NOVEL SIMPLE 43. We Have To Keep Fighting
Jenny smashed into the Imperfect Angel with her elbow and knee half a second before it reached Susan. The impact felt like an explosion, and she felt a jarring vibration run through her body. The angel's green covering cracked: its face where her elbow broke its cheek, and its side, struck by her knee. Then it rocketed away, blood gushing from its mouth, and crashed into the hallway wall with a satisfying boom that dislodged even more debris and dust from above.
Susan had fallen from the impact, the wind battering her. Mrs. Monique stared, holding her spear, unsure what to do. Jenny realized that from their perspective, Jenny had popped out of nowhere covered in blood. Chunks and strands of flesh slid off her crimson covering; blood glistened on her scales and her face. She shuddered, realizing she’d accelerated through the herd of undead students. It wasn’t like attacking an angel. The students were soft human flesh and each one had burst like a water balloon. But her biggest realization?
The Instant Acceleration and the impact hadn't hurt! Her increased durability was holding up.
The second Imperfect Angel screeched as it lumbered toward them, its heavy footsteps thundering through the floor. This one was purplish-black. Strong, but it didn't matter. Through her tendrils, she sensed the air the angel displaced, sensed its every breath, and Jenny spun. Light flashed in her hand. Her hatchet cut through the creature's side, and it collapsed in a heap at Mrs. Monique's legs. Its guts spilled as it writhed in pain, its body nearly split in half. It tried to get up and kept slipping on its blood pooling beneath it.
+2 Energy
Jenny was about to finish it off when she realized Susan and Mrs. Monique should be the ones instead. That way they'd get more Experience and Energy. The other Imperfect Angel dislodged itself from the wall, its green covering falling apart where Jenny had struck it, and it let out a weak roar. It rushed Jenny, limping on all fours before pouncing, trying to claw her up. She stepped to the side. Her hatchet snapped upward, disconnecting the creature's arm with a flash of golden light. It screamed in her ear, but Jenny struck again, removing the other arm at the elbow, and it landed hard, armless and bleeding uncontrollably from its stumps, teeth mashing in desperation.
+2 Energy
+2 Energy
She grabbed it by the hair and dragged it over to Susan. Jenny couldn't look them in the eyes. She wiped blood off her brow as it dribbled down over her left eye. Something squishy had bounced off her lips, and she could still taste it. "You guys need to kill them so you can get stronger."
Susan didn’t move. She just stared at the angel struggling in front of her. The creature was trying to wriggle forward like a worm, its teeth dangerously close to Susan’s legs, but if it went for a bite, Jenny would behead it. Her tendrils would sense any dangerous movement, and they could taste the desperate hunger in the struggling creatures; it hardly matched her own ravenous cravings, and she had to look away from Susan.
Anger swirled like smoke in her lungs. It sizzled, and the urge to scream kept threatening to overcome her, but lingering between that furious desire, was a strange satisfaction. She hated what she'd become, hated that she'd thoroughly enjoyed cutting the angels apart and rendering them helpless. Strength pulsed through her, and it was such a contrast to her helpless, falling-apart state that it felt euphoric. She knew it was horrid, knew it was terrible. Knew she'd become something truly awful.
She'd rushed through a crowd of dead students, and she hadn't even flinched even as they burst open. Student blood dribbled over her scales and made her crimson covering shine. She shoved all those feelings down, compressing them into a little cube, the same way she'd do when thinking about her life, her mom, and all the bullshit. Once this is over, once I'm free... I'll figure my feelings out.
She was much, much stronger now, and even though only a few levels separated her from these Imperfect Angels, the difference was astonishing. With her increased stats, her powerful weapon, her exoskeleton, and her skills, she felt unstoppable. But she knew that if she stopped, the dark thoughts rumbling inside her head would become all too real; she had to keep killing and getting stronger.
Susan still hadn’t taken any action. Her cattle prod lay dormant in her hand, and she was trembling. It was Mrs. Monique who finally finished the angels off after a moment of hesitation. She jabbed them through the chests, aiming for their hearts, and the creatures stopped hissing in pain.
The notifications appeared in Jenny’s head:
You have defeated Imperfect Angel (Level 22)
Experience has been awarded
+100 Energy
You have defeated Imperfect Angel (Level 25)
Experience has been awarded
+100 Energy
"Holy shit," swore the librarian, letting her blood-covered spear clatter to the floor as she clutched her head, her one eye bulging. She looked like she was about to throw up.
Human (level 12) (stage ii)
Jenny almost did a double take. The librarian had leveled up so quickly off the two Imperfect Angels. It was like farming high leveled monsters in a game with a newbie friend, but why hadn't Susan struck the creatures? She could've leveled at least a few times as well.
Susan stayed on her knees, averting her eyes and clutching her cattle prod so hard her knuckles looked like they'd burst through her skin. It wasn’t just exhaustion; something else was bothering her, and Jenny couldn’t figure out what.
