System Fall

Once I was in the store, murmurs directed my way started up through the group. Eyes bored into my back.

"Who's the loner?" One voice asked, curiosity plastered over his face.

"Not much to look at, but that sword of his..." another voice trailed off, replaced by the hollow sound of forced laughter.

“Look what the cat dragged in,” chimed a third.

I ignored them. Instead, I looked over at my old party. Mei, Willow, and Alvin huddled together like a pack of wary animals. Alvin was sporting a blackened eye and had a cut above one cheek. Their anxious glances darted between me and the group that had apparently monopolized the Wall-Store.

Ignoring the hostile gazes directed my way, I approached my former teammates.

"What's going on? What happened here," I asked, my voice light but eyes sharp. I had my guesses. People were predictable in times like these.

 "Who are our new friends?" I shot Alvin a teasing glance. “One of them give you that shiner?”

He bristled defensively and muttered some kind of rebuttal that I didn’t bother to pay attention to.

"Right, just a coincidence then," I drawled, my tone heavy with skepticism.

Scanning them over, I saw my old team's predicament. They must have met up with larger group on their journey back to the surface and likely tried to share the existence of the Wall-Store as an olive branch. They had hoped for cooperation and to be welcomed. Instead, they found themselves subjugated and put under the heel of somebody else.

Willow's eyes darted around the store, anxiety creasing her brow. Despite the hostile glares, none of the new party had done anything to me yet and aside from Alvin’s bruising, it seems they played nice, these new arrivals, their smiles hiding their true nature.  Alvin had likely painted himself as the leader of the group in an attempt to elevate his status with the newcomers and had suffered because of it.

 Alvin looked at me. We had bonded somewhat in the Hidden Dungeon and his gaze was icy, his thoughts seething beneath the surface. I get see clear as day that he wanted the strength to act as I did, he wanted the ability I had, to claim the power that he believed I held. His blackened eye would be the fuel for future growth.

"We tried to come back and gather supplies. They took it all. Haven't let us leave either. I tried. Keep saying once they've got everything they want, we can go," Alvin finally explained, bitterness tingeing his words.

A sigh slipped from my lips. My gaze swept over the scavenging newcomers who’d manuevered themselves near the exit and my beleaguered old team. The unspoken threat in the air was clear; the newcomers had claimed the Wall-Store and saw my sword as their next prize. We were trapped.

 

"Lesson for the future," I suggested, my tone flat and low, "Don't trust so easily. Things are only going to get deadlier from here. You’re lucky to still be alive. ." It was not anger that colored my words, but the calm acceptance of reality. In System Fall, it was survival of the fittest, and those who weren’t strong enough would find themselves falling to those who were.

I looked over my old teammates again and a dark expression crossed my face.

"What are you going to do?" Mei asked, her gaze flicking nervously between me and the group that had clearly marked my weapons as their next acquisition.

"Me?" I replied, my tone light, almost jovial. A mischievous twinkle sparkled in my eyes as I glanced towards the greedy crowd. "I'm going to go pick a fight."

Laughter slipped from my lips, but there was no humor behind it, only the cold steel of impending action. I started towards the newcomers, the grip on my sword tightening. This was no longer just about survival; it was about setting things right.

I unstrapped the Cursed Valkyrie and laid it down next to me, making sure the others could see it.

The heavy, tense silence that had engulfed the store was broken by a tall, lanky man with a buzzcut and a cheap imitation of military fatigues. Sporting an axe on his back and daggers strapped to his thighs, he swaggered towards me, trying to assert his dominance with his towering height and bravado. I fought back the urge to laugh in his face. I needed this to play out.

"Hey there, buddy, that's a nice sword you got there," he drawled, his eyes gleaming with greed. "I could use an upgrade too. A sword like that needs a real warrior to wield it. You're lucky. I'll take it off your hands, so you don't get hurt."

I knew his type. A wannabe soldier. Probably spent his days watching war documentaries and buying discounted surplus and a t-shirt that said something about how he was the storm. Not a real hint of struggle on his face.

He tried to drape an arm around my shoulders - a classic tactic to invade personal space, to use his size to try and intimidate and swipe what he wanted.

With a swift, dismissive gesture, I shook him off and he went stumbling backwards. "Back off."

"What did you say, you little punk?" He growled, his fake friendly demeanor falling away completely to reveal his true nature.

"I told you to back off.” I responded coldly. “Did you not hear me? Did I stutter?”

"Ha!” He stood up straight and steadied himself. “You're trying to look like a real man in front of your friends, huh? Alright, I'll give you a choice. Hand them over while I'm asking nicely, or I can beat you to death and take that sword anyway. And then maybe I'll see about your lady friend over there."

The tension in the store skyrocketed as everyone's attention snapped to us.

"Hey," I began, not bothering to conceal my contempt. "Have you ever thought to yourself, maybe I really fucked up?”

 

"What the hell, are you—"

Cutting him off, I swung my leg, aiming a swift kick to his ankle. A bone snaped and the man lost his balance and started to tumble over.

I made an example of him.

Rushing forward, I grabbed him by the back of his head before he could fall. The man was screaming obscenities. He stopped screaming when I slammed his face headfirst into the floor of Wall Store, breaking his noise in the process and knocked him unconscious.

"You’ll have to tell me the answer when you wake up," I chuckled, nudging the unconscious man with my foot.

"He’s lucky I’ve decided to leave him alive." I called out to the watching crowd, ignoring the shocked expressions of my old group. "Someone pick up this trash, will you?"

"Nick, what are you doing?" Willow hissed, fear and anger dancing in her eyes. "Don’t antagonize them needlessly. You might be able to act like that, but we can’t, and they think we’re with you."

"Unless you’re planning on taking some responsibility and handling the rest of the group as well," Alvin said, then paled as if the weight of his words had just hit him. For the first time he likely wondered if I could kill somebody just as easily as I killed monsters.

"I can say sorry if that makes things better," I replied, sarcasm dripping from my voice.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, if you aren’t with us, then at least don’t create greater problems for us. They clearly think you are one of us," Willow lightly smacked me in the arm.

I paused, watching Mei converse politely with a girl from the other group. Willow did have a point. The situation was deescalating. Maybe it wasn't all bad. Not yet.

“Let me make it clear, if it wasn’t already.” I shouted, making sure everyone heard me. “These people are something like friends, and if you come for my friends, I’m going to come for you, and next time, nobody is walking away as easily as your sleeping friend is.”

Everyone paled and nodded in understanding.

"That reminds me. Does anyone got the time?" I asked, sauntering casually over to a pile of scavenged supplies, my eyes darting over the assorted items until they settled on a digital wristwatch. Picking it up, I slipped it onto my wrist, the LED lights glowing against the dimness of the store.

Glancing over at Mei, Willow, and Alvin, I gave a slight nod. "If you're planning to eat, you should probably do it now. Time's almost up."

Their eyes widened at my words. They’d learned that when I told them something, they needed to listen. With a sense of urgency they scrambled to grab what food they could.

Ignoring the general chaos, I pulled a bottle of water from the store's fridge, twisting off the cap and taking a long, satisfying sip. Next, I retrieved a sandwich from the cold case, unwrapping it and biting into it.

“Needs mustard.”