And none of them were aware of Ben as he dropped his shoulder and tackled a young man out of the way. The two young men toppled with a cry, knocking over two more as Mitch spun in shock at the sudden appearance. Ben swung his sword overhead and Mitch jerked out of the way.

  Joel, seeing it properly for the first time, couldn’t help but think there was something wrong. It wasn’t just that Mitch had dodged. It was almost like Ben had hesitated. Which might have made sense for Ben, despite his anger. Even as Jenny recovered and took her next strike at Mitch, though, Joel frowned when he noticed she seemed to hesitate as well. Right before they struck, it was like there was a slight pause, before the strike would come down off center, or with a slight delay. Just enough to throw off what should have been a fatal strike.

  But Mitch was running out of steam. Whatever it was he was doing, was costing him. Ben was red faced and huffing, Jenny was breathing hard and panting. But Mitch looked like he was recovering from a workout. He dripped with sweat and his face showed stress lines. He was exhausted as he cried for his people to help him. Those same people looked around like they were confused and concerned by what was happening. But their sense of self-preservation prevented them from getting too close to the fighters with weapons.

  When Joel arrived at the fight, he pushed the spectators aside. Ben rushed in, stabbing out towards Mitch’s stomach. Their exhausted opponent wiggled out of the way, avoiding the deadly wound, and Ben spun, taking a wide swing at Mitch’s head. That too, missed as Jenny blinked into position above him, slashing down on empty space as Mitch frantically jumped backward.

  Joel had just the briefest thought about what to do before smirking. Without any rush, or without any pretense of it being an attack, Joel reached out and gently patted Mitch’s shoulder. The move wasn’t threatening, nor was it violent. Joel had tempered his strength so that it was only the lightest touch. But it was enough to distract Mitch, who froze at the contact.

  And in that brief moment of hesitation, Ben slammed his sword into Mitch’s chest. The blade came out the other side and skidded off Joel’s shield that he only happened to have raised in the close quarters of the surrounding people.

  “Fuck,” Mitch wheezed as he fell to his knees. “All. Of…. You.”

  Chapter Eight

  “And you’re just going to leave?” a familiar, haughty voice snapped.

  Joel rolled his eyes. “Yes.”

  “Just like that?” someone else asked.

  “Yes,” Joel repeated.

  The crowd didn’t quite know what to think of the situation. Joel was heading for the gate. Mitch had bled out in minutes, and it was getting dark. They weren’t far from home, but nobody wanted to deal with this shit. Nobody with Joel, at least. There were the equivalent of several dozen families now in the lurch. With Mitch’s death and his apparent decline, there wasn’t really a structure for command to take over.

  Just a loose rabble of people in a place with a temporary wall. At least Joel knew that if he died, Helen or perhaps Dale would speak up. Assuming Jess didn’t take the reins herself.

  “What are we going to do?” someone asked.

  “Don’t care,” Joel replied as he kept walking.

  “You murdered Mitch, and you think we’re just going to let you go?”

  Joel froze, and someone bumped into him from behind. There was a soft mutter that ran through the crowd. Joel turned slowly and looked back, trying to pick out the one who had said that last statement.

  “Are you making a threat?” Joel asked.

  “What do you expect us to think?” a woman snapped. She looked like the one that had been dragged off earlier. Either she’d slipped her leash, or she was trying to make a point here. Perhaps even to lead their small group.

  “You haven’t done a lot of thinking so far,” Joel glared. “Which might not be your fault. I’m pretty sure Mitch had some kind of ability that messed with your head.”

  “He what?” a middle-aged woman gasped.

  “There’s literal fucking heads on spikes on the gate,” Joel pointed them out. “You telling me that’s fucking normal for you people?” A murmur broke out as Joel shook his head. “I came here because Mitch sent assassins to kill me and my friends. Mitch is dead. So either pick up where he left off and be less of a cunt about it. Or fuck the hell off. I’m done with this place.”

  “Wait,” someone called.

