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  “Really? Wow, I guess she has had a bad time of it here. Did he... do anything...” I didn’t know how to talk about this subject and was trying hard to keep my filter up.

  “No, she escaped a couple days later and made her way back to us. He didn’t do anything to her, I guess he wanted to show her how he could be helpful with his zombies. He wanted to impress on her how it was a ‘game play experience that could change everything’. She wasn’t interested.”

  “She doesn’t take too well to the ‘gaming’ aspects of this world, I’ve noticed.,” I said. “But she learned to use her Camouflage when she was out with us, so maybe she’s getting it.” I wanted to tell him about our experience out in the spawn zone, but needed him to finish telling me about Tim. “What happened after Cora came back?”

  “Nothing for a few days. We were all still scattered and barely scraping by. We got everyone back together, only to have Tim attack again. This time, Cora somehow talked him into the open by himself, and we captured him, and got him away from his zombies. I guess he cared for Cora a little more than he had thought, and we used that to our advantage.”

  “Cold, but necessary I guess.”

  “We thought so. The only problem was... we had nothing like a jail you know? He kept trying to break free and kill one of us so he could have a zombie to control. That’s when Cora suggested we spawn camp him. If he was at the weakened state of re-spawn, he wouldn’t be much of a threat. It.... wasn’t the kindest solution.... we found this cave not much longer after that and migrated everyone here during one of his re-spawns.” Arnold looked sheepish telling this part of the story.

  “Wait... so to stop him from killing you, you killed him over and over, then ditched him in the wilds?”

  “Well, when you put it like that, it sounds much worse. We just had no idea what to do. We were, we are still scraping by just to survive. We couldn’t handle a villain thrown in the mix.” The Chief was red in the face now, though from embarrassment or anger or both, I couldn’t tell.

  I thought about this for some time, staying silent. It was a bad situation, from every angle. One thing struck me as odd though. “Wait, what about the zombies that would rise from Tim’s corpse?”

  “Oh, that was another odd thing. Tim’s corpse didn’t make zombies. It’s probably something to do with his carryover skill.”

  Now that I had the full story, it seemed best to sit on the information and let it percolate. This Tim guy wasn’t the paragon of evil they had made me believe he was at the beginning. Misguided and a bit of a jerk maybe, but there was more to it. I decided it was time to change subjects and emptied my inventory of the items I had gotten from Tim’s treasure trove. After I dropped the bison skins, the Chief got a huge smile.

  “You have been such a huge boon to us, I wish we could reward you better! These will help people get past the bad sleep buff! Before you give them over though, pick them back up. I can at least give you a little reward.

  You have been offered a quest!

  Quest - Raise Tribal Morale: Raise the morale of the tribe by bringing comfort items to help the members have a more comfortable life. Reward: 5 XP per bison skin.

  “My skill leveled high enough that I can have another quest going!” The Chief was beaming at the news.

  “That is a great quest! I’m surprised you can make them so generous,” I said, as I handed him the skins, one by one. As I gave him the last one, I exploded into a halo of light as I leveled up. “Yes!”

  Congratulations! You have gained a level!

  I was about to assign my skill points when a scream from outside the cave pulled me from my thoughts. I locked confused eyes with the Chief then he turned and ran.

  Chapter 19

  I followed him out of the cave, blinking my eyes at the bright sunlight. There was a group of four Hunters plus Madison and the Chief, surrounding a prone figure on the ground. It didn’t take much to recognize the woman. Cora laid there, moaning and writhing, in obvious pain. She was bloody and covered in abrasions, cradling her left hand. When I could see better, I could tell that one of her fingers was missing. And it was not a clean cut.

  The Chief squatted by Cora’s head, petting her hair, a grimace taking over his face. His mouth was moving but I couldn’t decipher what he was saying. His face was scrunched up in pain almost more than hers.

  “Sarah!” I yelled as loud as I could, directing my voice back towards the cave. “Sarah, someone is hurt!”

