Chapter 15 Necessities

Kate saw the first buildings about twenty minutes later, her pace faster now that she knew where she was. The thought of her own bed, french press, fresh clothing that fit, and a shower pushed her onward, despite the hostile territory and what she knew waited for her in the streets of Keilberg. She felt less anxious than on her earlier tour with the others. Perhaps it was some kind of high from nearly dying twice in the same night, killing dangerous monsters, or really just her being incredibly exhausted.

She slowed down when she got closer, careful to stay in the underbrush at first before she started moving from tree to tree. Her apartment was in an old three story building, the six flats all rented out by the owner who lived in Falstadt. Approaching from the east would let her get there without moving through the town center. Visibility was better now but she still tread carefully, assuming that the monsters could see better than her in the relative darkness.

There were no lights coming from the town, the distant bonfires now hidden behind the structures. She sneaked past and reached her building without alerting any creatures that may or may not have been there. Not even a full day had passed since they had killed the goblins in the Golden Swan. She hoped that meant only a few goblins and the two Wargs on the main street remained.

The main door was broken in, wood splintered and glass shattered.

The same was true for the apartments upstairs. She gripped her hammer at the first door. A part of her didn’t want to check on her neighbors. And yet she felt it was the least she had to do. To at least make sure.

Her flashlight angled at the ground, she called out in a whisper. Nobody answered. Inside she found a single corpse. Kate put a blanket on top of the murdered man before she moved on. She focused on the goal of getting a shower, too emotionally exhausted to even try and process anything she would find in the other apartments. Just based on the splintered doors, she had little hope to find a survivor.

Ten minutes later, she had the confirmation, for those at least that had been home. Her own apartment had been broken into as well, the door open but still hanging from the hinges. Came in and left again when they didn’t find anybody. Some of the furniture had scratches and dents but it didn’t seem like the monsters cared much about her things. Just here for killing. Or some weird interpretation of hunting.

Her apartment was separated into a bedroom and a mixed living room with the kitchen. The bathroom with a shower had been mostly left alone. Kate closed the door as well as she could before she quietly dragged her chest of drawers to block it.

First thing’s first, she got a glass of water and downed it, the plumbing luckily still intact and working. Next she searched through her clothes, a sigh leaving her when she found everything undisturbed. Fuck I’m glad they didn’t torch this place.

All her underwear, shirts, and working clothes piled onto the floor, she went for a shower. With her hammer in hand, the thing definitely requiring some cleaning as well. It felt strange, standing in the dark, warm water flowing down with blood pooling on the ground, a medieval weapon in her hands. Like some drunk and paranoid party girl that just came home from a medieval festival. She smiled at the idea, shaking her head as she tried to focus on the warmth. Being clean. Having fresh clothes. Silver linings in the shit state of the world.

She felt tired after, any semblance of adrenaline gone and the danger around her feeling more surreal than anything. Could go back now, try to sneak past and get to the car. It didn’t sound like a good idea. Not with her lack of sleep, but even more so with the nightly activities in the forest. The goblins too seemed to prefer sleeping during the day, or at least the mornings. Kate even left her french press for the next day and instead fell into her bed, hair wet and hammer in hand. She fell asleep in less than a minute.

Kate stirred in her bed, yawning as she turned to the side. Something hard pressed against her thigh. She grumbled and tried to push it away before her eyes opened wide. Pushing the hammer away, she raised a hand to her head and took in a deep breath. She had thought it was Sunday, but instead it was the end of the world. Slowly sitting up, she rubbed her eyes, sunlight streaming in through the closed blinds. Her alarm showed eleven forty. Overslept.

Hammer in one hand, she stood up and moved to the kitchen. Her clothing pile remained where she had left it. She heated up water in a pan, avoiding anything that would make a lot of noise. She got her largest backpack and her sports bag, filling the former with most of her clothes. Just the utility stuff. She added cleaning products, tampons, creams, toothbrush, a nail clipper, and a pack of condoms, just in case. Kate made herself a large cup of coffee, leaning against her kitchen top to enjoy the beverage. Then she poured herself another cup, eating a few crackers in between. There wasn’t much in her fridge sadly, the appliance dented in by a blunt object but still mostly working.

She cleaned up the french press after and put it into her pack with all the coffee she still had in her apartment. Her bluetooth speakers went in too. Necessary items only. The last thing she packed was a photo of herself with her parents, looking at it for a few seconds before she put it in. I’ll come find you when I can. Kate had no idea how the fuck she would get to Scotland now but if there was a way in the future, she would find it. If he doesn’t come for me first, she thought with a grin. And don’t you dare die. You old idiot.

