Chapter 149

Downtown Pittsburgh - 8:32 AM

The streets were bustling with people coming and going. Not everyone seemed to have a destination in mind, and many gathered around the few buildings that had popped up overnight. They were placed sporadically throughout the city, though the tallest ones were still Rexxel’s Bank and the Guild of Guilds.

A few individuals had even chosen to hang out near the entrance to the Subspace Depot. The door showed signs of people inexpertly trying to break in, but it had held up well. Those people had been surprised to see us leave from the silver shack, though they didn’t approach.

Corwin immediately started sniffing everything he could get close to and started playing in the snow. A few quick words kept him from running off to greet the people, but other than a few close calls it was rather heartwarming to see him bouncing about and rolling around in the powder. He was certainly having the time of his life in this new environment.

As I led the Mills through the snowy streets, I thought about the gear they were wearing. Their outfits had changed drastically during our time in Atlanta. I briefly wondered how much more powerful they were, but I could guess based on what I saw.

Back in Etson, Kayla had only a few magical items. Her leather pants and gorget, the Boots of the Illusionist, and the Straw Hat of the Seer were all she had for protection for a while. I was glad to see that some of it had changed.

Kayla was still wearing her boots, but she had on a long, black skirt with a single silver line curving down her right side before sweeping around the bottom. I could tell that it was heavy, and it didn’t move around much. It seemed restrictive, but looks could be deceiving. The gorget, which protected her neck, had been swapped out for the Collar of the Diplomat. It was a thick gold necklace that was accented with blue, red, and black, and would help her mental stats.

Under the white Windbreaker of Warmth that I was still letting her borrow, she wore a shirt and a black plackart that stopped just above her waist. It protected most of her vital areas while still allowing her mobility, and I approved. Rounding out the look were the Hidden Claws I had given her from the Thunder Chaska drop, though she had her old Ornate Dagger and Vanishing Dagger on her belt loops.

All in all, it was a very well coordinated outfit. There was certainly nothing to complain about when it came to style.

Which was more than you could say for her husband.

Even without looking back to regard the man, I had to stifle a laugh just thinking about it.

Jeff’s outfit made it seem like a child dressed him. His blue and red Fae Flannel shirt was the first layer on his upper body. It was covered by the black and yellow Stinging Yellow Jacket that had dropped in the Vespae hive, and that was covered by an orange safety vest. He proudly showed off the guild insignia on that last item, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

His pants, the Duelist’s Trousers, were black but stopped just below his knees with some kind of wrap. They were held up by a bright purple cord of a belt, which was sadly one of the more powerful magical items in our group. Leather and wood sandals left most of his feet uncovered, though he was wearing long socks to protect himself from the cold.

Wrapped around his hands were strips of white cloth known as the Handwraps of Powerful Throws. My mind wandered back to Merder Stadium. It was only a few days ago, but he had almost been able to put me on my back with those Almost.

With his rapier, Killer Queen, at his side, the last item to round off Jeff’s look was a pair of steampunk goggles on his forehead. The Goggles of the Trojan Prince made weak point identification a breeze, though it certainly clashed with the rest of his look.

I couldn’t help it; I laughed.

“Anthony,” Kayla said, warning clear in her voice.

“I wasn’t thinking about your husband,” I lied, not looking back at them.

“Must I remind you that you had a phase back in Etson where all you had was a medallion, heelies, pants, and a bathrobe?” she asked.

“And the Kingtin’s Foil,” I protested.

Kayla sighed. “Oh, yes, how could I possibly forget? That certainly made the whole outfit look much better,” she said sarcastically.

“I don’t look that bad, do I?” Jeff asked.

“You’re very handsome, honey, so it doesn’t matter what you wear,” she answered, avoiding the question.

“Thanks, Kay, that-“ the Queen’s Knight paused, thinking, and I tried not to laugh even harder.

“We’re here,” I announced before he could get too deep into whatever thought was running through his head.

Minersville Cemetery wasn’t too far from where I parked the Angel Express, only about two miles or so. It wasn’t particularly large compared to others in the city, though it did have a rather central location. Because of that, there were a lot of people gathered here. Stopping on the outskirts, we looked over the situation.

