Monsters Outside

Set a trap!

You spend a minute setting it up.



There. If any monster tries to get to the bathroom, they'll be electrocuted. The power's enough to kill a giraffe.

>Stick the chair in the door so there's at least a line of defense.
>Pick up your laptop and bring it to the bathroom, time to search about tips of survival in the internet or, of course, watch home alone 1 and 2 while Alyssa does the hard work.

You decide to play it safe and hide in your still-disgusting bathroom, with your cellphone safely in your pocket and your laptop playing a weird comedy about a kid being left alone. You also have your knife and grenade... just in case. You've even brought the chair from the living room with you, and you put it against the door.



You lock the door and keep your ears alert for any intruders.

A few minutes pass, and you've already heard enough gunshots for a lifetime. How much ammo did they give her?

Hours pass. Gunfire sometimes erupts outside. Sleep doesn't come until you've completely given in to exhaustion.

In your dreams, all you see is red.

DAY 3

You wake up in the bathroom without signs of infection. What a relief.

God help you, you've become used to the smell of raw sewage. You suppose that's a good thing, though.

You check on Alyssa on your cellphone.

COMMSOUND AUDIOTALK
Ver. 1.1.4
(all conversations monitored by Government under Emergency Act)
(You are speaking with Friend Alyssa)

You: Hey, you okay out there?

Alyssa: Yeah. Tired as hell, but I'm still in one piece. They're airlifting ammo to me, so don't worry.

You: Wow. How many bullets do you think you've used in one night?

Alyssa: Probably reached 600, I already took care of the twenty monsters that were coming for you, but I also had to shoot at some that were wandering too close.

You: Did you get any sleep?

Alyssa: I wish. Don't worry though, been through worse. I had to stay up for two days watching a boring mountain so this is bearable.

You: You watched a mountain for two days?

Alyssa: Rebels were hiding in the mountains, so I had to stare at them to make sure they wouldn't try anything.

You: So... how did you get infected?

Alyssa: Short story. My sister hugged me.

You: Damn.

Alyssa: I was convinced that we were both going to turn. Then a week passed and she was reduced to a monster while I just looked like one. Wouldn't stop shouting about meeting new people. Kept trying to grab anyone healthy she saw. Completely obsessed. She's in quarantine, at my request, but I don't think I'll ever get her back.

You: That sucks. I'm sorry. I don't know what to say.

Alyssa: That's all right. Don't worry about me, worry about yourself. You're the one with a bull's eye on his face.

You: Hey, about the two dead monsters in my room yesterday.

Alyssa: You're wondering how they got there and died? I was talking to the doc earlier and she said they must have died from dehydration, judging by the footage.

You: Dehydration?

Alyssa: Yeah. I guess we should feel a bit comforted by the fact they still need to eat food and drink water.

(Cobra-Doc has joined conversation)

Cobra-Doc: Good morning.

You: Please tell me you have good news.

Cobra-Doc: As a matter of fact, I do. Your two extra bodyguards are on the way, Yassa and Grogo. They should be there in 3 hours. The hazmat suit and the club should reach you any minute now.

You: That IS good news.

Cobra-Doc: I also have bad news. Trollmaster Hades, or Hades for short, has been organizing the other monsters. He's been teaching the smart ones how to hide, how to ambush, even how to make simple armor.

You: How many of them can there be?

Cobra-Doc: The army's killing them by the hundreds every day but there's still tens of thousands of monsters out there in this city, possibly a few hundred smart ones still at large. We'll win, eventually, but they're not making this easy. Making this whole thing even harder is that there's signs that Hades and his followers know we're trying to help you. He's using you as bait.

You: What do you mean, bait?

Cobra-Doc: He's been trying to get us to send personnel, knowing that he can infect our soldiers and add more to his ranks. He doesn't seem to know we're sending out only infected personnel. Not yet, at least.

You: So what's the plan?

Cobra-Doc: We're going to keep sending you more and more support while the army clears out the city. Just hang in there, okay?