  “Fuck no,” Joel scoffed.

  “Take us with you!”

  Joel ignored the comment and waved for his group to follow. Their group pulled in while the crowd gathered around. They broke open when Joel swung his sword into view, giving them a quick path towards the exit. With the gate open, it was a clear exit, though Joel grimaced when he noticed the bodies. Not those of Mitch’s people, but his own.

  “I saved who I could,” Marlene whispered.

  “Give me a hand,” Joel sighed as he walked over to the first of the bodies.

  A young man. Someone from Dale’s lot. Joel knew him only by sight and didn’t even know if someone would miss him. It didn’t matter, though. Joel bent and took the man’s hand before lifting him into a sitting position. From there, it only took a wiggle and a tug before he had the body slung over his shoulder in a fireman’s lift.

  Around him, Ben bent and collected another of his friends, while Dale did the same. Then it was the slow walk home. Their party remained silent, even as shouting and cursing broke out behind them. Mitch’s people, without their leader, were fracturing quickly and Joel had no desire to negatively impact the settlement any more than he already had.

  Quest update: Secure and expand your territory, while engaging in diplomacy with your neighbors. Conquer, befriend, or destroy.

  You have discovered several threats to Philadelphia.

  Threats dealt with: 3 of 3

  Quest Completed

  #!%@ and *****!!! would like to congratulate you for being the first of this realm to complete this quest!

  “Really?”

  Boon granted. Please select from the following options.

  1. Weapon

  2. Armor

  3. Skill

  4. Level

  There was a round of murmurs that rang out. Joel realized they were all getting the same notification. He thought about what he needed. The sword he carried, while bizarre, fit his fighting style well. The shield was the perfect defense, and in the fights he’d been in so far, things had worked out pretty well. As the people around him began to make their selections, Joel made a decision.

  “Skill.”

  Then he winced as a lance of cold, sharp pain stabbed into his head. It made him stop for a moment as he felt it twist around before burrowing into his chest. Until finally, he felt something settle, and a new window popped up in his vision.

  Taunt: Draw the attention of all nearby low threat enemies in or outside of combat. Secondary: #!%@ and *****!!! Will allow Joel to directly insult a specific entity and attract its attention directly.

  “Joel?” Jess called his name. “Please don’t be like before?”

  “No, no,” Joel blinked and swiped away the screen. “Just got a new skill,” he said, before noticing the strange quiver over Jess’s shoulder. “New toy?”

  “Yup,” she grinned and reached over her shoulder. “Fire.”

  Joel stared in awe as a ghostly arrow came out of the holster. It was ethereal. Like it was made of flames, but Jess handled it like a regular arrow.

  “I only have basic elements, and they lack the piercing of a real arrow,” she said. “But it only costs a small amount of mana to produce as many arrows as I want.”

  “That’s awesome,” Joel said excitedly.

  “What did you get?” she asked.

  “A new skill, taunt,” Joel informed her. “Morpheus gave it a secondary effect.”

  Morpheus is not #!%@ and *****!!!

  Joel swiped away the notification with an annoyed grunt. “Whatever that name is, it doesn’t translate to our language, so either give us something, or it’s Morpheus,” he grumbled. “Anyway, I can attract low level enemies in the area, or I can target someone specifically and insult them.”

  “Makes sense for a tank,” Jess said. “It would be nice if you had some decent armor, though.”

  “She’s right, you better be careful with that,” Marlene pointed out.

  “So far we haven’t really come across anything too crazy,” Joel attempted to defend himself.

  “Except the shark people, the horde, and the possibility of hidden assassins taking a shot at you without you knowing they’re standing right behind you,” Amanda spoke up.

  “She’s right, master,” Jenny agreed.

  “You need better armor, master,” Luneira complained.

  “I’ll take that next time,” Joel said with a roll of his eyes. “Right now, I just want to get home.”

