Project Alpha

by R. A. Mejia

Each fast-moving monster slows down only long enough to push and throw the zombies around them onto the razor wire. Then each grabs a Shambler, uses it as an undead meat shield, and runs forward. Alert to the new danger, everyone fires at the creatures. Bullets and nails tear through their zombie shields, and another one of the new monsters goes down from a well-aimed headshot from Nancy.

  The last three are within ten feet of the walls when they suddenly drop the zombies they’re using as shields and leap. I can only watch in stunned amazement as the zombies jump over the remaining pressure plates onto the walls and start climbing. I look over the side of the wall and see that each creature has razor-sharp claws that let them scale the walls like they’re Spider-Man. Before you can say ‘Holy Spider Zombies,' the three creatures are climbing over the wall and attacking people. Screams of pain and cries of fear sound out over the lessening gunfire. One of the Zombie Scalers slashes at a survivor on the platform to my right, then leaps onto ours. My rifle hangs limply in my hands as I look upon the bone-thin monster. It walks naked with overly long legs and arms, each toe and finger tipped with wickedly sharp claws. Most disturbing though, it its rictus grin.

  The creature moves faster than I can track, and I think for a moment that I’m done for. Instead, I hear a gurgling and a scream next to me and see that the zombie has attacked Thomas. The creature's claws have slashed through the man’s throat, and he’s trying to staunch the flow of blood with his hands. Suzie is screaming while trying to reload her gun.

  The sight snaps me out of my shock, and I grip the rifle in my hands tightly and use the butt of the rifle to activate Bash. The blunt edge of the butt glows red as it smashes into the side of the Scaler. A red number 8 floats away from the zombie, but more importantly, the blow knocks the creature back, and he tumbles off the side of the platform. I drop the rifle, knowing it’s not useful in such close quarters, and grab one of the hammers from my inventory. My feet feel like they’re walking on air as I use the ability Flying Kick and feel my body leap from the platform. There’s a crunch as my boots connect with the still stunned Zombie Scaler, and a red 12 floats away from the zombie’s head. I tumble to the ground as my momentum carries me past the zombie. I come up swinging the hammer at the zombie and activate Bash as the weapon connects to its ribs. There’s a sickening crunching sound as the hammer breaks a bone and sends the creature flying backward. The creature recovers and sprints towards me, claws outstretched to kill. I take three slashes along my torso and see three red tens float away from me. However, the slashes are prevented from doing more damage by the Mad Max style armor I’m wearing.

  The creature looks stunned that I’m not already dead after it’s flurry of attacks, and I enjoy the look of surprise on its deformed face as my hammer comes down on its head. I use Bash two more times for a total of 46 more damage, finally ending the undead life of the creature.

  I’m ecstatic from my success, but the rest of the survivors weren’t as successful. The survivors were able to kill the other two Zombie Scalers, but not before they killed three survivors and injured another four. The remaining Shamblers are whittled down by the traps and the shooters still on the walls.

  Another blue screen appears, summarizing my contributions and experience points

  Contribution

  Trap kills130

  Personal kills16

  Total XP earned3762

  Time to next wave: 01:00:00

  The analytical part of me appreciates the massive amount of experience points that I just got. However, that excitement is muted by the crying I hear. From the platform above me, I see Suzy cradling the head of her dead husband in her arms. Even though I know that she’s an NPC and isn’t real, I feel a tear run down my cheek. Quickly wiping it away, I leave the woman to her grief.

  While nothing can be done for the dead survivors, the injured ones are taken to the medical center and treated by Nancy and her brothers. The three have first aid training, and Nancy has more advanced skills in healing. Together, the three can use what few medical supplies that are available to patch up everyone.

  It’s not until Nancy is trying to take off my armor that I realize that she’s been talking to me.

  “Hurry up and take this armor off so I can bandage you up!”

  I shake my head and mechanically do as she says. I unzip my armored jacket, and peel off my blood-soaked shirt. Nancy quickly cleans the slash wounds and applies a bandage to me. I see a green 15 float away from me and when I check my character sheet see that I’m back up to 145/160 health. I guess Nancy’s healing skills aren’t just for show.

  I thank her for her help and am about to walk away when she grabs my arm.

  “It’s hardest the first time you see them die. But you have to remember that none of this is real.”

  I know I must still be in a state of shock from the frantic fighting because all I can say in response is, “Huh?”

  Nancy clarifies, “I mean the NPCs. I know you saw Thomas die and Suzie holding him. But you have to remember that all of this is just part of the dungeon story. We need to focus on winning and not letting any more of the NPCs die.”

  I nod once, but as I walk out of the medical center, I can’t help but mumble, “It sure feels real to me.”

  With only a half hour left before the next wave of zombies arrives, I focus on what I need to do. I use Absorb on each of the Zombie Scaler’s remains and luck out and get a new ability. I gain Spider Climber. It costs TP every second that it’s active, but lets me climb any surface like I was a spider. Whatever that means.

