Dashing across the street, I move towards the metal fence. Hoping, longing, uncertain… my eyes try to see beyond what the flickering gaps allow.

I retrieve my weapons while skidding to a stop beside the gate. Stilling my breath, I listen for screams of terror or gnarling beasts… but only the gentle sounds of summer greets me.

Cautiously stepping past the threshold I am surprised to find nothing wrong, which only deepens my worries.

With heavy slaps of my feet I rush towards the apartment after closing the gate. Entering in I feel the cool air wash over wicking away at my sweat. Sharpening my focus I make out the faint chatter of voices from down the hallway. Creeping along, I find myself at the source… Hank’s home.

Stealing my nerves, I quickly tap against the door. Looking around cautiously my grip tightens on my dagger as the sound of soft steps approach.

“Ah Jack we were just…” Martha’s gentle smile quickly recedes as worry washes over from seeing my stance. “Is something wrong?”

“We got a problem.” Striding into the room I am immediately enticed by the hearty smell of potato soup, yet regrettably I must ignore the tempting meal. “The front gate was left open and unguarded.” Alarmed and startled the group stiffens at my news.

Turning their heads Matt and Brent share a look of concern before swiftly taking action. “Has anything gotten inside?”

“I don’t know… I just came back from training and found it that way.”

“Did you close the gate?” Seeing me nod my head, Brent thinks for a moment before calling out to Martha. “Get me the names of who were supposed to be on duty.”

“On it.” Martha, quick to refocus, brushes past us to start flipping through a stack of papers.

“First we must make sure nothing got in. After that we’ll look for the missing guards and do a head count… Martha?”

“Walter Smith, Jacob Grill, and Jim Harrison.”

“Thanks… Jack and Matt come with me. Everyone else stays here.” Silently Brent leads us out to begin our search.

Running around the base we stay vigilant for any signs of trouble. However after thirty minutes of searching we are able to find zero monsters. Paranoid our minds try to understand how this could be as our hunched bodies struggle for air.

“Could we have missed something?” Taking deep breaths Matt tries to slow his breathing while tossing out a serious question.

“We checked everywhere… I don’t think something got in.” Reflecting over the base’s layout, my mind tries but fails to think of somewhere we could have overlooked.

With calm and steady words Brent speaks out the logical conclusion. “Then that means someone left….”

“We should start a role call to find who…” Amidst talking a sudden face flashes through my mind causing me to freeze mid-sentence.

“Jack, what’s wrong?” Brent cautiously asks as he stares worryingly at my face.

“Where did we put Cindy?”

Realization hits causing Brent and Matt’s faces to drain of color. Cursing under his breath Matt turns to start sprinting while Brent and I follow close behind. Reaching the improvised prison Matt bursts the door open without restraint.

“Ahhhhh!” Frightened by the unexpected entrance the young woman shrieks in terror before falling off the bed in a soft thud.

Bumping into each other the three of us blink in confusion at finding Cindy still locked away. Ignoring Cindy’s storm of cursing from being startled, I turn to the others mumbling. “If she’s here… then who left?”

***

“So you guys find out what happened?” As soon as Martha and Brent step into the apartment I question what they uncovered.

“Yes… it seems that Walter and Jim talked Jacob into ending his shift early. Once he was gone they gathered a small group, took a few of the basic supplies, and left.” Stern yet slowly Brent gives a recap of what happened.

“Thirteen people… that’s how many left.” Sounding slightly dejected Martha softly sets her papers on the table before pulling out a chair to sit down. “Why would they want to leave?”

Hearing Martha’s question I am unsure on how to answer so I just sit quietly by.

“Well I say good riddance to that trash… we have enough people to look after anyways. But I’ll be damned if we ever help those people again… even if they come begging there will be no compassion.” Venting his frustration Matt heavily paces around the room.

Despite his harsh words they still resonate with each of our feelings as bitter emotions sink deep. Some propose stricter control on our security. Others remain impassive on how to handle the situation. Thankfully, before things are able to escalate too far a nervous voice speaks up.

“You’re wrong.” Despite the soft tone Hank’s words are rather bold and decisive.

“What? You don’t think we should be stricter with security?” Matt calmly inquires behind Hank’s statement.

“No, no, not that… I’m talking about your entire approach.” Pausing Hank looks to see if anyone plans to stop him, but finding none he takes a deep breath before continuing. “I know that what they did put us all at risk… but each of you have not been thinking about things from their perspective.

Not everyone can accept things so quickly… I mean look at each of you. You’ve gone out fighting hordes of monsters, learning magic and growing ridiculously strong... But that’s only for a few of you.

The rest of us remain here confused, scared and longing for things to go back to how they were. Add that to you telling us what to do… they grow resentful and jealous. I know it’s petty but it’s true… cause I feel the same.” Pausing for a moment Hank turns to look through his bedroom door where his wife is changing their son’s diaper. “I want strength and I want power to protect my family. But not everyone is patient for YOU to decide when they can have it.”

