《Everlasting Aeternum》 1 The Recruit Everlasting Aeternum Jack (Mac) McCabe sighed peacefully as he gazed over the seagulls hovering on top of gentle whitecaps as the ship pulled out of the bay. He was playing a deckhand on this maiden voyage of the ¡°HMS¡± Steadfast and he was damned lucky to have gotten even this modest post. The ship was a fully functional three masted replica of a 1750''s English gunship from naval history. A tech billionaire was fulfilling his lifelong dream of sailing around the world on it and had spared no expense. The vessel was entirely made of authentic repurposed timber and artifacts. The only new things on the ship were the sails and ropes and some electronics hidden below. Every person on the ship was ex military from some Navy and most were amateur historians of one type or another. Jack was a freshly retired Navy vet of fifteen years and was dawdling around looking for something interesting to do when an old Navy Seal buddy contacted him with the idea of joining the vessel for its first trip. He landed his spot because he was good with weapons and could double down as security. The gig was a minimum six month commitment. Perfect for clearing his head and figuring out what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. He was a 37 year old buff killing machine that had spent almost no time in polite society and needed this time to adjust himself socially. It was a perfect stroke of luck and Jack was going to take advantage of it.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. The planned route was to leave from Miami, sail south through the Atlantic towards the Southern Ocean and around the Cape of Good Hope stopping at various ports all around the world. This was no straight speed run, but rather a pleasure cruise and media hype tour. Jack chuckled to himself vowing to stay away from all of the social media posts that were bound to start popping up all over the web. The first leg south towards Antarctica was the longest and most dangerous and the crew was just getting adjusted to its new duties. Jack was going to be working a lot of rope and sail and was excited to be given this sneak peek into the past of how the sailors of yore went about their daily lives onboard. Jack''s buddy Sean came up behind him and clapped him on the shoulder. ¡°I''m so pumped for this, you feelin it too?¡± Jack turned around smiling. ¡°Bro, I can''t believe I am saying this, but I haven''t been this excited since we spent that week in Hawaii at that surf shack!¡± Sean nodded grinning at his friend. ¡°Awesome man! I wouldn''t want to do this with anyone else brother. We are going to hit up like 30 cities and get in all kinds of mischief!¡± ¡°Anywho, the Bosun wants to go over our first day assignments and rotations. We are having a meeting below deck in 5 min. I¡¯m here to collect your daydreaming ass. I saw you staring at the ocean like a long lost girlfriend.!¡± Jack chuckled. ¡°You know me and the sea man. We have a tight bond. I have spent more time on her than on shore. Let¡¯s head down right now I need a bottle of water.¡± The two men headed across the deck companionably, unaware of how this voyage was going to change their lives¡­ eternally. 2 ¡°Stop being a jackass! I CAUGHT you cheating¡­ Why is it so hard for you to admit it? Fess up now or I am going to beat it out of you!¡± Sean backed away laughing, swatting away the fake punches as they came in. ¡°Its not even real money dude, it¡¯s poker chips!¡± Jack started bobbing and weaving throwing out jabs. ¡°That is not the point and you know it! I was raking it in and you get caught cheating and everyone else quit the game for Pete¡¯s sake!¡± Jack suddenly stopped talking and his mouth opened up wide in a shocked look of surprise. Sean said, ¡°What is...¡± He noticed Jack¡¯s stare and turned around. The sky started to darken, but with a weird color. It was a purplish silver that he had never seen before. Clouds started to close in at impossible speeds forming a surreal foreign landscape in the sky. Deep rumbles of thunder could be heard and felt. The ship seemed to bounce from it. In an instant huge waves started pounding the sides of the ship. Someone shouted from across the deck ¡°If you¡¯re near a hatch, get below and batten the cabins down. If your up here with me clip your harness to a rope fast!¡± Instincts took over and Jack reached down to the clip attached to his life jacket. He had barely attached it when a huge swell pounded right next to him into the ship and he was thrown from his feet to a rough landing on the deck. Everything had gone from peaceful to panic in the blink of an eye. