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by R K Billiau

  Congratulations! You have increased your Physique attribute!

  Damn, they caught up. My health was dropping at a steady rate, but that wasn’t what concerned me so much. Not being able to recover Stamina was much scarier. It meant I would die a slow death, if the next nest didn’t free me of my followers. My health bar was being taken away slowly but surely as they continued to hit me.

  I was laser focused on following Madison, so much so that I barely registered the nice shape of her behind. Okay, I did register it, I’m not dead (or am I? This whole ‘uploaded consciousness’ confused me) but still I wasn’t trying to notice it. A sharp, gurgling squeak behind me made me turn my head just in time to get a zombie finger in the mouth. This negated any nice thoughts about Madison as I almost threw up. I chomped down, biting through the digit and removing it from my attacker’s hand, which only freed it up to poke me in the eye.

  Critical hit! You have been struck by a zombie for 27 bludgeoning damage!

  Squinting past the zombie that had hit me, I saw to my horror that of the three zombies that got caught up in the last nest, only two had stayed to feast on the rabbits. The other had followed us again, a flopping, bloody rabbit dangling from its fetid mouth. Balls. “I see it!” Madison shouted. “I’m almost there!” I grinned, if she could make it, I knew what to do.

  My health was below50% now, but the nest was so close. I could make it and save Madison. As I watched her get to the nest zone, I pinged the cave on the map for her. “Keep going, we’re close to the cave, we can make it! We’ve got this!” I’m not sure if I distracted her, with the ping or if the universe was punishing me for thinking we had it in the bag, but she tripped and fell to the ground a mere foot from the rabbit nest. “Noooo!” I shouted as I tried, and failed, to stop myself from running into her, and tumbling to the ground myself.

  If zombies could shout for joy, these would have. They leapt onto us like land piranha, their jaws snapping and biting. Madison was first, the ripping of her flesh forcing a panicked scream from her lungs. She looked into my eyes and the agony I witnessed was more painful than the rotten teeth shredding my skin.

  Congratulations! You have increased your Empathy attribute!

  It ignited something in me and I threw the zombie off, stood up and kicked the one latched onto her in the head as hard as I could, hoping to dislodge it. I got more than I bargained for though as the damn thing grabbed my foot and chomped down on my calf like it was an ear of corn. This time I was the one screaming, as my Pain debuff rocketed from green, to yellow, to orange while the thing kept biting and ripping chunks out of me.

  Congratulations! You have increased your Toughness skill!

  Keeping my wits about me, I hopped on one leg, pulling the zombie with me. Madison had gone quiet now, and I only hoped she was still alive. I pulled the zombie into the rabbit nest threat zone and crashed to the ground as the rabbits pounced on it. The zombie dropped my leg to bat at the offending creatures, and I crawled my way over to Madison. My health was dangerously low, and I had no Stamina to speak of, not even enough for an attack. I didn’t know what to do, but I had to do something.

  I stood, my legs shaking, my feet felt cemented to the ground, my lungs sucking hard at the air, and pushed myself beyond the level of tolerance. I wound up for another kick to the zombie attacking Madison.

  Sucker Punch! Your attack catches the opponent off guard!

  Congratulations! You have learned the Stamina Limit Break skill!

  Stamina Limit Break - You have learned how to push yourself beyond the boundaries of your Stamina! You can take actions that require Stamina when you have none, accruing negative Stamina. When you stop to rest, you will fall unconscious until you recover your Stamina to its maximum. You will then suffer from ‘Stamina Sickness’ for an amount of time equal to double your negative Stamina accrued, in minutes.

  Stamina Sickness: - When under the effects of Stamina Sickness, all actions that consume Stamina cost twice as much, and Stamina regeneration is halved.

  I felt worlds lighter, as if the physical weight of Stamina restrictions had been lifted from my shoulders. There was a red pictogram of a man running in my debuff zone with a negative number that increased as I moved. So be it, I was going to save Madison.

