《KillStreak》 GLOSSARY Following the suggestion of one very helpful commenter, I''m gonna go ahead and add the glossary here for all you non-gamer/gun enthusiasts.
GUNS AND GEAR DMR ¨C Designated Marksman Rifle Description: ¡®DMR¡¯ is the term used to describe (primarily) semi-automatic rifles used by designated marksmen infantry. They are similar to sniper rifles, though usually have more rounds per magazine, and are used for targets that are out of range for most other infantry, excluding snipers. SVD ¨C Snaiperskaia Vintovka Dragunova Description: The SVD is a DMR that was developed in the early 1960s by the Soviet Union. AR-15 ¨C Colt AR-15 (Carbine) Description: The AR-15 is, typically, a semi-automatic rifle, however, in KillStreak, it has a select-fire modification so as to increase its effectiveness in-game. AS50 ¨C Accuracy International AS50 Description: The AS50 is a semi-automatic sniper rifle that fires .50 BMG rounds, and was developed in the UK. Its primary use is as an anti-materiel rifle, however, it is often used as a long-range anti-personnel rifle in KillStreak. .50 BMG ¨C .50 Browning Machine Gun roundThis book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Description: The .50 BMG rounds were originally developed for the Browning machine gun in the early 20th century, and have since been utilized in modern weaponry, including, but not limited to, high-caliber sniper rifles. BTR ¨C Bronetransportyor (BTR-90) Description: The BTR is an APC designed by the Russians. The version used in KillStreak is the BTR-90, and comes equipped with interchangeable weapons, including, but not limited to, an autocannon, a laser-cannon, and twin-mounted HMGs. APC ¨C Armored Personnel Carrier Description: An APC is, typically, a heavily armored vehicle used to transport infantry into and out of battle at speed while protecting them from small arms fire and explosives. HMG ¨C Heavy Machine Gun Description: A HMG is a machine gun that uses large rounds being fired at a high rate to destroy vehicles and structures. Bowie ¨C Bowie Knife Description: A Bowie is a large fighting knife with a clip point, and typically has a crossguard. Flash Hider ¨C Flash Suppressor Description: A Flash Hider is a weapon attachment that masks muzzle flash. V-22 ¨C Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey Description: The V-22 is a U.S. military aircraft capable of VTOL while also maintaining speed over long distance travel where an airplane would typically be used.
Other Terms SDCC ¨C San Diego Comic-Con RL ¨C Real Life CS ¨C Computer Science Scrub ¨C Scrub is a slang term in gaming that refers to someone playing in an unsportsmanlike way, or in a way that is seen as ¡®cheap¡¯ or ¡®easy¡¯. Finger-Guns ¨C To shoot someone with finger-guns refers to the act of snapping one¡¯s fingers then pointing one¡¯s index fingers at a subject, object, or situation. Echolalia ¨C Echolalia refers to the repetition of words or vocalizations, and is typically symptomatic of someone with a disorder such as Autism or Asperger¡¯s Syndrome, and can include the adoption of accents or vocal tics. ASAFP ¨C As Soon As Fucking Possible Muzzle Flash ¨C Muzzle Flash refers to the bright light visible at the end of a firearm¡¯s barrel when it¡¯s discharged. VTOL ¨C Vertical Take-Off and Landing KILLSTREAK An explosion of light forced me to open my eyes. I couldn¡¯t breathe, I couldn¡¯t see, and my chest felt like it was about two seconds from collapsing in on itself. ¡°Don¡¯t panic,¡± a garbled robotic voice ordered through the pitch dark that had been left after the light, ¡°do you require a memory kicker?¡± ¡°Finn Dexter.¡± I muttered to myself after remembering my name, raising more questions than I answered. ¡°Do you require a memory kicker?¡± the robot repeated. There was a part of me that wanted to say yes, but then I recalled what that entailed and shook my head, ¡°No, no I¡¯ll be fine.¡± I said as some white text popped up in the bottom right-hand corner of my vision.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Pod initializing¡­ Preparing for drop¡­ A tablet-sized screen lit up in front of my face, illuminating the coffin-like pod I was strapped into, and gave me an exterior view of the top of the pod. ¡°Okay, KillStreak, I¡¯m in KillStreak.¡± I said as all but my most recent RL memories came back to me, which wasn¡¯t concerning to me whatsoever due to the fact that I¡¯d dropped in about a million times before. I watched the screen patiently as the circular doors below my pod dilated in their alien way, and listened as a variety of hisses and clunking sounds echoed around the exterior of my pod. Three¡­ Two¡­ One¡­ Good luck. A sound like a massive shotgun cocking made me wince, followed by what felt like my stomach doing somersaults as I was fired out of the craft I was in. ¡°My name is Finn Dexter¡­¡± I worked past a bubble of vomit that had made its way up my throat as I hurtled toward the planet below, ¡°I¡¯m in KillStreak¡­ I¡¯ve been kidnapped.¡± FIVE MINUTES PRIOR I was in a warehouse, the kind that you¡¯d see by the harbor, although I couldn¡¯t hear the typical sounds of the sea. The place had obviously been cleared out, recently, and in a hurry, if the scraps and pieces of junk that were scattered across the floor were to be believed, in order to make room for the twenty or so pods and their stations that lined the walls of the well-lit structure. To match the pods, there were about twenty chicks and dudes standing around with me in a huddled formation near the door where we¡¯d just been forced through, each of us clearly as confused as the rest as we looked around at what very well could have been some kind of super-secret gaming expo, you know, if it weren¡¯t for the five burly guys with AK-47s behind us. ¡°Welcome!¡± a purple-suited man practically bellowed as he came toward us from the opposite end of the warehouse. From the moment he announced his presence I knew I didn¡¯t like him. I didn¡¯t like his perfectly trimmed mane of blond hair. I didn¡¯t like his piercing blue eyes. I didn¡¯t like his golden tie. Most of all though, I didn¡¯t like the way he smiled. ¡°So,¡± he said once he came to a stop a few feet from us, ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re wondering why I¡¯ve brought you here.¡± ¡°Hell yeah we are!¡± some confident sounding dude-bro somewhere in our crowd shouted, ¡°You have no right to keep us here!¡± I half expected the man to have the loud guy on the spot, but instead he simply chuckled and waved his finger at the crowd, ¡°Now, now, now, there will be no more outbursts.¡± ¡°Or what?¡± the clearly recently brain-damaged guy in the crowd shouted back. The man didn¡¯t respond, leaving one of the armed men behind us to do so by firing off a single shot into the ground. ¡°Or that.¡± the man said with a smile, ¡°Alright, now that we¡¯ve got all that out of the way, let me explain why you¡¯re here, and what¡¯s going to happen over the next few minutes.¡± He waited a while after saying that, clearly to give us some time to see whether any one of us were going to bark at him, before nodding and continuing on when no one did, ¡°Good, my name is Mister Purple, obviously,¡± he said, gesturing to his clothes, ¡°and I¡¯m sure you will probably recognize some of the faces around you, through mutual friends, or perhaps even from tournaments you¡¯ve attended.¡± As much as I hated the name ¡®Mister Purple¡¯, I had to agree with him.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Of the twenty people there, I knew at least half of them, half of whom I would classify as ¡®friends¡¯, and another I would classify as ¡®dorm-mate¡¯ because¡­ well, we shared a dorm at our university. ¡°You will not talk to any of these people until after you¡¯ve gone to your pod.¡± Mister Purple ordered, snapping my attention back to him, ¡°In fact, it¡¯s probably for the best that you try not to cough, sneeze, or make an otherwise abrasive sound until we¡¯re done here.¡± ¡°And what¡¯s to stop us from doing so? Huh?¡± the dude-bro shouted, apparently having forgotten the gunmen behind us, ¡°Come on! We can take him!¡± From there things were kind of confusing. The dude-bro ran out in front of us, one of the gunmen shouted ¡°Out of the way!¡± then we moved, and finally Mister Purple pulled out a pistol and emptied its mag into the dude-bro, spraying the rest of us with blood in the process. ¡°Anyone else thinking of making a run at me?¡± Mister Purple asked as he ejected his gun¡¯s mag and slid in a new one, ¡°No one? Good. Now, there are three simple rules. One, once you are in the game you will not tell any of the other players in your match about the nature of your¡­ predicament. Two, you will survive for as long as you possibly can. And finally, three, winner gets the grand prize.¡± Suddenly the tension in the warehouse broke, and everyone turned their attention to Mister Purple, with the exception of the corpse-focused me. ¡°No one¡¯s going to ask?¡± Mister Purple laughed, ¡°Alright, well, the grand prize for the winner of today¡¯s game, which will consist of you fine pro-gamers and the 230 poor schmucks who end up in there with you, is, drumroll please¡­ You get to live!¡± I swear, I¡¯d never heard so many people gulp so loudly before, and I have to admit that what Mister Purple had said was enough to get me to look up away from the still very much bleeding dude-bro. ¡°Oh, and I suppose you have that briefcase filled with cash.¡± Mister Purple said dismissively before snapping his fingers and then catching the briefcase that was cast his way, ¡°I¡¯ve got a cool half-a-million dollars in here for whoever gets in there and wins the round. But I¡¯d get in there quickly, the game¡¯s about to start, and I¡¯m sure you all know what it¡¯s like to get into KillStreak last.¡± There were a few seconds of silence before, with all the subtlety of a horde of hungry orcs pillaging a small fishing village, myself and the rest of the gamers scattered. I missed out on two pods before finally reaching one that wasn¡¯t occupied and booting up the terminal beside it. ¡°Hey, Finn!¡± my best friend and roommate Stan called over from the pod three over from mine, ¡°That place where we got attacked by those mutated penguins?¡± It took me a moment to realize what he was talking about, but I eventually got it and nodded, ¡°See you there!¡± I shouted back in response as I logged into the terminal and the pod thrummed to life, ¡°Try not to bring back too much heat with you this time, eh?¡± ¡°Hey, you don¡¯t tell me how to travel, I won¡¯t tell you how to shoot.¡± I¡¯m not sure what had gotten us to the point where we were joking around with each other, I mean, we¡¯d just seen a guy get killed. That being said, I¡¯m sure it was just some kind of shock response and that we weren¡¯t actually completely desensitized to the concept of death and our own mortality, after all, I was still pretty scared. Fear was the last thing I could have in my mind as the pod¡¯s lid split in half and gave me room to slip into the bed of blue cushions and vents, after kicking off my shoes, of course. I wasn¡¯t the first to have the pod close around me, but I also sure as Hell wasn¡¯t the last, which gave me hope that I at least had a fighting chance. ¡°My name is Finn Dexter, I¡¯m in KillStreak¡­¡± I whispered to myself as I always had, locking those two ¡®anchor¡¯ memories in my brain as the pod started to whirr, ¡°I¡¯ve been kidnapped.¡± A ROUGH LANDING By the time I¡¯d re-figured out the controls for guiding the pod that was hurtling toward some forest near the edge of the island, I barely had enough time to start using the thrusters to get myself over to the mostly secluded beach, and not enough time at all to realize that I was going toward the wrong one. Activate reverse thrusters. My mind went into panic mode as I desperately tried to remember which of the alien glyphs on the screen meant ¡®reverse thruster¡¯, which turned out to be just enough time for a flashing warning system to start going off throughout the pod. Collision imminent! Collision imminent! Collisio- Without thinking, I tapped one of the glyphs and watched with relief as the pod¡¯s bottom thruster fired, allowing me to re-familiarize with the symbols and their meanings, before hitting the one that launched out a drag race car-style parachute from the top of the pod, slowing me down right before I crashed into the beach with a less-than comforting crunching sound. Pod damaged!If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Pod damaged! Pod damaged! Evacuate now! Grateful that most of my memory had returned to me, I hit the glyph that resulted in the pod doors shooting off and climbed out onto the charred sand, only to see that I was not alone on the beach. She¡¯d clearly only landed a few moments before I had, and was obviously panicking about as much as I was, though I didn¡¯t know whether that was due to her being one of the people from the warehouse or her simply not wanting to lose the match so early on. Either way, we were frozen watching each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. I¡¯d never make the move though, the first to move was almost always the one who lost, but I also didn¡¯t know if I was capable of killing her if she did come for me. What if she was from the warehouse? Did I really want that kind of blood on my conscious? I couldn¡¯t bog myself down with that though, otherwise I¡¯d end up drawing the short straw. If she attacked me, I¡¯d defend myself, it was my only choice. Then she bolted up the beach and into the forest, forgoing all the potential gear that could¡¯ve been hidden in her pod. ¡°Thank God¡­¡± I muttered after a few seconds of watching the trees, waiting for her to come running out, ¡°Now, what have we got in here?¡± Few people actually bothered to search their pods, which was something that I found damn near insane most of the time, but as I climbed back up into my pod and peeled out the cushions I couldn¡¯t help but let out a disappointed sigh at my loot. +Tier 1 Backpack +Tier 1 Body Armor +Crowbar ¡°Well,¡± I said as I jumped back out of the pod and pulled the backpack over my shoulders, ¡°this is gonna suck.¡± THE DEEP WOODS I hated getting crappy gear right off the bat, it made things like going through the woods in the north-west quarter of the island all the more harrowing, especially after seeing another player run in there. ¡°Ah shit¡­¡± I murmured as quietly as I could after coming to a full stop by a tree, ¡°should¡¯ve searched her pod¡­¡± It was a rookie mistake, leaving an enemy pod unsearched, but I¡¯d only very recently been at the mercy of a bunch of gunmen, so I decided to let my minor transgression slide. I spent a few seconds picking a new direction to go in, before settling for west, the opposite direction of the beach, and resumed hoofing it toward the small pocket of cabins that I knew were in that general direction. The bad news with picking that though was that I was left with a lot of time to ponder on just how badly shit had gotten for me up in the real world. I was flunking out of most of my CS classes due to the simple fact that, along with several other, far more mature things, I was having too much fun getting high with my friends and playing videogames. Then there was the fact that my girlfriend had left me for some douchebag hipster who was conveniently really into music after finding out that she was trying her best to get into a band. Don¡¯t even get me started on the fact that I¡¯d just missed my first SDCC since I was ten-years-old. Oh, and then there was the whole getting hit over the back of the head with some kind of small but heavy sack, then getting dragged into a van, and then taken to some warehouse out the middle of nowhere where some nut-job in a purple suit¡­ eh, you know the rest. Anyway, I was on the north-east part of the island that, while not particularly ideal in terms of loot, meant I had a whole lot of space between myself and the other 249 players getting around the hundred-by-hundred mile map. I know that seems like a lot of space, especially given how few players there were in a match, but given that most people almost always dropped in one of the cities or the harbor, those numbers ticked down pretty damn quick. Don¡¯t even get me started on what happens when a few people band together, which they almost always did. ¡°Goddamn it.¡± I whispered as I came up to the set of five cabins after a solid twenty minutes of running, only to find that all the doors were open, a surefire sign that the place had been cleared out.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. However, right as I was about to turn away and started looking for a road, I spotted one unopened cabin at the end. Every instinct told me to make a break for that final cabin, grab the loot I could, and hope that it was enough to defend myself from the other player, or players, that were clearly there. I¡¯d played enough KillStreak to know that that was a death sentence though, and instead took my time, circled around the back of the cabins, and started peeping through windows while at the same time doing my best to remain unseen. I shouldn¡¯t have been so surprised that the cabins had been all but raided given that I was four or so miles from the lake, and with it, one of the main roads, but there still some part of me that felt like it was unfair that someone else had rolled up on what was supposed to be a barren part of the map. ¡°Found you¡­¡± I breathed as I spotted the girl from the beach, as well as the DMR and backpack she¡¯d managed to collect in her looting. She seemed pretty nooby, what with the fact that she¡¯d left almost every door she¡¯d gone through open, but a noob with a gun is still¡­ well, a noob with a gun. The player, clearly not paying attention to her surroundings, went for the side door while I made a stealthy but quick break for the corner of the cabin, where I waited for her to come running blindly out. As expected, she ran out, her gun aimed at the ground and her face full of hope as she made her way toward the final cabin. She never reached it though. Before she¡¯d gotten close enough to open the door, I¡¯d managed to sneak up behind her and crack her over the back of the head with my crowbar. FinnyBoi incapacitated BonBonBonny +5 Points (5 Points) I was left with two choices, bash her over the head again and get what loot I could from her body, or leave her to potentially get up after bandaging and shoot me in the back of the head. Alright, so I didn¡¯t really have a choice, but that didn¡¯t make the visceral feeling of caving someone¡¯s skull in with a crowbar any less brutal or sickening, especially when there was about a ten percent chance that I was killing a real person. FinnyBoi murdered BonBonBonny -1 Player (237 Players Remaining) +10 Points (15 Points) 1/3 Killstreak I was surprised by the amount of players that had already been killed, but in all fairness I didn¡¯t really keep up with the server notifications unless they directly applied to me, and, honestly, watching those little blips of text pop up seemed like a really good way to get myself killed. +SVD +30 7.62mm +Tier 2 Backpack -Tier 1 Backpack Honestly, I was a bit pissed that I didn¡¯t have at least a red dot sight for the DMR, and I would¡¯ve preferred something with a large ammo capacity and, you know, automatic, but the SVD was a solid gun, and it was certainly better than nothing. After ensuring that Bonny hadn¡¯t left anything potentially useful behind in the other cabins, I¡¯d moved up to the last one where, to my great disappointment, I found absolutely nothing. I was no stranger to crappy spawns, but usually I could just accept that I might end up getting killed early on, but with my neck actually on the line I couldn¡¯t help but feel an undeniable sense of anxiety that I didn¡¯t have enough. ¡°You just need a car,¡± I said to myself before leaving the empty cabin, ¡°you just need a car, then you¡¯ll be okay.