Descend- First Steps

by David Burke

  Then something must have clicked with Daphne and he could feel warmth from her hands into his body. He felt the regeneration rate speed up again and again until she had doubled it five more times. Now he could actually see the tissue slowly starting to knit together. He was excited because if he was right at this rate he was healing more than 4000 times as fast as a normal human and the wound would be gone in less than 15 minutes.

  Of course that would have required that they both be able to maintain that level of focus and energy output. Daphne’s ability started to drop off after less than a minute and within two minutes she was completely spent to the point that she passed out. Jay was able to keep going longer than he had expected but only a minute longer than what she could do.

  When they both ran out of energy his wounds were only partially healed but it was already enough that he could put some weight on his leg. This healing was nothing to sneeze at and thankfully Daphne sat up after only fainting for a few seconds, so she apparently hadn’t hurt herself helping him.

  “Did it work?” were the first words out of her mouth.

  “You did great. I think we just ran out of energy.”

  After the 15 minutes passed they helped him limp out, but with each passing minute he found it easier to walk. He even found that munching on some of his ration pack helped him to regain his stamina faster even if it was only slightly faster. This would probably have to be his last trip of the day though as he needed to rest after this.

  Once he was out in the ziggurat he sat down against the wall while the other team members explained to Jasmine what had happened. Jay pulled up his Status and looked at all the gains he had made for the day. It has been really productive. He had earned 25 credits for each person that he escorted through the dungeon quest. It was a boon he had not expected and so made the six hours of work seem like a gift rather than a task, especially since he got the Explorer’s Value for all of them and it doubled his rewards. He ended up the trips with a grand total of 4419 credits. It seemed like a staggering amount and one which he wasn’t eager to share with the others, since most of them should only have 110 credits now.

  The other benefits were just as exciting; he had gained in four of his ability areas:

  Awareness: 5

  Precognition: 5 - 15%

  Durability: 3

  Hardened Body: 2 - 11%

  Enhanced Strength: 1 - 22%

  Kinesis: 2

  Kinetic Bolt: 1 - 0%

  Accelerate: 1 -14%

  Metabolism: 5

  Regeneration: 4 - 16%

  Enhanced Speed: 1 - 13%

  Apparently even getting hit was paying off in increases to his Hardened Body and Regeneration skills. He couldn’t complain, not one bit.

  It wasn’t long till Huong and another girl whose name he didn’t remember were both placing their hands on him. They each seemed to have some kind of healing ability. It took them both a minute or two to figure it out but within a minute of them both getting it right he was completely healed up with only the bloodstains and torn jeans to prove the injury ever existed in the first place.

  Chapter 17 - How Fun Can Unfair Be?

  Once he was all healed up, Jay heard a ton of grumbling. He kept asking what was going on but both Huong and Kenzie told him to be quiet and let Jasmine deal with it. Eventually, after some more shouting outside, Jay heard Jasmine ordering people to leave. Then she walked into the room at the top of the ziggurat where he was sitting.

  “So this is a royal mess you have created for me,” she said, and even though she was clearly upset, he couldn’t help but notice the way her shirt clung to her. Perspiration was certainly an effective way to distract his attention.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he insisted as soon as he beat himself up for not focusing.

  Jasmine and the other council members stared at him for a moment; they looked at each other and some kind of unspoken communication went between them. She said, “You really don’t know, do you?”

  “Um, no, that’s what I just said. Can we stop the guessing games, please?”

  “You got some credits from each team that you escorted, didn’t you?” The way she phrased the question put him on edge.

  “Not from them; they didn’t give me anything. I would never ask them to give me anything just for keeping them safe. I know it's only been a day and half but I thought I had proven that, if nothing else, I at least deserve the benefit of the doubt. I’ve freely used my credits to benefit others.”

  “Yes, we know that you didn’t ask anyone for credits. In fact, from all of our experiments, it seems impossible for one person to transfer credits to another person, but that doesn’t change what happened.”

