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Zombie RPG - Ch 2
🕑 Added 2022-06-06 00:13:00 +0000 UTCNote: For this story, the tables, boxes, and dividing lines I had for all the stat tables aren't able to be pasted here. Just know it would look much cleaner on SH or RR.
Also, this is my first go at a first person novel, not third person like the others. Let me know how you all like it.
My name is Jack Corvo. I'm a 21 year old man who lives with his parents, though not because I'm a parasite of a son. It just makes sense financially for me. I mean, how can I get an apartment in this kind of economy? I'd rather bid my time and save money, moving out when I finish college.
Anyway, I grew up with three siblings, two sisters and a brother, as well as two loving parents.
My life was good, aside from the normal set backs one gets in life. Regardless, I was on track to use my track career as a scholarship acquisition tool and get myself a stable job.
I was a normal man, if not a well accomplished athlete, in this normal world.
So when I opened my eyes and saw someone chewing on the arm of another person, I was quite shocked.
"Hey! Get up!"
"Huh?"
I closed my eyes after hearing a shout, processing the shouts around me.
Kevin was pulling on my arm with shocking strength. I only stood up groggily.
"Kevin? The hell are you doing?"
"That... thing! It's a zombie!"
"Zombie? Those aren't realistic. I mean, just sustaining such a body-"
"Shut up and get away from it!"
Kevin yanked my arm, causing me to fly behind him. I barely maintained my footing as he dragged me back.
That's when I fully opened my eyes and took in my surroundings. That person eating another person was in fact real in all its gory detail. I felt my stomach turn when I smelled the stench of flesh and blood.
Around me were several dozen people, the entire track team in fact. The coaches were herding all the athletes, keeping us together and away from the zombie that was still munching on the corpse of a boy.
It was quite voracious.
"What... Kevin?"
"It just started eating that person. Everyone is pretty sure it's a zombie, so nobody wants to get close."
Kevin was solemn, barely keeping it together as he watched. Nobody could tear their eyes away from the zombie. It was far too vivid, too stimulating to avoid watching.
I felt my adrenaline spike as the reality set in on me.
Those words, that burning and chilling feeling before falling asleep. Was this some kind of precursor? Did it trigger a zombie apocalypse or something?
The world was changing...
Suddenly, I looked to my bag. At some point, everyone became quiet and started backing away under the coaches direction.
There were no other unconscious people, so it seemed like I was one of the last to wake. The girl and boy who had beat me were also rousing from their sleep, having been dragged away earlier.
Our movement seemed to trigger the zombie though. Suddenly, it looked up, staring at us before opening its mouth.
*Screech!!!*
It let out an inhuman noise before charging. It wasn't fast, and didn't look coordinated. It still had the body of one of the men though, so it was big.
At this attack, two of the coaches and four of the men stepped forward. A man's fight or flight response could enable them to kill anything, and I saw their violent expressions in vivid detail.
One of them kicked the zombie away, the body stumbling backward and on its ass. The others came around with swinging kicks. The zombie swiped at them, trying to grab them, but they avoided it as best they could.
At that moment, I sprinted toward my bag. I opened one of the pockets inside, taking out a knife. I unfolded it, half the team staring at me with odd expressions.
Then, I charged toward the fight. Part of me just wanted to hand the knife off, letting them fight the zombie. But I didn't want to be seen as some kind of coward or hypocrite. So despite my thoughts to just stand back and be safe, I stepped forward.
My adrenaline surged as I appraoched. The other men had pinned the zombie down by its limbs and head, keeping it from thrashing around. That's when I moved over.
"I got it! Move!"
I pushed through between them. Then, without the mind to wait for instruction, I pushed the hand holding the zombie's head down out of the way. Even as it began to wave its pale head around, I stabbed down.
The knife buried itself in its skull, right through the forehead. It instantly stopped moving, falling silent.
My breath was hurried as I pulled the knife back out. The feeling of it so easily sliding out made my stomach twist.
I spun around, dry heaving in disgust. The others pulled themselves off the zombie.
As I coughed up nothing, I saw something in my mind.
{You have killed [Zombie - Type 1]}
{As the Grace Period is still in effect, you have gained [Ectoplasm - Type 1] (x1).}
{Congratulations. You have been awakened.}
With those words, I felt something inside me stir. Within my mind I could 'see' a small globule of some kind of liquid. It was totally white, a pure kind of energy. I couldn't do anything with it though.