¡± FINDING A CAR My first priority should¡¯ve been to find Stan, I knew that, but the fastest way I was going to do that was by finding a car, which, as always, was turning out to be much harder than I expected. ¡°C¡¯mon, c¡¯mon¡­¡± I muttered hopefully as I took a dangerous chance by breaking away from the safety of the tree line and headed for the lonely, abandoned gas station, ¡°Please¡­¡± I hit the rear wall of the two-car garage that was attached to the gas station and froze, my heart beating about a million miles an hour as I switched over to my crowbar and waited for someone to come running out through the doorway beside me. No one came though, and after a solid thirty seconds of waiting, I let out a sigh of relief, switched back to my SVD, and rounded the doorframe, taking care to scan the corners of the concrete structure as I did so. ¡°Thank the Gods¡­¡± There she was, some piece of crap grey minibus with a missing tire and a bunch of cracked windows, and I couldn¡¯t help but fall in love. At first inspection, it was clear that she had enough fuel in her to at least get me over to the next town, and while the other tires were slightly worse for wear, I was confident that they¡¯d hold up long enough for me to either replace them or find a better vehicle.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Then I heard a gunshot. It had come from the forest on the other side of the road, and obviously belonged to some kind of semi-automatic pistol. ¡°Watch what you¡¯re doing, dumbass.¡± someone growled as I slid back behind the minibus and checked my SVD¡¯s mag, ¡°Last thing we need is to run into another group.¡± ¡°Hey, that last one was my fault,¡± the other guy replied as they came out of the woods, ¡°how was I supposed to know that there were more people in that building?¡± ¡°By opening your Goddamn eyes!¡± I didn¡¯t give them the chance to finish their conversation, and instead took the opportunity to lean around the minibus, lock the one who was shouting in my sights, and fired two quick shots, one in the chest, one in the head. FinnyBoi murdered FreakForTheMemes -1 Player (223 Players Remaining) +20 Points (35 Points) 2/3 Killstreak The other guy, who was justifiably stunned by what had just happened, lingered in the middle of the road for a moment, before hitting the deck and firing at me with his pistol. He was too slow though, and had given me enough time to go over to the other side of the minibus where I had a clean shot at him. ¡°Sorry,¡± I said as I waited for him to run out of ammo, ¡°it has to be one of us.¡± The firing stopped. The shooter cursed under his breath. I popped out of hiding. He panicked. I aimed. He went to get to his feet. I fired. FinnyBoi murdered Lamb_of_Satan -1 Player (222 Players Remaining) +20 Points (55 Points) 3/3 Killstreak Killstreak Tier 1 Unlocked Tablet dispatched¡­ Use the tablet to call in Killstreak Items CHANGING A TIRE I didn¡¯t see the small pod falling, but boy did I hear it as it made its touchdown just over the bodies of my two most recent victims, neither of which had anything of use. ¡°That was fast.¡± I said as I approached the blue, thrumming, shoebox-sized pod, ¡°Almost too fast.¡± I¡¯d gotten myself worked up over nothing though, the box¡¯s little ¡®FinnyBoi¡¯ etching proving that beyond a doubt. +Killstreak Tablet I loved the tablets, their design, their interface, all of it, but as much as I wanted to start scrolling through it right then and there, I knew that I had to get somewhere safe first. So, after slotting the tablet into my backpack with a disappointed sigh, I made a break for the gas station, keeping my eyes open for anyone who had heard the gunshots and thought to come looking. I was in luck though, and managed to get to the gas station¡¯s front counter without so much as getting a whiff of any players, before pulling out the tablet and going to work looking through the options that were available to me which, thanks to my low point count, wasn¡¯t a whole lot. The tires were pretty cheap at a mere five points apiece, but giving up points for something that could be found just about anywhere seemed like a waste. Then, of course, there were the guns.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. I couldn¡¯t get any of the high-powered ones, which were all in the higher tiers, but I could potentially get a semi-decent scope and some ammo for what I already had. It shouldn¡¯t have been so difficult, I know, and I almost always ended getting toward the endgame without having spent a single one of my points, but, again, the situation was different. What if a crappy scope was all that stood between me and death? And what if I ended up getting into some kind of tense firefight and spent the rest of what little ammo I had left? ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid.¡± I said before putting the tablet back in my bag, ¡°Play it smart, save your points.¡± It was a hard decision to make, but as I pulled my SVD back over my shoulder and returned to the garage, I couldn¡¯t help but feel like I¡¯d made the right call, something that was only compounded by the fact that I¡¯d realized I¡¯d forgotten to check the front of the minibus throughout the firefight. ¡°Thank fuck for that¡­¡± I muttered with a smile as I pulled the dry, dirt-caked cover off the tire attached to the front of the bus, ¡°This day just got a whole lot better.¡± From there it was only a matter of time before I found a tire iron, a jack, and a few more lug nuts to replace the rusted ones, after which I went to work replacing the tire. There were a lot of things I loved about KillStreak. Changing tires was not one of them. Sure, I¡¯d appreciated the attention to detail when I¡¯d first started playing, but after dozens of changes I eventually realized that I really just wanted to be able to hit a key, do a fancy little animation, and have a new tire. +5 Points (60 Points) With the minibus ready to roll, I climbed into the driver¡¯s seat and turned the key that was, conveniently, in the ignition, before looking back up at the bodies in the middle of the road and having a thought. It wasn¡¯t a particularly appetizing thought, but it was definitely one that had the potential to be useful. ¡°Is it really desecration if you don¡¯t damage the body?¡± HERMITS CRADLE With the two corpses posing as my squad in the back of the minibus, I was free to drive along the road with the confidence only a team could bring. Granted, it would be super obvious to anyone who happened to get close enough that my cohorts weren¡¯t capable of firing back, however, with that said, if people were close enough to see that, they were close enough to kill me. Anyway, my next goal was to find a GPS or, at the very least, a map. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I knew my way around the island, but having a vague idea of where I was and knowing were two very different things. The good news was that, even without a GPS, I knew where Hermit¡¯s Cradle was in the forest. The bad news was that the once hush-hush location of Hermit¡¯s Cradle wasn¡¯t exactly a secret, and anyone who knew anything about KillStreak knew that that was the place to go if you ended up getting stuck in the northern section of the island. I wasn¡¯t about to let that deter me though, and as I saw the house¡¯s driveway, which was almost indistinguishable from the rest of the patches of dirt in the forest, I turned hard, nearly toppling the minibus in the process, but at the same time making it hard for any potential players to keep track of my movements. The driveway was off to a good start as I hammered my way up it, and had absolutely no sign of footprints or tire tracks beyond the ones I was leaving behind. ¡°Yes!¡± I quietly cheered as, after a solid minute of driving, I reached the small clearing where Hermit¡¯s Cradle laid and saw that there was not a single sign of life. My celebration was short-lived though as my more tactical brain took over and I realized it was only a matter of time before another player decided to try their luck with the veritable treasure trove of gear. +Car Key (Minibus) Holding onto the key was a dead giveaway that the minibus wasn¡¯t there by accident, which meant that anyone who decided to poke their head into the vehicle would know that there was someone in the house or, at the very least, close by. That being said, there were two dead guys in the back, so I doubted anyone would be looking for a key.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. The house was about what you¡¯d expect from a place called ¡®Hermit¡¯s Cradle¡¯. Two-storey, blacked-out and boarded windows, dry and peeling brown paint, and a front porch where you could picture some backwoods grandpa sitting in a rocking chair with a double-barrel. Looks can be deceiving though. After ensuring no one was going to sneak up behind me, I went up to the front door and pushed it open, activating the fluorescent lightbulbs as I did so, which promptly lit up the stainless steel-walled and very, very modern interior of Hermit¡¯s Cradle. The place was spotless, not counting the dirty footprints I¡¯d trailed in with me, and had clearly been ignored by the players up until that point. I wasn¡¯t about to stick around for someone to show up though. With my gun raised high, I started moving through the house, checking every doorway and corner with the anxiety only getting surprised by guys with shotguns a dozen times could provide, but found myself relaxing slightly as I reached the stairs at the rear of the loot-laden home. Don¡¯t get me wrong, there was tons of stuff in those bottom rooms, but I knew that all the best gear was in the far more ambush-ready second floor. I hated going into places with only one means of ingress and egress, but I found myself able to rationalize it with the Cradle for the simple reason that, push came to shove, I¡¯d be armed to the teeth. ¡°Ah, shit¡­¡± I groaned as I entered what was supposed to be fully-stocked walls and tables of weapons and ammo, but was instead packed to the rafters with backpacks and sets of body armor. There were benefits to having a decent backpack and protective gear, but I really needed a gun that was capable of at least burst-fire. +Tier 3 Backpack -Tier 2 Backpack +Tier 3 Body Armor -Tier 1 Body Armor +Tier 2 Helmet I was about to buckle and accept that I¡¯d burned through all my luck when, in the far corner of the floor, I spotted a small pile of gear. ¡°Could it be?¡± I said with a mock tone of amazement, ¡°Oh! It is!¡± I¡¯m not sure why I liked to play-act like a pretty princess from time-to-time, but I did, and it was fun. +AR-15 +30 5.56mm +30 5.56mm +30 5.56mm +Holographic Sight +X-15 Drum +Smoke Grenade Added Holographic Sight to AR-15 +3 Points (63 Points) Added X-15 Drum to AR-15 +3 Points (66 Points) She was, in a word, beautiful. Granted, when on full-auto the AR-15 was like a fat guy at an all-you-can-eat buffet, but, provided I kept her on semi-auto for the majority time, I was confident I¡¯d be able to make the ammo last. And then, as if to show me that nothing good happens in KillStreak without consequences, I heard some players. POOR DECISIONS Doing my best to remain stealthy, I walked over to one of the windows and peeked through the tinted glass where, despite my view being obscured by the wooden planks, I saw three players with some pretty solid gear moving up to my minibus. ¡°See?¡± one of them said, gesturing with his pump-action to my passengers, ¡°They¡¯re dead.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, you¡¯re a genius.¡± another replied before putting her hand on her hip and letting her AK-47 dangle by her side, ¡°We gonna bust into the house or what?¡± ¡°You crazy?¡± the third guy laughed, slinging his compound bow over his shoulder as he did so, ¡°If there¡¯s someone in there, which I reckon there is, they¡¯ll put us down in a frickin¡¯ heartbeat.¡± ¡°So, what? We just move on then?¡± the one with the AK mocked, ¡°Leave behind a bunch of awesome gear because you guys are too chicken-shit to handle a few guys in a house?¡± ¡°No one¡¯s saying we leave emptyhanded,¡± the guy with the shotgun interjected before the other guy could throw a fit, ¡°we take the bus.¡± ¡°This piece of shit?¡± the girl laughed, ¡°Yeah, ¡®cause this is worth the trouble.¡± The guy with the shotgun hesitated for a moment, then shrugged and climbed up into the minibus, ¡°Better than what we¡¯ve got now, and it¡¯ll do until we hit Livah.¡± ¡°Provided no one happens to throw a stick our way in that time.¡± the bowman scoffed before looking around at the trees, causing me to briefly pull away from the window, and sighing, ¡°Although¡­ alright, say I agree with you, and not saying I am, but what would w-¡± I didn¡¯t give them the opportunity to continue their conversation, and instead whipped my smoke grenade out the window and watched it smash into the back of the girl¡¯s head with pinpoint accuracy. ¡°Contact!¡± the one in the bus shouted before switching to his sidearm and opening fire on me. His first few shots were wide of the window by a mile, giving me enough time to pop the one with the AK through the back of her calf, the bullet doing its job perfectly in bringing her to her knees, before he could get a shot through the glass. FinnyBoi incapacitated NeverGonnaGiveYouUp +5 Points (71 Points)Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. The shooter¡¯s aim was still off, but he¡¯d given his friend with the bow enough time to disappear while at the same time managing to stay in cover himself. I¡¯m not sure if he knew it, but the fact that he was in my minibus made it all the more difficult to fire at him. That¡¯s when my smoke grenade finally decided to go off. ¡°Shit.¡± I said flatly before making a break for the stairs, realizing that, if they were barely half as intelligent as I thought they were, they¡¯d be able to bring their team back up to full strength and come after me. I was halfway down the stairs when, with a quick spark and a sharp sound, an arrow glanced off the wall in front of me. ¡°Double shit.¡± I muttered as I spotted the bowman out of the corner of my eye and ran back up the stairs. ¡°He¡¯s upstairs!¡± the archer called out to his friends, ¡°Should I go after him?¡± ¡°Give me two seconds,¡± the girl replied, ¡°Lukey¡¯ll have me up and we¡¯ll come with you.¡± That¡¯s when I had an epiphany. ¡°One,¡± I whispered as I put my AR over my shoulder, preparing for an arrow to lodge in my back at any moment, ¡°two¡­¡± ¡°Heading up!¡± I didn¡¯t bother saying three, and instead just ran at the window and jumped through it, smashing through the glass and weak wood with ease, before doing my best to roll while unable to see the ground. By sheer luck, I managed to pull the roll off, despite the guns and pack on my back, though not without causing some damage. I¡¯m not sure exactly what it was, but something in my right shoulder popped while something else in my elbow let out a disconcerting cracking sound. ¡°Where¡¯d he go?¡± I heard the archer ask as I tried to breathe through the pain as quietly as possible while moving toward the minibus. ¡°How should I know?¡± Lukey growled, ¡°You¡¯re the one at the window.¡± ¡°Alright, alright, just¡­ look for him, okay?¡± the bowman practically pleaded, ¡°Where¡¯s Cara?¡± ¡°She¡¯s down there somewhere, patching herself up in the back of the minibus, I think.¡± ¡°Thanks for giving away my position!¡± Cara shouted, confirming Lukey¡¯s comment, ¡°Dick.¡± I froze, before mouthing a painful ¡®Fuck!¡¯ and trying my best to stay within the fast-dissipating smoke cloud. If I stayed where I was, I was screwed. If I left the smoke, I was screwed. If I approached the minibus, I was¡­ That¡¯s when I got an idea, it was a bad idea, especially with my injury, but it was something. In an effort to minimize sound, I drew in a deep breath, found the rough outline of the bus in the cloud, and crept around it. Once I was at the back of the bus, I pulled my SVD over my shoulder, barely fighting back the urge to seethe as I did, and found the back door. I had maybe fifteen seconds of cover left when I pulled the door open and stuck the barrel of my SVD into the red-headed Cara¡¯s lower back, ¡°Say a single frickin¡¯ word, I dare you.¡± Cara, despite clearly wanting to bark something at me, kept her mouth shut and put her hands in the air. ¡°Good, now, move to the front of the bus.¡± ¡°And wh-¡± ¡°Did I tell you to talk?¡± I hissed, ¡°Front of the bus, now. Make sure to leave your gun on the seat.¡± Again, Cara wanted to say something, but thought better of it and followed my order, eliciting a silent sigh of relief from me as I was able to climb up into the back and pull the door shut behind me. ¡°Here¡¯s the key,¡± I said, tossing it over to Cara who caught it with ease, ¡°get us the Hell outta here.¡± - Car Key (Minibus) GETTING TO KNOW FOLK To Cara¡¯s credit, she was pretty damn good at driving. Her teammates had absolutely no idea that we were gone until it was too late, and once we were out on the open road there was no stopping us. The only problem was that she was a bit of an asshole. ¡°This is your plan, huh?¡± my ¡®hostage¡¯ mocked as I tried and failed to pop my arm back into place, ¡°Keep me at gunpoint until we either get shot or I test my luck? You must be real smart.¡± ¡°Just drive, alright?¡± I practically pleaded, ¡°I¡¯ve got enough to focus on right now.¡± ¡°Like what? Do you even know where we¡¯re going?¡± ¡°The¡­¡± I trailed off as I realized that I actually didn¡¯t, ¡°You know what? I don¡¯t know. Do you have any suggestions, or just jabs and insults?¡± ¡°Actually, I was thinking we should go to the hospital.¡± Cara replied matter-of-factly. ¡°Why? Is that where your squad agreed to meet if you got separated?¡± ¡°What squ-oh, those guys?¡± she asked with a scoff, ¡°All I had to do with them was say ¡®friendly¡¯ in as girly a voice as possible and they couldn¡¯t help themselves. Suddenly they were giving me guns, and ammo, and bandages-¡± ¡°I get it,¡± I snapped past a particularly sharp breath before finally accepting that I wasn¡¯t going to be able to fix my arm without medical equipment, ¡°you sold your gender out for some loot.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t sell out my gender,¡± Cara shot back, ¡°I used my gender, I sold out myself. What I do has nothing to do with what every other woman decides to do.¡± ¡°You said ¡®do¡¯ too many times there,¡± I said, my Aspie brain struggling with the abnormal repetition, ¡°you know that, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, I heard it too.¡± Cara chuckled, ¡°Look, my point is that I¡¯m just here to play the game. I had a long day at college, and I needed something to do for a few hours. I ain¡¯t hiding a tactical fire team up my ass, and I ain¡¯t doing anything but trying my hardest to survive the longest.¡± I believed her, I really did, but there was still this part of me that wanted to be wary of her, this sort of paranoid instinct that told me that, given the chance, she¡¯d blow me away before I had the chance to open my mouth. ¡°Okay, hospital it is.¡± I finally said after slumping back in my chair, ¡°Speaking of, how¡¯re you holding up? I got you pretty good back there.¡± ¡°That you did,¡± Cara replied, ¡°I managed to stem the bleeding some with one of my bandages, but I¡¯m still redlinin¡¯.¡±Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°Good.¡± I breathed before realizing what I¡¯d said, ¡°I mean, not good that you¡¯re hurt, good that goin¡¯ to the hospital doesn¡¯t only benefit me.¡± ¡°And how¡¯s that a good thing?¡± ¡°Simple. You suggestin¡¯ we go there for my benefit and my benefit alone is suspicious, but you suggesting it because you¡¯re in need of some stuff¡­ well, let¡¯s just say that it settles me some.¡± ¡°Fair ¡®nough.¡± Things stayed quiet for a few seconds after that, before Cara decided to go ahead let out a bored raspberry, ¡°That a Colorado accent I hear?