Stunned by Hank’s bitter words I slump in my chair thinking over what he said. Have we really been too selfish and demanding of everyone?

Glancing around the room I can tell that the others are thinking something similar. Not sure of what else to say I merely apologize. “Hank, I’m… sorry.” Nodding their heads in agreement the others quickly follow my example.

Hearing the sincere apology Hank’s bitter expression fades and he sheepishly shakes his head. “No… I know each of you have only done what is best for the group and I am thankful for that… but I just don’t want you to demand too much of everyone.”

“I think we can handle that.” Smiling softly Martha is sympathetic towards Hank and quickly reassures him.

“Okay, I can see how the others may be feeling… but what do we do now? If we are too controlling we risk the group splintering or worst having fights break out… but if we are too lax then everything could just collapse.” Matt finishes talking and looks around hoping for a clear answer.

System Letter Successfully Delivered

Startled by the prompt I momentarily gaffe at who could have sent it. Calmly I retrieve the letter from my Inventory and start to read the message. However seeing who the sender is my eyes start tearing up.

“Jack… why are you crying?” Concerned Racheal tries to quietly ask without drawing attention, but with few people in the room it is hard to not notice a man crying.

“My parents… they’re alive!” Overjoyed by this news I tearfully read the letter out for the others to hear. “Doing fine… happy to hear from me… found survivors… growing strong….” Finishing the letter everyone quickly congratulates me on the good news. But I largely ignore their ramblings as I contently bask in my moment of joy.

Taking a minute to calm myself I focus on the excited people around me. Each one reminds me of how lucky I have been and I start wondering how I would have fared without them. Shaking my head I doubt I would have gotten very far. People are strong, but there is only so much a single person can do. We need family, friends, and people to depend on, kind of like….

Sparked by inspiration I think of such a thing that would settle all our needs. Pulling up the Index I tap away quickly until I find what I need. Scanning over the details I start contemplating how this will work.

“BOTH! We let them choose what they want to do AND we tighten control.” Snapping out of their wishful thinking the group looks baffled at my odd statement. “We can and we SHOULD be telling people how to act… just not everyone.”

“Jack, you’re not making any sense.” Brent shakes his head in derision, but I ignore and continue.

“Controlling people is a really tricky thing. If it’s for something they desire then it will be freely given, but if they disagree then they will fight and resist. The problem we have is that we don’t have a real goal we are aiming for…”

“What do you mean we don’t have a goal… isn’t trying to kill the dungeon boss a huge goal!?” Irate and confused John interrupts my explanation.

“Yes that’s… no not goal. Maybe vision would be a better term?” I momentarily get lost in the thought of the best way to describe but quickly shake my head and just get to the main point.

“The things we have been working on are all immediate issues. We’ve talked about how the world has changed, but have we really accepted that fact? What we should do is decide RIGHT NOW our plans for the future… I’m talking long term. Are we going to just be a group of people trying to survive or will we become something bigger?”

Tense excitement fills the room as I slowly glance around at each person. Matt, Brent, Hank, Martha, John, Racheal… each person is nervous with expectation waiting for my next words.

“I say we make a guild.”

“Oh!” The younger members present quickly understand my meaning but I can tell the others do not.

“A guild is a group of people all with a common goal… think of them as a business group.”

“But what would we do?” Trying to be supportive Martha asks for more details.

“We could be mercenaries, entrepreneurs, delivery men… whatever we decide to do!”

“Hmm… so by setting our plans for the long run we can let people know what our aim is. That way they can decide if they want to be with us.” Quick to understand the deeper meaning Brent coyly smiles while thinking it further out.

“But what about those who still refuse… are we… going to kick them out?” Hesitantly Rachael asks as she feels slightly nervous about the possibility.

“Not immediately… no matter our decision I still think we should do our best to help those in need. But once things settle down survivors will start to gather and communities will rebuild. Eventually people will want to have their own homes again. So yes eventually we’ll have nonmembers leave the base, but not till things settle somewhat.”

“Okay, I take it you didn’t just randomly decide this… what did the Index say?” Surprised by Matt’s keen perception I smile coyly before sharing the new information.

Guild

Guilds are recognized unions of numerous individuals working towards an objective. The purposes of guilds can be for advancing particular studies, capital increases or even pursuit of fame and glory. Unique features become available to Guilds depending on their size and ranking.

Requirements: Individual with at least 40 Charisma and a minimum of 10 members.

“The Charisma requirement will be the only issue….” Bitterly Matt chews over this matter.

“That sounds like a personal problem for our guild leader.” Smiling haughtily I look at Matt who sneers at my sarcasm.

