July 3, 2025; He'd thought about how to get more room for everyone and remembered coming past the campground after crossing Pigeon Creek and making it to the top of the ridge, he'd thought he spotted a large tan canvas military tent nearly hidden from the highway. He'd spotted it from the small, capped stove pipe sticking out over the top of the large tent.

  Clay and Jill made their way through the campground and RV park and he noticed several RVs had movement from inside of them as the zombies that weren't smart enough to open a door that was latched, wondered inside the enclosed space back and forth slowly.

  As they pulled up to the tent Jill asked, "What are we doing?"

  "We're going to take this back with us. Come on, let's see if anything is inside and then we'll see what we can scavenge from the other RVs and the store further down the road." Clay said as he stepped out of the side-by-side.

  Jill readied her mace at the framed door to the canvas tent and as Clay opened it they both rushed in to deal with anything inside. A partially eaten corpse lay on the floor and a female zombie that Jill quickly dispatched. It only took the two of them about an hour to dismantle the tent, including the stove and cots and pack it onto the trailer. They spent roughly another hour filling up the gas cans and working their way through the RVs that were locked or had dead and undead occupants inside.

  They managed to gather a fair amount of canned goods and more toiletries from them and a shit load of more blankets. Clay was very satisfied as they pulled out of the RV park and started home. They had passed several construction sites with new houses partially built, with materials stacked inside or tarped outside in neat stacks and bundles. They made room for as much lumber as he thought the Gator would pull and he and Jill continued heading back to the cabin. As they dropped off the fog-shrouded ridge and came out of the wood line into the valley they passed the other women herding five calves and a larger black and white cow with a harness on being led by Erin on the horse. She'd switched with Dolly at some point.

  He could see Davey, Luke and Joanna working on a fenced-in area off to the West of the cabin. They quickly unloaded and set out again with Jill and Sigrid to gather as much lumber and building materials as possible. Jill even managed to kill a normal wild boar on the way as it charged them. She was giddy about gaining another level as they pulled back into the RV park, the hog loaded in the back of the Gator.

  He intended on collecting as many batteries as he could out of the RVs on this second trip after Anna and Martha had given him an ear full after not bringing any back on the first load. After they collected nearly every battery they could, there were a few they didn't have the tools to get out regardless, they made their way back to the construction sites.

  While he worked to slide twelve-foot boards used for floor joists down through an empty hole in the wall where a window would have eventually gone he heard Sigrid exclaim in surprise and then excitement. Jill stopped helping Clay and rushed off to help Sigrid with whatever she had found. He found himself loading the joists a few minutes later after he couldn't fit anymore through the window. He stacked them in tight and just as he finished loading them and was about to head back upstairs to lower some more down when he spotted Jill and Sigrid coming down the hill. A large box was held between them as they struggled down the hill with it.

  Clay quickly moved to help them and soon found out Sigrid had been curious about what was tarped and sitting on a concrete pad a little bit away from the house in a clear area. What she found were four large solar panels already pre-assembled and ready to hook up. Needless to say, they spent the next hour loading the solar panels on top of the floor joists. They even managed to load the large power bank to hook them to. It took a while to strap everything down and they had to tie the hog onto the front of the Gator to make enough room but they managed. By two in the afternoon, they finally headed back towards the cabin.

  However, only ten minutes into the journey he heard a scream even over the side-by-side engine. Sigrid soon spotted a group of men and women, some of them wearing camouflage, bags on some of their backs, children on others, clinging for dear life as they fled towards Clay's group through the woods. Some people that noticed them, yelled as soon as they were in sight for them to run. He could see a large black feline pounce on a man trying to run with two large duffel bags in either hand, his scream of excruciating pain echoing through the trees.

  "Fuck!" Clay said, hurriedly getting off the side-by-side and summoning Ox. His adrenaline spiked. Something pulsed out from him.

  "Greater Aura of Malice activated," Kris said.