¡± she asked, ¡°I mean, under all that pretendin¡¯ you¡¯re not crap?¡± I was briefly surprised that she¡¯d been able to hear it, given the fact that I¡¯d actually gone to a great deal of effort to hide the fact that I was from somewhere ¡®less-than¡¯ in the eyes of most people, but then I realized how it would¡¯ve come creeping through. ¡°Yeah, only really comes out when I get to talking with others from the same area.¡± I replied in an attempt to sound smart, which I¡¯m sure Cara just rolled her eyes at. ¡°Big surprise you recognized my accent,¡± she half-laughed in response, ¡°not like you didn¡¯t grow up ¡®round girls like me, huh?¡± ¡°In all fairness, I wasn¡¯t aware that we were playin¡¯ the ¡®get to know each other¡¯ game quite yet.¡± ¡°Game?¡± Cara scoffed, ¡°Ain¡¯t a game when you¡¯re talkin¡¯ to people.¡± ¡°May as well be,¡± I said assuredly, ¡°take that for example. You¡¯ve taken offence to me callin¡¯ social interaction a game, which means I¡¯ve failed the dialogue and have lost so social points with you.¡± Cara seemed pretty well stumped by what I¡¯d just said, but eventually settled for a shrug, ¡°S¡¯pose everyone¡¯s got their own way o¡¯ dealing with people.¡± she said somewhat understandingly, ¡°You really ought to consider seein¡¯ someone about that though, before you decide to climb up a bell tower and play some kinda RL arcade shooter.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry ¡®bout that,¡± I replied with a little laugh, ¡°doctors have signed me off as being safe to play with others. We should be comin¡¯ up on the hospital soon, right?¡± ¡°Unless you wanna try for the city one, yeah.¡± Cara said before pointing down the road, ¡°Forest should end soon-ish, then it¡¯s only about a half-mile ¡®fore we hit the hospital. Gotta be careful though, whole bunch o¡¯ people were heading that way when I dropped.¡± ¡°How many?¡± Cara seemed to think on that for a few seconds, before shrugging, ¡°Twenty? At least?¡± ¡°Twenty?¡± I scoffed, ¡°Do you think we¡¯re prepared to handle twenty players?¡± ¡°What¡¯s this ¡®we¡¯ stuff?¡± Cara chuckled, ¡°You still got a gun on me, don¡¯t you?¡± I went to say no, but saw that I did, in fact, having my SVD sitting on my lap aiming in her general direction, ¡°Alright, fair enough,¡± I said before slinging the gun over my shoulder with a sharp breath, ¡°I just figured we could start playing a bit nicer now that we both know that neither one of us is trapping the other.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know that,¡± Cara joked, ¡°I could be leading you to your death, and you wouldn¡¯t be able to do shit.¡± ¡°I could shoot you.¡± I replied with a smile. ¡°Yeah, but you won¡¯t,¡± Cara said confidently before turning to face me, ¡°unless you want this bus of yours to flip.¡± ¡°Alright, alright, keep your eyes on the road.¡± I laughed as the trees finally started to give way to fields, ¡°Last thing we need is for you to wreck us.¡± ¡°And you just assume I¡¯m gonna wreck us ¡®cause I¡¯m a woman?¡± Cara mocked before turning her attention back to the road. ¡°No, I assumed you were gonna wreck us ¡®cause you¡¯re drivin¡¯ at over eighty in what clearly should be a forty zone.¡± ¡°Heh, you¡¯re just bein¡¯ paranoid.¡± Cara replied confidently as she pointed out toward the large structure in the distance, ¡°See, there¡¯s the hospit-¡± Now, I didn¡¯t see the muzzle flash, nor did I notice the punctured tire before we started to roll, but boy did I hear the whip crack of that rifle. Oh, and Cara was doing a good bit of cursing too. SURPRISE ATTACK ¡°Keep your Goddamn head down!¡± Cara barked as another shot was fired and the bottom of the sideways minibus got punctured, ¡°You see him?¡± ¡°No such luck¡­¡± I replied as I pulled out my crowbar and went to work smashing out the windscreen with my non-dominant arm, ¡°When I bust this out, you go around the back of the bus and wait, yeah?¡± ¡°Why? So you call out to your sniper friend and have him put me down?¡± ¡°No, so you¡¯ll be in cover, jackass.¡± I growled as I gave up using my left arm and switched to the far more painful one, which cracked and broke through the layered glass with ease, ¡°Hurry up.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you be tellin¡¯ me what to do.¡± Cara snapped, ¡°Frickin¡¯ sniper shootin¡¯ at me, frickin¡¯ sociopath tellin¡¯ me what to do¡­¡± She muttered something else as she climbed out through the front of the car, but I was more focused on the sniper than what Cara had to say about me. Another shot was fired, missing me by a good three or four foot, and I used that as my opportunity to sneak out and join Cara. ¡°Spot any cover?¡± I asked hopefully as I struggled with the weight of my SVD. ¡°Yeah, and I thought I¡¯d keep that highly pertinent information to myself.¡± Cara replied sardonically, ¡°No, I ain¡¯t seen any cover.¡± ¡°Lead with that next time.¡± I said coolly, irritating Cara further, while trying to measure the risks and potential rewards of peeking over the minibus, ¡°You reckon if I look over he¡¯s just gonna shoot me?¡± ¡°I would. Hell, I might.¡± Cara barely half-joked, ¡°What¡¯s the plan?¡± ¡°Right now? Don¡¯t get shot.¡± ¡°Heh, good one.¡± The_Literal_Pube murdered JoJoLoco -1 Player (200 Players Remaining) ¡°Oh no¡­¡± I trailed off as quiet tone rang over the island, ¡°that¡¯s the last thing we need¡­¡± Outbreak detected! Outbreak detected! Zeta-One-Meta-Beta outbreak detected! ¡°Shit¡­¡± Cara muttered, ¡°how¡¯d we get down so low?¡± ¡°Same thing that always happens,¡± I replied after the sniper took a shot at something out of our view, ¡°weak get killed off first, leave the rest of us to deal with events and the monster spawns.¡± Cara went to say something else, but stopped as we both spotted something coming out of the woods we¡¯d just left.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Crap.¡± I said flatly as, with a haunting sort of swaying and shuffling, the zombies started to come our way, ¡°You think we can-¡± Cara didn¡¯t even let me finish my sentence before scrambling to her feet and running toward the hospital, screaming ¡°Serpentine!¡± as she did so. Without wasting another second, I followed her lead, with the exception that I went around the opposite side of the minibus to her, and started sprinting toward the hospital in a zig-zag pattern. The sniper was clearly distracted though, and while I maintained my evasive running technique, he was busy firing at the zombies that I¡¯m guessing had attempted to join him in wherever he was hiding. At first they were nowhere to be seen, beyond the ones shuffling out of the forest, but before long they seemed to appear at every side. ¡°Keep up!¡± Cara shouted back, ¡°We¡¯re almost there!¡± She was right, but at the same time, we weren¡¯t alone in our pursuit of the hospital, and it wasn¡¯t long before other players came pouring out of the woodwork and started hoofing toward the front doors. I had this instinct, this sort of innate and undeniable urge to start firing on the dozen or so players, but I, along with all of them it seemed, rationalized that there would be plenty of time to kill each other once the threat of getting ripped to pieces was no longer present. ¡°Almost there,¡± I told myself once we were within a few hundred feet of the hospital¡¯s large double-doors, ¡°almost there¡­¡± ¡°There¡¯s wire fencing!¡± Cara called back, ¡°What do we do!?¡± ¡°Jump it!¡± Cara seemed justifiably concerned about the prospect of jumping over barbed wire, but apparently not as concerned as she was about the zombies and players that were fast approaching us. She leaped over the three-foot high wire with ease, making her the first of the players to make it into the building, with the obvious exception of the sniper. I tried to pull off the same move, but jumped too soon and managed to hook my shoe with one of the barbs, causing me to crash to the ground in a heap right onto my bad arm. ¡°What are you doing!?¡± Cara practically shrieked as she used her AK to suppress the assailants coming our way. ¡°My shoe is stuck!¡± I growled past a wince of pain as I rolled onto my back and looked at my trapped foot. ¡°Then take it off!¡± Not going to lie, I felt slightly embarrassed that that simple solution hadn¡¯t occurred to me until after she suggested it, but at the same time was grateful that it worked, leaving me to wriggle free into the hospital¡¯s lobby. -1 Shoe ¡°Where to?¡± Cara asked as we retreated, ¡°Upstairs or..?¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, upstairs.¡± I replied after Cara let off another burst from her AK, ¡°We¡¯ll use one of the service staircases, safer.¡± ¡°Provided our sniper isn¡¯t hiding in one?¡± Cara chuckled. ¡°Provided our sniper isn¡¯t hiding in one, yes.¡± I repeated with a smile before spotting the door that led to one of the emergency exit stairwells, ¡°That¡¯s our way up.¡± Cara didn¡¯t respond, instead opting to simply run straight for the door and leaving little opportunity for me to catch up with her. I went to say something to the effect of ¡®Slow down!¡¯ but was cut off as a hail of bullets started raining into the hospital¡¯s lobby. ¡°Keep up!¡± Cara barked from where she stood, holding the door open for me. ¡°I¡¯m trying my best.¡± I snapped back as I cleared the threshold and started bounding up the stairs two at a time. ¡°Well, clearly your best isn¡¯t good enough.¡± Cara replied with a grin, ¡°Now, where to from here? Just up?¡± ¡°I reckon we should stop on the third floor from the top, less likely to have someone come barging in on us.¡± I said as we reached the first landing which was marked ¡®Level 1¡¯, ¡°We should be able to find some meds and stuff up there too.¡± ¡°And by stuff you mean shoes, right?¡± Cara joked, the tone in her voice changing to something a lot calmer as we got further away from the gunfire that plagued the lobby, ¡°You end up getting a visual on our sniper¡¯s whereabouts when we were running?¡± ¡°No,¡± I replied as we cleared the third floor landing, ¡°but it wouldn¡¯t surprise me if he¡¯d gone up to the roof and started watching the door like a hawk.¡± ¡°Heh, you¡¯re probably right.¡± Cara scoffed, ¡°Damn campers.¡± THE SNIPER After a few more seconds of running, we¡¯d managed to reach the seventh floor without so much as a single zombie or player coming through any of the doors below us. ¡°Think we¡¯ll be alright in here?¡± I asked as we went and hid in a small office that, based on the various stickers and the giraffe measuring tape on the wall, used to belong to a pediatrician. ¡°One would hope so,¡± Cara replied coolly as she started rummaging through the various drawers and cabinets in the small office, ¡°here you go. Morphine.¡± I barely managed to catch the small autoinjector that Cara cast in my direction, but as soon as I did I couldn¡¯t help but feel immensely grateful. +1 Morphine -1 Morphine And with that simple injection, I was healed. I have to admit, it was always weird how that worked. The pain was so, so real, but somehow morphine could mend broken bones, dislocated joints, or just about anything else. Sure, you needed a blood bag if you lost too much, but morphine even helped you bring up your blood levels slowly over time. ¡°You hear that?¡± Cara whispered, pulling me out of my amused trance, ¡°I think someone¡¯s coming.¡± At first I didn¡¯t hear anything, beyond the sporadic gunfire coming from well below us, but, after a few seconds of straining my ears, the sound of quiet yet heavy footsteps reached me as they slowly made their way toward Cara and I¡¯s hiding place. ¡°Is there any chance that we left a trail?¡± I asked as quietly as I could after pulling my AR off my back, ¡°Any doors, or maybe some blood?¡± Cara quickly looked herself over then shook her head, ¡°I¡¯m not bleeding, you?¡± ¡°No.¡± I replied, not quite knowing whether I should be grateful or worried, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go silent.¡± Cara simply nodded at that, then gestured for me to go over to the right side of the door, ¡®You cover there,¡¯ she mouthed as she made her way to the left side, ¡®I¡¯ll cover here.¡¯ ¡®Do we wanna take them?¡¯ I mouthed back. Cara shook her head before poking herself in the chest, ¡®Low blood.¡¯ I understood her predicament, and while I was confident I¡¯d be able to handle whoever it was on the other side of the door, I didn¡¯t want to force her into a situation where she could accidently get put down. The owner of the heavy footfalls was mere feet from the door and seemed to be slowing down the closer they got, which I took as a sign that they knew where we were. ¡®Have they stopped?¡¯ Cara asked silently. ¡®Yeah, I think so.¡¯ I replied after listening for a few more seconds, ¡®Should we check?¡¯ ¡®No, if they come in, then we¡¯ll deal with them.¡¯ Truth be told, I was starting to get a bit antsy, but again, I appreciated Cara¡¯s position and stayed put. ¡°I know you¡¯re in there,¡± a familiar voice called through the door, ¡°and I know you¡¯re wounded.¡± It took me a moment to place the voice given that it was travelling through the door, but when I finally recognized it I couldn¡¯t help but grin, ¡°Stan?¡± I laughed, ¡°Is that you?¡± ¡°Finn?¡± Stan chuckled back, ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be damned, what are you doing here?¡± ¡°Oh, you know, doin¡¯ my best to survive.¡± I replied without opening the door, ¡°How ¡®bout you? I take it you¡¯re that sniper that flipped my vehicle?¡± ¡°That was you?¡± Stan asked in disbelief, ¡°Shit, I¡¯m sorry about that, I just saw a van coming and panicked.¡± ¡°Panicked?¡± Cara scoffed, ¡°You put a bullet clean through the tire moving at least fifty at, what, well over a half-mile?¡± ¡°I said I panicked, I didn¡¯t say I got shaky.¡± Stan replied with the cool confidence that he only ever got when he talked to girls, ¡°So, who¡¯s the girl? She one of us?¡± It took me a moment to realize what he meant, ¡°Oh¡­ No, no I don¡¯t think so.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Cara snapped boldly, ¡°I saved your ass, didn¡¯t I? That¡¯s gotta be worth something.¡± ¡°Trust me, you don¡¯t wanna be one of us.¡± Stan replied coldly before I could, his voice drooping as he too undoubtedly thought about the shitty situation we were in on the surface, ¡°Well, you two gonna come out or what?¡± I wanted to, desperately, but at the same time I wasn¡¯t altogether sure what Stan¡¯s reaction was going to be with Cara, and it wasn¡¯t like I could ask him whether or not he was going to shoot her on sight, that¡¯d make her¡­ jumpy.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Finn?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I replied, hoping that Cara would be okay with it, ¡°yeah, I¡¯m coming out. Sorry, it¡¯s been a weird day.¡± ¡°Have to agree with you there,¡± Stan chuckled as I walked out, ¡°what made it worse was I ended up landing nowhere near that beach.¡± ¡°Me too!¡± I laughed, taking note of Stan¡¯s ghillie suit and the AS50 on his back as I did so, ¡°Heh, packin¡¯ a lot of firepower I see.¡± ¡°Yeah, found her in my pod along with about fifty rounds.¡± Stan replied before taking the sniper rifle off his back as if to show it off. ¡°Fifty?¡± I scoffed, ¡°That seems a tad excessive, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Not when you take into account that I can only carry this and a pistol,¡± Stan said almost as if was genuinely upset, ¡°means I¡¯m next to useless in close-quarters.¡± ¡°Well thank God for that,¡± Cara replied, having finally decided to come out of the office, ¡°means I at least have a fightin¡¯ chance if you turn out to be a dick.¡± ¡°And who¡¯s this ray of sunshine?¡± Stan asked with a grin. ¡°Cara,¡± she practically barked back, ¡°who the Hell are you?¡± I liked the fact that Cara wasn¡¯t the type to just accept the company she was in, meant that I could count on her if our little team got any bigger, but at the same time I kind of felt like she was being a bit gruffer with Stan than she needed to be. Stan didn¡¯t appear to mind though, and after a few seconds of regarding Cara curiously, smiled and put his gun back on his back, ¡°I¡¯m Stan,¡± he announced before shooting his hand out in front of him, ¡°pleasure to meet you.¡± The expression on Cara¡¯s face was one I knew well after months of watching Stan¡¯s interactions with women. It was this sort of mix of shock and anger, like she was surprised that he respected her enough to shake her hand, but not enough that he¡¯d let her have the satisfaction of getting a rise out of him. Cara eventually gave into her more hospitable nature, and took his hand firmly, but not without saying ¡°I¡¯m sure the pleasure¡¯s all yours.¡± Again though, Stan didn¡¯t mind, he actually seemed kind of amused with her, but didn¡¯t say as much and instead turned back to me once the handshake was complete, ¡°So, what¡¯s the plan here? There¡¯re at least a dozen players in here with us, as well as a whole boatload of zombies.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t have an evac plan?¡± I chuckled, ¡°Man, you must be losing your edge.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not losing my edge,¡± Stan sniped back half-heartedly, ¡°I had a plan, but I know how you¡¯d react if I said ¡®Let¡¯s go to the roof¡¯. It¡¯d be all¡­ Why are you missing a shoe?¡± I looked at him confusedly for a few moments before turning my attention to my feet and remembering, ¡°Oh, yeah, wire fence.¡± I replied as if it was enough of a description, ¡°Now, the roof.¡± ¡°Are you agreeing?¡± ¡°No.¡± I scoffed, ¡°Why the Hell would I agree to go to the roof?¡± ¡°I¡¯m with¡­ Finn, was it?¡± Cara asked, drawing my attention to the fact that we hadn¡¯t actually properly introduced each other, then waited until I gave her a single nod, ¡°Okay, cool, I agree with Finn. Going to the roof seems like a really good way to get trapped.¡± ¡°And coming up here wasn¡¯t?¡± Stan asked with a level of cockiness that I honestly didn¡¯t think he was capable of. ¡°No, coming up here was a necessity,¡± Cara clarified matter-of-factly, ¡°whereas the roof is just a really high place with only one means of entrance and exit.¡± ¡°Alright, so we fight our way out.¡± Stan suggested, ¡°Well, you two fight our way out. I don¡¯t think the AS50¡¯s gonna be all that fun to use inside.¡± ¡°No can do,¡± Cara replied, ¡°I¡¯m low blood. One good shot and I¡¯m as good as dead.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Stan said, his voice clearly indicating that he was starting to get irritated, ¡°what¡¯s your plan then? Or do you just want to keep shooting down mine all day?¡± ¡°Well, I need meds,¡± Cara said, trying to sound as bold as possible, ¡°I just hit myself with morphine, but that¡¯s gonna take way too long to get me back up to full health.¡± ¡°Heh,¡± Stan huffed amusedly, ¡°well, you see, the thing about the meds is that they¡¯re all on the roof.¡± ¡°Why¡¯re all the meds on the roof?¡± I asked, deciding that that was as good a time as any for me to chime back in. ¡°Because I went ahead and put ¡®em there.¡± Stan replied. ¡°No, I mean¡­¡± I started then trailed off as I realized he was being deliberately pedantic, apparently taking no mind for the situation we were in, ¡°Ugh, why did you put ¡®em up there?¡± ¡°Well, to keep ¡®em from everyone else, of course.¡± Cara and, to a lesser extent, me were less than impressed with this answer for what I feel are completely justifiable and logical reasons. With that being said, I don¡¯t think Stan quite deserved the jaw-rattling punch he got from Cara, who I¡¯m sure would¡¯ve kept going if I hadn¡¯t have grabbed her as Stan fell backwards onto his ass. However, with that being said, I think that there were probably a whole lot of people out there that wanted to punch Stan in the face following something annoying he did in-game, but were incapable of doing so due to the previous limitations of mouse and keyboard gaming. ¡°You¡¯re exactly the kind of dick-hole who makes playin¡¯ this game such a frickin¡¯ pain in the ass!