by Lucas Flint
I looked around at my Teammates, a smile creeping onto my face. “Why wait? If we are all together again and we know what is going to happen, why don’t we go and attack the factory now? If we can destroy it—”
“Because we need a plan,” said Funky. “If we attack now, our chances of losing are extremely high. If we wait until the Task Force and Ninja Guild attack, then we can hit the Stalking Shadows from three different points. They won’t even see us coming until it’s too late.”
I nodded. “Okay, I see your point. Could we at least warn the Ninja Guild about it? They like me and Cy. They might be willing to listen to our warnings.”
“Yama-sama won’t listen,” said Funky, shaking his head. “He is too obsessed with killing Master Haru to call this raid off. I suspect warning him about this will actually make him want to kill Haru even more.”
I frowned. “Have you met Yamamoto before? You sound like you know him pretty well.”
“I have,” said Funky, again in his usual vague way. “The two of us have worked together before. That is how I know what his response to such news would be. No, our only option is to hit the factory at the same time as the Ninja Guild and Task Force. That way, we can take the Stalking Shadows by surprise and hopefully also stop them from brainwashing the Ninja Guild and Task Force with the Z-Virus.”
I hated the idea of waiting, but frankly I couldn’t argue with Funky’s logic. I may have been the Team Leader, but that didn’t mean I ignored what my Teammates said. It did occur to me, though, that Funky was currently acting more like a leader than me. Even Recover and Dillo seemed to be listening more to him than to me, which made me feel a bit jealous of him. I wondered if Funky had a high Charisma stat or something.
“So what do we do until tonight?” asked Dillo. “Sit around and wait?”
“Plan,” said Funky. “We need to figure out a plan of attack.”
Funky thrust his arm forward at the table in the center of the waiting room that was covered with old magazines. Suddenly, a 3D holographic display of the Z-Virus factory rose up from the table and began to rotate on the spot. The Z-Virus factory looked like your generic factory. In fact, if I hadn’t known that was where the Z-Virus was being manufactured, I would have assumed it was just an ordinary factory where things like furniture, technology, appliances, and so forth were built.
“This is the Z-Virus factory,” said Funky. “Located in South Adventure City in the Factory District. Few people live there due to the presence of so many huge factories churning our products by the busload, which is why I suspect it has gone under the radar for so long. But after tonight, everyone will know where it is.”
I nodded, but before I could say anything, I heard a small ping in my ears. At first, I thought I had gotten a message in my inbox from somebody, but when I looked at my inbox, I didn’t see any new messages.
That was when my eyes drifted down to the lower right-hand corner of my character screen and I saw that my Infection rate had finally reached 10%.
Just as my eyes registered that fact, I suddenly felt … thirsty. This despite the fact that I had drunk a Health Drink before we left my Base. I pulled out another Health Drink and sipped it. At first, the cherry-flavored drink took away the thirst sensation, but when the liquid went down my throat, I still felt incredibly thirsty. It was as though I hadn’t drunk anything in days, which made no sense to me because of the Health Drink I just sipped.
Even weirder, the Health Drink didn’t taste very good to me. It was almost disgusting, almost making me spit it out of my mouth. Cherry wasn’t exactly my favorite flavor, but I didn’t hate it enough to want to spit it out. That made me worried.
“Winter, are you okay?” asked Dillo, who stood next to me. “You look sick.”
“I am sick,” I said. I looked at Dillo. “Did anybody tell you about the Z-Virus I have?”
Dillo nodded. “Yeah. Recover told me about it. She also told me that you have Kids Mode enabled, so you can’t spread it to other people. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be standing next to you.”
Beside Dillo, Hop snorted suddenly, prompting me to say, “What’s so funny, Hop? Are you watching something funny on your phone?”
“What?” said Hop, glancing up at me with a clear smirk on her face. She looked down at her phone again and said, “Oh, I’m not watching anything I would feel comfortable letting kids watch.”
I scowled. “Haha, Hop. Very funny. I am dying of laughter at your cleverness.”