The sports bag was empty but Kate didn’t plan to sneak out with just her own belongings. Not while she was here, with a car hopefully waiting for her at the edge of town. There were a lot of things they needed, and now was the time to get them. Before the monsters figured out how useful it all was. She gave her apartment a last look and moved aside the chest of drawers, focused now as she stepped back out into the monster infested town.

The sun was high on the horizon, a few clouds visible in the distance. The cool autumn breeze wasn’t quite as noticeable with the sunlight. Kate moved around the building after she had checked the street, crouched and alert. She went from house to house, on the lookout for creatures when she came across a warg sniffing the air in front of a former home.

She activated Mindless Ferocity, leaving Furious Dance out of the mix for now. Her senses sharpened as she moved forward, steady steps up to the creature. Kate let go of her empty sports bag, the sound coupled with her steps alerting the warg which turned her way, right in time to see the spiked hammer come in from below.

Its jaw snapped closed as the weapon entered, its body lifted up slightly by the direct impact. A gurgle was all it could produce.

Kate pushed the hammer to the side, the monster staggering away with blood dripping from its jaws as the spike was ripped out. She finished it off with a direct strike of the dull end, skull cracking before it sagged to the ground.

‘ding’ ‘You have defeated [Warg]’

She looked around and deactivated her magic. Kate heard birds chirping nearby as she went and grabbed her bag. One down. She had no time to hesitate, and no reason to consider.

A few minutes later, she stood at the back of the general store, looking around the corners to see if anything was nearby. She heard and saw nothing. The back door was open, the lock broken. Sunlight drifted in through the front, providing enough light for her to see. Her sports bag at the ready, she went inside and filled it with everything she deemed worth the space. High amounts of calories in the form of canned beans, lentils, peas, rice, pasta, and everything else that seemed essential.

The one bag wouldn’t get them far but it was at least a week’s worth of food for the entire group. She didn’t wait any longer, leaving the rest for later as she made her way back outside. Listening for monsters, she continued behind the buildings until she crossed the street to the skiing store. There were a few things she had missed the last time around. Kate grabbed another bag, filling it with rope, binoculars, headlamps, and more clothes.

Her last stop she made at a small electronics store. Broken glass lay scattered on the floor, various devices spread around. She heard an electronic crackle from the back and set down her bags, sneaking in as well as she could, trying to avoid the glass. She found two goblins staring at a flickering TV, the display broken with colorful pixels flashing.

The second goblin saw her right before the brains of its companion splattered against the shelf it had stood next to. It got out its small knife and took a step back, taking in a deep breath.

Kate shot forward with her charge, her knee impacting the goblin’s chest and pushing out all the air it had gathered in a quiet yelp. She watched the creature hit the wall and swung her hammer in a horizontal arc, a wet impact resounding before the monster fell. It tried to crawl away when an overhead strike hit its skull.

‘ding’ ‘You have defeated [Goblin Scout]’

‘ding’ ‘You have defeated [Goblin Scout]’

‘ding’ ‘Mindless Ferocity reaches lvl 9’

‘ding’ ‘Reckless Charge reaches lvl 6’

‘ding’ ‘Two Handed Weapon Fighting reaches lvl 7’

Her hands were steady, blood on her boots and jacket. Just as surprised as the people who lived here. She left the corpses and grabbed what she had been looking for. A few sets of small radios, some smartphones, several handfuls of batteries, and battery packs with usb connectors and solar cells.

Both bags and her backpack full, she went back outside, crossed the street at a brisk pace and started making her way back all around to the southern part of town where they had parked Jon’s car. Hopefully still there.

The higher Endurance seemed to help more than she had expected, much like the other points she had invested into her status. With all the weight she carried and the speed she moved at, she would’ve at least expected to be breaking a sweat. It all felt smooth however, a good night’s rest and copious amounts of caffeine certainly helped. She saw a few creatures move in the distance, a group walking over the open field beyond the town. Orcs and goblins she surmised but moved on quickly before they could spot her.

Up the slope and onto the parking lot, she found Jon’s car as they had left it. The doors were open. Kate moved the bags onto the back seats and got in, the key still in the ignition. Smart for once. Well done Kate.

The drive wouldn’t be long, the power left in the car enough to make it several times over. She turned the key and watched the lights come on. Turning it around, she drove onto the road back to the castle and hit the breaks a few meters in. “Gods, what the fuck,” she murmured, watching a woman stumble out of the forest, jeans shorts and a flimsy top, both blood covered and ripped. She wore wandering boots, the laces on one of them open.

Blonde hair was strung together in a filthy bun, blood and dirt on her face with dried run down makeup. She stumbled closer to the car, saying something that Kate couldn’t hear, finally collapsing in front of the vehicle.

