Sworded Affair

Chapter 3: Cabin Fever

“I’m your basic average girl, and I’m here to save the world. You can’t stop me cause I’m Kim Possible…”

Despite the circumstances, Emma was in fairly high spirits as she set off into the unknown of a post apocalyptic world. The morning sun shone brightly in the sky: Emma having decided that a night’s wait was preferable to trying to navigate in the dark without the convenience of Google Maps at her fingertips. She’d have preferred having a working phone, of course, with her music collection and real-time communications, but she made do with a bit of humming.

[Find a working music player and I can integrate the contents. Might be tough though, if everywhere was hit this hard.]

“I’ll keep an eye out,” Emma promised. “Could you do the same for a phone?”

[Quest added:

High School Musical

Objective: Find a working music player

Reward: Built-in song library.

I can integrate local content from a phone, but I can’t replicate network functionality. Currently I don’t detect any signal communications within reach, so no luck there I’m afraid.]

“Of course, that would be too easy.” Emma chuckled ruefully, continuing to walk in the direction of Brick Lane Academy.

An academy of some local renown, both for its youth football team and for repeated financial misconduct that had seen it go through five head teachers in three years; her brother’s school was marginally closer than dad’s office or the concert hall, making it a decent first choice to search. Close was a relative term in the suburbs though; what was typically a twenty minute drive meant a five hour walk for the average human. Emma had an advantage here, her body no longer tiring with exercise, but it was still a considerable distance to cover on foot.

Epitaph remained in her right hand: she could dispel it, Emma knew, but summoning it again later would incur the same cost in anima, so best just to keep it out, especially given the System’s warning towards there being an abundance of enemies.

“Looks like the damage is tapering off the further we go from home,” Emma observed, as she reached the first section of woodland she’d seen not burnt out or still on fire.

It had taken well over an hour of walking to find anything other than burnt ruins and eerie emptiness, but this discovery left Emma hopeful that she’d actually see some other people soon. Less than five minutes after that thought, the sound of gunshots caught her ear. Whilst gun ownership in England wasn’t as prevalent as in some other nations; plenty in the suburbs still held firearms, either for hunting or to protect their livestock from predators.

“It had better be gunshots,” Emma murmured as she veered off the road towards the sound, Epitaph clearing branches from her path with wide overhand swings. “Nobody’s crazy enough to be launching fireworks right now, surely?”

Cresting a low hill, Emma found herself before a wooden cabin, seemingly untouched by the apocalypse. A man was leaning out of the top floor window, a rifle trained on a target further afield. Following his line of fire, Emma spotted a bear sniffing through the undergrowth.

“How?” Emma deadpanned. “Wild bears haven’t lived in this country for hundreds of years.”

None of the shots had come close to hitting the bear, who seemed content to ignore them entirely, continuing to paw at the ground.

[Bear - Level 1]

Satisfied that it was just a displaced animal rather than a demon in disguise, Emma turned away and headed towards the cabin door.

“Begone, foul demon!”

[-5 Anima]

A bullet bounced off her breastplate.

“Stop it you moron, you could hurt someone doing that!” Emma yelled up at the man now training his rifle on her, receiving another round to the torso for her troubles.

[-5 Anima]

“Alright, someone needs a lesson in manners.”

Not bothering with knocking, Emma ran straight through the nearest window, ignoring the shards of glass scattering in her wake. A short staircase later, she’d reached the shooter’s bedroom, finding it unlocked.

“Let’s try this again,” Emma spoke, startling the man into spinning around, accidentally discharging a round into the ceiling in the process.

A lazy swing with the flat side of Epitaph sent the rifle flying out of his hands, clattering into a corner of the room to leave the man staring fearfully at Emma.

“Begone!” He spoke frantically, crossing himself. “The power of Christ compels you!”

[-0 Anima. That needs actual faith to work.]

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Emma sighed. “Do you greet every visitor with bullets to the chest? Calm down, or you're not going to like the outcome.”

The man dove for a nearby drawer, pulling out a combat knife and lunging at her. Patience now completely exhausted and deciding that three attempts on her life was enough; Emma slashed once, Epitaph cleanly severing the man's head from his shoulders.

[Anima restored to 100. 5 EXP gained.]

“The first human I see, and he turns out more jittery than the demon who killed me,” Emma complained. “I hope this isn’t a trend going forward.”

[Everyone deals with massive change differently. Some recover and adapt with commendable composure. Others, well…]

Having dealt with its maddened occupant, exploring the small cabin didn’t take Emma long. The man had led a solitary lifestyle; not a single scrap of electronics to be found inside though there was plenty of dried food, propane canisters and toilet paper lying about. Finding nothing useful for her circumstances, Emma decided she’d spent enough time here, and it was time to move on. Stepping back out through the broken window, Emma came face to face with the bear who'd indirectly started this entire encounter. It stared at her for a few moments, sniffing intently, before walking straight past and heading in through the broken window. Briefly, Emma considered killing the bear to preserve the supplies inside, before shaking her head. She didn't really need them; and besides, the bear hadn’t struck at her when given the chance, so she’d repay it in kind.

[Alignment unlocked: True Neutral]

Heading back onto the path she'd been on prior to this slight detour, Emma set her sights once more for Brick Lane Academy. By her reckoning, she was almost halfway there already, and even taking into account the time spent at the cabin, she should arrive before sunset.

—

The bear feasted, happy to have found a fresh carcass without needing to put in the effort of a long hunt. As he consumed the former cabin owner down to the last drop, his fur grew glossier and his size slightly increased. The most noticeable change of all however was apparent in his eyes. Formerly vacant and filled only with animal cunning; they now bore a faint red glow, a hint of true intelligence shining through.

[Bear - Level 2]