Andy rocked back on his heels, his breakdown doing nothing but irritating the people around him.
"I can't. Please, I just — I can't," he said.
"What did Kayla tell you?" the quieter man asked.
I stayed as still as I could, not wanting to draw his attention to my arms. The rope hadn't fallen away, but I felt it come loose.
"It's either Chloe or me. She said that she'll track me to the ends of the earth if she has to."
"Hell yeah, I would," Kayla said. "And I'd have fun doing it."
"I'd listen to her, kid. You know how she gets," the other man added.
"Just… give me time, okay?" Andy pushed himself to his feet, still standing to cover my left arm. "I need to think. It's not that easy to just kill someone."
"Didn't you want revenge? For your mommy?" Kayla asked.
"She killed my mom, yes, but—"
"I can't listen to this shit anymore." The man who'd called Andy 'Sport' cut him off. "My buzz is wearing off, and I've still got two bottles from our last run."
"And what about the girl?" Kayla asked.
"I'll stay. Make sure he does what he's supposed to," the quiet one said.
"Hey," Kayla pointed a finger at him. "I called dibs on the fire card. Don't get any ideas."
"Just here to make sure he follows through," he answered.
The first man walked off without another word. Kayla lingered, throwing glances back in my direction, then finally followed.
The sound of their footsteps faded slowly.
Andy hadn't moved. He stood a few feet away with his back to me, shoulders hunched, staring at the ground.
"Steve." His voice came out quiet. "Steve, please." Andy looked up at him. "We don't have to kill her. I was dumb and grieving. We can just take her cards and just, you know, let her go. You can take the cards they don't know about. We all will benefit from this, and we won't have to kill a person."
Steve glanced at me, then back at Andy. "You should have thought about this before asking us for help to kill her. You've got two minutes, kid. Then I'm finishing this myself."
"Two minutes—"
"One fifty-eight." Steve stepped closer to me, taking out the axe from a holder on his belt.
Andy's jaw worked. He looked at me, then away, calculating something.
Steve was getting closer and would see my untied arms soon.
I still had thirty seconds left on my card cooldown, but it was clear we couldn't wait.
When Steve was two steps away, I lunged as far as the remainder of the [Snare] allowed and grabbed his pants, throwing all my weight into the pull. My fingers screamed with sharp, blinding pain, but I'd already done what I needed to. He lost his balance, swaying, and I was out of his direct line of strike.
"You bitch—" He swore and kicked out. His boot caught my shoulder, but without much force. He fought to stay upright while I kept his limbs tangled with what little strength I had left.
The cooldown hit zero. I felt it before I checked the numbers. Like a whisper, something dark and quiet slid back into place at the edge of my mind. A pull toward destruction. I welcomed it.
I pointed my palm into the center of his body, targeting everything important. He was close enough that the heat reflected back onto me, and I hissed as it scorched up my arms. But I didn't pull back. My body was already burning in a dozen other places, and I wanted him dead more than I wanted any of it to stop.
I hated what they'd made me feel. Small. Desperate. Ready to beg.
The heat swallowed that too. And what replaced it was something close to a climax. A savage, consuming release. I didn't think about consequences. There were no thoughts at all. I just existed, one with destruction.
I don't know when I lost consciousness. The darkness came before I could see my enemy fall.
Something wet on my face pulled me back.
Andy was crouched over me, pressing a damp cloth to my forehead. When I opened my eyes, he exhaled, like he'd been holding his breath.
"He's gone," he said. "It's okay. Here—"
The spout of my water bottle touched my lips, and I drank, pulling at it eagerly. My throat felt like it was scraped with sand. My head was still spinning: slow, nauseating rotations that made it hard to hold onto a thought.
I reached up and found the spot above my ear where they'd first hit me. Still wet. Still tender. I used [Heal Wound], and the worst of the fog lifted, though not all of it. Thinking still felt like wading through something thick.
"If you pass me that card, I should be able to use it a second time," Andy offered.
"Fuck you," I whispered, trying to get up.
Closing some cuts would help with the blood loss. I moved my hand to palpate the wound along my flank: deep, from the feel of it, still wet. The [Splice] card only worked on surface tissue. Would it reach deep enough if I pushed a finger inside? The thought made my stomach lurch, but I didn't have a choice.
"Pour some water on my hand."
"Why?"
"Because your buddy put a knife through my flank and I'm still bleeding."
Andy obeyed without further argument.
