There was too much blood on her face to see, but she heard it hit the concrete on her left after it rolled off.
Penelope wiped the blood out of her eyes with her right hand, but her left was stuck under the Demon’s corpse. She looked up at the triumphant blonde woman standing over her.
“Told you that you weren’t going to like this save.” Jeru sat next to her as Frederica knelt down and pulled out a Healing Potion.
“I’ve got you, Penny.” Federica tipped the vial to Penelope’s lips. The spicy liquid was mixing with the metalic, oily blood running over her.
“Thanks.” Penelope coughed. “I’m good now.”
“That should have been the last one.” Frederica looked around at the courtyard that had been their battlefield. They were the only two people alive.
“Can you push it to the side so I can slide out?” Penelope strained to slide out from under the heavy corpse.
“I got you.” Frederica grabbed the Cabbit’s right arm and pulled it towards her. The fulcrum allowed the slender woman to pivot the large body off of Penelope.
400lbs of dead Demon rolled over Penelope, but at least she was free. She dusted herself off as she stood. “We need to tell Patrick that…”
“OAKEY!!!” Frederica didn’t wait for Penelope to finish; instead, the blonde ran into the cleared Dungeon.
Penelope didn’t bother to finish her sentence. Instead, she gathered the necklace off the ground. It was a named item, but not one that she could use. A pit formed in her stomach as she looked at the alley where she knew Ula had died. If she was going to repeat the last run, she needed to go down the alley and talk to Derek, but she couldn’t force her feet to move in that direction. Instead, she followed Frederica into the Dungeon.
Oakley was propped up in the older woman’s lap. Frederica ran her fingers through the younger man’s brown hair as she cooed soft words at him.
Marlow dusted off his hands as he stood up. Patrick lay in front of him. The other Tank had taken a beating, but he’d survive after a good night’s sleep. The healing magic would leave him ravenous once he woke up, but it accelerated the healing by weeks.
“They’re going to make it.” The graying man looked around Penelope at the opening. “Ula and Dawson?”
Penelope had to close her eyes to keep the tears from falling as she shook her head.
“The party menu.” Jeru prompted.
Penelope wiped the tears out of her eyes with her dirty hands. I need to get that water ring from Judah. A lump formed in her throat as she opened her menu and found the
tab. Sure enough, it had both Ula and Judah listed as deceased.
“Ula didn’t make it.” Penelope motioned at the air in front of her. “The menu says..." She shook her head and swallowed, but that didn’t make the lump go away. “It says she didn’t make it.” Her sorrow turned to anger as the party menu displayed the latest change.
Dawson has left the party.
“And he’s teamed up with Derek." Jeru clicked his tongue. “You need to be careful of those two. They’ve done some pretty awful things in other runs.”
Like? Penelope desperately wanted anything that would distract her from having to talk about Ula.
“Dawson is a complicated character. Sometimes he’s a big help, and other times he plays for a different side.” Jeru appeared in front of her. “But Frederica is like that too, so who knows how this will shake out.”
“Ula’s…” Frederica’s shoulders sagged as she cradled Oakley. “But…”
Marlow looked at Penlope. The grief on his face mixed with an ember of hope as he cleared his throat.
“That means you’re in charge now.” Penelope cut him off. She closed her eyes as the older woman looked at her. “Without Ula, you’re the only one strong enough to lead us.”
“I know, but—”
“I can’t lead.” Penelope opened her eyes and looked at her feet.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Metal scraped against the stone floor as Frederica stood up and walked over to the younger woman. Frederica took Penelope’s left hand between both of hers.
“You’re stronger than you know.” The older woman’s words were soft, without the usual edge. “I can’t do this without you.” Frederica turned to look at the three men. “I’m going to need all of you.”
“I’ll do what I can.” Marlow motioned at the two unconscious men. “And you know both of them will follow you into Hell.”
Penelope nodded. “I know we’re going to have to level other people, but I think we need to stay together as much as we can.” She took a step back, pulling her hand away. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Frederica cooed. “Ula told me about your condition and gave me some pointers on how to deal with you.”
Penelope swallowed and tried not to be offended by the way that Frederica had worded her assurance.
