Death March III

The trio of slayers had begun the trek back to the compound under the illumination of the twin moons and the stars above. In the dead of night, they could hear the growling of various monsters they were incapable of identifying. Seldom had the slayers ventured into the ruins of Vegas during the darkness.

As such, they were unacquainted with many of the vicious creatures that would only appear during the hours of twilight. They had just recently witnessed how terrifying some of these creatures can be and were highly alert to their surroundings. They estimated that the entire strength of the compound combined would be incapable of defeating such a monster.

As they cautiously marched towards the compound, they heard a series of screams which sounded human in nature. Alex immediately headed towards the direction without hesitation, and the others followed shortly behind.

The group arrived in time to witnesses a bloody scene in a park. Near the swingset, a trio of unarmed survivors was surrounded by a pack of unknown creatures. They were humanoid in nature, though they walked on all fours at times. They appeared emaciated and had sharp ears, jagged teeth, and a ghoulish appearance.

Half of the pack was distracted, gnawing on fresh human corpses, while the three in the front were encircling their prey. Though Alex did not know what level these creatures were, he suspected they were on par with himself.

Alex turned to face Brandon and patted him on the shoulder

"We should be close to the compound now, is there any way to request assistance?"

Brandon shook his head without thinking, with a look of distress covering his face.

"No, all electronics are dead..."

Halfway through his comment, he stopped upon remembering some important information. A look of excitement spread across his visage.

"Wait, I think I have a flare gun!"

He quickly searched his belongings and found a flare gun; with it, he smiled fiercely. Alex and Cassie grinned happily. With this, they might have a fighting chance. Brandon fired a red flare into the air signaling their distress to the nearby compound. Hopefully, they would send some more slayers to aid them.

The flare quickly illuminated the park below, blinding the ghouls momentarily. Alex and Cassie took advantage of this and charged towards the ghouls. Rapidly attacking them under a fierce onslaught.

Alex threw a flurry of strikes directed at his target's skull. After four strikes, it collapsed to the ground, its lifeforce fading. Whatever these things were, they were tougher than the lizardfolk mongrels. A message appeared in his peripheral vision.

[You have slain a Famished Ghoul and gain 100 xp]

Cassie also wasted no time slicing her opponent apart with her daggers; she had to admit their ability to penetrate the enemies' flesh was far superior to her rifle. The two slayers made quick work of their enemies.

Brandon stayed put and opened fire upon the monsters, though with little success. It was becoming increasingly apparent that if humanity wished to survive, they would have to abandon the tools of the old world and embrace their new reality. Something an arms dealer like himself was reluctant to do.

Alex and Cassie continued their onslaught against the ghouls; by the time they approached their second target, the ghouls had adapted to the light of the flare in the sky and were prepared to defend against the duo's attacks.

Currently, the three ghouls in the front who had been focused on attacking the survivors began to rally behind the last ghoul protecting their rear, who was desperately defending a combined attack by Alex and Cassie. By the time they had arrived, the ghoul was already dead, and Cassie had dealt the final blow.

Alex pouted briefly as he stared at the fresh corpse of the ghoul; he did not receive any XP since he had not been the one to finish it. As such, he was more curious as to whether or not a party system existed. Out of pure curiosity, he yelled

"Invite Cassie."

As she charged towards his next opponent, Cassie looked over at Alex as if he were a moron; however, a message appeared in her vision as she did so.

[Alexander Smith has invited you to a party. Accept/Decline?]

Under normal circumstances, Cassie would be stunned. However, now was not the time to think about it; she merely muttered

"Accept"

as she did so, Alex's name appeared in the top left-hand corner of her vision below hers. It also showed his Level, Health and Stamina. As a country girl who had never played video games growing up, she had no idea what was going on. However, Alex, on the other hand, was excited beyond belief. This meant that they could share XP and closely monitor each other's health.

Beneath his name in the top left-hand corner of his vision appeared Cassie Lockhart's name; however, he did not have time to rejoice; rather, he and Cassie instantly clashed with the remaining ghouls. They teamed up to apply pressure to a single opponent to rapidly get rid of it.

Alex kneed it in the stomach while cassie cut its throat. Under the combined onslaught, the ghoul's life rapidly ended. Just as Alex had predicted, both party members could gain XP from the kill, and they both smiled at each other before turning their attention to the remaining ghouls.

After finishing off the remaining ghouls, Alex saw a couple of messages he had not seen for the first time.

[Cassie Lockhart is now Level 4!]

[Through friendship, you have overcome great odds and saved the lives of strangers. Philotes grants your party 10 favor]

Alex and Cassie both noticed the message and looked at each other embarrassingly. Alex thought to himself.

'The gods again? What is this favor I keep gaining?'

'and why is this one so cliche?'

On the other hand, Cassie was even more confused, this was the first time she had received a message related to the gods, and Philotes was a minor goddess of the Greek pantheon, rather unknown by the general populace.

Like Alex, she swiftly put it to the back of her mind and refused to dwell upon it. If she did not have the answers, there was no reason to obsess over it. On the other hand, Brandon was shocked that the two were able to cut through the enemies so easily while he was virtually useless against them.

While he was pondering about abandoning firearms, another group of slayers arrived and witnessed the scene. They were equally as shocked as Brandon, those monsters did not look weak, and yet this team of slayers had successfully cleared them out.

While Alex and Cassie talked to the survivors, the extra slayer team approached Brandon and patted him on the shoulder.

"We got here as fast as we could, but apparently, we weren't needed. Quite the slaughter your team engaged in!"

Brandon shook his head in disbelief and politely responded

"I didn't do much; guns are useless against such creatures; those two are the real badasses."

Brandon and the team looked over at Alex and Cassie in shock, one was unarmed, and the other had a pair of daggers. Did they really take out these monsters all by themselves? Nevertheless, they quickly gathered everyone together and spoke with urgency.

"We should head back to the compound; it isn't safe here now that the flare has been fired. We could be surrounded at any moment."

Alex and Cassie nodded in agreement. They would lead these survivors back to the compound; after all, it was not that far away from their location. With this, the bloody death march would come to an end, and they could rest peacefully in the safe zone.