A roar that was a mixture of a screech and a cackle echoed out from the window. The woman screamed again. I grabbed the machete and shield and charged into the house, decision made.
I flung the front door open and dashed up the stairs. The woman screamed again. I swung around the banister to see a gremlin cowering in fear in the corner. Not wanting to get jumped mid-fight, I dropped the machete, drew the Bowie knife, and plunged the blade deep into its skull. The knife didn’t immediately pull free, so I left it and retrieved the machete.
The woman’s screams sharpened with desperation as something in the room cracked. My hands and focus shook as I struggled to pull a strand of mana up the length of the blade. Another crack echoed into the hall.
“Screw it.” I gave up on the magic and kicked the door open.
Furniture littered the room. A giant, shaggy monkey-like creature gripped both sides of the bathroom door frame with its hand-feet. Its head and right arm were jammed into a hole in the door, its other hand frantically clawing at the opening, trying to make it larger.
A dozen suggestions popped into my head on how to swiftly dispatch the beast. I ignored them all and stabbed. The machete caught on its lower ribs, barely piercing its skin. The monkey cut off its war cry with a shriek. It jerked back, tearing its head and arm free from the door, and snarled at me.
A broken spike of wood stabbed out from the hole, gouging the beast deep in the eye. The creature yowled as it tucked its face into its chest and covered it with one of its clawed hands. I took the opening, chopping down onto its arched spine. The creature yelped and lost its grip as its legs went limp, slumping to the floor.
I swung down at its neck but missed, gouging deep into its shoulder. The beast screeched and clawed at the weapon. I yanked the blade free and roared back. I swung again, shattering its collarbone. The beast’s screech choked into a whimper.
I tore the machete free and swung again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
Sometime later, my mind caught back up with me. I glared down at the nearly beheaded, mangled creature. Flecks of blood, hair, and flesh painted the room. My lungs gasped for air. Blood pounded in my ears. I licked my lips and tasted iron. I wiped at my face, smearing the dark-red blood across my skin.
Something creaked, and my head snapped in its direction. A young woman peeked out from behind the bathroom door, clutching a broken and bloodied plunger handle to her chest. She flinched when my eyes met hers. Dark makeup streaked down her cheeks. She couldn’t be much older than Alan. I swallowed and cleared my throat. “Are you okay?”
She stared at me wide-eyed before nodding.
I looked down at my blood-speckled clothes. I needed to clean up. And change my clothes. I took another slow, deep breath. “You don’t, by chance, have some clothes I could have?”
The woman blinked and shook her head. “Sorry, what?” she rasped.
I gestured at myself. “Clothes. Do you have some I could have?”
“I-I uh...” the woman paused, and her eyes lost focus. “Dad’s room is down the hall. You... you can look for something in there.”
“Alright, thanks.” I rolled my shoulders and turned to leave. “Dan, by the way.” I waited at the door for a moment.
“Alex,” she whispered.
I stepped into the hall and extracted my knife from the gremlin. I sheathed the blade and peered down at the dead monster. Its leathery body appeared small and weak. Far from the horrifying monstrosity it had been yesterday. The gremlin had hidden in the corner like a coward. Images from last night flashed in front of my eyes.
I broke that train of thought before I lost myself and headed to the other room at the end of the hall. The master bedroom was untouched. I glanced back at the single gremlin. She must have been the only one home yesterday and had barricaded herself in her room. I entered the bedroom, locking the door behind me.
I laid Aurora in the center of the king-sized bed before heading to the bathroom to remove my bloody clothes. After washing my hands and face, I searched the drawers for a new outfit. It felt weird to go through a stranger’s belongings, especially since he was likely dead. It was a little too close to grave robbing for my liking, but it spared my packed clothes for another day, so a grave robber I would be.
I again pushed my thoughts away from a subject I didn’t wish to linger on. I found a flannel, T-shirt, and jeans and threw them on the bed beside Aurora. Luckily, he was roughly my size, maybe a bit shorter based on the pants, but they’d do.
I peeled the bandage off my chest. A single massive scab covered my sternum and part of my left pec. A few cracks dripped blood. It honestly didn’t hurt too bad.
I climbed into the shower, rinsed my body, and scrubbed the blood out of my hair. Bits and pieces of the scab fell away as I soaked and spent a few minutes trying to relax, letting the hot water run over my body.
I wasn’t very successful.
My insides were a tangled mess. I was exhausted but jittery and couldn’t sit still. Great pain had nestled itself deep inside my chest, but every time I searched it eluded me. I was about to burst at the seams while feeling hollow inside. I was a jumble of contradictions, yet that was how I felt. I felt it all. I felt it clearer than anything I had ever felt in my entire life, despite the fog that shrouded my mind.