  "Be ready for anything!" He told Jill and Sigrid as the beast leaped at a running woman, taking her down with a mighty swipe of its paw. She screamed as the beast bounded towards them, leaving her wounded where she had dropped, then stopped dead in its tracks. A low feline growl issued from it as its ears lay back and it took a cautious step back away from Clay. He kept his eyes on its giant golden orbs, casually walking towards it.

  "You know me little kitty." He swiped his axe menacingly as if loosening up for a fight. "Is today your day?" He used Greater Eyes of Insight as he continued to walk closer as people streamed past him.

  Iris, Large Mutated Beast;

  Level: 12

  Type: Animal

  Health Points: 1400

  Mystical Points: 168

  Strength: 38

  Dexterity: 48

  Intelligence: 24

  Wisdom: 24

  Passive Abilities - Cats Grace; Endurance; Pass Without Trace; Track

  Skills - Frenzy; Rending Claws

  "Once a normal house cat, this feline absorbed a large amount of Alpha DNA through one means or another and has mutated, growing larger, smarter and more aggressive," Kris said.

  "Come on, Iris," Clay said as he steadily advanced on the cat, it took another step back, looked around and bounded back to the woman, grabbing her by her spine, the woman was now dead. With another look back at Clay it took off to the north, disappearing quickly into the forest.

  "I think she's afraid of you, Hun," Jill said as he turned back towards her and nodded. That's when he noticed the people near Sigrid, and the side-by-side that wasn't running anymore. Jill had moved up to back up Clay with the large mutated beast which had left Sigrid with the side-by-side. People were hiding behind the loaded vehicle and trailer. "A..are you alright Clay?" She asked hesitantly, almost afraid of the answer she might get. She even stepped back a look of terror flashing across her face, "Clay ..."

  He could feel his heart beating in his chest. Thud.. Thud.. Thud.. He closed his eyes and took a breath trying to regain control of himself. He could still hear the mutated cat Iris, moving through the forest, every bound of its padded paws distinct to his hearing as it rushed away. He could also see everything. "What the fuck..." He managed to say as he closed his eyes, suddenly weak. As he closed his eyes he could still see everything, even with his eyes closed within a hundred feet of him.

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  Except it wasn't seeing them.

  What Clay could see was swirling forms of light, almost like he could see everyone and everything on the molecular level. He could "see" the handle of his axe, how the individual molecules of the wood had joined together to form it, to the tree next to him who pulsed softly as it pumped water and nutrients upwards, to Jill standing only a step away from him. He could see pulses running from her brain through her body in bright flashes accompanied by her increased heartbeat.

  "Ding! Congratulations! Host has acquired... Error. Please stand by. Error. Please stand by. Err..." Kris said repeating herself over and over.

  He was having a sensory overload at that moment and grabbed his head as a sharp pain lanced through his brain. While excruciating he only growled as it felt like a walnut was thrust into his head as if something had... bloomed. There wasn't any other way for Clay to describe it. His adrenaline spiked and he could feel something pulse out of him again as his heartbeat increased.

  Thud.. Thud.. Thud.. It felt like his chest was going to explode. But then a slim, feminine hand gently grasped his shoulder and he heard Jill's voice, "Clay, stay with me. Just breathe." He could see her heartbeat slow as she stepped up to embrace him. She gently rubbed his arms as she continued, her voice a whisper only he could hear, "I'm right here with you, just breathe."

  "System Error has occurred. The system must reboot in 3...2...1..." Kris said counting down in his head.

  He clutched at Jill as his knees nearly buckled, pulling her closer. He could smell her coconut-scented hair as his heart rate slowed steadily. The pain behind his eyes continued though, and he found himself very lightheaded. For nearly two minutes he was like that until he regained enough control to open his eyes. He gave Jill a reassuring smile as he opened his eyes. Thankfully with his eyes open his vision returned to normal. Or as normal as it could be as everything looked like he was viewing the world through a high-definition lens again. He turned and looked at Jill. "Thank you, Dear." He gave her a reassuring squeeze and a wink. That's when he could make out Sigrid's voice.

