Chapter 12

Desperate moans came from my left, and I looked up to see the two hostages writhing around in a pool of the terrorists’ blood, completely helpless.

Was that how I looked in Charon’s eyes the whole time? An insignificant worm crawling around blindly, oblivious to the fact that there was no hope.

Perhaps he was watching from some invisible corner right now, the way a man might watch an ant laboring away before crushing it under his heel.

And to think I’d been so proud to have completed the challenge with almost 3 minutes to spare…

That last thought jolted me to my feet.

I reminded myself that there was a reason I needed those extra minutes. Charon had pointed to Candy Land. He’d said that my chance to save Allie would be found there.

“It’s not over yet.”

Wild hope burned in my chest until it was a wonder I wasn’t spitting fire out of my mouth. I gathered myself, ready to sprint away, when I looked at the bound hostages on the floor.

Gritting my teeth, I kicked my machete free from the dead terrorist’s skull. Then I turned back to one of the hostages. I flipped the man over roughly, ignoring his pitiful struggles as I cut away at the knot binding his wrists.

At least now they’d have a shot at living through this whole mess.

Before the man could even finish taking his hood off, I was already gone. I had wasted far too much precious time already.

I ran like my heels were on fire. For a moment, I gazed longingly toward the brightly colored “Charon’s Candy Land” sign beckoning 250 feet from where I lay. Usually, I could make that distance in under 11 seconds at a flat sprint. The only problem was the 2 dozen or so terrorists standing between me and my goal. They were still advancing slowly, about 130 feet from where I was.

That’s why I had given myself a whole minute to get to Candy Land. I needed to loop around the other side of the Mall and hope that there weren’t any terrorists on that side. Candy Land was located right in front of the theme park, which acted as the central hub of the whole mall. That meant it was connected to the main ring in four places. I just needed to get there using one of the other 3 access points.

Running in the opposite direction from the terrorists, I finally found an escalator leading to upper floor. I skidded around its corner like a motorcycle entering a tight turn at speed, pumping my arms at my sides while I took the stairs three steps at a time.

Any sane man would have tried to be more careful, keeping noise at a minimum while staying out of sight, but I couldn’t afford such luxuries.

I knew I’d be cutting it close enough as it was.

Even on the second floor, corpses were littered everywhere, bullet holes riddling the floor and walls. Abundant patches of blood made my footing precarious, but at least whoever had shot all these people had moved on. Rushing forward, I rounded the next corner and finally came within sight of the theme park and Candy Land below, 100 feet away from me.

Gunfire still came from the floor below as the two dozen terrorists continued their execution of survivors.

I knew it was wrong, but I prayed that there were more corpses piled up there, just so I’d have a few extra seconds’ time.

I jumped down the escalator taking 4 steps at a time, reaching the lower level. Still running, I cut across the theme park, just a stone’s throw from Candy Land. The whole trip had only taken me 40 seconds or so.

There was still time. I had to make it. Failure was not an option.

Just as hope began to blossom in my heart, I heard a shout from my left. Glancing to that side, I saw two terrorists pointing at me from within the theme park, about 100 feet away. They leveled their guns in my direction, and I just put down my head and ran.

Their guns barked as bullets ricocheted all around me, smashing booths and shattering glass displays. The pinging of bullets trailed me as more shouts could be heard, this time from the front.

This was becoming a real shitshow, real fast.

I didn’t care. I finally reached Candy Land, vaulting over the low counter and ducking behind it as bullets sailed above my head. Searching around, I sought clues to the nature of the power that would allow me to save my Allie.

Straight away, my eyes fell upon the most notable feature of the entire booth, the vending machines. There were four of them, one at each corner of the booth. They immediately drew my eyes because even as bullets tore everything else to shreds, they merely bounced off these machines without leaving so much as a scratch.

Damn, I needed to buy myself some more time!

I unslung the shotgun from my shoulder, lifted it above my head, and fired the three remaining shots in the general direction of my attackers.

That should give my attackers a pause. As long as they knew I had a gun, they wouldn’t be barging into the shop before ensuring I was disabled and unable to shoot back.

Satisfied, I scanned the signs on top of each vending machine: Grey Orbs - a treasure trove waiting to be discovered! Yellow Orbs - everything a healthy boy needs for a healthy mind and a strong body! Red Orbs - supercharge your brain with the knowledge of the universe! Blue Orbs - Exchange what you don’t need for what you want!

A healing potion! I instantly recalled what Dave had said about healing even grievous wounds with just one bottle of the magical draught.

I crawled over to the Grey Orb machine, then looked up to find multiple glowing orbs lined up in neat rows within the machine. I quickly skimmed the names of the items until I found what I was looking for.

Minor Healing Potion - 10 mana orbs.

Restores health and heals even severe wounds. Loses effectiveness at level 5 or above.

I worked the dial pad on the machine, my heart in my throat. The digital display on the dial pad lit up with new words.

Confirming purchase of 1 minor healing potion. Please insert 10 mana orbs.

“Pay orbs,” I shouted. “Give orbs. Confirm.”

Nothing was working. Cursing loudly and at the end of my rope, I imitated the pose Dave had taken when displaying his mana orb while willing a blue ball of light to materialize within my hand.