  I don’t bother trying to Absorb the Shamblers or Howlers since I have all the useful abilities they have. Instead, I focus on resetting traps and clearing away the remains of the zombies from the razor wire. While I work, I consider the problem of the Scalers. They’re smart and have already figured out how to get around the last few traps and make it up the walls. We were able to kill two of the five before they got to us but once they got inside the walls, we took heavy casualties. Almost half of the forces available to us are either dead or incapable of fighting. What’s going to happen when more Scalers attack in the final round?

  I shake my head and pull up my character sheet and inventory to see if there’s anything I’m overlooking, when I look at a spherical object in my inventory next to the hammers I have stored there. I slap my forehead when I Inspect the item.

  Corrosive Grenade

  Pull the pin and throw to activate. When activated, it spreads a bank of corrosive gas that damages everything it touches.

  Damage: 5 health/sec while in corrosive fog. Three health/sec for 20 seconds after leaving corrosive fog.

  This is it. I only have 5 of these things, but they may mean the difference between surviving this next round and losing it.

  Back inside the walls of Safe Haven, I explain my plan to Nancy, and she agrees that it’s a good one. She passes out the four corrosive grenades. One each for herself and her brothers and one she hands to Suzy. I silently question the decision to give a grieving woman a grenade, but the look on Suzy’s face when Nancy explains how the weapon can hurt the Scalers assures me she’ll use it without hesitation. The fifth grenade I keep for myself. I’m sure my level 4 Throw skill will help me use it well.

  Just as the everyone finishes making their final preparations, the last second ticks away on the timer, and more howls echo from the forest.

  What steps out from the forest sends a chill down my spine. Almost 1,000 zombies step out of the forest. Leading them are 10 Zombie Scalers, and 20 Zombie Howlers. However, it’s not those things that disturb me. Behind them, all is the biggest zombie I’ve ever seen. It’s purple and easily three times as wide and twice as tall as any other zombie.

  The Howlers all scream at once and the Scalers each grab a Shambler meat shield and charge. The rest of the Shamblers follow on their heels, and it looks like a tsunami wave of the undead is coming for us. What puzzles me is that the huge purple zombie doesn’t move. Instead, it almost
looks like he’s watching to see what happens.

  The sound of gunshots going off around me reminds me that we still need to kill as many zombies as we can. The rifle in my hand booms as shot after shot leaves it. With so many zombies, just about every shot hits something. As the Scalers hit the first-floor spikes, they slow slightly but are still twice as fast as the rest. I put my rifle down and grab the corrosive grenade from my inventory. By the time I’ve pulled the pin and thrown it, the Scalers are already jumping over the razor wire. My grenade hits the ground in front of them, bounces once, then explodes in a plume of green gas. The green gas spreads out in a circle and envelops the lead Scalers. I see two more grenades explode behind mine, creating a 45-foot area of corrosive gas.

  It’s hard to make out what’s happening in the gas, but seven Scalers emerge from the gas, and I almost vomit seeing them. What little flesh and muscle they have been melting off with every step they take. All of them have lost their Shambler meat shields and are easy pickings for the rifle users. Four of the Scalers perish from the barrage of bullets, but the remaining three regain some measure of their former speed and run towards the walls. I hear a scream of anger and hate from my left and see Suzy pull the pin on her grenade and throw it at the approaching Scalers. The creature’s eyes widen when the plume of green gas explodes in front of them, and they’re unable to stop themselves from running into the corrosive cloud. Only one Scaler emerges from the cloud. It takes a single step onto a pressure plate and is blown back by a cascade of shot nails.

  The Howlers and Shamblers do even worse as they continue their march to our wall. They’re killed left and right by traps, corrosive gas, and bullets.

  Unfortunately for us, I start to hear the clicks of empty magazines and calls for more ammunition. I quickly check my supplies of ammo and find that I only have another two magazines with ten rounds in each. Next to me, I see that Suzie is already out of ammo and I toss her one of my magazines.

  I think we may be ok even with the shortage of ammo. While the corrosive gas has dissipated, it took a good chunk of the zombies, and the rest of the traps are still taking down more.

  Well, I think that things may be ok until the large purple zombie starts to move. It roars and begins jogging towards the wall. The jog turns into a run. The run into a sprint. Then only ten yards away from the wall, the hulking creature activates some ability. Its whole body turns red, and it charges forward at an incredible speed.

  There’s a huge crashing sound, and I’m knocked off my feet as the whole wall seems to shake. Another roar clears the cobwebs, and I roll to my feet. There, walking through the hole that he made, is the purple zombie. Inspect kicks in and tells me what we’re facing.

  Zombie Brute Bob

  Level 9

  Health 312/400

  TP 20/30

  A rare zombie boss. Bob used to be a bouncer for the mafia, but after the zombie apocalypse started, he fell into a vat of volatile chemicals. He transformed into a Zombie Brute capable of a devastating charge attack.

  Abilities: Bite, Pummel, Charge

  Weakness: Fire, Attacks to the Head

  Holy Crap. It still has 312 health left?

  I fire off the last few rounds in my rifle barely moving the creature’s health bar. Many of the other people around me are also out of ammunition and starting to panic. So far, no other zombies have made it through the traps outside, but it’s only a matter of time before they do.

