RESURGENT-SYSTEM: Survive the Beasts

Bullet to the Brain

"W-What!!! No... There's no way I'm going to talk her into coming  with me and you brought this stankovich guy thing up before and I said No! Why are you bringing it up again, I told you I'm not killing anybody." Ethan protested quite vociferously. 

Terranova: "I'm sorry, Ethan, but you must do it. You must trust the system." 

"Trust you? Trust the system when it's trying to murder someone and have me be a party to it? No way!" Ethan stuttered and got up from his bed expressing how fed up he was with the task list that was displayed before his very eyes. 

"Terranova: "Ethan, you have to get on with one of them and your time to select what task to go with is counting down. Remember, any task you skip will keep resurfacing. Choose wisely." 

Frustrated, Ethan rubbed his forehead and whispered, "Then there's no point in asking me to choose! This feels like cheating. You said I would have the freedom to decide my own actions..." His words trailed off inaudibly, expressing his discontent.

Terranova: "you are actually chosing what task to do at the moment, Ethan, isn't that wilful enough?" 

"No, it's not," Ethan retorted with exasperation. "Gosh! Just leave me alone. I need some time to think." He slowly sat down, a melancholy expression on his face. 

Ethan carefully pondered on both task and evaluating, he concluded that he was going to go with the first one since it was going to keep resurfacing anyways, and he was going to need money to go into D.C. United or to even convince the girl in Deer Creek Diner as he must. 

"Okay, okay, I would have to go with the first option." Ethan mumbled. "Terra, can you hear me?" He asked brashly when he noticed he did not get a prompt response from the resurgent system. 

Terranova: "I did, Ethan. You sound very angry, I wonder why. I am bringing up your status right away, and please be patient while the internal modules is processing some key guidelines on how you should execute your preferred task." 

As soon as Terranova finished speaking, Ethan's status dialogue reappeared.

<<Ding!>>

— Status Table —

Full Name: Ethan Hills

Tenacity: 8

Speed: 10

Intelligence: 15

Skill: Stealthy, strike, stump

Responsiveness: 10

Strength: 7

Funds: $1790

Inventory: Empty

Virtue: Amity, Malevolent 

Ethan was at the moment quiet and numb emotionally because he could not find the right words with which to reply the resurgent system that was pissing him off with its choice of words, especially when it wondered why he was angry. But when the subservient monotone voice spoke again, it made Ethan start talking when it proclaimed, 

[Awaiting instructions...] 

[Converting data...] 

[Information assembled] [processing complete]  

"Wait a minute, w-what are you processing?" He asked, stuttering as his eyelids blinked in wonder. 

Terranova: "there is a pistol gun in a blue abandoned chrysler just outside your apartment about two blocks, northwards. Find it and head towards pyramid castle immediately. I was currently searching the entire area for an available weapon." 

Ethan gasped "dammit!" He exclaimed arising from his bed, he reached out for a dark blue hoodie and put it on before leaving. He brushed his short hair as well since he forgot to do that when he had his bath in the morning, and placing his wristwatch on his left hand, he touched his roman-like pointed nose and sniffled before dashing out of the house. 

As he kept walking, the people around his vicinity kept chattering as they glanced each one of them at him. He obviously knew they were all talking about him — and of course they should be, with a guy who was seen as weak and incapable of harming anyone. 

Ethan hastened up to stay clear of sight and luckily for him, the next block was a lonely street, he was able to catch his breath a little and be relaxed. 

He looked around the moment he saw the blue chrysler car that was a bit covered with dust, and was only able to see a little girl, about age seven, standing with her little brother and peeking in through at him from the window of a story building. 

"Terranova, this car is locked, what am I supposed to do?" Ethan asked the moment he tried opening the door. He looked suspicious and was uncomfortable with the way the kids kept peering curiously at him, he had to back the car. 

Terranova: "I don't know, you figure it out yourself." It tended to be blunt in speech. 

"What the... Shit!" Ethan blared raucously and looked around immediately with just the thought of breaking the glass in his mind at the moment. However, he found nothing but a piece of rag which he picked up immediately and wrapped it around his right hand, ensuring his fist was well covered with it. He punched and shattered the window of the front door, then quickly opened the door from outside. His eyes also glancing at the children in the story building as he searched for the gun starting with the glove box to no avail. He exhaled being exhausted, 

"Terra, what the f*ck! Help me out here, there's no..." He exclaimed with exasperation and calmed his nerves knowing he wasn't suppose to make so much noise  "...there's no pistol in this car." He said calmly hoping Terranova was going to tell him where it is exactly. 

Terranova: "I have no idea as well." 

"Are you f*cking kidding me." Ethan muttered feeling disappointed because he had also checked the trunk. In a split second, he recalled he had not checked below the front seats and there it was on that of the steering wheel. He wasn't even good at using a gun but he was surprised how he managed to check the magazine and assembled it again. He wondered why those children never did raise an alarm all the while, nevertheless, he left with one thought running through his mind, "... good kids..." 

He ensured the black pistol was totally hidden as he placed it in his belt and covered it with his top on his way to pyramid castle in a taxi he entered. Upon exiting the taxi, he recalled what the system had said about leaving without a fight. 

"Terra, I don't quite understand how you manage to know the things you know but I am beginning to believe that you do not know everything. So are you going to help me find a better way into this castle because there is definitely no way I am going in through this front gate." Ethan muttered while standing across the street, opposite the front gate of the castle, glaring at the sizable number of security personnel in position and the remarkable level of professionalism exhibited during the security check on vehicle inspections taking place at that precise moment.