  There was only one zombie here, I could do this. I had to move before the other one was done with the rabbits. And before the ones from the previous nest made it over here. I shoved the zombie, not trying to do any damage, just trying to get it away from the much-too-still girl. I moved around yelling at it, taunting the thing and shoving it again. When I felt it was far enough away from Madison, I engaged it.

  Without any real combat skills, I was woefully inadequate. I took more damage, my health dropping ever lower as I spied the other zombie finishing up what can only be describe as the gleeful destruction of the precious little bunnies that had been attacking it. My chances of surviving, let alone saving Madison, were plummeting fast. I raised my fists, ready to go down fighting, when I heard a rage filled bleat from behind me. I turned to see what the noise came from.

  A few yards away was a huge deer buck, with the most impressive set of antlers I had ever seen. I know they were impressive because I could barely duck under the sharp protuberances in time to not get skewered as the massive beast slammed them into the zombies behind me. This thing must have been as big as a car, well, a small car. The buck picked up the two zombies and carried them on its antlers, rocking its head in a violent motion as it went. The zombies for their part didn’t seem to notice the damage they were taking and kept futility swiping their hands at the bucks’ head.

  Without stopping to rest, I ran over and picked up Madison, throwing her over my shoulder in a fireman’s carry, and turned my back on the insane scene, starting towards the cave. I felt like I was stressing out every muscle and nerve in my body, working past exhaustion like this. Every step was agony, though it didn’t seem to increase my Pain debuff. I noticed movement and turned to see the final zombie, rabbit still dangling from its mouth, chasing after us. It was a good bit away still, but I was going slow while carrying Madison.

  Congratulations! You have increased your Physique attribute!

  Congratulations! You have increased your Strength attribute!

  I placed my fingers on her neck to get an idea of her pulse and gave her as much of a once over as I could while carrying the unconscious woman. I noticed her face, while in this inert state, had natural lines on it like she had been through tremendous pain, but hid it behind her gregarious smile. Her name popped up in my party screen, along with Kai’s, and their health bars. Madison’s health bar was flashing red, and she had the same Stamina Sickness icon that I had. She must have broken through the Stamina barrier while trying to fight off the zombies, then panicked and fainted.

  The zombie behind me was gaining ground, but I could see the tribe cave getting closer. There were two Hunters out front, guarding the entrance. I could make it. I had to make it. I shouted and screamed and got the attention of the guards who ran out to us with their spears. They barred the way for the zombie behind me, drawing its attention, and I made my way to the entrance. I set down Madison’s unconscious body then sat next to her. I exhaled, and closed my eyes, letting the blackness take me.

  Chapter 18

  I woke up with a start; the world cascading around me in a crash of lights and sounds. Oh, and smells. Damn this cave stank. We had to get everyone attuned just to make it so they could bathe. A hand pressed against my forehead and I turned to see who was touching me, but I was disappointed that it was not Madison. It was the Shaman that had lead Cora off that first day... what was her name? Did I ever know her name? My thoughts were scattered. “It’s okay Hudson, you’re back with the tribe, you made it.”

  Sarah, wasn’t it? “Uh... thanks... Sarah?” The woman smiled at me, and I felt a little better. One nice thing about being murdered and uploaded into a new world seemed to be that everyone was young, healthy, and uh.
.. attractive, especially in the Shaman outfit that left little to the imagination. Bone necklaces and scraps of fur with a strange belt filled to bursting over a fur skirt. Sarah was tall with long black hair and occidental brown eyes. Quite beautiful.

  She smirked when she noticed me checking her out and I could feel the blood rush to my face. Why was I so scatterbrained? Oh, right. I looked at my debuffs and saw more than I had expected. There was the Stamina Sickness, but there was also another one... Disorientation... Ah-ha. That must be the problem.

  Disorientation -- Being shoved into a state of being that is radically different. -50% Conscious +25% Emotion.