  "Clay! Jill!" She called from the side-by-side. People had gathered around it and looked towards Clay and Jill with odd expressions on their haggard, tired, dirty faces. He could make out Humans, Orcs and Beastmen in the group. Looking at the wide range of races and with a mix of men and women, he'd say they were the survivors of a community or one of the larger designated shelters that was quickly overrun in the beginning.

  He took Jill by the hand and strode towards them, the axe held ready in his other, just in case. As they neared Sigrid and the side-by-side an orc woman wearing military fatigues, and a young blonde girl of about twelve with short braids poking out of a black wool cap holding onto her hand stepped forward with her hands up but stayed a fairly safe distance away. She was tall and very well proportioned Clay couldn't help but notice.

  "Thank you!" She gestured in the direction the mutated cat had run off in. There were three or four people who were wounded just now making their way to the rest of them, including two young children who were weeping uncontrollably about their mother. "That beast has been hounding us for the last two days off and on." She turned and spoke to the little girl who had been holding onto her and squatted down so she was nearly eye level with the little girl. "It's okay Amanda, wait with Uncle Terry while I speak to these folks."

  It was said very low, but Clay still heard her as clearly as if he were right there beside her. The girl complied, looking warily at Clay, Jill and Sigrid as she went. The woman turned and cautiously stepped forward with her hand outstretched. "My name is Michelle. Could you tell me how you made that beast flee? It killed over thirty of us and no matter what we tried it just continued to come after us."

  Clay let Jill's hand go and swapped his axe over to his left hand as he stepped forward to shake her extended hand. "I honestly don't know why it won't fight me." He shrugged. "The names Clay, this is Jill and Sigrid."

  He tried to use his Greater Eyes of Insight ability as he extended his hand to her and received. "Rebooting please be patient..."

  Something sparked between Michelle and him through their calloused hands as they clasped hands and shook. He felt.. odd for a moment. And then Michelle gasp as her eyes grew wide and she whispered, "Oh, shit! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Please don't.."

  "DING! Congratulations! You have succeeded in...Error...Rebooting... Please stand by." Kris almost sounded like she was in... Pain? And what the fuck did Michelle just try to do?

  And then he felt something as a shiver passed over him and he felt the pain in his right knee from catching it on the corner of the trailer earlier to the constant ache in his right side. It seemed to flow through his hand into Michelle as she gasped. One of the men in her group stepped forward but she waved him back. "No! That was my fault. I.. what the fuck is wrong with your side?" She clutched at her right side, holding the exact same spot he could still feel, just not as badly as he had before he'd grabbed her hand. Which he quickly let go of and brought his axe up defensively.

  Jill stepped forward, positioning herself right next to Clay as the woman raised both hands in a nonthreatening gesture. "What the fuck did you do?" Jill demanded as she raised her mace threateningly. "I fucking saw something." Her look was accusing and worried.

  "I, uh, I'm sorry. I uhh," Michelle backed up a step.

  Jill matched her step as he felt Sigrid now on his other side. That's when things got out of hand.

  "Bang!"

  A gun fired as Michelle yelled, "No, don't!" But the bullet ricocheted off Jill's shield and he felt a sharp burning sensation as he looked down at his stomach. But he only felt it for a second as Michelle hit the ground clutching at her stomach. He could feel the pain disappear as the wound almost instantly closed.

  "Mommy!" Yelled the little girl, Amanda from behind the group of people.

  "Fucking, fuck!" Jill cried smashing a charging man's knee as her shield blocked another man's knife strike. "Shield Bash!" She slammed her shield up and forward into the knife wielder's face as he stumbled backward. Her next strike slammed into a man's shoulder. "Smite Enemy!" The man flew sideways, into the man that Jill had bashed in the face with her shield, causing both men to go down in a pile as she rushed forward.

  Sigrid nearly took a bearded man's arm off as he swung at her with a machete and she ducked under his arm, stabbing him in the shoulder and dragging her blade under his arm as she jerked it free as she stepped behind him and stabbed a woman that appeared to be a martial artist in her knee as she tried to kick her.

  He raised his free hand towards the now partially hostile group as several women and children in the back screamed and yelled "No!" and "The children, protect the children!"

