《Respite of a Fallen World》 Chapter 1 A scattered landscape stretches out across the word, a flat space of shimmering color and rays of light. You look look around to find the world is the same no matter where you turn, as if you are not moving at all. Light dances like an aurora, first pink, then purple, then violet, before returning to being pink again. Time seems to flow with the light. A voice stretches out through the light, "It''s coming. Be prepared." You try to call out in response, but . . . Jack jolted as the bus hit a pothole, his head jostled by the blow against the window he had been sleeping on. "Next stop, Union Station.," A pleasent voice announced over the loudspeaker. Jack shook himself awake as he tried to get his bearings. Standing at 5 foot 9 inches and 200 pounds, he wasn''t skinny, but he also was not overweight. A mop of brown hair sat atop a pair of square glasses, which covered a pair of blue eyes above a clean shaven face. A polo and jacket covered his torso, while blue jeans and sneackers took care of his legs. He was currently riding the bus from his home to Reily Uiversity, his school for the last 2 years. Union station was his stop, and he had had some kind of strange dream. "What was I doing?," He mused to himself, "What was that dream about?" As he considered it, the bus slowly came to a halt. Around him, people began standing up and retrieving their luggage from the overhang. Jack soon copied them, reaching up to grab his dufflebag and backback. He tipped his head at the young bus driver, who gave him a pleasent smile in return. He privately wondered why such a pretty young women was driving a bus before steppig out onto the platform. It was the first week of August, a few days before school would be starting up. Jack saw families dropping off their kids for the first time and veterins returning to the battlefield. He laughed privately at his simile; school was a tough place. "Now, where am I off to again?" The interrupted nap still held a spell over him as he reached into his pocket and took out his notebook. Dorm: Graves Hall Room: 209 1. Greet the hall manager 2. Greet the roomate "Thank-you notebook." Jack grinned as he stowed away the item. Being as easily distracted as he was, it paid to make notes of important things before they floated away with the squirrals. Speaking of. Jack raised an eyebrow as a red rodent darted out in front of him and up a tree. It chittered at him from the branches above, and soon after a nut ''boinked'' against his head. Jack frowned and scratched the now red spot. "Oy, enough of that!" A voice came from behind Jack. The squirral chittered again before disappearing into the leaves. Jack turned and raised his hand in greeting. "Good to see you again old George." George was a stopped old man wearing a greek fishing hat and brown overalls over a checkered shirt. A pair of mischievious brown eyes stared up at Jack as the old man grinned, "One foot in and the squirrals are already throwing things at you aye? Looks like the''re impatient for their nuts." Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Jack sighed, "If I had known they had such a good memory, I would have never fed them freshman year. Will they ever forget?" George laughed heartily, "Young man, those red squirrals hve better memories than me. Come back in 20 years and they''ll be throwing nuts at you from their graves to get you to feed them." George clapped his hand on Jack''s back as he reached down to grab the dufflebag. "George, that''s mine.," Jack protested as he tried to stop the man from grabbing the bag. George rolled his eyes, "Young man, over the last 2 years you''ve found time to help me with my chores as groundskeeper, so allow me to help you carry your bag so I have an excuse to catch up with you before schooling distracts you." He leveled a watery eye at the young man, "Don''t look down on a marine." Jack grinned ruefully, "Hu rah then." George cracked a smile as the two began walking down the cobbled street, "So, how was the family?" Jack shrugged, "All good I guess. James is almost done with high school and Harry is starting middle school. Mom and Dad are still working, so same old I guess." George snorted, "Really? That''s all? Come on, didn''t you go on vacations with them?" Jack shrugged, "I had to work over the summer, so I stayed home and watched the dogs. They went to the beech I think." The older man sighed and shook his head, "You should spend more time with your family Jack; the day will come that you will wish you''d of spent more time with them. In the coming years, that''ll get harder and harder." "I guess." Jack didn''t continue, and George didn''t pry anymore. When they arrived at Graves Hall, George passed over a bag of sunflower seeds from his pocket. "You''ll need these," was all he said before leaving with a wave. Jack carried his bags in and walked over to the reception desk. "Hey Milly; I see you became an RA." Jack greeted the girl at the counter. Milly, a southern country girl, grinned at him before winking, "Of course dear; how could anyone say I was suited for herding cattle?" They shared a laugh. She continued, "I just need your ID and room number hun." Jack handed over his student ID and told her the room number. Milly glanced quickly at the Id before returning it with the room key. "Stairs are next to the elevator as usual, you need anything else hun?" "I''m good to go, thanks Milly." Jack winked at her as he picked his stuff back up, "I''m sure you''ll make a wonderful wife