Chapter 4
Crossing out the Park nets me a simple message and a reward. Nowhere close to getting enough for another Level Up but every little bit counts.
Quest Complete!
You have survived Kluane National Park and even managed to keep all your limbs!
5,000 XP Awarded
As I near Haines Junction, I try to recall what little I know of it. Town population of around 800, so there should have been at least a few hundred survivors left, if the numbers hold true. The smoke that I see rising from the center of the one road town has me worried though, so I take my time, diverting into a few local houses that make up the approach to the few buildings that make up the town center. I find a car and even keys but nothing works, the cars too new. Damn System.
I luck out when I do so, coming across food and clothing that I can use along with a real weapon at last – an abandoned .56 caliber rifle and a box of bullets. The rifle itself is trigger locked but thankfully, the trigger lock key is easy to find hanging on a nail right across the case. Thank the gods for human laziness.
Signs of struggle are everywhere including a few over-turned cars, pools of blood and smashed windows. Disturbingly, I find no bodies, though perhaps the survivors have collected them all for burial. At least, I hope that’s the case, though with the way many of the animals I’ve met have expanded their diets, I don’t hold much hope.
Armed with the new weapon, I venture closer to the town center. Never know what could be awaiting me, though I’m praying that Frosty’s is still standing. I could definitely make do with their milkshake, burger and fries.
Beyond one derogatory comment about the peashooter I picked up, Ali has been uncharacteristically quiet. A somewhat unfair observation perhaps – when it’s time to be serious, the Spirit is actually rather professional, if a bit much of a know it all.
The first sign of trouble is the overgrown mis-shappen head that I spot as I creep closer. Looking like a cross between a Neathredal and Big Foot, the 14-foot tall creature seems to be happily munching on its dinner. Things get even worse when I realise that that’s the kid as the mother, unclothed and very female strides over and drags her kid back to the center of the town. Ali frowns, staring at them and then a glowing green bar floats above their heads along with a short descriptor
Ogre Youth (Level 12)
Ogre Matron (Level 21)
I breathe deeply, quelling my pounding heart before I creep forwards further. Something about the meal the kid was holding nags me. I have to know, and when I do get close enough to see, I suddenly wish I didn’t. I’ve found the villagers, or what’s left of them. Surrounding a cookfire, there’s a good baker’s dozen of the adult Ogres, mostly in the Level 20 ranges, lounging after a truly epic feast. Playing in the bone pile is a pair of children, sword-fighting with the thigh bones of the former residents of Haines. The only consolation I have is that it looks like the villagers managed to kill a couple of the Ogres by the bodies that are laid aside with care.
I come to my senses when I realise my hands are aching, clutching the rifle so hard all the blood has gone from my fingers. Crawling back into hiding, I force myself to breathe deeply and take control of my emotions. Every time I begin to do so, I recall the small bones that I saw, the half-eaten face and I recall another child, crying and wondering why no one ever came to help. I draw a deep shuddering breath, my hands shaking and unshed tears in my eyes.
“There’s nothing we can do John. It’s time to go,” Ali murmurs consolingly.
“I’m going to kill them. Kill them all,” I hiss as rage burns within me, overflowing from its confines and wrapping me in its familiar embrace.
“Not a chance. Even that kid could take you down with a single hit. Give it up, we’ll come back another time,” Ali insists.
“I. Don’t. Care.” I snarl, standing up and moving as the anger consumes me. I’m not sure where, but I can’t keep still any longer.
“You can’t do this. As a group, they’d be a challenge for monsters five times their strength!”
Suddenly, I can feel the anger cool, turning ice cold as a mad plan forms.
The plan has three parts. Each part insanely dangerous. To complete the first part, I dump 2 points into Agility and another into Constitution to raise my Stamina. I’m going to need to be fast and fit for this.
Most monsters keep away from Haines Junction, the presence of the Ogres sufficient deterrent. The ones that don’t are quickly dispatched and added to the fire, their bodies butchered just like the humans. That works to my advantage as I get my plans ready. It takes a couple of days to pull what I need together, days that I barely sleep or eat in as I work at a feverish pace. Twice, I’m almost found out. I spend nearly two hours the first time, hiding beneath a truck waiting for the Ogre pair to move on. The second time, I have to use the QSM and duck pass the converging group to hide. I can tell they are beginning to suspect something, their actions getting more and more agitated as the days go by but they can’t find me even if they start huddling closer together and patrolling more.
Preparations finally complete in the Junction itself, I hide my supplies and take only the bare minimum that I need. The gun, two magazines full of bullets and enough food and water for a few days.
When I finally find my objective, I can’t help but feel my face split into a humorless grin. I can feel the tightness in my chest, the speeding up heartbeat and the dump of adrenaline as I sign my likely death warrant. It’s all secondary though, secondary to the rage that fills my being. I’ve had enough, of hiding and sneaking and fearing for my life. Enough of this System that has driven friends and family to death, to wipe out 60% of humanity’s population.
If I was going to die, at least I’ll do it trying to strike back. The last thought is punctuated by the crack of my rifle, the shot spinning hundreds of yards to smash into the unsuspecting Salamander. I work the bolt, firing again to lock its attention on me. When it turns and begins to lumber towards me, I take off.
I lure the creature to Haines Junction for hours, running as fast as I can and when it finally begins to catch up, using the QSM to disappear. I husband the use of the QSM, bolting as far as possible and hiding, sneaking away to give myself more distance before I attract its attention again by firing at it. It could go faster but I need the QSM to last me so I often take breaks when the Salamander roots around, searching for me. After a while, I expand the range I shoot from, firing from over half a kilometre away and mostly missing even if it is the size of a barn. Hurting it really isn’t the point anyway.
Only twice do I nearly die. Once is near the start, when a sudden surge in speed has it almost catch me. Only a last minute barrel roll gets me out of the way in time, leaving me with only a small wound before I activate the QSM and run like hell to a hiding spot. The second time, the Salamander launches a series of fire balls into the sky, landing them all around me. Fun fact about being in another dimension – I might be able to ignore most physical structures but energy – specifically heat energy crosses over. By the time I get away from the fire, I feel half-cooked and my flashing health bar in the corner of my vision matches. After that, I keep further away from the creature and only give it brief glimpses of me when I need to pull it closer.
By the time I reach the Junction, I’m nearly out of bullets. The Ogres are lined up, watching the incoming enraged monster. I breathe a sigh of relief when I see them, part 2 of the plan required that the Ogres be willing to fight. When they catch sight of me, they roar and one tries to step forward, only to be chivied back into line by the others. I grin, stopping a good hundred yards from them and waving cheekily at them before turning back to the incoming monster.