June 21, 2025; Clay roared in rage as he found himself charging forward at the mutated giant spider without any thought of his safety. He could feel himself getting weaker as he lost more and more blood from his shoulder. He ignored the excruciating pain as he leaped onto the beast's back, its abdomen was currently low to the ground as it fought with John and Luke.

  As he landed, he swung his axe down as hard as he could, hearing a crunch as his axe blew through its carapace and cut deep into the soft tissue underneath. He panicked as the spider bucked and he started to fall forward saying, "Web Bomb!" As he threw it at the spider.

  He was thrown forward though, and as the Web Bomb materialized it came into contact with the spider's back and exploded into a mass of web, incidentally the web managed to wrap around three of the spider's legs as it fell heavily to the ground.

  Fortunately for Clay, he managed to catch himself on one of the spider's trapped legs and immediately chopped backward into the creature's abdomen. The spider thrashed at Clay with a free leg. And Clay kept jerking the axe out and driving it as deep as he could manage as he felt his body getting weaker and weaker. It was trying to free itself and keep John and Luke away from its vital points and Clay was repeatedly chopping into its unprotected abdomen.

  And then Clay hit something deeper inside the spider's abdomen finally. It let out a loud chittering-like roar as it slumped, suddenly lifeless. And Clay, now completely drained, tumbled to the ground, hard.

  "DING! Congratulations! Level 7 obtained. 4 unassigned Ability Points gained. DING! Congratulations! Level 8 obtained. 4 unassigned Ability Points gained." Kris said as everything faded away.

  Something was shoved in between his teeth as he heard, "Regenerate!" His jaw clamped down and he tried to scream as he felt the very cells in his wound regrowing. He could see John and Luke on either side of him holding him down as tight as they could. Jill, her face bloody and bruised held his head in her lap as he tried to scream in agony. It felt like a million ants were crawling inside him.

  He could see Amy holding her two glowing hands over his shoulder, and Dawn and Tonya held his legs as he tried in vain to get away from Amy's hands.

  "You'll be okay. Look at me, Clay!" His eyes snapped back to her and he could see she was sobbing. "Stay with us, please God?" Jill pleaded.

  "He lost so much blood!" He heard Dawn say. "Hope, we need those bags! Fucking hurry!"

  The pain was almost unbearable as he felt the back of the hole in his shoulder close with a pinching sensation as Amy began to sweat from exertion and focus.

  His heart was pounding so hard he couldn't believe it was still in his chest! He could feel the hole in his shoulder closing, even his broken collar bone knitting back together as the reforming muscles and tendons forced it back into position. He could even feel the torn muscle in his back and the sliver of wood in his other shoulder being slowly forced out.

  "He's going to go into shock. Keep him still!" Came Amy's strained, weary voice.

  Everything went white in his vision as the voices around him faded away.

  He couldn't move, and everything was so bright that he wasn't able to make out anything around him.

  "So this is the one that managed to catch your attention?" Came an old man's deep voice. "Hmm, I thought he would be, I don't know, more I suppose."

  "More? Did you see that last fight? He's only a mortal and yet he managed to kill an Alpha mutant." Said a female voice.

  "He had some help." Came the old man's voice.

  "Yes, yes of course he did." The woman said dismissively. "But none of them would have survived that encounter without his actions."

  "Well, regardless Gaia, if you don't do something for your Muse, I think others will try to claim him..." The old man's voice trailed off.

  "You're right, Chronos. I don't want to lose him to Morrígan, or another god. I can already see her touch." The voice called Gaia said with a heavy sigh. "Take my blessing Sovereign Clay Benton." The voice sounded right above him as a woman's face obscured by dark curly locks of hair appeared above him. He couldn't make out her face or any distinguishing features as she kissed his forehead. And whispered, "Don't give up..."

  His vision flashed. And he could hear a woman's voice. They were crying, what was she saying? He recognized it, that was Jill! "Clay, please."

  He struggled to open his eyes he was so exhausted. But he managed to force them open as his jaw hurt from biting down hard. "What... the fuck... was that?" He managed through sore jaw muscles that didn't want to work.