someday." Milly rolled her eyes and shoo''ed him away. Laughing, Jack scanned his ID at the door and walked into the stairwell. The second floor was covered in a pattered carpet and whitish walls as Jack made it to his room. Upon entering, he found it deserted except for two lofted beds and two desks underneath them. "Home sweet home." Jack muttered as he deposited his things at the foot of the bed. Chapter 2 After making a tentative unpacking on his side of the room, Jack strolled out into the dorm and went into the common room. There, he found two boys fiddlig with a gamesystem and the TV. "You sure it''s safe setting up that playstation 4 here?," Jack asked them with a raised eyebrow, "Security isn''t the best when you show off those kind of things so casually." "Why you asking mate? You a right robber then?" One of the guys turned and raised an eyebrow at him. Jack shook his head quickly, "No, just experienced. One of my old roomates lost his wii that way." The boy snorted and chuckled, "Why waste the effort lifting a wii? Right cheap bastards they are." He got up and held out his hand, "M''names Roger, and this here be my roommate, Eric." "Hey." Eric lifted his head up and nodded in greeting. To Jack, Roger was obviously a Brit with his bow-tie and accent. Eric, on the other hand, was dressed more casually and was an odd contrast to the much whiter Roger. Eric frowned as he watched Jack''s face, "You have a problem with me?" Jack sputtered awkwardly, "No, uh, I mean, I''m sorry." He ended up apologizing, "I''m just not used to dealing, with, african americans." The two roommates looked at each other before bursting out in laughter. "Ole boy here seems to be a wee bit cuckled if you ask me." Roger observed in amusement. Eric waved Jack off, "Sorry about that man; I couldn''t help myself. You look rather easy to mess with." Jack sighed and shrugged good naturedly, "Can''t say that''s never happened before honestly. I''m Jack." He shook hands with both boys before taking a seat on the couch in front of the TV. "So," Jack began, "This your first year here?" "My first here, but I transfered from England. I was looking to expand my prospects ''ere with political science." Roger replied as he settled back to messing with wires. Eric moved to the TV, "It''s my third studying engineering. You Jack?" "Biology," Jack replied as he watched them work a moment longer, "It''s my second year, and have either of you ever connected a game-system before?" The two gave him a stink-eye. "We know what we''re doing chap." Roger muttered, "Tis just this poppy-cocked television is missing the cord connection." Jack got up and walked over to the TV and inspected it. "Opening gor the HDMI is on top." He reported a moment later. Eric smacked his head as he confirmed it, "Who makes a television with the cord openings on top?" Jack shook his head sadly, "Welcome to Reily University, Graves Hall. If neither of you knew realized, this place is cheaper because we test all the new designs made by the engineering department. Actually," He looked over at Eric, "How did you not know about it?" Eric scratched his head awkwardly, "Well, I only switched this semester. I took the classes, but they wouldn''t let me declare until I finished all the pre-reqs as a math major." Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Jack laughed, "Yeah, it''s in the second to last page of the housing contract. Downstairs, there''s a wall where you can see all the ''products''," he air quoted, "Available for your room. They don''t do microwaves for obvious reasons, but you can get anything from a fridge to a prototype game machine. I advise you accept the free fire extinguisher though; the fire department don''t always answer our alarms." Eric and Roger grimaced, but smiled as the game system began working on the TV. "We were going to play some mortal kombat. Want to play winner?" Eric asked. Jack shook his head, "I have to run an errand first. Which reminds me," he turned to Roger, "Don''t feed the squirrals." He left to Eric''s laughter and Roger''s confused look. He nodded to Milly as he left the building, and she returned a wink as she dealt with a few complaining freshmen. Once outside, Jack wandered out to the courtyard and took a seat on one of the benches. "Alright guys, come and get it." He called out as he took out two bags of sunflower seeds and shook them. A few leaves fell as he heard scurrying behind him. A few moments later, a group of 5 squirrals ran out in front of him and sat, their tails twitching in anticipation. Jack opened the first bag and poured the seeds out. The squirrals darted forward the filled their mouths with seeds before shouting away into the surronding trees. New squirrals replaced them until the pile was empty. Before Jack could open the second pack, a flash of red fur snatched it out of his hand and disappeared into the trees. Jack blinked in surprise as he stared at his now empty palm. Hearing a chitter above his head, he watched a nut fall into his hand. "Gee, thanks." He muttered wryly as he got up to leave, "I''ll be back next week you gluttens." Having finished his task, Jack decided to walk around the compus before finding a place to eat. Reily University was a well known school for science, and this was reflected in it''s design. The largest building was saved for research rooms of all catagories, and it''s round bulk was set right in the middle of the land. The roads leading to and from it were all made of a unique material so anyone could find the right