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Jack turned to see his friend tumbling head over heels away from him to the left. ¡°SEAN!¡± Jack propelled himself in a dive at his crew mate and managed to snag his jacket by his shoulder. ¡°Hey! You OK?¡± Jack flopped him over and saw a heavily bleeding wound on his head. Sean was unconscious, but breathing. He quickly tore the bandana off that he was wearing and twirled it into a long bandage that he wrapped around Sean¡¯s head. A huge crash was felt throughout the entire vessel and Jack and Sean were both lifted about three feet in the air off of the deck and violently smashed back down onto it. Jack saw stars and was laying flat on his back dazed. All he could see was straight up and he sucked in a huge lungful of air and reached over towards the rail to grab onto something because he was terrified of what he was looking at. The clouds had formed a huge vertical wall that was coming straight down to the water. They were pulsing with a bright red light just behind them. It reminded Jack of video he had seen of a volcano eruption. The thunder was now one constant roar and the ship was vibrating non-stop from the water assaulting it. The world had gone mad! Jack made it to his knees and could just barely see over the taffrail. Purple lightning was coming out between tiny breaks in the clouds seeming to strike the boat and the huge vertical rocks that were appearing out of the water. ¡°Wait a second! Rocks?¡± Jack said out loud to himself. ¡°We are in the middle of open ocean! There shouldn¡¯t be rocks!¡± Jack frantically looked over the decks to see if he could find someone to ask what the hell was going on. A heavy fog descended onto the ship as the cloud wall reached them and he could barely see four foot out from himself. The only person he could see was Sean who was lashed to the rail unconscious. He scrambled over on his knees to Sean and pulled him up from under his arms. ¡°I gotta get you below deck buddy.¡± Jack spotted a rope attached to the rail a few feet away and dragged Sean over to it. The deck was bouncing up and down now and he managed to snag the rope and hastily loop it around himself under a shoulder and across his chest. He knotted it and did the same to Sean and started dragging him towards the nearest door which was about 50 yards away. After what seemed like an hour but was really only a minute Jack reached the door. He pushed his way in and pulled Sean in behind him and smashed it shut. ¡°We made it buddy, hang in there I¡¯ll get ya down to the doc in a minute. I just need to grab my breathe!¡± Jack leaned back against the wall and took a deep breathe. He was going to rest for just a moment and then carry his friend down to the med room. Just as Jack stood with enough energy to pick up Sean a deafening CRACK sounded throughout the ship. The hallway pitched straight up causing Jack to tumble down the hallway. The world flipped and he was sitting on the wall. Water started to pour in sweeping Sean into him in a tumble. Jack grabbed him in a bear hug and ducked his head into his friends shoulder as he saw a beam falling on top of them. Then came nothing but darkness¡­ 3 He woke gagging on warm salty water that shot from deep in his throat as he came conscious. Spitting it out and dry heaving, he could only concentrate on the sand of the beach he was lying on. His skin felt sunburnt and he was raw along a diagonal strip that went across his chest and into his armpit. He reached up and massaged a huge bump on the back of his head. He couldn¡¯t remember his name. He couldn¡¯t remember anything¡­ Where was he? He looked to his left and saw scattered wood and debris of all kinds. He looked to his right and gasped in shock. As far as he could see were shipwrecks. He was in a vast bay of destruction. There had to have been hundreds of wrecks. He slowly made his way to his knees fighting off nausea, he definitely had a concussion. He looked over to the left past the junk that was blocking his view. MORE SHIPS! Some still looked to be whole while others were just blasted into scrap. He could barely believe his eyes! He spotted something move out of the corner of his eye. It was barely sticking out on the other side of the junk scattered to his left. It was a foot! He scrambled back on his ass startled by the appendage. He grabbed a broken plank that was laying wet in the sand and crawled over slowly looking around the wreckage. It was a man laying unconscious. His foot was moving with the tide that was