Roy called the rest of the group and ushered everyone out of the rain. He closed the door and slid the deadbolt into place. The bandaged boy seemed to be more lucid now as he sat in the kitchen. Pyrene removed the bandages and marveled at the wound. It had closed, leaving only a faint outline in its place. Judging by its jagged pattern Roy guessed that the boy had been bitten by a frog.

“Unbelievable,” Pyrene mused as she dabbed at the wound with a swab of cotton dipped in alcohol. Lestrat had located a bottle of rubbing alcohol, along with a few sets of dry clothes.

“I’ve never seen a wound heal so fast, mind you I’ve not seen a great deal of wounds before, but this is certainly abnormal,” Pyrene babbled as Denton slowly pulled her away from the boy who was now very much awake and flustered over the attention.

Madelyn was on the couch, Roy wasn’t certain if he should break the news to her. Lestrat seemed to be more attuned with her so asking him to be the messenger may be wise. Roy looked over the room again and then realized that Dakota was nowhere to be found.

“Hey, did anyone see Dakota?” that seemed to catch everyone’s attention. Had she gotten lost during the trek and wondered off? The thick mist certainly made that a possibility.

“Wasn’t Dakota helping you and Pyrene support Simon?” Lestrat looked over to the pair.

“I thought she was ahead, with Madelyn. My glasses were all fogged up by the damn mist,” Denton then gestured at Pyrene who was busy drying her long auburn hair with a towel. Which only drew a confused, ‘huh,’ from the girl.

Roy reasoned that Dakota had probably headed home after leaving the school; it wasn’t hard to imagine the worry that would have plagued her mind and caused her to make such a quick and sudden departure. The rest of the group seemed to be following the same train of thought as they vocalized their hypothesis and let the matter drop. Subconsciously Roy knew that these were probably delusions, he wasn’t about to charge out into the rain on a quest to find a recent acquaintance, it was easier to digest this excuse, an act of self-preservation.

Roy allowed the group a few minutes before he surreptitiously filled Lestrat in. Now the burden was off his shoulder, the other boy could deal with it. Lestrat seemed to settle for honesty as he and Madelyn quickly disappeared up the stairs. Roy wandered around for a bit, hesitant to touch anything lest he wet it, the water dripping onto the floor was already causing him to wince. It was silly though, there were monsters wandering around and he was cringing because of a few drops of water.

Denton seemed to recognize his distress, he handed him a dry set of clothes and thanked him for the potion earlier. The plaid shirt and loose jeans were a size too large for Roy. The colors were faded and the edges frayed. There was also the faint scent of smoke, despite the fact that the clothes had evidently gone through the washer. Out of curiosity Roy [Examined] the set of clothes.

Plaid Shirt of the Outdoorsman

+1 Fire, Cold Resistance

+1 CON

Old Jeans

The pants were typical, but the shirt provided bonuses which included raising his, ‘resistances,’ and a point of constitution. He had just been handed a magical item, Denton was probably not even aware. This also brought to mind the pistol from Mr. Stenson, it too had an irregular bonus. This meant that regular items had been granted magical properties by the big change. Roy looked around the room, at the pens on the kitchen counter, the mop Denton held in his hands, and the knives in their wood block. Any one of them could be an artifact in disguise.

Roy was tempted to pick up and examine every bit of the house, turn the mundane into the magical. Roy settled into a chair in the kitchen. The harsh white light from the bulbs suspended above the counter cast an irritating glare on the porcelain tiles. The fridge, an older model produced an audible hum which mixed with the whispering from upstairs, the swish swash of Denton’s mop, and the sounds of Simon chewing on a cookie. Roy wasn’t in the mood for a conversation and the other boy didn’t seem like a particularly chatty individual.

Slowly the other members of the group began to gather around the table, it was seven by the time everyone was settled down. Subconsciously everyone knew that events were spiraling out of control and that they would need to prepare for the long haul. Lestrat was seated at the head of the table, a small notebook laid open on the table before him; his left hand toyed with a pen. Madelyn sat to his left; her eyes were downcast and her clothes still soggy. Taking into consideration recent events, she seemed to be taking everything quite well. Cobb sat at the other side; his spear leaned against the back of his chair.

“Now that everyone has had some time to gather their thoughts, I felt it would be wise of us to plan ahead,” a few nods circulated around the table.

“I feel that our situation has improved since we left the school. The fridge is well stocked, Cobb has taken the time to stock up on water, and this house offers us a shelter that is compact when compared to the school,” Lestrat wrote the three essentials onto his notebook and listed the current resources beneath. He then looked around the table and as if on cue Cobb speaks up.

“The house is safe. The outside is not,” Cobb rotated his spear as he spoke..

