Zombie Rebirth

Adam blitzed the ogre. It had its back turned, scratching at its massive ass. He didn’t make a sound while closing, doing his best to surprise the creature. He flew across the concrete, silent as the night, club clutched in his hands. Just as he close the last few feet, he screamed at the top of his lungs. That surprised the ogre, causing it to leap into the air. He swung with all his might. The club connected at the back of the ogre’s knee, forcing its leg forward and unbalancing it in the air.

“Now!”

Liz stepped into the room brandishing her bow with an arrow already drawn to her cheek. She adjusted as she entered, then loosed the shot. It impacted on the ogre’s skull before any of them had registered the sound of the bow string snapping forward. Its loose, grayish flesh was split by the arrow, drawing a scream even as the creature slammed into the ground. Adam doubled back with the club high overhead. He let out another war cry, jumped, and brought the club down on its head.

Liz drew another arrow, nocking it and drawing to her cheek. Kyra slipped in beside her, concerned for Adam’s safety. Adam backed away as the ogre flailed, then rolled over. Another arrow flashed in, carving another groove across its cheek. Dark, brackish blood ran freely from the two cuts on its face. It roared, swinging at Adam. He jumped back. The ogre narrowly missed Adam’s feet.

“Adam!”

He grunted as he landed awkwardly, twisting his ankle. “What, Kyra?!”

She gasped, covering her mouth.

“I got it,” Liz said. She shot again, this one ricocheting off the ogre’s cheekbone. It screamed again.

“Where did it go?” Adam circled the ogre, shouting to the others. They all cast their eyes around, until Kyra squeaked and shouted in response.

“Over there!” She pointed across the room to a dense pile of refuse. It was as filthy as they had expected the ogre to be. That was clearly where the strong odor that permeated the room originated.

“Rrrgh,” Adam groaned. He shot a look at the ogre, but it was angling toward Liz. He threw the club with all his might at the ogre’s legs, tripping it up. It went down like an ancient, dry tree. He sprinted toward the dank pile of unmentionable filth. Liz pushed Kyra into a run; fleeing the angry ogre’s wild swings. Adam slid to a stop just outside the rancid puddle, gagging as the stench climbed into his nose and settled into his sinuses in a way that he knew meant it would be following him for days to come. If he survived.

Liz knocked, drew, and loosed another arrow in one fluid motion before breaking into a run again. They were trying to keep the ogre distracted while Adam gathered his sword. They had hoped it would still be lodged in the ogre’s neck. He dry retched as he dug through the rotten pile of half-eaten food, which was mixed with the ogre’s… output. He finally saw what Kyra had spotted: the hilt of the sword, mostly covered in some browned cabbage. He grabbed the sword, feeling garbage juice coat his hand. He tried to empty his stomach, but it had been three long, foodless days. There was nothing in his stomach to throw up. Saliva dripped from his lower lip. He spat out the excess, gripped the sword tightly, then turned back to the fight.

The ogre was trying to catch either Liz or Kyra, but the smaller woman was too quick to grab, and the archer stayed out of range. His feet squelched as he stepped out of the puddle. Nausea coursed through him, but he fought it down. One step, two, then he was running, closing in on the ogre. It was too frustrated by Kyra’s nimble moves to notice the brutish man rapidly approaching.

Adam had an idea. He shouted “The knee!”

Liz took a moment to understand, then her face lit up. “Get clear, Kyra!”

The small woman rolled away from the ogre, narrowly avoiding another swipe. She was covered in clammy fear sweat. It was the craziest thing she had ever done.

“Now!” Adam jumped at the ogre, which smiled with an ugly, broken smile. The few teeth it still had were browned and blackened with rot. Liz let the shot go, which took the ogre in the knee. Surprise flashed across the creature’s face as its left leg buckled, unable to continue supporting the bulk above it. Adam smiled in return, thrusting the sword with all his waning strength. It slid effortlessly into the monster’s eye, then caught on the thick skull behind. He roared at the same time as the ogre. It tipped backward, taken by surprise. Adam’s body slammed into the hilt of the sword, cutting the man’s cry short as it drove the air from his lungs. That impact forced the tip of the sword through the thick skull, penetrating the brain just enough to cause the ogre to spasm. It also folded the man in half, making their skulls collide with a terrible cracking sound.

The ogre landed with a crash. Adam hit the ground an instant later, arriving at Liz’ feet in a boneless heap. He was bleeding from his eyes and nose, as well as from a gash on his chest. Kyra screamed as she sprinted toward the man, terrified to watch someone else die. Liz dropped to her knees, tossing the bow to the side. She quickly unfolded the man, laying him on his back. He was breathing, but it was bubbly through the blood in his throat.

“What do we do?”

Liz felt deja-vu for the moment just hours before when he’d crashed into the hallway in front of her. Kyra skidded to a stop and dropped to her knees next to the man, then put her already-glowing palms to his bare, bloody chest. The blood retreated into his body like a bizarre reverse-motion video. A moment later, he inhaled hard, back arching as bones set and flesh knit shut.

“Minor heal my ass,” Liz said.

“I think it just means how much health it can heal, which is only about sixty at this level,” Kyra said distractedly. She checked Adam’s body for additional wounds, anxiously running her hands over his skin.

“Mphm,” Adam grunted. He groaned, turned his head and coughed a wad of blood out, then cleared his throat.