I forced myself to leave the shower after ten minutes. I slid into the jeans and cleaned Aurora with a damp hand towel. A few specks of blood had made their way onto her scalp. I slid my finger into her hand. She squeezed, and for a moment the darkness receded.
I returned to the bathroom to examine my chest. It didn’t look infected. I still wanted to cover it though. I considered heading to the car but changed my mind. I might as well see if there were more free supplies and maybe another pair of hands available.
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Aurora in hand, I headed back out into the hall and into the girl’s bedroom. The shower echoed from behind the bathroom door.
I examined the creature on the floor. Shaggy, dark-brown fur covered long, spindly arms and legs. It reminded me of an orangutan’s body. Its face had a bit of a snout, and it didn’t appear to have any ears. I nudged its body with my foot.
I shook my head.
I glanced down at the knife on my belt and summoned mana from my hand.
I shook my head again and made my way to the kitchen. I was still a bit nauseous, but my body felt weak from not eating, and I didn’t think I could stomach another protein bar. Eating her food without asking felt rude, but I had just saved her life. If I made her some as well, I was sure it would be fine.
I opened the fridge and pulled out a carton of eggs, shredded cheese, a bell pepper, and bacon bits. Rummaging through the kitchen until I found a knife, I got to work frying up some scrambled eggs. I tried activating my class, but nothing I did with the knife worked. I ended up throwing everything in the pan, hoping it would work out. Grabbing a plate, a fork, and ketchup, I separated out my half and dug in.
Thirty seconds later, I’d inhaled my food. I eyed the remaining eggs. The water had stopped running a few minutes ago. She should be out soon. I resisted for a few seconds, but eventually my stomach convinced me I deserved more. I shoveled half of the remaining eggs onto my plate and tried to taste them this time.
A couple of minutes later the girl, Alex, cautiously crept into the kitchen, hair wrapped in a towel. Her shorts and tank top exposed smooth, sun-kissed skin from a summer spent outdoors. She raised an eyebrow when she saw Aurora.
“Food’s in the pan.” I nodded at the stove.
She pressed her lips together and gave me a long look before serving herself a plate with the last of the eggs. She picked at her food across the table, her eyes never leaving the plate. A slight breeze drifted through the house, prickling at my skin, reminding me I was still shirtless.
I cleared my throat, my face warm. “Do you have a first aid kit somewhere I can use?”
She looked up from her plate, and her eyes snapped to the scab on my chest. “You’re hurt.” Her fork clanged against her plate as she stood. “I think there’s one in the laundry room.” She dashed out of the kitchen, knocking her chair back. Somewhere down the hall, she rummaged through several drawers. A moment later, she returned with a small duffel bag over her shoulder.
She dropped the bag on the table, and before I could say anything she had gauze, pads, ointment, and a dozen other things out on the table. She scanned my chest.
“What exactly happened?” She spoke with a clarity and confidence she’d lacked before.
“I, uh...” I leaned back from her stare. “You don’t have to...”
“It’s fine. It’s the least I can do.”
“But...”
“I uh... I’m a nurse... yes, I’m a nurse, and it’s really no big deal.” A bit of red flushed her cheeks.
She pressed the edge of the scab with her fingers. “So what happened? This isn’t from thirty minutes ago.”
I shivered at her cold touch.
“Sorry about that—poor circulation.”
“It’s fine.” I cleared my throat. “It was one of the gremlins. It got the chance to claw at my chest last night.”
“Did you clean it?”
“The best I could.”
“Good. It doesn’t look infected, but I still want to clear some of this blood away to make sure.” Alex grabbed a wipe and gently rubbed at the edges of the scab. A few minutes later, she switched out the wipe for a new one.
“Do you mind if I practice magic while you do this?” I asked.
She paused and looked up at me, confusion in her eyes. “Uh, yeah... that’s fine.”
She returned to cleaning the wound while I practiced summoning and moving around my mana. I had a new goal to completely cover the length of my blade in a thread of mana so that I could keep it sharp. Its effectiveness was incredible the one time I had used it. I just needed the mana-strand to reach the end of the blade.
“What’s her name?” Alex motioned toward Aurora.
“Oh, uh, Aurora.”
Alex smiled. “A little princess. Cute.”
She tended to my wound, occasionally eyeing my outstretched hand as if trying to catch what I was doing. I wasn’t hiding anything so I didn’t mind, but I wasn’t sure what she was trying to see.
Alex sighed, leaned back in her chair and grabbed a few more supplies from the bag. “I’ve got good news and bad news. Good news is nothing is infected. Bad news is that you have two cuts that need stitches. Probably about nine in total.”