  Everyone watched as Jay and Jasmine sparred verbally over some item that he didn’t quite understand. “Will you just tell me what’s wrong?”

  “You got 25% of the credits that each of the girls you escorted earned from their quest. And even though I think I’ve convinced them it wasn’t intentional, there are still some who are very angry with you,” Jasmine said.

  Jay felt a sense of horror and embarrassment rise up within him. “I didn’t know. I’m sorry. I’ll happily buy them all 25 credits worth of whatever they want from the shop. I can go right now, and they can take turns telling me what they want.”

  Mia laughed; Huong just shook her head. Jasmine was quiet.

  Not so for Kenzie. “You just don’t get it, do you? We don’t want to get stuff from you. We don’t want to be dependent upon a man, and here you are suggesting that they form a line to wait on you to give them credits. Credits which should have been theirs in the first place. What are you going to want for them?”

  “Whoa, I’m not trying to control anyone. I really don’t appreciate the implications. If I could return the credits to them, I would. The best I can offer is to buy them an amount equal to the credits they lost.”

  “Well, maybe the first thing would be for you to disclose your Status to us again, so we can check your credit number and make sure that you haven’t gained some ability which is allowing you to take credits from others,” Jasmine said.

  “No. No, I don’t think I will. I don’t like all the accusations, and I am certainly not going to put up with being questioned like this. How do I even know that I can trust any of you when you’re ganging up on me?”

  They all spoke up at the same time before each voice other than Jasmine’s fell away, “You’re sounding as paranoid as Amelia. How can you expect to be part of this council, to lead these people, if you won’t be open with them?”

  Jay sat there staring at each of them, before standing up. “Fine, consider me off the council. I don’t want to lead people who don’t trust me and won’t accept my word about a matter.” That done, he stormed out. Jasmine called for him to stop so they could still talk about it but he didn’t look back. He felt a little bad. He genuinely liked Jasmine and Huong, and both Kenzie and Mia were growing on him.

  Instead, he kept walking straight to the terminal. Once there, he waited for a free side to open up. Most everyone was buying weapons and food, so he hoped that one of the bungalows would still be open to rent. When it was his turn, he touched the terminal and bought a gourmet meal, and some toiletries; toilet paper, soap, a wash basin, juice and some vodka, as well as toothpaste and a brush. He even bought some new clothes; cloth pants and a loose-fitting shirt.

  Finally he got to the thing that he had been hoping for. He rented the second-to-last bungalow. All of it cost him less than 100 credits and even though most of the others couldn’t quite afford what he bought, he decided not to feel guilty. There was a part of him that hoped that they would come begging for his help, but another part of him that wanted to just find a space here where he could go off on his own. Being trapped with a group of gorgeous women was becoming its own kind of hell. Some of them looked at him with smiles and even flirted, but he chalked that up to too much of the water with its added effects. Then there wa
s a full third of the women who glared at him.

  It was too much. He had grown up with a father who glared but didn’t speak. He had dealt with passive-aggressive people all his life. Well, he was going to draw a line in the sand. No more.

  He took his food and other goods and headed to the bungalow that he had rented. On the way, he filled up the water basin and carried it, surprised at how light it felt, but then he realized that he was subconsciously putting Stamina points into Enhanced Strength. That was interesting. Looking at his Status screen, he was able to determine that it was costing him ten Stamina per minute but that his regeneration was more than keeping up with the drain.

  Once he got to the bungalow, he heard the first of the roars. They sounded much like the night before, but now he had a better idea of what the source of those roars likely was. As he bent down to set the water basin on the ground so that he could open the door, he was hit with an undeniable urge to kick out behind him. Having learned his lesson to listen to these impulses already, he didn’t hesitate but did just as the strange urge called him to do.

