The System Apocalypse Short Story Anthology Volume 1: A LitRPG post-apocalyptic fantasy and science fiction anthology

by Tao Wong

  And just like that, I lose control again.

  ***

  This time, the big humans don't shout at me. After several minutes of cathartic barking up the right tree, I forget all about the squirrel—which has long since fled—and do my actual business outside.

  Keeping the Temptation away is hungry work—squirrels are a menace—but I do it anyway. For the pack. I'll keep them safe. No matter what, I'll keep Katie safe.

  The thought reminds me...

  I miss Katie. I need to go see her.

  I sprint upstairs, tongue dangling out of the side of my mouth as I run. I dash toward her room and leap onto the bed, surrounded by the smell of cornflowers and oranges, before soaking her face in kisses.

  She wakes up with a happy squeal, blue eyes opening. "Ewww, Buck, gross! Stop it!”

  She says this every morning. Unlike most of the other noises humans make, I know exactly what these words mean.

  Katie wants more kisses.

  I’m happy to oblige.

  Chapter 2

  Time passes slowly as the humans do human things around the house before coming down to the kitchen to eat. Katie bounces down the stairs with her favorite plushie—a rabbit called Mr. Flopsy—in her arms.

  I gaze at her expectantly, psychically projecting my hunger toward her. As usual, she slips me a few scraps of bacon beneath the table. I lick my chops and gobble the scraps out of her hands, licking her greasy fingers under the table as the glorious taste melts over my tongue.

  She giggles, and I lie down, content, and slowly doze off with my head on my paws.

  ***

  All of a sudden, the humans are moving.

  "Are you excited to stay at your grandparents', Katie?” the big humans ask as they walk toward the door.

  Katie nods as she puts on her shoes, and my tail helicopters in excitement. I know what putting on shoes means! It means we're going for a walk.

  The pack laughs at my antics as I romp around their legs.

  "Maybe later, Buck, maybe later. Good boy. Good boy!” the smaller of the big humans—Sarah—praises me, long, blond hair framing blue eyes that are crinkled at the corners, and her radiant smile tells me I’ve done well.

  I sit by the door, tail wagging, basking in their praise.

  The humans slip on their shoes and pick up the two bags.

  "Are you ready, Katie? Okay. Let's go,” Sarah says.

  The door opens, a magical portal to the outside world full of incredible sounds and scents waiting to be smelled. Maybe I'll even mark the tree that bitch Karryn marked two days ago.

  However, no sooner do I attempt to step outside than a leg blocks my progress and the three humans, my pack, brush past me, hurrying toward the car without me.

  They're going without me. I give a small whine.

  The shorter of the big humans turns back to me. "Stay, stay, Buck, good boy. We'll be back soon.”

  The praise gives me confidence. Maybe they're not leaving after all.

  My tail wags with feverish hope as the shorter of the big humans places the bag she was carrying by the car and walks toward me. I jump to my feet, my tail moving so fast it might catch on fire. The human has come to take me with her.

  "Good boy,” Sarah says and closes the door in my face.

  I lie down by the door, whimpering as I listen, with rapidly fading hope, to the voices outside. Then, through the crack in the door that always lets in a cool draft when it’s hot, I hear Katie say my name.

  My hero. My human's coming back for me. I hear footsteps.

  The door opens, and Katie gives me a big, warm hug, blond curls bouncing. My savior. She's convinced the pack to not abandon me. I demonstrate my gratitude by planting several sloppy kisses all over her face, eliciting her usual response.

  Then she's gone, the door closing once again in my face.

  I hear the familiar sound of the car starting—with me not inside it. It rolls onto the road with a slight bump, and the engine revs. And slowly, tormentingly, the sound of the pack's car fades into the distance.

  It's too much to take.

  I howl at the closed door, begging them not to leave me behind. But I don't think they can hear me; they're too far gone.

  The pack's abandoned me.