  The Disorientation debuff didn’t last much longer, less than a minute remained, but the Stamina Sickness debuff... that was a doozy. It had four hours left on the clock. Four hours of decreased Stamina regeneration and increased Stamina usage. I could see why Stamina Sickness was not something I wanted to get often. Sarah didn’t seem to mind my ogling and pressed her fingers to a spot on my neck, then above my heart. “You’re going to be fine. I have yet to see what kind of disease Stamina Sickness is, but it looks like it will wear off in time. Try and rest for now.”

  “It’s not a disease,” I croaked; my throat dry. “It’s a debuff from continuing to take actions after exhaustion...”

  “Well now, you are full of surprises Hudson,” another voice said. Craning my neck to see the newcomer I smiled as the Chief came into view. “First you figure out Attunements, and now you figure out that exhaustion doesn’t force you to stop. It’s a good thing you spawned near us that first time!”

  I chuckled. “Ah, you would have found all this stuff out if you weren’t always dying.”

  Sarah gave me her hand and helped me to a standing position. “Well, Hudson, I for one am grateful. If we can keep improving, I won’t have to spend so much time keeping people alive.”

  “How were you able to tell I had Stamina Sickness, anyway?” I asked “Was it something Shaman-y? I don’t remember seeing a skill like that in the class selection room.”

  “No, I haven’t had a chance to do much with my Shaman skills yet, something I hope will change soon. I was a Triage Nurse on Earth and got the carryover skill, Triage. It lets me assess people’s conditions. I can tell what they are being affected by, and even how long debuffs will last.”

  “Well that’s handy,” I said.

  “Sure is. There is a lot more I could do with it, but it requires components I don’t have. Medicines, bandages, and what not. I don’t even know how to get some of it.” She frowned. “It’s weird having abilities that require things that don’t seem to exist in this primitive place.”

  “No kidding,” I said. “When I was in class selection, I saw a class with a musket. Gunpowder must be a thing eventually.”

  Chief Arnold rested his hand on my shoulder. “Thank you, Sarah, for your help, I’ll get him fed and we will talk.” It was a dismissal if I had ever heard one, but it was polite enough at least. Sarah nodded, hesitated as if she wanted to say something else, then walked off to tend to one of the other wounded. The Chief led me towards the center of the cave where a few of the Gatherers were tending the massive fire, roasting meat.

  “Let me guess, you got a social skill as your carryover?” I asked him, impressed by his easy commanding ability.

  “Administrator actually. I was a mayor of a not-too-small town for several years before uploading. That skill has been helpful with keeping things moving around here.”

  I looked around, trying to find Madison. “The girl that came with me, where is she?”

  “Madison? She’s out front with the next group of Hunters, teaching them how to party up. Who would have known using the Party system required a skill? What a strange game world.”

  “Yeah, that was a new one for me, too. Did she tell you about what happened to us? Has Kai or Cora or Austin made it back?”

  “Cora returned, but neither men have come back yet. Kai was taken down by zombies, so I don’t know if they are both trapped in that death trap she told me about or what, but it’s a worrying situation. Tim has done a number on us it seems.”

  “About that,” I said. “What happened? Cora didn’t say anything, but when we brought him up, it seemed like there was more to the story. She said I needed to talk to you about it, that it wasn’t her place to say.”

  The Chief scowled, his youthful face betraying a hidden maturity he must have had before coming here. “Yes, well. I don’t know why she told you that. I suspect she was just embarrassed. Regardless.... what happened with Tim was not a good situation, for any involved. When I completed the tutorial, I arrived to utter chaos. There were already about ten of us out of the tutorial, I guess they skipped right past it, but they were not having an easy time. They had found each other and were huddled around the spawn point I came out of, as the spawn points were all free of animals.”

  “I noticed that, it seemed planned that way,” I said, urging him to continue.

  “Yes well, you think it is bad now, it was pure misery then. No protection from the elements, animals killing us everywhere, hunger, and then to top it off every time someone died, they became a zombie and tried to kill us. We learned early that the zombies are stupid so when we saw one someone could lead it off and get it trapped somehow; a ravine, a ditch whatever, but they always came back. Like something drew them to the spawn points.”