“We need people on guard,” Denton surmised. Lestrat noded his head; he and Cobb must have convened when they were upstairs.

“Precisely, some of these creatures may be nocturnal,” Lestrat created a table on the notebook and wrote down a list of times.

“If we were to sleep and awake at different times we can ensure that at least one person stays awake and keeps an eye out for possible threats,” Everyone thought about this for a second, and then slowly Simon raised his hand.

“How exactly does that work?”

“I’ve thought about it for a while, and this is what I envisioned. One of us will sleep early, at say, around eight. We’ll need a good sleep because I imagine that the days will be quiet tiring.” Lestrat checked that everyone was following and then continued.

“That person will sleep from eight to four, a good eight hours of sleep. The next person to sleep will start at nine-thirty and end at five-thirty. We have seven people here so the last person will sleep at three-thirty and wake up at eleven-thirty. One person can double up with another.” Lestrat waited a moment before continuing.

“I imagine we can slightly tweak the times so that we cover the thirty minutes from three-thirty to four. If we follow this schedule then we’ll have someone awake at all times of the day. The alternative is we do this in shifts, the problem with that is that some will need to divide their sleep into two sections, I imagine that that can be quite tiring in the long term,” again everyone noded, now Denton raised his hand.

“I’m assuming that we’re going to assign time slots now right?”

“Exactly, I imagine that the first and last slots should be assigned carefully, considering they will be the only person awake for an hour and thirty minutes.” Lestrat turned and looked at Cobb, then his gaze met Roy’s.

“Cobb, Roy, what slots would you like?” Roy was still brimming with energy; there was no way he would be able to sleep at eight. Roy quickly responded.

“I’d like the two to three-thirty shift, I’m a late sleeper,” Cobb noded his head, prompting Lestrat to write their names beside the two time slots. The remaining members of the group were swiftly assigned slots and then the discussion shifted onto other topics.

“I don’t think the electricity is going to hold out for much longer, no electricity means to fridge and no stove. I think we should cook as much of the meat as possible before that happens.” The discussion had broached on the subject of food and water. The group had taken turns espousing their ideas, the latest, and last was given by Denton.

Lestrat wrote down the latest point into his notebook. The boy looked over the book one last time before standing up and summarizing the discussion.

“These ideas all hold considerable merit, but I feel that we should prioritize certain aspects. Denton’s point of food preservation should take precedence considering that the electricity can go out at any time.” Denton pushed up his glasses and leaned back onto his chair.

“Our water reserves should last us for a while, there are a few packs of bottled water in the basement, but the area is flooded and so venturing down carries some risk, I suggest we delay that until some future date.” The water was already a foot deep outside and beginning to creep up to the first floor. Hopefully the rain would let up before the water started to flood into the house.

“Many of you have suggested leaving the house to scavenge around the neighborhood or contact others. Again that is a risky endeavor. Cobb has offered to fashion armor and tools, once those are complete we can consider checking the nearby houses,” Roy’s father was on a tour of duty, and his mother out-of-state for a business trip so he wasn’t in a rush to go home. Several of the others though, were keen to check up on their families.

“As Pyrene noted the hospital and Walmart are across route 151 and only a ten minute walk away. We can also consider heading to Main Street once we are rested and prepared.” Lestrat took one last look around the table and motioned for any further comments. He then turned to a fresh page and continued.

“Everyone is aware of the blue screens at this point, correct?” everyone nods.

“I understand the need for a certain degree of privacy, but obviously some skills will heavily impact how we can approach certain issues. I think everyone should inform the group about the basics of their new abilities.” Roy looked around the group, Simon seemed lost; he evidently didn’t have a fancy new skill. Pyrene and Denton were the first to divulge their lack of skill. Everyone else seemed reticent.

Roy considered his options; he could inform the group about his above average health. That would make him the go to guy for risky actions, considering he would be able to take the most punishment. Alternatively he could choose to hold on to this information, which would be easy considering the nature of the secret.

“I will start,” Lestrat’s voice jerked Roy out of his scheming. He stared into empty space or the blue screen only he could see, for a second before continuing.

“As some of you are aware, I was the one to slay the rock encrusted toad on our way out of the classroom, for doing so I was awarded an ability,” this coincided with what Roy had experienced and what he saw in the business classroom.

“I have the ability to create a ball of earth,” Lestrat began to concentrate and after a few seconds a craggy ball of dirt formed above his palm.

“I can then launch the ball I form,” as he said this the ball of dirt was launched across the room and into the kitchen sink.

“With this skill I will be able to make the basketball team next year,” Lestrat twirled his hand and bowed to mild applause.

