Chapter 16

“Such a touching moment. I’m almost too embarrassed to interrupt.”

Allie whirled around while lifting the rifle to her shoulder, but for once I was ahead of her. I simply grimaced and placed a hand on Allie’s gun in a pacifying gesture.

I had recognized that odious voice immediately, and I wouldn’t put it past the bastard to accidentally warp away my Allie’s head, only to claim it to be an accident later.

Almost as if he could read my thoughts, or perhaps it was the sour expression on my face, Charon grinned toothily at me from behind the restaurant’s bar.

“My, you seem to have finally grown some backbone. I’m glad that you managed to restrain your lady in time. I’m told I tend to have rather extreme reactions to having weapons pointed in my direction. I’m sure they’re just rumors though, given my kind disposition and all.”

“I’m sure,” I growled past the constriction in my throat. I wanted to snarl at the hateful demon and fill its face with lead, but saner heads prevailed and I took a deep breath to school my expression into a semblance of civility instead. “What do you want this time, Charon? We’re rather busy at the moment, if you hadn’t noticed.”

“Unlike yourself, nothing escapes my notice within this domain, Kaizer Lee. It is indeed amusing to watch you humans stumbling around in the dark like mice in a trap.” Charon gave an acknowledging nod to Allie. “Very apt analogy, by the way. A rather crude way to put it, but fitting for the occasion nonetheless. Hordes of flesh-devouring undead don’t really scream sophisticated entertainment, do they?”

“Don’t forget the 8-foot tall brain-munching monstrosity,” I muttered bitterly.

“Oh, you mean Pinkie? I suppose he can get carried away at times. Please, do excuse his poor table manners. He’s not used to such illustrious company. Not often do you come across no less than 5 prospective champions, all in the same batch. Why, I can barely contain my excitement at the prospects this time around.”

Charon watched us with a distinctly unsettling hunger in his gaze while he slowly licked his lips. I barely suppressed my shudder in time.

Allie, who had been biting her lower lip the whole time while I carried on my little exchange with our host, finally snapped out of her reverie. She narrowed her eyes, then did something I would have never expected.

She smiled.

It was a feral thing, born out of desperation as much as tremulous hope, but it was a smile nonetheless.

“Charon, we’re ready to accept our challenge.”

I blinked at that, staring stupidly for a moment before realization finally crashed through the morass in my head. I hastily scanned our surroundings and only then caught the logo on the menus scattered across the many tables of the restaurant.

“Welcome to Wild Bill’s Classic Hot Dog Joint!”

Damn, we’d stumbled upon the other challenge location and I would never have realized it if not for Allie.

Even Charon seemed surprised, but his expression swiftly shifted into one of instant appreciation.

“Ah, Alexia Fox. You would have made such a wonderful champion. Even now, I harbor the earnest hope that you will unshackle yourself of unnecessary burdens and reach your true potential.”

“That’s not your call to make, Charon. And you underestimate Kai at your own peril,” Allie said, the smile on her face not faltering the least bit.

Charon’s grin turned into a nasty sneer. “That almost sounded like a threat, prospective champion Alexia Fox.”

My blood almost froze over at the naked hostility in the monster’s gaze, but Allie just gave a casual shrug. “Just a friendly observation, that’s all. Don’t count him out just yet. Kai’s the only man whom I know will always come through for me when it really counts, no matter the odds or the opposition.”

“High praise, coming from you and under the current circumstances, wouldn’t you say?” Charon asked, raising his golden eyebrows.

“You already saw him in action earlier, didn’t you? You fully expected him to fail his challenge, after all.”

Charon’s expression twitched for a moment, before finally bursting out in a hair-raising cackle.

“My, how exquisite you are, Alexia Fox,” Charon said, nodding appreciatively. “Indeed, aggrieved as I was by the loss of a candidate of such potential, I was looking forward to relishing in the exquisite agony in Kaizer Lee’s very soul as he returned to find your lifeless body. Disappointing as the results of that last challenge were, I must admit you’ve made your point well.”

“Our challenge, then?” Allie prompted.

“Ah, silly me. I’ve gotten carried away once more and nearly forgotten about the time. I hope you understand, it is not often that I get to enjoy such enthralling repartee with partakers of the trial,” Charon said, seemingly apologetic. “I will, of course, gladly offer a little extra reward to make up for such an oversight. I wouldn’t dream of intentionally detaining you at this location in order to place you in additional peril, after all.”

I barely restrained myself from cursing out loud, but Allie just nodded amicably.

“Of course not. We appreciate your generosity, Orb Keeper.”

That was all she said, but Charon seemed to appreciate a subtle note that I didn’t quite catch. They exchanged a moment of silence before seeming to reach an understanding of sorts.

I had no clue what had just happened, but Charon simply nodded before his silhouette began growing hazy and indistinct. His final words as he finally disappeared altogether were left hanging in the air.

