Chapter 17

  The father of the Miller family, his daughter on one hip and his son following behind with a subdued look of embarrassment at the idea of being seen leaving a bathroom with his dad and baby sister, all turned in unison at Ginny’s cry. Ginny sprinted at them desperately, hand reaching out to grab them, or to lunge at them and tackle them to the ground, to just get to them before…

  Seeing a blood-covered woman running at him and his family, an equally blood-covered knife clutched in one hand, Amos Miller did the reasonable and rational thing.

  With a scream of surprise, he backpedaled, wrapping one arm around Norah on his hip, while grabbing Mark with the other, dragging them both away from what he thought was a threat to his children’s safety.

  Right into an actual threat to him and his children’s safety, as he backed into the bulging stomach of the monster, the rolls of flab rippling as he bounced off into a stumble. His screaming died out as he twisted and stared up in shock at the gaping maw looming over him.

  It only took a second for his expression to twist back from surprise into terror, and to try to stumble away from the even more monstrous figure he’d bumped into, grip still tight on his son and daughter.

  Unfortunately, it took the monster less than that second to lean forward, wrap its gaping maw around the terrified man’s chest and shoulders and bite down.

  Norah fell to the ground, her eyes wide as she stared up at the blood starting to pour out from between the monsters’ clenched teeth and from the cleanly severed remains of her father’s torso, the arm that had been holding her landing on the floor next to her with a wet sounding thump.

  Amos Miller’s body collapsed to the ground, blood and chunks of gore and bone sliding out of the gaping and craterous wound where everything above his ribs had been cleanly bitten off. Mark, still holding his father’s severed arm, screamed as he backpedaled away from the monster, who swallowed noisily.

  Then Ginny was on top of the two kids, Blood Drinker’s Bane carving a long and bloody furrow in the side of the monster’s tongue as it twisted around to try and lap at Norah curiously. The monster let out another wail of pain as the side of its tongue wrinkled and withered, the muscle taking on a dry and desiccated appearance.

  “Ow! Ow! That hurts… that thing hurts!” The monster glared at her, beady eyes narrowed even further so that they nearly disappeared in the rolls of fat surrounding them. Ginny shoved Mark behind her with the hand holding Blood Drinker’s Bane, pulling Norah from the floor with her other hand. She glared right back, the unease as the monster’s words grew clearer and its sentences more complex completely lost in the sick anger that filled her mind as she watched it probe the side of its wounded tongue with one doughy hand.

  “Story… nasty little story.” The monster shifted suddenly, its tongue going from moving jerkily and sluggishly to its previous whipcrack speed in an instant. Ginny didn’t have time to react to the unexpected assault, and only managed to twist around, placing her body between the tongue and the kids. The sense of wrongness in her muscles roared back to life, her ability, or Path, or the Depths System itself protesting this kind of self-sacrificial behavior. Then the tongue crashed into her back, and she heard skin tearing and bones snapping, the tattered remains of her Camp Muddy Paws t-shirt torn apart a split second before the flesh of her back followed suit. The force of the blow sent her flying backwards, curled protectively around Norah, and Mark sent flying with her, the three of them slamming into the rear wall of the bowling alley, Ginny managing to twist enough to hit the wall first, cushioning the kids impact with her thoroughly mangled body.

  Ginny let out a racking cough, blood spraying out of her mouth as she felt things grinding and twisting and tearing in her chest.

  Worse Than It Looks has leveled up! Now level 4!

  Worse Than It Looks has leveled up! Now level 5!

  Unkillable has leveled up! Now level 2!

  Ginny’s head was swimming and foggy, throbbing red with sharp spikes of pain. She felt somehow detached from her body, the extra spike of agony that tore through her chest as she sluggishly rolled onto her side to stare at the monster, which waddled at her sedately.

  “Nasty story. Blood, death, and terror. Nothing novel. Nothing interesting. Nothing delicious.” The monster’s words were even more refined, the annunciation clear even through the still-present wet tone that touched all its words. It sounded less frenzied now, almost to the point of being bored.

  Is it… full? Ginny shook her head to clear away the errant thought or at least tried to. She barely managed a shuddery twitch of her neck, even that slight motion sending fresh waves of nauseating pain rolling through her. She desperately called up her status, and her heart sank as she did, even that metaphorical motion sending fresh pain shooting through her.