barely coming in. The man¡¯s face was half buried in the sand, but somehow seemed familiar. He had a bloody bandana on his head and a rough rope tied around his torso that had left a nasty, red, burn he could see that was under his shirt which was pulled up tangled around his shoulders. He pulled up his own shirt and spotted roughly the same kind of rope burn. The man was a friend of his, he had to be. It seemed as if they were tied together and roughly tossed about seeing the rope burns on both of them. He dropped to one knee and flipped the man out of the sand which caused him to start coughing. Sand and watery muck came from his mouth. He opened his right eye and slowly brought up his hand to block out the sun. he whispered something that the man couldn¡¯t make out. He leaned in down close. ¡°Mac¡± the man whispered. He sat back on his haunches, fighting for a memory. Mac¡­ that was his name he could feel it... Mac. He heard another whisper and leaned back down. The man whispered again. ¡°Mac¡­ I did cheat at cards...¡± Mac layed down next to the man utterly exhausted. He fought for anything that he could recall, but it was there just outside of his memory. He turned his head and looked at the man next to him. ¡°I seem to have a concussion and can¡¯t remember anything. I¡¯m sorry but what is your name?¡± The man turned and looked at him in confusion. ¡°It¡¯s the weirdest thing. My name is Sean. I can recall that, but nothing else except that you¡¯re Mac and we were on a ship together. Nothing else¡­ I¡¯m lying here trying my damndest, but there is nothing. It''s like a dream. I know we were on a ship, but I can¡¯t even piece together what it looked like.¡± Mac lifted up onto his elbows and shook his head trying to rattle some memory into himself. ¡°More like we were on a ship...wreck together, but I can¡¯t even remember that. Can you move? We are going to need fresh water very soon I think.¡± Sean slowly sat up wincing as he did. ¡°I think I have broken ribs. My left knee and ankle also have something wrong with them.¡±Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Mac stood and took a look around. He spotted a piece of rounded pole from an oar or something similar and trudged over to get it. From the left side of his vision he caught a glint of light that flashed off of metal. The bay was covered in a silvery mist making it hard to see very far, but his instincts told him that it wasn¡¯t an illusion. A hint of alarm sounded off in his brain and he lowered himself and scooted back to Sean. ¡°I hate to have to say this, but I think we have trouble incoming.¡± He spotted a four foot limb of driftwood and crawled over and grabbed it. He gave Sean a look of confidence and said, ¡°I get the feeling that we know how to defend ourselves. If it comes to it try and stay behind me. You¡¯re in no shape for battle. I thought I saw movement back there. Let¡¯s try and put some distance between that. Come on.¡± He reached down and grabbed Sean¡¯s hand and helped him to his feet. Sean gave a small yelp in pain, but gritted his teeth and nodded. ¡°I can do this, lead on.¡± Mac looked him in the eyes and nodded. Sean had a definite military look to him. He didn¡¯t know how he knew this, but he felt it in his bones. The man was in his thirties if he was judging correctly. He had a lean muscular body and a military looking haircut with the sides trimmed down to the scalp. It was the eyes however that gave it away. He had a steely determination even in this precarious situation. It spoke volumes to Mac. He turned and cautiously started making his way down the shoreline away from the movement he had caught. There was a huge galleon split in half about a half click from their position and it would make a good landmark and would definitely have places to hide if needs be. He glanced back at Sean who was struggling, but more or less keeping up. As he was about to turn and keep going he caught a hint of movement tracking them. He couldn¡¯t tell who it was, but it was moving in a jerking motion as if it was dragging a leg or something. ¡°Something is back there following us Sean. If you have it in you let¡¯s pick up the pace a little bit. I want to make it to that ship and find us a defendable position. We can get our backs to something solid and I¡¯ll make sure nothing gets past me!