After donning his new outfit John resigned himself to what he would have to do next. He needed to collect more cards if he wanted to survive.

  That meant he needed to find the closest challenge.

  Turning to Buck with a steely gaze he said: “tell me where the closest challenge is.”

  “Hold up a moment,” the triceratops began, “you’ve only just woken up, you’re not in any condition to go jumping into the next challenge. You don’t even know how healing works! You should take at least-”

  “Then tell me how healing works,” John said, cutting him off, “ then just point me in the right direction and we’ll be off.”

  “I must insist you stay at least a little longer,” the dinosaur began, but upon seeing John’s folded arms and stern expression, he realised his pleas would fall on deaf ears. “Fine. Without a card for it, healing can only be achieved in three ways. Using the traditional methods of this planet, getting it as a reward for a quest – though that’s usually an immediate thing, or resting in the bed here at the Sleep Shack.” John nodded along and then glared at the dinosaur to continue after he stopped talking. “There’s a city nearby,” he began with a sigh, “head south-west from here, your map should act as a compass. Just…be careful.”

  Was that… concern? John thought, taken aback a little by his tone. Buck had been the reason he’d been injured in the first place. Surely the dinosaur didn’t actually care if he lived or died?

  “Ooh,” Truffle said, perking up and looking at John with large, round eyes. “Do you think Mistress is in Perth? Are we going to go and find her?”

  “Something like that,” John muttered, though he knew, of course, that they would not find Anne in the city. That gunshot had been a pretty clear indicator of her fate, and even if she had survived it, she would have never made it through the portal in time. She didn’t even want to go through in the first place.

  He knew that he should have told Truffle the truth there and then, but something about the hopefulness in his companion’s eyes made him doubt himself.

  “Thanks,” John said, casting a final glance at the prehistoric bartender before turning on his heels and leaving the diner.

  Truffle trotted happily at his side. For a teacup pig, he was surprisingly quick.

  They walked in silence for a long time with nothing but the south-west direction indicator on John’s interface to lead them.

  The outback was a barren wasteland of red sand and wilting bushes. He was unsure if it had always been that way or if it had somehow been changed by the arrival of the system.

  It didn’t really matter, what was more important was surviving the harsh sun long enough to reach the city.

  The weather was positively sweltering and despite his new duster doing its best to keep the sun from burning his skin, John felt as if he was slowly being cooked alive.

  Perhaps Truffle would eat his corpse if he died of sunstroke. If nothing else, the pig might be able to take his card and keep going. Though how a pig would use two revolvers was beyond him.

  Could Truffle even have cards? Was he considered a contestant?

  In contrast, Truffle trotted happily at his owner’s side, whistling an annoyingly jaunty tune.

  “How are you not as hot and bothered as I am?” John finally said as his temper began to rise with the searing heat.

  “Oh,” Truffle replied, “I’m a stick away from a spit roast out here, but we’re going on an adventure. I love adventures! Mistress used to take me on walks sometimes. When you were at work she’d take me all over town in her car. I miss the car. Do you think we can find one?”

  “Maybe if we’re lucky,” John replied, though he wasn’t hopeful.

  The hours passed as the two crossed the outback and just as the sun began to crest the horizon, they saw the glimmering lights of Perth. The map must have been shrunken somehow. Though he’d never been to Australia before, he knew that it was a huge country with most of the population living by the coast. If it was full sized then surely there was no way they’d have made it to the coast so quickly.

  The city was a sprawling metropolis of glass skyscrapers, luscious gardens and deep blue waters. It was a beacon at the edge of the desolate, outback wasteland. The stark contrast between desert brush and civilisation was shocking though, only furthering John’s suspicions about the map being shrunken. How did The Council even have the technology to do this?

  John wasn’t sure exactly what he was expecting to see upon their arrival, but a vibrant, beautiful cityscape definitely wasn’t it. He’d assumed it would be more Fallout: New Vegas.

  As they passed the first few buildings he began scanning their surroundings for signs of life… and danger.

  “It’s quiet here,” Truffle mused as he trotted next to John’s side, “I thought cities were supposed to have lots of people.”

  “They are,” John replied, still watching his empty surroundings wearily.

  In contrast to the outback, which was a sprawling surface with good sightlines, the city was a rat run of alleyways, streets and buildings. They could be attacked at any time, from any direction.