  He heard John's voice. "That was Amy's new skill. Unfortunately, it completely drained her." Clay's eyes snapped to John who was holding an exhausted Amy in his arms as he turned to head back into what was left of the house. But paused long enough to nod as he heard Clay.

  "Thank... her for me... I think I was... dead." Clay managed. His fucking muscles all felt like he had used every damn one of them for hours on end without rest!

  Clay could tell it was daylight finally and then Tonya's face replaced Jill's over him as she planted a kiss right on his lips. "I knew you cared about me! But if you ever almost die like that again..." She broke into tears as she grasped him in a hug that put her breasts right in his face as she squeezed.

  It only lasted a moment before Jill shoved her off of him. "Hey now, we fucking agreed." She said shooting Tonya a challenging look which the other woman was oblivious to as she bit her lip and giggled to herself.

  Clay could hear her saying something but only caught part of it, "... feel's like. Oh, I can't wait..." Tonya was talking to herself. He tried to sit up but was as weak as a newborn and only managed to rise up on one elbow.

  He could see the dead spider not ten feet from him and tried again to sit up, this time Jill and Tonya helped him sit, and after a few minutes standing. They had to help support him as they made their way into the house.

  He saw Luke and Dawn wrapping a bandage around Hope's leg as the three of them made their way through the damaged house to a bed where Clay sat down, grimacing as he felt completely drained of any energy at all. "I'm just going to rest for a little bit, I think." He said as he lay back on the bed. He felt Jill lay down beside him but he was already falling asleep.

  Four hours later his eyes opened to Tonya gently shaking him. "Come on, Jill fixed us something to eat." She said with a smile. "Everyone else has recovered enough to travel at least a little if you're up to it?"

  He sat up, still hurting everywhere and fatigued but not drop-dead exhausted anymore. And he was so hungry he was surprised his stomach wasn't audible just at the mention of food. "Yeah, I'll be there in a minute." He said giving her a reassuring smile. She disappeared through the door and he groaned.

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  "Yeah, shoes on the other fuckin' foot now dumbass..." He said to himself. "Now they're ready to travel and you feel like warmed over shit." He grumbled at himself as he managed to stand. Tonya or Jill had placed his axe beside the door and he placed it in his spatial storage, then continued out the door and into the dining room. Or what was left of it?

  Blood stains covered the floor and the remains of what was once a wooden chair littered the floor. Jill and Tonya sat eating their meal, a bowl sat in between them and there was only one other chair. Sitting between the two women. He looked back at the remains of the chair and thought about it. "Nah, they wouldn't destroy a chair just so he didn't have another place to sit without looking like an idiot, would they?" He asked himself as he turned back to the table and took the seat between them.

  "Ladies," he said as he sat, then continued, "Thanks for the meal, Jill. I do appreciate it." He picked up the spoon and started eating. His stomach felt like he hadn't eaten in days. He could see a saucepan still full of beef and potato stew.

  Jill noticed his look and replied, "Amy said you would need it. The skill she used on you consumed everything you had and some." She patted his arm. "Eat as much as you can. We'll head out when you're finished. Everyone else is getting ready. Tonya and I already had our gear ready." She went back to eating as he devoured three bowls full in short order. Only after he had eaten his fill did he finally feel like he started to recover a little.

  That's when he realized the flashing golden orb at the edge of his vision. He focused on it and his status screen popped up.

  Clay Benton, Human Male, Age 40

  Titles: Zombie Slayer

  Level: 8

  Class: Sovereign

  Health Points: 189 / 400

  Mystical Points: 55 / 70

  Strength: 30

  Dexterity: 26

  Intelligence: 20

  Wisdom: 22

  Passive Abilities - Adaptable Conversion; Eyes of Insight; Enhanced Virility; Touch of the Devine; Lesser Spatial Storage; Aura of Malice

  Skills - Vicious Strike; Frenzy; Dark Bolt; Web Bomb

  Remaining ability points to be allocated: 8

  Unread System Message (1)

  He immediately decided to dump all 8 ability points into Intelligence and focused on it as the numbers changed. "Damn another system message too." He said to himself as he was finishing eating. Better see what it says. He focused on it and it popped up.