¡± Sean didn¡¯t reply but he glanced over his shoulder. He must have seen something because he immediately picked up his pace grunting with every step. Within a few minutes the men had reached the ship. Mac was stunned by the size of the ship. It seemed unreal anyone could build something this big. It had to have been close to 250 feet long! It looked like there were ten below decks on it and he could see the remains of the mast that looked like someone had simply placed a huge tree on the deck it was so tall. The vessel was cracked right down the middle as if an iceberg had shot out of the water and impaled the ship splitting it in half. There was a mountain of wooden debris on either side of the split and Mac wanted to head there. The wreckage was piled up in a small hill forming a vee next to the ship. It would make for a nice defensible spot funneling enemies into them if it came to that. He jogged back to Sean and threw an arm under his left shoulder helping stabilize the man. ¡°Found us a hidey hole. Let¡¯s hide and see if anything shows up.¡± The two men made their way back into the wreckage and stopped finding a stack of smashed crates that formed a sort of open air room with a passage about three bodies wide. Mac scanned the space looking for any hidden ways around the crates. He spotted one smashed open and went over to scan it¡¯s inventory. ¡°Sean come check this out. I think I might have found something useful!¡± He dug around and held up a metal rod around three foot in length with a rough balled hilt on the end of it. ¡°This looks to be a part for a weapon of some kind. A hammer maybe? This ship was a merchant vessel for sure. A crate full of weapon parts? Maybe we can find some swords or a bow!¡± He tossed the bar to Sean. ¡°Much better than my rotting driftwood. Lets try to pry some crates open and see what we can find.¡± He was about to move on to the next crate when Sean whispered in a shaky voice. ¡°Mac go silent friend... I think we have visitors.¡± Mac slowly popped his head up over the crate he was next to and took a peek around the corner. What he saw made his blood run cold. Sean noticed him standing shock still and whispered, ¡°What is it? What do you see?¡± Mac looked back with confusion and fear in his eyes. ¡°I can¡¯t quite believe what I¡¯m about to say, but we have big trouble headed right at us and they aren¡¯t alive!¡± Sean murmured back, ¡°Not alive? Please tell me you¡¯re joking...¡± ¡°I wish I was man. We have four zombie skeleton pirates headed dead straight at us!¡± 4 Sean scrambled back to the hull of the ship. ¡°If you are trying to scare me my friend you¡¯ve done it.¡± Mac scowled and hefted another bar in his hands. ¡°I don¡¯t understand what is going on here, but I¡¯m not gonna go down easy.¡± He pulled a few more bars from the pile and propped them up against the crates on both sides of himself. ¡°Backup bars. When the first one gets here I am going to throw this as hard as I can at it and hope to smash it¡¯s bones. Prop your bad leg into a corner and just defend yourself. don¡¯t leave that spot. I¡¯ll be able to better defend if I know your position.¡± A dragging noise and a bump from something hitting wood sounded right outside of their hideaway. Sean snarled and held the bar over his head ready to throw it. ¡°Time to bring the pain!¡± He muttered. In the back of his subconscious he was thinking to himself, ¡°Where do I know that phrase from?¡± A gnarled bony hand gripped the corner of a crate by their entrance and a skeletal body with chunks of flesh all over it followed. Mac hurled the bar from over his head with all his might throwing it like an axe. The hammer handle smashed into the nightmare at chest height rotating around and crushing the face and skull at the same time. The skeleton flew backwards in a clatter of bones and broke into pieces scattered and not moving. Before Mac could pat himself on the back two more dead pirates rounded the corner. One was holding a cutlass and the other had two daggers in its hands. Mac reached over and grabbed another handle. ¡°Come get some Bucko!¡± The first undead charged forward shocking Mac with its speed. He barely had time to raise his handle with a hand on each end to block the overhand slash that the pirate threw at him. He was in close and could see the second one closing in so he threw a shoulder into the first knocking him back into his undead friend. The skeletons got tangled up for a second and Mac didn¡¯t need an invitation to attack. He leaped forward swinging the bar with all his might. It connected on the sword wielder¡¯s shoulder causing a small explosion of bone and knocking its left arm off completely. The pirate dropped to one knee from the force of the blow, but didn¡¯t stop it¡¯s attack. It swept it¡¯s right hand with the sword in a sideswipe cut. Mac dodged to his right, but the blade caught him by an inch cutting into his thigh! ¡°Son of a bitch!