You: Okay, thanks.

Alyssa: Hey Doc. Do you think this monster-virus is artificial?

Cobra-Doc: After what I've seen? I have no doubt that it's not natural. We're dealing with a bioweapon here. The way this virus is structured, I firmly believe they were engineered.

Alyssa: Think this is the Rebels' doing?

Cobra-Doc: I doubt it's them. They'd need a lot of resources to make something like this. The most likely suspect is Tagonia, our neighbor. The city you're in, Goldriver, is right on the border.

You: Oh my God. Are we going to war with Tagonia?

Cobra-Doc: I can't say for sure. This might have been an accident. Some Tagonians might have accidentally contracted the disease and brought monsters here unknowingly. Right now Prime Minister Colston is busy talking to the Tagonian President, trying to figure out what's going on. The rest of our country is on high alert, checking for signs of infection.

You: I really hope I don't survive this epidemic just to be thrust into a war right after it.

Cobra-Doc: The feeling is mutual. We're already going through a crisis here. I need to go now. Costovo, make sure you retrieve the suit and club when they get there.

You: Will do!

(Audiotalk ended)

You hear a noise coming from the toilet and find two cylinders. You open them both and find the promised hazmat suit (curled up to conserve as much space as possible) and steel club. You put on the suit and place the knife in your (surprisingly spacious) pocket as you hold the club in your right hand.



You feel a bit safer with this on, but according to the label written on it, you only have 2 hours of air before having to take it off. You remove the suit and decide to put it on only when there's a close threat.

You hear a knock, coming from the front door. A feminine voice calls out.

“Mr.Costovo? Pizza delivery.”

What?

You call up Alyssa.

COMMSOUND AUDIOTALK
Ver. 1.1.4
(all conversations monitored by Government under Emergency Act)
(You are speaking with Friend Alyssa)

You: Alyssa, there's someone at the door. She says she's delivering pizza.

Alyssa: That's impossible.

You: I know, there's no way anyone is delivering pizza-

Alyssa: No I mean I'm looking at the door to your apartment right now. THERE IS NO ONE THERE.

You: You're joking.

(You hear the voice again.)

“Mr. Costovo? Your pizza's going to get cold.”

You: There it goes again!

Alyssa: Costovo, I didn't hear anything.

(Cobra-Doc has joined conversation)

Cobra-Doc: Costovo? What's happening? Are you having a hallucination?

You: I... I don't know, Doc. I'm hearing someone claiming to be delivering pizza. It sounds like it's coming from my front door.

Alyssa: And I'm telling you, there's nobody there.

Cobra-Doc: Alyssa, can you open the door?

Alyssa: One sec... What the hell? It won't budge! Something's pulling it from the other side!

(You hear the voice again and this time it's just in front of the bathroom door)

“Mr. Costovo? I can't leave until you get your pizza and pay. I'm sorry but I need to do this. If you don't open the door I'll have to go in there myself.”

In a state of sheer terror, you quickly put on the hazmat suit. Is this another monster? What are you going to do?

You try talking.

“Who are you?”

The entity responds.

“Please, I need to deliver this pizza.”

You ask another question.

“What's your name? I won't take the pizza if you won't tell me your name!”

She answers again.

“Please Mr. Costovo, it's been four days. I need to deliver this to you. Please.”

Four days?

Wait.

You ordered a pizza four days ago. It never arrived.

This still makes no sense.

You hear your door rattling. The entity speaks.

“Please, I have to deliver this pizza.”

What are you going to do?

Open the door and see what's there? Ask Alyssa to bash the front door open? Stab your knife through the bathroom door? Ask Alyssa to shoot through your front door?

>_

(Play this for mood: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JdeuzZpenI )

(Life update: I'm going for an ultrasound appointment on Saturday. My strained abdominal muscle is swollen and I'm going to have it looked at. It still hurts every once in a while after a couple of weeks, so I reckon I should get it checked.)