“It was a pretty funny joke,” Cy admitted. “But you gotta be nice to boss. Just because he’s playing Kids Mode doesn’t mean he’s a kid. It just means he needs things to be a little safer for him, that’s all.”
Hop snorted again and I said to Cy, “Cy, you are not helping.”
“I’m not?” said Cy in astonishment. “But I’m always helping.”
I sighed in exasperation, while Dillo said, “Please don’t mind Hop. You know how sarcastic and blunt she can be. But … I gotta admit, knowing you have Kids Mode enabled, even if it’s for a very good reason, is kind of funny when you think about it.”
“Everyone, please stop talking about Winter’s Kids Mode and focus on the planning,” said Recover in a firm voice. “It isn’t Winter’s fault he needs a special mode to accommodate his needs, after all.”
I looked at Recover in disbelief. “I can’t tell if you’re trying to help or you’re making things worse.”
Recover flashed me a smirk. “No need to get so uptight. No one’s really judging you for having Kids Mode enabled. We just think it’s amusing, that’s all.”
“All of you are getting distracted by the wrong things,” said Funky. He hadn’t taken his eyes off the holographic model of the factory, which he was constantly rotating, perhaps an effort to find weak points we could attack. “We need to spend our time figuring out how to tackle tonight’s upcoming mission, not make fun of Winter for something he needs.”
“Funky’s right,” I said, folding my arms in front of my chest. “We have far more important things to worry about than my current predicament.”
Then a small smile crossed Funky’s lips. “Exactly. Such as scheduling your nap time, for example.”
Dillo and Recover burst out laughing, while Hop just smirked and Brawn chuckled. Cy also burst out laughing, rolling over the floor like Funky had just told the greatest joke in the world.
I sighed. Perhaps forming a Team full of people who thought an adult needing Kids Mode enabled was funny was a bad idea.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Six hours later …
I crouched low in an alleyway between two silent factories, keeping my eyes and ears open for any potential trouble. Beside me, Cy also crouched, but he looked a lot more bored than me. He kept tapping his foot on the street to a beat I didn’t recognize. At first, I ignored it in order to focus on our surroundings, but Cy’s tapping was the only consistent sound in the dark night and eventually I couldn’t just ignore it anymore.
“What are you doing?” I asked Cy, speaking in the low whisper we had practiced before coming out here.
“Hmm?” said Cy, glancing at me. “What do you mean?”
“You’re tapping your foot,” I said, gesturing at Cy’s foot. “Stop it. It’s annoying.”
Cy stopped tapping his foot as soon as I said that. “Sorry, boss. When I get bored, I just like to tap my feet sometimes. I was tapping it to the beat of one of the old classics by Michael Jackson.”
“Michael Jackson?” I repeated with a frown. “That old late twentieth-century singer?”
“Sure,” said Cy, nodding. “I like listening to his music even though it’s so old. A lot better than most modern music, at any rate.”
I shook my head. “I had no idea you were a music hipster, Cy.”
“I am not a hipster,” said Cy indignantly. “I merely have very discerning tastes in music. There is a difference.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever, man. Just keep your eyes open for any trouble. I
f you see any Ninja Guild or Task Force members, put it in the group chat.”
I returned my attention to the huge factory before us. I heard Cy mutter something about me not appreciating the classics, but luckily he stopped tapping his feet and appeared to be paying attention now as well. That was good. In order for us to pull off this plan, every member of the Team needed to be aware of our surroundings.
But the stillness of the night made it hard even for me to focus and soon I found myself thinking about our plan.
It had taken us about two hours of back and forth discussion before we finally settled on tonight’s plan. That was how I discovered that Dillo, despite his somewhat timid attitude, could argue his position quite vehemently when he wanted to, as well as argue against other positions even better. He almost seemed like a lawyer to me, but when I asked him if he was a lawyer in real life, he told me he wasn’t.