  I feel a slight prickling behind my ears. But I ignore it. This situation is too serious for idle scratching with my hind paws.

  With nothing else to do but wait, I press my nose to the crack beneath the door, trying to make out the freshest patch of their scent trail, taking comfort in the faint whiff of cornflower and orange.

  But as I sniff it, my nose pressed close against the wood, the smell only gets fainter and fainter.

  For who knows how long, I wait.

  ***

  All of a sudden, I'm hauled out of my personal pit of loneliness and despair as the prickling returns in force.

  It's a foreign feeling. But I instantly recognize it for what it is—danger.

  Not just for me, but for Katie, my human.

  I stand and scratch at the door, whining. Katie's in danger. I dash around the house, looking for a way outside, but the house is sealed up and the prickling is intensifying. Now it's an invasive ache that makes my hackles rise and my tail drop, my teeth baring in an involuntary growl. Danger. Enemy.

  Katie's in danger, my pack's in danger, and my pack is far away.

  I growl again and snap at the air, trying to tear the horrible sensation from the world with teeth, but I find nothing. The feeling continues. Suddenly, it's as if I'm choking. I can't breathe.

  I roll on the floor, trying to scratch away the feeling on the doormat. Body racked with unbearable pain, the doormat seems smaller than I remember, barely enough to scrape away the unbearable itch. The choking feeling around my neck tightens before, with a sudden snap, the feeling stops.

  A screen flashes in front of my eyes, conveying to me, with sight and scent and sound, a simple message.

  Would you like to form a bond with Katie? Y/N

  For the first time in my life, I truly understand something that's not another dog—or Katie asking for kisses. In an instant, I make my choice.

  Yes.

  And just like that, another series of screens flashes before my eyes.

  Through Katie’s actions, you have gained a class.

  Basic Class: Beast Bonded

  A Beast Tamer forms a lifelong bond with their animals. For a Beast Bonded, that bond lasts through death. Rather than allowing for the taming of multiple animals, a Beast Bonded may only bond with a single animal.

  Class Abilities: +1 per Level in Strength and Constitution. +2 per Level in Perception. Additional 2 Free Attributes per Level.

  Class Skills unlocked.

  1 Class Skill available to be distributed. Would you like to do so?

  I understand the meaning of the screens' contents. But Katie is still in danger.

  I try to walk, but the screens remain in front of my eyes and I slam headfirst into a wall. Annoyed and confused, I brush away the screens with a paw, and surprisingly, they disappear.

  I see the broken drywall in front of me. Oh dear. I think I did a bad thing.

  The part of the wall that I impacted is cracked in places. The smell of dust and powdered plaster puffs out around me. But what surprises me is the height at which the fractures in the wall are placed. Everything seems smaller now. And it takes me a moment to realize that I am what has grown.

  I turn around and see a thin strip of leather lying by the doormat. My collar! Except it's not on my neck anymore. One side of it has snapped.

  Absently, I scratch my neck, remembering the choking sensation that had overcome me. If the collar hadn't broken, I might have choked as my neck grew too big for it.

  I'm tired, and my neck is still in pain, but Katie is in danger.

  So, without much thought as to how not a good boy I am being, I seize the broken collar in my enlarged jaws and jump through the nearest window.

  The brea
king glass reminds me of lots of shouting—like the first time I broke the Glass Door of Doom. Glinting shards cut into my belly and the pads of my paws, but the pain fades quickly and my wounds with it.

  Anyway, there’s no time to dwell on pain. I have to find my pack. They are in danger. I know it. I can smell it in the air.

  I sniff where the car was, committing the scent of the tires and everything they touched to memory. Particularly the roadkill from two days ago. A decaying frog, I think—strong, earthy, and bursting with the sickly sweet twist of rot.

  Somewhere in the back of my mind, I hear the frantic shouts and screams of people inside their houses or on adjacent streets, as well as the distinct lack of running engines. But the noises don't matter to me. Only one thing holds any importance at the moment, and that is finding my pack.

