Jose had often reminisced about the days when he could lose himself in a fantasy story. He wondered now—what had made them feel so warm, so inviting?
After a while, he realized it was the adventure. The exploration.
The characters in those stories traveled across strange lands, stumbled into danger, and came out stronger on the other side. That was what he had longed for once, back when life allowed such whimsical daydreams.
And now, in this new world, he had a chance to live it.
To be free of the suffocating weight of mundane life—of rent, bills, and meaningless metrics like social media likes.
Free from a society ruled by indifferent billionaires.
Free from the dull ache of surviving instead of living.
A half-smile crept across his face as he donned his new gear. The leather creaked comfortingly with his movements.
Giddiness threatened to rise in his chest. But Jose had always been a pragmatist. He knew this journey might offer adventure, but it would come wrapped in pain and danger.
Adventure had found him by circumstance—he had little choice but to keep moving until he found his family. Would he still feel that itch to wander once he reunited with them? Or would he settle? He wondered.
'I guess only time will tell,' Jose thought.
***
The first thing he did was head for the nearest high-rise. He needed a good vantage point before deciding where to go next.
He found a mostly intact building. Most of the surrounding structures had been damaged—some by the colossal Iron Lions, others by whatever apocalyptic event had triggered the blackout.
The tallest one left was missing several floors from the top. It was supposed to be ninety stories, but he estimated seventy remained. That would do.
By the time he'd found his way to the building and climbed to the thirtieth floor, darkness had begun to fall. Unbeknownst to him, the building was teaming with Tainted, and they became much more active in the night.
As he reached the landing, a disturbing sound crept into the stairwell. It was like the cackling of a hyena pack—feral, hungry, and too close.
Then the horde came.
They burst into the stairwell above and surged down like a tsunami. Dozens fell over the rails and crashed to their deaths below, but just as many came thundering down the steps toward him.
He quickly kicked the door open on the landing and made his way onto the floor.
Jose craved adventure and to prove himself, but he wasn't stupid or crazy, he knew that facing such a horde alone at his current level would be tantamount to suicide.
He got halfway down the corridor before another pack turned the corner ahead—trapping him between two hordes.
With no other choice, he kicked in the nearest apartment door and made his stand behind it, hoping to funnel the Tainted into a narrow chokepoint.
He dropped five Orbs just beyond the threshold.
His Orbs exploded in showers of lightning, devastating the front lines. Monsters fell before the onslaught, leaving scorching bodies behind that quickly turned to ash.
But just as they began turning to ash, others quickly took their place. Jose dug in and began the exhaustive battle.
Each stab of his dagger felled a monster. Their only weakness was the head, like zombies, and he exploited it mercilessly.
Every tenth monster, he'd launch several more Orbs in front of the entrance.
His skills didn't seem to be ether hungry, but he'd resolved to use them sparingly, considering that he didn't know how long he would be fighting.
Soon, the entrance was carpeted in black ash. Jose began coughing—choking on the thick, acrid air. He stumbled back into the apartment, retreating to a side room.
But the frenzied horde was faster than expected. They surged into the room, surrounding him before he could reach cover.
He dumped every point he had into Agility and Capacity.
Then he let loose.
He alternated between dropping Orbs and activating Strike. His movements blurred. Sparks of lightning lanced through monsters. Daggers slashed and pierced.
Though his body was now much tougher, and his constitution was much higher than it had been, it wasn't long before the scratches and bites from the monsters began adding up.
His new gear afforded him protection to the more vulnerable parts but did not cover every inch of him. It also did nothing for blunt force.
Surrounded as he was, the monsters found the unguarded parts of his body and left behind gruesome wounds from bites, slashes, and powerful strikes.
He was bleeding from several places and exhausted but was also gaining nourishment at an unprecedented pace.
Soon, he reached level seven and received a new skill.
[You have leveled up.
You have acquired a new skill, Bolt.
Bolt - Discharge bolts of lightning scorching and electrocuting your enemies.]
He didn't wait.
The skill exploded out of his dagger as he stabbed a Tainted, and a bolt of lightning lanced forward as his dagger dug through the monster's skull striking the monster behind it.
At some point, Jose had begun using the skills by simply thinking the names as opposed to yelling them out, allowing him to conserve more stamina for fighting.
He wasn't sure how long he'd been fighting, but he was exhausted and bleeding profusely.