In any case, the plan we finally got everyone to agree on was surprisingly simple. We decided that we were going to surround the Z-Virus factory and then wait outside for the battle between the Stalking Shadows, Ninja Guild, and Task Force to begin. Once the Ninja Guild and Task Force began their assault on the factory, my Teammates and I would enter through the back. We figured that that was where Atmosfear and Master Haru had to be. It was unlikely that either of them would be at the front lines of the assault, so our best bet was to find out where they were hiding and force them out ourselves.
Seemed simple enough, but I knew from past experience that even the simplest plans could always go wrong. Something Dad always used to tell me was that a plan never survived contact with the enemy and I expected this to be no different. Still, with my Team, the Ninja Guild, and the Task Force attacking the factory all at once, I didn’t see how the Stalking Shadows could possibly put up a good defense. Even taking into account the fact that many, if not most, of them were hopped up on the Z-Virus itself, that didn’t mean they would be able to withstand such a deadly assault.
With luck, the battle would be over in less than an hour, less than half an hour if we’re going to be optimistic. The only ending for it that I could see was the complete destruction of the Stalking Shadows and the victory of our side. Of course, we’d have to make sure not to get caught in the crossfire between the Stalking Shadows and the Ninja Guild/Task Force, but I had ordered my Teammates to avoid getting directly caught in any battles that didn’t involve them personally during this fight and to avoid confusing Ninja Guild members for Stalking Shadows members.
The only thing that worried me was the thirst in my mouth. Even though I had gotten a drink of ice-cold water from Recover’s water cooler back in her Base, I was still thirsty. Even worse, I was starting to look at the necks of other people—including my own Teammates—and fantasize about how their blood must taste. My eyes briefly lingered on Cy’s neck before I forced myself to focus on the factory, which was still and quiet at the moment.
If I didn’t know any better, I would say I was becoming a vampire. In truth, though, I was starting to realize that I was becoming a zombie, like every other person who got Infected by the Z-Virus. Zombies weren’t known for drinking blood, but I understood that Z-Virus carriers had an irresistible drive to ‘procreate’ via biting people, typically on the neck, although any part of the body would suffice. My own transformation wasn’t complete yet—and I had to thank Kids Mode, as embarrassing as it was, for that—but I was at 10% already and my desire to spread the virus would only accelerate from here.
But I wasn’t going to panic just yet. If all went well tonight—and there was no reason anything should go off the rails—then by the end of the hour, the Z-Virus factory would be destroyed. Of course, that wouldn’t heal me of my infection, but it would ensure that no one else had to suffer from it, at least. Maybe I would get lucky and the developers would finish that vaccine tonight, although I had a feeling it was going to take them a lot longer to do than that.
My own thoughts were interrupted when I heard what sounded like the engines of an airplane roaring by overhead. Curious, I looked up at the night sky, but I couldn’t see anything except for the tall towers of Adventure City, with the occasional cloud passing by. Thanks to light pollution, I couldn’t see the night sky, which was one of the harder changes of living in the big city. I was from a small town in the country where you could see the night sky pretty much every night of the week. In a big city like this, I couldn’t see anything other than the lights from the building around me. As impressive as Adventure City was, it could be a little depressing at times as well.
“Cy,” I whispered, “do you hear that?”
“The airplane engines?” Cy whispered back. “I do. They’re loud. Where are they coming—”
Suddenly, a large airplane flew by overhead. It was huge, big enough to carry a thousand passengers in it by the look of it. It was colored red and gold, but that was as much detail as I could glean from its passing, because in the next instant it was gone, though not before dropping something from the cargo hold. The thing that fell from the cargo hold resembled a large boulder, but unless my eyes were playing tricks on me, the boulder resembled a human being curled into a ball.
The boulder creature fell too fast for me to follow, however, and it crashed into and through the roof of the factory. As soon as the boulder creature crashed through the factory’s roof, alarms began blaring from within, followed by the sounds of smashed glass and even the startled cries of fear from some of the guards within. I even heard one guard scream for his life before he was abruptly cut off by a loud squelching sound that made my stomach churn.