“What?” Liz leaned closer to hear what he was trying to say.

“Oh…” He trailed off, then coughed again. Finally, he managed a full word. “O-gre.”

She shook her head. “You killed it. Sword to the brain.”

He shook his head. “Regen.”

Liz and Kyra looked at each other, then both looked at the body of the ogre at the same time. It started twitching then. Both let out terrified shrieks, though Liz’ voice was several octaves lower. Liz scrambled to her feet, jumped over Adam and Kyra, and closed the distance to the fallen monster. It was starting to wave hands around, awkwardly and feebly attempting to remove the sword piercing its brain.

She stomped on foot on the creature’s eye, drawing a pathetic whimper from it, then grabbed the sword and jammed it further into the monster’s eye socket. It sank a little bit, but not enough. She jumped, bringing all of her weight down on the weapon. She grunted on landing, then again as it slipped a few inches further into the brain cavity. The ogre was spasming wildly as its brain was lacerated by the blade.

With a fierce cry, Liz wrenched back on the handle, shifting the blade in the monster’s head. It jerked again, then fell limp. Just to make sure, she grunted, leaned against the hilt, and pushed. It ground through broken bone. She gripped the cross guard of the sword, then twisted with all her might. The ogre jumped an inch with a full body seizure, then fell limp once more. She had a feeling it was done, but gave it a few more jerks to make sure. It failed to move again.

“I think we got it.”

As if that was the signal, a window popped in front of each of them.

Level five Ogre killed. 30 xp awarded.

Liz sat down, sword left in the monster, and laughed. She hung her head in exhaustion.

“Did we get it?” Adam’s voice was muffled, but strong. She turned to him, flicking a lock of white hair out of her face.

“Yeah, we got it.” She laughed again, sadly. “We got it, and for just thirty xp.”

Adam started to laugh, which made him groan in pain. “Oh, don’t do that.”

“Don’t do what?” Liz asked with a watery voice.

“Don’t make me laugh. I’m in too much pain.”

“I can cast the spell again in a few minutes,” Kyra said.

A window popped up. It wasn’t the first time, so that didn’t surprise them. What did surprise them was the content.

Tutorial #3:

Meditation. Meditation increases all regenerative capabilities of the user four-fold. To start, sit in a cross-legged position, close your eyes, and clear your mind.

“What new-age bullshit is this,” Liz said. She sounded more annoyed than anything at the sudden tutorial popup.

“More importantly,” Adam said with a groan. He sat upright, crossed his legs, and closed his eyes. “Why is this number three? I haven’t seen any others.”

Kyra shook her head. “I haven’t either.” She looked at Liz before saying “You?”

Liz repeated Adam’s motions. “Nah. Whatever, maybe we just didn’t activate the tutorial. That, or we haven’t found the conditions to trigger each one.”

They all grumbled quietly as they worked toward mental clarity. Kyra achieved it first, startling the others when she jumped in place and let out a little squeal of joy.

“I did it!”

“Jesus,” Adam said as he opened his eyes and put a hand to his heart. “Nearly gave me a heart attack.”

Kyra blanched, then looked chastised. “Sorry.”

He laughed and reached a hand out, resting it on her shoulder. “You’re fine. Just don’t scare the shit out of me again, please.”

“Agreed,” Liz said with a smile. She closed her eyes and the other two followed suit. Soon, all three were in a meditative state, regenerating quickly.

The room was quiet, filled only with their breathing for a long time. Then something whistled. That broke them all out of their trances, looking around for the source of the offending sound. A moment later, Liz gagged.

“Oh god, what is that?”

She held her nose and stepped quickly away from the deflating corpse of the ogre. All three watched in fascination, noses held shut, as the body seemed to turn into a balloon. Rancid air escaped from all over, filling the room with a fresh stench that overpowered the previous odor of the room. All three met gazes, then unanimously agreed without saying a word. They bolted from the room.

The air was immediately fresher in the hallway outside. It had some of the stink of their previous stay, but nothing like the ogre.

“Gah, what was that?”

“You would think in a world of magic, that corpses would sort of… take care of themselves,” Adam said. Liz and Kyra looked at him skeptically.

“What?”

Liz shook her head. “Whatever. We need to find a way out of this building.”

They caught their breath, then walked back into the ogre’s concrete den. As if by magic, a doorway stood in the far wall, though it hadn’t been there before the battle.

Kyra pointed at the door. “That wasn’t there before, right?”

Liz and Adam shook their heads. Liz was first to speak up. “I guess we know where we need to go.”

They started across the room, skirting the form of the ogre. It was half the size it had been. Just as they got to the door, Adam pulled up short.

“Oh, wait. My sword!”

He turned and jogged back to the corpse. He marveled at how good he felt, despite having been gravely injured just an hour before. The skin was oddly rough, yet rubbery when he touched it. Some of it had wrapped around the sword, cocooning it. He was tempted to stick his tongue out, but the stench was still very present.

Tutorial #2:

Looting. To loot an enemy, touch the corpse after combat has ended and choose to loot it. Some may find it helpful to think the word ‘loot.’

“Well, I just found out what tutorial number two was.”

Liz groaned. “What did we miss?”

“A lot. I’m kicking myself right now.” He mimed the action, drawing a laugh from the two women.

“Okay, but what was it, really?”

“Looting.”

He selected the option in his mind while touching the corpse, and it turned to digital dust, drifting away.

“Whoa.”