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Yeoman sat on a rock, his back slouched and his head tilted towards the sky. A river was in front of him, or maybe it was a stream. As someone who grew up in a city, he wasn’t quite sure what the difference between the two of them was. Water was water. It was clear, and it was moving. Who cared whether it was a creek, a stream, a river, or a god peeing down a mountain? Yeoman was still going to drink it.
“Either of you know how to start a fire?” Cody asked. He had been crouching over two sticks for a while now, but hadn’t made any progress. “The guy on the So-and-so Technology channel makes it look so damn easy.”
“I can start one,” Ella said and bumped Cody out of the way with her hip. “I thought you knew how, so I wasn’t going to say anything. When I was younger, my friends and I used to start fires all the time. There was one time we almost burned down a barn.”
Yeoman stared at Ella. This old lady used to bully her classmates with brooms and start fires for fun. Just what kind of childhood did she have? It sounded a lot more fun than his. A sigh escaped from Yeoman’s mouth, and he straightened his back. His feet were blistered, and his legs ached. However, it was his own fault for neglecting his body and only focusing on work. After this was all over, he’d have to reconsider his lifestyle and make some changes—that is, if he could survive. His stomach grumbled, and a pang of hunger swept through his body, amplifying the torment he was already feeling. “I don’t suppose any of you know how to find food in a forest?”
“I do,” Cody said. When Ella and Yeoman looked at him, he coughed. “Yes, I saw it on a video too, but it has to be easier than starting a fire, right? All I’m going to do is look for some bugs.”
Eating bugs…. Yeoman’s stomach churned at the thought, but it didn’t seem like there was another option. “Then, do we split up?”
Cody glanced at Yeoman and Ella. “We could cover more ground, find more food if we do, but it’ll be more dangerous. Honestly, I don’t mind either way.”
“Go. Split up,” Ella said and handed Cody her water flask. “I’ll wait for you two here. I’ll have a roaring fire by the time you’re back.”
“Are you sure?” Yeoman asked. The thought of leaving an old lady all alone in the forest filled with zombies didn’t sit right with him, but they really did need food.
Ella raised an eyebrow. “Who carried you here? Do you think I’m weak?”
Yeoman shut his mouth. He hadn’t contributed anything to the group. If he couldn’t even find food by himself, didn’t that mean he was just a burden? “Alright. I’ll be back soon.” He nodded at Cody before picking up his metal bat. The two men went off in separate directions, leaving the river behind.
The sky was getting ever so slightly darker, and a faint wind blew past. Yeoman steeled his nerves and headed straight. He had no idea where he was going, but maybe he’d find something to eat if he got lucky. A few green shoots were sticking out of the ground by a tree. Tubers were edible, right? Yeoman picked up a nearby rock and used its sharp edge to dig into the ground below the green shoots. After a couple minutes of digging, he didn’t find anything. The survival shows he had watched as a kid made it seem so easy to locate food, but when he actually had to find some himself, he realized it was a load of bullshit. With a heavy heart, Yeoman stood up. He might not have found food, but he still found something useful—the sharp rock which was now covered in dirt. Too bad he didn’t have pockets.
A rustling sound caught Yeoman’s attention. He froze. The rustle came again. “Cody?” Yeoman asked and turned around. There was no reply. Yeoman took in a deep breath and pressed his back against a tree. He glanced from side to side without moving his head. The rustling sound reappeared from behind him. He raised his bat and stepped away from the tree while turning around. A woman was shambling towards him with her arms outstretched. Half her face was missing. Tension gripped Yeoman’s chest, and he let out a shout while swinging his bat. “Hah!”
There was a squelching sound as the bat sank into the woman’s head, on the side with the fleshy parts of her face exposed. The woman teetered over and collapsed, unmoving. A soft, blue light flashed on Yeoman’s wrist. One of the lines of text was glowing.
[Bonus Mission: Kill ten infected. 1/10]
Yeoman exhaled. With the help of this wristwatch which wasn’t really a watch, he didn’t have to check whether or not the infected was dead. Yeoman lowered his hand and swallowed. His heart was pounding, and his arms wouldn’t stop shaking. If he hadn’t killed the infected, he could’ve died. His palms were slick with sweat, so he wiped them against his pants. It didn’t help much.
Yeoman shook his head before taking in a deep breath. The infected stunk, and he didn’t want to inhale her stench. He squatted next to his kill. She wasn’t wearing much, her clothes not worth taking, but even if she were wearing a winter coat, Yeoman doubted he would feel comfortable stripping her. He rummaged through her pockets before flipping the body over onto its stomach. In its back pocket, he found a swiss army knife. A white light flashed from his wrist.
[Obtained Swiss Army Knife (Common)]
[Swiss Army Knife (Common): A genius inventor compressed the ability of an entire army into one knife. All it’s missing is a tank.]
Yeoman was pretty sure that’s not why Swiss Army knives were coined as such, but he chose to ignore the crappy description like usual. Which idiot wrote these things? He shook his head, getting rid of his disrespectful thoughts. Yeoman checked the body once more to see if he left behind anything useful. The corpse’s sneakers caught his eye, and he gave them a tug. They came off easily—along with a good helping of the skin and flesh of the woman’s ankle. Yeoman hadn’t eaten anything for a while, but he still managed to puke out some chunks of unknown substance. The woman’s feet smelled like death; it was probably for the best that he leaves the shoes and socks.
