"So this is some kind of college campus?" Jose asked, eyes scanning the buildings.
"Yeah," Rashon replied, nodding. "It's the main campus for a tech school. We are in Rhode Island—if the building wasn't magically relocated, that is,"
"But that's impossible. I live in New York and have never been to Rhode Island. How the hell did I end up here?" Asked Maya.
"Yeah, I live in Philadelphia… I mean, I have some family here, but I haven't visited for some time, so not sure how I ended up here either," added Jose.
Rashon exhaled through his nose. "Sounds like one of those fantasy setups—magic, system screens, people yanked across the map without warning."
"Except this isn't a damn fantasy," Jose muttered. "It's not a game or an anime. This is real life."
"Hhhahhh," Maya sighed in exasperation. "Monsters seem to be real now, so I guess it's possible we were somehow teleported around at random or something…"
"What about that screen you saw? What did it say?" She asked.
Jose stopped and nodded his head in appreciation for the others. It was a testament to their resilience and character, how quickly they seemed to accept the situation and try to help each other maneuver it.
'Maybe the statement Rashon just made was more real than I'd like to admit,' he thought.
"Right," he said aloud. "It mentioned a skill. Some stats too. But I don't know how to bring it back up."
"If this works like anime, maybe just focus on it," Maya offered. "Think about your status screen."
Jose nodded, closing his eyes. Within seconds, a glowing interface popped into view. When he opened his eyes, it lingered—interactive and vivid like a floating tablet. He tapped on the skill.
[Strike - Your strikes are empowered with lightning, strengthening them and causing shock and electric burns on impact.]
He read it aloud. "Looks like my fists get charged with lightning. But there's no guide on how to activate it. Do I just punch and hope?"
"If we're following anime logic, you probably have to shout the skill name when using it," Rashon suggested.
Maya raised a brow and gave him a smirk. "You're into anime too?"
He chuckled. "What, you thought you were the only one?"
Jose stepped toward a nearby door. "Guess there's only one way to find out."
He drew back his fist. "Strike!"
Red lightning surged across his knuckles. His punch connected—and the door exploded into splinters.
They all stared, wide-eyed.
"Holy hell," Rashon breathed.
"That... worked," Maya said slowly.
Before they could process it, the zombie from the hallway crashed through the front door.
Instinct took over. Jose stepped forward, body tensed.
"Strike!"
His lightning-charged punch landed squarely. The creature's head detonated, splattering gore across the walls. The remains turned to ash before hitting the floor.
[You have received nourishment for defeating a Tainted.]
Jose stood stock still breathing heavily, as he came to terms with what had just happened.
Had he just murdered a person? Could he still consider them a person? Should they be considered monsters now? If so, would it still be considered murder?
Sweat rolled down his forehead as he spiraled. He'd had to fight plenty of times in his life but this was different, he'd just taken a life.
Could he call it self-defense? It's easy to see how the Tainted would have attacked and killed all of them if given the chance. But could he have just incapacitated it? Did he have to kill it?
A gentle hand touched his shoulder. "Hey," Maya said quietly. "You okay?"
"I… Y… yeah, I think so. It's just, I've never killed anyone before," Jose began.
"You still haven't," she replied firmly. "That thing wasn't human anymore. It would've done to us what they did to that kid and the cop."
"Yeah," added Rashon as he walked up behind them and handed each some bottled water.
"None of the people we've seen die have turned to ash like that. It's clear that it was no longer human… Besides, it would have been self-defense even if they were. Especially considering all of the horrible things we have seen them do in such a short time… You did nothing wrong Jose."
Jose reflected on their words… "Yeah, you're right. Thank you, both of you. And sorry for drawing that monster here like that. I got carried away in the excitement of suddenly having a magical skill."
Rashon shook his head as Maya spoke, "No apology needed. No one would have acted any differently, for the same reason."
"Let's regroup," Rashon added. "If there were more Tainted inside, they'd have shown up by now."
***
"It says I received. Nourishment?… For defeating it. Apparently, they are called Tainted… Maybe nourishment is the equivalent of experience for this system?" Said Jose after gaining his faculties a few minutes later.
"Might be," agreed Rashon.