I almost blacked out when I pushed my finger through the clotting wound, but the pain kept me sharp. A single activation of [Splice] didn't close it fully, as expected, but the bleeding slowed. I fell back against the tree with a relieved groan. Forty-five minutes until the cooldown reset. Cursed cooldown.
The nagging feeling of a notification pulled at my attention. I opened it to a Deal Hand screen with three cards. One was a colour I'd never seen: grey, with two arrows pointing inward. [Merge]. I skipped the blue [Torch] and green [Pain Tolerance] in favour of it. Pain is a signal, not something to simply tolerate. I wanted to know what needs to be healed.
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[Merge] - Combine any two cards to forge a new ability. The resulting card's power, rarity, and utility are determined by the quality of the cards sacrificed and their inherent compatibility. Merged cards are consumed permanently.
As soon as I closed the screen, a new notification appeared.
Enemy defeated. Cards available: [Steady Hand], [Axe], [Shakedown]. Available Deck spots: 1.
So killing someone meant getting their cards. But the [Snare], the card he'd used against me, wasn't even among the options. Andy must have received a portion of the loot as well, since he probably had to finish Steve off after I fainted.
"How many cards did you get?" I asked.
"You got some too, huh? I got four: [Ambush Position], [Rough Terrain Movement], [Stamina Reserve], and [Snare]."
"Did you get a [Merge] as well?"
"Yeah. Strange card."
I reached for a water bottle. My hands were shaking, and when they came into view, I saw red flesh and blisters scattered across the skin. [Torch] burns. I hadn't even felt them through the rest of it. Holding a bottle hurt like hell, though.
"Chloe." Andy's voice dropped. "I'm sorry. I made a mistake. Seeing you lying there… You have to understand. Mom died, and I needed someone to blame. You were so cold about it all: the goblins, the kills, death in general. Not a lick of doubt. And when you killed her… It just seemed like you didn't care."
"I came to talk to you as soon as Iris healed me. She had to cut my hand off, Andy. Forgive me if my grief face didn't look the way you needed it to."
A pause. "I didn't know that."
"I also went with you to the hospital."
"I know. I'm not saying it's rational. I'm just trying to explain," He looked at his hands. "I want to earn your trust back. You need help right now, and I swear I will work to deserve it."
He was right that we had to move. Someone would come looking for Steve soon, and it probably would be his friends. Logically, partnering up was still my best option. I hated how reasonable that was.
"What cards are you carrying?"
"[Precision], [Quick Reflexes], [Corrosion Resistance], [Camouflage], [Merge], [Ambush Position], [Rough Terrain Movement], [Stamina Reserve], and [Snare]."
"You didn't get many cards while we were separated?"
"Turns out you don't get anything if you don't participate in the kills." He shrugged. "They had me on watch, cooking, cleaning, carrying stuff mostly."
"You are good at carrying stuff," I said.
Andy chuckled.
"Which card do you value most?"
"[Snare]. Haven't tested it yet, but it's level two, and it fits the rest of my build."
"Then that's the one you're giving me. I'll give you [Heal Wound] — we swap back when you're done."
He nodded and passed it without argument. I indicated towards the spot on my head, where it hurt the most.
Andy squatted in front of me and pressed his fingers to the back of my skull. "[Heal Wound]." My vision cleared. My mind was still foggy, but the improvement was significant.
"Give it back," I said, and the pop-up appeared without a pause.
Next, I passed him [Splice] and lifted my hoodie to expose the cut on my flank. He hovered his hand over the wound and activated the card. The edges drew closed, leaving just raised, inflamed skin behind. We exchanged cards back. I rinsed my mouth with the last of my water. It still tasted like a compost heap. I would have killed for a toothbrush.
"What happened after I blacked out?"
"Steve came at me, and I… cut his throat." Andy swallowed, lips pulling down.
"He would have killed you for disobeying anyway. You didn't have a choice."
"Yeah, I know." He didn't sound convinced. "What did you get from Steve?"
"Haven't chosen yet. Have only one spot left. Got green [Steady Hand] and [Axe], and a blue [Shakedown]."
"[Steady Hand] is decent, but it doesn't really fit your build."
"And what's my build?"
"Mage. Though you've been fighting like a tank."
I chuckled. "That explains why I get injured after every fight."
"What about [Shakedown]? I still have an empty spot if it doesn't fit into your hand."
"You've spent too much time with those assholes. I will kick your ass if you ever accept a card like that."
Andy smiled. "I knew there was a reason I missed you."
I didn't smile back and moved on to the cards.