Mrs. Monique stepped aside to throw up. Her body was adjusting to the rapid leveling, and no doubt she was figuring out her stats and her new skills. Jenny noticed the spear had gotten stronger too. It now registered as Tier 2.
The mass of undead students and angels continued approaching, crawling over rubble, and tripping over each other. Many of them were splattered with blood from Jenny’s Instant Acceleration. But they were hindered by the large chunks of the ceiling partially blocking the hallway and Jenny’s babies. The babies snarled and threw themselves at the students, pushing the crowd back.
Jenny crouched and touched Susan's shoulder, worry making her chest want to collapse. "We have to keep fighting. Remember? It's just like a game." She echoed the words she'd told Susan in front of their English class when all of this began.
Susan blinked away tears. The bags under her eyes looked darker than before. Her lips quivered, and she opened her mouth like she was going to say something, but all she managed was a weak choking sob.
Are you sure nothing can help her? Not even that fortification potion I used? Jenny remembered how it had boosted all her stats. If it could help Susan even a little bit, then the cost of Energy was more than justified.
It will strengthen her. But without proper rest -
Jenny's hand filled with golden light. The vial appeared with the creamy orange liquid, and she pushed it into Susan's hands, feeling pitiful. Susan had given up so much to heal Jenny, and this was all she could do in return.
"You guys have to get upstairs," said Jenny finally, searching and failing to find any words of comfort. They were surrounded by their dead classmates. The hallway had collapsed and looked like a warzone. And they were at their wit’s end. There were no words of comfort for this. Only survival. And she couldn’t draw upon healing light in the way Susan had. She didn’t think a hug would be effective either when she was covered in bits of human flesh and looked like a monster.
"Why?" asked Susan, her lips barely moving, her eyes fixed on the glowing orange potion in her hand.
Jenny realized she was smearing blood on her best friend's shoulder. But there was already so much dried blood on both of them. She helped Susan stand, half pulling her to her feet.
"I don't want to leave you again," whispered Susan, urgency cutting through her voice. "You need me."
"I need you alive," said Jenny. It was unfair. Unfair. Susan had saved her, found her literally dead and pulled her back from that horrid world, and all Jenny could do was repeat platitudes. "But right now. You need to get back to the library, and the only way there is upstairs."
Mrs. Monique marched toward them. Light flashed in her hand and her spear returned to it, the same way Jenny's hatchet did. The librarian seemed to be standing taller, her shoulders wider. She nodded at Jenny. Then wrapped her other arm around Susan's shoulders. "You need to rest,” she said. “We need to get you somewhere safe.”
Behind them, the crowd of moaning and screaming students was slipping through. Despite the babies’ best efforts, several people pushed forward and fell flat on their faces. Then they raised their heads and began crawling toward Jenny, crying and salivating and not caring where they placed their hands or bodies in the rubble. They moved like lizards, and Jenny’s tendrils shuddered in anticipation. But one of the babies set upon them before it could get close enough. This wasn’t going to hold much longer.
“Take that stairwell,” said Jenny firmly, pointing to the far end of the physics wing, near the emergency exit that would’ve led them outside. “You can take it to the third floor and cross over.” Then Jenny remembered that Miriam was still on the second floor. “But you’ll have to stop by the chem lecture rooms.”
"The lecture rooms?" asked Mrs. Monique. She wanted to get to the library as soon as possible and come back with reinforcements.
Jenny took a breath. "I left someone there. Miriam. She's with some other students too, I think. We got separated in a fight."
Susan finally lifted her head. She was swaying on her legs, holding the cattle prod and the potion to her chest. "Miriam?" she whispered in disbelief. “Miriam’s still alive?”
"I found her in a closet," said Jenny, shaking her head. "But she's safe. I think. I don't know. It was room 223, the honors chem room in front of my locker."
"What are you gonna do?" asked Susan, looking over Jenny’s shoulder with a miserable look to the wailing crowd.
Jeny knew what her best friend was thinking. How many more of their classmates would Jenny have to butcher?
Human Population Remaining: 21
She forced herself to keep from flinching. She’d ignored that notification for a while now, but almost reflexively pulled it up, and the number had dropped even further. Things were nearing the end. The number was counting down the inevitable. It'd been stupid and childish to ignore it this whole time.
"I gotta end this," said Jenny quietly, half speaking to herself. Then she forced herself to smile because Susan's face twisted with worry. And before her best friend could ask what ending this would mean, Jenny explained, "I think if I kill the Desecrated Angel that's doing all this, then it'll stop. The dead can stay dead."
It wouldn’t end the Survival Challenge, but at least if she killed that thing... not only would she be even stronger, but maybe it would provide enough Energy to figure something out. An idea was brewing, taking shape, something she’d been thinking about since that other world collapsed and Susan had pulled her soul back into her body.
Jenny’s tendrils snapped, and she sensed where the flashlight had rolled to a stop between a chunk of the wall. She picked it up and flicked it on, careful not to point it at her left eye. She didn’t want to say goodbye. Especially not while looking like this. “I won’t let any of them come after you. So, get somewhere safe, okay?”