  I set off down the road, pursuing the trail of the frog on the car’s wheels. With my nose close to the ground, I run as if my life, and my pack's lives, depends on it.

  Small critters, now massively enlarged, roam around the town as the first threads of smoke weave through the sky.

  The smoking shells of cars, the remnants of sudden and violent accidents, snarl up the road, leaving behind the acrid smell of burnt rubber, hot metal, and leaking petrol. The surrounding screams get louder and more frequent as monsters rampage through doors and windows. Shatters are followed by dull thuds and thumps—and all too often, no more screaming.

  Hearing so many humans in distress makes me stop, but then I remember my goal.

  I need to find my pack, and these humans are not my pack.

  So, I keep on running, sprinting faster when several monsters turn their heads toward me and attempt to run me down. But I am too fast for them. I leave them all in my dust.

  As I leave town, the density of screams and smoke and accidents lessens. I follow the road up a gentle incline into a quiet pine forest, the air thick with the scent of fallen needles and sweet, sticky resin. Several trees rustle as I pass, but I pay them no heed except to give them a wider berth as I continue chasing my pack.

  I dash past a group of humans huddled together, shaking as they see me. I can smell their fear. I suspect it might be due to my increased size.

  One of them raises a long metal tube toward me. A thunderclap rings out, and I feel as if I have been punched in the hindquarters. I stumble, not quite realizing what's happened, even as the first hints of pain spread like sharp spiderwebs.

  However, a singular purpose consumes me. I power forward, and the man with the loud metal tube lowers it as he realizes that I'm not a monster intent on ripping him to shreds. Several of the women in the group shout at him, but I don't understand what they're saying. I don't care either.

  I just want to find my humans.

  The pain in my hindquarters has progressed into a frothing agony. I can’t run as fast, but the strength of the scent I am following spurs me on. I follow the trail, climbing ever upward toward the mountains in the distance, the air becoming increasingly unpolluted as I pull away from the town.

  The pain fades quickly, and my speed returns to normal; a slug of metal—smelling of brass, blood, and smoke—drops from my side. I continue for interminable hours until fatigue overwhelms me.

  My humans are close now. The smell of rot from the roadkill that coats the tires is stronger. But my muscles ache, and I don't think I can run any farther.

  I'm tired and hungry and alone. And my pack isn't here to make any of the aches go away.

  Whimpering, I curl up beneath a bush and lick my wounds.

  Chapter 3

  When I wake, the world is crisp and clean and the air is clear. It must have rained during the night.

  The pain of overexertion has passed, but I give my hindquarters an examinatory lick to make sure I'm okay. My skin is unmarked, but a slight patch of hair on my flank is shorter than before.

  I give a noisy yawn, then pause as a familiar scent wafts toward my nostrils. A new one, given the cleansing effect of the rain that washed away scents and tracks. Even in my dozy state, the scent sends a shiver of excitement down my spine, vibrating through my tail.

  I poke my head out of the bushes. Nothing.

  Droplets of water and dew cover leaf and grass alike, making the forest and road smell muted and muffled, emphasizing the familiar scent of the Temptation.

  Slowly, making as little sound as possible, I slink out of the bush, following my nose toward the scent.

  I hear a large rustle in the bushes before me. A squeak. Taunting me, daring me to come chase it as it flees into a tree, as it has so many times.

  But not this day. Today, victory will be mine. A screen flashes in front of me. Something about stealth. I bat it away. Now's not the time.

  Throwing caution to the wind, I charge through the bushes, eager to finally seize my prey. Foliage explodes around me as I accelerate, leaping toward my quarry.

  And then I see it. Hulking and huge.

  I try to halt my charge, try to skid to a stop, but I'm too late. The ground beneath me is slick with dew, and I slide straight into the side of Temptationzilla.