path by following the composition. The Graves Hall path was brick for instance. Jack found a normal tarmac path that circled the university grounds and began a light walk. He loved how the trees along the path had so many colors to look at: from green to brown and everything inbetween. He spent the rest of the daylight walking, before finally giving in to the feeling of hunger that gnawed at him. He stopped by the south cantina, as they were known to the student body. The cantinas all served the same things: burgers, hotdogs, pizza, and sandwitches. Jack ordered a roast beef sandwitch and savored it as he watched the tables of laughing students. Grinning, he finished his meal and returned to the dorm for sleep. Tomorrow was the first day of classes. Chapter 3 Mature -------------------------- Jack stared down at his hands in shock. His body trembled uncontrollably as he pulled his legs in close to his chest. Blood dripped down inbetween his fingers, the warm, stickky feeling sending his mind into a state of nausea. Slowly, Jack stared up above him. A corpse stared back down at him, it''s face frozen in horror while being smashed from going through the metal locker Jack was hiding in. Blood dripped down slowly second after second, while Jack desperately tried to force himself to stay quiet. (Growl) The metal shook from footsteps in the room. Jack reflexively covered his mouth and nose to hide his breathing, remembering too late the blood and guts on them. He choked back the vomit that threatened to burst out as he heard a long sniff outside the door. ''How did it come to this?'' ---------Earlier that day----------- Jack woke up to the sound of his alarm going off next to him. Yawning, he slammed the snooze button before rolling out of bed and onto his feet. He noted the empty bed on the other side of the room. "Guess my roommate isn''t here yet." He groaned softly as he got up and stretched, "Well, guess the place is mine for awhile." After checking the location for his first class, Jack walked over to the little closet and took out another polo to wear. Slipping into a pair of brown blue jeans, he walked out of the room and headed for the bathroom, his hand idly scratching the back of his head as he slumped forward. Upon entering, he found only Eric there, who was brushing his teeth. He raised his hand in greeting. "Hey Eric. Have a good night?" Eric looked over and took his toothbrush out, "Yeah man, it was alright. I think we''re the only ones here though." Jack frowned, "I know Graves Hall isn''t the most popular dorm, but there can''t be only 3 people on this floor. I saw Milly helping some freshmen out yesterday downstairs." Eric shrugged, "Maybe they aren''t on this floor. All I know is we be playing playstation all night, and no one came up the stairs." "Sounds like a wonderful way to spend the night before school starts." Jack rolled his eyes in sarcasm as he took a whizz. "Whatever man, my first class isn''t until noon anyway. Only reason I''m up is because Roger tore out like the police was after him." "The Brit was late then? Ha, I can''t wait to get him later with that." Jack laughed as he washed his hands. He cursed a moment later. "I forgot my bathroom things; see you later Eric." "Cya." Eric walked back to his room as Jack ran the other direction. Deciding to only wash his hair today, Jack quickly finished his morning rituals before heading down to the lobby area. There, he found a bored Milly waiting around at the desk. "Why are you here?" Jack asked, confused. Milly sighed and shook her head, "Heck if I know. None of the other RA''s showed up, so when I called up the office they told me to take over and write it down as overtime. Apparently, they were having similar problems at the other dorms too." Jack folded his arms in concern, "Where is everyone? This is the first day of class; but I''ve only seen about half of the normal number of students since I''ve gotten back. I thought last night was slow because everyone was slepping or getting ready." Milly shook her head, "Apparently, there have been some problems with sinkholes appearing in bad places like roads and airports. It was on the news this morning; really strange if ya ask me. I guess we got lucky since we''re more local then the rest." As he left the dorm, Jack frowned as he contemplated Milly''s words. It was true he hadn''t checked the news recently; he had no TV and his phone was being sent through the mail from home after being fixed. "Potholes at airports and highways; why would they be appearing there?," he wondered thoughtfully as he made his way to his first class. The ten-o-clock class was a biology class and being hosted in the bio building on the third floor. Seeing the line at the elevator, Jack rolled his eyes and took the stairs up, pausing at the landings so he wouldn''t show up slightly sweaty to class. The bio room was the standard setup: rows of chairs and tables in a small room in front of a board and desk. Jack took a seat at the back, thinking it better to check the teacher''s attitude before commiting to the front. As he sat down amoung the various students milling about, he heard a clatter on the floor next to him. Looking over, he reached down and picked up the pencil that had fallen to the floor. "I''m sorry; thank you for getting my pencil." Jack heard above him.He looked up into the eyes of a pretty girl who was giving him a sweet smile. "No problem." Jack assured her as he handed the pencil back, "This your first class of the day?" She nodded, "Yes; I