¡± Mac swore and rage seemed to take him over. The pirate was exposed and Mac swung his bar like a baseball bat connecting right at the skeleton¡¯s neck. The skull popped right off and flew over a crate as the monster tumbled down into a pile of bones. As Mac was regaining his balance the dagger wielder popped into view and started to swing a wide hook at him. Mac backhand swung the hammer handle tearing off the rogue¡¯s hand with the dagger in it. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. The skeleton looked down at his hand as if wondering where it went. ¡°Sean I think these things have a bit of intelligence still in them.¡± He called out. The pirate skeleton waded forward trying to swipe with it¡¯s left, but it was obvious it was off balance and didn¡¯t know how to fight one handed. Mac stepped back to let the strike fall well short of him and he waded in like a miner swinging a pick axe and crushed the thing¡¯s skull. Mac reached down to the cut on his leg which was no more than a scratch really. ¡°Hmm weird¡­ This isn¡¯t bad, but I expected it to hurt a lot more than it does. I hope I don¡¯t get infected.¡± He looked back at Sean who was staring at the piles of skeleton bones. ¡°You weren¡¯t lying! If I wasn¡¯t looking at it with my own eyes I wouldn¡¯t believe you! It¡¯s really undead! Oh my God what is going on? We need¡­ Mac LOOK OUT!¡± Mac turned back from Sean and instinct had him throwing his bar down to his side to block the sword slash that was coming in at him. The clang of metal on metal was loud and the vibrations from the heavy strike sent a small wave of pain up his arm. Facing him was a pirate that looked like a Captin from it¡¯s hat and shredded, fancy, jacket. It was holding a cutlass in one hand and a rounded metal buckler on the other arm. It came at him slowly leading with the shield/ ¡°I think this one knows how to fight!¡± Mac called out. He circled to his right as the pirate swiped at him. He swung his bar overhand at the officer who lifted it¡¯s arm and blocked the blow with it¡¯s shield. ¡°Dammit! If I can get it turned do you think you can take a crack at it?¡± Sean nervously took a two handed grip on his bar. ¡°I can try. I don¡¯t know how much muscle I can get into a swing with this busted up leg!¡± Mac kept circling trying to get the monster to give it¡¯s back to Sean, but it seemed to know what was going on. It threw a series of swipes at Mac. He backpeddled barely hanging onto his bar as he blocked the slashes. Before he could take another strike Sean launched himself at the pirate¡¯s legs! He tackled it onto the ground. ¡°Quick, smash it, I have a grip on his sword arm!¡± A surge of adrenaline shot through Mac out of fear for his friend. He took a huge step at the pair and started swinging his bar down over and over. The pirate lifted the buckler to stop the rain of blows, but after a few massive strikes it¡¯s arm crumbled under the pressure. Mac lost it for a minute and only came out of his stupor as Sean grabbed him from behind and pulled him away. ¡°Yo, Mac¡­ You in there buddy? Mac turned around ¡°Huh?¡± Sean smiled, ¡°There ya go. I think you went a little nuts and crushed that thing into bone paste!¡± Mac looked down at the skeleton that was now just a pile of bone lumps. ¡°Ya¡­ I think the stress of this had gotten to me. I don¡¯t remember beating that thing.¡± he reached down and scooped up the buckler and sword and handed it to Sean. ¡°You hang on to these please. You need the protection more than me.¡± Sean looked around eyeballing the crates. ¡°Well¡­ You took out all four of them. We have some time. Think maybe we can move some of these crates and partially block off our entrance? You look beat, you need some rest.¡± Suddenly the sound of wood collapsing could be heard from outside of their den. The two men went silent and looked at each other. Sean raised an eyebrow and pointed with his chin at their entrance. Mac padded over to the corner and took a quick sneaky peek. Sean noticed that he almost immediately ducked back in. Mac stalked back over to him with a finger on his lips motioning for silence. He whispered ¡°There are a lot of them milling about out there. If I didn¡¯t know better I would say they are searching?¡± Sean whispered back. ¡°Searching for what? Mac rolled his eyes. ¡°Us bro¡­ They are searching for us.¡± 5 ¡°God dammit¡­ There is one headed straight for us. We are going to have to kill it quietly. Can you kneel around the corner by our entrance and kneecap it as it comes in for me? I¡¯ll stand in back and wave my arms to keep it¡¯s attention. When you drop it I¡¯ll throw a handle pile driver into its skull.