I slammed back on Turtle but got an error message. It could only be used once a day since I was under level 10. This was bad news. Guys with assault rifles were much scarier than rats. What was I thinking to use up Turtle?

  The firing started and I was hit, knocking my health down by 20%. I was pegged again, harder this time, and beginning to panic. Kiara got in front of me with the shepherd’s staff, and I stopped getting hit. The bullets were absorbed by the staff’s holy protection. Since I’d taken the worst damage of the three of us, I grabbed my last healing potion and downed it. I remembered how poor these lesser heals were as I watched my health bar barely tick up.

  “The shepherd’s shield is blinking out. We’ve got to run,” said Kiara.

  But I didn’t want to retreat. I wanted to use my vamp skill. I wanted to Charge. I wanted to pull out the hunting knife and free Keel. I had to kill.

  Trix grabbed me by the arm and pulled me back. “Come on, crazy. We’re moving.”

  The staff repelled another wave of gunfire, at first. But then the staff’s blue glow failed and we all took damage as we dodged into an alleyway.

  “Now where?” said Kiara.

  “There!” Trix pointed at an open sewer entry.

  “What about the crocs?” I protested.

  “I’d rather deal with crocodiles than assault rifles. Come on.” Trix grabbed the ladder and descended, fast. Kiara inventoried the shepherd’s staff and followed. By the time her head went out of view below, Edge and Bagman turned the corner of the alleyway.

  “Got you!” said Edge, a muscular middle-aged man that I almost thought I’d seen in my former life as a bum.

  Bagman opened fire, catching me in the arm and the chest. My health dropped as I fell to the ground and crawled to the sewer entry. Another shots hit my leg and dropped my health to the red before I lowered myself out of their range.

  I noticed two things at once. The sewer was well lit and smelled like a sea of rotten eggs. I guess the nice people of BioZone had lit this place up to make sure their cameras could catch every gruesome detail of crocs mauling adventurers down here. I had the impression that there was nowhere to go in BioZone City that offered real privacy.

  The mouldering brick-lined sewers had a lot of headspace, with the ceiling rising several feet overhead. A waterway ran through the middle of the sewer, with walkways on either side. I knew this place. When the winter freeze came, mom used to bring Kane and I down here, trading death by exposure to the fetid stink and the rats. People traded stories of crocs, but it was all made up. There were variations of a story about a chamber full of snakes in the sewer too. None of it was real. In all the winter nights we’d taken refuge in the sewers, I’d never seen a single croc down there. What I had seen was other people—mostly as harmless as they were toothless and afraid. But then again, this game wasn’t the world I once knew. I reminded myself to keep my eyes up.

  TRIX: Will, hurry.

  WILL: Can’t go faster. I’m hurting. I can barely put weight on my left leg.

  KIARA: I see you. Here.

  Kiara selected a health potion and dropped it on my avatar. As my health meter rose out of the red, feeling came back in my left leg. I touched down to the bottom of the sewer and cleared out from under the sewer entry as a burst of rifle fire rained down from above.

  WILL: Maybe we can knock them out one at a time as they come down?

  KIARA: I don’t think so. They’re well organized and higher level than us. If they know what they’re doing—and I’m convinced they do—they’ll have at least one party member that can soak up way more damage than we can deal.

  TRIX: Kiara’s right. Plus, we only have two ranged attacks and we can’t get a lot of shots off before we’re tapped out. Time to try our luck with the crocs.

  It might have been peaceful in the sewer, with the constant sound of flowing water, if it didn’t feel so cramped and if every odd sound didn’t call to mind what beasts we were sharing these tunnels with. I had a bad feeling every time I looked at the dark water at our feet.

  TRIX: Let’s keep communicating internally. No reason to invite unwanted attention down here.

  KIARA: Good idea.

  TRIX: Loot box check. Everyone opened everything they’ve gotten? I’m looking at you, Will.

  WILL: I do have one box to open, and something called a Dag pellet. Did you get one of those?

  TRIX: Is that a joke?

  WILL: I don’t think so. But I don’t know what it does and can’t get any info on it.

  TRIX: Then don’t touch it. Just open that box.

  I didn’t like being told what to do. I pulled out the Dag pellet and noticed writing on it—very small writing. I was looking at it closer when Trix turned around, thought I was taking the pellet, and tackled me for the third time since I’d met her. As I hit the wet sewer floor, alive with green bacteria, the pellet fell out of my hands and into the dark water.

  WILL: Monkey’s guts! Why’d you do that?

  TRIX: Never, never, never trust Dag.

  WILL: I don’t! There was writing on the pellet. I was trying to read it.

  Trix picked herself up and studied me for a second.

  TRIX: If that’s true, then I’m sorry. Now what’s in your box?