  I bounce off its side and fall to the ground. Horror of horrors, the giant squirrel's nose twitches. Its head turns toward me, bushy gray tail twitching like a spaniel struck by lightning.

  Not prey! Not prey!

  With one paw, it swipes at me, but at the last moment, I roll to the side, evading its questing claws. Yelping in surprise, I scramble away, but the monster leaps over me, heading off my escape.

  No, definitely not prey.

  It takes another swipe at me, and I dodge again, backing away slowly. Even with my growth, the squirrel is larger than me, but I can't run. I growl at it menacingly, trying to exude a confidence I don't feel. I eye the monster, trying to get a sense of what it'll do next.

  Then another ground squirrel, one of the smaller kinds, skitters up a nearby trunk. Out of habit, I stare at it.

  As I'm distracted by the big squirrel’s buddy, the squirrel's swipe strikes me on the side and sends me careening into a tree, whimpering and yelping in pain.

  I heave myself to my feet. Fine. If this is how you want to do it, have it your way. I charge the oversized squirrel, ducking beneath its hasty counterattack.

  Latching onto its back foot, I bite down hard. I maul its leg, feeling my teeth scrape against bone as I shake my head from side to side, trying to rip and tear tendons and flesh as quickly and as savagely as possible. The squirrel whirls, slamming a lumbering paw into my torso, trying to dislodge me.

  All four of my feet leave the ground, but my jaws are firmly attached to the squirrel. As it takes me for a ride, I hold on for dear life, and its life trickles away between my teeth.

  The squirrel spins me straight into a tree.

  I’m winded by the impact, and my grip loosens. I collapse in an aching heap. The squirrel looms over me as my ribs shift, sending shooting pain through me with each breath.

  Vengefully, its flat teeth clamp down around my forepaw, and it shakes me with vicious jerks of its head. Between the haze of agony as my life bleeds away and my ribs rattle within me, I manage to grasp its neck between my jaws.

  The dumb monster continues to shake me, both of us ignoring the pain as we maintain our death grips on each other.

  My grip is deadlier.

  It gives my leg a sadistic jerk, almost tearing it off, but my jaws are still clamped around its throat, and the squirrel pulls hard. It aids in ripping out a bloody chunk of its own neck, its heart pumping a rhythmic pulse of arterial spray onto the ground.

  Several notifications pop up in front of me, but I brush them aside. Embracing my instincts, I wolf down the gobbet of warm, fur-covered flesh, then clamp my teeth onto the wound once more. Hot blood gushes around my teeth, some pouring into the back of my throat.

  The monster weakens, no longer tossing around my abused body, and we both impact the earth hard.

  I lie there for what seems like hours, unable to move, unable
to pry its jaws from my paw in my current pitiful state. Slowly, however, the aches in my ribs and legs abate, and I notice the screen that pops up in front of me.

  Level Up! *2

  You have reached Level 3 as a Beast Bonded. Stat Points automatically distributed. You have 4 Free Attributes to distribute.

  1 Class Skill available to be distributed. Would you like to do so?

  From the sense the message gave me, this is a good thing. I just don’t know how to actually allocate my free attribute points.

  As if responding to my thought, a new screen appears in front of me. Intelligible in a somewhat surreal way, since I had no real grasp of numbers prior to this, it all makes sense. Maybe it’s the bond with Katie, or something else, but I find myself slowly coming to grips with counting and numeracy, abstract concepts though they are.

  Status Screen

  Name

  Buck

  Class

  Beast Bonded

  Race

  Canine (Scotch Collie – Male)

  Level

  3

  Titles

  None

  Health

  100

  Stamina

  100

  Mana

  50

  Status

  Normal

  Attributes

  Strength

  13

  Agility

  16

  Constitution

  10

  Perception

  26

  Intelligence

  5

  Willpower

  5

  Charisma

  17

  Luck

  11

  Skills

  Tracking

  4

  Athletics

  2

  Natural Weapons

  2