I thank her for her help and am about to walk away when she grabs my arm.
“It’s hardest the first time you see them die. But you have to remember that none of this is real.”
I know I must still be in a state of shock from the frantic fighting because all I can say in response is, “Huh?”
Nancy clarifies, “I mean the NPCs. I know you saw Thomas die and Suzie holding him. But you have to remember that all of this is just part of the dungeon story. We need to focus on winning and not letting any more of the NPCs die.”
I nod once, but as I walk out of the medical center, I can’t help but mumble, “It sure feels real to me.”
With only a half hour left before the next wave of zombies arrives, I focus on what I need to do. I use Absorb on each of the Zombie Scaler’s remains and luck out and get a new ability. I gain Spider Climber. It costs TP every second that it’s active, but lets me climb any surface like I was a spider. Whatever that means.
I don’t bother trying to Absorb the Shamblers or Howlers since I have all the useful abilities they have. Instead, I focus on resetting traps and clearing away the remains of the zombies from the razor wire. While I work, I consider the problem of the Scalers. They’re smart and have already figured out how to get around the last few traps and make it up the walls. We were able to kill two of the five before they got to us but once they got inside the walls, we took heavy casualties. Almost half of the forces available to us are either dead or incapable of fighting. What’s going to happen when more Scalers attack in the final round?
I shake my head and pull up my character sheet and inventory to see if there’s anything I’m overlooking, when I look at a spherical object in my inventory next to the hammers I have stored there. I slap my forehead when I Inspect the item.
Corrosive Grenade
Pull the pin and throw to activate. When activated, it spreads a bank of corrosive gas that damages everything it touches.
Damage: 5 health/sec while in corrosive fog. Three health/sec for 20 seconds after leaving corrosive fog.
This is it. I only have 5 of these things, but they may mean the difference between surviving this next round and losing it.
Back inside the walls of Safe Haven, I explain my plan to Nancy, and she agrees that it’s a good one. She passes out the four corrosive grenades. One each for herself and her brothers and one she hands to Suzy. I silently question the decision to give a grieving woman a grenade, but the look on Suzy’s face when Nancy explains how the weapon can hurt the Scalers assures me she’ll use it without hesitation. The fifth grenade I keep for myself. I’m sure my level 4 Throw skill will help me use it well.
Just as the everyone finishes making their final preparations, the last second ticks away on the timer, and more howls echo from the forest.
What steps out from the forest sends a chill down my spine. Almost 1,000 zombies step out of the forest. Leading them are 10 Zombie Scalers, and 20 Zombie Howlers. However, it’s not those things that disturb me. Behind them, all is the biggest zombie I’ve ever seen. It’s purple and easily three times as wide and twice as tall as any other zombie.
The Howlers all scream at once and the Scalers each grab a Shambler meat shield and charge. The rest of the Shamblers follow on their heels, and it looks like a tsunami wave of the undead is coming for us. What puzzles me is that the huge purple zombie doesn’t move. Instead, it almost looks like he’s watching to see what happens.
The sound of gunshots going off around me reminds me that we still need to kill as many zombies as we can. The rifle in my hand booms as shot after shot leaves it. With so many zombies, just about every shot hits something. As the Scalers hit the first-floor spikes, they slow slightly but are still twice as fast as the rest. I put my rifle down and grab the corrosive grenade from my inventory. By the time I’ve pulled the pin and thrown it, the Scalers are already jumping over the razor wire. My grenade hits the ground in front of them, bounces once, then explodes in a plume of green gas. The green gas spreads out in a circle and envelops the lead Scalers. I see two more grenades explode behind mine, creating a 45-foot area of corrosive gas.
It’s hard to make out what’s happening in the gas, but seven Scalers emerge from the gas, and I almost vomit seeing them. What little flesh and muscle they have been melting off with every step they take. All of them have lost their Shambler meat shields and are easy pickings for the rifle users. Four of the Scalers perish from the barrage of bullets, but the remaining three regain some measure of their former speed and run towards the walls. I hear a scream of anger and hate from my left and see Suzy pull the pin on her grenade and throw it at the approaching Scalers. The creature’s eyes widen when the plume of green gas explodes in front of them, and they’re unable to stop themselves from running into the corrosive cloud. Only one Scaler emerges from the cloud. It takes a single step onto a pressure plate and is blown back by a cascade of shot nails.
The Howlers and Shamblers do even worse as they continue their march to our wall. They’re killed left and right by traps, corrosive gas, and bullets.
Unfortunately for us, I start to hear the clicks of empty magazines and calls for more ammunition. I quickly check my supplies of ammo and find that I only have another two magazines with ten rounds in each. Next to me, I see that Suzie is already out of ammo and I toss her one of my magazines.
I think we may be ok even with the shortage of ammo. While the corrosive gas has dissipated, it took a good chunk of the zombies, and the rest of the traps are still taking down more.
Well, I think that things may be ok until the large purple zombie starts to move. It roars and begins jogging towards the wall. The jog turns into a run. The run into a sprint. Then only ten yards away from the wall, the hulking creature activates some ability. Its whole body turns red, and it charges forward at an incredible speed.
There’s a huge crashing sound, and I’m knocked off my feet as the whole wall seems to shake. Another roar clears the cobwebs, and I roll to my feet. There, walking through the hole that he made, is the purple zombie. Inspect kicks in and tells me what we’re facing.
Zombie Brute Bob
Level 9
Health 312/400
TP 20/30
A rare zombie boss. Bob used to be a bouncer for the mafia, but after the zombie apocalypse started, he fell into a vat of volatile chemicals. He transformed into a Zombie Brute capable of a devastating charge attack.
Abilities: Bite, Pummel, Charge
Weakness: Fire, Attacks to the Head
Holy Crap. It still has 312 health left?
I fire off the last few rounds in my rifle barely moving the creature’s health bar. Many of the other people around me are also out of ammunition and starting to panic. So far, no other zombies have made it through the traps outside, but it’s only a matter of time before they do.
I use Flying Kick to attack Bob the Brute. I fly through the air and land the kick only to be hit by a powerful punch the moment I land.
My body flies backward and crashes into a building. As I stagger to my feet, I see a red 20 float away from me.
See, this is why I don’t make a good tank. I can’t take that kind of damage for long.
The huge purple zombie stomps towards me and raises his fist for another punch. I use Roll, and I feel my body tuck and roll to the right. The punch slams into the ground where I just was and Bob the Brute turns and scowls at me, angry that he missed. I do the noble thing and start to run away from the creature pulling a hammer out of my inventory as I go.