  John was acutely aware of this fact as they ventured further into Perth. Turning a corner, John stopped, blinking a few times to check that what he was seeing was really there. Before him laid a dozen corpses. He moved wearily towards them, Truffle hot on his heels.

  Approaching the first body, which had begun to stink like gangrene in the hot sun, he noticed a plethora of stab wounds to the sternum and chest. Whoever this person was, they’d been brutally murdered. He’d have to keep a closer eye on those alleyways.

  All of the bodies were dressed in the same, albeit now tattered, blue jumpsuits which John had been wearing when his pod first landed.

  Such a waste of life, he thought dourly as Truffle trotted eagerly towards one of them, a young brunette girl. Her face was permanently stuck in an expression of pure fear. The rigor mortis must have begun to set in.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “Boss look!” Truffle squealed excitedly, “isn’t that thing on her neck just the best? I want it, can you get it for me?”

  Following the pig’s gaze, John’s eyes rested on a white bowtie with little red polka dots. He almost denied Truffle’s request, but frankly he was just glad that the pig hadn’t started eating the bodies. With a sigh, he carefully removed the bowtie and fastened it around Truffle’s neck.

  I wonder where she got this from? He thought, did she meet a dinosaur too and buy it from a kiosk. He couldn’t see any weapons nearby. Surely she’d have needed one to earn the shards to buy the bowtie. That was, unless there were still some intact shops around.

  “How do I look?” Truffle asked, puffing his tiny chest out.

  “Marvelous,” John replied dryly. He had kind of been hoping that the bowtie would be some kind of in-game item that’d bestow a stat boost or a perk, but if it was Truffle hadn’t mentioned it. Considering the pig couldn’t keep his mouth shut about even the most mundane of things, John had to assume that it was in fact, just a regular old bowtie.

  Well, as long as you’re happy.

  ***

  “How exactly do we find this challenge?” Truffle asked, after an hour or so of diligent exploring in which they’d found absolutely nothing. “Do you think they have signs? Ooh, maybe there will be a sign-up sheet!”

  “I doubt they have those,” John replied absently.

  “Well they should,” Truffle continued, “how else are people supposed to know how to enter? Do you think they’ll let me enter? I could be your second. I’m fierce you know, it’s in my blood. My mother once bit a breeder right on the nose and-”

  “Quiet,” John hissed, “I think I heard something.”

  The two waited silently in the middle of a wide street with tall glass buildings on either side.

  CRASH.

  John turned quickly in the direction of the noise which sounded like a trash can being knocked over. With the exception of that, the city was a ghost town and eerily silent. Something definitely wasn’t right.

  He heard scampering, like the sound of padding on the concrete, from behind him.

  Spinning again he caught the flash of a moving shadow as it disappeared down a side alley.

  “Someone’s watching us,” he said in a low voice, “let’s keep walking, but stay quiet. Whoever they are, we need to be vigilant. We don’t want to end up like those poor guys we found.”

  “Got it boss!” Truffle replied loudly to John’s internal scorn, “whoever they are, they’ve brought a knife to a gun fight.”

  They walked slowly down the street as John deftly kept watch on the alleyways from the corners of his eyes. The scampering sounds continued and seemed to be getting closer.

  Whatever was following them, it wasn’t as subtle as it thought it was.

  He heard the sound of padding feet creeping up behind him and just as the noise seemed within touching distance, he drew his revolvers from his card and span on his heels to face the stalker.

  Extending his arms threateningly, he stared down the sights of the weapons at their pursuer.

  “Who the hell are you?” He demanded.

  A small koala stood before him and cocked its head as it looked up at him quizzically.

  “Seriously?” He asked, lowering his guns.

  “He’s so cute!” Truffle squealed, “can we keep him Boss? Please!”

  Truffle trotted forwards and the curious koala backed up a step. It was taller than the pig, but it seemed a little skittish all the same.

  What was a wild animal like that doing in the middle of a city?

  “It’s ok little guy, I’m not going to hurt you,” Truffle cooed as he took careful steps towards the creature.

  “Little?” John mused, “it’s twice the size of you.”

  The teacup pig turned back, giving John a pointed look, before continuing to pursue the small bear.

  The koala stood still as Truffle got close enough to nuzzle it. Then, as the pig raised his head towards the small creature’s face, it screamed.

  The noise was deafening and bounced off the glass windows of the nearby buildings in a ricocheting echo. If there was anyone, or anything, in the city, they certainly knew where they were now.