  Health: -44/220

  Mana: 7/230

  Conditions: Bruised, Filthy, Blood Drenched, Bleeding Out, Internal Bleeding, Concussion, Crippled Lung, Broken Arm, Broken Back, Skull Fracture, Paralyzed, Dead, Unkillable.

  The litany of conditions she currently had wasn’t exactly surprising given her current state, but the last two were especially alarming. She struggled to focus on those, and blue screens obligingly appeared after a second.

  Dead: This entity is dead. Their story has ended.

  Ginny’s heart lurched deep in the pit of her stomach where it had fallen. I’m dead? I’m not dead! She focused on the second blue screen, and her heart steadied… slightly.

  Unkillable: Your health is completely spent, and yet you somehow aren’t dying. This condition negates death, although any further damage you take in this condition may have other negative consequences.

  Ginny let out a wheezing gasp as she remembered the vague and somehow threatening sounding ability she’d received when she chose Survivor as her Path. She’d pushed it to the back of her mind, resolving to not test its effects by avoiding being killed. That clearly hadn’t worked out, and now it was here, propping up her broken and mangled body.

  But I can’t move. I may not be dead technically, no matter what my character sheet says, but what good is that if I can’t even move!? She stared up at the monster as it ambled ever closer, in no hurry to finish her off now that she wasn’t going anywhere. A thrill of fear ran through her, and Survivor’s Will seemed to be getting overwhelmed, as her breath came faster and faster, panicked gasps, wet with blood from her torn lungs.

  Am I still gonna be alive when it eats me? Even after he does, will I die then? The images that accompanied that grotesque thought made her struggle even more desperately, trying to wriggle away or drag herself away from the monster bearing down on her.

  Move! Move, move, move!

  Ginny felt her arm twitch and slide forward, and a brief spike of hope rose up in her at the idea that she was doing it, that she was forcing her thoroughly broken body to move with sheer force of will. That hope came crashing down when she saw Norah’s tiny form squeeze out from under her, shoving Ginny’s arm aside and crawling forward. The little girl was nearly as blood soaked as Ginny herself at this point, Ginny’s various wounds adding drips and blotches of it on top of the blood of the little girl’s father which coated her.

  “N…Norah.” The words seemed to rise up from her chest like hot shards of glass, scouring her throat and chest as Ginny forced them out. “Ru-run. Run.” Ginny had no idea where Mark had ended up in the tangle of limbs the three of them had gone down in, and she didn’t feel any movement around her, although it was hard to be sure through the pain that wracked her body.

  The little girl shakily pushed herself to her feet but didn’t make any motion to run, instead turning woodenly towards the monster, who stopped a couple steps away to stare down at her curiously.

  “Another story? No… not even. Not yet. Not even an appetizer. But…” The monster’s tongue wove through the air, the cracked and dry section from Ginny’s cut earlier starting to peel and fall off in small chunks, revealing fresh pink and red writhing flesh beneath. “…but you taste like the story. Perhaps…” The monster trailed off as Norah swayed in place before her head, which had been hanging limply down to her chest, snapped up, her blood slick hair flipping back as she looked up at the monster in front of her.

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  And screamed.

  The sound that tore out of the little girl’s throat was horrible. Pain, and fury, and terror, and an entirely inhuman sort of hunger were all contained within, and the resulting blast of sound actually forced the monster back a step, the rolls of flab on its body rippling like it was standing in gale force winds. Ginny writhed in fresh agony, her shattered arms refusing to let her clap her hands over her ears to block out the terrible sound Norah was making. A chain of blue screens flashed open in front of her, and her shaken and woozy brain had to struggle for a second to focus enough to read what they said.

  Congratulations! Your Story has grown to incorporate your first Extra! No Story is lived by one person alone. Even the greatest heroes of legends were the focus of stories containing dozens or hundreds of others. Extras can act as companions, teachers, students, rivals, or party members. As Extras, their growth, and story, is inherently tied to yours, giving up forming a story of their own in favor of elevating your story to new heights.

  You may view the status of your Extras freely, regardless of any factors normally blocking such information. While Extras are not compelled to obey you, their story and power is inherently tied to yours, and an end to your story will mean an end to theirs in short order.

  Your new Extra has been added to your party!

  Norah Miller has been added to your party!