Tears filled Susan’s eyes. She nodded and sniffled. Then she inhaled deeply through her nose and downed the potion of fortification. Color returned to her cheeks and she straightened slightly, though the bags under her eyes remained. She took the flashlight from Jenny’s hand, their fingers brushing. They stared at each other for a long moment, before Jenny turned away.
But Susan tapped Jenny’s chest with the flashlight. The scales clinked like glass. She was breathing hard through her nose. “Stop that thing and hurry back.”
Jenny nodded, not trusting herself to say anything more. Then she searched for the nearest baby.
It seemed to sense she wanted their attention, and it waddled over. This one had large yellow eyes and a shock of hair sticking out of its head, making it look like a pineapple. It was round and pudgy, but so caked in dust and dried blood that Jenny couldn’t tell its gender. But it stared at her, eyes widening, waiting for her to say something, and she fought the urge to pick it up and squeeze it.
“Keep protecting them, okay? All of you guys.” She pointed back at Susan and Mrs. Monique to emphasize it. “Don’t let anything happen to them.”
The baby gurgled. Then nodded. And she knew, by some instinctual unexplainable pull that it understood. That they all understood. They peeled themselves off the undead humans wriggling on the floor and away from the herd trying to get to Jenny.
And Jenny stood, squaring her shoulders, preparing herself for what she had to do. She backed away slowly, hatchet in hand, watching the herd's approach, watching them moan and crawl over one another and cut themselves open on exposed rods.
This is for the best, she told herself, even as her heart threatened to fall apart with each beat. Susan had pumped my heart. But Susan couldn't fight in her current state. She needed rest. She needed to get somewhere safe. And this way, they could help Miriam too, and Jenny could focus on killing the Desecrated Angel.
After all, Susan was the good one. The sweet one. The one who cared about others and bettering the world, and all Jenny wanted to do was run away and be selfish and break things. Susan was the who one preferred playing support but she would still be the shot caller. The navigator. Wanting everyone else to be playing at their best.
And even in this hell, that innate kindness reflected in her abilities. Her weapon shocked and paralyzed. Her skill was to turn into literal light and heal at the cost of herself. She wasn't a killer, and there was no way she’d be able to fight the undead students.
Jenny heard the hallway door shut behind her. They were gone, leaving Jenny to face this part of the nightmare alone. She was alone again. But she was stronger; she’d become a monster, hadn’t she? She’d come back from the brink of death, and now she could do what Susan never hesitated to do. Sacrifice herself.
Jenny would sacrifice whatever she had to. She would harness her anger and use it for something other than just crying and self-loathing. She stared down at the approaching students, their moans and sobbing filling her ears like she was drowning in ooze.
So many were covered in blood and viscera, missing limbs and parts of their faces, tripping. They were crying, and Jenny told herself it wasn’t the same. They were already dead. She wasn’t killing anyone. She was setting them free. If they could feel pain, then she'd end it as quickly as she could. She'd end their suffering.
But saying that was one thing. It was much easier to cut an angel who looked like a malnourished human than a student dressed in normal clothes, torn up and battered and wailing. It had to be done. She wanted the Energy, she wanted to set them free, and she needed to get to the Desecrated Angel.
Rage surged through Jenny. Then she ran forward, swinging her hatchet, and slashed through the first student.
A girl with her hair tied back. Her left cheek was ripped open, her eyes wide with tears spilling down her face and mixing with the dried blood. Probably a freshman. Jenny's hatchet cut through the girl's heads with a golden shimmer. The blue light faded from her eyes before the body hit the floor.
+4 Energy
The undead humans gave more Energy... did that mean they felt more pain? She squashed that thought.
The next was a boy about a foot taller than her. She thought she recognized him from lunch or something. She buried her hatchet in his chest, slicing through his heart. Blood splattered her face, but she kept going, systematically working through the rest of them. Her tendrils snapped and twitched, sensing their movements, making it easier for her to step where she needed to.
She moved quickly and efficiently, slashing and slicing, each time with golden light shimmering and a notification in her head. She was working her way back through the chem lab.
+4 Energy
+4 Energy
+4 Energy
A furious scream built up inside her as more faces she recognized burst open, the moans and wailing surrounded her, and she slashed through children and adults and the undead angels and the confused tarnished ones whose fingernails scraped Jenny's exoskeleton.
She stomped one of the angel's heads flat. Its insides gushed out of every orifice. She wanted to explode with flame. Wanted to burn them all to ashes, but she held that skill back. She kept picturing the boy in the stairwell, and she didn't want to burn a human, even if they were undead, like that.
+2 Energy
“Eve?” she whispered, pausing as her fellow students tried to grab her, but they didn’t have the strength to move her. Their faces were so close, and she caught her breath, trying to figure out the next step. More gathered from the hall. Still, others rained down from above. She saw more Tarnished Angels and Imperfect Angels among them; they registered notifications in her head. “What does the Desecrated Angel want? Why's it doing this? Why's it so obsessed with me?”
I believe it wants to end the Survival Challenge.