¡± Sean nodded and crept over to the corner. He kneeled down on his good knee and drew back the hammer handle ready to blast away. Mac stepped up on a pile of wood and snuck a look over the crate pile. He had motioned to Sean to be ready and mouthed, ¡°It¡¯s almost here.¡± He hopped down and readied himself. A skeleton came trotting around the corner. It was another cutlass sword wielding variety. It fully rounded the corner and Sean blasted it with a solid crush to it¡¯s kneecap. The pirate started falling, but it fell right on top of Sean! Mac rushed over and gave it a huge uppercut swing that landed right underneath it¡¯s chin blasting the skull from it¡¯s shoulders. He grabbed the headless skeleton by the shoulders and yanked it off of Sean tossing it to the side. ¡°Hey man you alright? I got it pretty fast.¡± Sean looked up and grinned at him. ¡°Ya bro you got it right away¡­ It got me right away too.¡± Sean¡¯s eyes closed and his hands fell away from his chest. There was a large wound right in the middle of his chest where the skeleton¡¯s sword had impaled him when it fell¡­ Blood was pouring out of the wound and running down both sides of Sean¡¯s chest. Mac sat there staring at it for a second not really believing what his eyes were showing him. He instinctively pressed his hand down on the wound. He frantically looked around as if there was something that could help him. He pressed a finger to Sean¡¯s neck and felt no pulse. His friend was already dead. ¡°Noooo!¡± Mac cried out. Something broke inside of him. ¡°Noooo!¡± he stood without understanding what he was about to do. Sean was his only link to sanity on this beach. His only ¡®thing¡¯ that made sense. He gripped his hammer handle and slowly walked towards the opening almost like a zombie himself.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. The two of them hadn¡¯t understood that the fighting they were doing next to the ship had awakened the undead crew that was sleeping inside just a few feet away on the other side of the wood and when Mac got to outside of their shelter he was greeted with a long strung out line of undead pirates shambling to him. The first to arrive was a pirate armed with a decaying blunderbuss. It pulled it up to blow off Mac¡¯s head, but it dry fired with no ammo in it. Mac moaned out, ¡°Noooo!¡± As he swung the metal handle with force. The next in line was right behind. It came with a little speed, but stumbled right into a baseball bat swing. ¡°Noooo!¡± Mac was fighting on autopilot. The warrior part of his brain had taken over and he was nothing more that a human machine of vengeance. He waded into the line of undead that was coming for him, he ran to meet each one rather than wait for them to come to him. He was well out of the sheltered cubby they had picked to defend. The first time he took a wound it never registered with him. By the time he took his fourth injury which was a slash to his bicep he started to come back to himself. He looked around in astonishment seeing piles of broken undead laying about him. He saw a dozen more coming at him with speed and just gritted his teeth. If he was going to die this day he was going to die a warriors death. Three skeletons were all going to arrive at the same time and Mac ran to his left so that he could take on the first one on one rather than one on three. He raised his club over his head and smashed down on it¡¯s skull crushing it. As he lifted his weapon for another strike the second pirate rushed him slamming into his side with a shield bash. Mac was thrown onto his back and his opponent dove at him sword first trying to skewer him to the ground. Mac managed to roll a tiny bit to his left and the sword stuck in the sand inches from his chest. The skeleton landed right on top of him temporarily pinning him. The third undead was wasting no time taking advantage of the situation and raised it¡¯s staff over it¡¯s head to crush in Mac¡¯s skull. He sucked in what he thought was his last breathe and yelled, ¡°Come on then ya undead bastard! We¡¯ll be meeting in Hell soon!¡± The pirate started it¡¯s swing¡­ and it¡¯s head exploded. Mac couldn¡¯t see what happened, but he had other business to handle at that moment. The skeleton on top of him was trying to wrap it¡¯s filthy hand around his neck. Mac grabbed the wrist and spun the thing off of him effortlessly. It had to have only weighed forty pounds. With his other hand he grabbed it by the neck and lifted off of the beach. He lifted the entire top half of the creature and smashed it back into the ground. He repeatedly picked it up and smashed it over and over. With every slam he shouted out ¡°No, No, Noooo!