was really greatful to not having an eight am class this semester. I''ll save so much on coffee now." If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Jack chuckled, "Yeah, coffee is definitely one vice all students need for those classed; teachers too really." He held out his hand, "Name''s Jack." "Lilly.," The girl responded with a soft smile, "Do you know the teacher?" Jack shook his head, "Haven''t met Doctor De yet, but I hear he''s an okay kind of guy." "Yeah, on of my friends had him last year; said he was cool enough to allow snacks during on of the tests that got pushed to dinner time." Jack winced, "Yikes, hope that doens''t happen to us. I like having my meal times." He patted his belly. Lilly giggled, "You''re funny." "Hey Lilly, come sit with us." A small group of girls called over to Lilly, who turned and called back, "Coming!" She looked over at Jack and smiled, "I''ll see you Jack." "Cya." Jack mumbled quietly as he watched Lilly walk over to her friends. The group began laughing and talking a moment later. Jack sighed and pulled open a book to read. Looks like this year would be the same as the others. ------------------- After breezing through the morning classes, Jack grabbed a quick lunch at the cantina before running to his last class for the day, bio lab. The lab was on the first floor of the bio building, and Jack wasn''t sweating it since it was the first week and labs didn''t officially start until the third week. Today was all about safety instructions and signing forms for insurance purposes. Jack grabbed one of the last seats as the grad student in charge walked in. "Okay guys, you all know the drill." He announced from the front, "Sign the forms, sign uo for a equipment drawer, and listen to me pradle along about the many ways to not die in here." He got a scattering of chuckles as everyone pulled out pens and began signing forms. Jack barely paid attention as the grad student drowned on about safety precautions, life-saving equipment, and what was to be expected in future labs. "Now, take the scavenger paper off your desk and write down the locations of all life saving equipment in the lab." The grad student said, to the groans of everyone in the lab. He rolled his eyes, "Yes yes, enough of that. Consider it the easiest A you''ll get in this class; now come along." Jack got up with the rest of the table as they wandered around the room, taking note to write the locations of things like fire blankets and the eye-wash station on the scavenger map. "Do we need to write down about this locker?" Jack called out to the front, cocking his head around. "No it''s just the cleaning equipement locker." The grad called back, "Nothing useful in there except . . ." He was interrupted when the room began to violently shake and shudder. "Earthquake! Everyone, get down!" The students shrieked and yelled as things began to fall off the shelves in the front. Jack, thinking quickly, ducked inside of the locker and shut the door behind him. The brooms and mops inside shuddered with him as he watched through the small openings at face level. After a few minutes, the shaking stopped.
The World has Changed
Welcome to the new world. Before continuing, it is advised to get to a safe spot before you die. Once there, say ''Menu'' and follow the instructions. Beware the new lifeforms
"What is this?" Jack muttered as he read the blue screen that had appeared in front of him. From the exclamations of surprise around him, he guessed the other students were also seeing similar things. "Calm down everyone. Let''s stay calm and . . ." Before the grad student could finish, he was smashed into the wall by a flying door. Everyone froze as they watchd the door fall away from the wall, revealing a mangled body and massive blood stain. The body slumped to the ground, and a girl screaming. From the open doorway, a massive beast smashed it''s way in, causing everyone to panice and run. The monster roared and ran in, swinging it''s arms and horns around. "Minotaur, what?" Jack whispered in shock. Such a creature did not exist in this world. The minotaur, not knowing it couldn''t exist, impaled student after student and threw the others with it''s massive arms and legs. Bodies broke and dripped as they died in front of Jack. A few managed to squirt around the edge of the room and raced to door, only to find more minotaurs entering. Jack watched in horror as the lead man was lifted up and brought into the bull''s mouth. With a sickening cruntch, the man screamed as the minotaur sank it''s teeth into his stomach. He continued to scream as the other minotaurs joined in on chewing him, and soon said no more. Jack ducked as a student smashed into the locker, his head a broken mess as he stared down at Jack with dead, frozen eyes. "Oh my god." Jack whispered, "It''s the end of the world." Chapter 4 Jack watched as the lead minotaur slowly sniffed the cabinet where he was hiding, his gore ridden hands covering his face desperately to hide his breathing. The mythical monster sniffed deeply, before reaching up and pulling the broken corpse from the metal with a sickening retch. Its prize in hand, the minotaur bellowed and left the room, its brethren carrying all the corpses with them out the door. Jack didn''t move for a few minutes, listening carefully for the distant footfalls of the beasts. When he was sure they were gone, he pushed open the door with a careful hand. The room was utterly destroyed; covered in human remains and destroyed equipment. "Safe, I need to