  WILL: It’s a refrigerator magnet of an igloo made out of empty cans with the words “Clan of the Beer Cave” written above.

  KIARA: That’s dumb. What about you, Trix?

  TRIX: I didn’t have anything to open.

  KIARA: I got a gold box for hitting the kill shot on Verminister. It gave me this rat charm that increases the range of any spells I cast by +1.

  Kiara pointed to an rusted charm now dangling from her necklace.

  TRIX: That was lucky.

  KIARA: You’re telling me. I’ve got an inventory filled with bobblehead dolls and broken things.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Trix came to a sudden stop.

  TRIX: This is bad.

  In front of us were five bodies of recently slain players, who were themselves laying on decaying bones. From the look of things, these were not good deaths. Limbs were missing. Blood was everywhere—it stained the walls and the floors. Blood was even on the ceiling somehow. Between the blood and the green bacteria that was everywhere, the space took on a zombie Christmas vibe.

  KIARA: What happened in here? And could it happen again?

  TRIX: I don’t know.

  I checked the inventories of the bodies, but everything was already looted.

  TRIX: Whatever killed these guys killed them good.

  WILL: I can’t tell what level they were.

  TRIX: Me neither. But judging from the carnage, it might not have mattered.

  Close behind us, we heard footfalls.

  WILL: I’m afraid Edge is on our trail.

  TRIX: Gotta be. We’ve gotta move.

  Kiara had backed up against the wall and closed her eyes and was breathing a little too fast.

  KIARA: I want out of these sewers. I want out of this game. I shouldn’t be here.

  TRIX: Kiara, stay calm. We’ve got to keep our heads. Will, if things go sideways, you might have to go in freakout mode. I’ll have your back.

  Then the lights flickered out and the pleasant sound of water was replaced with roaring.

  Light filled the space around us, emanating from above Kiara. She was chanting something and holding up her two staves, the one she’d gotten from Brinkley and Verminister’s crook. A prehistoric looking reptile towered over us, much of its green, scaly body covered in the dark water. Suddenly, the reptile froze, an energy barrier formed behind us, and heavy metal filled the sewers—the music, not the elements. Above the big reptile, the words The Mother of all Crocs! dropped into place in big, blocky ASCII lettering. A lightning fast guitar solo easily mistakable for something from the Power Rangers theme song echoed off the tight passageways.

  You’ve walked right into a Boss Fight! And boy are you guys screwed! Trix and Will soon-to-be-Killed Squad, say “Hi” to the Mother of all Crocs, a level 20 bonecrunching beast. She’s quite territorial, as you’ve likely discerned. Try not to die too fast, people are watching! Ready? No? Too bad!

  I felt somehow ready for this. Even though my intelligence stat was still shockingly low, I was feeling clearer in my head. I wondered if staying off Z had something to do with that, and for the first time, felt grateful to my former game guide for disappearing my Z stash.

  The world unfroze and The Mother of all Crocs threw her head back and roared in time with the metal track. Then she looked at us, and her red glowing eyes shot lasers. The shepherd’s crook soaked up the damage, but it’s shield dropped by half.

  TRIX: How often does that shield reload?

  KIARA: Takes some time. Another volley and it’s toast for the battle.

  Snoop would have been real nice about now. Or Turtle. I made a mental note to save those for real threats in the future—no more Turtling against rats—but the future wasn’t looking likely.

  Trix shot blue flame at the Mother of all Crocs, and the beast’s health bar barely registered the attack. In response, beams shot out of her reptilian eyes and cooked the crook’s shield.

  Kiara let out a yowl and tossed away the overheated shepherd’s crook.

  It occurred to me only then that I could have taken Diego’s shield and his shield block ability.

  KIARA: I’ve got us!

  Kiara pulled out what looked like a vodka shot and downed it. Nothing happened.

  TRIX: What was that?

  KIARA: Vodka. But it was called Social Barrier. I thought it’d give us a shield.

  TRIX: Got any more?

  KIARA: I’m out, but if we get out of here, I’ll treat.

  The Mother of all Crocs roared and swiped at us with her giant tail. It caught me in the chest with enough force to throw me through the air and knock me against the brick wall. My whole body felt like it had just been karate chopped as a third of my health dropped out.

  Kiara followed up the hit with a health potion that topped me back up.

  Trix put her hands to her temples and her eyes went blue. “Hey, Mama Croc, look this way!”

  The Mother of all Crocs turned her gaze on Trix, roared, and tried swipe at us again, but Trix had locked her up with a Bind spell. It wasn’t going to last long though. The Mother of all Crocs was fighting the spell for all she was worth.

  TRIX: Gonna need your freakout mode, Will. It’s now or never.