{Generating Archive...}
{Generated}
{Archive}
Name: Jack Corvo
Species: [Human]
Type: 1
Stage: 3
Health: 85/85
Energy: 96/96
Path: Undecided
Class: Undecided
[Attributes]
Vitality: 17
Agility: 18
Strength: 15
Intelligence: 15
Power: 32
[Abilities]
None
[Traits]
None
[Ectoplasm]
Type 1: 1
I saw this 'Archive', though I didn't have the mind to analyze it in detail.
Still, I could recognize what this was at a glance. A profile, a status page. It was something right out of a game, filling me with an odd feeling.
Then I saw something else.
{For your first kill during the Grace Period, you have been rewarded.}
{You have received a [Random Ability Tome - Type 1]}
{Opening the Tome will provide you with a choice. Choose wisely, as this will affect your Path.}
"Jack! Are you okay?"
Kevin rushed over as a book appeared in my hands. I just nodded as he pulled me to my feet, the bloody knife still clenched in my hand. The adrenaline was slowly wearing off, but I was still filled with a bit of snappy paranoia.
He didn't question the book as I walked over and stowed it in my bag. Perhaps he wasn't sure what to ask. I mean, who could guess that this book appeared from nothing? They probably hadn't seen this Archive yet.
With the zombie dead, everyone felt a little safer. The only problem was the fact that the zombie had once been a person.
It was obvious, though I decided to ignore it initially. The athletic clothes, the lean build. It was one of us, a runner on the team. They had turned into that zombie.
Not much had changed outwardly. There was no rotting like in classic zombie movies. There were only two things that made it look like a zombie. First was the blood all over its face, the result of eating someone alive. Second was the black blood vessels that bulged from its pale skin.
The image was still a bit freaky and unsettling, but it still wasn't enough to disconnect it totally from a human. I couldn't help but grow more sick at the thought.
I had just plunged a knife into its skull. I almost felt possessed, and I'm not sure why I had moved so eagerly to kill it. Maybe it was a sense of duty, or a sense of crisis. Whatever it was, I had acted on impulse and instinct, the desire to kill that monster overwhelming my mind.
Part of me was happy I did, glad that I wasn't a coward. Perhaps I had used that moment to prove myself. Though, with all the sudden changing and abnormal events, I wasn't sure how to feel.
Everyone looked between me and the corpse. Some people knew who it was, but I didn't, perhaps another comforting fact. Some people were a bit fearful of me though now that I carried a knife. Though, if it were just that, it might not mean much. But the fact that I actually used it...
"Everyone, listen up!"
Suddenly, the head coach stepped out.
"I'm not sure what's going on, but there's no doubt that something's happening. This is an emergency situation. I just tried to call 911, but it didn't go through. I might be jumping to conclusions, but seeing this zombie... it seems like the world isn't what it was only several hours ago.
"For now, sticking together is top priority. I'm pretty sure we're not the only ones who heard that voice or experienced that little torture session, so there's no doubt that alerts and alarms will be going off soon. We'll wait for some hours before moving forward. In the meantime, we're going to stay in the stadium where it's safe. Let's get inside first. I also suggest everyone shower. We're all filthy."
With that direction, everyone moved to gather inside the stadium. The girls and boys split into their locker rooms, and many were quick to jump in the shower.
Nobody decided to acknowledge my knife, so I just stashed it away in my pocket. At the same time, I overhead the coaches talking.
"We need to check what's going on outside. One of you head up to the top of the stadium, do a little scouting of our surroundings. Another needs to start filling up jugs of water. Water lines aren't going to be up forever, so we need to stock up as much as possible. Grab our survival kits as well. And if anyone wants to volunteer, heading over to the school campus would be a good idea. We can get in touch with any administrators and figure out our situation. Getting our hands on a landline would be good too."
"I'll take care of the water."
"I got the keys to the emergency supplies."
"I'll head to the campus, but if someone can come with me that'd be great..."
The coaches, of which there were 7, all divided the jobs and took to it. They were surprisingly proactive, the looming crisis pushing them to act.
After a few of them dispersed though, the head coach grabbed one of the male coaches. He whispered in his ear.