find somewhere safe." Jack murmured as he crawled along the floor. He flinched as he rounded a table and came face to face with a head, its tongue sticking out. Holding in the retch again, Jack scurried over to the door and slowly poked his head out. The hallway was clear, and the doors leading to outside seemed to be clear. As he got up to leave, Jack glanced over to the side of the door. "It''s called life-saving for a reason." He muttered as he picked up the fire blanket and extinguisher that had been knocked to the floor. He also reached down and grabbed the lab lighters used to heat the bunsen burners along with a broken piece of metal that had come from a stool. Feeling slightly safer as he stuffed his goodies away into a random backpack, Jack rolled into the hallway and held the metal rod out threateningly. However, seeing no one there made him feel silly, so he ran over to the door and burst out into the open world. Surprisingly, there wasn''t that much of a difference except for a few smoking buildings in the distance. As Jack stared around, he heard a roar coming from the upper floors of the bio building. "Shit, time to go." Jack tuned toward Graves Hall and ran for his life, leaving the sounds of angry cattle behind him. -------------- Along the way, Jack did not see anyone else. The grounds were silent, lacking even the chittering of squirrels to chase him home. He sighed in relief as the brick hall came into view. Once he closed the glass doors behind him, he bent over and let out a long breath, before throwing up everything in his stomach onto the floor. "Uheh, ugh, (cough cough)" He sputtered as he wiped away at the edge of his mouth, "What the hell was that?" A sound in front of him alerted him to the receptionist desk. He looked up to see someone in the chair eating, though his or her back was turned to him. "Hey, did anything weird happen here?" Jack asked as he approached the table. The chair slowly turned and revealed a boy Jack had never seen before. He had red eyes and whitish skin, and he didn''t seem to be responding to Jack''s words. "You okay here bud?" Jack asked, concerned, "You look like you haven''t seen the sun lately. You an albino?" The boy moaned and all of a sudden shot forward against the table, startling Jack onto his butt. "Jesus man, don''t scar me like that." Jack yelled angrily as he got up and brushed himself off. The boy moaned again before crawling over the desk toward Jack. Jack shook as he pointed the metal rod at him, "Hey, stay back man. I''ve seen some messed ups hit today and I''m not in the mode." The albino moaned and slowly got up, hands stretched toward Jack as he stumbled forward. Jack cursed, "Dammit, get back or I''ll hit you!" "Raw!" The boy suddenly snarled and lunged forward at Jack. Jack shrieked and fell backwards onto his butt again, thrusting out the pole involuntarily as it hit the ground and bounced. With a sickening crack, the boy''s head fell smack dab into the poll, his head pierced by the sharp end. The boy gasped and slackened, falling limp onto Jack''s legs. "AAAAHHHHHH!" Jack screamed as he scrambled backwards, kicking the dead body away from him as he scooted backwards.
Level Up
Catch up on notifications in a safe place
Jack freaked again, his head whipping back and forth to try to escape the words in front of him. No matter where he turned, however, the screen kept itself right in front of his face. "I killed him, oh my god I killed him." Jack began to cry as he slowly approached the dead boy. He felt for a pulse, but the boy was actually quite cold to the touch and it was impossible to discern. "Hold on," Jack stared, "Why isn''t he bleeding?" Surprisingly, the dead boy had very little blood coming from his head, almost as if the blood was as cool as the body. At this discovery, Jack began to calm down as curiosity took over his thoughts. "Was he already dead?" Jack wondered, "Maybe . . ." Jack reached down and grabbed the metal rod. Taking a steeling breath, he yanked the rod out of the corpse''s head. The corpse fell back down, and no blood dripped from the large head wound. "The stick is almost clean.," Jack muttered as he checked the rod, "So he was dead; how was he moving?" A soft moan made Jack jump to his feet and move his weapon around erratically. Hearing the moan again, Jack slowly made his way to the counter and looked over the counter. Milly lay sprawled on the ground, tears falling as she clutched a massively bleeding arm. "Jack hon, Jack is that you?" She wept as Jack came into view. "Milly!" Jack rushed to her aid as he cradled her, "What happened?" Milly shook her head, "It was after them earthquakers, that boy came down from the elevator and attacked me after I greeted him. He was eating me when you walked in." Jack shook his head, "My class got busted up by some minotaur things; everyone else died. Let''s get you to my room." Milly shook her head, "I don''t want to go upstairs; there could be more of them. On my desk here, grab the keys to the downstairs office. No windows there and it has a first aid kit." "On it." Jack reached up and snagged the keys, then helped Milly to her feet. Together, they limped over to the door and opened it. After depositing Milly on the couch, Jack locked the door. As the lock clicked, the blue screen returned again.
You are in a safe room
Make rest point?
YesNo
(Current rest point: none)
"Jack, do you see this too?" He heard Milly ask behind him. "Yeah; let''s go ahead and hit yes." Jack clicked the button and the screen changed.