After getting so close to an infected, Yeoman’s appetite had completely withered, but he still had to find food. Even if he wasn’t hungry now, he’d still have to eat later. Yeoman sighed and backed away from the dead body. A bush in the distance caught his eye; there were black dots on it. Were those berries? Yeoman walked over, careful not to create too much noise. He was right; they were berries. Whether or not they were edible, he had no idea, but there were a ton of them he could gather. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a bag. The dead body did have pockets on its clothing…, but the thought of the woman’s skin slipping off instantly dissuaded him from going back. If only he had Cody’s blanket, then he could’ve used it like a bag. Yeoman sighed before taking off his jacket. He placed it on the ground and picked the berries from the bush until there were no more. He wasn’t even sure if they were ripe, but they had to be better than nothing, right? He lifted his jacket by the sleeves, pulling the collar and bottom up to form a makeshift pouch. There were a few more bushes nearby, and after a few minutes of picking, those were cleaned out as well.
With his chest puffed out, Yeoman made his way back to the river, following the sound of rushing water. However, along with the sound of rushing water, there was the sound of laughter. Had Cody returned already? Yeoman kept his steps quiet, wanting to make his movements a habit. Soon, the river came into view. Ella was sitting by the water, and three strangers were sitting by the small campfire. When Yeoman saw them, they saw him as well.
“Hey!” one of the men said. His eyes widened, and his gaze landed on the bulging jacket in Yeoman’s hand. “Is that food? You gotta share it with us. You took the clothes and weapons from the cabins and left nothing behind for the rest of us. Isn’t that too selfish?”
Yeoman’s gaze landed on Ella. She was squatting by the water, holding a stick of sorts. There was a roasting fish in the fire. Did she catch one herself? Yeoman turned his attention back onto the three men who were coming closer. If a fight broke out, he didn’t think he’d win. Perhaps these people could be potential allies? First, he’d have to see how they behaved. Yeoman might’ve been a good-for-nothing when it came to survival, but his job involved working with lots of people; so far, his first impressions of these people weren’t very good. Yeoman smiled at the three men and held out his jacket. “Yeah, I picked some berries, was planning to eat them for dinner for the next few days.”
“Oh, that’s great,” the lead man said and took the jacket. “That’s really great. We’ll eat some now and help you find food tomorrow.”
Yeoman nodded. At least they knew how to be grateful. Whether or not it was just an act, however, remained to be seen. The three men retreated back to the fire, and Yeoman went to Ella, taking a seat beside her. “What do you think?” he whispered. The sound of the river was enough to prevent the three men from hearing him. “Are they trustworthy?”
Ella shrugged and wiggled the branch in her hand, creating some ripples on the water’s surface. She put her finger to her lips. “You’ll scare the fish.”
Yeoman scratched his head. Ella didn’t say the men were worth trusting, but she didn’t object to their presence either. He stood up—slowly, to avoid disturbing Ella—and went to the three men, sitting a little away from them. They were gorging themselves on the berries he had found. “How did you get here? What happened at the camp?”
“After you guys left, we checked the whole camp. There wasn’t any food or water, so Gordan assigned people some tasks.” The man wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, leaving black stains on his skin. “We were told to get water.” He pointed at three metal buckets on the ground near the fire. “Those were in the camp.”
Yeoman raised an eyebrow. “Since you found some water, shouldn’t you bring those back?”
“We were going to,” the man said, “but we saw the grandma over there fishing, and she told us we could stay for a meal. Speaking of which”—the man grabbed the stick that was supporting the roasting fish—“this should be done.” He looked around. “Where’s that Asian guy? The one with the bow.”
“He’s out looking for food. I think he wanted to dig up some worms.”
The man chuckled. “You two split up to find food? Looks like you won,” he said. “What kind of berries are these? They’re really sweet. I don’t think I ever had them before.”
Yeoman scratched the back of his neck. “I actually don’t know.”
“Hey, uh, I don’t feel too good,” one of the three men said. His body was shaking, and his mouth was hanging open. He pointed up at the sky. “Is that an angel?”
Yeoman raised his head. It wouldn’t be strange if an angel appeared given everything that had happened; though, Yeoman was more likely to believe it was an alien disguising itself as an angel. However, he saw neither angel nor alien. The sky was as clear as could be. “No?” There were some thumping sounds, and Yeoman lowered his head. The three men had fallen over, their bodies convulsing. “Oh, shit. Are you guys alright?”
Ella raised the stick in her hand while grabbing at the water with her other. Soon, a fish flopped out of her hand and onto the ground. She picked up her wooden spear and bashed the fish’s head with the weapon’s butt. The fish stopped moving. She made her way to the campfire and skewered the fish with a pointy stick. She placed the stick into the ground, letting the fish rest a few inches away from the fire. She took a glance at the three convulsing men. Their pupils were dilated, and their faces were bulging as if they were struggling to breathe. Seeing the black juice stains on their skin, Ella clicked her tongue. “I think your berries were poisonous. You didn’t eat any, did you?”
