Invasion Day 7Courtyard by Marriott, Fishkill, NYOutside of the deserted hotel, littered by unmoving corpses of infectore staff and guests, a fight broke out.Though, to say it was a fight was a bit far stretch. Calling it a one-sided fight was also not quite right, as it looked to be like Beatrice was beating the shit out of Striker. A physical bully, to put it easily.But, if Seth really wanted to describe it, it’d be a full-front attack on a disabled person.“Gah!”“Fuck–““Argh!”Striker’s pained shout sounded like music in Seth’s ear. He would like to hear it more, watching as the mad Systemist screamed like a girl, unable to move a muscle and wield his goddamned bright red blade.It would be perfect revenge if only Seth was the one who caused Striker to cry his lungs out.“The clock’s ticking, remember?” Beatrice told him over Striker’s useless glare and curses. Nodding quickly, Seth moved out and slipped through the woods, keeping himself hidden.Striker didn’t see him yet, b
Invasion Day 7 Courtyard by Marriott, Fishkill, NY 11 : 27 PM The time showed that only thirty-three minutes left before Seth’s seven days of free access to the System ended. Not much of a time, and definitely way less than he hoped he needed. Alas, that was what he had. It was a short time compared to how long he usually spent laying in bed, scrolling up and down on his feed, or playing puzzle games. It was especially short compared to how long he had planted his feet in the world. He’d like to travel out of space first if he could. But, even giving his two allies a proper greeting would take too much time from his plate. So, without further delay, their most awaited fight, Seth picked his arrow with apparent ease and took his aim. Veesh! The silver-tipped arrow breezed past his cheek, slicing the air like its namesake, and in a second, lodged itself an inch away from the blonde girl’s foot. “I’m warning you,” Seth said, picking another arrow from the dark leather quiver by h
Invasion Day 7Courtyard by Marriott, Fishkill, NY11: 43 PMClank!Crash!Seth gripped his Stormweaver tightly, not letting it go even when Sunshard’s sharp glass was against his knuckles. It hurt, even when his Resistance’s point was already up, but the blood spilled in the deserted hotel was not lying.Quickly leaping back, Seth picked an arrow from the dark leather quiver, contemplating for a million seconds if he should use the last Winterion too. Not that he feared missing his target, but it wouldn’t be as useful. Two opponents were fighting against him at the moment.[Bloodlord’s Battle Axe: Basic Skill in use.][Strength + 40%.][Speed + 10%.]Clank!Clank!Seth whipped around, almost breaking his own ankle at it. Thankfully, he could dodge and block Wade’s last three strikes. But he was forced to unleash Winterion on Amy, who almost slipped past Wade and launched her attack at him.[Winterion Effect: 59 seconds left.]Then, he fired his next attack.[Skiver activated.]The ar
Invasion Day 7Hudson Highlands State Park, Cold Spring, NY11: 58 PMThud!“Gah!”[1.790 damage received.]Seth gritted his teeth as his chest flared in pain.The gunshot wound was way worse than the deep slash Striker inflicted two days ago. Added to the wounds from Amy and Wade, he could only lay on the ground, curling on himself with the pain throbbing madly.“Argh …”He pressed his hand against the open wound, blood slipping through his fingers and painted his clothes red. If he didn’t suffer this much, then he’d be sad because the shirt was a Dragon Ball limited edition he got free from Izuka’s shop.“Seth?”A small voice breached his mind, bringing his attention up. He tried to focus, looking for the source of that small voice through his hazy mind. The pain muddled everything around him.“Seth! I miss you!”He heard quick footsteps, but even raising his head was quite difficult at the moment.“Seth, why are you lying on the ground? You’ll get bugs and worms into your ears and
Invasion Day 8 Otaru, Hokkaido, Japan Daichi battled the wind, leaning against the open door of the speeding rural train. Offshore, the wind brushed against his cheek, against the smile on his lips, like a mother caressing her son. He took out his phone, holding it tight in his hand so it wouldn’t fall. A short video, he made a reel no more than a minute, then posted it on his social media. Usually, it’d take five minutes for one of his friends to give a measly comment, a mandatory compliment or the likes. But, after the invasion hit, and then, there was nothing. Well, more like the internet broke. Like, Hiroshima – Nagasaki nuclear bombs decades ago, but in a virtual version of it. How to put it plainly, hmm … the internet had aneurysms. That’s the best term he could come up with. Either way, Daichi had followed the news with his phone, connected to the Japanese government's free Wi-Fi for tourists an
Invasion Day 9Wonosobo, Central Java, IndonesiaThe reddish sun finally set in, calling forth the dark and the moon to adorn the sky.A skinny teenage boy of average height walked through the woods. He wore unwashed jeans and a sweaty oversized t-shirt. A bulky bag strapped to his shoulders, making him bend forward after an afternoon without rest.A nametag hung from his bag, spelled Artha Sangkala.It had been a long day for him. Soon, as the night started, his world would expand.He didn’t expect this at first.The invasion and infectores – all were stuff coming from nightmares. But here he was, surrounded by moving corpses and endless horror.Artha wasn’t new to this kind of thing. Ghosts, demons, and the devil, he was accustomed to them since a baby. Supernatural beings were what he called normal. A psychic, people said to him. He didn’t mind when the unseen creatures were often better than normal humans.Although, after a long day fighting infectores and killing them as a last r