¡± Cara growled as she struggled and slipped out of my grip, ¡°I mean¡­ What gives you the right to just-¡± ¡°This game is about survival,¡± Stan snapped while rubbing his jaw and getting to his feet as Cara paced angrily in front of me, ¡°it ain¡¯t just about shootin¡¯ as many folk as you possibly can.¡± I felt like Stan was getting dangerously close to letting slip why it was he¡¯d been playing the way he had, but I also felt like me saying anything could potentially give it away and, thus, result in the both of us getting killed. ¡°You just said it though,¡± Cara replied, having apparently calmed down some on her little pace, ¡°this is a game. Games are meant to be fun. I mean, shit, I know that this ain¡¯t exactly your normal shoot ¡®em up, but it¡¯s still just a game.¡± ¡°To me it isn¡¯t,¡± Stan said flatly, bringing my concern to an even higher level, ¡°to me this is a matter of¡­¡± I¡¯m not sure what had made him trail off, whether it was simply him realizing what he was about to say, or if it was because he¡¯d seen the expression of panic on my face, but whatever it was I knew I was grateful for it. ¡°Look,¡± Stan started again with a sigh, ¡°I like this game, I like this game a lot.¡± ¡°So do I!¡± Cara shouted back with a little sardonic laugh, ¡°And you¡¯re ruinin¡¯ the experience by hoardin¡¯ all the crap you don¡¯t need.¡± ¡°I know, I know, but at the same time¡­¡± Stan responded somewhat meekly before looking back over to me with a half-smile, ¡°I don¡¯t know, I guess I figured I¡¯d try to play this round a bit differently.¡± ¡°By being a scrub?¡± I can honestly say that I was supremely surprised that Stan didn¡¯t shoot her right then and there considering the fact that he absolutely hated being called a ¡®scrub¡¯. Hell, he almost made physical contact with someone at a gaming convention over the term a few weeks after I¡¯d first met him. But no, instead Stan swallowed his pride, half-smiled, and nodded, ¡°Yes, by being a bit of a scrub.¡± Now, I¡¯m not sure if Cara knew just how difficult that was for him to say, or if she¡¯d realized that Stan wasn¡¯t that bad of a guy, or even if she¡¯d just had enough time to calm down, but, following Stan¡¯s almost bold self-deprecation, she smiled and let out an amused huff. ¡°Okay,¡± I said, hoping that I could steer the conversation to safety after everything had reached a level of semi-tranquility, ¡°the roof, there¡¯s still the problem that there¡¯s only one way off, unless you want to try your luck at jumping.¡± Stan seemed somewhat surprised at my existence for a moment, but quickly managed to shake that off with a broad smile and a set of finger-guns being pointed my way, ¡°That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong, kiddo.¡± THE ROOF As we slowly made our way up to the roof, I couldn¡¯t help but linger on the fact that Stan hadn¡¯t killed Cara yet. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I didn¡¯t want him too, but they clearly weren¡¯t exactly compatible individuals based on the few social interactions they¡¯d had, including one where Cara almost ¡®accidently¡¯ knocked Stan down a flight of stairs. I eventually rationalized it as simply being a case of Stan wanting to take full advantage of having an extra person on hand, and perhaps even as some regard for my feelings. Stan and I hadn¡¯t really had much of a chance to talk about it given the fact that Cara had been around the entire time, but I actually thoroughly enjoyed having her around, which was something that I had a bit of a hard time with in regards to must people. It wasn¡¯t anything romantic, of course, but I enjoyed having a friend other than Stan in the game, especially considering that death was a very real and ever-present threat, and having a friend meant having one less enemy. ¡°You holding up back there?¡± Stan asked as I kind of lingered on the final few steps before the roof¡¯s door which both he and Cara had just walked through, ¡°You seem kinda off.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± I lied, pretending that Stan being there hadn¡¯t brought into question my mortality and forced me to remember that we were both in a warehouse somewhere, ¡°like I said before, big day.¡± ¡°Fair enough.¡± Stan replied flatly, taking my meaning to heart and clearly thinking about the same thing I was. Or he was thinking about something totally unrelated, who knows? Anyway, I eventually accepted that I was going to have to go onto the roof with the others and finished the climb, before coming to a full stop pretty much as soon as I¡¯d stepped on the uneven gravel. ¡°Is that-¡± ¡°Yep.¡± Stan answered before I could finish. ¡°And is it-¡± ¡°Mmhm.¡± ¡°That just seems like-¡± ¡°A really stupid idea?¡± Cara interjected, ¡°Yeah, it does.¡± Okay, so she may have had a point, but it was also stupidly awesome. I mean, come on, a dirt bike attached to a bungie-cord? That¡¯s just plain cool. You know, until you start thinking about the logistics of it. ¡°I¡¯m deeply offended by that,¡± Stan said, finding the words that I couldn¡¯t, ¡°I put a lot of work into that there machine of greatness.¡± ¡°And by that you mean you had to figure out how to get the cord secured to the roof?¡± Cara asked pointedly, ¡°Seriously, what made you think this was a good idea?¡± ¡°The fact that it¡¯s absolutely amazing.¡± Stan replied defensively, ¡°Just look at it, and it¡¯ll totally weigh down the cord so we can slide down it to safety.¡± ¡°So you never planned to ride it?¡± I asked, a small piece of my heart breaking as I did so, ¡°I mean¡­ Good call, smart.¡± ¡°Yeah, except for the fact that he doesn¡¯t actually need to weigh down the cord,¡± Cara jabbed, ¡°he just wasted a bunch of points on a stupid, poorly thought out idea that clearly came from some boyhood journal of his.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have you know that I drew the schematics for this just last week,¡± Stan joked, ¡°besides, weighing down the cord can only be a good thing.¡±Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Cara went to argue, stopped, sighed, and nodded, ¡°Yeah, I s¡¯pose you¡¯re right. Doesn¡¯t make it any less of a stupid idea.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, go get yourself patched up while Finn and I look over my awesome invention.¡± Stan said, gesturing for me to follow as he did so, ¡°They¡¯re over in that far corner, should be able to find a few full blood bags and a tester, if you need it.¡± ¡°I know my blood type, dick.¡± Cara replied while Stan and I made our way over to his bike and she went to get herself healed. ¡°So¡­¡± I trailed off once we were by the bike and Cara was out of earshot, ¡°you totally planned to drive this off, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Stan scoffed, ¡°But then she went ahead and made me think about it.¡± I¡¯m not sure why, but that¡¯s when I decided to give Stan a serious, almost stern look, ¡°How can you be so irresponsible, man?¡± I asked, taking him by surprise, ¡°Given our¡­ circumstances, don¡¯t you think it would¡¯ve been better for you to think of something at least a little bit less deadly?¡± ¡°Hey, don¡¯t blame me,¡± Stan said almost too nonchalantly, ¡°I¡¯m just tryin¡¯ to make the shit situation. You, as always, are only seeing the downsides of our predicament.¡± ¡°And what would be the¡­¡± I trailed off as I remembered the massive reward. ¡°There you go.¡± Stan practically laughed, ¡°Now can you see why I¡¯m havin¡¯ fun with this?¡± I honestly couldn¡¯t, but I quickly figured that that was why Mister Purple had the reward there in the first place, to draw in those who wouldn¡¯t be as affected by the threat of life or death. ¡°Still though,¡± I finally said after realizing that Stan was waiting for me to talk, ¡°I think that it¡¯d be in all of our best interests if we did our best to make sure we play this smart.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve been meaning to talk to you about that. What¡¯s with the girl? She kinda seems like deadweight.¡± I was instantly offended on her behalf, but did my best not to let it show, ¡°She saved my ass back at the Cradle, pulled me out of a bad situation that I couldn¡¯t get out of.¡± ¡°Bullshit,¡± Stan scoffed, ¡°I know you too well to believe that you couldn¡¯t have figured out a way to work on your own, or, at the very least, get rid of her once you were in the clear. C¡¯mon, what¡¯s the real reason?¡± The truth was that I didn¡¯t know, but I knew that Stan wasn¡¯t going to take that for an answer, ¡°Because I figured it¡¯d be better for me to have body shield.¡± I said flatly, earning me a grin from Stan that unsettled me slightly, ¡°She¡¯s there for if ever the situation gets too grim and I need somethin¡¯ to throw off my scent.¡± ¡°Heh, there he is,¡± Stan replied, ¡°there¡¯s the gamer I know and love. Why didn¡¯t you lead with that?¡± I faked a smile at that and shrugged, ¡°Guess I¡¯ve been in character too long.¡± ¡°Yeah, heh, I noticed that. Echolalia or just tryin¡¯ to make her comfortable?¡± Stan asked, referencing my change in accent. ¡°Probably a bit of both.¡± I replied, struggling to maintain my smile as I realized that the person that I¡¯d labelled as one of my best friends didn¡¯t know a great deal about me, ¡°Anyway, what¡¯s the plan?¡± Stan shrugged and pointed his head toward Cara, ¡°I reckon we get rid of her ASAFP. From there it¡¯s just a matter of holding this hospital for as long as possible.¡± ¡°And you think we can do that? Even with all those players downstairs?¡± ¡°Hell yeah we can,¡± Stan replied confidently before gesturing for me to follow him over to the four-foot high cement wall that lined the edge of the hospital¡¯s roof, ¡°I¡¯ll cover the forest there, and the town all the way over there, and you cover the door.¡± ¡°What if a chopper comes in?¡± I asked as I looked over to the small town about two miles west from where were standing, ¡°I don¡¯t know if you know this, but I ain¡¯t got nothin¡¯ that¡¯ll be worth a damn if we come up against a vehicle.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t be a problem,¡± Stan said, tapping the AS50 on his back as he did, ¡°this ol¡¯ girl will take out anything in two shots, bar a BTR, of course, which takes three.¡± I liked his confidence, well, I liked it at that point because it meant that he had faith that there was a chance we might actually see ourselves into the endgame without any trouble. Now, of course at around that time is when I started to consider the fact that when we did get into that endgame there was only going to be one of us allowed out, but I really wasn¡¯t quite ready to start facing the fact that I might have to be the one to put him down. Anyway, I was right about to start going through the plan in more detail when I got a fresh player count notification that was worth reading. Kylia_the_Brave murdered LimpBiscuit -1 Player (175 Players Remaining) Warning! Warning! Zeta-One-Meta-Beta has mutated! Warning! Warning! Infected individuals have increased muscle response! Warning! Warning! Zeta-One-Meta-Beta has mutated! ¡°Welp,¡± Cara murmured as she joined us in watching dozens of zombies pour out of the forest and the town toward the hospital at full sprint, ¡°that can¡¯t be good.¡± AND NOW THEY RUN... For a few seconds there, there wasn¡¯t much I could do beyond stand and watch as the shit hit the fan, my eyes failing to track the mass of zombies coming in our direction. ¡°We gotta hold the door.¡± Stan said flatly without moving before blinking hard like he¡¯d just rebooted and running over to the door, ¡°Finn, give me a hand.¡± I was still in shock, and Stan¡¯s words hit my ears meaninglessly as my brain tried to think of what I was supposed to do. Should I just try firing on them? Limit the amount that were actually going to make it into the hospital? Or should I just run and hide? Hope for the best and let the others fend for themselves? ¡°Finn!¡± Stan barked, snapping me back to life, ¡°The door, now!¡± It still took me a few seconds, but I managed to shake off the disorientation I felt and ran over to the door, ¡°Cara, you wanna get that bike over the edge?¡± ¡°Why the Hell do I have to move the bike by myself?¡± Cara snapped, ¡°This thing looks heavy as-¡± ¡°Just get it over the frickin¡¯ edge!¡± Stan growled as something slammed into the door and we struggled to keep it at bay. ¡°C¡¯mon, c¡¯mon¡­¡± a weak voice sputtered from the other side of the door, ¡°Please, you gotta let me up there, I swear I ain¡¯t gonna shoot you or nothin¡¯.¡± She sounded scared, abnormally scared compared to most others, but neither Stan nor I were willing to risk getting surprised with a bunch of buckshot in our backs. ¡°Give us one good reason.¡± Stan ordered, ¡°How do we know we can trust you?¡± ¡°Come on, just open the door,¡± she pleaded desperately, ¡°if I die¡­ Oh shit, they¡¯re comin¡¯¡­ Man, you gotta let me in. If I die in here, I¡¯m dead in-¡± Suddenly the pressure on the door disappeared, leaving Stan and I to stare at each other confusedly before both coming to the same conclusion as a notification popped up. xXMirantXx left the game -1 Player (168 Players Remaining) ¡°There¡¯s always one, huh?¡± Cara scoffed as she tried to figure out a way to lift the bike up over the concrete wall, ¡°Someone always decides to bail the second things get interesting. Frickin¡¯ pussies.¡± I wanted to tell her the truth of what had just happened, but decided against it right as at least five different growls started echoing their way up the stairwell. ¡°Here we go¡­¡± Stan trailed off concernedly as the zombies came up the stairs and started pawing at the door, ¡°You reckon we can pop ¡®em?¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. It made me a bit uncomfortable that Stan had somehow managed to just brush off the fact that someone had died because we¡¯d refused to give them shelter, but forced myself past it as the zombies got more aggressive, ¡°Not without bringin¡¯ in a whole lot more,¡± I replied, struggling to keep the door shut as I did, ¡°I think we¡¯re best off if we just hold the door and hope for the best. Make as little noise as possible an-¡± I didn¡¯t get the chance to finish my sentence as Cara had finally managed to push the bike over the ledge, resulting in it hitting the ground and, for no other apparent reason than to make our lives Hell, started blaring the sound of a truck horn. ¡°What in the Hell is that thing doin¡¯!?¡± I barked as the zombies started truly hammering at the door. ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± Cara called back, ¡°I swear, I didn¡¯t-oh shit¡­ More comin¡¯¡­¡± ¡°How much more?¡± Stan asked when Cara failed to elaborate. ¡°Well¡­ How many more would you say would be too much?¡± Cara replied with an audible gulp, ¡°Because, whatever that number is, double it.¡± I went to curse under my breath, but was stopped as even more zombies started to pile up against the door, ¡°What¡¯re we gonna do?¡± Stan started doing that thing where he blinked hard again, then began shaking his head, ¡°I-I-I¡­¡± he stammered, ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know.¡± I¡¯d never seen Stan like that, so full of terror and hopelessness, and I didn¡¯t much care to stay looking at it. Now, I can¡¯t fully justify what I did next, but with that being said I think it¡¯s important that you know that desperate times call for desperate and stupid measures. With little-to-regard for ammo conservation, I popped away from the door, switched my AR-15 over to full-auto, stuck the barrel to the wood, and opened fire. Killed Z.O.M.B. Mutation 2 +5 Points (76 Points) Killed Z.O.M.B. Mutation 2 +5 Points (81 Points) Killed Z.O.M.B. Mutation 2 +5 Points (86 Points) Killed Z.O.M.B. Mutation 2 +5 Points (91 Points) Killed Z.O.M.B. Mutation 2 +5 Points (96 Points) It was probably only about three or four seconds of continuous fire, but I swear to God it felt like it lasted for at least a minute, and when I was left to reload my remaining forty rounds with the drum that appeared in my hand as I ejected the spent one, I couldn¡¯t help but notice everything from my fingertips to my clavicle vibrating. ¡°Ho-ly shit¡­¡± Stan chuckled as he peeked through the splintery hole I¡¯d left, ¡°I think you killed ¡®em al-oh shit!¡± At first I thought he was about to be attacked by another zombie that I¡¯d somehow missed, but then he pulled away from the door like he¡¯d just been punched and I saw that both the hole and the ghillie fringe over Stan¡¯s brow had caught fire. ¡°Drop and roll!¡± Cara shouted as she ran towards us, ¡°Drop and roll!¡± Stan couldn¡¯t hear her though, his head had become engulfed including his ears, leaving him deaf to the world as Cara barged past me and slapped Stan smack-bang in his forehead, leaving him to once again, thanks to Cara, fall flat on his ass. Cara wasn¡¯t done though, and before Stan could so much as utter the words ¡®What the Hell?¡¯ she¡¯d kicked him onto the ground and started rolling him around while slapping the flames that wrapped his face. I¡¯m not sure why I was so useless, I wasn¡¯t exactly a virgin when it came to situations like that after all. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that it had been my fault, or maybe, and believe me when I saw that I felt sick for thinking this, maybe I wanted him to die. Maybe there was some part of me that wanted some weird, unpredictable, eyeball fire to take him out so I wouldn¡¯t have to directly. Hell, maybe I just wanted him to die before he got me. ONE PROBLEM AT A TIME Cara eventually put Stan out, and he was fine once he¡¯d been guided over to the medical supplies where he was able to pump himself full of morphine and apparently cure the burns that by all rights should¡¯ve left him permanently scarred. ¡°Well, that was interesting,¡± Stan scoffed as he pulled off his ghillie suit and looked between me and the large, charred hole in the door that I¡¯d only just managed to put out, ¡°put a lot more effort into putting that out than you did in putting me out.¡± I was speechless, mostly because I was still focusing on the truck horn downstairs, but luckily Cara didn¡¯t have that same trouble, ¡°I took over pretty quickly,¡± she said in my defense as we both snuck a look over at the bike, ¡°I have a very¡­ large personality.¡± ¡°You mean you barrel people out of the way so you can slap other people¡¯s eyeballs out?¡± Stan half-heartedly snapped, ¡°Which still hurts by the way.¡± ¡°Hey, you were on fire, I had to do somethin¡¯.¡± Cara replied dismissively, ¡°Besides, you seem like the type who¡¯d be pretty used to gettin¡¯ slapped in the face.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t make it any easier.¡± Stan sighed with a faux sort of depression in his voice, ¡°So, Finn, what¡¯s the plan now that you¡¯ve gone ahead and literally burned through over half your ammo?¡± ¡°I reckon the first thing we ought to do is shut off that damned horn,¡± Cara responded before I could, ¡°thing¡¯s only gonna be callin¡¯ in more zombies the longer we leave it.¡± ¡°And how do you suggest we do that?¡± Stan asked, making absolutely no effort to hide the fact that he was annoyed that I hadn¡¯t been the one to reply, ¡°We start shootin¡¯ and we¡¯re only gonna bring in more, as well as any players who think that it¡¯d be a good idea to try and take a swing at us while we¡¯re compromised.¡± ¡°We could pull it up.¡± I said right before Cara could open her mouth, ¡°Pull it up, hope that fixes it, then go from there.¡± ¡°And what if pulling it up doesn¡¯t work?¡± Cara asked, ¡°What if we start draggin¡¯ it up the side of the hospital and it just lets the zombies know where we are?¡± ¡°Then we drop it,¡± Stan replied, ¡°just because we start, doesn¡¯t mean we have to keep going.¡± As much as I¡¯d been thinking about¡­ well, you know, I¡¯d prefer to not say it, but it was good to know that Stan had my back, and could explain the things that I¡¯d otherwise have trouble with. ¡°Alright,¡± Cara finally said after a few seconds of looking between the two of us, ¡°let¡¯s see if it works. You two on the rope.