After a time, his ether began running low causing a stabbing pain to begin in his chest. Every time he used a skill the pain became more pronounced till it felt as if a spike was being driven through his very heart.
He poured the last of his ether into a final combined attack—Strike and Bolt—aimed at the floor beneath him as he stomped, hoping to create an escape route.
But what came next was something new.
A blast of thunder and lightning erupted from the stomp in every direction. Walls cracked. Windows shattered. Monsters burned.
[You have unlocked a new skill, Thunder Wave
Thunder Wave - Discharge a thunderous electromagnetic wave in a ten-foot diameter electrocuting and devestating your enemies.]
Quickly, Jose gulped in deep breaths, fighting through the stabbing pain in his chest, and prepared for the horde to collapse back in on him.
To his eternal surprise, no more Tainted appeared in the hall or rushed into the room.
Exhausted, he fell to his knees, gasping for air.
He staggered upright and stumbled out of the room, knowing the noise would surely attract more. He had to hide. Had to recover.
Jose froze at the end of the hall; he could hear that dreadful hyena-like laughter from around the corner and had no strength or ether left to stand and fight.
He turned and began pulling on doors, hoping to find an open one.
As the noise got closer he began yanking at doors, desperate to find one unlocked. His body screamed with every step. Bruised ribs, bloodied limbs, torn flesh.
Then—an open closet.
But the laughter was coming from that direction too.
No choice.
He dug deep and sprinted to the closet, diving in and quietly closing the door behind him. He'd made it just in time—a mob of Tainted ran past the door.
They tore into the apartment he'd been in, smashing furniture, howling their unsettling laughter, seeking prey. He sat trembling in the back of the closet, blood soaked, barely daring to breathe.
The Tainted quieted down. Seconds later, he could hear them loudly sniffing the air in the hall.
They were tracking the scent.
The loud sniffing got closer and closer to his hideout.
'Fuck… I guess this is it,' he thought bitterly. 'I'm sorry everyone. I hope you're safe. I hope you're strong. I just wanted to see you all one last time.'
'I should have been more careful, at least until I found them all. I should have pursued this adventurous type of life much sooner,' he'd felt alive during the last several weeks.
Fighting for his life and hunting monsters had awakened something in him and he was just now starting to allow himself to enjoy it.
'I should have enjoyed my own life more. I should have pursued love, regardless of the crushing pain of the past. I should have done so many things…'
He could now see the major turning point in his life. He'd been so alive when he'd held the child he thought to be his son. It was like holding a ray of sunshine that radiated love and happiness within him.
The moment he'd found out the child wasn't his, his heart was broken.
The fact that it was his best friend who'd betrayed him so, made his heart bitter and cold.
The moment he'd found out that he would never father children of his own, his heart became stone, and bitterness filled his days.
His entire adult life he had been as a workaholic, not from ambition—but to escape the pain.
Rife with regret, he struggled to his feet and prepared for his final fight. Only a miracle would see him through it considering that he was out of ether and half dead.
Now he would die alone, hiding in a closet, having rediscovered life only to lose it again.
It took all of his strength and courage just to muddle through the pain and stand.
But after long, agonizing minutes… the sniffing faded. The laughter died off. The monsters dispersed.
Several minutes later, Jose collapsed onto the floor exhausted.
It had taken a while to calm down after realizing that they hadn't found him, and even after they dispersed, he stood there anticipating their return before allowing gravity to pull him back down.
His body was torn and bloody, but maybe the cleaning chemicals in the closet had served to cover up the smell enough to fool the monsters.
Or perhaps they simply couldn't follow the trail due to their own stench. Whatever the cause, Jose was thankful that they hadn't been able to find him.
Jose laughed bitterly coming to a realization. It hardly mattered if the Tainted hadn't found him and finished tearing him asunder. He was out of ether and had lost a ton of blood.
His body was freezing from the blood loss, his lungs burning, his heart was ready to explode, and his ether would not regenerate in time to heal himself. No matter what, he would die in this closet.
Or so were the thoughts his depressed and addled mind tried to force upon him. His determination to live and be free of the anguish his heart had carried for so long, however, brought him through.
Barely conscious of his movements, Jose removed his backpack and took out what was left of his first aid supplies. He broke a broomstick and stuck a piece between his teeth. Clenching his jaw he poured water and alcohol on the worst of his injuries.
He swooned from the burn of it, biting down to muffle the moan escaping his lips.
Delirious with shaky hands he methodically stitched and bandaged himself back together before passing out.