Having sparked the flames the group slowly starts accepting the idea. Brainstorming, we come up with several ideas of what our aim will be, but until we defeat the dungeon boss we will hold off on making any announcements about the guild. The only thing we will reveal for now is the option for people leaving.

It was decided, without complaint, that we would not stop anyone from leaving. Though there would be no more secret departures or stolen supplies. This is not just for our benefit, but for everyone in the base as well.

“Alright, I think we have what we need for tonight… we’ll make the announcement in the morning. Try to get some rest, tomorrow will be another long day.” Brent’s offer for closing the meeting is quickly accepted as everyone is exhausted.

Standing up I stretch and say my goodbyes before returning to my bedroom. Despite the vast numbers of refugees I am very thankful for Martha to have left a room just for me. Rushing through my nightly rituals I collapse into the soft fabric of the bed and wearily close my eyes.

Waking up invigorated I yawn loudly before hopping out of bed. Checking the time I notice I have a couple of hours before our announcement. Smiling I am surprised at how energized I feel with such little sleep. I guess this just another benefit of increased agility.

Rushing outside I head to my training yard.

“Training… I’ll be back soon.” Pausing to notify the new guards stationed I notice their nervous yet focused drive. It seems Brent did the job of ‘motivating’ them to their duty.

Two hours later the electronic chiming of my alarm sounds off signifying me to finish my training. Wiping the sweat from my face I am happy from my progress. Alternating from last night’s practice, today I decided to focus on spear training and something I had thought might be useful.

Throwing Weapons (Passive) Beginner Level 3 (76%) Understanding the importance of balance, speed, and aim the ability to throw weapons becomes a diverse and useful skill. Effectiveness is affected by PER. (+3% increase to range)

I had noticed that my fighting style had been mostly hit and run tactics. The only problem was that when it comes time to hit I had no long range abilities. John had offered to give me some pointers on archery, but the idea of trying to cumbersomely switch between the bow and my other weapons seemed too difficult.

“Were you training again?” Brent is surprised to see me out so early in the morning.

“Yep, been training on my weapon proficiencies.”

Scowling slightly he reminds me not to overdo it before turning back to his job.

I have just enough time to shower and grab a bite to eat before rushing out and joining the morning meeting. There is a rouse of unease when it is revealed that several people left last night. But things are a lot calmer than they were yesterday morning… thankfully it seems the trouble makers were the ones who left.

Calmly we are able to reassure everyone that they are free to leave whenever they want. All we ask is that they let us know in advance so we can cover any gaps in security.

Once everything is settled the crowd is dispersed so they can begin with today’s tasks. Stepping over towards the vehicles we gather our group of fighters for the day. A total of sixteen people are selected for today’s mission. Not wasting time we all load up and immediately role out.

Slow yet steadily our party drives towards our destination until we are forced to halt before a towering green expanse.

“Damn… I know you explained about how it had grown up, but… it’s only been a few days!?” Staring aghast, Matt is struggling to comprehend how a jungle could grow in such a short time.

“Yeah… and that’s just the trees wait till you see the wildlife.” Smiling mischievously I inwardly chuckle at the nervous faces looking at me once they realize my statement. “Come on, let’s get this barbeque going before it gets too hot.”

Entering into the thick underbrush I slowly lead the timid group further into the new dungeon. Along the way a few mutated animals cross our path, but we quickly eliminate them. Although not that challenging, these kills allow our group to shake off their nervous jitters before the main objective.

After an hour of navigating through the jungle we finally reach the remnants of the campus cafeteria. Amazingly in just a few days the vegetation has aggressively reclaimed the building until the impression given could have been the remains of some ancient civilization.

“Prepare the fire.” Whispering out my command the others silently nod before pulling out the numerous jugs of combustibles. Spreading out we carefully approach the glass windows while flanking the sides. And as soon as everyone is in position our assault begins.

Busting out the glass the barrage of bottles are rapidly thrown in sending shrill screams to come from the nest. Almost immediately, several large feral rats come clambering out trying to attack their intruders.

“Light the fires! We can’t let them surround us!” Yelling out the command I quickly ignite a few road flares before tossing them inside. A scorching heat rapidly blasts from within the building catching the numerous rodents ablaze.

Despite our best efforts several rodents were still able to escape. Pulling out my spear I lunge forward joining the others in killing the fleeing rodents. However soon the flames grow too intense and we are forced to retreat to a safe distance.

“This worked better than planned.” Extending out his hand Matt offers me a bottle of water as he stares sharply into the fire.

“Thanks…” sipping the water slowly I pull up my status screen and gleefully watch the percentage next to my level rapidly increase. “It really is amazing.”

Having a successful mission is something to be happy with. Even more so with knowing how much experience we are acquiring. Nonetheless my mind is already thinking about the next step in our plan…and I fear this trend of good luck will not last much longer.

[spoiler]

Jack's Status Screen

Matt's Status Screen

[/spoiler]