“I didn’t,” Yeoman said, glad he had lost his appetite thanks to killing an infected. If he hadn’t, it’d probably be him convulsing on the ground of the forest right about now. “What do we do? Can we save them?”
“Of course,” Ella said and walked away. “Just call 911. They’ll be fine.”
911? They didn’t have their phones! Yeoman wanted to yell at Ella, but when he saw the old lady squat down by the river, he held himself back. Maybe she knew a way to save them? “What are you doing?”
“I’m getting us dinner,” Ella said and gave Yeoman the stink eye. “Yours can’t be eaten. Make sure the fish doesn’t burn, okay?”
Yeoman bit his lower lip and picked up one of the berries. To his surprise, a silver light flashed on his wrist.
[Obtained Atropa Belladonna Berry (Uncommon)]
[Atropa Belladonna Berry (Uncommon): Atropa belladonna is also known as deadly nightshade. Two to four of its berries can kill a child, ten to twenty can kill an adult. Atropa belladonna is an assassin’s best friend. Congratulations on finding such a plant!]
Yeoman’s eyes bulged. This piece of shit system couldn’t have told him earlier!? “Why didn’t you flash when I first picked up a berry!?”
His wrist did not respond.
Yeoman took in a deep breath. It seemed like the aliens were playing a prank on him. He didn’t know why some objects triggered a flash and were given a description while others weren’t. The sharp rock he had picked up didn’t even count as a junk item. Yeoman frowned; the campsite had fallen quiet all of a sudden. The three men had stopped convulsing and weren’t moving at all. Unknowingly, Yeoman had assassinated three people. His head hurt. Just a few hours ago, he was a normal person. Now, he was a murderer. Actually, he hadn’t intended on killing these men, so he was a manslaughterer? It was still a pretty bad label.
“What the hell happened here?”
Yeoman raised his head. Cody had returned.
“Welcome back,” Ella said, not looking away from the river. “Yeoman killed three people. You should’ve seen it.”
Cody stared at Yeoman. “Dude, I didn’t expect you to be such a badass. Did you get any bonus points for killing them?”
Yeoman was sure now—Cody’s head wasn’t screwed on correctly. “Aren’t you asking the wrong questions?”
Cody shrugged and approached the bodies. “No external wounds. How’d you kill them?”
Yeoman sighed and explained everything that happened. When he was done, he observed Cody’s expression. The man seemed to be excited. “Can I have these berries?”
“Uh, sure?” Yeoman didn’t know why anyone would want them, but he certainly had no qualms about getting rid of them. “I guess we should move these bodies?”
“You killed them,” Cody said. He was already transferring all the berries into one of the metal buckets. “You can move them.”
Yeoman stared at the three dead men. Their eyes were still open, staring into empty space with dilated pupils. There were hints of yellow creeping up the corners of their eyes. A shiver ran down Yeoman’s spine, and he steeled his nerves before grabbing one of the corpses by its legs. The corpse groaned and twitched. Yeoman shouted and dropped the legs, almost falling backwards as he retreated. He whirled around and picked up his metal bat. The men were infected. He wasn’t sure if they were bit before they died, but it didn’t matter. Yeoman swung the bat multiple times, smashing the men’s heads until they looked less like faces and more like broken watermelons.
[Bonus Mission: Kill ten infected. 4/10]
“I’m going to be sick,” Cody said. “You couldn’t have done that elsewhere?”
“Sorry. I panicked.” Yeoman dropped his bat and took in a deep breath. “Rather than moving these bodies away, why don’t we just relocate further up the river?”
“You should search their bodies first,” Cody said. Evidently, he agreed with Yeoman’s idea, having already brought a burning stick away. “I’ll get the new campfire started.”
Yeoman swallowed his disgust and rummaged through the three men’s belongings. They didn’t have much; however, neither did Yeoman. The men’s clothes could definitely be useful, and they weren’t contaminated by rotting flesh; plus, the bodies belonged to men. Yeoman only hesitated for a brief moment before stripping their clothes. When he moved one of the bodies’ arms to take its shirt off, a glowing white orb tumbled out of its left wrist. Yeoman dropped the arm and picked up the orb. A red light flashed from his wrist.
[Obtained Proof of Murder]
[Proof of Murder: Can only be obtained by killing another participant. At the end of the stage, the person with the most Proofs of Murder shall receive an additional 500 points.]
Before Yeoman could react, the white orb sank into his palm and disappeared. Maybe there wasn’t anything wrong with Cody’s head; Yeoman really did get an item that would provide him extra bonus points. However, only the person with the most Proofs of Murder would get them. Luckily, the bonus points weren’t much. It seemed like only people who had finished all the bonus missions would think about squeezing out a few more points by murdering other people. Yeoman glanced at the other two bodies. He didn’t even touch them, but two more white orbs flew out of their wrists and into his palm. A new line of text was added to the display on his wrist.
[Proof of Murder: 3]
“Shouldn’t these be proof of manslaughter?” Yeoman asked himself and sighed before squatting down. He still had to strip the bodies.