Unread Notifications
1. Welcome to the New World Due to recent events, the world you know has changed. This is your interface, the key to surviving in this new world. After eliminating an enemy who will receive points based on the experience you went through. These "EXP Points" will then be added together until an experience threshold is reached. The result is a "Level Up", so quick growth in ability. When you level up, a profile of your current abilities expressed in monetary numbers will appear. Upon leveling up, you will receive a number of "Attribute Points" to add to any physical attribute. For instance, increasing strength will allow you to pick up heavy things more easily and also carry more. To put things into perspective, a "Ten" would be the peak of human development prior to the change. Stay alive by leveling up and increasing your power.
2. You have successfully hidden from a race with high sensing abilities. Impressive
Skill acquired: Stealth
3. You have defeated a zombie
Skill acquired: Stab EXP has been gained
4. You have leveled up
4 attribute points acquired for killing within the first hour
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. "A zombie." Jack paled, "Oh no." He turned to see a pale faced Milly reading from her screen, invisible to his eye. She turned and gave him a weak smile. "Hon, it says I got the zombie virus. I got a count-down too, about 5 minutes left." She sniffled and shook her head, "I don''t wanna change into one; you gotta help me Jacky." Jack nodded, "Right, maybe there is a cure or something . . ." Milly shook her head and smiled sadly, "Naw, you no better Jacky. Ain''t a cure for being bitten in all those ole zombie movies right? I need ya to make sure I don''t become one." She pointed to his stick, "I need ya to put me out of my misery." Jack''s eyes widened as her words began to process, "Milly . . .no . . .I can''t kill you like this." Milly sighed, "I need you to though hun. I don''t wanna be some undead sonavabuch that''ll try to kill ya, so help me like I was a calf with rabies. I need to be put down." "NO!" Jack yelled at her, "There has to be some other way, some way in this new world. Yeah, I bet with all the changes they¡¯ll be a treasure chest or something with a cure." "Maybe," She agreed, "But can ya find in . . .4 minutes and 30 seconds?" "I can try." Jack turned and unlocked the door. Ignoring Milly''s protests, Jack raced for the stairwell. When he slammed the door open, however, 3 zombies poured out with moans and grasping hands. Jack barely dodged them as they lunged into a heap on the floor. "BASTARDS!" Jack yelled in fright as he backed up. In his retreat, he gave the zombies enough time to recover and get off the floor. The first one moaned and charged him, the red eyes bleeding. "Stab!" Jack cried out reflexively. To his shock, his body followed the command through and stabbed the zombie in the head. (critical hit) Jack heard a monotonous voice in his eyes as the zombie pitched over. Jack stared at his arms before turning back to face the zombies. "Stab, Stab!" He cried out, and his arm shot forward in the direction he was pointing. Both zombies fell over from the headshots, leaving Jack in a kind of bewildered bemusement. "Uh, that was easy?" He wondered. As he stared ahead in thought, he watched as the three zombies melted away into little pouches. Curious, Jack bent down and touched one.
Do you wish to acquire all items?
YesNo
Jack clicked "Yes"
Acquired Items:
Rotten Bone x 1 Rotten Flesh x 5
"Just like a game." Jack murmured as he picked up the other loot bags. They held the same, but it made Jack look over to his first kill. A loot pouch lay on the hallway floor, waiting for him. This pouch, however, was blue instead of white. Curious, Jack walked over and picked it up.
You have found a recipe
Do you wish to learn?
YesNo
"Definitely ''Yes''" Jack declared as he hit the button
You have learned the recipe: Zombie Preservent
Ingredients: Rotten Bone x 2 Rotten Flesh x 12
This item allows one to become of the zombie race instead of the zombie monster, allowing for possible co-existence. A rare recipe, extremists go to far lengths to keep this hidden from the world so as to keep it "pure".
Skill acquired
Brew
You can use recipes to create items. Requires a health kit or potion kit
In a flash, Jack ran back into the room and closed the door. Milly, greyer now, looked over and smiled, "Are you here to finish me off then?" Jack snorted, "No greener pastures for you yet country girl. Hold up while I try to whip this item up." Grabbing the health kit off the wall, Jack looked around and found a small blue button out of the corner of his eye. Pressing it, a small portrait of his face appeared with other information. "Ignore that . . .now where is . . .skill button, here we go." He said triumphantly, clicking the button. The screen changed to one with his two skills, and he clicked on brew.
Do you want to Brew a Zombie Preserver?