She got out immediately, crouching down over the woman before she checked her pulse. Still breathing. Kate quickly checked for injuries. There were a few obvious cuts and bruises but nothing she deemed immediately life threatening. Kate moved over to the car and opened the passenger seat, hoping that the woman wasn’t some kind of zombie or shape changer. It wouldn’t make sense for either to collapse however, that was more an insurance fraud thing. She moved her onto the seat and secured her, closing the door right after when she heard noises from the forest. Growls.

Kate didn’t waste any time. She got into the driver seat and drove off. A glance into the section of the forest didn’t reveal anything. Growls sounded different than anything I’ve faced before. But I might just be getting mad. With all the shit I’ve already done. She looked at the knocked out woman, just now noticing the smell. It only took a few seconds for her to find the relevant button to open both windows. No music for now.

She drove the way back, much more aware of her surroundings this time around. Though it seemed quiet compared to the previous night. One benefit we might have compared to most of these monsters. As long as they don’t climb over walls. She shook her head slightly, thinking back on the goblins she had killed. With her skills active it was easy. Like she had fought against monsters for years already. The confidence she felt, wielding her weapons. It felt good. Intoxicating in a way, like dancing to a new song she discovered, when everything just fell into place. But really she was fighting monsters.

Her hands wrung around the steering wheel. She took a deep breath and focused on the now. There was still a lot to do, if they wanted to get some sense of safety. The woman next to her stirred when they came up on the castle, Kate slowing down the car. She leaned out of the window and waved to Jon looking down from the battlements. “Open the gates,” she called out.

He nodded suddenly, rushing back and down, shouting for the others. Half a minute later the gates opened.

“Where… wha… who are you?” the woman asked, tired blue eyes looking at her with some apprehension.

“You’re gonna be fine. We have a healer,” Kate said with a smile. “God knows we need her.”

Back inside, she stopped the car and turned it off, everyone rushing towards them with a variety of expressions.

“This is… Keilberg castle,” the woman said and rubbed her eyes.

“It is,” Kate said and got out.

“Injured?” Melusine asked immediately.

“Not much, check her instead,” Kate said, pointing behind herself. She opened the other doors and grabbed the bags.

“What happened?” Jon asked.

Kate’s shoulders sagged a little, smiling when she saw Grey and Logan join them too. They looked better.

“Your Berserker Class,” Grey said, a shy smile on his face as he looked at her. “I t… told them it w… was fine. That y… you were out there.”

“Good thing you took care of the goblins first,” Logan said. “We saw the corpses. Thank you. For her as well,” he added, nodding towards the woman being led out of the car by Melusine.

“Who is she? Why did you go to Keilberg… what is all that?” Jon asked, looking between her, the car, and the bags.

Kate didn’t answer, steadying herself against the near jumping hug from Eloise. The girl had tears in her eyes, holding her tight before she stepped back with an embarrassed expression.

“Sorry,” Kate said. “But I have a feeling this won’t be the last time.” She looked to Grey.

“We have to look at the… system… and plan t… things. Test the skills. It’s important,” he said.

“Yeah, that sounds reasonable,” Jon said and grabbed one of the bags Kate was holding.

Logan did the same from the other side. “I’m glad you made it back.”

“Yeah,” Kate said with a sigh. “Me too.”

Melusine brought the woman into the armory, sending her daughters to fetch various things from Bert’s home.

The others gathered in the old man’s living room, looking through everything she had brought.

Kate set down the backpack and shook her head at the look Logan gave the pack. “That’s my stuff,” she said and carefully took out the french press.

He smiled and started taking things out.

Eloise smiled brightly when she saw the food, redirecting it towards Kate before she vanished again with a wet cloth.

“What’s all the commotion about?” Bert asked as he walked down the stairs. He looked even more grumpy than before. “Survived eh? Told em they shouldn’t worry. You’re not like those city folks.”

“Yes Bert,” Kate said as she carefully put away her coffee. “Thanks for the confidence.”

“Headlamps and radios… good idea,” Logan said, opening the plastic packaging.

“It was dark. I wouldn’t have made it without the flashlights,” Kate said.

Grey gulped and looked at her. “You were in the forest at night?”

She gave him a nod.

“Any different than during the day?” he asked.

Jon sat down at the table and opened a notebook, looking at the labels as he started taking inventory. He flipped to another page when she started telling them about the monsters, the man asking specific questions about the creatures. “Only if you’re comfortable with that of course.”

“Are you starting some kind of monster manual?” Kate asked.

“Yes,” he answered seriously. “I am.”