At the same time, my Perception allowed me to spot ninja jumping from the rooftops of nearby buildings onto the roof of the factory. Although it was hard to tell from a distance, I could tell they were Ninja Guild members based on the way they moved. Some of them went through the hole in the center of the factory, while others climbed in through the windows or other entrances. One ninja—a particularly fat one who I didn’t recognize—even jumped down one of the factory’s smokestacks, which seemed like a dumb move to me, but then again, I wasn’t a ninja.
I quickly sent out a Team chat:
Me: Everyone, the assault has begun! Looks like the Task Force dropped some type of boulder creature on the factory and the Ninja Guild members are taking advantage of this moment to enter the factory and attack. Time to get started.
FunkyFresh94: And everyone, be careful. In addition to the obvious dangers posed by Master Haru and Atmosfear, we must be keenly aware of the Z-Virus. Most of the Stalking Shadows at this point are Z-Virus Infected, so avoid direct contact with individual Stalking Shadows as much as possible. At the very least, don’t let them bite you or draw blood.
Me: What Funky said. Let’s do this!
Summoning my Ice Daggers, Cy and I ran out from the alleyway toward the factory’s back door. Based on the chats coming in from the window in the corner of my vision, I knew that the rest of my Team had already started their own attacks. The factory’s huge size meant that our Team—split up into three micro Teams comprised of me and Cy, Dillo and Hop, and Funky, Recover, and Brawn—had to attack from different angles in order to put more pressure on the Stalking Shadows. The plan was to meet up somewhere in the factory and take out Master Haru and Atmosfear. So far, so—
My thoughts were interrupted when the back door to the factory burst open. It would have hit me in the face if I hadn’t instinctively Dodged at the last minute, along with Cy. The two of us jumped back when the door opened and landed on the street, staring as a new figure emerged from the shadows of the factory.
The figure who now stood before us was yet another Stalking Shadow, if his blue and black tunic was any indication. But he looked different from the other Stalking Shadows I had fought back in the warehouse. He was taller, for one, and wore armor that covered the majority of his body. He also wielded a long, deadly-looking chain in one hand, which he dragged along behind him like it was connected to something heavy. Over h
is head, the nametag [ELITE STALKING SHADOW TAKESHI] hovered, but I Scanned him anyway to get an idea of what he could do:
Elite Stalking Shadow Takeshi
LEVEL: 35
ALIGNMENT: Villain
CLASS: Assassin
WEAK POINT: Eyes
WEAKNESS: Fire
The elite of the Stalking Shadows, these ninja earned their way to the top through trickery, skill, and plain old-fashioned cheating. Don’t be fooled by their often slim appearances, however. Their assassination skills are top notch and, despite the organization’s relative youth, Elite Stalking Shadows have already earned a reputation for being absolutely ruthless assassins who waste no time in taking out their targets
“Ah,” said Takeshi. His voice was deep and rumbling, despite his rather slim appearance. “It would appear that Master Haru’s friend was correct when he warned us that we might be attacked from behind. I will have to thank him for his foresight later, after I kill you two, of course.”
I raised my Ice Daggers. “You might want to rethink that, bud. I saw a giant rock monster fall through the roof of your factory and a whole bunch of Ninja Guild members followed him. Think you guys have bigger things to worry about than little ol’ me at the moment.”
Takeshi chuckled. “Don’t worry. Master Haru has already anticipated the Task Force’s moves. The Task Force may have drawn first blood, but the Stalking Shadows always strike back. That is our motto and our philosophy.”
Then Takeshi grunted and hurled his chain at us. But it wasn’t just a chain that flew out of the darkness behind him. It was a frigging mace, with a ball on the end the size of a boulder, and it was coming straight for us.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Without hesitation, Cy and I separated, jumping to the side to avoid the incoming mace. We were just in time. When the chain ball struck the ground where we’d been standing, it crashed so hard that it sent pieces of the street flying upward. Landing on my feet, I watched as Takeshi drew his mace back and began swinging it over his head in wide, sweeping arcs like it weighed nothing, even though the ball itself had to weigh at least a ton based on the size of the thing.