Invasion Day 10 Wonosobo, Central Java, Indonesia It had been a while since Artha followed Eyang Wadas through the other dimension. He tried to focus, hoping the walk to be short. But, like many things in life, not everything goes according to his wish. As someone who could be considered a psychic, seeing ghosts and demons was something normal. He wasn’t afraid of them, nor was he interested in hearing whatever they say to him. However, the supernatural creatures in the other dimension were not like what he had seen. Besides their animal-like appearance and humanoid plant shapes, they could speak his language fluently as they tried to entice him into taking them with them. Some of them even offered food, all kinds of them, really. His mouth watered the moment their nice smell hit his nose. He almost grabbed a skewered meat a half-bull half-man brought in front of him, but Artha shook his head, clearing his mind from the craving and hunger. Eyang Wadas was testing him. Clenching
Invasion Day 11Sapporo, Hokkaido, JapanClink!The wind chime rang, swayed by the wind that breezed past Daichi’s current room. Stolen, of course, he broke through the door with ease.After the first day of the first wave of invasion, no rules applied anymore. People either went crazy or became extra of this Train to Busan’s shitty adaptation. He was not deliquescent, per se, but the mini apocalypse called for desperate measures.Either way, he would take everything while he still could. A long soak in warm water was the best. Then, changing into these fresh out of the laundry clothes he stole from the department store. He brushed his nicely smelled hair, looking at his reflection in the mirror.Daichi missed the feeling of touching the tuft of hair growing on his chin. But, he was definitely more handsome, with his face shaven clean. Though, he considered wearing his glasses again so that his slanted eyes didn’t look so small anymore. Even if he didn’t need it any longer, his vision
The raid was a bust.The lieutenant didn't even wait until they were in the privacy of his office before chewing him like useless gum. He demanded, "What is this, Monroe?"Mark bit back the urge to say, 'What did I tell you about raiding it yesterday, Sir?' He waited quietly and avoided any eye contact from the many people in bulletproof vests with bold 'PPD' on their back, strapping their gun back into safety and rounding up their failed attempt. "Why did I spend three hours of driving to the middle of nowhere with a full squad to take down a drug lab and slavery den while there's nothing here?"Again, instead of pointing out that the raid should have been done as quickly as he had suggested, Mark waited."Tell me, Monroe, why are you even screwing up this bad after the rookie slip up with that fake journalist in the warehouse?"'This is not my fault,' he thought. "We are too late, Sir," he said."Too late? Are you saying I'm too slow to act?" Madsen retorted angrily. "Do you even k
"You're so annoying, do I have to remind you every hour?" Rhea grumbled from the passenger seat, watching the dark-haired man behind the steering wheel as the car drove itself to the hill house. "Old news," Lucian commented and then glared at her. "But I already said not to let him into this again."Of course. "Mikhal's right. You do sounds like a jealous secret boyfriend.""Ha. Ha." There was no humor behind that. "First, I am not your boyfriend, I'm your fiance. Second, you're the one keeping this a secret, not me."Rhea grinned, "You didn't deny the first one? Are you jealous?""So what?" She frowned but didn't say anything else. She still couldn't figure out why he was jealous of that tall coworker of hers. No matter how many times she asked him, Lucian wouldn't tell.'Or you just never believe his answer,' a small voice at the back of her head supplied helpfully. She brushed it off because it was total drivel. There was no way Lucian actually felt jealous just because he liked
She was not as reckless as Lucian sometimes said to her. But she was still new in this espionage thing, and Mikhal suddenly pushed her down to the ground. Her heart raced, pounding noisily along with the blood in her ears. Mikhal's tall figure was equally low by her side. Confidence may fool many people, but she had none of it right now. Especially not after a burly man in a tank top suddenly pointed his long firearm in her direction, right before she took another shot of the drug lab with her phone. Breathing quietly, they waited in suspenseful silence until the man turned his weapon away from their direction. Another man came out of the drug lab's door, probably exchanging words before both of them went inside again. Rhea exhaled in relief, shoulders slumping down as both Mikhal and her shared a look. They moved closer, trying to get more proof from the small window at the side of the building now known as the drug lab. Not only from the chemical glasses with some colored liquid
After four days of work, Rhea finally got her day off again. Mikhal texted her, 'Meet you at East Station in twenty.' Smiling to herself, Rhea texted back an affirmation. "So…" Liz glanced at her from behind the steering wheel, "If I may ask, where are you going, Miss Rhea?""Out," she merely said."Any specific place in mind?"Rhea locked her phone, "Not really."The bespectacled girl looked uncomfortable for a second before she asked again. "Do you have any companions?""Yes.""Oh. Who is that?"Rhea narrowed her eyes, not liking where the bespectacled girl was going with this. "Is this an interrogation?""No, of course, not." Liz hastily said, topping it with an awkward laugh that she tried to make it sound natural. "I'm sorry if it came out like that, Miss Rhea. I didn't mean to."She sighed, turning to the sturdy houses that came into view as they finally reached the town's area. "It's fine. Lucian ordered you to do that, right?" Liz stayed silent, so she'd take that as a yes.