¡± The skeleton broke into pieces and he sank back on his butt exhausted. A voice behind him said, ¡°Hey?¡± 6 ¡° ¡° This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° 7 ¡°By the way, what do you call those¡­ things?¡± Mac was collecting some sharp shards of flint stone that Kat said he would need. ¡°The Lost... we call em the Lost because they were all at one time or another just like us, but now they are lost to the madness of endless deaths. It¡¯s not a subject I¡¯d like to expound on.¡± Kat looked away from him and up at some clouds. As they walked away from the beach Mac could see some smoke in the distance. He could vaguely see a wooden palisade and a short one level tower of about 15 feet in height. Kat noticed him squinting. ¡°Aye that¡¯s not a mirage. That is a way station for noobs like yerself. We call it First Light. Some of the noobies land here at night and it¡¯s the first thing they see. Draws em in like moths!¡± Mac looked over at her. ¡°What¡¯s a noob?¡± Kat sighed. ¡°YOU! You¡¯re a noob¡­ Figure it out.¡± They approached the tiny camp and Mac could see a couple of men squatting by the fire. One was rocking and muttering madly to himself. The other was just silently crying staring at the fire. Kat pushed him and he looked back at her. She was shaking her head. ¡°Stop staring, not everyone makes it here in good shape.¡± She nodded at a woman who was pulling supplies out of a basket. ¡°That¡¯s the Watcher here, names Callie, she¡¯s gonna help you get started. They walked over to the woman. Kat spoke first. ¡°Callie, got a new one for you. His name¡¯s Mac. Looks like he will be an actual asset for once.¡± Callie turned to them. ¡°Oh? Finally a live one eh? OK Mac first things first, pull your shit off.¡± Mac lifted his shirt off and held it in his hand looking at Callie. She wiggled her eyebrows up and down at him. She very deliberately ran her eyes slowly over his entire body from foot to hair. ¡°Nice... ahhh ya very nice!¡± Mac looked over at Kat and Ashley who were both holding their hands over their mouths which had big grins on them. Kat started laughing and shrugged. ¡°What? It is nice! Don¡¯t worry stud she¡¯s just fucking with ya!¡± Mac looked back at Callie who was smirking. She pulled a thick linen shirt out of the air and handed it to him. ¡°This jerkin will provide you with a little extra protection. Before you ask I did not make the shirt appear out of thin air, I pulled it from my inventory which you will have and use on your own shortly.¡± Callie looked over at Kat. ¡°I guess you two have done enough for today. Five recruits in an afternoon¡¯s work is all I can ask of you. You can head back to town and have a meal and drink on me. I¡¯ll see you both in two weeks.¡± Mac looked back at the ladies. ¡°Thank you for your help and information. I hope we will meet again under better circumstances.¡± Kat walked up to him and grabbed his hand in a shake. ¡°Good luck Mac and don¡¯t give up. It all gets a bit more familiar if not easier.¡± She pulled him in and gave him a peck on the cheek. ¡°As for meeting again I am sure we will. I am based out of First Light Town and that¡¯s the first town you will be heading to in a couple of days. Ask for me at Luna¡¯s. That¡¯s the local inn I stay at.¡± Kat turned and sauntered away. Mac felt she had a bit more sway in her hips than she normally would. The words ¡®honey trap¡¯ came into Mac¡¯s mind, but he had no idea what it meant. He turned back to Callie who winked at him. ¡°She¡¯s a fine one that little Kat. Half the town of First Light has tried to chase her, but none have caught her yet. Maybe you¡¯ll be the first.¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Mac shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m more worried about learning how to survive than chasing tail right now. What¡¯s up with these rocks the ladies had me gathering?¡± Callie nodded. ¡°All business huh? Ok, here¡¯s the deal. Normally you would need to head into a town and use a crafting station to make things to use out in the world, but we also can do some limited work at the fires in our camps.¡± Mac looked confused. ¡°What do you mean do work in a fire?¡± Callie pointed at the fire. ¡°Go next to the fire. Concentrate on the flames and think ¡®campfire¡¯ A crafting panel will pop up where you can make some limited things. But first head behind the camp and go grab some stout Adler green wood. You will need it to make some items.