Surviving the Apocalypse with a System.

Shattered Republic (Part 2)

Jack Kamphar took a step back as the woman dropped onto the floor . He recognized her as the new intern who had joined the company on campus attachment , a young promising life , now no more.

Then he remembered that she was trying to keep something from entering the washrooms.

The remaining fluorescent tubes lighting the washrooms exploded violently as the air around started humming and vibrating at a low rapid frequency. Ghostly wailing was heard before the door came crashing down and burying the girl’s lifeless body.

[SYSTEM INSTALLING…80%]

Jack’s senses heightened and the hairs on his skin rose.

"What the heck,"

The wolf-like beast was sizing him up, standing on the pile of shattered wood. Its ghostly appearance was otherworldly , thick scales covering the entirety of its thick body and claws on its forelimbs so long they were joining at the knee joints.

Pinning a vivid image of it was made difficult by the white smoke perpetually exuding from its skin. And though it had no eyes , Jack knew that it could perfectly sense him when it lunged forward.

“Move!” an abrupt female voice erupted in his head.

Jack dodged to his side at the last moment, hitting his side painfully against the adjacent water sink. The water tap twisted to the side under the impact.

The creature was not only large , but also fast. Its scales had been able to graze away most of the skin on his right hand.

However , turning corners was not the beast’s strong suit and it crashed violently into one of the toilets. Somehow its head got stuck for a moment but it clawed violently until it freed itself.

[SYSTEM INSTALLING…89%..]

Jack started thinking on his feet.

He took note of that weakness ,however slight it was , and darted out of the washroom with the monster hot on his heels. He knew the hallway like the back of his hand. It had corners ,and he planned to make use of them to gain advantage.

Unfortunately ,in a contest of pure speed , Jack was no match for the beast . It leapt forward and its large claws swiped Jack’s left ankle and struck deep. It tripped him over and the resulting momentum led to his back crashing into the wall at the last turn of the hallway.

In those brief moments that his back was vertically pressed to the wall momentarily defying gravity, he saw the gaping maw of the monster lunging forth at him . It was wide open , ready to receive him with its numerous rows of jagged black canines . Death.

“Move!” The angry female voice came from within his subconscious, again, taking him out of the sudden trance as his body started responding to the downwards pull of gravity.

It did the trick , and Jack miraculously landed on his feet. The moment he jumped forward , the monster crashed into that portion of the wall head first. It had come at the wall with everything , confident it would hit its mark.

This gave Jack critical time to set more distance between himself and the beast. He looked at his ankle for a moment , and nearly fainted when he saw the skin around the injury turning grey and starting to crack. The claws were not only sharp ,but poisonous as well.

[SYSTEM INSTALLING …96%...]

Jack saw Hamilton standing at the end of the hallway , which was the entrance to the offices’ floor.

His right hand was outstretched , aimed at what was behind him with his pointing and middle fingers poised straight like a gun’s muzzle.

“ RAGING FURNACE! ” he shouted the elemental chant.

A small gust of dust swirled round his pointed fingers turning into a hot high pressure mass of plasma energy.

Jack realised that Hamilton intended to take out the monster hunting him with a fire arrow. It was a potent skill to have as a fire mage , but with the limited experience that Hamilton had with it , maintaining a steady aim was next to impossible.

"If I'm caught in it , its over,"

Jack however decided to gamble the odds , ducking to the ground and trusting his friend with his life.

“BURN YOU CURSED MONSTER ! ” Hamilton yelled , struggling to stabilize his hand and control the energy at the same time. He couldn't risk it getting Jack as well.

For the attack to take out the beast , he had to push himself beyond his limits ,beyond what the Association of mages thought of him.

The converging energy around Hamilton reached its peak threshold and a high powered laser of fire shot forth , screaming past the air and landing squarely on the monster’s right shoulder.

“Gotcha,” he smiled watching the beast get blown back by the resulting explosion.

An agonising wailing rang in rhythm with the sounds of concrete and metal tumbling against the monster’s body. The attack had packed such a strong force that the beast was now metres away from Jack , having created a deformed silhouette on one of the walls of the hallway.

The beast was now on the other wing , where more offices with more people were.

“You are still alive , good for Linzy,” Hamilton helped Jack to his feet. He was calmer than Jack , a product of military training.

“ The pain in my leg , fucking hurts,” Jack cursed , wondering what the hell that beast that was chasing him was. He took the first look at his injury and his face lost its colour. The flesh had continued rotting.

“The injury is deep , but you will walk,” Hamilton helped support Jack’s weight and made him walk the last stretches of the hallway . He too was worried about the nature of the wound , but he needed Jack to be strong at the moment. Escaping with their lives was top priority.

The sight that met Jack when they arrived in the offices turned his injury into a joke.

The scene was horrendous , dead bodies everywhere strewn in the most twisted forms imaginable. Guts were dangling from the overhead ceiling fans and blood painted most of the walls. He could not help it , his stomach churned and he vomited his guts out.