  Understanding dawned on me now “That’s why Madison and I saw the horde of zombies coming back to the spawn point when we were trying to get out.” That reminded me of all the loot I had Gathered. I would drop it off, but I wanted to hear the rest of this.

  Chief Arnold continued. “If the zombies weren’t trapped well, they made their way back to us. For those that hadn’t played a lot of games, it was frightening. Cora was one of those.”

  “Yeah, she has made that known, quite loudly, a few times.”

  Arnold’s cheeks reddened. “I know she comes off a little rough, but she has the best intentions.” I stayed silent, looking at the man. He cleared his throat. “Anyway, at the time Cora and Tim had drawn close, at least until the truth was discovered. When I arrived on the scene, I was given the option to form a tribe which gave us enough of a buff to be able to explore. It was still terrible, but at least then we had food. If we went out as a large group, we could scavenge up just enough to avoid the starving debuff, but we always took injuries. People were still coming out of the spawn points so we could offset the injuries with fresh people, but morale was at a terrible low.”

  “I think the whole attunement thing was a crap decision by the devs,” I said. I wondered what they had been thinking. It was certainly not a good way to start a game, let alone a world they forced you to live in.

  “It got worse,” the Chief continued. On one outing, a handful of zombies found us. They killed everyone except for Cora, Tim and me, and were well on their way to do so, until Tim stopped them. As they were getting ready to attack Cora, he yelled at them to stop, and they just... did.

  “That sounds like it would be a good thing, not bad.”

  “I thought so too, at first. but it turned out that Tim was not one to be trusted. Once he found out he could command the zombies, he wanted more of them. He proposed building an army of zombies by letting them kill us over and over. None of us were keen on the idea. Cora was not excluded from that, and well... you know her, she can be.... vocal sometimes.”

  “Yes, this I know,” I said, with no hint of sarcasm. It was hard to do that.

  Arnold paused, eyeballing me. “Anyway, Tim didn’t want to take no for an answer, he kept going on about how he had almost made it pro as a gamer and that this was a “winning strategy” and ended up setting the zombies on us. That was not pleasant.”

  “I agree.” I shuddered at the memory of watching someone being eaten by the zombies. “How could he control them? I don’t get that, nobody else seems to be able to do anything remotely close to that.”

  “He sai
d he was a mortician on Earth, he must have had a carryover skill that dealt with the dead. Be that as it may, at first, he couldn’t command them to do much more than ‘stop’ or ‘go’. The zombies also overlooked him, so he was safe from being killed. When Cora and I spawned, we were pretty upset.

  “I bet ‘pretty upset’ with Cora is loud,” I said, unable to restrain myself.

  The Chief looked at me, a sternness in his face I hadn’t seen before. “Just so you know, Cora and I are an item, so while I appreciate your help to our tribe, I won’t put up with insulting her.” This shocked me as I had no idea, but then again, I had not been with the tribe all that long.

  “I’m sorry,” I apologized. “I didn’t know. I sometimes have a problem with my filter, and, well, she did not enjoy our last outing.”

  “It’s fine,” Arnold said. “I get it. I’m just letting you know. I understand her difficulties, but she has strengths you might not have seen yet.” He continued his tale. “After our murder Tim came back, having left his undead out of the spawn zone. Cora tried to talk some sense into him, but he wasn’t hearing it. He demanded to be put in charge because he felt he could ‘optimize our game play and leveling strategies’.”

  That sounded like good game play advice, but I kept my mouth shut. It did involve people being killed over and over after all, but I thought back to my repeated deaths on the tutorial island and how using death as a tool got me my Advanced class.

  “He said we would understand if we let him lead and he could show us. After repeatedly being told ‘no’, he didn’t ask again. Instead, he sent his zombies into the lot of us. There were 18 of us by that point, and he ended up killing more than half with the rest running away.”

  “Damn, he was serious!” I said. “I can see why you guys stopped liking him.”

  “That wasn’t the only reason, he was also kind of… odd. He didn’t connect with anyone besides Cora. Which is one reason he hunts us out there. During all the chaos, he captured Cora, and kept her away for a few days.”