  Madison acknowledged me with a brief, but kind, smile and I was stunned. There was just something about her... but I pushed that aside to watch as the System Cleric went into work mode, her hands moving in the familiar gestures for her Boost skill. “Cora, I’m Boosting you, when you see the box, apply it to Physique to help your health regeneration.”

  Sarah came out of the cave, squeaked a high-pitched “Oh goodness!” and ran to Cora’s aid. Madison’s face was lined with narrow focus, and I could see the worry in her eyes. “Sarah, I’m going to use my Boost skill on you- if you want to increase your Triage skill, that will help. Sarah nodded silently and continued checking out Cora, who by the look on her face, was getting some relief.

  Kneeling at Cora’s side, Sarah finished her assessment. “Her Pain debuff is sky high, it’s a wonder she can even function at all. She also has Stamina Sickness and looks like she has sustained two new wounds. The wound on her hand says it is permanent without ‘adequate restorative magic or technology.’” She raised her voice and spoke in a calming tone. “I’m sorry Cora, I can’t do anything for your finger, but we can get you in and resting at least.” She gently rubbed Cora’s shoulder and moved away. “Damn I wish we had real medical abilities. This is a game, right? Where is all the magic and healing potions and stuff!?”

  “I can help with the other wound,” Madison said, placing her hand on Cora. She offered the injured woman a weak smile. “We have to stop meeting like this.” Madison closed her eyes and the yellow healing light I had witnessed once before emanated from her, and again she began to look pale and weak as she healed Cora. “There. That’s all I can do; I hope it helps. I wish I could do more; I wish I could help your hand…”

  Cora croaked and we all leaned in to hear. Her voice sounded hoarse, like she had been screaming for hours. “Tim... Tim is coming...” Then she passed out.

  “Everyone back in the cave!” the Chief shouted, “we’ve got incoming!” We followed his command, carrying Cora, and the Chief rallied the Hunters to form a guard at the entrance. “If we can hold them here at this choke point, we might get out of this.” He looked to Madison. “Can you Boost Cora’s Stamina regen? We could use her awake, it would be nice to know what she knows.”

  Madison shook her head. “My Boost doesn’t work that way. It requires whoever I cast it on to pick what’s Boosted.” She and the Chief walked over to the prone woman. Chief Arnold knelt by her, caressing her and Cora stirred. A brief time later her eyes fluttered open, a grimace of pain on her face. Arnold knelt by her, cradling her head in his lap, helping her sit up.

  “Cora,” he said, “it’s going to be okay. What did you mean Tim was coming? How do you know?” He rubbed her back familiarly, obvious affection showing. She accepted the comfort, pressing her head into him.

  “He attacked us on the plains as we were hunting bison. We had lured one off, and close to taking it down, when the damn thing suddenly ran off blasting right past us. We turned and found out why. There was a horde of zombies on the plains behind us. We must have missed them in our focus on the bison, there were so many I couldn’t even count them. Tim was there, screaming. I think he may have lost it. He kept screaming that we did something, that the zombies weren’t being made every time, or there weren’t enough. I... I don’t know what he was talking about, but he attacked us, half of his zombies killing the bison, and the other half he sent after us.” Tears were streaming down her face, and I really felt for the poor lady. She had not had an easy time of it and maybe I had been too har
sh with her.

  “I tried to help, to... fight... but there were so many. They bit me on the hand, and I panicked and just ran... I used Stealth and Camouflage to get away, but it wore off and he spotted me. I think he followed me here. He was so angry, more than I’ve ever seen before.” She broke down crying, burying her face into Arnold’s chest.

  The look on the Chief’s face was almost terrifying. Anger, hurt, maybe determination. He looked at Madison. “How does your Boost work? Can you Boost anything?”

  “Well, I don’t pick, I cast it on you, and you get to pick what you want to Boost. Do you want me to Boost you?”

  Arnold nodded “I would like to Boost my Tribal Leader skill, it’s close to leveling and every bit will help with our Tribal buff.”

  Madison once again made her Boost hand gestures and my Tribal buff went up by 10%. That was a fantastic use of her Boost skill! I thought it was helpful, but the look on Arnold’s face was little more than a frown. “What’s the problem?” I asked.