“Well, I don’t think the ER is going to be—oh.”
Alex held one of the curved needles doctors used. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fast. It’ll barely hurt at all.”
It did not, in fact, barely hurt at all. One of the last stitches was right next to my nipple, and it made me shed a tear. She fast though. I’ll give her that. I tried a few times to control my mana while she stitched me up, but I could only hold a command for a second or two before it broke. At least keeping the flow wasn’t difficult.
Halfway through the operations, Alex suddenly cried out in pain. She jerked her hands back, leaving the needle in my skin.
“What’s wrong? Did you stab yourself?”
Alex ran her fingers over the underside of her left forearm. “No, I... I don’t know.” She held her arm out to show me. Her numbers read three ones followed by two zeros. “I think a number changed, but I don’t know what that means...”
I raised an eyebrow. “You just got an attribute. At least, I think you did.”
Alex looked down at her arm in surprise. “Is that good?”
I chuckled. “Yes, that’s good.”
The corner of Alex’s mouth twisted into a smile. She finished the last of the stitches and covered the wound in a large pad lathered in antiseptic, securing the edges with medical tape. “Alright, there we go. Should be good till it’s healed. You can remove the stitches in a week.”
I smiled at her. “Thank you.”
She raised her eyebrows and blushed. “No problem, anytime.”
I stood and stretched. “I’m going to finish getting dressed if that’s alright.”
Alex scooted back in her chair. “Yes, of course, go ahead.”
I shuffled up the stairs, put on the shirt and flannel, grabbed the baby wrap, and returned to the kitchen. “Do your washer and dryer still work?” The wrap was covered with specks of dried blood.
“It’s over here. Follow me.” Alex stood, and I followed her around the corner, down the hall, and into a small room at the back of the house. She took the wrap from my hands and chucked it into the open washing machine. “Hold on, let me get a few things. Do you want to throw the rest of your clothes in as well?”
“Uh yeah, let me go grab them.”
I followed her upstairs, grabbed my bloody clothes, and threw them in the washer. She spun the dial and hit start. We returned to the kitchen. I sat, leaned Aurora against my chest, and closed my eyes. I rubbed her back as I followed the thread out to the beast.
It was closer now. It would be here in a few hours—probably sometime tonight. I needed to get ready.
I spoke to Alex with my eyes still closed. “I suggest you pack and head to Main Street when you can. They’ve set up some sort of barricade there. You’ll be safe. I can drive you if you want, but we’ll need to leave soon. I need to prepare to deal with my beast.”
“Head to...” she trailed off. “What if I help you?”
“What?” I cracked an eye and searched for signs of the joke.
She stared back at me with an unexpected intensity. “Let me help you with your monster.”
“What? Why?”
“I can help you prepare or watch the baby.”
“No, not that. Why would you want to help me?”
Alex looked down at her uneaten eggs. “It’s only fair. You saved me, so I should help you.”
I pinched my lips together and tugged at my scruff.
I shook my head. What would she do? Stab me in the back? Steal Aurora? She was an ordinary young woman yesterday. Someone I wouldn’t have hesitated to let hold Aurora if we met while stuck in line at Walmart.
What I needed to think about was if she could actually help me with my beast at all.
“What’s your class?”
“My what?”
“The thing you chose while you slept yesterday.”
“Oh, uh... It’s called Medic, I think.”
I nodded. “What skills does it have, and how many attributes did it come with?”
Alex blushed. “I-I don’t remember.”
I pinched my eyes shut and took a deep breath. Honestly, it was fine. Even if it was a simpler class, that didn’t make it bad. Medic would be helpful if I got hurt while dealing with the cat creature. I wasn’t a good fighter yet. The chances of success by myself were lower than I cared to admit.
I scanned Alex up and down, and she blushed even deeper. Even if she only held Aurora in another room while I dealt with the beast, she would still be immensely helpful.
“Okay. Fine. You can help me.”
Alex grinned. “I won’t let you down.”
“Do you have a backpack?”
She nodded. “Why?”
“Go pack a go-bag in it.”
“A go-bag?”
I pointed in a random direction. “Anything you’d need if I told you we have to take off running that way in twenty seconds. I don’t want to call for us to bail and leave you with nothing.”
“Got it, I’ll go get that done.” Alex stood and ran off into the house.
I leaned forward, grabbed her plate, and shoveled the remaining eggs into my mouth. I stretched before standing to take in the layout, wandering through the house. I paused in the entryway and gazed up at the small second-story landing. A simple chandelier hung overhead. This was as good a place as any.
It was time to set a trap.
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