Gathering Supplies

Ian woke up to Ray staring at him with a sneer.

"Did you two lovebirds sleep well last night?" Ray mockingly said. Conner and Mrs.Willard were standing beside him. Ian saw Mrs.Willard smile while giving him the thumbs up.

Ian looked down at his chest and saw Lily sleeping on top of him. Lily slowly woke up from the sound of Ray's voice. She looked at Ian and then at everyone else. Her face flushed as she quickly got off of him and ran into the bathroom.

"Did you get her pregnant?" Ray asked as he faked his coughs.

"Fuck off." Ian glared angrily at Ray. He got up from the floor and stretched his arms.

"Well, anyways." Ray pulled out a map from his bag and spread it across the bed.

He pointed at the middle of the map and said, "We'll have to find another ride and drive through Interstate Twelve to South Colby. It will probably take us at least five days tops."

"Why there?" Ian asked.

"That's where my brother lives, and it's also closer to the middle of the country."

"If we go there, we'll probably be safe from the monster invasion," Ray said.

"Any other questions?" Ray looked back up to face the three members.

Conner came forward and softly asked, "Uncle, how many Souls do you have currently?"

Ray checked his system's status. "About seven hundred from running over those things from earlier, why?"

"In the [Summon] section, you can summon a beast for one thousand Souls," Conner replied. "We'll be able to survive easier if we summon a beast to fight alongside us."

"I'll think about it," Ray said. "But I still have doubts about this whole system thing. It feels a little too weird."

Lily finally came out of the bathroom with a smile. Her face seems much brighter compared to yesterday. She walked towards the group with a light bounce in her footsteps.

"Are we leaving yet?" Lily asked.

"You seem quite happy today, Lily," Mrs.Willard said.

"I guess all I needed was some sleep," Lily told her a white lie and smiled.

"Lily, was it?" Ray looked at her. "We are just about to head out right now."

The group packed their stuff and removed the barricade from the door. Ian slowly opened the door and checked for any monsters in the vicinity before heading out with the group.

The clouds blanketed the morning sky and turned it monochrome. The burning fire throughout town finally died down and left behind scorched buildings. Port Marbine was covered by a thick fog that turned it into a natural maze. Screams echoed endlessly throughout town that resembled hell.

"Damn, this place turned into a real shithole," Ray said.

"I heard monsters have the tendency to do that everywhere they go," Conner rolled his eyes.

They hid behind buildings and wrecked cars to avoid any monster's detection around the area. The fog also made it harder for the monsters to see them. Looking at the mutant fish as he snuck by, he noticed a message popped up in front of him.

[Name: Dragger]

[Rank: F]

[Souls: 100]

Ian whispered to the group, "Guys, look over at that mutant looking fish over there. A message pops up when you're looking at it."

"Rank F?" Conner looked at it with wide eyes and whispered loudly. "You're telling me that this monster is fodder?!"

"Shhh! Let's just get to the grocery store!" Ray commanded them.

"U-uh, gentlemen?" Mrs.Willard shivered. "In front of us!"

Three Draggers came out from the fog and charged at them like raging bulls.

"Shit!" Ray screamed. He aimed his gun at the one closest to him and fired, riddling it with bullet holes.

"Aim for their large eye!" Ian yelled. He shot the one running towards Ray in the eye. The Dragger's eye exploded and black blood gushed out everywhere. It lost its balance and slid across the road before landing in front of Ray. Black blood leaked out of it and soaked the sidewalk.

[Dragger killed. 100 Souls gained!]

The two other Draggers managed to split the group into two. Ian ran out of bullets and hanged his MR-80 behind his back.

He pulled his knife out and said to the two ladies, "I want you two to try to hit its eye when I tell you too."

They both nodded their heads and aimed at the Dragger. The monster charged at Ian with full speed and swung its arms horizontally. He dropped down to his stomach and dodged it. He got up again and rushed at it with full speed. He jumped in the air and rammed his knee into its mouth before backing away. Because of its decaying body, the lower jaw easily broke from the hit. The Dragger swung its arms again and scratched his chest, leaving a deep claw mark. It grabbed his hips and picked him up. Before it ripped him apart, Ian stabbed its bony hands multiple times before it let go of him. Ian made a long, horizontal cut through the side of its belly and intestines spilled out.

Ian grabbed both of its gills and pulled its head back. "Now!"

BAM! BAM!

Both ladies pulled the trigger at the same time. The bullets broke the sound barrier and penetrated into the Dragger's large eye. The dragger wriggled violently on the ground before it died. Ian collapse on the floor with panted breaths. Black blood covered his whole body. Ian's body scent pervaded the girls' noses with a rotten fish smell. The Dragger's intestines hung over his shoulders. Ian glanced at it and toss it aside.

[No kills. 50 Souls gained! Party bonus.]

"You're bleeding!" Lily ran up to him and looked at the wound. She had a worried look on her face as she held his hands.

"I'm fine." Ian smiled at her. "It's not that big of a deal."

Mrs.Willard pulled some paper towels out and poured rubbing alcohol on them. "We need to treat the wound so it doesn't get infected."

She thoroughly rubbed the wound and the surrounding area, then threw the paper towels aside. Ian winced in pain from the sudden burning sensation on his chest. Mrs.Willard pulled a gauze out of her backpack and wrapped it around Ian's chest. They heard a sudden cry coming from Conner and were ready to rush over to help him. The three looked over at Ray and Conner with slackjawed expressions.

"AGGH!" Conner was slamming his rifle repeatedly against the Dragger's corpse while Ray was stomping its head into mush.

Ian heard running in the distance behind him, and his body jolted.

"Guys, we need to go now!" Ian yelled before taking off with Lily and Mrs.WIllard. When the other two heard the monsters coming, they immediately followed after Ian.

It took them half an hour to reach the grocery store. They managed to kill four Draggers along their journey. Ian killed two and gained 250 Souls from them including the party bonus kills. When they arrived there, the bipedal monster was missing. They quietly walked inside the building while avoiding debris.

"Gather everything that you can," Ray commanded. "Food, water, medical supplies, or whatever you can find."

All of them split up and searched the place. Lily followed behind Ian. The store was dark and many of the shelves were empty. They came across an empty backpack on the floor and picked it up. They continued searching and only managed to find few cans of food and a couple bottles of water on the floor.

"Do you think everyone else managed to leave town?" Lily's voice broke the silence.

"I don't know." Ian shook his head and said. "Many either have died or locked themselves inside buildings."

"Oh..." Lily felt a bit depressed thinking about it.

"For now, we need to worry about our own survival," Ian said and bent down to kiss her forehead.

Lily's face flushed as she nodded her head. Everyone gathered back together after looting the place.

"Alright, let's head back out and find a car," Ray said.

"Someone, help me!" They heard a child screaming outside of the store.