Where the cemetery used to be was a large hole in the ground. Combatants had cordoned off the area with concrete highway barriers, sandbags, and other heavy objects, and had the place fairly well surrounded. They looked worn despite the early hour, and I knew that many of the people here had been fighting since long before sunrise.

It was necessary because of the hordes of zombies that were constantly crawling out of the pit. Some fighters were bold enough to jump over the wall to fight the monsters directly, but not many. There had been some tents set up nearby to be used for triage, and a few people were grilling food.

“This is… surprisingly well set up,” Kayla said as she adjusted her glasses.

“Not all of them are,” I replied. “This is the one closest to the entrance to the Pitt. When people started coming to check that out, they saw everything coming out of this hole in the ground. So they started doing everything they could about it. Spent most of the night and morning setting this up.”

“What exactly is happening here?” Jeff asked, reaching down to pet Corwin. The Evolution Hound leaned up against him, lifting up on his hind legs so his owner could pet his belly.

I sighed and set my hands on my hips. “So you guys probably don’t know this, but it takes 5,000 points in order to start a guild. But, where are the monsters? Underground, in the Pitt. This,” I stated, gesturing towards the place that used to be a cemetery. “Is how the administrator lets people who are not guild members gain points in order to start a guild.”

“There are more zombie holes than this, aren't there?” Kayla asked.

“Yep,” I confirmed. “Almost every cemetery within Pittsburgh city limits has been converted into a zombie spawning hell hole. None of them are set up as efficiently as this one, but they’ll get there. People who aren’t in guilds will receive more points from defeating zombies than people who are in guilds would.”

The Double Agent frowned. “To make sure more guilds are created, I imagine?”

I nodded. “You’re right on the money, Kayla.”

“Well, I wish I wasn’t,” she admitted. “I came to that conclusion because it’s a horrible thing to put people through, which is basically par for the course at this point.”

“Yeah, everything is pretty bleak,” I agreed.

“Wait. You said we were coming to check out the cemeteries. We’re checking it out, but are we planning on fighting?” Jeff asked. “Because, if so, you just said we’d get less points than anyone outside of a guild.”

“That is true, Jeff,” I said. “But we’re not here for this cemetery, we’re just passing through because it’s on the way.”

Panic could be heard from the barricade, drawing our attention back to it. The Mills both had their hands on their weapons, ready to draw at a moment’s notice. Corwin started growling as the atmosphere became more tense, and I began petting him in an attempt to calm him down.

A large zombie pulled itself out of the hole, lumbering but powerful. Its body was a mess of corpses haphazardly fused together, and the giant had to be at least twenty feet tall. The moment its head emerged from the ground, the people began to pepper it with projectiles.

Guns were most prevalent, but there were bows and crossbows and even a few slingshots in the crowd. Despite the constant harassment, the oversized zombie crawled out of the hole and managed to stand up completely. It took a single step forward before falling backwards, its hit points depleted from the sheer concentration of damage it was taking.

There was some muted cheering for the victory, but it didn’t last. I could see some people running from the barricade to throw up. It was a sight that was common this early on in the scenario; some people just weren’t built to handle horror like this.

“Is this like the park back in Atlanta?” Kayla asked. “With the Wisp Moles and how a big one appeared once enough were killed, I mean.”

“Almost correct. That zombie monstrosity wasn’t a boss monster like the Wisp Mole Mother, which is why I didn’t bother asking Jeff to throw something for me,” I said. “Which is a real shame, because farming growth items out here would definitely be worth it even if the points situation is disappointing.”

“I wonder if they’re going to set things up the same way,” Jeff said with a grimace.

“No, they won’t,” I replied, scowling as I thought about it. “Some of these are corpses of those who passed away before the system came, but the vast majority are people who died during the first scenario. There will be kids that decide to fight against the zombies, but no one’s going to organize an effort when there’s a chance that they’ll have to kill their dead parents.”

“No child should have to go through that,” Kayla said, surprising me with the amount of steel in her voice.

Jeff immediately took her hand in his, and I watched her relax. Corwin walked around them and placed his head over both of their hands, wagging his tail slowly. I had nearly forgotten what she had told me back in Etson National Forest about her upbringing, and that she had been in foster care for most of her life before becoming an adult.