  Ginny blinked blearily, trying to twist her head to stare up at Norah, even as her scream tapered off. More blue screens cluttered and filled her vision as she did, obscuring her view of the little girl’s trembling back.

  Name: Norah Miller

  Race: Human (Extra)

  Age: 10

  Template: Extra

  Path: Scary Little Girl

  Level: 2

  Health: 43/60

  Mana: 50/70

  UNALLOCATED: 2

  STRENGTH: 2

  REFLEXES: 3

  SPEED: 4

  VITALITY: 3

  ATUNEMENT: 5

  IMAGINATION: 6

  WILLPOWER: 6

  FAITH: 4

  CHARISMA: 9

  AWARENESS: 4

  LUCK: 7

  Conditions: Shock, Tired, Bruised, Blood Drenched

  Abilities:

  Passive:

  Extra (Lvl MAX)

  Unnerving Silence (Lvl 1)

  Background Character (Lvl 1)

  Active:

  Frightening Stare (Lvl 1)

  Scream (Lvl 2)

  Skills:

  First Aid (Lvl 1)

  High Society (Lvl 1)

  Swimming (Lvl 1)

  The monster shook its head as if to clear it, tongue twisting in the air to burrow into one of its own ears with a sickening wet squishing sound. “Aaahh, I see. Yes!” The monster let out a wet laugh, its tongue popping back out of its ear with a sloppy sounding pop.

  “Go away… go away!” Norah’s words came out strained and raw sounding. Apparently there were some drawbacks to what Ginny assumed was the Scream ability on her sheet. The monster chuckled again, its tongue writhing like the head of a snake in the air next to its head.

  “Mmm… do you know what I find to be the most disgusting thing is, little Story?” The monster looked over Norah’s head at Ginny’s crumpled form, beady eyes twinkling with amusement. Ginny glared back but only managed to let out a cough accompanied by more tearing pain in her chest as a response. The monster continued, seemingly not expecting an actual response from her.

  “People who lick the frosting off of cakes.” The monster’s tongue idly picked a chunk of bloodied flesh out from between where it had gotten caught between the rolls of flab on its chest. It popped the morsel into its mouth as it continued to explain the disgusting eating habits some people had.

  “Things that are prepared together… are meant to be eaten together. As a whole. Do you understand, little Story?” The monster paused for a response again, and then once more carried on unperturbed when Ginny wasn’t able to force out a reply. “It doesn’t matter. You’re just a dry little cake right now, with only a single unripe berry for decoration. But… in time…” A thick line of drool pooled in one corner of its gaping mouth, and then dribbled down its cheeks, sizzling against the linoleum floor as it dripped. “Oh, in time…” The monster shook its head, more drool spattering about as it did. “I can wait. I can be patient. I can make do with… appetizers.” The last word was drawn out, and ended in a happy sounding hum as the monster turned its back on them, back towards the twisted mess of bloodied flesh that it had reduced half of the townspeople to as they tried to flee.

  Ginny stared after it incredulously, her stomach warring between residual panic and terror, and utter disgust at what she was about to have to have to watch as the monster slowly made its way over to the mound of gore, sizzling drops of drool left in its wake.

  We’re… alive. Ginny let out a shuddering sigh, as another wave of blue screens flashed in front of her eyes tri8umphantly. We survived.

  You have leveled up! You are now level 4! Luck increased by 3! You receive 2 unallocated stat points!

  You have leveled up! You are now level 5! Luck increased by 3! You receive 2 unallocated stat points!

  You have gained an Ability: Lucky Break!

  Lucky Break: (Costs 100 Mana). By activating this ability, you will massively increase your Luck for a brief period of time, tipping random chance overwhelmingly in your favor. This ability has a chance to be activated automatically in appropriate situations.

  Ginny felt a trickle of energy flowing into her, and she examined her character sheet quickly, hoping to find something that would let her force herself to her feet to grab Norah and Mark and get out of the building before the monster changed its mind about saving them for later. Her eyes quickly fell on the four unallocated points on her sheet, and she quickly allocated one into her Vitality stat. She tried to hold her breath, but she felt the effort tear at her shredded lungs and quickly let out a bloody cough. Checking her HP total a shudder of relief ran through her.

  HP: -24/240

  She quickly allocated her three remaining points into Vitality as well, bringing the total to 15.