  "Host has exhibited unknown potential to survive against Alpha class mutants. DING! Congratulations! New Passive Ability acquired: Touch of the Devine has evolved into Mark of the Devine. The host has survived against even Alpha-class mutants and earned the Mark of a Devine being. A blessing has been bestowed upon you. Host gains 10 points in all Abilities." Kris said.

  "Oh... Damn, that was actually really fucking nice! Let's see what my stats look like now?" He thought focusing back on his status screen.

  Clay Benton, Human Male, Age 40

  Titles: Zombie Slayer

  Level: 8

  Class: Sovereign

  Health Points: 189/400

  Mystical Points: 75 / 90

  Strength: 40

  Dexterity: 36

  Intelligence: 38

  Wisdom: 32

  Passive Abilities - Adaptable Conversion; Eyes of Insight; Enhanced Virility; Mark of the Devine; Lesser Spatial Storage; Aura of Malice

  Skills - Vicious Strike; Frenzy; Dark Bolt; Web Bomb

  Well, he still needed a bunch of rest to recover those damn missing Health Points. Nothing for it now though except stay safe while he healed. "Thanks again Jill, I needed that." She hugged his shoulder and she and Tonya quickly cleaned everything up.

  Ten minutes later they were all heading into Granite City Illinois, heading towards the Mississippi River. Clay could see its wide overflowing water as they entered the city limits. They slowly made their way through the city and about an hour later into Madison Illinois, and finally, about an hour before dark, they made it to the McKinley Bridge.

  Its steel trusses looked almost fragile as the river's waters rolled violently only a few meters below its surface. They could see small sections of roadway missing along its length but the biggest issue was the two large mutated dogs that looked like they were patrolling back and forth. Not far from the bridge itself were several recently killed bodies. A group of survivors the mutated dogs killed not long ago. Some of them were partially eaten.

  Everyone looked gloomy when they saw the large mutated dogs but after a few minutes, he said, "I can handle one of them. Can you hit the other with the crossbow Hope?"

  The woman licked her lips as she looked at the terrain and slowly nodded. "I'll need to get into that building." She pointed at a two-story house that would just get her within range.

  "I'll get you there," Luke said.

  "Okay, once you give the signal I'll deal with the other dog," Clay said. The two disappeared as they silently made their way to the house.

  It took nearly twenty minutes before he saw the first mutated dog stagger and fall as it got within range. Clay knew that was his due and popped out of cover behind a nearby city bus. "Dark Bolt!"

  The other beast had walked over to examine its fellow pack member when it was suddenly hit by three black orbs that plunged deep into its body. It hit the ground just behind the other mutated dog. "Come on." He said. "Let's get across and find somewhere safe for the night," Clay said.

  Hope and Luke made their way out of the front door of the house to join them as they walked towards the bridge. Jill picked up a black riot shield lying near one of the corpses while Hope was able to retrieve her crossbow bolt and they cautiously made their way across the bridge.

  The water rolled violently underneath the bridge and as they crossed Clay could see large trees washed downstream had created a sort of water break on the Missouri side of the bridge. Zombies were stuck in the mess of branches and debris built up and it was a very strange scene to Clay as they made their way across.

  Nearly half an hour after dark they finally found a large brick building only twenty yards from the flood waters of the Mississippi River but dry, and defensible. Clay's group had quickly set up a watch order and had a cold dinner before everyone went to sleep. Jill and Tonya set their bedrolls near him and Jill quickly fell asleep. Tonya was on watch first with Amy and Clay found sleep wasn't hard to find.

  Luke woke him up for his turn at watch, and Clay was soon talking quietly with John who had drawn the last watch with Clay.

  "I see a bunch of the fuckers everywhere, the brighter the sky gets," Clay said looking out at the streets that had slowly started to fill up with zombies about an hour before the first light. At first, they had been distant shambling figures wrapped in fog but it soon became apparent there were a lot of them just idly wandering around.

