Surviving the Apocalypse with a System.

Shattered Republic (Part 3)

“You have got to be fucking kidding me ,” Hamilton clicked . The elevator was not responding.

“This creature , it seems to have an effect on the electronic equipment around it. All the lights exploded in the washroom when it made its appearance,” Jack started pacing around , debating in his mind on whether on not to take the stairs instead.

“ Around it ?” Linzy repeated his words, “ does that mean that it’s nearby , stalking us from the shadows?”

“ The possibility cannot be ruled out , but then again it may have just passed by a while ago . That would have the same effect right?” Hamilton turned to Jack who seemed to be the man with a plan.

“ Yes it would ,” Jack answered and turned to Timothy , “ Uum sir ,”

“ Speak your mind Mr Kamphar , right now survival takes precedence above all else,” his boss encouraged him.

“ Of course sir , I wanted to ask whether you think you can handle the stairs while you carry Cynthia,”

“ We are only on the second floor , I can manage,” Timothy replied. Each of his subordinates was doing everything in their power to survive , he also had to push himself.

“ Jack , we might run into one of those things if we take the stairs. Plus , they are narrow , being cornered would be the end of us. Isn’t there really a way to get this elevator working?” Linzy worried. She was holding down her nerves and attempting to keep the cool while in reality her heart was racing drums inside her.

“Time is what we don’t fucking have Linzy, the longer we stay here the higher the chances that the monster will walk through the hallway and find us,” Hamilton snapped. The looming threat was driving him out of his mind.

“ Your fire attack , you can still do it right?” Jack asked , an idea forming in his mind. His ability to think through difficult situations was starting to kick in.

“ Taking out that monster requires me to charge my Raging Inferno attack to maximum output . With that kind of toll , I can only manage one more shot without risking my life ,” Hamilton answered.

“ Then one is all we will need. Let’s get anything that can be used as a weapon from the offices , something preferably sharp and steady. Hamilton , you have military training , help us here.

Afterwards we will take the stairs and leave this building,” Jack explained, a sense of leadership growing within him. They risked a lot going back to the offices , but taking the stairs without any way to defend themselves was worse.

The stairs were set in a descending hallway that had three turns before one reached the floor below. It had been built to just substitute the elevators , so the architectural design favoured narrowing the hallway to create more space for the offices.

The five people descended the stairs silently , careful not to draw unwanted attention to themselves. When they had made the first turn down the stairway , they heard the all too familiar wailing of the beast. It was now in the offices that they’d just come from .

Linzy closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath to block out the sounds of the beast. The meditation tricks she had taught herself online on Youtube were the only reason she was still able to remain so composed.

She knew that with the exception of Timothy , the rest of the group counted on her to remain strong so that they could draw onto their own strength through her.

Hamilton would probably go berserk if he lost his cool , choosing to throw his head straight into the jaws of danger if it meant he would take down a beast with him before dying.

Cynthia was fighting for her life and Jack , well she was not sure of what to make of him. He had suddenly taken charge of the group and was leading them through the situation with seemingly relative ease.

Then there was still the issue of the miraculous healing of his injured ankle. The only way one could do that was if they were a mage with the Healer class elemental ability. She was sure Jack was no mage.

Timothy picked up his pace to walk besides Linzy. He freed his right hand and dug into his inner coat pocket , pulling out his wallet.

“Open it,” he gave Linzy the wallet. Hamilton turned towards them with an angry look , they were making noise. He however retreated when his boss matched his gaze.

“ Why are you giving me this sir?” Linzy said as she took it and opened it. The first thing that she saw was a picture of Timothy and a woman in her late forties. She recognized her as her boss’s wife , Mrs Misika Chester.

“ She’s a doctor in the army , currently stationed at their headquarters .

If I don’t make it out alive , then I beg you find a way to get her somewhere safe . She may refuse to see you , if that happens , mention the date that Jack was employed in this company. I’m sure you know it,” Timothy said , lowering his tone .

Before Linzy could react to this , Hamilton raised his hand in the air as a signal for everyone to stop moving.

He and Jack had been walking at the lead and had been the first ones to make it past the last corner of the stairway , whose overhead light bulbs were glitching on and off in an unsettling familiar manner.