Surprisingly, it worked. A blazing orb of mana hovered obediently over my palm. I extended it toward the machine and watched as the counter for required mana orbs quickly went down.

Payment received. Dispensing 1 minor healing potion. Thank you for your patronage!

I looked down at my hand, only to find a gleaming orb of steel gray swirling in my hand. I clenched my fingers around the orb, and it burst open with a pop. Only a small crystal bottle with a cork stopper lay in my hand now. Swirling inside the bottle, I could see a glowing red liquid.

I clutched it to my chest as though it were the most precious thing in the world, precisely because it was. I carefully placed it inside the inner pocket of my jacket.

Now all I needed was to return to Allie’s side. Craning my head above the booth’s counters, I could hear bullets zipping past far too close for comfort. Meanwhile, I was running out of time. How much time had passed? Was I already too late?

Shaking my head, I banished such thoughts from my head, and instead set my mind to solving the problem at hand. Suddenly, inspiration struck. I placed my hand on my wrist. I quickly navigated to the menu I needed.

Low grade skill orb.

Please choose (1) skill from the following.

Backstab

Counter

Dash

Feint

Flurry

Lunge

Parry

Riposte

Slash

I chose Dash without hesitation.

Skill: Dash acquired.

Dash - level 1

Skill Category: Physical.

By unlocking the physical limits of your leg muscles, you can achieve a moderate burst of acceleration that quickly wears down.

Warning: Physical abilities place great strain on your body. Indiscriminate use can inflict grave injuries or death.

I pumped my fist and hastily reloaded my shotgun. When I was done, I raised my shotgun over my head and fired off a couple of shells. Then I vaulted over the counter and ducked my head low in preparation to pump my legs for all I was worth.

As I was about to take my first step, an unfamiliar feeling sprouted within my head. It was an eerie awareness of the muscles in my leg as they quivered to respond to my demands. Still, I could sense that they could give more. There was a wall that I hadn’t been aware of before, but now it lay in front of me as clear as day. All I had to do was command my body and it smashed straight into that barrier, bursting through with immense power.

I had always prided myself on my speed before, but it was nothing compared to what I was capable of now. My legs felt as though they were on fire as they rocketed my body forward at astonishing speeds.

It usually takes even a trained athlete 6 to 8 steps to accelerate to top speed from a standstill position. Not so for me. I burst into motion almost instantly. My first step propelled me almost 5 feet ahead, and it would have been more if my shoes hadn’t skidded on the smooth tile floor. Each step thereafter covered a span of 7 or 8 feet, shooting my body forward with such exhilarating speed that my head went momentarily blank. I barely managed to avoid braining myself against a nearby column, sweeping past it so quickly that my vision blurred.

Shots went off in a continuous storm all around me, trailing each of my steps. It was no use, I was simply moving too fast. Just when I was getting heady from feeling untouchable, I felt the superhuman strength rapidly draining from my legs. Before I knew it, the feeling was gone, replaced with a bone-deep weariness that left my muscles feeling like noodles.

Damn, that burst of speed had hardly lasted 3 seconds!

Gritting my teeth, I commanded my body to smash into that barrier once more, reaching for that burst of power. It was no use. I felt the strength gathering, but then it fizzled and my knees buckled as I nearly stumbled on my feet.

Well, at least it had taken me out of that deathtrap of a booth where I had been pinned down by fire from all sides. It had only lasted 3 seconds, but just within that short span, I had covered over 100 feet. That left me almost at the foot of the escalator. I ducked my head low while I climbed the steps, ignoring the shots that shattered the protective glass and pinged off the metal stairs.

I didn’t stop. If anything, I only ran faster still.

BANG

The entire storefront disintegrated in a shower of glass. I hardly dared to slow down as I rushed into the store, all the while retrieving the healing potion.

I found Allie exactly how I had left her, but her skin had taken a ghastly shade of gray. Kneeling beside her, I cradled her in my arms and tipped her head back. Parting her lips open, I pulled the cork stopper with my teeth, then carefully poured the potion into her mouth.

The effects were worthy of the extravagant price of 10 mana orbs. A glow surrounded her chest and a bulge could be seen where I’d placed the bandages over her wound. I quickly loosened the ties and watched in astonishment as blood-soaked bandages rolled out of her flesh. When they had all been pushed out, the ragged edges of her skin wriggled and began to knit together.

The whole process lasted less than 10 seconds. When the glow finally died down, I couldn’t even see a scar on her skin.

“K-Kai?”

Relief swept into my heart in a wave so titanic that I felt faint. It was all I could do to take one look at my Allie’s cornflower blue eyes before I hugged her desperately to my chest.

“Oh, thank god, thank god,” I whispered over and over, repeatedly drawing back to make sure I wasn’t dreaming and she was truly back, before hugging her close again.

“W-What happened? I thought I was shot.” Allie asked when I had returned to some semblance of calm. She touched the unbroken skin at her side with a wondering gaze. She glanced at the blood-soaked shirt she wore. “No, I was shot for sure. I thought I’d bleed out.”