  John grunted. "We'll have to fight at some point. There's too many of them."

  "Maybe not as much as you think," Clay said. "I gained a title that comes with a natural zombie repellent." John arched an eyebrow.

  "How's that help us, Mr Clay? You mean those things won't attack you?" John asked, surprised as Clay nodded.

  "At least the little ones will ignore everything within ten feet of me." He shrugged and then pointed at a much larger zombie just barely visible to them. It held a giant monkey wrench and Clay knew it came from the dockyard not far away. "Those bigger fuckers though will be a problem. And if anyone gets too close to the limit of my repulsion I'm pretty sure the normal zombies will attack."

  John looked at the zombie lord and back to the sleeping form of his wife Amy. Then back at Clay. "That'll make getting through that horde a lot easier. But what about the big uglies?" John asked.

  Clay shrugged, "We'll just have to deal with them as quick as we can, as soon as they get within range. If we let one of them push someone out of the radius they'll almost certainly be torn apart almost instantly."

  "That's better than nothing," John grunted. They continued their watch but no one attacked. And by seven everyone was awake, eating something, and quietly discussing the plan.

  Hope was going to be on point with her crossbow and everyone else would stay as close to Clay as they could to deal with anything that Hope's crossbow couldn't. Clay offered to store everyone's gear but John brought up a valid point that if they got separated then they would need their supplies, so they thanked him but politely declined his offer. He understood completely.

  They waited for Hope to drop the big zombie at the end of the street by an old brick storefront. It took her three shots to finally drop the damn thing. Not from missing either, it had taken three bolts to finally kill it.

  So it was that they made their way down McKinley Street to Interstate 70 and then south to Interstate 44. The Gateway Arch loomed large against the skyline as they finally passed the monument. What looked like large oversized sacks hung from the underside of the Arch itself swaying slightly from the breeze. Luckily they made great time working their way through the plethora of zombies. They only had to kill four of the zombie lords along the way.

  Clay was surprised at how far they made it. After they passed the Arch, the interstate curved back east and by noon they had passed McKinley Heights. Clay could see the SLU College for Public Health and Social Justice just off to their right. Within twenty minutes the interstate turned slightly south along a wide stretch of train tracks as they neared the BNSF Railway station.

  They had to kill several mutated birds that looked like they had once been emus. Clay managed to kill six of them by the time they got close enough for anyone but Hope to do anything and she only managed to kill three. After two minutes of fighting, Clay never got a chance to use his Axe once as the melee warriors engaged the remaining mutated emus without getting a scratch.

  They crossed under the Raynard Nebbitt Crossing, past Oak Hill Cemetery. Seeing it was almost dark they found a house near the interstate and after clearing it of the three zombies inside they settled in for the night. Clay was feeling much better now that he was in Missouri. He didn't know why, he still had a long way to go to make it home, but he felt somehow more at ease.

  He didn't feel safer, or have a false sense of security now that he had entered his home state. But everything felt more... familiar. He even enjoyed himself as John and Amy cooked on a gas grill outside, he apologized to Jill and Tonya for acting like he had.

  Jill just huffed and said, "Saying sorry is easy, Hun. I don't like that you think you have a right to protect us, but we don't have a right to save you from yourself." She grinned mischievously and grabbed his ass. "Don't worry, you can make it up to us." She winked flirtatiously.

  Tonya on the other hand jumped onto him, wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug as she kissed him on the cheek then said in his ear, "You're forgiven. But you have to cuddle with me tonight." She said her voice soft, sending goosebumps across his skin.

  "Hey!" Jill said her tone quickly turning hostile.

  "I mean us. You have to cuddle with both of us tonight." She winked at Jill.

  Jill started to splutter before grumbling, "Well, that's not exactly... You know what, fuck it. You're not getting him to yourself by trying to embarrass me. I get his lap." She grinned at Tonya like she had won the exchange.

  "50 - 50," Tonya said dead serious as if the thought had only struck her cuddle positions were on the table.

  Clay groaned.

  ~Thank you all for reading! I hope to continue producing content you can enjoy.~