¡± ¡°And why the Hell should we be the ones who have to haul it up?¡± Stan asked with no small amount of bitchiness in his voice. ¡°Because someone needs to watch the ground,¡± Cara replied matter-of-factly, ¡°make sure nothin¡¯ untoward happens, and I had to haul it over the edge while you two were fartin¡¯ around and settin¡¯ each other¡¯s faces on fire.¡± It was hard to argue with that logic, and I know because I watched Stan spend a solid five seconds trying to think of a way to do so before finally giving up and gesturing for me to grab part of the rope, ¡°Let¡¯s just get this over and done with.¡± The first thing I noticed about the bungie cord was just how taut it was, and when I say it was taut, I mean that the damn thing looked about three seconds from snapping, and felt like it was made of tiny shards of glass. I pushed myself through the pain though, and quickly found myself able to pull the line with relative ease as Stan worked as my anchor. ¡°Horn¡¯s stopped.¡± Cara called over from where she stood by the ledge, ¡°Zombies are still around it though, can¡¯t get a clear look at it.¡± ¡°Well look harder,¡± Stan groaned, showing that he was having a far harder time with the whole process than I was, ¡°this damn rope feels like it¡¯s covered in razorblades.¡± ¡°Are your hands bleeding?¡± Cara asked, knowing the answer, ¡°Because if your hands ain¡¯t bleedin¡¯, you haven¡¯t got anythin¡¯ to bitch abou¡­ Stop. Stop pullin¡¯.¡± I did as Cara said, but could still feel Stan pulling the sharp rope through my hands, ¡°Why?¡± he asked through a grunt.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°Frickin¡¯ stop it!¡± Cara barked, ¡°Bunch o¡¯ zombies have grabbed the bike, you¡¯re just pullin¡¯ them up-¡± ¡°Mother fuck!¡± I practically squealed as Stan let go of the rope without warning, allowing it to slice across my palms and take a good deal of flesh with it, ¡°You-you¡­ you prick. Shit!¡± ¡°Go get yourself cleaned up.¡± Cara said coldly as the bike crashed back into the ground, before seeing the state of my hands and seething, ¡°What the Hell was that?¡± ¡°Payback,¡± Stan chuckled, ¡°that¡¯s what you get for setting my face on fire.¡± ¡°That was an accident, you¡­¡± I trailed off as I struggled to think of an insult past the pain, ¡°Screw you.¡± ¡°Eh, you¡¯ll be fine.¡± Stan replied dismissively, ¡°You really should go and get that sorted though, I don¡¯t imagine holding a gun will be all that fun with all that blood.¡± I shot him a harsh look a couple of times before finally stalking my way over towards the medical pile, ¡°What¡¯s the situation? Bike broken?¡± ¡°May as well be,¡± Cara said disappointedly, ¡°though the good news is I think we may have messed a good few of ¡®em up.¡± +Morphine +Morphine +Morphine +Morphine +Morphine +Bandage +Bandage +Bandage +Blood Test Kit -Blood Test Kit +Blood Bag (O-) +Blood Bag (O-) -Morphine After making sure I was more or less happy with my medical loadout, having gone back and forth with the idea of getting the weighty blood test kit a few times, and that my hands were healed, I turned back to my two bickering teammates, who surprised me with just how civil they were actually being with each other. Don¡¯t get me wrong, they were still clearly pissing each off, and Stan had dropped that act he normally had with women, but they seemed to be having an actual conversation instead of just yelling at each other. ¡°I¡¯m just saying that it¡¯s a bad idea.¡± Cara said as calmly as she could, ¡°We only just managed to stop the bike from making noise, now you wanna do this? I just¡­ It seems like a bad idea.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m just saying that there doesn¡¯t seem to be much of an option.¡± Stan replied, ¡°We can¡¯t just waltz through the hospital. There¡¯re a zombies in there, and I¡¯m almost positive that there¡¯re a bunch of players too.¡± ¡°Blowing up the bike is just gonna bring more in, you frickin¡¯ moron!¡± Cara shouted, giving up on any pretense of courteousness, ¡°I¡¯m sick of gettin¡¯ steamrolled. I mean Hell, I was the one who said that throwin¡¯ the bike over was a stupid idea, and now look at where we are. Stuck between a rock and hard place with no-frickin-where to go.¡± ¡°And if we blow up the bike we¡¯ll fix that problem,¡± Stan replied coolly, irritating Cara further, ¡°either it clears downstairs long enough for us to slide down, or it draws the ones inside out, giving us enough time to sneak out through the back.¡± ¡°It seems to me that you¡¯re forgetting a lot of ¡®ifs¡¯ there.¡± I said, finally deciding that I should weigh in, ¡°If we blow up the bike, and if we don¡¯t just draw ¡®em all up here with our gunfire.¡± Stan didn¡¯t seem all that happy with the fact that I¡¯d decided to side with Cara, but quickly shrugged off the negativity that had built up in his shoulders, ¡°Then we use a grenade.¡± he said as if it had always been on the table, ¡°No one can trace a grenade, and it increases the chance of an explosion to a hundred percent.¡± ¡°A grenade would work,¡± I agreed, ¡°but do you have a grenade? Because I sure as Hell don¡¯t, and I¡¯m pretty sure Cara doesn¡¯t either.¡± ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± Cara said before patting her sides, ¡°and I ain¡¯t hidin¡¯ one anywhere neither.¡± Unsurprisingly, this answer kind of ticked off Stan, but he was doing a pretty good job of masking it, ¡°Alright,¡± he said coolly, ¡°then we¡¯ll call one in, finally make use of some points.¡± ¡°That¡¯d work,¡± I replied as I pulled out my tablet and started scrolling through the available drops, ¡°except for the fact that even the most rudimentary grenade costs ten points.¡± ¡°So?¡± Stan scoffed, ¡°Didn¡¯t you get a bunch from killing all those zombies?¡± ¡°Yeah, but, like any decent player, I¡¯m saving them for the endgame.¡± I said almost defensively, ¡°You know as well as I do that spending any points before you unlock tier three stuff is just a waste.¡± ¡°Again, he¡¯s right.¡± Cara added, showing that Stan wasn¡¯t the only one who would have my back, ¡°I¡¯ve got a couple of points, but I¡¯m not about to blow them so we can do something that might work.¡± I¡¯d like to think that the conversation was going to continue on like that, in that it would remain relatively peaceful and, for the most part, non-violent, but it appeared that the game had other plans for us. EddietheCodeJumper murdered WetShoes -1 Player (150 Players Remaining) Warning! Warning! Zeta-One-Meta-Beta has mutated! Warning! Warning! Infected individuals have gained higher brain function! Warning! Warning! Zeta-One-Meta-Beta has mutated! Now, I¡¯m not quite sure why, but from the moment we all stepped over to the ledge and looked over I couldn¡¯t help but start chuckling. My laughter, unsurprisingly, earned me somewhat upset and confused faces from Stan and Cara. ¡°Why on God¡¯s green Earth are you laughing?¡± Stan asked with an almost gravelly voice. ¡°Man,¡± I huffed in response, showing absolutely no sign of how truly panicked I was as we watched the zombies slowly but surely figuring out how to start climbing up the bungie cord, ¡°we¡¯re so frickin¡¯ screwed.¡± ROCK, MEET HARD PLACE Our collective first thought was to start shooting the zombies or, at the very least, cut the rope, but as we watched the still only semi-capable undead lazily crawling up the rope we came to the realization that it was slowing them down significantly. +Shoe ¡°Down the stairs then, yeah?¡± I asked as I pulled on a shoe that I¡¯d taken off of one of the ventilated zombies that I¡¯d left in the stairwell to the roof, ¡°I mean, we aren¡¯t exactly brimming with other options.¡± ¡°I still don¡¯t like it.¡± Cara replied coolly, ignoring Stan¡¯s pacing as best as she could, ¡°It may be our only option, but at the same time I don¡¯t think that it¡¯s going to turn out well.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have to like it,¡± I said before getting to my feet, ¡°but, as you said, it¡¯s our only option.¡± ¡°And what if we get rushed?¡± Stan practically blurted out, snapping our attention to him, ¡°Seriously, what happens if we¡¯re going through the building and we get rushed? My gun¡¯s next to useless in close-quarters, and I can almost guarantee that all of us being bunched up together means we¡¯re gonna end up accidently shooting each other.¡± ¡°Maybe if you don¡¯t aim.¡± Cara mocked before turning back to me, ¡°Look, if you think this is the only way, then-¡± ¡°I know it¡¯s the only way.¡± I replied confidently, ¡°But, at the same time, Stan¡¯s right.¡±This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°Thank you.¡± Stan added almost genuinely, his distraction with impending doom somewhat detracting from his gratefulness. ¡°Alright, why don¡¯t we try just letting me go?¡± I asked, almost immediately regretting it as I did so. It was a tactic I¡¯d done before, forced myself into this state of near-complete focus and brutality and used that to clear out entire structures solo, but that was back when the absolute worst thing that could happen was losing the game. I wasn¡¯t about to renege on my suggestion though, that would¡¯ve just made me look like an absolute chicken-shit. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Stan asked before Cara could, earning him a semi-sharp look from her, ¡°I mean, you know that that could end¡­ poorly, right?¡± I wanted to say something about ¡®poorly¡¯ being a crappy synonym for ¡®you could die¡¯, but decided against it given our present company and¡­ well, we¡¯d already seen that we¡¯d definitely be finished off should we decide to blab. So, with a little smile, I simply said ¡°Yeah, I know, but at least we¡¯ll be doing something, eh?¡± Cara, surprisingly, seemed far more concerned than Stan did for my safety, but she also appeared to know that there was no way she was going to convince me not to do it, ¡°Just be careful, alright? I¡¯ll make sure dickless over here doesn¡¯t get gnawed on.¡± ¡°Sounds good,¡± I said as I came to a realization and pulled my crowbar off my back, ¡°oh, and here.¡± -Crowbar Not going to lie, I laughed a little as Stan struggled to catch the metal rod I¡¯d cast in his direction, but I was quick to recompose myself, ¡°Figure you¡¯ll need it more than me,¡± I said before pulling my AR-15 off my back and turning toward the blood-covered stairwell, ¡°wish me luck.¡± ¡°Pfft, like you¡¯re gonna need it.¡± Cara scoffed unconvincingly, ¡°Seriously though, be careful.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the fun in that?¡± With that I was gone, descending down the stairs as quickly as I possibly could while narrowly avoiding the corpses, wishing that I¡¯d just done the smart thing and told Cara to avoid the hospital. Ah well, c''est la vie. QUICK AND BRUTAL THINKING I¡¯d thought that my first contact with a zombie would¡¯ve set my heart off racing, but it did quite the opposite as I stepped through the doorway that led to a long hall of offices, instead choosing to thump hard and slow as I lined up the shot with the undead man¡¯s snarling maw, took a deep breath, and sent out a single round that exploded out the back of the creature¡¯s head. Killed Z.O.M.B. Mutation 3 +7 Points (103 Points) My feet weren¡¯t as paced as my heart and lungs though, and had me bounding through the hallway of blood at as high a speed I could manage without completely losing the ability to aim. The sights of my gun were in sync with my eyes, meaning as soon as I spotted a fresh target it was down in two shots or less, allowing me to reach the end of the hall and, with it, the elevator, having scrubbed three more zombies in the short amount of time it had taken me to get to the shiny metal doors and press the small ¡®down¡¯ button. Killed Z.O.M.B. Mutation 3 +7 Points (110 Points) Killed Z.O.M.B. Mutation 3 +7 Points (117 Points) Killed Z.O.M.B. Mutation 3 +7 Points (124 Points) Though, in my rushed stampeding of the hall I¡¯d been careless, forgetting to check the rooms as I passed, leaving me complete defenseless with my back against the elevator as the semi-lucid zombies peeked out of the offices they¡¯d been hiding and eating in. ¡°Crap¡­¡± I muttered to myself before dropping to a knee and getting ready to be absolutely brutalized by the curious-turned-murderous zombies that were making their way towards me. Without wasting time to think, I started firing at the nearest of the dozen or so undead men, catching him once in the chest and then in the head, before switching over to a new target before he¡¯d even hit the floor. Killed Z.O.M.B. Mutation 3 +7 Points (131 Points) Killed Z.O.M.B. Mutation 3If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. +7 Points (138 Points) Killed Z.O.M.B. Mutation 3 +7 Points (145 Points) Killed Z.O.M.B. Mutation 3 +7 Points (152 Points) I was too worried about what I¡¯d see to check my ammo, but I knew I had to be getting low, and I wasn¡¯t exactly in a position to just logout before I got devoured. Then I heard it, the almost inviting bell of the elevator, and started shuffling backwards while at the same time squeezing off rounds at the angry horde, before hitting the ¡®close¡¯ button beside the door with the barrel of my AR-15 and breathing a sigh of relief as they slid shut at an almost incredible speed. My relief was short-lived though, cut down by the heavy, almost croaky breathing coming from behind me. ¡°Take it real easy,¡± a weak voice practically pleaded as I put my gun on the floor and stood up slowly with my hands behind my head, ¡°I could use a friend right now, you reckon you could be that friend?¡± ¡°Depends,¡± I asked, doing my best to hide my fearful gulp, ¡°you got a gun on me?¡± The player hesitated for a few seconds, before letting out a defeated sort of sigh and replying with a tired ¡°No.¡± ¡°Alright, that¡¯s good,¡± I said as I started to slowly turn around, keeping my hands on my head as I did so, ¡°we can talk then. What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Spencer.¡± the player wheezed out, clutching his bloody stomach with one hand while his other held a Bowie, ¡°What¡¯s yours?¡± ¡°Finn,¡± I replied calmly before pointing my head at the blade in his hand, ¡°nice knife.¡± ¡°This?¡± he asked, looking at the Bowie, ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s not ba-¡± I didn¡¯t give him the chance to finish his sentence, instead choosing to knee him in the gut as hard as I could, causing him to double over in pain, allowing me to elbow him in the back of the head with enough force to knock him out cold. FinnyBoi incapacitated RendingIsForPussies +5 Points (157 Points) ¡°I¡¯m really sorry,¡± I said as I slung my gun over my shoulder, elbowed the button for the floor below me, and scooped up the knife, ¡°but I¡¯ve gotta get out of this alive.¡± +Hunting Knife Now, I swear that I only planned to toss him out, let the zombies handle the rest you know, but as I looked over the blade in my hand a dark but effective thought crossed my mind. ¡°Okay,¡± I groaned as I dragged Spencer out of the elevator, dumped him on the carpet, and started counting down the knockout timer, ¡°this is what I¡¯m really sorry about.¡± Keep in mind that I needed to survive, please. It¡¯s the only way I was able to justify what I did. The zombies had only just started to come out into view when Spencer gasped back to life while I sat crouched behind him, ¡°I¡¯m really, really sorry.¡± I whispered as the clueless player looked around without getting up. And then he screamed, and I mean really screamed as, with my eyes locked shut, I slashed across the back of his ankles with my newly acquired knife. Not wanting to see the results of my act of desperation, I slipped back in the elevator and hit the button for the bottom floor, completely ignoring the fact that I was supposed to be clearing the building out. It wasn¡¯t that I wanted to, it was just that I¡¯d burned through over half my ammo on that initial floor, and I sincerely doubted I had it in me to take them all on with my knife. I had a plan though, a solid plan. Well, most of a solid plan. Well, I knew that I wanted to get out of the hospital. Actually, come to think of it¡­ No, no, I had a plan. Man, I hope I had a plan, otherwise I was being an idiot. UNPLANNED With barely part of a harebrained scheme built up in my head, I came bursting out of the elevator with my knife ready to take on a horde of zombies that, to my grand surprise, weren¡¯t there. That scared the absolute crap out of me. ¡°Please don¡¯t be zombie dogs,¡± I muttered as I slowly made my way through the blood-soaked lobby, ¡°please don¡¯t be zombie dogs¡­¡± By all rights that bottom floor should have at least been filled with zombies that had had their legs taken off, or maybe even just a lucky player with some kind of HMG, but no, the place was completely barren of life and¡­ unlife? My point is that the lobby was empty. With more caution than I¡¯d had in the hallway upstairs, I crept my way out the front door, over the bloodied barbed wire and looked around to see the abandoned bike, molded to the point where it was completely unrecognizable among the bodies that were wrapped around its bent body. I started anxiously flipping the knife around in my hand as I slowly inched my way further away from the hospital, ¡°Easy,¡± I whispered to myself, ¡°just take it nice and easy¡­¡± Now, I¡¯m not exactly a jumpy person, especially not when it came to playing KillStreak, but there wasn¡¯t so much as a second¡¯s delay between the snarl that practically crawled up my back and me bolting toward the small town at full pelt. ¡°Just keep running man¡­¡± I heaved as I ran, desperately trying to block out the sound of the zombies behind me, ¡°Run, run, run¡­¡± I still have no idea how they got the jump on me, all I could think about at that moment was the fact that Stan wasn¡¯t covering me as I bolted, but then I realized it kind of looked like I was abandoning him and Cara. Still though, I really could¡¯ve used the cover fire. In an act of complete stupidity, I snuck a look behind me and saw four very angry zombies sprinting right up my ass, the one at the front of the pack taking a desperate swipe for my lower back as I accidently slowed down. I wasn¡¯t given the benefit of sight for long though. Warning! Warning! Severe weather warning!This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Warning! Warning! High-density fog! Warning! Warning! Severe weather warning! The earth-bound cloud didn¡¯t fade in, nor did it drift down from the sky, it was just sort of there all of a sudden, absolutely killing my visibility. I decided to make the best of a bad situation though and turned my head so I was looking ahead again, and that¡¯s when I lost my footing, the sudden change in visibility and the terrain having caught me off-guard as my blood-slicked shoes failed to find traction on the grass. I swear I was falling for at least a full ten seconds as I tried to catch myself while at the same time preparing to avoid my knife, before finally collapsing in a heap and rolling a good five or six feet. ¡°Shit-shit-shit¡­¡± I muttered as if it was all one word, my lungs struggling to fill back up as I tried and failed to stand a good three of four times before finally succeeding and turning back toward the still snarling zombies. My knife-wielding hand wouldn¡¯t stop shaking, but I wasn¡¯t about to let that stop me from getting into a combat-ready stance, my left hand up by the side of my face while my other stayed at about shoulder height with the back of the blade practically kissing my forearm. ¡°C¡¯mon¡­¡± I breathed as I tried to make out anything in the fog, ¡°Just one¡­ C¡¯mon, just gimme one¡­¡± The gamer gods apparently heard my nearly silent prayer, sending one of the zombies sprinting toward me from the left, giving me barely enough time to catch it up under the chin with my forearm before driving my blade through the hole where I¡¯m sure a nose had once been. Killed Z.O.M.B. Mutation 3 +7 Points (164 Points) It was a stupid decision catching it like that, and left me far too open for a bite, but it had paid off and left me free to take on the zombie that had just run up behind me, my long, sharp blade slicing through its neck with ease as I spun around and swung like I was punching a target just in front of it. Killed Z.O.M.B. Mutation 3 +7 Points (171 Points) ¡°One more,¡± I said, pretending I wasn¡¯t having difficulty breathing for no one¡¯s benefit but my own, ¡°one more and we run.