  His foot shot back in an instant. Jay had never had any sort of martial arts training so he was probably a bit clumsy, but to him it felt rather graceful. At least, until his foot impacted something. From behind him came a feminine yelp, and suddenly Jay was on guard, moving to swing his spear off of his back. Then he saw that it was Amelia sitting on the ground and nursing a wicked-looking bruise that was spreading over her forearm.

  “Where’d you come from? I’m certain you weren’t there a second ago,” Jay said.

  “Ouch, that fucking hurt. You didn’t have to kick so hard.”

  “Seriously, answer my question. I swear you weren’t behind me. I didn’t see you until I kicked you.”

  “Fine, it's one of my abilities. It’s called Visual Shroud. It’s a Formation ability, I think. I have been able to sneak all over town; I even heard the council talking about you. If you’re curious.” Amelia had a mischievous look that somehow worked for her and made Jay lower his guard some.

  “Okay, now I wanna know. So, spill.”

  “Well, I want some things too,” Amelia said.

  Jay didn’t know if he was imagining things, but it seemed like she was flirting with him. His few friends had always laughed at him, because they said a girl practically had to throw themselves at him before he recognized it for what it was.

  “Nah, this can’t be flirting, it must be her manipulating me,” Jay thought to himself before saying out loud, “And what do you want?”

  “Lots of things. I want to be home safe and sound. I want to finish law school and go find a job. Live a normal life, you know, pretty much anywhere other than this place with its killer crabs and secret dungeons.” She sighed as she spoke, but then cheered up again. “I also want to be realistic, if we truly are stuck here. And I should say I’m not ready to give up on getting out of here yet.”

  Jay nodded. “I agree with that.”

  Amelia seemed annoyed at being interrupted like she was sharing something sensitive, and didn’t appreciate him breaking her chain of thought. Or, at least, that was the narrative in Jay’s head when he saw her expression. He was always worried that he was misreading girls, and always blaming that uncertainty on the way he was raised without female influences.

  Nevertheless, she continued, “But… if we are stuck here, I want to be on the winning side.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Jay asked, suddenly suspicious again.

  “Didn’t you ever watch Survivor? Or, heck, didn’t someone say you studied history? Whenever people are trapped in a limited area with limited resources, there is always going to be conflict. Not necessarily physical, but there is going to be social and political maneuvering to determine who’s in control. People will naturally divide up into cliques. It’s been happening since high school.”

  “Wait a minute, this is real life. It doesn’t have to turn into the Breakfast Club,” Jay started to protest before she cut him off again.

  “It may not have to, but it is going to. It always does. Trust me.”

  “You are telling me that I can’t trust anyone else, but I need to trust you?” Jay stared at her incredulously for a second before adding, “Even if I agree with you that history teaches us humans will behave as you’re suggesting, that still doesn’t answer why I should trust you versus, say, Jasmine.”

  Loud belly laughing was the only response he got for the next thirty seconds before Amelia got herself under control. “I swear, you’re so adorable, like the perfect guy. You work hard and are willing to sacrifice for others; you want to believe the best about people. And, well, it doesn’t hurt that you’re hot.”

  Jay’s feet shifted back and forth. There was a part of him that recognized she was playing with him, and another part that asked, ‘Who cares?’ Just as he was considering the possibilities of this beautiful girl telling him he was hot, she flipped the emotional discussion again. “Do you really trust Jasmine? Or is it her ass you trust?”

  Jay started to speak, but she wouldn’t let him get a word in edgewise. “Don’t deny it. I’m sure half the group has seen you staring at her ass. And who wouldn’t? It looks perfect. Besides, she has that personality thing going on. Everyone wants to follow her; she is just that type of persuasive. Doesn’t mean she’s always right, or that she can be trusted. And even if she is best leader for the group as a whole, it doesn’t mean that she’s best for you.”

  “If she isn’t best for me, then… I mean, not like that. I’m talking about making the right decisions that are best for me, then why did she invite me onto the council? She didn’t have to do that.”