Warning: using Brew with a health kit instead of a potion kit will destroy the kit Warning: This can item can only be given to a living being infected with the Z virus
YesNo
"Yes, yes, yes already!" Jack yelled as he hit "Yes". The health kit fell apart in his hands, and Jack found himself holding a potion in a flask. Not questioning the laws of physics, matter conservation, or energy conservation, Jack ran over to Milly. "Hurry, drink this!" He ordered her. But Milly was fading away too quickly to hear him. Jack growled and dumped the flash into her mouth, pinching her nose. Milly gasped and coughed as the potion went down her throat, and her eyes rolled back into her head. A moment later, she went limp. Jack stared down at her cooling boy, then slowly backed up and grabbed his pole from the floor. As he took a stance, Milly shuddered and arced forward, her eyes a bright red as she gasped. "You still here Milly?" Jack asked carefully. Milly slowly turned her head toward Jack and smiled at him. Jack sighed in relief and lowered his weapon. "Oh good; I was really worried about you. How you feeling?" Milly kept smiling at him, "Hungry." She got up and began to walk toward him. Jack frowned and backed up a bit, "Milly, I need you to sit down for a moment so we can talk about what changed." Milly cocked her head and paused, her smile starting to fade, "Hungry? I . . .hhuungry Jack." "I can get you some food if you wait." Jack told her, "I think there are some snacks in the desk." Milly shook her head as the smile returned, "Feed me? You feed me?" Jack nodded in relief as he sighed, "Yes Milly, I will feed you. Just . . ." "FOOD!" Milly roared as she charged him. She was a lot faster than the other zombies he had faced, and Jack barely dodged her arms as he hit the floor. Growling, Milly turned and eyed Jack''s body with a lick of her lips, "Need food Jack, you food." "Why didn''t it work?" Jack cried out as he rolled out of the way and tripped her charge, "Dammit, the thing said the potion could make it so you could live." Milly''s eyes turned redder as her words began to slur, "Foooadd, Jaaackky, raaa." Jack turned, only to find himself in the corner. His whipped to stare at Milly''s slow approach. "Milly, don''t do this." He begged, "Please, be strong." "Fooooddddd." Milly whispered as she slowly walked toward him. "No." Jack whispered as he closed his eyes. As Milly reached out with her arms around him, the pole came up under her chin. "Stab." Jack heard the body crumble to the ground. He kept his eyes closed though, hot tears spilling forth down his cheek. As his sorrow reached the bottom of his heart, anger sprung up to replace it. His hands rolling into fists, Jack let out a howl of anguish and despair. "DAMNIT, DAMNIT ALL!" He roared out, "WHY DID THIS HAPPEN? WHY DID ANY OF THIS HAVE TO HAPPEN!" With no one to answer him, he fell to his knees as he pulled Milly''s body to his chest. He bent over her body, and wept. Chapter 5 The end of the last chapter was too cute. My mindset is still in the dungeon I''m afraid. I went ahead and changed it. If you don''t want to go back and read the very end, he basically has to kill her. This is more inline with what I''m going for. Back to the story ---------- Jack wasn''t sure how long he stayed on the floor holding Milly''s corpse. At some point, he just looked up and noted the dimming light from the doorway. "Sunset.," he whispered, "The end of an day and the beginning of the night." Standing up, he picked up Milly''s body and laid it on the sofa, folding her arms over her chest. After closing her eyes, he lurched over to a chair and plopped down. "Open notifications." He muttered. He wasn''t surprised when the command went through.
You have successfully great a "Zombie Preservent"
Skill EXP increase
Zombie Preservent successfully used. However, due to host being seconds away from death, effects cut down by 25%.
Discover: Preservent will increase intelligence and prevent rotting, but will not remove base needs. Unlocks: Special Zombies
You have killed Special Zombie Lvl (level) 1
EXP has been gain
Level Up
You have gained 2 attribute points
Jack let out a hollow chuckle. Milly had been special; he knew that already. "Ha ha haaaa," He grinned sloppily, "I''m such a fool for believing in miracles. The only miracles to be found here are hurtful ones. Zombies and Minotaurs, levels and skills; what a load of horse crap." He shook his head, "Fine, whatever. Just need to focus, yeah that''s it. Just need to focus." He took a calming breath. "Need to bury Milly.," he muttered to himself, "Need to find food and water too. After that, I need to get stronger." He walked over to the fridge. Impressively, it was still working. "Power is still on; I wonder how much longer it will last though.," he observed. The fridge held a few bottles of water and some cookies for a greeting party, but not much else. Jack took a bottle and drank half, sating his thirst. "Not hungry yet; I''ll save the cookies for later." Jack looked at the bottom of the door. He saw that the sunlight was gone. "Yeah, looks like I''m waiting for morning to come. Sorry Milly." he apologized to the corpse on the sofa. He had no desire to risk walking around in the dark in a world of zombies. All the zombie movies he had ever seen flashed in front of his eyes, making Jack shiver. "Yeah, no walking in the dark." Jack sighed as he sat in one of the chairs and opened his menu. There, he found his self-portrait flashing. After clicking on it, the screen changed.