"Tainted, huh?" Maya mused. "Fits—gray skin, black eyes, rotten vibe."
"Hm… In any case, now that we have a way to fight, we should get to that office and collect whatever weapons we can find," said Jose.
Rashon nodded and went into one of the rooms. He returned with two swords, which, as he had stated, were clearly meant to be used for decoration.
But in the absence of anything else, they would have to do until they acquired real weapons.
He gave the longer katana to Maya and kept the shorter ninjato for himself, while Jose had his new skill to lean on should it come to a fight.
***
Rashon had plenty of water in his apartment, but they lacked bags to distribute that and any nonperishable items they could find into carriable packages. It was decided, the second objective in the building would be to acquire the biggest backpacks they could find.
Beyond the apartment door, they found streaks of blood leading down the hall toward the stairs. It seemed the old Tainted had dragged her meal down with her at some point.
Not wanting to witness such a gruesome scene again, they made their way down a different stairwell.
They crossed the street cautiously, weaving between abandoned cars, staying low.
When they reached the remains of the officer, Jose forced himself to grab the metal baton the officer had dropped earlier.
"Insurance," he whispered as the others looked at him questioningly. He wasn't sure how often he could use his new skill.
The first thing they saw upon entering the building was the body of the young man they had witnessed being attacked earlier that day.
There was blood all around him, the skin and clothing had been mostly torn off, and large portions of him were stripped bare, revealing organs and bones.
Seeing this was especially chilling as it could have easily been one of them lying there torn to pieces.
They quietly stared at the remains for a minute, each lost in their own horrible thoughts before shaking it off.
Tearing themselves from the scene, they made for the hall that would lead them to their destination.
The first door to their left led to the library, and as they passed it they heard the unnerving laughter of the Tainted. Looking inside, they noticed three Tainted attacking another person.
Rashon and Maya moved to help, but Jose quickly grabbed them by the arms and held them back, shaking his head.
It broke his heart, but there was nothing they could do to help, the person was already dead or would be by the time they reached them.
There was also the possibility that the weapons they held would not hold up in a battle against the Tainted, which would ultimately lead to their deaths as well.
They backed away slowly, sadness etched across their faces.
The campus police office door was open—and so was the weapons cage. Empty racks. Messy shelves. Someone had left in a hurry.
In the office, the team grabbed as many guns and ammo as they could find, which weren't much.
In all, they were able to secure three handguns and six mags of ammo, with one shotgun and several shells.
Just as they were about to leave, movement outside the frosted window caught their eye.
It was hard to distinguish exactly what was out there, but its shape and size were unmistakable.
The beast from earlier had returned and was much too close for comfort.
They ducked under the table and stood still; the beast was walking around outside the building sniffing anything that seemed like food.
The back doors were completely broken off the hinges, providing just enough space for the beast to enter the hallway right next to the office they were in, should it want to.
With a bead of sweat rolling down her forehead, Maya began slowly loading the shotgun.
Just remembering how tough it seemed against the Tainted earlier made Jose think a couple of shotgun shells would probably not be enough to take it down.
Luckily, they wouldn't have to find out. The beast had found a suitable corpse before entering the building, picked it up, and scampered off happily back the way it had come.
They released a collective sigh. "That thing is definitely feeding something nearby," Jose whispered, not wanting to risk talking loud enough to draw it back to them.
"We need to get the hell out of here before it comes back," whispered Maya, nodding her head.
"Yeah. One problem though, the entrance to the highway and the pharmacy are in the same direction it went," stated Rashon.
"We'll have to cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, we need to get the hell out of here before it or those Tainted find us," added Jose.
Agreeing, they finished stuffing the weapons into the duffles they had picked up, while taking one handgun each and making their way back out of the building. Taking a different route, avoiding the tainted in the library.
Back at the apartment, Maya turned to them. "Either of you know how to use a gun?"
Both men shook their heads.
She sighed. "Alright. Safety here. Mag release here. Grip it like this. Don't squeeze the trigger until you're ready."
The weapons they held were .45s, and though she was no expert in all things gun-related, she did know how to use a .45.
Circumstances in her life had led her to pick up a gun and join a firing range long ago, and this was her preferred weapon of choice.