¡± Mac walked a few yards behind the camp. There was a thick patch of Adler and he dropped down and tore off some of the thickest branches. He returned to the camp and settled down by the fire. He concentrated and sure enough a work panel came into view. He could hear Callie¡¯s voice guiding him through the process. ¡°Alright Mac let¡¯s make you some tools. You will need an axe, a skinning knife, a sickle, and a pick to get you started. Use your mind to move the required materials into the crafting slots. Use the craft icon and make your tools.¡± Mac did as he was told and stood. ¡°Done and done.¡± Callie nodded, ¡°Good, now think inventory in your mind. A visual representation will appear where you can move clothing, weapons, and tools into their slots. Once this is done you can just will an item into your hand. For instance if you want to harvest a plant, go up to it to harvest and the sickle will appear so you can complete the action. It sounds weird, but it will become second nature very quickly.¡± Mac moved the tools into their slots and noticed that he had very little equipment. Callie nodded again. ¡°Now onto your attributes. Think attributes, once the panel opens you will notice that you have four points to spend. Don¡¯t use them yet. I want you to look into your weapon mastery first and make some plans.¡± Mac did as he was told. ¡°So what am I looking for here?¡± ¡°You have some choices to make here. What kind of warrior do you see yourself as? Do you want to be a defender using a sword and shield to protect others? Maybe you would prefer to fight ranged with a bow? You could even choose to use magic like fire or ice. Or become a healer. This choice plays a heavy role in where you should assign your stats. If you concentrate on great axe for instance you will see that the more strength you have the more damage you will produce with that weapon. Intelligence is need for magic and focus is for healing. Dexterity is for bow play of course. Some weapons use duel affinities like the musket which uses dexterity and intelligence.¡± Mac stopped Callie in her spiel. ¡°WAIT! Did you say musket? As in the long rifle firearm Musket?¡± Callie looked a bit confused and said, ¡°Why yes¡­ A musket, why do you look like you are thinking so hard?¡± Mac shrugged, he had an excited look on his face. ¡°As soon as you mentioned the word I got a chill that ran through my body. The word musket triggered the word firearm. I am pretty sure I used to know a lot about firearms. I can¡¯t explain it.¡± Callie nodded. ¡°Ahh yes, this isn¡¯t a rare thing. Many warriors get the exact same feelings about weapons they were proficient with in their past life. I can already see in your eyes that you will be wielding a musket into battle. I have two pieces of advice for you then. You can use any and all weapons, but you will only become strong with two of them because of the attribute distribution process. The only other weapon that relies solely on dex and intelligence is the rapier. I suggest you use this combination for weapon sync. I also want you to not forget to add some points into constitution. It plays a crucial role in giving you more life and hardiness.¡± Mac nodded as he absorbed her words while concentrating on his attribute panel. ¡°In fact, since you do not have a musket or rapier yet I would advise putting your first points into constitution for now. You are going to be needing it as you will shortly be fighting.¡± Mac put the points in constitution as advised. ¡°Oh I¡¯m going to be fighting am I? What if I don¡¯t want to?¡± Callie chuckled. ¡°If you want to go anywhere in this world you need to level. In order to level we fight! You are going to need to be at least level 6 to make the trip to First Light or the wolves will tear you to shreds on the way. This is a starter area, perfect for training. The Lost are much, much slower than anything else on the island.¡± Mac grinned at her, he knew he was going to fighting soon. ¡°I¡¯m just messin Callie. What do you need me to do.¡± ¡°I need you to go back to the shoreline and the shipwrecks. There will be some log books you need to study and some supplies to collect for me. The more Lost you can put down the better. It¡¯s a mercy you will be doing for them. They are tormented to madness and need their rest. I¡¯ll mark your map for the specific wreck I want you to head to. I¡¯d say Good luck, but I don¡¯t think you¡¯re going to need it.¡± Mac grimaced, tightened the grip on his shield and headed out.