  That was an agreeable comment for their group. Joel had his doubts about the safety of traveling at night. Things could be bad enough during the day. They hadn’t done any patrols at night. Nobody was quite sure if it would be safer since people would be within Morpheus, or more dangerous since there were less people about.

  In either case, Joel didn’t want to deal with it now. He led the way down some back streets and through a yard, before reaching the gated complex he had added to his territory. They worked in teams, climbing over the fence, before passing the dead over. Finally everyone was safely on the home side.

  “Do we bury them now, or later?” Joel asked the group.

  “Now, I think,” Dale sighed. “We do it now, and then go to bed.”

  Joel nodded, and they made their way over to the makeshift cemetery. It was situated in the corner of the lot, behind the crazy neighbor’s house. There were several plots here now. All with wooden crosses, with Dan’s being the most recent. Their walk had attracted onlookers too.

  Joel could hear quiet sobbing and he set the young man’s body down before picking up a shovel. He couldn’t do anything for the dead, but he could offer the comfort for the living by digging the grave so they didn’t have to. But that wasn’t the only thing on his mind.

  Joel and his team didn’t know the dead. They helped dig the graves, offered some well wishes and left their loved ones to handle things as they saw fit. Then he directed everyone back home. And there, he saw the faint cracks in Amanda’s shell. The way her eyes darted around, and the way she flinched when Joel trod on a stick that snapped in the dark.

  Jess gave him a nudge, and Joel looked at her. She gave him a pointed glare, and then nodded at Amanda, before nudging him once more. Joel looked around, seeing Marlene being led home by Timothy, while Jenny and Luneira huddled together, taking the hint from Jess to step back a little. None of which was noticed by Amanda, who ambled along towards her home.

  “Amanda you okay?”

  She flinched and spun, her eyes wide in shock, before noticing who had spoken. Jess had led the others home, while Marlene and Timothy pushed past without a word and went inside. Amanda trembled slightly as she looked at Joel and a tear rolled down her cheek.

  “Joel?” she said hesitantly.

  “Yeah, Amanda?” He tried to make his voice as soothing as possible.

  “Can I stay with you?”

  He didn’t say a word, merely tugged her into his side and move towards his home.

  “Sorry, we only have the one bathroom,” Joel said, leading Amanda outside to the pool where Squishy the nraab lived. “You can always pop back home and shower⁠—”

  “This is fine,” Amanda sniffed as she lowered herself onto the first step. “I know it’s been mentioned before, but… soap and stuff?”

  “Doesn’t seem to bother him. I still have a water test kit from when it was just a pool and by morning all the chlorine was gone. Whatever goes in here, he filters or eats it within hours.” Joel shrugged. “It’s not like anyone’s going to be out pumping water until tomorrow anyway, so there’s plenty of time.”

  Amanda nodded slowly. Then began to pull her top off. Joel swallowed nervously and turned around.

  “Hey Joel?” Amanda called before he could walk away.

  “Yeah, Amanda?”

  “Can you scrub my back?”

  Joel thought for a moment before nodding. “If that’s what you want.”

  “It is,” she said softly.

  Joel turned back and watched as she unclasped her bra. She was a slender woman. Where Jess was tall, strong, and powerful, Amanda was a petite thing in comparison. She looked back over her shoulder, noticing Joel staring at her.

  “If… if you don’t want to, you⁠—”

  “What?” Joel jerked his head side to side. “Sorry, no… I didn’t mean to make it weird.”

  “If I’m not that attractive, we don’t⁠—”

  “Huh?” Joel staggered to a halt. “What makes you think you’re not attractive?”

  “Boys, just… never seemed interested in me,” she said and slumped a little.

  “At the risk of making this sound fucking weird,” Joel grunted. “I’m not a boy.”

  Amanda twitched and looked back. “So⁠—”

  “Yes, and I’d have to be some kind of fucking idiot not to see it,” Joel scoffed. “Now, did you just want a little ego boost, or did you actually want me to scrub your back?”

  Amanda turned away and squirmed. “I’d actually like the company.”