"Check on everyone who pinned down that zombie. If it's anything like popular media, this is an infection that can spread. We need to make sure nobody got hurt, and if they did, we need to isolate them until we know what's going on."
"Of course."
With that, the other coach headed to the boy's locker room. He passed by me, and I only nodded to him.
I followed him in, and the coach immediately rounded up everyone who helped pin the zombie I killed. After he spoke to them in a low voice, they all began checking themselves and each other for wounds.
In the end, two of them found light scrapes on their bodies, enough that it barely drew blood. Panic evidently appeared on their faces, but with the coach's reassurance, they didn't freak out.
But they did take measures. The coach took them away to clean the wounds and isolate. Nobody knew if a person could even get infected. And if they could, how extreme was the infection? Could it be fought with one's immune system? Or was it like every zombie movie in existence and the lightest scratch would turn someone within the day?
There was too much uncertainty, so they could only choose to be safe.
As the showers were full, I waited in a corner of the lockerroom by myself. I wanted to check out the Tome, but instead I drew a notebook from my bag. I occasionally had school right after practice, so I kept it on me.
Finding a blank sheet of paper, I started writing what I remembered.
"It is time... Not by circumstance, not by inevitability... True, unbridled prosperity, at the tips of your fingers... Bur remaining ungrasped... All have forsaken the ultimate frontier... the corruption of the degenerate swaying the virtue of the paragon..."
"It is time... The next step... Thrown into the depth of extremity..."
"Evolve... Reach the ultimate frontier..."
"Rejoice, Paragon... The Ascendancy had graced the Earth..."
"And the Demise have come for ruin."
I mumbled the words as they came back to me. My mind felt clearer than normal, perhaps due to the little session of torture, and that event was too shocking not to remember in full detail.
I wrote it all down as I heard it. At that time, Kevin walked over and saw what I was doing. He read through it, and I bit the tip of my pen.
"Is this everything?"
"...Yea. Except for the last part." Kevin pointed to the last few lines. "I didn't hear the word Paragon after he said rejoice. I heard Deva."
"Deva? I definitely didn't hear anything like that." I rebutted.
"Was it different for everyone?"
We became curious. Suddenly, we walked to a few friends, getting another perspective.
"Yea, I heard Deva too."
"I heard Paragon."
"I actually heard Archon."
"I heard Paragon!"
Everyone started to jump in, calling out what they heard. Shrugging, I made a counter, tallying the number of people who heard different things.
In the end, there were three different words people heard. Paragon, Deva, and Archon.
Out of 85 men, 54 of them heard Deva. 27 of them heard Paragon. And 4 of them heard Archon.
It was odd, clear that everyone was divided somehow between these three categories. Other than that, I wasn't sure what it could mean.
This voice was obviously displeased with Earth in some way, taking about the degenerate swaying the virtue of the paragon. Taking it literally, it was saying that the bad people were affecting the good people.
But it also spoke of evolving, taking the next step. Were we supposed to literally evolve? Into a higher species? That sounded nice, but how was that supposed to happen?
Thinking of the Archive, the Ectoplasm, the stats... It was pointing us somewhere, but I couldn't see where.
At some point, I put everything away and went to take a shower. It felt amazing, washing off all the grime and filth that had come out of me. More than that, my body felt beyond amazing. I was full of energy and power, and I thought back to that blazing heat I felt during the torture.
It had felt like all my cells were generating energy, my body burning and refining itself. After that came the cold, which put me to sleep after a few hours. I wasn't sure what it did, but I knew that it was responsible for making me feel so good.
'Maybe that's why the knife slid out so easily?' I thought before shaking my head at the gruesome memory. All I knew was that my strength was higher than it used to be.
I kept my knife with me in the shower, fearful that someone would take it. I trusted my team, but these were uncertain times. I felt better having things in control.
Not only that, but I decided that the shower was a good place to open this Tome.
'It said that upon opening, it would give me a choice, one that affects my Path. I wonder what this Path is.' I thought.
Grabbing the Tome that I bundled in my clothes, I took a deep breath while avoiding the water from the running shower.
'Open.'
I pulled the cover, and the book glowed. The brown leather cover flashed with runes and glyphs, and the white pages within scribbled with writings of an unknown language.
