There wasn’t much time to dwell on Kaylish’s addition to the group, the three gunshots had brought even more undead to their location. For all his reservations about her, Shawn only grew more enamored by the red-haired girl’s skill with her rifle. Kaylish was breathtaking to watch. Everything, from the way she reloaded to the stability of her hand while aiming, was extraordinarily efficient and precise. Each shot fired found its mark. In fact, the only limiting factor preventing Kaylish from laying waste to the entire hoard as it rounded the corner was ammunition. Though she was far faster than anyone else Shawn had seen operate the simple bolt action rifle, the limitations of only five shots between each reload was a weakness that skill alone could not overcome.
“We have to move.” Anisha stated loudly as she cut down the first few zombies that managed to close the distance.
Shawn tightened his grip on his combat knife. He had initially intended on borrowing Kaylish’s rifle as an upgrade, but now that she was coming with them, and after watching her work, Shawn had to admit that she was far better with the weapon. Shaking his head to clear out unnecessary thoughts, Shawn scrambled to come up with a plan. They couldn’t afford to keep running blindly through the city. His mind went back to the scene at the train station the day prior.
“Kaylish?” Shawn called to her just as she slid her bolt forward, chambering a fresh reload.
“Yes Shawn?” She turned her head to flash him a brilliant smile.
It was too wide, too happy for their current situation. Shawn swallowed the discomforting unease caught in his throat.
“Was there anywhere in the city, particularly this side of the river, that reservists were stationed at? Any weird places that you were instructed to guard that seemed out of the ordinary?”
“Hmmm?” Kaylish tilted her head to the side as she thought.
Without turning her attention away from Shawn. Kaylish squeezed the trigger of her rifle and blew a hole through the nearest zombie.
“I remember a few people complaining about having to make frequent deliveries to some ratty house to the west.” Kaylish’s amber eyes returned to the sights on her weapon where she emptied the remaining four rounds in her gun into the next closest cluster of enemies.
“That’s where we’re going.” Shawn began to back away. “Anisha!”
The fully armored knight kept her eyes on the swarm in front of them, but Shawn knew she was listening.
“We’re pulling back. There’s a sidestreet just behind us we can duck through. From there we head to the west side of town.” Shawn explained his thought process. “Can you lead us there Kaylish?”
“Of course!” The reservist responded, still beaming, as she ejected yet another smoking shell from her weapon.
“Let’s go.” Shawn instructed just as the main body of the approaching hoard drew close.
The trio sprinted down the side street Shawn had designated a moment ago. Kaylish took the lead, popping the heads of a few stragglers who got in the group’s way. Shawn naturally fell to the center as Anisha stayed a few steps back to fend off any particularly fast zombies that managed to catch up.
“How are there so many of these things?” Anisha called forward.
“It’s a curse.” Kaylish answered dryly.
“What do you mean?” Shawn asked as the group exited the side street at full speed and continued west.
“If one of these things bites you,” Kaylish shot a zombie lifting itself from a pile of trash to emphasize her sentence. “You become one of them when you die. I watched it happen.”
It’s a status effect. Shawn put what Kaylish described into game sense. Part of these creatures' attack is a lingering effect that will transform the victim into another zombie if they die with the status effect still on them.
Kaylish paused at the next intersection and used her left hand to pat down her pockets.
“What’s wrong?” Shawn asked as he and Anisha caught up.
Kaylish opened her mouth to respond but stopped when her eyes locked onto something to their south.
“There’s some.” She exclaimed excitedly before taking off in that direction.
Shawn turned, once again confused by the red-haired girl’s antics but stopped short when his eyes spotted what Kaylish was running towards. Bodies littered the next intersection. Dozens of undead corpses were piled around a centralized point where a group of reservists had made their last stand. Shawn couldn’t really tell how many reservists had been in the intersection, their bodies were in too many pieces to make an accurate count.
“I mean it Shawn.” Anisha’s voice sounded beside him. “There’s something very wrong with this girl.”
Shawn couldn’t argue. The whole time Kaylish sifted through the carnage and extracted ammunition for her weapon, her smile never left her face.
“Why did you agree to bring her with us?”
Shawn sighed. “There was a quest.”
“A quest?”
Shawn could almost hear Anisha’s eyebrows lifting under her helmet.