  “Well, okay then,” Joel said. He nodded before casting a look back at the house. He could hear the shower running. It wasn’t hot, but it worked.

  Still, Jess had pushed him towards this, and with her acceptance of Luneira, he couldn’t imagine she’d have let him get this close to Amanda. At least not in these circumstances, if she had a problem with it.

  “Before I take my clothes off,” Joel stated softly. “How old are you?”

  Amanda sighed. “It was my twentieth birthday the day before… before it happened.”

  “By it, are you referring to Grant and Dante, or when the world went to hell and back?” Joel asked.

  “Probably doesn’t matter,” Amanda murmured. “But the day the world broke. I don’t want to talk about the other time.”

  “Got it.” Joel nodded and pulled his shirt off.

  As he tossed the fabric aside, he noticed Amanda suddenly look forward. Joel held back a smirk and began to take off his belt, while the younger woman wiggled her pants down her legs. She stopped only to lift them from the water and place them on the side of the pool. Amanda seemed a little shy, and slipped into the water, sitting on the top step, and keeping herself turned away from Joel as she waited.

  Joel pulled off the rest of his clothes before settling in the water beside her. That horrible feeling of cool water hitting his balls made him wince, but he got over it as he sat beside Amanda, who glanced over at him. Her eyes drifted down for a moment before snapping up to look him in the eye.

  “I’m… a little embarrassed,” she admitted.

  “Nothing to be embarrassed about,” Joel said, smiling gamely. “You’re a beautiful woman.”

  She blushed and turned away before making a disgruntled noise.

  “What’s up?” Joel asked when she turned.

  “I left my stuff on the table.”

  Joel turned and on the outdoor setting, sure enough, was her toiletry bag. Without a second thought, Joel got up and strode out of the water. He grabbed the bag off the table and brought it back, where Amanda was very pointedly not looking directly at him as she accepted it.

  “Thanks,” she said in a small voice.

  “You’re welcome,” Joel said as he sat down once more. “Let me know when you want me to do your back.”

  Amanda nodded without a word and began to pull her stuff out. Joel had the basics already set out. They’d kept a bar of soap near the pool since they first used it to bathe. He picked it up and began to scrub himself over, lathering up some suds as he cleaned the blood, sweat and grime from his body. He was so preoccupied he jolted a little when he felt a slight nudge from Amanda.

  “It’s strawberry,” Amanda offered softly as he stared down at what she had poked him with.

  Joel looked at the bottle and accepted it with a slight nod of thanks. Shampoo was shampoo, it didn’t really matter to him. He poured a little into his hand and slipped further into the pool. Squishy, seeing the movement, came over to investigate, but when he didn’t offer food, the little nraab headed back to the deep end once more. Joel dunked his hair back and after straightening, began to run his fingers through his hair. With each pass of his hands, Joel blinked and noticed Amanda was keeping a very close watch on him.

  By the time Joel dunked his head a few times, she was conspicuously looking away as she sat, running a comb through her hair while it glistened with conditioner. Joel stood there in the water for a few moments and watched her, before she let out a sigh and shook her head.

  “Are you finished staring at me?”

  “No,” Joel said with a smirk. “You’re nice to look at.”

  Amanda lowered her head, but gave a small giggle. “Do you wanna scrub my back, then?”

  “Sure,” Joel said and his smile widened as he made his way over.

  Amanda turned and pulled most of her hair over her shoulder as she continued to comb it. Joel noticed a loofah and some of her own scented soap left on the edge of the pool and grabbed it without a word. He squirted some soap into the loofah and after clicking the lid back down, he turned to Amanda’s back. She twitched when he pressed it to her body, but straightened as he began to scrub.

  “How’s that?” Joel asked.

  “Good,” Amanda whispered. “It’s good.”

  Joel nodded and took his time. It wasn’t as if this was a strenuous job. He just took his time with her, knowing she’d had a rough day. It was obvious she had plenty of things on her mind, which was apparent when she cleared her throat softly.