“Then hearken, for this shall be your challenge, your doom, and your salvation. Relieve yourself of the burdens of your frail humanity and unleash your true potential, that you may ascend to become a true champion of the trial. Make your choice: rise now or forever fall!”

I scowled in confusion at the cryptic words. Such a vague description was worlds apart from the clear cut conditions he had imposed upon me during my first challenge.

Turning to Allie, I was about to point out as much when I saw her hand laid upon her wrist. Her expression suddenly froze as all the blood drained from her face.

“Allie?”

Allie’s wide-eyed gaze shook uncontrollably as she bit her lips hard enough to draw blood. Whatever she had seen in her orb, it couldn’t be good.

I 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 13/100

Current Objective: Find the antivirus and save yourself.

Available antivirus vials: 2/5

Special Challenge - Tier C+

Slay other users to harvest their orbs: 0/15 orbs.

Note: Only orbs looted from personal kills will count toward the challenge.

Rewards: Mana orb x15, Mystery Orb x1.

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

Alert! You have earned Orb Keeper Charon’s regard and have been granted a bonus gift. Accept now?

The new challenge’s description hit me like a brick wall. My heart was throbbing like a wild beast trapped in a cage of black despair as I mechanically accepted both reward packages. I almost didn’t need to look. Already, I knew exactly what I’d find within.

Congratulations! You have opened [Stage 1 Completion Reward] and received the following:

Mana orb x5

Congratulations! You have opened [Orb Keeper Charon’s Sincere Gift] and received the following:

Mana orb x5

Special Orb x1 - Orb Hunter Upgrade.

Swallowing back the bitter bile rising up my throat, I steeled myself and opened the description of the new orb that bastard Charon had so kindly gifted to us.

User Upgrade: Orb Hunter acquired.

Orb Hunter - level 1

Upgrade Category: System

Keep what you kill. With this upgrade equipped, you may harvest orbs from slain foes. Additional levels of this upgrade will improve range, capacity, and the array of available loot.

“Fuck!” I snarled, slamming my fist against a nearby wall. “Fuck fuck fuck!”

Chest heaving with harsh breaths, I soaked in the sweet agony coming from my bloodied knuckles. It was a welcome distraction from the howling abyss that had opened up in my mind. In fact, I could use some more of that distraction right about now.

I lifted my fist, ready to slam it into oblivion if need be as long as that could push back the edge of bitter despair crashing upon my soul, but soft hands caught hold of me just in time.

“Please, don’t do that,” Allie murmured, her voice roiling with emotion.

I didn’t reply. I couldn’t even meet her eyes. I just stared down at the blood dripping from my fist. It mirrored the wounds scoring my heart right now.

Damn it, we had no time for this. I just had to make Allie see the obvious truth now, before it was too late. If Charon had been right about one thing, it was that the time to make a choice was upon us.

Rise now or forever fall.

“Don’t say that. That’s not true. It can’t be true,” Allie said, and only then did I realize I’d spoken those last words out loud.

“You got eight mana orbs from Charon, didn’t you? That makes it an even 15, just like me. I got 5 mana orbs from my special reward, rounding my mana orbs to 15. You know what that means, right?”

It wasn’t really a question, and Allie’s lack of an answer was all I needed to confirm my suspicions.

“It’s like he’s had it all planned,” I said, my voice emotionless though my heart was still smoking. “You’ve become an orb hunter as well, right? And we each received just enough orbs to complete the challenge. It's a simple math. Not even I can screw this up.”

Again, Allie stood mute with her head hanging low. Enough, we had no more time to waste. The time for choices was upon us. Well, upon Allie, because all I had been dealt were shitty cards. Then again, I realized as I gazed upon Allie’s thin, trembling shoulders, my darling had been dealt the shittiest hand of all.

“Allie, my love,” I began tenderly, as though I were writing one last love letter to my beloved.

She shook her head. “Don’t.”

I continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “For all his faults, that bastard hasn’t lied to us yet. The challenge’s reward will save you.”

“Stop.”

“Though we don’t know what the mystery orb will do, with the hunter upgrade you can take my dash skill. You can escape. You have to, for the both of us.”

“Please, don’t do this to me.” I could hear the tears in her voice.

I steeled myself and pushed the words past the lump in my throat. “At least one of us has to make it out of here.”

“No, we both will.”

“And I’ve got a one-way ticket to hell ticking away in my body, so I can’t be the one. I shouldn’t be.”

“Please, Kai. Please, just please don’t give up on us,” Allie said, and something about the way her voice broke toward the end of that sentence made me cup her chin in my hand. Before I realized it, I was gently lifting her face to meet my gaze.

She looked up at me with tears flowing from her cornflower blue eyes, the spark of a flickering fire slowly dying in their depths. It was only at this moment that I realized what she sought from me, what she desperately needed more than anything right now.

Hope.

It wasn’t strength, logic, or empty promises.

She just needed me to believe in her. Believe in us.

“Don’t give up on us,” she had said over and over, and only now did I begin to understand what she meant by her repeated entreaties.