“ They are not exploding ,” Jack noted and turned to Hamilton on his left. The message did not require words. A hound was nearby.

“ You were right , there is no way we are going to make it out alive with that monster around,” he lowered his voice.

“ And you were right , there might be more of them,” Jack said , leaning over to the wall on his right as a sense of hopelessness started overtaking him.

He had encountered the beast first hand and escaped death by the skin of his teeth. He knew , better than anyone else in the group, what that monster was capable of.

Hamilton saw this and decided to take matters into his own hands. He moved forward , reaching the end of the stairway. There was a slight bend on the wall which allowed him to survey the first floor without being seen.

They had been right , for standing beside the corpse of a janitor was a wolf-like beast similar to the one he had shot Raging Furnace at. It was too preoccupied devouring its victim’s body to notice him though.

“ You have a System Bossman , use it already ,” the voice that had been inside Jack’s head while he was escaping the beast snapped at him , throwing him off the edge a little.

“What ,” Jack was a little loud. Hamilton’s heart doubled its rate as he watched the monster react. He quietly aimed his two fingers at it , preparing to use his Raging Furnace attack.

The beast stopped feeding and raised its pitbull-like head up. It looked around for a moment , turning right into Hamilton’s direction. Hamilton was quick to retreat to the curve of the wall and prayed that he had not been spotted.

The beast moved forward , taking measured steps towards the stairway , its massive jaws parting to reveal menacing carnassials that the other first hound didn’t have.

One of the bodies that it had been devouring raised its head in agony and looked to the side. She was still alive and the monster had apparently been gorging on her abdomen while she was unconscious. When she saw the beast , then had a look at her pouring guts on the floor , the woman lost her sanity and screamed to kingdom come.

The beast responded immediately , going back and pouncing on her neck , finishing the job that it had delayed. Hamilton sighed with relief .

“Oopsie, my bad. But seriously Bossman , you people will all die if you don’t get your act together,” the inner voice apologised. The voice then went silent and the blue screen appeared in front of Jack.

“The fuck is wrong with you man,” Hamilton struggled to lower his voice as he walked back to the group.

“How many monsters are there?” Jack jumped the topic.

“One . Must be another of those wolves , the other one we met earlier should have a nasty scar on its shoulder.”

“ We will have to get across the first floor if we are to reach the next flight of stairs,” Jack continued , looking back at the way they had come through. He was seriously doubting the idea in his head , yet it was their only shot at survival.

“ And the monster , what shall we do about it,” Timothy drew closer.

“ One thing is true , it's only a matter of time before the other one behind us comes walking down these stairs ,” Linzy stated the obvious.

Jack looked at the blue screen floating in front of him .

[

Personal Attributes:

Strength - Level 2

Speed - Level 3

Durability -Level 1

Stamina - Level 1

Talents :

1) Rejuvenation - Stage 1 ,level 1

2) Perception - Max level

]

“ I’ll draw it into this hallway , it’s narrow and it won’t have much wriggle room. Then Hamilton will put it down with a hit directly into its head from his elemental power. There is no room for mistake , we miss this shot and we are done for,” he filled them in on his plan. Hamilton had suspected that much.

“And what about us , we will be cornered ,” Timothy opposed. On his back , Cynthia stirred a little and then lifted her head. Hamilton felt a knot of anxiety unravel in his heart , relief setting in on seeing that she was recovering.

“ If we are all very careful , we can manage to get behind the row of desks at the end of this hall. They are nearby and the beast is preoccupied with its meal. Hopefully it won't notice us ,” Hamilton tried to be optimistic .

“ We really do get one shot at this huh. Alright then Jack , I trust you. Let’s end this once and for all,” Linzy said , vain hope rising in her.

Hamilton and Jack stayed in the hallway and watched as the rest of the group walked across to the desks according to plan. Timothy struggled a little with the weight of Cynthia and almost tripped .

They were lucky , the monster did not notice anything. It only paused to drag over another corpse closer to the one that it was devouring.

Hamilton put a hand on Jack’s shoulder , “ It’s now or never , we win or die trying.”