{You have consumed [Random Ability Tome - Type 1]}
{Generating Abilities}
{Generated}
{Choose one of the three options.}
1. [Basic Weapon Mastery]
2. [Skeleton Sentry]
3. [Bone Weapon Assembly]
I looked at the options with a heavy heart.
They were all rather self-explanatory. The first option seemed like it would teach me about wielding weapons, possibly making use of my new power.
The second option, while I wasn't entirely certain, seemed like some kind of skeleton warrior that would fight by itself. Or maybe it was a sentry gun made of bones that I could place down and shoot.
The third option was the most self-explanatory. Making weapons out of bone.
I immediately crossed the third one off my list. I was not about to extract the bones from something like a zombie and use it to make weapons. I'm not a surgeon, and my stomach couldn't handle that.
And between the first and second one...
I was athletic, so I thought about getting the first one. It would be nice to know how to wield weapons properly. But then again, I already knew how to shoot guns rather well. I came from a family filled with military, so going shooting wasn't exactly an uncommon pastime.
But the second one seemed a bit more valuable. A skeleton sentry. Regardless of what it was, it seemed like a weapon. And lord knows I need a weapon. Plus, it wouldn't require me to personally attack zombies. It was a sentry, so it would take care of that for me, right?
I just couldn't see myself getting down and dirty fighting zombies. It was too close for comfort. I had barely stabbed a zombie that was being held down by several men. What about fighting one by myself? And head on, no less.
I wasn't going to think that I could suddenly start fighting like a martial arts master that could dodge hits. I wanted safety. I wanted to put distance between me and my enemies, and kill them from that distance.
Getting that far, I made my choice. I couldn't hesitate too long, and I forced myself to make the decision now.
{You have chosen option 2: [Skeleton Sentry - Stage 1]}
{This choice has narrowed your Path. You have chosen wisely.}
[Skeleton Sentry]
Ability: A minion of bone who will faithfully carry out any of your basic orders. This minion sustains itself with the bones of its enemies. It can be summoned and unsummoned at any time. Should the Skeleton be destroyed, 7 days are required to reform it.
Health: 35/35
Energy: 39/39
Type 1
Stage 1
Strength: 10
Agility: 7
Vitality: 7
Intelligence: 5
Power: 13
Operation Cost: 10 Energy/hour
Damage: 3-14
Defense: 4
Remarks: Doubles as a xylophone (applicable instrument skill required).
As the details of the ability appeared in my mind, I suddenly saw a small figure form in front of me. As I was naked and a bit on edge, I couldn't help but back away.
I was about 5 foot 10 inches, a very average height, and a bit resentful of the fact that I couldn't grow two more inches. Anyway, the skeleton that appeared in front of me was a few inches shorter.
It was literally just a skeleton, too. The human skeleton was completely white, with nothing like tendons or muscles supporting its movement. The only thing that stood out to me were the wisps of white fire blazing in its eye sockets, giving it some indication of life.
After it had fully formed though, I was surprised to feel a drain of energy, like a trickling stream of water leaving my body and into the skeleton. That operation cost, while compared to my overall Energy pool, could build up if I weren't careful.
Not only that, but I felt a burning sensation in my mind. Looking inward to where the globule of Ectoplasm was, I could suddenly see a series of runes forming, the lines and configurations unable to be made sense of. This series of runes seemed to brand itself into my mind, and I could quickly understand the entire ability. I could also feel a connection between myself and the skeleton standing with me in the shower.
'It said it could be summoned and desummoned at will. Does it cost anything to do so?'
I wondered as I willed the skeleton to disappear. At my command, the bones of its body disassembled and seemed to crumble to ash before shooting toward my body. The ash congealed around my arm, turning into some kind of symbol that rested on my forearm.
The end result was a white runic formation made of bone that seemed to implant itself into the skin of my forearm. It wasn't exactly inconspicuous, but I didn't care.
Then, with another thought, the symbol flashed before the bone shot out in front of me. The skeleton reformed after about three seconds, a rather fast time considering it was constructing an entire skeleton.
After testing it a few times, I found that calling it back or summoning it didn't take any energy. With that, I called it back, letting it rest as a bone rune on my arm.
I finished my shower with a bit of pep in my step, happy to have attained an ability. I wasn't sure about the extent of its abilities, but having a minion to fight for me was more than welcoming.
At the same time, I wondered what was going on throughout the world. How was my family faring? I was eager to get back to them.