My Allie, she didn’t fear anything in this whole goddamn world. She’d look the grim reaper itself in the eyes until the very moment its sinister scythe fell for that final blow. Hell, she had even matched stares with Charon, that creepy son of a bitch.

The only thing she couldn’t be without was the one thing I couldn’t give.

Hope.

I had none left. I dug deeply and relentlessly within the thin confines of my ravaged soul, and found nothing.

Even now, I could hear the zombie horde on their relentless approach, just beyond the restaurant’s walls. The screams from the elevator had stopped a while back, and I instinctively knew that was not good news.

In fact, it was all bad, from the beginning of this shitstorm all the way till now.

What hope could I possibly offer my Allie when I myself was barely running on fumes? The only difference between Allie and myself was that at least I had the tiniest spark of hope left in me. It arose from my blind faith in Allie, that she was stronger than I was and a true survivor. No matter what happened to me, she would make it out of here alive.

That is, if she could drop the dead weight and move on before the tide swallowed her up.

“Don’t give up on us.”

Even as I continued to stare down into her eyes, lost within those shimmering depths, I heard the fading echoes of her words resonating with my soul.

“Oh, baby girl. I’ve never once given up on you. It’s just you who has to give up on me..”

As always, she read my thoughts before I could even voice them, and I watched as the final flame of hope began to wither away and die in her eyes.

“Then we will go together,” Allie said resolutely, a different kind of fire starting anew in her gaze. It matched the stubborn line of her lips. “To the end, like we promised.”

“Fire..” I mumbled, my eyes suddenly going wide.

“Through hell, high water, or fire,” Allie nodded with a grim set to her mouth.

“No, fire,” I repeated, lifting my gaze and scanning the room desperately. “Fire!”

Finally, Allie saw the object of my gaze and instantly caught on the meaning of my words. In fact, I was surprised I was the first to think of this solution. The weight of despair must have pressed too hard upon her shoulders. Would I always be the silver bullet to my Allie’s superpowers? Wait, had Charon been stalling us just so we’d be driven to a corner and be unable to think properly to deal with the current crisis?

That Charon had been stalling so that Allie and I would be plunged further into danger was a given. However, the more familiar I became with the sadistic bastard’s methods, the more I realized that his words and actions all too often concealed far greater depths and more malicious intentions than expected.

Blowing up the kitchen and the entire restaurant along with it wasn’t that hard of a proposition. The problem was getting out. Now that I’d managed to restrain my more suicidal impulses and decided to do my best to find the hope my Allie so desperately needed, I found my head working overtime to find a solution to our problem.

Put into perspective like that and clear of the useless distractions Charon had thrown our way, the solution presented itself much easier than I’d anticipated.

“Restaurants need a constant stream of supply, which can be provided via loading docks and service elevators. Trash disposal in such a large structure, on the other hand...” I trailed off, matching stares with Allie.

Nearly at the same time, our eyes found a square panel by the back wall of the kitchen.

“Trash chute!” we exclaimed at the same time.

We exchanged a wry look before springing into action.

Opening the chute, I was relieved to find it would easily accommodate both of us. However, given that we were on the second story, I had no way of knowing just far down this rabbit hole went.

Not that we had the luxury of choice or time.

“I’ll get the gas going,” I said, moving away.

“And I’ve got the tinder,” Allie replied.

I shoulder-charged into the side of the nearest cooking range. It was a massive behemoth that towered over me, and if I had been in a halfway-sane state of mind, I would have balked at the notion of manhandling such an abomination. Drunk on adrenaline as I was, however, a piddling professional kitchen range was nowhere near my match.

A couple roars later, my foe had been vanquished and the gas pipes behind it lay exposed. I unceremoniously used the wooden stock of my shotgun to rupture the gas line. When the bitter stench of the resulting gas leak assaulted my nostrils, I breathed it in like it was fine perfume.

Hell yeah, I was high and ready to party now.

I opened the hatch of the trash chute. The sour stench of rotten food instantly wafted up the pitch black shaft and an insane grin lit up my face.

This was the smell of hope, and it was glorious.

“Babe, we ready yet?” came Allie’s voice.

“Gas is on. Get that bitch going and let's get a move on.”

“Oh baby, I love it when you talk dirty to me,” Allie said, mirroring my own manic grin, then activated the microwave oven’s switch.

When the lights inside the oven came on, the aluminum foil tray within began to spin to the hum of the machine. I swear it was one of the sexiest things I’ve seen, ever.

Damn, I’d never been so turned on by a fucking microwave oven.

In my defense, part of it had to do with the sultry vixen staring hotly into my eyes as she leapt into my embrace.

“You ready for this?” I asked, glancing down into the dark depths of the chute.

Allie’s answering grin nearly blinded me in its radiance. “Born ready, baby.”

Crashing sounds from the dining room outside loudly announced our time was up. I couldn’t have timed it better if I’d tried.

“Then let’s do this,” I grinned back at my Allie, then took her into my arms and leapt into the yawning abyss below.