PLEASE SELECT YOUR BATTLE STRATEGY
OFFENSE
DEFENSE
RETREAT
Thalia read over the message quickly and selected OFFENSE.
"The best defense is a good offense… or so I've heard. Anyway, I should probably make my way down too."
She headed for the stairwell and opened the door.
Looking into the darkness, she realized walking down the stairs blind with no information on enemy numbers would be a huge mistake.
"Yeah… nope."
"Maybe I should just take the same route Headless took."
She returned to the elevator shaft and looked down. The elevator sat three floors below, a ceiling tile removed and the cabin lit from within.
"Please let this work..."
She took a step forward and dropped straight down.
The fall was swift. Just as she reached the open tile, she adjusted her body, streamlining herself enough to slip through the narrow gap, landing squarely on the elevator floor.
THUD
There was a slight crack in her knees as she hit, but otherwise, she landed well for a first time.
"Whoa… that didn't hurt as much as I thought it would."
She looked up the shaft.
"What is that... three floors? I think I could even fall from higher without getting hurt if I wanted to."
Adjusting her clothing, she stepped out of the elevator.
"Let's save my superhero landing practice for later. I've got more pressing matters right now."
Now standing on the 15th floor, Thalia scanned the room quickly and approached Headless from behind, stepping over the corpse of a dead zombie.
As she passed it, a message blinked into view:
ENEMY SLAIN
WOULD YOU LIKE TO RESURRECT?
COST: 5 XP
"That must be the one that got shot."
She stepped around Headless to assess the situation.
Two zombies were advancing toward a boy who looked badly injured.
"What's a kid doing here? …No, wait. His clothes. A hero? Or maybe a sidekick."
The boy, bloodied and barely upright, called out with what strength he had left.
"L-Lady, are you insane?" he said, his voice fading. "That's a skeleton right there, it'll kill you. Get away!"
Thalia studied him carefully.
"Looks like he's been bitten… Damn it, I wasn't fast enough. At this point, he's as good as dead."
The boy squinted up at her, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.
"Who is this woman…? She just came out of the lift… after the skeleton… Was she fighting it upstairs?"
Thalia turned to Headless.
"Kill those two while I talk to the boy."
Headless gave a subtle bow and began his advance.
Arsenal was backed into a corner, barely upright. The zombies were seconds from tearing him apart when Headless reached them.
"What the… Did she just talk to the skeleton? And did it just acknowledge her?"
He staggered, trying to brace himself, but his vision was fading. The infection was spreading fast. His hearing dulled, his limbs heavy. Everything was getting fuzzy.
"Crap… I can't pass out here!"
He dropped to one knee, unable to hold himself up. Just as one of the zombies reached out to grab him, Its entire body flew sideways, smashing into the wall with bone-crunching force. Drywall and dust exploded on impact.
Eyes wide, Arsenal looked up.
Headless grabbed the second zombie by the leg, hoisted it high above his head, and slammed it into the ground like a hammer.
SPLAT
The zombie's skull burst open on impact. Blood sprayed across the carpet in a single splatter, staining everything in its path.
Headless let go of the limp leg, and the body hit the floor with a final thud.
"…What the heck is going on? Did a skeleton just kill a zombie?"
Arsenal could barely hold on. The virus was already inside him, and its effects were taking hold fast.
Thalia walked over to him.
He looked up as she approached, his eyes bloodshot and dazed.
"Huh… So the skeleton's with her? But how…?"
Thalia knelt down in front of him, and a system message appeared in front of her:
WARNING
THIS INDIVIDUAL IS CURRENTLY UNDERGOING THE
KEEP YOUR DISTANCE
She narrowed her eyes and leaned in slightly, lifting the makeshift bandage Arsenal had tied around his shoulder. He winced and hissed in pain.
"Yeah, it's infected alright," she thought. "Doesn't look like he's got very long left either."
She rewrapped the cloth over his wound, trying not to meet his weakening eyes.
"You're a brave kid," she said. "What's your name?"
"A–Arsenal…" he managed to rasp, forcing every syllable out with effort.
Then he slowly lifted his bloody hand and pointed toward the sea of cubicles.
"Help… them… please…"
"Help who?" Thalia asked, frowning.
She stood and turned to look toward the cubicles, but at first, there was only silence.
"Hello?" she called. "Anyone here?"
A moment passed before a woman cautiously stepped out from between the rows of overturned desks and shredded partitions. It was the same woman who had first spoken to Arsenal.
As soon as she saw the immediate threat was gone, she rushed forward, stumbling to Arsenal's side.
"Oh my goodness!" she cried, kneeling beside him. Her hands hovered over his body, unsure of what she could even do.
"You know this kid?" Thalia asked.
"Yeah," the woman replied, voice trembling. "He saved us. If he wasn't here I'm sure we all would be dead right now."
"Wait… us?" Thalia repeated.
That's when more survivors began to emerge, peeking nervously from behind chairs, overturned desks, and a broken vending machines.
"Is that a skeleton?"
"There's another Blight here!"
"But it's not moving…"
"Is it safe?"
They trickled out, dazed and quiet, staring at Thalia with a strange mix of hope and fear.
That's when the woman finally took notice of the skeleton standing a few feet behind Thalia.
She stumbled back.
"It's a... there's a..." She tried to find the words but couldn't.
"Don't worry, the headless skeleton is with me," said Thalia.
"I see... so it won't hurt us?" asked the woman.
"No, you're all safe," replied Thalia.
Arsenal continued, "There are more zombies... on the ground floor. B-be careful getting them out."
"This kid... he's a tough son of a bitch."
Thalia stood up abruptly. She knew those would probably be his last words. There was no point mourning someone she just met, and staying here any longer could be hazardous.
"I don't think these people know he's a few minutes away from seeing them as lunch. I gotta get them outta here," she thought.
She addressed the crowd now. "Okay people, here's how this is gonna go. Headless over here is gonna sweep the stairs as he makes his way down. I want a neat single file line behind him as you all make your way down. If there's any trouble along the way, he'll deal with it. Meanwhile, you all turn back immediately!"
"...Why can't you escort us? Why are you sending a monster to do your job?" a voice said.
"You wanna die? That's fine, stay right here. You want out? Follow the headless skeleton!" she snapped.
The crowd died down.
"Okay, Headless, you make your way down those stairs. You run into any trouble along the way? You protect these people at all costs."
Headless nodded, then made his way to the stairs. The crowd worriedly followed behind. The man in front kept a great distance from Headless, unsure he could trust it.
"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but you really have to go," Thalia said.
The woman had been sobbing next to Arsenal. He had saved her. They were building a connection, and now he was dying.
She stood up and wiped her tears.
"I'll make sure the world knows what you did here today." She said.
Arsenal brought up a shaky thumbs up before dropping his hand back into his lap.
Now just Thalia and Arsenal remained. The last of the survivors had entered the stairwell.
"Hey..." said Arsenal.
Thalia looked at him. He had her full attention.
"Do me a favour, will you? Don't let me turn into one of those things. I can feel it, slowly taking over. You gotta kill me before that happens," he said.
Thalia looked at this boy, who fought tooth and nail to protect people he didn't even know. A true hero in the making.
She turned away from him. Her eyes began to water.
I don't even know this kid, why am I getting emotional?
She turned back to answer his question, but when she did, it was clear he had already passed on.
"Hey... hey kid!" She waited for a moment.
"Shit."
Thalia knelt down in front of him and shut his eyelids with her two fingers.
"You did good kid. You did good."
As she stood back up and prepared to unsheath her sword, a system message appeared.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO RESURRECT?
COST: 50XP
Thalia froze.