“Anyone else with a skill?” Roy squirmed in his seat. Lestrat had freely shared his information with the group. He had led by example and Roy was loath to betray everyone’s trust. Hesitatingly Roy stood up.

“My skill’s not as fancy as Lestrat’s, so yeah. I’ve got an extra hundred or so points of health.” Now that Roy had put it in words, the bonus sounded lackluster. So what if he could take another two or three bullets. Once he ran out of ammo he would just be a teenager with a pitchfork. He didn’t believe for a second that the extra hit points would help him against the Behemoth.

Despite his misgivings, the rest of the group looked impressed. Compared to an utter lack of any magical ability, even the most mundane sounded great.

“I can swing a spear,” Cobb interjected as he batted the weapon leaning against his seat. At first Roy though that the boy was talking about martial arts, then he recalled the message on pistol proficiency he had received after killing the zombies. He had completely forgotten to check on the specifics.

The rest of the conversation passed in a flash as the group shared their guesses at what the various stats meant and their implications, near the end that had gone entirely into the realm of the fantastical and they imagined themselves as knights and wizards. Denton and Pyrene were both avid DTDW fans; Simon, who had been mostly silent, couldn’t stop talking once they started down that path of conversation. His eyes positively sparkled.

Spirits began to rise as the group chatted, and soon they went to work, fueled by anticipation and excitement. The meat was quickly cooked utilizing whatever was available. Everyone contributed, even if they didn’t know how to cook. Bread was baked out of the flour they could find, and the vegetables were boiled together in a large pot. Roy had some experience with cooking, since his parents were frequently away. He was responsible for cleaning, peeling, and cutting the vegetables. His skills paled in comparison to Cobb though, who’s actions showed his considerable experience when it came to cooking.

The rest of the night passed in a blur as they worked; soon they went to sleep one by one. The master bedroom was out of commission, and the bathtub was used to store drinking water. After some deliberation they had agreed that Pyrene and Madelyn would share a room. The boys would set up blankets and sleeping bags in the office.

When the clock hit two only Roy was awake. Despite the battle with the frog, jog through the rain, and evening preparations. Looking back to the time he had equipped the dagger, Roy surmised that his high constitution was the source of his somewhat boundless energy. He had started at nine and now with the shirt he was at thirteen, it had risen by almost half.

Roy sat down onto the couch and mentally replayed the day; the mysterious announcement during math class seemed suddenly so far away. There would be no returning to those days, Roy knew it in is gut. No more school, no more sitting in front of the monitor, no more hanging out with friends. Now that he thought of friends, he recalled Laurence’s hasty exit and wondered how he was faring. No doubt he had discovered some game breaking bug and was about to exploit it for all it was worth. That sounded about right.

Roy chuckled, everything was so real, but so dreamlike. Overgrown toads, fungus infested zombies, two-meter tall monstrosities, and that wasn’t taking into account the stats and magical skills. What was he going to do? Would he treat this whole thing like the game it had devolved into, throw his life at it and hope he makes the leaderboards? Or should he strive to find some safe haven, and live the rest of his life in peace? Was the second even possible? Was the first even realistic? How would he know now that the fundamental rules had been snatched away?

Roy brought out his gun again, he had fourteen bullets left. These fourteen bullets were the pivot of his life. Should he expend them hunting monsters and leveling up, or should he hold onto them in the hope that they would help him reach asylum. Of course there the chance that the surrounding houses had a stock of bullets was highly likely. However, to reach those very bullets he would need to brave whatever danger could possibly lurk in those houses. It was a gamble, there could be bullets, there could not be bullets, the monster inside could be like the frogs; or they could be like the behemoth. So many decisions.

If he wanted to seek safety then there was no need to risk his life here acquiring bullets, anything that he met that could be dangerous was just as likely to appear here as it was to appear later. He could very well run up against something that would need more then fourteen bullets to deal with in one of those houses. Then he would be all out of bullets.

On the other hand if he wanted to train then clearing a house would be like fighting at any other place, with the added chance that he could come upon more bullets. He could shoot some monster out on the road for some experience, or he could shoot one that was inside a house and possibly chance upon some additional ammunition. Roy doubted that fourteen bullets would be enough, his level could never he high enough, especially when death meant death and monster spawns seemed random.

It all came down to the gun. Roy looked at the metallic contraption. Mundane and monotonous perfectly describe his life before this day. He had hoped for an opportunity to enliven his daily existence. He could look for sanctuary, then what if he found it; it would be like wandering back to that gray existence. Here was a chance at adventure, like the ones he immersed himself in on the computer. If so then why was he so reticent, why wasn’t he springing into action? Roy knew.

He was scared, oh so scared.