“I don’t blame you,” Hamilton looked away.

“ Jack , thank God you're okay!” Linzy jumped to her feet. She had been kneeling beside Cynthia , wrapping bandages around her left shoulder . There was a vicious wound on her that was probably caused by one of the many shards of glass lying around her on the floor.

Hamilton helped Jack walk over to her and she hugged him tightly .

“ You are not to leave my side again , ever ,” she was already crying. Jack put his arms around her , reassuring her with his silence.

His mind was still adjusting to the carnage in the room when he caught a glimpse of the city outside.

Behind Linzy were large windows where Jack and his colleagues liked to gather around watching the sunset and making jokes about their boss. Now all he could see was a city in ruins, nearly every building in sight set ablaze .

The streets were littered with death , cars crashed and piled in blazing heaps as civilians raced aimlessly through the destruction.

The screams of dying people shot across from the offices on the other side of the hallway , accompanied by the beast's ghostly wails.

“ We need to get moving , the Parliament building will be safe,” Hamilton said , walking closer to Cynthia and inspecting her injuries.

“ I will carry you on my back , can you hold on for me?” he asked her ,his voice taking a softer tone. She managed a weak nod.

“ No , we need your fire power if we are to make it out of this ,” Linzie objected , letting go of Jack.

“ I am not leaving her behind,”

“How could you think that I’d want that? Jack and I will help her,” Linzie defended.

Hamilton took one look at Linzie , then at Jack who was struggling to balance himself on his uninjured ankle. Linzy followed his gaze and sighed , Jack was no help.

“ Are there any other survivors?” Jack asked Linzy , worried about leaving people behind.

“ Anyone that survived has run away,” she answered.

“ I will carry Cynthia, now let’s get moving ,” Timothy appeared out of the blue. Unlike most of the people in the building , he still looked neat without a scratch on his suit.

“Sir , it’s so good to see that you are unharmed,” Linzy’s heart swelled with relief at seeing another survivor .

“Titles hold no meaning right now , just Timothy will do,” he corrected her. Jack stole a glance at the man , and noticed grey bags under his eyes.He had been crying.

“ We still won’t make it out , not with that thing around,” Jack noted.

“ I believe there are more . My fire attack takes a heavy toll on me , so I don't know if I can handle another of those things ,” Hamilton sighed.

“We will move quietly , avoiding open ground,” Linzie got hold of a bandage that was coming off and tied it back in place. Cynthia winced at the pain but didn’t make a sound.

“That will not help. The monster that attacked me had no eyes , it probably relies on scent and hearing ,” Jack explained.

“That wailing sound it makes , do you think it's connected to how it hunts,like an echolocation?” Linzy suggested.

“ It never wailed when chasing me and not once did it lose me ,”Jack shot down that idea as well.

“The monster is communicating with others of its own kind then,” Timothy said.

As this conversation was going on, an unexpected sense of relief washed over Jack. The blue screen that had been in front of his sight all along flickered and displayed a new message.

[

[SYSTEM INSTALLATION COMPLETE]

Host Name : Jack Kamphar

Race : Human

Compatibilities : Personal Attributes , Talents , Artefacts.

-Available Personal Attributes :

Strength- enhances overall body strength.

Speed - enhances body movement and reaction rate.

Durability - grants resistance to damage.

Stamina - allows use of the system's granted abilities. Recovers passively.

-Installing Personal Attributes …,

-Installation Complete.

Strength - Level 2

Speed - Level 3

Durability - Level 1

Stamina - Level 1

-Talents granted :

Rejuvenation - Heal lost Hp. Consumes rejuvenation bars.

Perception - See what others cannot.

-Installing granted Talents…,

-Installation Complete.

1) Rejuvenation - Stage 1 ,level 1

2) Perception - Max level

[ System maintenance rewards : Points x200 ,]

]

Jack blinked and the screen faded.

“ Jack ,let’s go ,” Linzy called out with a hint of urgency. She had already pulled his right hand over her shoulder to support the injured leg.

Heeding her , he braced himself for the pain he was about to experience on his ankle . He felt nothing.

“ Wait , ,” Jack said with a surprised look on his face. His leg felt perfectly normal as if it had never been cleaved by the beast. He pulled up the hem of his trouser and saw nothing but clotted blood over perfect skin.

The blue screen appeared in front of his eyes again.

[

SYSTEM INFORMATION

Rejuvenation engaged.

Rejuvenation complete.

Rejuvenation Bar Count - 0/1

]

“ Didn’t you have a gaping cut just a few seconds ago?” Hamilton noticed as he balanced Cynthia on his boss’s back. Timothy buckled slightly , the man was clearly not as strong as he was big.

The screaming from the offices on the other wing of the building stopped with one last wail from the beast. It had completed the slaughter.

“ We should get moving, take the elevator,” Jack declared and headed for the exit. The rest followed , Linzy sharing the same concerns as Hamilton.