¡± That last one was being cautious though, circling around me like a shark, occasionally stepping an inch too close and revealing its location to me before disappearing back into the fog. Now, I know I was running low on ammo, but the fact of the matter was that I¡¯d reached the point where I was scared, confused, and completely lost as to where I stood in relation to¡­ well, everything, so when I say that I threw caution to the wind, pulled the AR-15 off my back, and started firing in a semi-blind circle, know that it came from a place of desperation. I was sure I was going to burn through the remainder of my ammo, but was instead quickly greeted with the pained squeal of a dying zombie after barely two seconds. Killed Z.O.M.B. Mutation 3 +7 Points (178 Points) As I walked away in what I hoped was the right direction, I discovered that it wasn¡¯t all sunshine and rainbows, and that my brief, foolish, and outright wasteful burst of fire had gotten me down to roughly a dozen rounds. ¡°Shit.¡± I cursed under my breath with a dejected sort of disappointment, ¡°That is not how that was supposed to go¡­¡± VOLTOWN P.D. By some sheer miracle, it turned out that I¡¯d been wandering in the right direction and, before long, managed to stumble across a road that led to a white sign which read ¡®Voltown¡¯ in large, welcoming letters with a little smiling man made of electricity leaning against the ¡®V¡¯. While I was glad to have found the town, it quickly became apparent that I¡¯d won a small victory that was swiftly met by a gut-dropping realization. They were everywhere, shuffling around and sniffing the air just out of view as I entered the town. With the stealth of a ninja ghost, I slunk my way over to the three-storey police station that sat on the edge of town, all the while rationalizing that I was at least lucky to have an answer as to where all the zombies had ended up. The doors to the police station were closed as I reached them, and while some part of me wanted to be optimistic and assume that no one had taken shelter, I still had this sort of ball in my stomach telling me that as soon as I entered the building I¡¯d be catching a fire axe to the face. On the other hand, staying outside meant that I¡¯d probably end up being gruesomely disemboweled by the creatures in the fog, and, next to that, an axe to the face didn¡¯t seem all that bad. Still though, I couldn¡¯t help but jump a bit as I slipped inside and pushed the wooden door shut, the lack of a threat apparently being just as startling as finding someone on the other side. For a long while I waited there, my hands against the door, expecting to meet a surprising end at any moment, but that never came, and I eventually accepted that I was safe for the time being. The police station was pretty generic, stairs through a door to my right, a reception area in front of me, and a bench below a noticeboard to my left, and it was abundantly clear that no one had cleared it out. There was no dirt on the floor, no half-opened drawers, and as I made my to the top of the stairs I discovered that the entire bullpen was completely untouched. Granted, it was a pretty small space consisting of only a few desks and a two-person holding cell, but still, something seemed off about the whole thing. I forced myself to stop thinking about that though, chalking it up to a paranoia that was definitely going to get me killed if I wasted too much time focusing on it, and instead turned my attention to looting the office-like space, pulling out every drawer and peeking under every desk in the hopes of at least finding some ammo. My luck had apparently run dry though, and short of a few relatively useless shotgun shells, there wasn¡¯t a single thing on that second floor that I could use. ¡°Do you think they¡¯re gone?¡± a familiar voice whispered from somewhere above me, causing me to swivel my head so quickly that I pulled something in my neck, ¡°Cara, do you think they¡¯re gone?¡± ¡°They frickin¡¯ won¡¯t be if you don¡¯t shut your mouth.¡± Cara hissed at Stan, clearly completely oblivious to the fact that, through some kind of sound bug, I could hear everything they were saying. At first I was happy, my friends had escaped the hospital, and, by some random serendipity, managed to run into each other again, but then I started thinking about the implication of that. How did they get to the police station before me? And why didn¡¯t they at least try to get some sort of message to me before bolting? I was stuck contemplating those questions for a few seconds before Stan let out a deep breath he¡¯d been holding, ¡°Okay, I think it¡¯s fair to assume that they¡¯re gone. Now, c¡¯mon, I need help with my leg.¡± ¡°You should¡¯ve thought of that before you decided to fireman you¡¯re way down that bungie,¡± Cara snapped back with the same level of disappointment I¡¯d expect her to give a silly child, ¡°seriously, that was just a supremely stupid thing to do.¡± ¡°What choice did I have?¡± Stan pleaded as I took a seat on one of the desks and decided that it¡¯d be for the best just to listen in for a while, ¡°I mean, they were everywhere.¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°And I¡¯m sure Finn would¡¯ve handled it.¡± ¡°Pfft, sure, because Finn¡¯s Rambo,¡± Stan replied sarcastically, ¡°I love the guy, don¡¯t get me wrong, but he¡¯s also a bit¡­¡± ¡°A bit what?¡± Cara scolded, ¡°A bit heroic? A bit selfless? The guy didn¡¯t have to what he did, and it¡¯d be great if you¡¯d show him some frickin¡¯ respect.¡± ¡°Hey, I respect him plenty,¡± Stan retorted defensively, ¡°I just know that he has limits, just like everyone else.¡± ¡°And your response to those limitations was to abandon him? Let the zombies rush him and just sell out your friend? You do know that this game is pretty serious, right? It¡¯s really important to a lot of people.¡± ¡°Why should I hold myself back though?¡± Stan asked, apparently forgetting all the times I¡¯d saved his ass, ¡°Again, he¡¯s great, but stickin¡¯ around on that rooftop was just gonna end with us stuck on the roof after seeing his name pop up in the dead player list.¡± ¡°It still hasn¡¯t.¡± Cara replied coldly, ¡°There, you¡¯re leg¡¯s fixed. Can we get a move on now?¡± ¡°Gimme a minute to at least make sure it isn¡¯t going to buckle the second I stand up, alright?¡± Stan practically growled past a heave of pain, ¡°Besides, it¡¯s not like we can go out there right now anyway. Zombies are all over the place.¡± ¡°And who do we have to blame for that, hmm?¡± Cara accused, her grin coming through in her words as she got to pick on Stan. ¡°Again, not my fault that I broke my leg.¡± ¡°Well it is your fault that I had to heave your sorry ass all the way here from the hospital, which gave the dead enough time to catch our scent.¡± I think that¡¯s right about the time that I decided I was done eavesdropping and started toward the stairwell beside the holding cell. Honestly, despite the fact that I¡¯d basically just gotten confirmation that one of my few friends in the world was completely happy to just leave me to die, I still felt bad about listening in on a conversation that I wasn¡¯t supposed to be privy to, like I¡¯d done something wrong by hearing him. ¡°Stan?¡± I called up the stairs as I started to go up, ¡°Stan, is that you?¡± There were a solid few seconds of silence, buying me enough time get up onto the top floor which was basically just one big filing cabinet, before Stan finally decided to respond, ¡°Hey! You made it!¡± I didn¡¯t like the fact that he sounded so excited to see me, nor the fact that he could so easily pull a fake smile that would¡¯ve fooled me if I hadn¡¯t overheard his conversation. ¡°Yeah, things got pretty dicey back there,¡± I said as I walked past the lines of grey cabinets toward Cara and Stan who were standing against the far wall, ¡°figured you guys must¡¯ve run into a bit of trouble.¡± ¡°More like jumped.¡± Cara replied before Stan could, earning her a sharp look from him, ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re safe. How¡¯re things looking out there?¡± ¡°Zombies.¡± I sighed after coming to a stop a few feet from the two, ¡°Lots and lots of zombies, at least a good hundred if I had to hazard a guess. And fog. Can¡¯t forget about the fog¡­¡± ¡°Great.¡± Cara breathed disappointedly, ¡°Here I thought we¡¯d done such a good job getting away, but instead we¡¯re just trapped in a slightly better situation.¡± ¡°Worse if you take into account the fact that players are going to have a really easy time if they have a grenade or something.¡± Stan said, his eyes darting between me and the stairwell as he did so, ¡°I mean, how the Hell are we supposed to get out of here if things end up going sideways?¡± ¡°Window.¡± I said matter-of-factly, ¡°We¡¯ll probably break a leg or something, but it¡¯s better than the alternative.¡± Neither Cara nor Stan appeared to like that idea, but seeing as they didn¡¯t have another option they stayed quiet. We all stayed quiet actually, staring between each other and the floor as we tried to either come up with something better or, at the very least, less painful. And then, after about a minute, Cara¡¯s face lit up with realization, ¡°Guys, the sewers.¡± I replied with a confused look before figuring out her meaning after a few seconds, ¡°Oh¡­ Oh, oh no. Screw that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s better than breaking our legs.¡± Cara reasoned. ¡°What are you two tal-¡± Stan started then stopped as he finally caught up, ¡°Oh, no way. Sewers are a frickin¡¯ deathtrap, even without zombies.¡± I hated the sewers, with good reason too, but Cara was right, our best hope was to go through the police station¡¯s basement and sneak out of the town unnoticed. Hopefully unnoticed. Probably noticed. In case it wasn¡¯t already obvious, I didn¡¯t have high hopes. Cara didn¡¯t have that problem though, and before Stan or I could protest, she was leading the way toward the stairs, ¡°Let¡¯s go, I¡¯m done sittin¡¯ around.¡± ¡°So we¡¯re doin¡¯ this?¡± Stan asked with a groan as we got to our feet, ¡°No vote or anything?¡± ¡°This ain¡¯t a democracy,¡± Cara replied somewhat coldly, ¡°and I¡¯m not gonna let you make any more unilateral decisions.¡± I went to ask about her meaning behind that, play the dumb card and pretend that I was completely oblivious to the decision she was referring to, but decided against it when I realized it was probably for the best if Stan went on thinking that I had no idea about his quasi-betrayal. Ah, it truly was an uncomfortable moment. We forced our way past it though, and before long we were all moving through the police station, taking our time to ensure that we weren¡¯t about to run into a rogue player or zombie wanderer. The name of the game was ¡®survival¡¯, and there was no sense in risking any more than we had to before reaching the sewer. That and I really didn¡¯t want to go down there. [NOT A CHAPTER] UPDATE Hey, I just wanted to quickly let you guys know that there might be a delay with the next few chapters. I''m finishing and publishing one of my other works this week while catching up on some uni work at the same time. I know you probably didn''t need this update, but I figured it was for the best so that you know that I didn''t just abandon the project like some people end up doing (and that''s not to begrudge those who do leave their projects, it''s only to say that I haven''t).If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Anyway, you guys and gals have an awesome day, and I hope y''all have an awesome week! BEING A BIT OF A DICK ¡°Stinks like somethin¡¯ ate itself, died, then crapped itself out down here¡­¡± Stan groaned as we shuffled as quietly as we could along the four foot wide concrete walkway beside the stream of urine and feces. ¡°Really?¡± Cara jabbed, ¡°Because I was sittin¡¯ here thinkin¡¯ that everything smelled of roses and cupcakes.¡± ¡°Then you really ought to see someone.¡± Stan replied with a little smirk, ¡°Man, I ain¡¯t gonna be able to get this smell out of my nose for at least a week.¡± ¡°Can you two shut up?¡± I snapped from the front of the pack, the barrage to my olfactory system having made me slightly more irritable than usual, ¡°Seriously, it¡¯s like being around a couple of yippy dogs.¡± Based on the silence I received in response, I figured that I¡¯d stunned the two of them with my uncharacteristic outburst, and, for some reason, that made me feel somewhat guilty. ¡°Sorry,¡± I said somewhat abashedly, ¡°I¡¯m just a bit stressed is all. I didn¡¯t mean to be such a tool.¡± Again, silence. ¡°Guys..?¡± I trailed off as I turned around to see that both Stan and Cara were gone, ¡°Guys?¡± Unsurprisingly, I felt like I¡¯d been abandoned again, but that issue was quickly smothered by the stress I felt when I remembered just how little ammunition I had left and that if so much as a single zombie decided to grab at me from the bog I was liable to waste it.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. There weren¡¯t a whole lot of places for them to go, and I was quick to write off the stream of crap as I was pretty confident I would¡¯ve heard that, but other than that I would¡¯ve seen them running back the way we came or that they¡¯d jumped over to the other walkway opposite the fecal river. I was stuck, my feet practically magnetized to the concrete beneath my feet as I struggled to either go searching for them or to continue moving the way we were going. And then I heard a snarl. It was hard to pinpoint at first with all the echoing, but I eventually surmised that it came from where the guys had vanished. ¡°C¡¯mon¡­¡± I muttered as I started slowly shuffling backwards, ¡°don¡¯t make me do it¡­¡± Another snarl rippled through the sewer, followed by two more that were clearly from other zombies, and I was left with no choice but to start running away. I hated it, and not just because I was abandoning Stan and Cara, but also because I was making a lot of noise. My shoes slamming against the concrete, my panting bouncing off the walls and down the tunnel of stench, everything I was doing was drawing the zombies closer and letting every player within a mile¡¯s radius know where I was. I rounded a sharp bend and froze as I came face-to-face with more zombies than I knew what to do with. ¡°Shit¡­¡± I breathed as the hungry monsters started curiously shifting toward me, making sure not to push each other into the bubbling river. I was about ready to accept my fate and eat a bullet when three sets of hands grabbed my side and pulled me through a doorway I hadn¡¯t seen into a dark space. The door slammed. Someone snatched my gun. ¡°It¡¯s in your best interests to stay very still and very quiet.¡± -AR-15 THE SNAP Needless to say, I was absolutely terrified. Beyond warning me to stay still and to stay silent, nothing had been said, and after a few seconds I¡¯d started getting shoved along by the guys who had nabbed me. At first I was just worried about my safety, which I think is pretty fair given my situation, but after I¡¯d assured myself that I could grab my SVD off my back should things get too dicey, or even just start slashing wildly with my knife, I got to thinking about Stan and Cara. Had I really abandoned them? Had they been snatched like I had? Were they at the bottom of the bog? I genuinely had no idea, and at that time I wasn¡¯t sure which of the options I preferred, if any. It took significantly more effort than I thought it would not to ask the question ¡®Where are you taking me?¡¯ as they pushed me and guided me through what felt like some kind of maze for mice in a lab, but I did managed to suppress the urge long enough for them to get me to our destination. Based only on what little I could touch I correctly assumed we were at a door, as proven by one of the guys who started knocking on it. ¡°Vape.¡± the guy knocking said flatly. ¡°Good to have you back, bro!¡± his friend exclaimed as he opened the door for us and gestured for us to come through into a small room lit with a relaxing orange light, ¡°See you brought us back another one. This one cool?¡± One of my ¡®captors¡¯ chuckled and nodded as he pulled off his night vision goggles, ¡°Yeah, bit less panicky than the girl. This your mate?¡± I looked around to he was addressing and saw that Cara and Stan were standing in the corner regarding me confusedly as another of the guys tapped me on the shoulder, bringing my attention back to them. There were four of them, including the guy who¡¯d opened the door for us, and they all looked reasonably friendly, but as Stan had recently proven, assumptions were a good way to get disappointed. ¡°Sorry ¡®bout snatchin¡¯ you like that,¡± the one who tapped me said before handing me back my gun, ¡°just needed to make sure you were clear of the zeds as quickly as possible. Name¡¯s Matt, you?¡± +AR-15 I spent a few seconds looking between my gun and the surprisingly nice Matt before forcing a smile and saying ¡°Finn.¡± as politely as I could through a mostly clenched jaw. ¡°I know y¡¯all must be pretty confused,¡± the doorman said before any further introductions could be pursued, ¡°but I just want you to know that we ain¡¯t fixin¡¯ to hurt you, alright? We¡¯re just tryin¡¯ to build something for ourselves.¡± ¡°What?¡± I practically laughed before seeing just how offended the ¡®kidnappers¡¯ by that, ¡°I mean¡­ I mean what exactly are you trying to build?¡± ¡°Ideally a group that¡¯ll see us through to the last few minutes of the round,¡± Matt replied, ¡°if only so that we have a fighting chance when it comes to the rest of the guys who¡¯ve done that.¡± ¡°Like who?¡± Stan asked slightly more aggressively than I think was appropriate given how the guys hadn¡¯t killed us already. ¡°Well¡­ there¡¯s the After Skewl guys,¡± the doorman said with a little shrug, ¡°and while those dudes are pretty cool, they do tend to encourage other, less friendly groups to form.¡± He had a point, the After Skewl clan were nice as far as KillStreak groups went, and they did sort of indirectly force more aggressive people to form together and just go through butchering everyone in sight. Still, I wasn¡¯t quite ready to get all ¡®buddy-buddy¡¯ with a barely formed group who, up until about minute prior, had basically kidnapped me. ¡°I see that you guys are worried,¡± Matt said after a few seconds of awkward silence, ¡°but the truth is that we just want safety in numbers, you know? Hell, I hadn¡¯t met these dudes before today.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± one of the other people who¡¯d nabbed me said before pointing his head over to the doorman, ¡°Tim and I are the only ones who know each other outside the game.¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Len picked me up from Voltown,¡± the last of the guys added, gesturing to Tim¡¯s friend, ¡°and that was only about an hour ago. And then we went out to pick up Matt. I¡¯m Fred, by the way.¡± ¡°See?¡± Matt interjected before I could muster up the courage to give Fred a wave, ¡°We¡¯re all strangers here.¡± ¡°See,¡± Cara practically seethed as she came to stand beside me, ¡°you¡¯re saying that like it¡¯s s¡¯posed to make us feel better, but I can guarantee it ain¡¯t. How¡¯re we supposed to trust you guys if you know absolutely nothing about each other?¡± ¡°I¡¯m with Cara on this,¡± Stan added, ¡°you grab us in the sewer, bring us to this¡­ panic room, and want us to just join your little group because, what, it¡¯d be a really cool thing to do? No thanks, I think we¡¯d rather ride this one out by ourselves.