  HP: 36/300

  Before she could let out another raspy breath of relief, Ginny’s entire body contorted, broken bones tearing further into her lungs and other organs, before she felt them slide back out, her injuries getting… well, better. Not gone, by any means, and taking in a breath still made her chest ache like it had been shoved full of broken glass, but that sense of being internally mangled by her own shattered bones was blissfully absent. Ginny checked her conditions just to confirm what she had been hoping was the case.

  Conditions: Bruised, Filthy, Blood Drenched, Concussion, Critically Wounded, Internal Bleeding, Broken Arm, Skull Fracture.

  She was no longer listed as “Dead”. The Unkillable condition had disappeared as well, unsurprisingly. Arguably even more important, the Paralyzed condition had vanished. Resolved to ignore the less important details, like the fact that her skull was still fractured, and she was apparently still bleeding internally, she rolled onto her stomach and clumsily shoved herself up onto her hands and knees. She immediately retched, her stomach spinning rapidly in sync with the wave of dizziness that. The thin stream of yellow bile and blood she threw up onto the floor reminded her she hadn’t eaten anything in, well, ever technically. She braced herself for a responding wave of disgust and fresh vomiting at even the thought of eating something after what she’d seen in the past few minutes, but her stomach at least was apparently unmoved by the rampant brutality and gore. It made clear that after she finally, finally got a shower, finding something to eat was the next priority.

  A small hand patted her on her back hesitantly, and Ginny twisted around to look up at Norah. The little girl was staring down at her nervously, her face completely coated in blood with the exception of two smudged and semi-clean tracks running down her cheeks where she’d been crying.

  Ginny stumbled to her feet and pulled the girl into a one-armed embrace with her broken arm as she twisted back around, grabbing Mark’s still, but thankfully still breathing form. She squeezed the two children to her tightly for a moment, ignoring the pain that racked her at the motion. Shifting into a crouched position with one knee on the ground, she cradled Mark in her good arm as well as she could. The young teen weighed next to nothing but was still tall enough to make for awkward cargo.

  “Norah.” Ginny’s voice came out sounding choked and wet with the blood still coating her throat and pooling in her healed lung. The sloppy tone it gave her words reminded her of the monster’s voice, and she stopped, coughing and clearing her throat, Norah staring at her silently as she did.

  “Norah. We need to go, sweetie.” Ginny’s tone was still strained and slightly choked sounding, but the wet sound was mostly gone. The little girl nodded at her once, remaining silent. Ginny grit her teeth and then winced, as she discovered one of her molars had cracked when she hit the wall earlier. What was going on with Norah, seeing her father get torn apart in front of her and becoming part of Ginny’s story in a way she didn’t really understand wasn’t something they could afford to ignore and put off thinking about.

  The disgusting sound of the monster feeding on the gore pile that remained of the townspeople who hadn’t managed to escape out the front, unfortunately made it clear that even if they could afford to, that was exactly what they were going to do.

  Ginny twisted around; Mark cradled in one arm. “I need you to climb up on my back and hang on? We’re going to run, so hang on tight, okay?” The little girl nodded. “Piggy backs.” She whispered the word quietly, without any hint of excitement, just a numb understanding. Ginny’s heart broke a little more, and the forgotten anger she’d felt at Rinaxis’ bemused assurance that the new nightmare that their world had become had no issue with throwing children to the wolves alongside adults.

  “This is another one of those things your people’s stories and expectations are gonna get wrong. And if a lot of people think your kids are somehow an exception to this, or safe from everything that’s coming, or that they won’t be granted power based on the Depth’s interest just like adults, then it’s going to end really, really badly.”

  Ginny bared her teeth as Norah obediently climbed up onto her back, wrapping tiny arms around her neck. Staggering to her feet, she nearly overcompensated for what she thought the weight of two children hanging off of her should be, then planted her feet. Turning, she strode for the emergency exit along the rear wall, the loud bang as she drew her leg up and booted it open hard enough to twist one of the hinges out of shape and leave it hanging open cutting through the wet sounds of feeding and, bizarrely the low murmur and occasionally thump and clatter from the bowlers still bowling behind her. She ignored both as she strode out into the cool night air behind the bowling alley.

  I’ve never wanted to punch a melon in the face for being right about something as much as I do right now.