  Reluctantly, I pulled out Corporal Keel’s Hunting Knife. Once again his call for blood filled my mind, louder now than before by leagues. No longer whispers, it drowned out the heavy metal bouncing off the walls and even the internal communication from Trix and Kiara. But no one else could hear it.

  KEEL: I want blood, Will.

  WILL: Croc blood okay with you?

  KEEL: It’s a start. Then the ladies?

  WILL: No. They’re our friends.

  KEEL: We don’t have friends, Will. We have the hunt.

  I looked up and the Mother of all Crocs was steady again, and Trix’s psi points were tapped out from delivering her psychic attacks. The Mother of all Crocs roared, much louder than before. The sound shook my insides. Pain enveloped me as my health dropped by half. Kiara and Trix both groaned and fell to the blood soaked floor, their health both dangerously in the deep red.

  KEEL: Charge now, soldier!

  I followed orders, and the Mother of all Crocs roared and swiped with its heavy tail.

  Keel didn’t bother to tell me to dive. He briefly took over my body, pulling me down to the water so that the tail missed me. I didn’t need orders to get back up and return to the hunt. As I closed the last feet between myself and the giant reptile’s chest, lasers seared my flesh. My health was all but gone as I tore into the reptile’s thick green scales. Vamp amped up, replacing my health as the Mother of all Crocs took real damage.

  KEEL: Stab again, with more force! Kill!

  I pulled back the hunting knife and drove it into the big monster with all the muscle I could muster.

  KEEL: Now twist the blade, Will! Harder!

  Laser blasts hit me again. Burning my forearms and hands. I cut faster to keep my health out of the red.

  KEEL: Jump to the side!

  I complied, and lasers superheated the air where I’d been. I thrust again into the massive croc, and when I pulled out the blade, I caught my reflection in the steel and saw that I was covered in the massive beast’s blood and guts.

  KEEL: Strike for the heart! Strike Will!

  I struck again, though my arms had no strength left. As the knife moved through The Mother of all Crocs, I could feel her life force go. I pulled out my blade and the hideous beast fell back into the water. Confetti fell.

  I turned, searching for my next mark, muscles tense, panting, primed to strike. Blue eyes met mine.

  TRIX: You fought well. Now put away the blade, Will.

  My eyes went from the sharp edge of the dagger to the soft blue of Trix’s eyes.

  WILL: I can’t.

  The beast dead behind me, and the blade in my hand, I took a step closer to Trix.

  TRIX: Kiara, use Brinkley’s staff!

  Kiara held up the staff as Trix again focused those blue eyes on me, bluer now somehow. Keel’s voice lowered to a whisper.

  Trix spoke to me calmly, never turning her eyes from mine.

  TRIX: Will. You can put the knife away.

  I could feel my heart beating to the rhythm of the knife as I drew within reach of Trix. I gripped it tighter, locked in the hunt. I was looking in her blue, glowing eyes when raised the knife and remembered laying my head in mom’s lap, her hands running through my hair while she hummed a quiet song and I looked out the window. The stars felt so close, like they might fall like rain and run down the windshield of the wagon.

  I loosened my grip on Corporal Keel’s Hunting Knife and then dropped it into my inventory.

  Trix slowly exhaled and her eyes faded from spice-user deep blue back to normal-person blue.

  TRIX: We may need to get you a new weapon.

  With Keel cleared from my head, I focused on the system messages that hit once the Mother of All Crocs bit it.

  You just leveled the heck up! That’s level 7! It doesn’t look like you’re enjoying the confetti. Can’t you at least try to get into the spirit of levelling up a little more?

  Hannibal Lecter award! You’re a knife-wielding maniac, a danger to all living things but also a media darling! Right now you’re enclosed in The Mother of All Croc’s energy barrier, and it’s starting to look like it would be safer for everyone if that’s where you stayed.

  Data Pirate Boost! At level 7, Data Pirates get a +4 boost to intelligence. Now maybe you won’t lose at checkers quite so often.

  Oh, and because you killed a boss, all your equipment and ability skills reset. Be sure to thank Dag for that. He *just* changed that rule. One more thing—Dag wonders if you’ve been practicing mindful movement. Remember, the key to maximizing yogic power is in staying in a continuous flow space. Finally, if you recently lost a Dag pellet, you’ll find a replacement in your inventory.

  I checked my stats and it felt good to see a 6 on intelligence. No longer having a 2 there already made me feel smarter.

  KIARA: We need a break, a long break. Trix, can I treat you to that drink we were talking about earlier?

  TRIX: Yeah, count me in.

  KIARA: So much has happened. I, I can’t process all of it.

  TRIX: Come here, babe.

  With the steaming remains of the Mother of all Crocs behind them, and the bodies and bones of the fallen all around, Trix held Kiara in a close hug, and Kiara cried hard.

  And then the energy barrier disappeared.