  I use Flying Kick to attack Bob the Brute. I fly through the air and land the kick only to be hit by a powerful punch the moment I land.

  My body flies backward and crashes into a building. As I stagger to my feet, I see a red 20 float away from me.

  See, this is why I don’t make a good tank. I can’t take that kind of damage for long.

  The huge purple zombie stomps towards me and raises his fist for another punch. I use Roll, and I feel my body tuck and roll to the right. The punch slams into the ground where I just was and Bob the Brute turns and scowls at me, angry that he missed. I do the noble thing and start to run away from the creature pulling a hammer out of my inventory as I go.

  I put enough distance between me and the creature and turn around. I use Hammer Time to launch the first hammer at the monster and score a direct hit on its head. A red 30 floats away from the creature, but it hardly seems to notice as it starts to glow red again. I dodge to the left and use Roll. Even with those abilities, I’m clipped by the passing creature and feel my right arm snap.

  A piercing pain shoots through me, and I grit my teeth to stop myself from passing out from the pain. Staggering forward, I grab the hammer I dropped and look for Bob the Brute. I see him tearing his way out of one of the homes, but his charge ability has gotten him stuck in the collapsing house. I take the opportunity to use Hammer Time to lob hammers at the creature until I’ve run out of TP. Some of the hammers don’t hit, but most slam into the creature's body, causing 150 points of damage and dropping the monster's health bar to a quarter full.

  The Brute finally extracts himself from the collapsed building, and I throw another hammer at the creature. While the hammer hits, without the ability Hammer Time giving it extra power, it only does 5 points of damage. The creature laughs at the pitiful amount of damage I do as it strides towards me.

  A quick glance around tells me that I shouldn’t expect any help from anyone else. All the other survivors are trying to plug the hole in the wall and fight the Shamblers trying to get through. Each zombie doesn’t have much health after coming through the traps, but there are just so many the survivors are having a hard time.

  My back to the wall the survivors are trying to defend, I know my time here is almost done. A few feet from me, Bob the Brute roars, forcing me to cover my ears in pain from the sound. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice an oval-shaped object fly through the air and lodge itself into the open mouth of the roaring zombie.

  Bob the Brute’s hand clutches at its throat, and it tries to stick its massively oversized fingers into its mouth to dislodge the object, but its fingers are just too big. A second later, there’s the sound of a muted explosion, and a green cloud of gas pours out of the monster’s nostrils and mouth.

  I shout in joy as I realize what happened. Someone threw the last corrosive grenade into the monster's mouth. Immediately, the monster's health starts to drop as the gas melts the zombie from the inside. Bob lurches forward and searches for the person that threw the grenade. His eyes lock on someone behind me, and I turn to see Joe turn pale as the zombie takes his first step towards the boy.

  I know the zombie only has seconds to live, but that’s more than enough time for him to reach up and snap Little Joe’s neck. I rush forward, swinging the hammer in my left hand with every ounce of strength that I have at the zombie's stubby legs. I hear the crunch of bone and a red seven floats away from the zombie. The Brute’s head swings towards me, and its large fist glows red.

  The next thing I know, I’m flying through the air and crashing through some building. Glass and wood cut into me and when I land, and the world spins around me briefly before I pass out.

  Chapter 27

  When I open my eyes again, I see three sets of concerned eyes looking down at me. It takes me a moment to remember that they belong to Nancy, Fred, and Joe. I sit up quickly, unsure of where I am, the room seems to tilt with the sudden movement.

  “Take it easy there. You took a pretty nasty hit to the head.” Turning slowly towards the sound of the voice, I see Juan sitting in a wooden chair, his clothes wrinkled and stained. His weathered face actually has a small smile on it for once. “We were a little worried about you when that purple creature knocked you through the building, but you pulled through ok.”

  My hands massage my throbbing temples, but I ask, “What happened? The last thing I remember is going up against that big muscled zombie, Bob the Brute.”

  “Yeah, you saved me, Anthony.” Little Joe says excitedly, “After I threw the grenade at the boss,
it came to kill me. You jumped in and saved me.

  Frank snickers and tells Joe, “Well, he just saved you from dying in the dungeon and having to respawn.” Turning to me, Frank continues, “You distracted the boss just long enough for the corrosive grenade to finish the last of the boss’s health. It then collapsed dead and plugged up the hole it made in the wall, and we were able to kill the rest of the zombies. Once the last of them were dead, we finished the quest.””

  Nancy blushes slightly, puts her hand on my shoulder and continues, “Thank you for saving Joe. If you hadn’t distracted that huge zombie, he would have missed the end of the mission and lost out on a bunch of XP. Mom and Dad would have been so mad about that.”

  I stare at her hand for a moment before gently removing it from my shoulder. “Uh, you’re welcome. I was just doing what anyone would do.” Speaking to Frank, I ask, “If we finished the mission, why are we still here, and where’s all the XP?”

  Instead of Frank, Juan answers, “Yes. You have saved Safe Haven. The others have already picked their rewards but wanted to stay until you chose yours.”