Chapter Five: The Ones Who Choose Their Prey

The creatures changed direction at the same time.

Jake noticed that first. The pale monsters pouring through the intersection had been chasing the fleeing survivors. Then the one with the human face pointed at him, and every creature behind it turned. Not one hesitated. Not one looked at the other survivors again.

They came straight for Jake.

"What did you do?" Ethan asked.

"Nothing!"

"Then why are they looking at you like that?"

"I said I don't know!"

Jake took a step back. The human-faced creature smiled. It almost looked real. The corners of its mouth lifted and showed bloody teeth. But the eyes were wrong, clouded with black veins, and its head tilted like it was studying something it had never seen before.

Then it spoke.

"Jake."

Jake stopped moving.

Ethan stared at him. "Did it just say your name?"

Jake couldn't answer. He had never seen this thing before. He hadn't said his name anywhere near it. Even if some memory of its old life was left, it had no reason to know him.

The smile widened. "Found... you."

A cold feeling crawled down his spine. The blue window opened.

(ANOMALOUS ENTITY RESPONSE: CONFIRMED.)

(HOSTILE INTENT: EXTREME.)

(WARNING: COMBAT SUCCESS IS NOT RECOMMENDED.)

Jake stared at the last line. "That's helpful."

"What?" Claire asked.

"Nothing. We need to leave. Now."

Claire looked down at the injured man at her feet. "I can't just leave him!"

"Claire, look at them!"

"I am looking!"

Her voice cracked, but she didn't move. Jake got it. Her new power could tell her what was wrong with a man. It couldn't save him. If they left him, he'd probably die. If they stayed, they all would.

Ethan stepped up beside her. "Can he walk?"

"No." She swallowed. "The damage inside is too bad."

"Then we carry him."

Jake looked at the monsters. The nearest one was less than a hundred feet away.

"There's a parking garage behind that building. If we get inside, we might lose them."

"With him?" Ethan asked.

Jake crouched and slid an arm under the man's shoulders. "Help me."

Ethan hesitated for a second, then grabbed the man's legs. They lifted him together. The man groaned.

"Easy," Claire said, hurrying beside them. "Don't twist his body."

Jake ignored the ache in his ribs and started backing toward the building. The creatures sped up. The human-faced one stayed behind them, walking at a steady pace. It wasn't in a hurry. That scared Jake more than the rest of them.

"Move!"

They ran. Carrying a man made it hard. Jake's arms started shaking right away and the weight dragged at his shoulders. Ethan's bad arm barely worked, so he held the man's legs with one hand. Claire ran ahead, squeezing between two abandoned cars.

"There!"

A concrete ramp led down under an office building. The garage entrance stood open, its barrier arm snapped and lying across the pavement. They reached it just as the first pale creature jumped onto a car behind them. Metal screamed. Jake almost dropped the man.

"Keep going!" Ethan shouted.

They stumbled down the ramp. The garage was dim, lit by emergency strips along the walls. A few cars sat abandoned between concrete pillars. The sprinklers hissed overhead and water ran across the floor. Jake and Ethan lowered the man beside a parked SUV, and Claire dropped to her knees next to him.

"He's still breathing."

"Can you keep him alive?" Jake asked.

"I can try."

"Try fast."

She shot him a furious look. "Do you think I don't know that?"

Jake turned away. A scratching sound echoed from the entrance. The creatures were coming down the ramp.

Ethan picked up a metal wheel brace off the floor. Jake found a tire iron in the trunk of an abandoned car and tested its weight. He had no illusions. Strength five. Speed six. Whatever those numbers meant, they hadn't done him much good so far.

He needed an edge. His eyes ran over the garage. Cars. Pillars. A maintenance cabinet. A fire hose behind glass. And near the far wall, a yellow forklift.

He pointed. "Ethan, can you use that?"

"Can I drive it? Probably. Without keys? Different question."

"Can you break something inside it? With your power?"

Ethan looked at his hand. "I don't even know what my power is."

"Then we're about to find out."

"You really need to stop making plans where I do things I can't explain."

"You said you were a fast judge of character."

"That was before the apocalypse!"

A shriek tore through the garage. The first creature dropped from the ramp railing onto the roof of a sedan.

Jake raised the tire iron. "Argue later."

It lunged. Jake swung. The iron hit its shoulder with a heavy clang and the shock rattled up his arms, but the creature jerked back long enough for Ethan to slam the brace into its head. It fell against the sedan. Jake hit it again, and this time it dropped to the floor.

He stood over it, breathing hard. A notification flashed.

(HOSTILE ENTITY NEUTRALIZED.)

(COMBAT EXPERIENCE RECORDED.)

The creature twitched once and went still. Jake waited for a reward. Nothing.

"Of course," he muttered.

Another creature vaulted over the sedan. Jake ducked just in time and its claws raked through his hair. He stumbled, turned, and jabbed the iron at its chest. It shrieked and grabbed the bar. Jake pulled. It pulled harder. For a moment he was locked in a tug of war with something that could tear him apart, and the iron started slipping out of his hands.

Then Ethan hit its side with his shoulder. A burst of invisible force came with it. The monster flew sideways, smashed into a pillar, and hit the ground with a sick crack.

Jake stared. Ethan stared back.

"I did it again."

"Good observation. Keep doing it!"