“A quest from her?”
Shawn shook his head. “It’s about her but I don’t think she is the one who issued it. I don’t really understand it but I think it might help her.”
Anisha sighed. “I hope so.”
They fell silent as Kaylish continued her search in the distance. The dark helmet beside Shawn turned in his direction and regarded him.
“What?” Shawn asked, after a time of her staring.
“Why are you here Shawn? I don’t mean right here; I mean here on Akaydus? Things have been happening so fast that I didn’t realize I never even asked you. Though, I suppose maybe I didn’t even care why you were here.”
Shawn frowned slightly. “Why not?”
Anisha shrugged. “My vision from the divine gave me something I haven’t had in a long time. Purpose. For most of my life, my purpose was training to take my father’s place. The idea that one day I would be called upon to serve the human nation and fight off the demon threat. Over time, that purpose began to fade as it became clearer that I wouldn’t be called upon. I’ve been so wrapped up in the relief of having something to work towards that I haven’t even thought about the reasoning behind it. So, I’ll ask you again, why are you here?”
“I…” Shawn trailed off. “Well, it’s not very grandiose. I came here to help people.”
“Who?”
Shawn felt his face blush at the childishness of it. “Anyone really. I came here because I was told this world was suffering and that I could make a difference.”
Anisha gave a small nod. “Okay, and how do you plan on doing that?”
“I-” Shawn’s reply was cut off by a bullet zipping through the space between he and Anisha.
Kaylish stood a few dozen feet away, smoking rifle in hand, looking thoroughly angry. Shawn glanced in the direction the shot had traveled and spotted yet another zombie corpse hit the pavement.
“I see you two took advantage of my absence.” Kaylish shot a venom filled glare at Anisha.
“We were just talking.” Shawn explained, hoping to clear up whatever misunderstanding the reservist had conjured up out of thin air.
Kaylish’s accusing glare changed instantly back to the sweet and happy smile she had worn before.
“Oh, okay then. Well Shawn, I have something for you!” With a flourish, Kaylish unslung a second rifle Shawn hadn’t noticed and presented it to him. “Tada! Your very own rifle!”
Shawn took it, a bit hesitant at how much blood was on the weapon.
“It belonged to one of my squad mates, I don’t remember his name, but it doesn’t matter. It’s not like he’ll be needing it anyway.” Kaylish covered her mouth with one hand and giggled.
“Wait, those people were your…” Anisha asked, horrified
Kaylish shrugged. “Yeah, we didn’t talk much, and I don’t think my squad leader liked me. Oh well.”
Kaylish began to divvy out the spare ammunition she had managed to find, all the while humming a happy tune.
Is this what a total breakdown looks like? Shawn thought to himself. Is she simply not capable of caring for anyone else anymore? If that’s the case, why is she so attached to me?
Shawn thought back to the throngs of people trying to give him side quests. The situation with Kaylish didn’t feel quite the same but maybe the system had something to do with it. Regardless, Shawn would have to deal with potential madness for at least a while longer.
While he could do without the tragic backstory, Shawn was grateful for the rifle. Now that he was properly armed, he felt much more confident moving forward. It didn’t take long for Kaylish to lead them to their destination. The building they were after turned out to be mostly condemned. The ground floor was a boarded-up butcher shop that hadn’t been in business for years. The upper two floors were old apartments that had enough holes in the windows for Shawn to safely assume that more birds made the building home than humans did. Kaylish brought the group around the side, where a cement staircase led down to a basement entrance.
“Like I said, a lot of people complained about making deliveries down here. No one really knew what was in the crates and no one ever met them here so most days they would just drop the crates at the top of the steps.” Kaylish looked at Shawn. “Is this what you were hoping to find?”
Shawn nodded. “Perfect.”
Before he could move, Anisha stepped in front.
“I think I’m a bit better outfitted for going in first.” The knight stated plainly.
Shawn grimaced but couldn’t argue. The trio descended the dark staircase and paused in front of the closed metal door. Anisha quietly tried the handle. She gave Shawn a thumbs up, signaling that it was indeed unlocked, before gesturing for them to take a step back. Shawn aimed his rifle at the door, preparing for whatever might come out of the door once it opens. In one quick motion, Anisha twisted the simple handle and swung it open.
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