The cafeteria was full of cola and burgers. "Free dinner for everyone!" one of the senior staff called out as they entered it. Rhea grinned – almost jumped in excitement – as her favorite food was served in front of her for free. Emi, on the other hand, chimed in a loud voice, "We don't pay to eat here!"She stuffed her face with the burger. She sat surrounded by a white shirt and blue vest-wearing staff, finally having a nice break out of the craziness of the afternoon shift. "I can't believe I was so excited about it before."Emi smiled broadly, munching on her mouthful bite of burger. She looked funny. "Didn't I tell you that it's crazy?""Yes, but you carefully left out the fact that it is precisely like that oddball group all over again, except, it happens continuously. Marching in a group in the lobby, then shoving each other to get in the elevator. Why do we only have four elevators, anyway?""But it only happens in the afternoon. After that, it's pretty slow, isn't it?"Rhea h
Lucian had been at the scene of serious diplomacy once, ages ago as he was still ten, where his father was showing him how to negotiate with a foreign mafia boss from another country. Earl would sign an agreement of letting said mafia boss move into Livingard and give him a little territory on the border to set up whatever operation they had planned. Earl would get back his prized butler slash right-hand man safely in one piece in exchange. He was fond of that man, his favorite butler. A middle-aged friendly guy who had a penchant for cutting apples into beautiful figures and dragging Lucian out of bed before dawn for a morning run. So, hearing that his favorite butler would be back after missing – he was captivated by the foreign mafia after accidentally crashing his motorbike to the mafia's daughter on the road – for three days, Lucian was eager when his father wanted him to tag along. It was supposed to be a valuable learning experience for him.One of the foreign mafia subordinat
'Let him be, don't talk to him, whatever, just ignore him.'She didn't even want to see him. But bottling her overflowing emotions? It was a ridiculous idea.Then a notification chimed in, breaking into her bubble of thought, pulling her from the suffocating underwater feeling. 'How's' your girl's day out with Emi?' Mikhal texted her, oblivious to the chaos she made herself. 'She was great.' She texted back.'Cool. No more outings today?' His reply came seconds later, followed by three dots, signifying he was typing now. 'Imma starts the afternoon shift today. Dunno what to expect.''Expect the worst.''Never know u'r such a pessimist.'She wasn't. Fine, maybe she was. Just at the moment, though. Rhea responded with a laughing emoticon. Followed by a string of crying yellow faces.'What was that?' She bit her bottom lip, 'I want to go out.' Her thumb sent it before she even read the line. She considered deleting it. No use, Mikhal already typed again.'I'm free, if you were asking
Sprinting to the beach, Rhea suddenly stopped before her sneakers touched the wet sand. Quickly taking them off, Rhea looked around for a place to put them without getting worried that the wave would sweep on them or someone take them away. Not that she was suspicious of some people enjoying the beach there, or that her shoes were extremely pricey – they were, not that Rhea knew about that, because it was Lucian who paid – but Rhea didn't want to lose her only pair of sneakers.She looked back to Lucian's parked car on the edge of the beach, where the dry ground met with green patches of grass. Squinting her blue eyes, Rhea calculated how much force she needed to get her shoes to the car's side. The light brown-haired girl got into a stance as if she would throw a slider with her sneaker as the ball. Then, Rhea let go of one of her sneakers in a powerful side swing. It flew in a bent trajectory and landed safely on the dry sand, though still a little far away from the car."Ah, I need
It was the first time Rhea saw a wolf in real life.The wolf looked like how a wolf would in a book or movie. Nothing special, unlike the jet-black wild wolf she saw in a show. Or the majestic white wolf in legends. The animal in front of her looked just like the usual wolf. Short, triangular ears. Broad snout. A long tail. Looking slender yet seems powerful in its built. Its back was grey, so was its upper head. While the rest of its fur was light brown, and the underside was white.Rhea could not believe it."Should we continue?" Jo asked, stepping slowly on the gas pedal.As Jo drove the car past the watchful gaze of the wolf, Rhea felt a shudder run through her body. Either it was a creepy coincidence, or Lucian somehow controlled the wolf to appear there and failed Rhea's escape. Which sounded impossible. Both of them.It was some minutes later that Jo stopped the car. They were near the first building in the outskirt of Stradfield's little town. "Are you sure you want to get off