  Truffle jumped backwards startled as another koala popped its head out from a side alley.

  Then another appeared, and another, and another…

  Within seconds they were surrounded by a sea of the little grey bears.

  “What the hell is this?” John asked, turning around as the menagerie of chattering koalas cocked their heads and looked up at him in unison.

  He turned back to the first one that had arrived. It was in the middle of a circle with John and Truffle, surrounded on all sides by an ocean of the creatures.

  It looked up at him and moved its paws behind its back as if it was a soldier standing on parade in the at ease position.

  Removing its hands from behind its back it produced two small knives. Its eyes glowed red as it flashed rows of sharp teeth at them and began gnashing them.

  Then, in unison, all the koalas produced knives from behind their backs and began clashing them together like tiny chefs sharpening their tools before some prep work.

  “Why do they have knives?” Truffle asked.

  “Why wouldn’t they have knives?” John replied monotonously. “I hate this game.”

  As if on cue, the hoard of koalas charged at them and John opened fire.

  He shot the first one squarely in the face and its head exploded like a viscera filled water balloon. A second koala dived at him and bit into his ankle.

  “Fuck,” he swore, kicking at the feral bear which flew through the air and landed somewhere amidst the swarming crowd.

  “What do we do John?” Truffle asked, backing up, “I know I said I’m fierce but I can’t fight this many.”

  “RUN!” John shouted, scooping up Truffle and charging into one side of the hoard.

  Adrenaline coursed through him as he made a mad dash for the nearest alleyway, kicking and firing wildly as he went.

  The sound of clanging steel was deafening as he waded through the sea of koalas.

  “Watch out!” Truffle screamed from under his arm as a red-eyed koala jumped out of the crowd with a vicious smile on its face.

  John lifted his free arm to block it, but he wasn’t fast enough as the spry animal landed on his shoulder, knives out in front of it.

  “Motherfucker!” He shouted as the two blades impaled his upper pec.

  The koala hung on, knives sticking into John like it was climbing an ice wall. Its chittering teeth sounded like laughter.

  Dropping his revolver, he grabbed the little cretin and threw it back into the crowd before jumping over the remaining bears into the alleyway.

  “We made it,” he sighed, pressing his hand into his bleeding chest.

  “Uh, boss,” Truffle said, “you might want to look behind you.”

  John turned just in time to see the feral beasts gush into the alleyway, a torrent of fluffy mayhem, as they charged towards him, clambering over one another as some of them appeared to be running on the walls.

  Like Indiana Jones with a golden idol in his hands, John turned and sprinted down the alleyway with Truffle clutched tightly under his arm.

  “What the hell is wrong with these things?” He shouted exasperatedly, between heavy breaths.

  “It’s always the cute ones,” Truffle replied, “being adorable is a fa?ade.”

  “I hope you’re not speaking from personal experience,” John replied as he pumped his legs as fast as he could.

  Truffle didn’t have time to reply as they reached the end of the alleyway which opened up into a wide-open expanse, ringed with buildings.

  John could hear the koalas closing in on him, so, mustering the last of his strength, he put his head down, channelling his inner football player, and charging straight into the middle of an open area.

  His legs burned something fierce as he pumped his free arm for all he was worth.

  CRASH.

  He fell onto his backside as he collided with something.

  “Ow, what the-”

  “Who the hell are-”

  “Get out of my way-”

  John looked up towards the unfamiliar voices to see two men and a woman. It seemed all four of them had collided with one another.

  He had so many questions, but the koalas were closing in. There would be time for answers later. Moving to stand, he looked behind himself to see that the hoard of cuddly death bears had stopped.

  They seemed to be shuffling in from four separate alleyways that all led into the same grassy expanse that he now found himself in.

  They formed a ring around the group of humans, and Truffle, and then just… stopped. Red eyes glared at them from all sides as the newcomers looked just as unsure as John felt.

  Well folks, it seems our lucky contestants have finally arrived, a jovial and familiar voice rang out from all around them and invaded John’s mind.

  “I think we’ve found the next challenge,” John said, his stomach flip flopping as the annoying voice of the announcer surrounded them.

  Are you ready for the Hob-Koala Hullabaloo? The announcer asked loudly, like a gameshow host hyping up a crowd, because I know I am, and this one is sure to be the bomb.