Don’t worry, Richard wrote to the boy, I’ll make sure that nothing bad happens.

As there was still a little bit of daylight left, Richard bent over the two bodies. He gave a look at Alex, who was without a mask, wearing only a ripped white t-shirt stained in blood and grit, a pair of cut trousers that arrived at his knees, and his feet were only covered by his socks.

Richard handed the mask and the boots from the man with short hair to Alex.

“They’re a bit large”, Alex said, as he fitted his left foot inside, “But they’ll do”.

Then he covered him with the green military coat of the one with the red mohawk. The two machetes were common items, and he stored one of them later, occupying two units, and gave the other one to Alex.

In their bags, he found two full plastic canteens, a screwdriver, and two torches. The only interesting thing was a bottle of fluorescent pills at the bottom of the bag.

You have found x100 pills of Weak Strength drug: raises your Strength and Ruthlessness of 5% for three hours. Side effect: higher risk of sudden cardiac death. This drug is designed to be used only by the following race: humans.

Richard threw them away as they were of no use for himself, and it would be very irresponsible to give a minor drugs. Afterwards, he led him through the stuck revolving door, which had its glass panel shattered a long time ago. The rest of the windows had been blocked by wooden boards and the broken furniture, made of dirty pillows, and broken chairs and coffee tables, had been huddled in one corner of the room.

The moquette was covered by a thick layer of soot and sawdust, and it still had the impressions of people kneeling in a large circle around a patch that had been darkened by fire. A message had been etched on the walls, but only the word Rebirth was still legible.

“I don’t like this place”, the young man said. Richard had to shrug at him; there was no other place around here that still stood and that could serve as a place to hide. He pointed at the elevator door, which had its door hanging from only the upper side, leaving a small opening for someone to get inside. Richard pulled it and made way for him to enter.

“I don’t think it’s very safe”. A shrieking sound near the area made him crouch and get inside the elevator. Richard lowered his head to see him crouching in a corner and raising the mask to cover his face.

Richard materialized the gun from his inventory.

Take this, he sent to him, If things go sour use this to defend yourself.

“That’s a weapon of the old world!”, Alex said, as he stared at in awe, “How did you find it?”

Do you have any experience with handguns?

“How can I? It’s an ultra-rare item. It should be nearly impossible to find”.

Just be careful and hold it with both your hands. Put your finger on the trigger only when you are going to shoot.

Richard feared he might have to regret this decision, but if he were to die at least Alex would have more chances to get away, even if it was slim. His hope was that nothing would happen during the night, and then, they would finally leave this wretched city in the morning to never come back.

He hid behind the receptionist counter and rekindled his flame up to 130% but ate some mouse meat from the inventory to avoid from entering into his beastly mode, as he was capable of doing every kind of abominable thing in that state.

Until two in the morning, he started to think that all his preparations could be never be put to use and it could be just a silent night in a dead city, but a group of for Husks were approaching as red dots on the map.

The four of them jumped from the windows of the opposite building and set their eyes on the two bodies lying in the middle of the street. He had been a fool to not remove them, and now he had a whole pack to deal with. They sunk their teeth into the skin of their faces, peeling it off by shaking their heads. As he decided that it was enough, Richard stopped from watching them.

A larger red dot was approaching, rounding around the fifth street, less than a mile from their position. The other smaller dots of enemies were fleeing away from it. It wasn’t fast, and Richard

Inside the elevator, the young man’s eyes were closed, and his mouth hung half open. He was thinking of waking him up and go elsewhere, but a husk barged inside the building. His body crashed against the frame of the revolving door, but then he snuck inside. Richard held its breath, hoping it would go away. The husk was sniffing at the air and its bloodshot eyes widened as he shifted his head towards the elevator.

As the husk sprinted, Richard shot a fireball at its face. The husk shrieked and fell on his knees, shrivelling in pain. It was the time of finishing him, but Richard stood still, observing the figure scream and roll on the ground, now blind.

A roaring sound came from outside the building and another husk rolled in front of the door. A giant foot like the one of an elephant stomped on its head, destroying it as if it was a watermelon. A third Husk tried to jump on the body of the beast, but a punch it the creature in the chest, sending it flying out of view. The fourth one ran away.

A large creature appeared in sight. Its four arms grabbed the body of the husk, and its ribs opened with a cracking sound, swallowing all of it and digesting it with crunching sounds, showering the streets with blood.

He had never seen a monster like this. There was no way he could fight against it, and if he didn’t do something about the husk, then they would all be screwed. He came out of his hiding place and pulled the body out of sight, then he put his hands over his mouth and one on his neck. As he was squeezing, Richard kept his gaze away from it.

The window of the hotel exploded as the beast barged against it. Richard covered himself from the shower of debris. The two elephant heads of the monsters stuck inside the large shoulders with no neck opened their mouths in a roar, raising their trunks, its four glowing eyes stuck on him. A wide scar split its oversized chest in the middle.

You have been spotted by a Hostile Lv.6 Alien Husk.