“They’re still going to be taken care of,” I assured her. “A lot of the guilds that pop up are going to be focused on the people side of things, including setting up things like orphanages. The kids who want it will have food and shelter at the Guild of Guilds building, and they’ll have access to people who can help teach them how to fight. Which is fair considering no one knows how long the scenarios are going to go on for.”

“And how long are they going to go on for, Anthony?” she asked quietly.

“Ideally, less than a year,” I sighed.

“A whole damn year of this?” Jeff asked.

“I said less than,” I complained. “But yes, I should be able to force the final scenario to start and be able to defeat it around then.”

Kayla arched an eyebrow. “Alone?”

“If need be,” I confirmed.

“You won't be,” Jeff firmly started.

“Didn’t you say with Thomas that the shortest time this has been completed was a year and a half?” she asked. “Can you really do it in a year?”

“I’ll have to do it before then,” I sighed, scratching the back of my head. Just thinking about it was making me angry. “Every year they have anniversary events, right? Big things that usually span through large swathes of the world. The first one in the US is an Orc Invasion. Every military base that hasn’t been destroyed is suddenly infested with a huge amount of enemy combatants. They build up fortress cities before invading other parts of the country.”

“That doesn’t go well for us, does it?” Jeff asked, though it sounded like he already knew the answer.

“No, Jeff, it does not. We lose half of the country along with half of its surviving population. At that point, Canada has already been abandoned, and most of the people in Central America had fled north to join us. Orcs aren’t dumb like they are in some stories. They’re very militaristic, fantastic builders, and great at surviving in addition to being naturally tougher than us Humans. There had been times when we Americans had to flee across the sea because we can’t keep up with them. Which just made more problems because other places were dealing with similar issues.”

A silence descended on us as we watched the people continue to kill zombies, and I took the time to reflect on my anger.

The Orc Invasion wouldn’t have been so bad if we had more powerful combatants. People who were at the top of the system were so far removed from people in the middle in terms of abilities that it wasn’t funny.

Even with my knowledge, expertise, and power set I would have needed help to take out one of their massive fortress cities. It usually required armies to do, which always came with casualties.

[[Patron Message]]

I’m glad you slept well!

Anthony, I can see how upset you are. It’s written all over your face. You’re allowed to be, and it makes sense that you are. However, I want you to look at the goal right in front of you.

You’re setting up everything very well so far. There’s been some hiccups along the way, but that’s acceptable. Not everything goes according to plan, especially when there’s so many moving parts, conflicts of interest, and terrible people in your way.

Plus, even if something does happen to the people you plan to take with you into Hell, I’ll always be there for you. You’ll never be alone so long as I can help it.

Now, to make this message more helpful, here’s some information. The cemeteries to both north and south are very large, but more people are heading towards them. It looks like they’ll be uphill battles, but the individual leaders of these expeditions seem confident enough.

The one to the east, which I’m assuming is where you’re headed, only has a few teams there. It looks like they’re all led by the same man who talked to you outside of the Pitt’s entrance.

I am not fond of that man, and I don’t enjoy watching him work. However, I know you’ll do what you have to.

I’m here for you, Ant.

Sincerely,

Sara

I smiled as I finished reading my girlfriend’s message. Seeing her words, imagining them in her voice, always cut through some of my old man grumpiness. “Thanks, Sara,” I whispered.

Releasing one last angsty sigh, I elbowed Jeff to get his attention. “Alright, we gotta get going. We have a few miles to go before we get to our destination.”

“Another cemetery, right?” he asked.

“That’s right. Just got confirmation that it’s the best place to go for now. Small amount of people, nothing set up yet, and there’ll be plenty of zombies.”

“Sounds delightful,” Kayla said dubiously.

“You’d think so, but just you wait; the guy in charge there is going to make you wish it was just zombies,” I replied with a half-hearted chuckle.

I pulled out the Kedjen’s Khopesh and threw it on the ground. It transformed into a chariot, which brought us quite a bit of attention from those who weren’t watching the zombies, and stepped on. Kayla and Jeff followed me shortly as Corwin started barking at the invisible horses, and we were soon off to our next destination.