Strength: 4 Dexterity: 3 Constitution: 6 Intelligence: 5 Wisdom: 5 Charisma: 3
Jack snorted at his stats. "Really now, I always thought I was lacking something. Turns out my charisma really was lacking." Seeing as he had 6 points to put in, Jack took a moment to stare as he scratched his head in thought. "Let''s see, I guess I should work on the top three until something changes. Not like I have anything that relies on intelligence or wisdom Forget charisma for now too." he reached out and increased the stats on his chart.
Strength: 7 Dexterity: 5 Constitution: 7 Intelligence: 5 Wisdom: 5 Charisma: 3
Jack shook his head as a wave rolled over him, causing his arms and legs to goosebump. "What a rush." he grinned and clenched his fists happily, "I can feel it already." That being said, getting stronger also had the added effect of making him hungry. Before he knew it, he had scarfed down all the cookies in the fridge. "Well, looks like I''m going to need more food tomorrow." He scratched his head awkwardly when he realized what he had done, "Guess I better get some rest then." He tried to follow through with sleep, but through-out the night he tossed and turned as the faces of his slain classmates flashed through his mind. Sleep, when it came, brought only nightmares. ------------------ When Jack awoke the next morning, he stumbled backwards and gasped in shock, as the nightmare of a minotaur goring him ended. He rubbed his arms slowly, letting the friction warm his body up. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. "Shit, that was scary.," he muttered to himself, "If this how sleep is going to be from on I might not be able to stay sane." Shaking himself awake and slapping his cheeks, Jack stood up and walked over to the door. Rays of light light were streaming out, alerting him to the sunrise. Jack carefully reached down and opened the handle as he peaked into the lobby. The coast seemed to be clear; the doors to the outside and the staircase were both close still. "Great. Now I just need to bury Milly outside . . ." Jack paused. 1. Was he planning on using his hands to dig a 6 foot hole in the ground? 2. There wasn''t much "open" dirt to dig in. 3. Milly had turned into a zombie, so why did she have a corpse after death? Jack turned to look over at the sofa. Milly''s body was gone, replaced by a glowing orb that was floating up and down down. It glowed in a soft, golden light. ". . . Why am I still surprised by things?" Jack rolled his eyes and walked over to the orb. He placed his hand on it, only to find it went through the orb. "Uh, Identify?" Jack called out tentatively. Vocal commands had seemed to work the night before to open his notifications, so logically maybe it worked with this as well. A screen popped up a moment later, contributing to Jack''s theory that the world was more similar to a rpg (role-playing game).
Milly''s Soul
The soul of Milly the farmer. Can be used in a variety of professions. A pure soul.
As Jack wondered what to do with it, the soul suddenly shook and zoomed into his hand. Jack screamed and shook his arm as he watched a circular glow moving quickly up his arm into his body.
Skill Acquired: Soul Absorbtion Skill Acquired: Soul Talk
A soul has willingly allowed itself to be absorbed by you, showing you how to do it on your own in the future. The soul has willingly allowed itself to be heard by you, showing you how to do it on your own in the future
"What . . .what?" Jack twitched uncomfortably as he felt himself up, feeling nauseous at the thought of eating souls.
Well salutations to you Jacky boy :)
Jack heard in his head. He blinked, "Is that you Milly?"
Well duh, you did absorb me didn''t ya? Silly boy, it''s not Taylor Swift in here after all.
Jack wasn''t sure about this. "You won''t try to take me over or anything right?"
No promises :p. Anyway, I''m not sure much about what''s going on anyway.
She sounded a little worried.
To be honest, I remember dying and then trying to eat ya. Sorry about that by the way. Thing is, I felt kinda stuck after that. Wasn''t until you touched me that I could do anything, so I clicked the boxy thing to enter you rather than resist. Apparently, souls can be sucked into any living thing if ya don''t resist, like water flowing downstream. I''m just happy it''s you and not a varmint squirrel or something.
Jack felt both happiness and awkwardness at the same time. "So, you can see . . ."
Oh don''t get your britches in a bunch Jacky boy. I seen me a plenty of peckers and hooters, so don''t you mind me if you ever decide to get freaky in the straw bales.
If Jack had been drinking something, he would have spat it out across the room at that moment.
More importantly, you need to go find some food. Now that I''m in ya, I can see how you''re feeling, and your hunger is on the rise. I advise we hit the quicky-mart near the main road. Should be a 5 minute walk from her; 2 if ya book it
Jack sighed as he got up o leave, "Seem''s like you''ve taken to this rather easily." He felt her shrug.
I''m dead, so little to be scared of now really. Your body is my body now, so might as well get used to the ride.