“Alright then, I’ve got the ring from the wolf thing.” Frederica reached into her pocket and pulled out the golden band. “It’s Magic and Aura. You want it?”
Penelope hesitated as she reached for the item. This didn’t happen last time.
“You changed how you did things.” Jeru coughed. “Ula lost her armor.”
Penelope froze mid-motion as icy fear chilled her to the bone. Her heart made a grinding noise as her body attempted to process the anguish she was experiencing.
“Someone’s looting Ula.” She left the ring in Frederica’s hand and spun on her heel, sprinting for the entrance.
Frederica was faster and knew
Once she reached the surface, Penelope turned left, heading down the alley that led to the Star Tower, the tallest and largest building on campus.
“It’s where the Atrey family studied time magic.” Jeru offered. “They were a powerful family once upon a time.”
I don’t have time for a history lesson! Each breath Penelope took felt like she was inhaling ice. Rage warmed her a little as she reached the scene.
This time, Ula was laid out on the ground. The kind woman had a hole in her chest where the Scorb Demon had stabbed her. The chest armor was bent back as the hole had been widened to remove the protection. Her metal boots, leg guards, gauntlets, and helmet were all missing, leaving the mid-fifty-year-old woman in nothing but a pair of shorts along with the destroyed chestpiece. Someone had at least closed her eyes, so it looked like she was sleeping.
“PENNY!” Frederica’s scream grabbed Penelope’s attention away from their dead friend. “They’re going into the tower!”
Penelope looked past where the blonde had a large man pinned in the short grass between the buildings. At the base of the three-story building, a blond man in a red shirt glared at the two of them. Ula’s armor was piled in his hands, which he threw inside the building before stepping away from the door and drawing his arm like he was holding a bow.
“LIGHT TORRENT!!!” Penelope summoned her spell, not that she was close enough for it to hit the archer.
Derek Chapman dropped his arm, and at the same time, an arrow of electricity formed between his two hands. The skill dissipated as he stepped inside the building, slamming the door behind him.
“Don’t shoot the tower!” Jeru appeared in front of her, stopping the impending barrage. “You’ll set off the alarms!”
Penelope looked at the wand in her hand. I don’t even remember drawing it. She shook her head as she turned to the older woman, who was having no trouble restraining the larger man on the ground. Dread ran through her as she recognized the dragon tattoo on his arm.
“Let go of me, you—”
A right hook knocked him out. Frederica patted the unconscious man’s cheek, then looked up at Penelope. “He had that coming. You should have heard what he called me before you got here.”
Penelope shrugged. “He’s a drama queen.”
“You know him?” Frederica brushed off her hands as she stood up.
“He starts next to me when we got summoned.” Penelope looked down at the bald man. “He screams at me when he bumps into me.”
“Ri-i-ight.” Frederica pulled out one of her daggers. “He’s lucky I hit him with the butt instead of the blade, but I want to know which one of them did that.” She motioned back to where Ula’s body lay. “They took the item too.”
“You need to reset this one.” Jeru tried to move in front of Frederica, but the woman walked through him like he wasn’t there. Which he technically wasn’t since he was only in Penelope’s head.
“Hey, I can move around a little!” The blue Elf protested.
But you can’t interact with anything but me. Penelope jogged to catch up to Frederica. “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to bust in there and drag that disrespectful twerp out by his ear and get Ula’s gear back!” Frederica grabbed the metal bar on the solid yellow door and yanked. The door didn't budge.
“I don’t think—”
Alarms blared as Frederica plunged her dagger into the control panel next to the door.
“HA!” The blonde grinned as the door slid open. She turned to look at Penelope. “Coming?”
“You need to reset this.” Jeru growled. “I know you want to see what the Elves are like, but trust me, you’re going to spend the next two weeks locked in a cell with a bunch of other people. We both know you don’t want that!”
There was a part of Penelope that wanted to experience it for herself, but Jeru was making a good point. Spending two weeks packed in a cell with a bunch of other people would be more agonizing for her than reliving Ula’s death again.
Fine. Penelope smiled at Frederica as reality faded into blinding light.
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