¡± ¡°We could always just shoot you.¡± Tim proclaimed boldly, a statement that I was absolutely positive he would come to regret, ¡°I mean, it¡¯s not like anyone¡¯s going to hear, is it? And it¡¯s certainly no skin off our backs.¡± ¡°Hey, hey,¡± Cara said as coolly as she could, ¡°there¡¯s no need for that. Look, all my¡­ friend here is saying is that we have to be cautious.¡± ¡°These guys were cautious too,¡± Tim replied coldly, ¡°but neither o¡¯ them made me concerned for what they might do to me.¡± The tension was building, justifiably, and I decided that that was the best chance for me to throw in my two cents. I didn¡¯t get the chance though. No, instead Stan, out of nowhere, pulled out a handgun and just started shooting like crazy, popping Tim in the head first, then Len through the eye, Fred clean through the heart, and finally Matt in both his kneecaps. BillytheTeenagedMenace murdered Lololololol -1 Player (144 Players Remaining) BillytheTeenagedMenace murdered RabbitBoi -1 Player (143 Players Remaining) BillytheTeenagedMenace murdered Fredenstein -1 Player (142 Players Remaining) BillytheTeenagedMenace incapacitated CoolKid ¡°You dick!¡± Matt growled as Stan stalked his way over to him, ¡°Why¡¯d you do that!? We let you guys live!¡± ¡°That was your mistake.¡± Stan replied flatly before sticking the barrel of his pistol to Matt¡¯s head and pulling the trigger. BillytheTeenagedMenace murdered CoolKid -1 Player (141 Players Remaining) ¡°What. The. Actual. Fuck?¡± Cara muttered as we both looked over the mess that Stan had created. ¡°I saw a problem, I remedied it.¡± Stan said with a smile as he tucked his handgun back away, ¡°Besides, those guys weren¡¯t to be trusted. They always end up turning on you.¡± Cara opened her mouth a few times but failed to find any words before turning to me, ¡°Have you got anything to say about what just happened? Or are you just gonna stand there gawpin¡¯?¡± I hadn¡¯t noticed that my mouth was hanging open until Cara pointed it out, but being aware of it didn¡¯t fix it. ¡°Finn?¡± Stan asked somewhat concernedly, ¡°You alright, buddy?¡± My heart was thumping faster than it had the entire time I¡¯d been in the game, my eyes shooting around between Stan and his victims, before nodding, half-smiling, and gulping hard, ¡°You¡¯re¡­ You¡¯re quicker than I remembered.¡± ¡°Heh, yeah, I¡¯ve been practicing.¡± Stan replied proudly. I was glad that he¡¯d taken it well, but my intention hadn¡¯t been to compliment him, it was simply a statement of fact that was mostly a reflection of just how scared I was of him. A few months prior I knew I¡¯d have been able to take him should the proverbial shit hit the fan, but with that speed? That level of accuracy and pure brutality? There was no way I¡¯d be able to take him in gunfight unless I magically managed to get up behind him, and even then he¡¯d be quick to turn. That¡¯s when I noticed that both Cara and Stan were staring at me and I realized that I hadn¡¯t responded, ¡°Yeah, yeah, it shows.¡± I said as confidently as I could, ¡°Sorry, just thinkin¡¯ about what we do from here.¡± ¡°Well, first things first,¡± Stan said with an uncomfortable amount of calm in his voice, ¡°let¡¯s nab these guys¡¯ goggles. We might get lucky and we won¡¯t get stuck in a night cycle, but I reckon it¡¯s best to be prepared.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I replied coolly as I walked over to the body furthest away from Stan and started looting it, ¡°couldn¡¯t agree with you more.¡± +Night Vision Goggles +78 5.56mm With the exception of the ammo, I was actually pretty disappointed in the haul, and I was just about to stand up and voice that disappointment when Cara came up behind me, put her hand on the back of my head, and leaned in close, ¡°We have to do something about your friend. Soon.¡± I wanted to respond, but I simply didn¡¯t know how. ¡°You guys okay?¡± Stan called over, ¡°Did one of those dicks manage to get a shot off?¡± ¡°Nah, we¡¯re fine,¡± Cara answered before I could as we got up, ¡°turns out that grabbin¡¯ a shoe off of a zombie comes with some pretty nasty blisters.¡± ¡°Blisters?¡± Stan asked confusedly after we turned to face him, ¡°Can you get blisters in KillStreak?¡± ¡°It would seem so.¡± I replied coolly, ¡°You know how they¡¯re always adding in new functionality.¡± For a few seconds there I was absolutely terrified that Stan hadn¡¯t bought the obvious lie that I was feeding him, but then he let out an amused huff and shook his head, ¡°I swear, the amount of things they could tweak and they always go for the weirdest crap.¡± ¡°Right?¡± Cara chuckled, ¡°The amount of audio bugs and stuff that are constantly ignored, and they decide that the best use of their resources is to give us blisters? What next, athlete¡¯s foot?¡± ¡°Heh, that¡¯ll be the day.¡± Stan laughed back in response as we all adjusted the goggles on our heads, ¡°Anyway, time to move, you guys ready?¡± ¡°As I¡¯ll ever be.¡± I replied somewhat uneasily before catching my audible discomfort, ¡°Runnin¡¯ around with you guys through a sewer riddled with zombies? What could be better?¡± In that moment I could name at least five things, and one of those involved skinny-dipping in the lake of filth with papercuts between my toes. CLAUSTROPHOBIA The past ten or so minutes had been an absolute hail storm of confusing emotions and social situations for me, and most of it I could attribute to Stan and what I was pretty sure were definite signs of his degrading sense of morality. Not only had we slogged into the sewers, but I¡¯d also ¡®abandoned¡¯ my friends, nearly been eaten by a bunch of zombies, been kidnapped, had said kidnapping justified, stared on as Stan shot people who could¡¯ve been friends, and then, to top it all off, I¡¯d had Cara basically tell me to take any opportunity to kill Stan. She didn¡¯t know though, she couldn¡¯t know that by offing him in the game I¡¯d also be killing him in real life. But that¡¯s when things got really difficult for me. I had no idea if Stan was planning to kill me too. The guy had left me in a pretty good position to die, and he¡¯d gone to great lengths to convince Cara that that was the only way it was all going to work out. ¡°Almost out,¡± Stan whispered from the front of our little group as we wandered through the maze of tight tunnels Tim had marked for his friends, ¡°there¡¯s a ladder up here somewhere.¡± ¡°Can we please go back to being silent?¡± Cara asked with no small amount of trembling in her voice before adjusting the settings slightly on her goggles, ¡°Last thing we need is for a bunch of zombies to get us boxed in down here.¡± ¡°No way they¡¯re getting in here.¡± Stan replied as he rounded a tight bend in the tunnel, ¡°If they could, they already would have.¡± ¡°See, you think your confidence makes you seem all smart, but it doesn¡¯t, it just makes you sound like a cocky tool.¡± I wanted to tell them to stop bickering, but the last time I did they vanished, and while the situation was slightly different, I wasn¡¯t quite ready to start tempting fate. So, instead of forcing the arguing to stop, I simply asked ¡°How far?¡± before exaggerating a false seethe, ¡°My foot¡¯s really starting to hurt.¡± Suddenly we stopped, and for a second I thought that Stan had seen through my ruse, mostly because I was the kind of person who kept my pain to myself, but was allowed to breathe a silent sigh of relief when I saw that we¡¯d simply found the ladder. ¡°We¡¯re home free, my friend.¡± Stan said before leading the way up the ladder, ¡°Home free¡­¡± That¡¯s when Cara shot me a sharp look and gestured her head toward the completely defenseless and unsuspecting Stan as he climbed further up the ladder. She was right, it was the perfect time to strike, Hell, he wouldn¡¯t even see it coming, and there was every chance that, if I got the shot right, he¡¯d never know.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. I couldn¡¯t do it though. I couldn¡¯t put a bullet in my friend¡¯s back. With that being said, I couldn¡¯t let Cara know that I¡¯d chickened out, so opted to shake my head and mouth ¡®Too loud.¡¯ to which she sighed and nodded. ¡°You guys coming or what?¡± Stan joked as he neared the top of the ladder, ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure we¡¯re right on the edge of town, near that farmland, you know?¡± ¡°I know the place.¡± I said, trying to hide the fact that my internal GPS said that we were nowhere near the farm, ¡°You almost up?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Stan replied as finally reached the top and shifted the manhole cover, spurring Cara to mount the ladder and start her begrudging climb up after him, ¡°this thing goes higher than I¡­ thought. Hey, guys? I think it might be an idea for us to maybe not come up here¡­¡± ¡°And why would that be?¡± Cara asked while continuing to climb, an obvious and almost aggressive irritation coming through in her voice. ¡°Well, turns out we might not exactly be under the farm.¡± ¡°Where are we then?¡± Stan didn¡¯t respond for a few seconds, then sighed as he accepted that there wasn¡¯t any other way to put his words, ¡°I think we might be in the heart of Voltown.¡± ¡°Oh, God-¡± Cara started to growl then stopped as she realized how loud she was being, ¡°How many?¡± ¡°No way to tell,¡± Stan whispered coolly as he shifted down and let the cover close, ¡°too much fog, but I don¡¯t think we should chance it.¡± ¡°We might not have a choice¡­¡± I muttered after a guttural groan rumbled from somewhere in the tunnels, ¡°I think we¡¯ve got zombies down here.¡± ¡°Shit.¡± Cara cursed under her breath, ¡°Are you sure?¡± I hesitated to answer long enough to have one of what I was sure to many zombies clambered around the corner in front of me, its one remaining eye glowing a sharp green through my night vision goggles. ¡°Finn, are you sure?¡± Cara repeated from above me, both her and Stan having climbed down since I mentioned the zombies. ¡°Pretty frickin¡¯ sure.¡± I replied as I stared down the motionless zombie, ¡°Go up. Now.¡± The zombie wasn¡¯t doing anything, like it couldn¡¯t trust its own senses, but instead of using the opportunity to run like any smart person would do I went on staring. ¡°What are you doing..?¡± I trailed off curiously. And then it happened, two strong hands grabbed my shoulders and I was left to swing back wildly with my elbow, catching the ninja zombie in gut and forcing it to lose its grip as the one that¡¯d been glaring at me made its move. I was done waiting around though, and started scrambling up the ladder, not wanting to fire for fear that I¡¯d deafen myself and leave not only me, but the two others with me to the ravenous appetite of the zombies. ¡°Go!¡± I bellowed as I clawed my way up the ladder and saw that Cara and Stan were still just waiting there. ¡°But what about the-¡± ¡°Get the fuck up the ladder, now!¡± That roared command was enough to make both Cara and Stan start moving again with a speed and fervor that I hadn¡¯t seen either commit to since meeting them. ¡°They¡¯re climbing up!¡± Cara hissed after chancing a look past me. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, keep climbing.¡± I replied, my voice taking on a colder tone as true panic started to set in, ¡°Move the manhole.¡± ¡°But we don¡¯t know how many are up there.¡± Stan said, ¡°At least down here we know we only have to deal with those tw-¡± ¡°If you get me killed down here I swear to God I¡¯ll take you with me.¡± I practically snarled as Cara and I were forced to come to a stop due to Stan¡¯s insistence on trapping us. Stan was dumbstruck for a moment, but was quick to follow my order, if not for my threat, for the zombies that were almost in arms¡¯ reach of us. I think I knew that that was when Stan realized exactly where he stood with me, and I know that that was when I knew I¡¯d hit the point of no return with him. The desperation to be the last man standing was truly starting to bubble over, and there was absolutely no stopping it. HEART OF VOLTOWN ¡°See,¡± Stan snapped at an almost inaudible level as Cara and I finally managed to scramble out of the sewer and slide the manhole cover back into place, ¡°this is what I was talking about¡­¡± ¡°Do you really want to be playing that game right now?¡± I asked before scanning around the foggy street with my next-to-useless goggles for any sign of an impending attack, ¡°Where are we?¡± ¡°Near that gas station at the center of town.¡± Cara replied matter-of-factly as we both pulled our goggles back onto the top of our heads. ¡°You sound awfully sure.¡± I said, opting to take on a much friendlier tone for her as if to show Stan just where he sat in the social chain. ¡°That¡¯d be because it¡¯s right there.¡± Cara chuckled after pointing her head over to one of the building-shaped shadows in the fog, ¡°I spotted some tires through the fog.¡± ¡°So maybe it would be an idea to go in there?¡± Stan asked sharply, ¡°I¡¯m feelin¡¯ real exposed out here.¡± ¡°Your last great idea was to shoot the four guys who could¡¯ve helped us get to the endgame.¡± I snapped, ¡°This is Cara¡¯s call.¡± I know that that makes me seem like a bit of a tool, but I honestly think there was just some part of me that didn¡¯t want to blindside Stan if and when everything went down. That¡¯s probably a terrible excuse, but it¡¯s mine. ¡°As much as it pains me to admit,¡± Cara started before turning to Stan with a sigh, ¡°I think he has a point. At least in there we¡¯ll have four walls and some visibility.¡± ¡®Thank God¡­¡¯ I thought to myself, a feeling of relief washing over me at the prospect of being able to go indoors. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I saw the flaw in my thinking, and I knew that it made me seem like an insolent child, though I will say that the way Cara put it just made the idea seem better. ¡°So, are we doing this, or what?¡± Stan practically growled after we lingered for a few more seconds. ¡°We can¡¯t just go rushing in,¡± I replied, a sort of coolness returning to my voice, ¡°right, Cara?¡± ¡°Right.¡± Cara said confidently, ¡°I¡¯ll lead the way when I know we¡¯re clear, alright?¡± Stan hesitated to respond, but eventually let out an annoyed huff, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s try and get it done quickly though.¡± Cara had us wait for a few more seconds, and I got the feeling it was for the sole reason to piss off Stan, before finally pointing at the building with the universal ¡®move¡¯ hand gesture. We stayed tight and slow, ignoring the fact that the manhole cover had finally started to lift and shift as the zombies from the sewer finally figured out what they needed to do in order to get it out of their way.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to be a problem,¡± I whispered from the rear of our tight conga line as I started noticing a few people-shaped forms shuffling closer towards us through the fog, ¡°but I got a feeling we may want to pick up the pace.¡± ¡°Startin¡¯ to sound like Stan,¡± Cara jabbed, ¡°besides, can¡¯t get in. Door¡¯s locked.¡± ¡°Are you serious?¡± Stan hissed desperately, ¡°Can you get a window out?¡± ¡°Have you not seen Shaun of the Dead?¡± Cara replied, ¡°The last thing we want is to be smashing out windows. Come on, we¡¯ll see if there¡¯s a way around the side.¡± ¡°No can do¡­¡± Stan said ominously, losing his desperate tone as he peeked around the corner, ¡°Five zombies around the left, you wanna check the right?¡± I¡¯m not going to lie, the fact that Stan had snapped back into ¡®combat-mode¡¯ made me more than a little nervous, mostly because I knew that that usually led to some pretty¡­ final solutions with him. ¡°Damn¡­¡± Cara muttered while I continued to scan the increasingly busy fog in front of me, ¡°Three around this side. Where to?¡± ¡°How tall¡¯s the building?¡± Stan asked flatly. ¡°Two-storey.¡± I replied, matching his tone. ¡°Any windows?¡± ¡°One above the door, balcony beside it.¡± Okay, so maybe I liked that about Stan¡¯s more serious side, we started working together really well. My ability to pick up on my surroundings almost subconsciously, his ability to think on his feet, it combined to make us into quite the team. With that being said, I didn¡¯t expect what he said next. ¡°Alright, help me get Cara up onto the balcony.¡± For a moment there I was stunned by the order, but I quickly went into action and joined him in front of the gas station¡¯s large front window, slinging our guns over our shoulders, and cupping our hands together, ready to take Cara¡¯s feet. ¡°And why am I going up?¡± Cara asked with what I thought I¡¯d just mistaken as genuine offence before she followed it up with an almost sassy ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯m a girl, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°No,¡± Stan replied coldly, ¡°it¡¯s because you¡¯re the lightest, arguably the most nimble, and are going to be able to get in and unlock the front door while Finn and I cover each other.¡± Cara went to argue that for whatever reason before accepting that he had a point, throwing her gun up onto the balcony, then climbing up onto our hands and keeping herself stable as we lifted her up. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to grab.¡± Cara practically swore, ¡°The balcony¡¯s got this weird lip thing, I can¡¯t reach over it.¡± ¡°Stan, zombies incoming.¡± I announced flatly as the creatures began to become clearer in the fog, their curious shuffling having finally gotten them in the right direction. ¡°Can you try jumping?¡± Stan asked before gesturing for me to lift her up higher. ¡°If you guys want a couple o¡¯ broken wrists, sure.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure we could handle it.¡± ¡°This is physics, Stan,¡± Cara replied almost desperately, ¡°the amount of downforce I¡¯d put out would either injure you or make you both fall over.¡± ¡°They¡¯re getting closer¡­¡± I muttered. ¡°I¡¯m well aware of that,¡± Stan bit back stressfully, ¡°are you sure there¡¯s nothing you can grab?¡± Cara didn¡¯t get a chance to answer, I¡¯d already let go of her foot, unslung my rifle, and shot a zombie right before it could get a bite out of Stan¡¯s unsuspecting neck. Killed Z.O.M.B. Mutation 3 +7 Points (185 Points) In that moment I was forced to come to a somewhat irritating realization, I could be a dick to Stan, sure, but I was nowhere near ready to kill him or even so much as leave him in a position to be killed. ¡°Shit!¡± Cara yelped as she hit the ground, bringing my attention over to the two zombies that had been coming up behind me and allowing me to put them down before they got close enough to be a problem. Killed Z.O.M.B. Mutation 3 +7 Points (192 Points) Killed Z.O.M.B. Mutation 3 +7 Points (199 Points) And, with those two fresh kills, I came to another realization, a realization that was enough to make me come to a pause for a good few seconds as I struggled with the reality of it all. Stan was more than ready to let me die. CRANIAL ASSAULT The gunfire from my careless discharge was enough to make the zombies start on us with a new, undeniable zeal for our flesh and blood. ¡°Through the window!¡± Stan shouted as he elbowed out the glass and I helped Cara to her feet, ¡°Now!¡± ¡°My leg¡¯s broken!¡± Cara snarled pointedly, though, surprisingly, not at me. ¡°I got you,¡± I said as calmly as I could while firing off a quick, useless burst into the crowd coming at us, ¡°you go through, Stan, I¡¯ll need you to lift her through.¡± Stan didn¡¯t hesitate, practically leaping through the smashed window before I¡¯d moved so much as a foot. Hell, I half expected him to have run off, but once I reached the window it became clear that that wasn¡¯t the case. ¡°Look out!