  “Her skill Boosted me past a milestone which let me see what the milestone was, but I can’t access it.”

  “Oh!” Madison said. “Yes, my Boost can take your skills past milestones, but they don’t count as having the skill high enough for the milestone bonus. Sorry, I hope you weren’t counting on that!”

  “No, I hoped it would work, but didn’t expect it to. That’s not what has me annoyed though. My milestone ability is the ability to make a clan totem... which acts as a bind point.... a spawn point for the tribe.”

  Cora perked up at this, her face still full of pain and anguish. “Really? You mean, we won’t spawn out in the wilderness anymore? So... Tim’s death traps... won’t work?”

  “That’s great!” Madison cheered. “That means he won’t be able to make his army!”

  “There’s a problem though,” the Chief said. “All the members of the tribe have to be present, and they all have to be attuned.”

  That was some tough news. We were already working on attunement, but getting everyone present? That would mean...” We need to rescue the tribe members that Tim already has,” I said.

  “What if you kick them out instead?” Cora asked.

  “If we do that, they have to be present to re-join so we are dooming them to Tim’s hands,” Arnold said. “What do you think Tim meant when he said zombies weren’t being made every time?”

  I shrugged. “They come from player corpses, right? Maybe his death traps weren’t working, maybe there is a limit to how many zombies someone can make from their corpse.”

  “Jake died earlier,” Arnold said, “but his corpse never turned into a zombie. I know he had only died one other time before that. So that couldn’t be it. I wonder…”

  “Attunement!” Madison shouted “It has to be attunement! Just like with the animals, I bet if a player is attuned, they don’t create a zombie when they die!”

  I rolled my eyes and sighed audibly. Why hadn’t I thought of that? “That sounds about right with everything that’s going on with this game.” Cora tensed when I said that word, and I tried to change the subject. “So, we need to level up your leadership, rescue the other tribe members, and get everyone attuned. Sound about right?”

  “No small task,” Arnold said, “but maybe I can create a quest to help.”

  “Aren’t you maxed out on quests though?” I asked.

  “It’s fine, I’ll just cancel the comfort items quest, it seems to be of less importance right now, anyway.”

  “They’re here!” one of the Hunters yelled, and the time for talk was over. Arnold laid Cora down, and moved to the entrance to stand with his Hunters. I followed, noting the surprising lack of ammunition for me to throw. I needed to work on some more martial skills. It seemed combat would be a regular thing. Damnit.

  “Look sharp, people! If Tim gets in here, he and his zombies could send us to spawn in some spawn camping trap. That is a fate literally worse than death, so we need to stop him at all costs!” Arnold’s voice bellowed through the cave loudly enough that I wondered if it was a leadership skill.

  The cave entrance was not large, just big enough for two people to stand in, but enough that blockading it would be difficult if someone fell. There were only six Hunters left, and only four had Attunements, losing any of them could be a huge detriment to the growth of the tribe.

  I don’t know what I was expecting when Tim came into view… maybe someone in dark robes and a goatee, with a huge, wooden staff. Instead I got another young, albeit bald, man in Shaman garb. He was a little shorter than average height with a placid, almost bored look on his face. He had the pale skin though, so that went along with the trope.

  “Cora!” he shouted. “Time to end this silly game, come out here!”

  Tim moved his horde close enough that we could hear him chuckle. His face didn’t seem to make much in the way of emotion, but his eyes betrayed a wildness that was disconcerting. “It’s simple isn’t it? You owe me! I’ll watch you better this time.”

  Arnold raised his voice, anger highlighting every word. “She doesn’t owe you anything! You made your own fate!”

  “Shut it Arnie!” Tim shouted. “I wasn’t talking to you.”

  “Get out of here! What’s it going to take for you to just leave us in peace!?”

  “Well now, I’m glad you asked!” Tim said. “First off, give me Cora, then tell me how you fixed it so I can’t get zombies out of you anymore. That’s going to put a crimp in my play style if I don’t have my fodder. Next, I’ll take...”