  "Web Bomb," Clay said. His hand was outstretched as he expected the skill to work for some reason.

  "Rebooting. 69% Complete, please be patient..." Kris said almost as if she were starting to panic.

  "What the fuck!" He said as he saw a man swinging a spiked baseball bat at Sigrid. The fucking system really was trying to kill him! He swung his axe, barely able to catch the man's bat with Ox as he moved forward. He heard another gunshot but didn't feel anything as he grabbed the man with the bat and jerked him violently forward as he snapped his head into the man's nose with a sickening crunch as cartilage smashed and the the man went limp. Clay discarded him as he blocked another blow with his forearm holding the axe from a black boot.

  He kicked the woman now in front of him in the stomach as her booted foot was still extended sending her sliding painfully on her stomach beside Michelle and Amanda on the ground only a few feet away from Clay. He got hit in the face with a left hook as he felt a knife slide across his left bicep from two men who quickly replaced the woman. He swiped Ox down catching the first man that had hit him on the inside of his elbow with the hook of the axes blade as he slammed the butt of the axe handle up to the side, catching the knife wielder's face as something popped and what he now could see was a birdlike Beastmen crumpled at his feet nearly tangling him up.

  He got fucking kicked hard in his midriff by the other man, an Orc as he recovered quickly from the slash to his arm from Ox. But he barely felt the blow as he heard a woman vomit nearby and a little girl crying out.

  He pulled Ox back to strike the man as he heard another man yelling. "What the fuck! Stop! EVERYONE STOP! We don't need to attack them, just stop!" Came the man's deep voice from behind the people now attacking Jill, Sigrid and himself. For some reason, Clay was fairly sure nobody had heard the man over the battle now enveloping them.

  He swung Ox, "Crippling Strike!" As Ox bit deep into the man's forearm.

  "Rebooting. 81% Complete, please be patient..." Kris said, her tone still the same almost panic as earlier.

  Clay, not having enough time to get a proper swing quickly struck the man with his own left hook as he caught the man on the chin sending him staggering to the side as Clay stepped forward, now right over Michelle and Amanda as the latter screamed. He watched Sigrid drop another man, as she spun away stabbing the next woman in both arms and legs as he heard her say, "Flurry of Blades!" The woman dropped.

  Jill smashed another man into the asphalt of the highway as she yelled, "Divine Wrath!" The man looked like he was smoking as he bounced off the highway once and lay still. Jill already calling out, "Shield Bash!" As she knocked a Beastmen out of her way. In front of her, he could see the gunman. Or at least he was holding a gun.

  But as he squeezed the trigger he heard himself yell, "No, Jill!"

  "Bang!"

  He saw her jerk as she swung her mace. "Smite Enemy!" Jill cried as he could see an expanding red spot on her thin windbreaker jacket. She was suddenly covered in gore as the man's head exploded as her flanged mace connected with the top of his skull.

  "No" He called out as he was hit in the knee with a bat, he went down but didn't feel anything as he heard Michelle cry out in agony and clutched her knee. Clay let out a feral growl and grabbed the probably twenty-year-old man's face with his large calloused hand and easily picked him up and slammed the back of his head onto the asphalt as it popped right next to Michelle, Amanda and the other women who were all looking at him like they were looking at a monster. Well, Amanda and the other women were, Michelle was clutching her knee and screaming.

  "Ding! Congratulations! Level... Error. Rebooting 96% complete, please be patient... please..." Kris nearly whimpered in his head as he stood up, grabbing the next man who swung a long knife at his face by his throat, now furious.

  The pain behind his eyes was excruciating as something clicked in Clay's mind. Almost like something oozed out of the fucking walnut that had been shoved in there a few minutes ago until it dissolved and was absorbed into him. "Fuck you all! I don't need the system."

  His hand glowed as the man he now held burst into bluish-purple flames from the inside out, starting with small cracks that quickly grew larger and larger until he burst into a charcoal-like powder.

  Everyone stopped dead in their tracks as if time had been stopped, and Clay was surrounded by small golden motes of light before he was enveloped in its warm radiance.

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

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