¡± Cara yelled in my ear, nearly bursting my eardrum and throwing my balance off to the point that I only just managed to shoot the zombie that had been running at me, slowing it down but not stopping it. Stan took Cara without saying a word and got her clear of the broken glass on the linoleum floor just in time for me to basically roll through the waist-high window and fire off a few shots into the zombies. ¡°Office door,¡± Stan heaved out as he did his best to run for the back of the shop, ¡°behind the counter.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± I replied through my teeth while shuffling backwards and firing out through the window, my frustration and anger making it difficult to aim straight and resulting in a whole lot of injuries but no incapacitations or kills. For some reason my typical fight instinct was being clouded and hindered as the adrenaline that usually turned me into John Wick¡¯s less talented cousin made me more like Military Extra Number Seven from Insert Zombie Movie. ¡°We¡¯re going up the stairs!¡± Cara called over as she and Stan got further away, encouraging me to abandon my abysmal shooting and go scrambling after them, nearly tripping over the counter as I did so. My breathing was ragged and unpredictable, my blinking erratic and near-blinding, and it wasn¡¯t until I finally managed to clamber into the back office and throw up that I realized what was happening. I was having an honest to God panic attack. I can¡¯t explain it accurately, and I couldn¡¯t even tell you what had caused it. It could¡¯ve been the continued sense of betrayal I felt. It could¡¯ve been the zombies chomping at my heels.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Hell, it could¡¯ve simply been that everything had finally come crashing down on me after a few hours of absolute crap. The worst part about it was just how pathetic and useless I felt, regardless of how much I tried to rationalize that what was happening had nothing to do with me and that it was a completely normal reaction. I wasn¡¯t going to let a little thing like my brain trying to cave in on itself stop me though, and, despite no small amount of difficulty, I managed to burst through the door at the top of the stairs. That relatively simple action proved to be more than I could handle though, shown through the fact that the second I was on the roof and Stan had slammed the door behind me I collapsed onto a stack of milk crates which Cara had been propped up against. ¡°I can¡¯t see¡­¡± I muttered through weak breaths as my vision started to fill with stars and a sort of weird darkness closed around me, ¡°Guys, I can¡¯t see¡­¡± My heart was thumping in my ears, so I didn¡¯t know if they¡¯d responded to what I¡¯m sure sounded like random mumblings and heaving. ¡°Hello? Finn?¡± a voice whispered through the veil, ¡°This is Mister Purple. Buddy, you need to calm down, your vitals are going all over the place.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t calm down¡­¡± I growled through my teeth. ¡°Well you better figure out how to, fast, or I¡¯m going to have to pull the plug, and I¡¯d really rather not do that. I¡¯m actually rooting for you in all this.¡± I went to snarl something about that being very comforting, but then this sort of sharp tone started rippling through my brain, like an old dialup if it also electrocuted your brain. ¡°There we go,¡± Mister Purple whispered as I figured out what he¡¯d done, ¡°a little mental kicker to push you along. See that? I¡¯ve given you an advantage. Now, get back into the game, and sort out that friend of yours. I don¡¯t imagine I¡¯m going to be able to stomach what he ends up doing.¡± ¡°-inn! Finn!¡± Cara pleaded, shaking me back to proper consciousness. It was at that moment I realized I was screaming and stopped, earning me an entirely justifiable confused expression from Cara who was still shaking me a little. It was all gone. My heart was beating fast, sure, but I was breathing, my head was clear, and my hands had stopped trembling. ¡°Well,¡± I said as I slowly sat up and saw that Stan was struggling to keep the door shut, ¡°that was an experience I¡¯d not like to deal with again.¡± Stan responded with a mixed expression of desperation, confusion, and panic as I got up to my feet and stretched out my legs. ¡°Try the bolts.¡± I said coolly, pointing to the two heavy latches at the top and bottom of the door before walking over, ¡°They might not be a permanent solution, but I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll hold long enough for us to figure something else out.¡± Stan still appeared to be confused, but did as I asked, sliding the two heavy bolts and locking the door while the zombies continued to try and slam it open. I think Cara asked me something, I couldn¡¯t hear her though, I was far too focused on trying to find something to pin the door, ¡°There.¡± I breathed as I spotted a broken refrigerator on its side by the edge of the roof, ¡°Cara, help me move that.¡± ¡°Are you alright?¡± Cara asked concernedly once I¡¯d stood the fridge up, ¡°You seem kind of¡­ off.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine,¡± I replied coolly, ¡°let¡¯s just focus on blocking the door for now, we¡¯ll get to me after.¡± Truth was I had absolutely no intention of discussing what had happened to me, not least because I¡¯d had contact with Mister Purple and I couldn¡¯t exactly explain who he was or why that would be freaking me out. None of that mattered though, I knew what I was doing, where I was going, what my ultimate goals were, and, with the kicker doing its work, I felt ready to do what was necessary. Stan had to go. WHATS THAT SOUND? After Cara and I had blocked the door and I was confident that it was going to keep the zombies at bay, all there was to do was figure how and when I was going to take out my friend. I could¡¯ve push him off the roof when he next looked over the ledge, but that seemed a bit less ¡®final¡¯ than I¡¯d like. I could¡¯ve just started shooting, but I¡¯d already seen that he was far quicker than I with a gun. To me, that left only one option, and that was to sneak up on him, take my knife, and literally stab him in the back. I was right about to take the opportunity, Cara was out of the potential crossfire, Stan was looking over the ledge, and I was mere feet from him, but that¡¯s when I saw something fiery hurtling out of the sky toward the building across the street before disappearing in the foggy shroud. ¡°Looks like people are finally using their points¡­¡± Stan muttered, ¡°You reckon he knows we¡¯re here?¡± ¡°Who?¡± I asked, my hand hovering over the handle of my blade as I casually inched my way closer. ¡°Whoever called in that pod,¡± Stan replied concernedly, ¡°I mean, there¡¯s no reason they¡¯d call one in without being nearby, right?¡± That little question was enough to stop me in my tracks. ¡°Do you think it could¡¯ve been an infrared sight or something?¡± I asked as I let my hand drift away from my knife and to my hip. ¡°Maybe, I mean, that¡¯s what I¡¯d order in if I had gun that was compatible with it.¡± ¡°AS50 has an infrared scope,¡± Cara announced confusedly as she walked over to us, ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s one of those high-tech alien ones with night and x-ray vision capabilities.¡± ¡°Let me rephrase, that¡¯s what I¡¯d order if I could afford it and had access to the tier three stuff.¡± Stan clarified matter-of-factly, ¡°Anyway, point is that this rooftop could get very interesting in the next few minutes.¡± ¡°Only if he decides to do something stupid,¡± I sighed before stalking my way over to one of the milk crates and taking a seat, my opportunity to rid us of Stan having evaporated once Cara had decided to get close enough, ¡°you know, like shoot at us.¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°I don¡¯t see the stupidity in that.¡± Stan replied defensively. ¡°Muzzle flash.¡± I said flatly. ¡°And what if he got in a flash hider at the same time as the scope?¡± Stan asked, striving for an argument that I didn¡¯t see the point in, ¡°Again, that¡¯s what I¡¯d do if I wanted to kit myself out for the endgame.¡± ¡°Look,¡± Cara practically grunted as she came between the two of us, ¡°I¡¯m hearing a lot of baseless assumptions and useless bickering when what I should be hearing is plans to get us off this roof. Seriously, I¡¯m sick of getting up in places like this. It¡¯s like the world¡¯s biggest, lamest version of leapfrog.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at that last part, which earned me a rather sour look from Stan who was still looking back and forth from the building. ¡°I want off this roof too,¡± Stan finally said when it became clear that I wasn¡¯t going to say anything, ¡°but I sincerely don¡¯t see a way that that¡¯s going to happen. There¡¯s got to be at least a hundred wandering around down there, and we¡¯ve got a lot of ground to cover if we wanna get out of Voltown.¡± ¡°Even then, where would we go?¡± Cara asked dejectedly, ¡°Hospital¡¯s a death sentence, so¡¯s the forest.¡± ¡°The farm,¡± I interjected, ¡°there¡¯s a barn and a house there, both are easily defensible, and I¡¯m pretty sure there¡¯s a blast cellar.¡± ¡°Only ¡®pretty sure¡¯?¡± Cara jabbed, ¡°You¡¯re normally pretty frickin¡¯ sure before you open your mouth.¡± ¡°What can I say?¡± I chuckled, ¡°I¡¯m not used to hiding this much, or having company for that matter.¡± ¡°He¡¯s got a point,¡± Stan said with a smile, ¡°the amount of times he¡¯s gone off on his own since I¡¯ve known him, regardless of if I¡¯m in his server or not.¡± I know it sounds ridiculous, but I was actually kind of annoyed about his reminiscence, mostly because it forced me to think about just how long I¡¯d known him and how much fun we¡¯d had together, but also because it made me sound as if I was just going to bail on them at the first opportunity. ¡°What¡¯s that sound?¡± Cara asked, breaking the silence that had fallen over our little group and causing Stan to hit the deck. ¡°Is he shooting?¡± Stan replied with an undeniable level of terror in his voice. ¡°What? No, it¡¯s something else¡­¡± Cara trailed off, ¡°Like¡­ birds? Like a really big bi-shit¡­¡± RingoGotKennedy murdered CorvinTheBlade -1 Player (125 Players Remaining) Delta activated! Delta activated! Quarantine force Delta inbound! ¡°Welp,¡± Stan huffed as he got back to his feet and clapped his hands together, ¡°that¡¯s it. We¡¯re fucked.¡± ¡°Hate to agree with you,¡± Cara replied with a sigh, ¡°but I think you might be right.¡± ¡°Maybe we¡¯ll get lucky and they¡¯ll send in trucks?¡± I suggested hopefully before noticing Cara was shaking her head. ¡°Know that sound I was hearing?¡± she asked before pointing up at the sky, ¡°V-22.¡± I followed her finger but was left to wait for a solid five seconds before the twin-propeller, helicopter-like plane slowly descend through the fog, beating the thick cloud away with ease as it did so. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± I trailed off in defeat, ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re fucked.¡± QUARANTINE Typically quarantine would be seen as a good thing, after all it meant that the zombies would be cleared out with the absolute maximum force possible, but what it also meant was that they needed to make sure absolutely no trace of the virus escaped the island, which was code for ¡®We¡¯re gonna kill absolutely anything and everything we see.¡¯ I suppose the only good news with the quarantine squads was that they gave us a quick death, and they were only ever around for a short time before either wiping out all the players or being called off for some other event. Honestly though, I didn¡¯t like our chances of surviving. We were a mostly fractured group as it was, and they definitely had infrared, and vehicles, and numbers. ¡°Come on then!¡± Cara goaded menacingly as the V-22 got within a hundred feet of us, ¡°Show us what you¡¯re made o-¡± Cara didn¡¯t get the chance to finish her almost scary challenge, no, instead Stan apparently remembered that he had a gun that could kill a building and started unloading his BMG rounds into the bottom of the V-22¡¯s cockpit. ¡°What the Hell are you doing!?¡± Cara roared over the cacophonous gunfire. It was clear that Stan wasn¡¯t paying attention to her though, and, if I¡¯m being honest, neither was I, my eyes were transfixed on bottom of the V-22 as Stan turned it into Swiss cheese, the fog slowly but surely clearing as he fired. Stan had fired a total of nine shots into the aircraft before finally hitting whoever or whatever he had to hit in order to make the beastly plane come crashing down, and boy did it come crashing down. At first I thought it was simply going to nosedive into the street below us, but instead something must have happened in the cockpit, either a random technical glitch or a genuine effort from the mostly dead pilot I didn¡¯t know, and suddenly the aircraft pulled up sharply. The effort was futile though as the plane was already too close to the ground, its body grazing the road, sending sparks flying and taking out more than a few zombies in its wake as its nose almost went completely vertical, all before finally half-diving once more and crashing directly into the building where the pod had landed. For a while after that we all sort of just stood there, staring at V-22¡¯s blades continued to spin and break apart as they launched bits of rubble every which way. ¡°What. The. Hell?¡± Cara growled. ¡°You already said that.¡± Stan said flatly, ¡°C¡¯mon, we better get moving. The fog¡¯s gonna clear up soo-¡± Cara, in a fit of rage, punched Stan up the back of his head, interrupting and sending him tumbling forward with the weight of his hefty gun in his arms as she prepared to throw another punch, ¡°You stupid, reckless, piece of shit!¡± Stan, not being one to go down without a fight, dropped his rifle, spun around, and grabbed out his handgun all in one swift motion, ¡°You¡¯re gonna want to step off.¡± he warned coldly, ¡°Now, I¡¯m going to ask this just once, what¡¯s this all about?¡± ¡°What?¡± Cara snapped, still holding her fist up, ready to swing as if Stan¡¯s gun wasn¡¯t even there in her mind. ¡°This, the punching, the growling.¡± Stan said, ¡°Sure, I get being a bit pissed what with the fact that I¡¯ve kinda sorta given away our position-¡± ¡°And almost crushed us.¡± I interjected matter-of-factly. ¡°Yes, and almost crushed us, thank you,¡± Stan let out with an obvious level of annoyance, ¡°my point is that this seems a bit over the top. So, what is it? Have you just been looking for a reason, Cara? Because I thought we covered the fact that I don¡¯t like being punched pretty early on in our relationship.¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Cara clearly resented the term ¡®relationship¡¯, but she did lower her fist in response to Stan¡¯s calm, almost Zen attitude, ¡°I¡¯m concerned that your¡­ reckless, dangerous, and somewhat murderous behavior is going to end up getting us killed.¡± she said as coolly as she could, ¡°And there¡¯s actually a pretty big part of me that wants to see if I can win this.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you mean ¡®we¡¯?¡± I asked, throwing the conversation off slightly and getting me a confused look from Cara. ¡°There¡¯s only gonna be the one winner here,¡± Cara replied after a few seconds of blank staring, ¡°and I¡¯m lookin¡¯ to have that be me.¡± And that¡¯s when I started thinking about all our little conversations in a whole new light. Was she just looking for me to take out Stan so that she¡¯d have an easier time putting me down towards the end? Or was she just making sure that Stan knew that there was no chance that she¡¯d let him beat her when it came down to it? I genuinely had no idea, and what made it worse was the fact that all that thinking and rethinking made me miss out on the rest of what I was sure was a very important conversation between Cara and Stan, which ended with Stan holstering his pistol and picking up his rifle while Cara nodded calmly and forced a smile. ¡°So, we¡¯re all good?¡± Stan asked, jarring me slightly as I tried to go back through my memories to see if I could recall what had gotten them to the point of peace. ¡°We¡¯re good.¡± Cara replied. ¡°Finn?¡± Stan called as I looked over at the wreckage confusedly, ¡°Finn? Are we good?¡± I didn¡¯t have an answer for him, not an honest one anyway, but I managed to pull a mostly confident ¡°Yeah, yeah we¡¯re good.¡± before returning to my gazing and thinking. Without being able to talk to Cara privately, I was stuck wondering if I was still supposed to be looking for any opportunity to take Stan out or if I was simply supposed to chill out and let things lie. ¡°What¡¯re you doing?¡± Cara chuckled, snapping me back to reality and spurring me to look over at her and Stan as they stood at the blocked door, ¡°You comin¡¯ or what?¡± ¡°Hmm? Oh, oh yeah, sorry. Where¡¯re we going?¡± ¡°The farmhouse?¡± Stan replied with a worried sort of expression on his face, ¡°Man, did you pay any attention to what we were talking about?¡± I went to respond with a somewhat offended ¡®Of course!¡¯ but was interrupted by the sound of gunfire from the street below. ¡°Ah, crap¡­¡± Cara muttered as she came over to join me in looking back over at the V-22, ¡°Looks like your shootin¡¯ wasn¡¯t as effective as you thought.¡± ¡°My shootin¡¯ was just fine,¡± Stan said defensively, ¡°the problem is that those quarantine pricks are stacked to the nines with armor and crap specifically to make them hard to kill.¡± ¡°What¡¯re we gonna do?¡± Cara asked, ¡°Your ¡®let¡¯s just plow through the zombies¡¯ idea doesn¡¯t seem all that viable now.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ You got any ideas, Fin-¡± ¡°Jesus!¡± I practically yelped as a section of the building across the street collapsed and the player that¡¯d been hiding on the roof promptly fell and got himself skewered on the V-22¡¯s propeller. TheLessAttractiveAffleck fell to his death -1 Player (122 Players Remaining) ¡°Well¡­¡± Stan murmured as a cloud of smoke and dust was kicked up by the collapse, ¡°I think now would be a good time to run.¡± ¡°And how do you figure that?¡± I asked without taking my eyes off the quarantine squad on the ground. Stan responded by lifting up three fingers, then counting down to one with them before pointing at the V-22 which, as if through some kind of magic spell, erupted into a ball of flames, sending chunks of metal and debris into the squad that had been inside it. ¡°S¡¯pose that¡¯d be why¡­¡± Cara muttered. I didn¡¯t want to agree for the simple reason that I wasn¡¯t altogether excited about following any plan that Stan had come up with, especially following his little act of aggression. There wasn¡¯t much of a choice for me though, and there definitely wasn¡¯t any sense in sticking around Voltown for a second longer than we had to, what with the fog clearing and returning visibility for everyone who might¡¯ve decided to take cover in the town. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s roll.¡± I said somewhat dejectedly before going over to the refrigerator and deciding that¡¯d be for the best if I forced some levity, ¡°But if this goes sideways, I want y¡¯all to promise that you won¡¯t end up shootin¡¯ at each other.¡± ¡°We promise.¡± Cara and Stan replied in unison, sending a small chill up my spine as I started to panic that maybe part of the conversation I¡¯d missed included a part about turning on me. Even then I think I knew that I was just being paranoid, but I¡¯d rather be paranoid than dead. Besides, I could usually trust my gut, and though I didn¡¯t think Cara would turn on me, I still wasn¡¯t sure about Stan, and I knew that I¡¯d still be looking for an opportunity to get rid of him, even if Cara didn¡¯t condone, authorize, or otherwise support it. As much as I hate to admit it, I¡¯d started to think that Mister Purple had a point. Stan was somewhat erratic, and I¡¯d played enough games with him to know that he was sneaky and charming enough to trick just about any person into letting their guard down. I wasn¡¯t going to become one of those people.