"I'M TRYING!"

The remaining creatures fanned out between the cars. They weren't charging blindly anymore. One headed for Claire and the injured man. One climbed onto the ceiling. One stayed back by the entrance, blocking the ramp.

They were splitting the group up.

Jake saw it too late. The ceiling creature dropped behind Ethan.

"Ethan!"

It hit Ethan across the back and sent him sprawling over the hood of a car. Jake ran at it. It twisted in midair and Jake planted his feet and swung the iron with both hands. The blow landed on its forelimb. Pain shot through his wrists. The creature barely reacted. It turned toward him, claws rising.

He tried to dodge. His body moved, but not fast enough.

The limb slammed into his chest and he flew back into a concrete pillar. Something cracked under his ribs. The garage tilted. He slid to the floor, gasping, every shallow breath stabbing through his chest. The edges of his vision blurred.

The creature came toward him. He tried to stand. His legs shook. It raised its claws.

Then Ethan hit it from behind, and the force drove it into the concrete.

Ethan grabbed Jake's jacket and hauled him up. "Can you move?"

Jake sucked in a painful breath. "Yeah."

"You sure?"

"No!"

"Good enough!"

They staggered toward the forklift. Ethan climbed into the driver's seat. Jake dragged himself around to the front and found the battery compartment under a metal cover. He didn't know exactly what Ethan could do. But the System had said combat success wasn't recommended. It hadn't said anything about escaping.

He yanked the cover open. "Try breaking the electrical system!"

"You want me to destroy the forklift?"

"I want you to make it work!"

"Those are very different things!"

A shriek echoed behind them. The human-faced creature had entered the garage. It walked down the ramp without hurry, stepping over its dead companions. Its eyes found Jake right away.

"There you are."

It sounded pleased.

Ethan climbed out of the seat. "What is that thing?"

"I don't know."

"It knows your name!"

"I noticed!"

The creature stopped a few yards away and tilted its head.

"Wrong," it whispered.

"What?" Jake said.

It smiled. "Not... Jake."

Its mouth stretched wider.

"Something else."

Then it charged.

"ETHAN!"

Ethan threw both hands at the exposed battery. The air snapped. Every light in the garage flickered. A violent crack rang out as the forklift's electrical system discharged. Sparks burst under the dashboard and the engine roared to life. Ethan stumbled back, clutching his arm.

Jake grabbed the side rail and hauled himself on. "DRIVE!"

Ethan slammed the controls forward and the forklift surged ahead. The human-faced creature leaped. It hit the front frame and clung there, claws screeching across the steel. Jake swung the iron at its arm. Once. Twice. It didn't let go.

Its face rose over the frame. Up close, Jake could see something moving under the skin of its cheek. The flesh shifted like a second face was trying to push through.

It leaned toward him.

"Remember..."

His heart pounded. "Remember what?"

The mouth opened. What came out wasn't a voice. It was a low, layered hum that rattled his teeth and made the lights overhead stutter.

The System went wild.

(CRITICAL WARNING.)

(ANOMALOUS SIGNAL DETECTED.)

(IMMORTALITY RESPONSE: SUPPRESSED.)

Jake went cold. For the first time since he'd come back, something scared him more than dying. His one advantage might not work.

The creature raised a claw. Ethan wrenched the wheel. The sudden turn threw the monster into a concrete pillar and its grip broke. It fell under the rear wheel and the forklift jolted. Then silence.

Ethan shoved the controls into neutral. Neither of them moved.

The creature lay under the wheel, twitching. Black fluid spread across the concrete. Then its head slowly turned toward Jake.

It was still smiling.

(HOSTILE ENTITY STATUS: UNCONFIRMED.)

Jake backed away from the edge of the forklift. "Don't stop," he whispered.

"What?"

"Just drive."

Ethan drove.

They crossed the garage toward a maintenance exit. Over by a van, Claire got the injured man inside. He was still alive, barely awake. Ethan steered the forklift out of the way and Jake pulled open the side door.

"Can you drive?" he asked Claire.

She nodded. "I can drive. I just don't know if he'll make it."

"Then we make the trip count."

Jake climbed into the back beside the man. Claire took the wheel. Ethan squeezed into the passenger seat, cradling his arm. The engine turned over. For a second nothing happened. Then the van rolled forward.

Jake watched the garage shrink behind them. Then he pulled up his status screen.

(HOST: JAKE ADRIAN)

(LEVEL: 1)

(CLASS: UNASSIGNED)

(UNIQUE SKILL: IMMORTALITY)

His attributes hadn't changed.

Strength: 5

Speed: 6

Agility: 6

Vitality: 5

Endurance: 5

Perception: 7

Intelligence: 8

Willpower: 7

He stared at the numbers. He'd fought monsters twice, been thrown into a pillar, nearly died again. And he was still barely stronger than a normal person.

But he understood one thing now. The System wasn't going to hand him power just because he was scared. He'd have to earn it.

He closed the screen. Outside, Chicago burned under the cracked sky. Somewhere in the city, Rebecca was waiting. And somewhere behind them, the human-faced creature was still smiling.

Jake looked at his hands. He'd come back from death once. He had no interest in finding out what happened if he tried it against something that could shut his Immortality off.

First he had to get home. Then he had to get strong enough that the next thing to come for him would regret it.