NOVEL NEXT CHAPTER 76: Day 2
Starting the next day was hard. People woke up in fits, with nobody speaking much. Even the Portal Crushers were drained emotionally. The previous night’s events had left everyone broken, injured both physically and emotionally. Atlas could see the weariness in their face, like clouds hanging over them, a shroud of sorrow, heavy and unyielding.
John, sensing the group's struggle, approached Atlas quietly, "I have an idea," he said, keeping his voice low. Atlas listened to the idea and nodded, "Yeah, sounds good. Let’s get Amber and Isabella to gather everyone together. I like your thoughts, including the noobs."
Atlas stepped up, gathering the settlement, and called for attention, "Today we start a new day. Yesterday was tough, but today we begin again. First thing we’re going to do is bring everyone into one group. There will still be designated teams, but no more separation of treatment between the Portal Crushers and the noobs. Today, we’re all one people standing firm."
The crowd murmured in surprise as Atlas continued, "I’ll be running the security and exploration teams, with Isabella as my assistant. John will be managing the settlement, and Amber will be his partner if she’s willing."
Amber looked around, surprised, "Me? Partner with John? I guess I could do that." She played to the crowd.
She had been busy all last night calming everyone’s nerves and getting attention to those who needed it. She hadn’t realized that people were noticing her leadership skills until Atlas pulled her aside this morning.
John spoke up, "Thank you, Atlas. Here’s the first announcement: everyone, we’ve got breakfast. Everyone can get some."
The four people who hadn’t joined in the fighting yesterday looked at each other, confused. "Yes, everyone. As Atlas said, today we’re all one people. Everyone gets a fresh start."
"You all still have to work, though!" Grumped Atlas.
Cheers and laughter erupted as food and water were distributed.
"Is it just me, or do these Ultra Manly Buff Bars taste better than normal?" Kingsley asked.
"Not just you, my friend," Barbara responded with a grin.
Amber stepped forward with a chore list, "Team Explorer will hunt skeletons. Team Porter will help carry supplies and, today, you all get weapons." They distributed the Earth weapons to Team Porter , their brittleness a potential issue. Atlas mused that in case of shit hitting the fan like yesterday when the demon dog got past the front line, the porters might get in a few hits before they broke.
"The Mana Dome of Awesomeness is still up, so the settlement will be safe from predators," Amber continued. "We’ll use a daisy chain to get supplies back. Lots of skeleton kills will mean lots of bones and loot."
"Everyone, we’ll be heading out in ten," John added.
He then raised his voice, "One last thing. Us Portal Crushers have a song, and I’d like us to sing it together."
Using Wang Bo’s staff, they fashioned a makeshift Portal Crusher flag. Atlas waved it in the air, trying to look noble, with ruined shields as drums, they began to sing, "Atlas will bring us home."
‘I’m glad I grabbed the flag, so I don’t have to sing about myself. It’s embarrassing enough to stand here looking dignified,‘ he thought.
John led them with a firm, steady voice. The group sang, their voices growing stronger with each verse, finding solace in the ritual. This was their first time singing it together, and despite the hardships, it was a hopeful start to their new day.
(Verse)
In the still of the night, under southern stars,
We dream of home, though it feels so far,
Brought here by force, the miles we've roamed,
There's a promise made, Atlas will bring us home.
[Verse 2]
In shadows we whisper, 'bout a world beyond,
Through the fabric of time, and the heart's old song,
No portals to damn, no gates to roam,
Just a path laid clear, Atlas will bring us home.
[Chorus]
We'll go back, through fields of golden wheat,
To friends waiting, where our hearts will meet,
From every corner, no matter the stone,
Atlas will bring us home, where we belong.
[Verse 3]
In the face of the dawn, we stand unbowed,
With the hope of return, it's our solemn vow,
Doesn't matter our past, or lands untold,
With every footstep traced, Atlas will bring us home.
[Chorus]
We'll go back, through fields of golden wheat,
To friends waiting, where our hearts will meet,
From every corner, no matter the stone,
Atlas will bring us home, where we belong.
[Bridge]
Oh the journey is long, the nights are cold,
But in each other's arms, our stories unfold,
We've crossed every storm, hearts made of chrome,
With Atlas in our souls, we’ll always find home.
‘‘‘
After the song, Atlas and the team headed out with the porters carrying the backpacks. Some of the backpacks had been dumped out to make space for scavenged materials.
He watched with a smile as the Portal Crushers handled the skeletons easily, with the porters running the daisy chain of coins and bones back to the camp.
"Hey, it’s getting easier, right?" Alexander called out as he finished smashing a skeleton’s skull.
"Yeah," Barbara responded, wiping some dirt off her face.
"We just weren’t used to it yesterday," Isabella added, kicking away a pile of bones.
Atlas stepped in with a grin, "We’ve got to kill more. We need the coins for Hank and John!"
"For the team!" the group responded in unison.
The fighting continued, with everyone pushing themselves to the limit. While they were fighting for their lives, they were also fighting for the coins to save a teammate. The motivation was clear—they were a team, and they weren’t going to let each other down.
Even as they got hurt, none of the injuries were as bad as before. They were learning, adapting, and getting stronger with every fight. But the skeletons were relentless, and the team had to stay on their toes.
"Watch your left!" Atlas shouted as he noticed a skeleton sneaking up on Wang Bo.
Wang Bo turned just in time to block the attack, and with a swift counter, he shattered the skeleton’s arm. "Thanks, Atlas!" he called back, feeling the adrenaline coursing through him.
The battle raged on, with bones flying and weapons clashing. But there was a rhythm to it now, a sense of purpose that wasn’t there before. They weren’t just surviving—they were fighting for something bigger. For John and Hank, for each other, for the hope of getting out of this nightmare.
Finally, after what felt like hours, the last skeleton fell. The team stood there, breathing heavily but victorious. They had earned their coins, and more importantly, they had proven to themselves that they could do this.
"Let’s go, we have enough coins!" yelled Atlas.
After this initial round of killing skeletons, Atlas grabbed the team and the coins and ran back to the camp. John had waited in the camp and wanted to help, but he could only assist in supervision. Having one arm had taken him out of the fight, but the morphine kept him somewhat alright.
Atlas walked over to the patch of dirty ground where Hank was laying and picked him up in a princess carry.
"Hey boss, I ain’t doing so hot," said Hank.
"No worries, hoss, we are going to fix you right up."
Taking Hank, he brought him to the vending machine area. There, he saw the MediPod machine. Feeding the machine 100 coins, he selected "Emergency Stabilization" and then used his thumbprint to scan in versus Hank’s.
‘‘BEEP!‘‘ "MediPod has determined the user has a 5% discount, refunding coins."
Five coins fell into the return slot. Atlas gently placed Hank’s body into the MediPod when it opened.
‘‘TIME TO EMERGENCY STABILIZATION: 1 hour 40 minutes.‘‘
"Alright, John. You hang out here. I’m going to head back into the fray. The porters are going to keep running coins to you. Don’t worry, soon you’ll have the 200 coins you need to regrow that arm. I’ve already selected you as the settlement vice leader, so you can handle it all yourself. Heheh, handle it. See what I did there?"
John just smiled ruefully at Atlas’ sense of humor and at the fact that maybe he would have two hands again. ‘Man, morphine was great.‘
Atlas then headed back to the front where people were still killing skeletons. They had definitely gotten better at it since the first day. ‘Guess it didn’t take them long to adjust to the apocalypse, and all it took was them almost getting killed last night and a good anthem this morning.‘
As days in the apocalypse go, today was starting out pretty good.
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