I accepted [Axe]. The cards combined in my Deck as I hoped: [Axe II] — Intermediate proficiency with axes. +10% damage and improved accuracy when wielding an axe.
Then I accepted [Steady Hand] — 5% Better accuracy when aiming or throwing.
I had one untested card left. Merging two healing cards felt too risky. I needed both of them, and with the shorter cooldown. But [Spear] and [Axe II] were another matter. I rarely used either one of them.
Saying [Merge] opened the interface with two empty slots in the middle and the row of cards I had at the bottom. After I pulled both cards into the slots and confirmed my selection, the cards overlapped, and a single green card emerged: a long-handled axe crossed with a spear. [Polearm].
Intermediate proficiency with polearm weapons. +7% damage, improved accuracy, and reduced stamina cost when wielding spears, halberds, poleaxes, or glaives.
Now I just needed a weapon that wasn't a contraption of duct tape and a broom handle. Were there any medieval museums in the area?
Thinking of weapons brought me back to reality.
"I haven't seen any monsters despite all the blood and noise," I said. "How is the perimeter even holding?"
"Dick had used an attention damper card on the area. Plus, someone in camp has a crafting cards for monster deterrents. There are also some plants that grew naturally and keept things out. The patrols exist, but they focus on the perimeter and weak points, not internal problems. Simply not enough people."
I set down the empty bottle. Every breath still pulled at something wrong in my ribs, like iron wool packed too tight inside my stomach. My head was clearer, but the rest of me was going to need time I didn't have.
"Maybe we should just hit the road and be gone?" I suggested.
"They won't leave it," Andy replied grimly. "I think Kayla has a tracking card. And she promised he'd kill me. Especially now, after Steve."
"Were they some kind of hunters in the before?"
"I think they are buddies from serving time together."
"In the army?"
"In prison… Listen, I think we should report it to the camp administration," Andy said. "The evacuation force put them in charge. They have authority."
"And did that authority protect the people those three were already extorting?" I asked. "It's our word against theirs. For all anyone knows, I wandered into the woods and got mauled. No one's going to take an internal dispute seriously right now."
Andy was quiet.
I didn't rush to fill the silence. Part of me still feared that Andy would flip the moment his friends were back in front of him. But an hour ago, I had been ready to beg for my life, and the math hadn't changed: alone and injured, I wouldn't get far. There was no better option. I needed Andy if I wanted to come out the other side of this problem he had created.
"Here's what we do," I said. "You go back and tell one of the thugs that you killed me, that Steve stayed behind with the body, and you need help with disposal. I'll set up an ambush. Turn what they did to me right back around. Get them out here one at a time, and we can manage it."
"What if they don't buy it? What if they come together, or ask for proof you're dead?" He shook his head. "Maybe we should just run."
"How strong are their cards?"
"Kayla's the one to worry about. Knife work, some kind of danger sense, probably a full Deck of support cards on top of that. I've heard them talk about a progression that kicks in once all ten slots are filled; she's gone through it. That makes her something else entirely." He paused. "Dick's lazy and full of himself. He'll assume I finished the job, especially with Kayla breathing down his neck. And they both want your cards. I can use that."
"You're still an asshole for what you did to me. You know that."
"I know."
"Alright." I braced myself and started pushing upright. "Let's move before they come looking for Steve themselves."
Chloe's Deck (8/10):
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Blue Card: [Leap II]
Instantly leap forward up to 10 feet. Beware of obstacles. Obstacle impacts deal reduced damage. Cooldown 20 minutes.
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Blue Card: [Heal Wound II]
A medium burst of healing for a single target area you touch. Cooldown 1 hour.
Progression towards the next card upgrade 1/2
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Green Card: [Polearm]
Intermediate proficiency with polearm weapons. +7% damage, improved accuracy, and reduced stamina cost when wielding spears, halberds, poleaxes, or glaives.
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Blue Card: [Pyromaniac Torch II]
Fire recognizes a kindred spirit. Go on. Light it up, and the fire will stick to your target. Just be careful what you feed it. Cooldown 10 minutes.
-
Blue card: [Pathfinder]
Read the landscape and identify the safest routes by using subtle signs like animal tracks, worn earth, natural markers, and subconscious knowledge. Cooldown 6 hours.
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Blue Card: [Tissue Splice II].
Fuse two edges of tissue up to 1 inch deep. Cooldown 45 minutes.
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Green Card: [Rapid Recovery]
Recover 10% faster from injuries and fatigue.
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Green Card: [Steady Hand]
5% Better accuracy when aiming or throwing.