible. His veins popping out in his head and neck from anger. Sneaking up behind him, her invisibility power thrumming through her veins as she grabbed his hair and wrenched his head back. As the blade passed over his throat, she saw the skin split and blood squirt out. He grabbed at his throat as she let him and stepped away. His body fell to the ground at her feet bleeding out.

She took a step back from his dead body and then another then turned and ran. Zombies followed her from the suburbs, but she managed to lose them when she climbed into a recycling bin. She stayed in that bin too afraid to leave until she saw Walter.

She thought of this while sneaking through the building with a crowbar clenched in her hands. Her knuckles white with fear, she counted four of the rat monsters sniffing around the aisles for her. She felt her power only hiding her from sight, the fourth one would be able to see her. She stepped back into the shadows hiding from them as she came up with a plan.

She tied a bandana around her face, hoping it would work as a protection against her pepper spray. She held the canister in her hand pointing at the rats and squeezed. The stream hitting one of the rats in the face.

The rat struck by the stream started to scream. Rubbing its face on the ground, its tiny arm too short to reach its eyes. The three rats near it, affected by the overspray, started sneezing uncontrollably.  

Stephanie felt the overspray touching her skin causing it to burn as she rushed forward. Slamming the crowbar into the closest rat’s head, crushing it. The other two rats sneezing reacted to their cohort having its head smashed. They squeaked between sneezes, their barbed tails waving above their bodies unable to find whatever attacked them.

Stephanie jumped back from the three rats and used the rest of the pepper spray on them. Watching them flop around and squeal, their tails waving around dangerously caused her to think diving in with the crowbar.

 She took this chance to grab an ax, sneaking up behind one of them she chopped at its tail. The ax missing the tail struck the rat in its spine, its legs and tail going limp. Screeching in pain, it tried to crawl away with just its forelimbs.

Ripping the ax from its back, she quickly ran away as the other two rats started swinging their tails around faster. One rat’s barbed tail struck the other, continuing to stab it as it squealed in pain before bleeding out.

Stephanie watched the rat continually stab the other before silently sneaking up behind it. Slamming the ax into its head, killing it. Pulling the ax free from its skull she slowly walked to the crippled rat, as it drug its limp body away from her. Its cries of pain cut short as she embedded the ax into its skull.

Dropping the shaft of the ax, her hands shaking uncontrollably as she looked at her handiwork. The adrenaline pumping through her body causing her to begin to hyperventilate as the tinkle of cans are heard coming from the front. Getting her breathing under control quickly she picked up her ax and opened another can of pepper spray.

“I’m going to kill him when he gets back,” she said thinking of Walter.