  “Oh, my sweet, naive Jay. While you were faithfully running all of the girls through that first quest, I was doing some investigating. I found out what was said about forming a council. Ask enough people and you can piece together the story. They put you on the council because there were only three guys. Well, two now. Oliver was thought to be lazy and just looking for fun, not that it matters now. Liam is viewed as a meathead, and while I expect he will have a line of girls waiting to jump him, he is still a meathead. You were perceived as wanting to rescue everyone, and girls have a love-hate relationship with that. Lots of us like the idea of a guy who is willing to go through hell to rescue us, but hate the idea of needing to rely on a guy to be rescued. Essentially, Jasmine convinced everyone that you would be a valuable resource, and it would be best to keep you close.”

  “You’re so cynical. You make it sound like everyone is only out for themselves.”

  “Sorry, Jay, but this is life. Everyone may not be out for just themselves, but they are out for their people, and what they think is best for their group. Even you’re trying to do what you think is best for your people. You just happen to have tried to adopt the entire group here as your people. But give it long enough, and you will begin to like some of us more than others, and you’ll begin to work harder for those than for the rest.”

  “None of this makes me trust you any more.”

  “It should,” Amelia said simply, while staring intently at him.

  “I swear you’re just messing with me.”

  With a coy smile Amelia said, “Maybe a little, but I’m also being honest with you.”

  “How so?”

  “I’m the only one telling you I want something from you. I am telling you what I want and, while you don’t have to trust me, you should trust my self-interest.”

  “So you’re saying that you’re selfish, but that as long as our interests are aligned, we can be allies,” Jay said.

  “Yeah, is that so bad?” Amelia asked while shrugging her shoulders.

  “I just think that you’re going to have to be more specific about what it is that you want from me, and why you think giving it to you is in my best interest.”

  “Fair enough, I’ll lay it all out. You have more resources than anyone else, from what I hear. With you getting the 25 credits from each perso
n you escorted, you’re the one holding the most of what passes for money. You have proven yourself to be effective in a fight. I might add that actually, so far, you and I are the only people who have proven that. Even meathead froze up. So, I’m willing to bet my chances on you over the council. I’m not saying that they’re bad, only that I think there are limited resources and it’s survival of the fittest.”

  “Okay, so you get a place to sleep and you get me to help protect you. I guess you would also want my credits for buying gear and food and stuff, but what do I get out of it?” Jay asked, trying to keep his voice calm and professional.

  “Well, look who’s growing up. You get the only other person who has proven to be effective in combat on your side. I won’t ask you to not work with the council or others, but I will ask you to have my back first, and I’ll have your back first. And don’t tell me you haven’t been staring at me. I see you trying to make eye contact, but staring at my breasts.”

  Jay chuckled. A couple days ago, if a girl had said that to him, he probably would have fumbled over an apology, but being constantly surrounded by hot girls and even Amelia’s speech about pragmatism was having an impact on him. “Yeah, it's pretty hard not to. That shirt shows off a lot of cleavage. So, you want to be political allies, fighting companions, and bed buddies?”

  “Think what you like. I’m not a prude. I don’t mind going after what I want, but to be blunt, that’s a secondary issue. I’m not trying to whore myself out for credits. You’re amazingly buff, and a decent guy, so if I get safety and my brains fucked out at the same time, then all the better.” Amelia’s smile had gone from coy to positively evil.

  “Are you sure that isn’t just the water talking?” Jay asked.

  “I’m sure that the water is having an effect on everyone, just like I can see from the bulge in your jeans it’s having an effect on you. But why fight it? And there is one other thing. As far as we know, there are only two guys here and eighty-seven girls left. Once people get over the credits for escorting thing, you are gonna have a line outside your bungalow, so to speak. It’s not that I’m against experimenting with another girl, but guys are a limited resource here, so I’m just marking my claim early.”