“You almost did. I managed to buy one of those healing potions in the nick of time,” I said simply, too exhausted to explain further.

“They work?”

“They brought you back from the brink of death in less than 10 seconds.”

“I almost died?”

I nodded slowly. “Please, don’t ever put me through that again.”

She must have caught the haunted look in my eyes because she squeezed my hand with an apologetic smile.

“At least now you know how I’ve been feeling this whole time,” she said, avoiding my gaze.

I opened my mouth to speak, but couldn’t find the words. She was right, I finally understood.

“What about the trials?” she asked.

“They’re still ongoing. In fact-”

“Freeze! Keep your hands above your head or we will open fire!”

The shouted command came from behind me. My arms tensed up while I slowly swiveled my head around. When I did, the relief that flooded my body almost made me collapse right then and there.

“Don’t shoot! We’re civilians - Americans,” I cried out hoarsely, raising both my hands.

The police had finally arrived.

“Ma’am, let me have the paramedics take a look at your wound!” one police officer said, his eyes flying wide when he saw how much blood had soaked into Allie's shirt.

“It’s not mine,” Allie easily lied, draping a blanket over her shoulders. “Thank you for your concern.”

We were sitting huddled within a small group of survivors. The police had set up a temporary cordon inside a nearby Macy’s, with hastily erected barricades and first aid stations. More and more people steadily trickled in, escorted by police officers.

It was a chaotic scene, the traumatized survivors flinching visibly as shots rang in the distance, a sign that the terrorists had not been subdued yet.

I was still gulping big breaths as I wrestled with the horror of almost having lost Allie forever, when a delicate cough rang out over the mall’s speakers.

“Well, I suppose congratulations are in order. 43 courageous souls have triumphed over stage 1 of the trials. So many survivors, perhaps I’ve underestimated you. Could it be that I’m losing my touch?”

My fists balled into fists as I scowled. Allie stroked my arm soothingly.

“In any case, you’ve cleared stage 1, so I suppose you’ve earned your reward. I just hope you can survive long enough to spend it.”

Charon’s eerie laughter rang shrilly in my ears, sending a shudder down my back.

“There’s just one way to find out. Since all the elements are already in place, let us start in earnest. Without further ado, how about we start stage two with a bang?”

That last phrase set off alarms tripping in my head. ISIS terrorists and a bang - surely, not even Charon would be so crazy as to…

“Get down!” I cried out, pulling Allie into my arms and diving to the floor.

Screams filled the air and panic ensued as I closed my eyes tightly. I curled my body protectively around Allie and waited like that for several seconds, but the explosions I had been expecting never arrived.

“Sir, please calm down,” a SWAT team member sternly warned, standing above me with both hands on his belt as he looked down at me. “You must refrain from alarming the crowd. We have the situation under control. The threat’s being neutralized as we speak.”

“You don’t understand what we’re facing,” I said grimly.

The man smiled at me, then took off his earpiece and held it out in my direction. I could hear a voice coming loud and clear through it.

“Den control, this is Alpha team leader. The last hostile has been neutralized. I repeat, the last hostile has been neutralized. Over.”

“See?” The SWAT team member nodded to me. “It’s all over now. You can relax.”

I stared up at the officer while a sick sense of expectation kept building up in me.

From what little I’d come to learn about Charon, I knew this wasn’t over.

Not by a long shot.

“K-Kai…”

I looked down to find Allie staring at me with a stricken face. I saw her hand on her wrist and I didn’t even need to ask.

I just placed my hand on my own wrist.

Orb User Tier F

Orb User Level: 1

Mana Orbs: 5

Skill Orbs: 1

Special Orbs: 0

Orb Keeper Charon’s Trial of the Ark - Stage 2 is in progress.

Users 43/100

Current Objective: Find the antivirus and save yourself.

Available antivirus vials: 5/5

Alert! You have received a reward package for completing Stage 1. Accept now?

All the blood drained from my face as I met Allie’s gaze. My heart only sank further as I heard the next radio transmission coming from the earpiece.

“Den control, this is Alpha team leader. There seems to be some sort of device attached to the main air conditioning unit feeding into the central ventilation shaft. It seems to.. Oh god, oh god, it’s got a biohazard sign...”

“Alpha team leader, this is Den control requesting confirmation of last transmission. Over.”

“T-This is Alpha team leader. Biological weapons have been deployed and released via the ventilation shafts. I repeat, biological weapons have been- What the fuck, Mendoza, behind you!”

Frantic gunfire and screams echoed through the radio, but before I could continue listening, the SWAT team member dropped the earpiece with a tremulous hand.

I looked up angrily at him, but his eyes were staring straight ahead with his jaw hanging open. I turned around to see several dozen people rising to their feet out beyond the police cordon.

The only problem was that they weren’t people. Instead, they were corpses of people. Some had entire limbs missing, others had multiple gunshot wounds across their body.

Like a nightmare come into life, the dead rose to their feet. After swiveling their heads for a moment, they lifted their noses and sniffed. Then they turned their heads in our direction, a mad hunger burning in their reddened eyes.

A collective roar went up among the undead throng, then they rushed forward as one, pouncing like blood-thirsty beasts howling for blood.