  “It was a rhetorical question, you ass! You aren’t getting any of that. The only thing we want to give you is a farewell party, so we never have to see you again.”

  “Oh, that won’t happen. I still owe you for going along with that little spawn camping idea, and believe me, you will pay!”

  “Haven’t we paid enough? How many of us have you lured to that damn trap of yours? How many are you spawn camping?”

  “Not NEARLY enough! You idiots wouldn’t listen, you turned your back on me. If I have to play solo, I’ll play it my way! I’ll use whatever resources are available, like your zombified corpses!” Something about all of this wasn’t adding up. It sounded like there was more to the story than even the Chief had told me. I didn’t think this was the best time to bring it up, though.

  “Enough already!” Arnold shouted at the man. “If you’re going to do something then do it, otherwise, piss off!”

  The placid look returned to Tim’s face. “Fine then, you asked for it.” With a small gesture, the zombies attacked. The Hunters lowered their spears to prepare for the charge of the undead, impaling two, stopping them only for a brief moment, as both zombies pushed their way up the weapons to batter at the Hunters. To their credit the Hunters held the line, taking the punishment while the line behind them stabbed and prodded the zombies in the head and faces.

  Arnold, who was watching some screen I couldn’t see, shouted to his tribe members. “Prepare to rotate out! On my maaaark... now!” The Hunters in the front line dropped to the ground and rolled out of the way while the back line pushed in with their spears. Human shields, what a terrible way to fight, but with no armor or time to prepare, it was our only option. The starting classes were tough to use. The two Hunters who had been in the front moved back to the rear line, yanking their spears out of the zombies in front and in a few strokes, finished them. The corpses fell dead-er to the ground creating more obstacles for the next pair.

  Looking around the cave I saw the frightened faces of the others from the tribe. These poor people. No one wanted to be here or had experienced anything like this and the fear was palpable. I saw a few determined faces, which gave me hope. These people would figure it out sooner rather than later.

  “Find me rocks to throw!” I shouted at them, getting confused looks in return. “I can help, but I need ammo, get me things to throw!” A few of the Gatherers moved to find me ammunition while I concentrated on the incoming zombies. I had two
stones, so I could contribute somewhat at least. Twice, to precise.

  Sucker Punch! Your attack catches the opponent off guard!

  Congratulations! You have increased your Agility attribute!

  I hit one of the zombies, doing some damage to it but only barely slowing it down. So maybe I didn’t contribute that much after all.

  The next group of zombies had made it into the bottleneck, jostling each other and battering at the Hunters. The Hunters tried to repeat their original maneuver and were successful right until one spear snapped and the momentum sent the zombie forward in a gnashing, biting whirlwind. The poor Hunter screamed as it bit into him, his flesh tearing, blood spraying everywhere. For a split second I wondered why we even had blood anymore but had to shake the thought from my mind to concentrate.

  I ran in and grabbed both him and the zombie to drag them out of the way, so the last Hunter could close the gap, hoping I was fast enough. The zombie paid no attention, focused on its feast. The screaming coming from the rest of the tribe, uninjured but terrified, in the back of the cave was ear piercing as it echoed around. The Hunter gasped his last as I raised the rock in my hand to crash it down over and over onto the zombies head. I was doing serious damage, but not serious enough and the unstoppable thing lunged at me, its bloody face a rictus of hunger.

  It bit into me, ripping open wounds on my forearm. I shoved at the damn thing, trying to get it off me, while the screaming only got louder, as I assumed they had noticed their tribe mate lying dead on the ground. The last Hunter stabbed at the zombie on top of me, missing and stabbing me.

  “Ouch! Hit it not ME!” I shouted.

  “Sorry! Sorry!” The young man returned as he stabbed again, hitting the zombie this time. It was all I could do to keep the disgusting things teeth away from my face as it chomped onto anything that came near it, my health bar dropping with each bite. The Hunters spear penetrated it, doing nothing much to stop it, but spreading ichor all over me. “The head! The head!” I shouted. “Didn’t you ever watch any zombie flicks?!”