“You can come out now,” was all Arthur said as he turned to look back the way they’d come.

  Sheepishly, Mavis stepped into view from behind a cargo container. She was clad in the standard respawn gear, shorts, a tank top, and the combat boots she’d started with. ‘Damn if she isn’t cute in that,’ Arthur thought, his grin turning sheepish.

  Noticing the boots, he laughed silently. Ian hated respawning without footwear and had once decided that if you died with your boots on, you’d respawn with them. ‘Not very realistic, but hell, neither is the fact I can carry twelve different guns at one time.’

  Rushing over, she stopped just short of Arthur and looked up into his eyes. Wordlessly, he wrapped his large arms around her and pulled her close, still scanning the area for any zombies. He could feel her shaking and wondered if she was cold or upset about what had happened. Pushing her back, he held her shoulders and asked, “So, what do you think of games now?” His grin unapologetically shitty.

  “Oh!” she exclaimed, aiming a kick at his shin. He dodged the half-hearted attack and laughed as she sputtered, “What do I think? Oh, I’ll tell you what I fucking think…” She started, but as quickly as the anger came, it faded from her eyes. “I think I was an asshole and let my rage get the better of me, is what I think. Sorry about the hip throw…” she finished in a small voice.

  “Sorry? Shit, no, that was awesome!” Arthur said, excited. “Really, that was a great toss. Where did you learn that?” His curiosity was genuine; he’d studied different martial arts for most of his adult life.

  “I was in Aikido for a few years,” she said with a smile, hugging her arms to her thinly clad torso. “I guess some of it still stuck.” She started rubbing her arms for warmth. With a start, Arthur realized he hadn’t given her gear back yet.

  “Oh, shoot, hold on.” He pulled up his inventory and began handing her gear. As she touched each item, she willed it equipped. Soon enough, she was clad in the all black outfit, shoulder bag repaired and slung across her body, pistol in its holster, loaded and ready for action.

  “There we go. And yes, some of it did stick, that was a perfect koshinage,” he said, enjoying her somewhat shocked expression. “Well, shoot, girl, did you think I was just some grunt back in my day? Hell no. We trained in nearly everything, including Aikido. That was good stuff. Why don’t you tell me how long you’ve been tailing us, and what your plans are?” He leaned back against the container Doug had logged out in.

  “Hell, Arthur, I don’t know what to do.” Her tone was defeated as she leaned against the cargo container beside him, her shoulder brushing his arm. “As for tailing you two, I think you guys had found the spot where…” She shuddered at the hazy memory of her first death before continuing. “When I… how do you call it? Respawned?” Arthur nodded, staying silent. “Okay, respawned. I stayed quiet, followed your footprints, then your voices, until I saw you shutting the door on that cargo container. Was that TzuLau?” she asked, voice quiet but edged with steel.

  “Yes, that was,” Arthur replied. “What did you hear from our chat?” He was curious, he’d half-admitted to Doug that he had a soft spot for her and wasn’t sure this was the time or place to get into it.

  “Nothing much,” she sighed, clearly wishing she’d heard more. “Just that you were going to cool off, and that he wanted to try again. He actually sounded remorseful,” she added with a quip.

  “Be nice,” he growled back. “Look at where that attitude landed you,” he draped an arm over her shoulders, pulling her close “in the wonderfully desolate world of zombies and death. Yay!”

  “Fuck,” was all she had in reply. She leaned into him for a moment, then pushed off the container. Spotting smoke in the distance, she remembered the sign: Tomsville. “Should I head over there, then? Is that the tutorial area?” she asked, shifting from foot to foot.

  “Well,” Arthur looked pensive, “Mav, there is no tutorial area in Umbra. It’s expected that players come in knowing what they’re in for, you hit the ground running. That area’s probably a player settlement, unless they’ve changed things since I was here last. It’s as close to a tutorial as you’ll find in Umbra, so yeah, I’d head over there.” He reached into a pocket and pulled out a long cylinder.

  “Let me have your pistol,” he said, holding out his hand. Mav handed it over by the grip with two fingers, like she’d seen in movies. He smiled at the gesture and began screwing the cylinder onto the barrel. She realized it was a silencer and looked at him with appreciation.

  “Is that against the rules or something?” she asked, taking the pistol back and holding it in one hand. Her HUD updated:

  D-Class/Poor

  H&K VP19 9mm

  Type: Pistol

  Mods; C-Class/Basic - Universal 9mm Pistol Silencer

  The barrel dipped slightly with the added weight, so she supported her grip with her other hand, bringing the weapon level again. Nodding to herself, she awkwardly tried to slide the longer pistol into the high-hip holster.

  “Hang on,” Arthur chuckled, willing his inventory open. He selected an item and handed it to her a modified holster designed to ride low on the thigh, strapped at both hip and leg. She unequipped the old holster and examined the new one:

  C-Class/Basic

  Hip Mount Holster/Pistol

  Type: Holster

  Mods: Custom Fit - +10% Draw Speed

  “Nope, not against the rules,” he said with a smile as she equipped it, the pistol sliding in smoothly. “And in that vein, I’m going to hang out with you for a while and go over some things you’ll need to know here. How does that sound?”

  “Well, if you think I need the help, because I kicked such good ass before then yeah, I suppose you’ll do,” she replied with a small grin. “So what do you have in mind?”

  Thinking, he pointed back the way they’d come. “Let’s go to the warehouse where you spawned. There’s a clear area we can train in, and we can close off the angles of approach if we draw any attention.”

  “Sounds good.” She turned to walk, then stopped, stepped back into him, and hugged him with one arm, cheek resting on his chest for a moment. He heard a small, “Thank you,” and felt a quick squeeze before she turned again. A faint smile touched his lips as he sighed quietly and followed.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Mav walked cautiously, almost tiptoeing, her first encounter coloring her approach. Glancing back at Arthur, she noted his weapon was raised, sweeping the area from left to right, his eyes always ahead of the barrel. Realizing he should lead, she slowed her pace until he passed her.

  “Stay on my left shoulder, one pace back. Follow my path. If action happens, don’t move unless I tell you,” he said, voice measured and firm as he passed.

  ‘Huh, this is a different man,’ she thought, noting his speech and body language. He was tense like a stalking cat, his movement fluid yet ready to explode. His steps made no sound, toe first, then heel, weight settling before the next foot lifted. ‘Like walking in Tai Chi,’ she realized.

  Recalling her own Tai Chi lessons, she shifted her stance, stepping from her center rather than striding from her knees. Toe, ball, then heel weight sinking before pushing off from heel to toe. Slow going, but Arthur eased his pace to match hers.

  After several steps, her HUD lit up:

  !!! Congratulations !!!

  You have acquired the skill: Sneak

  Actively walking with intention will decrease noise detection.

  Tier 1 - Gain the skill

  “Huh.” She tapped Arthur’s shoulder. He held up a fist, then pointed ahead. Her gaze followed his finger, and she nearly gasped, three undead shuffled around the corpses Arthur had left earlier. Sliding back beside her, he tapped her pistol, then pointed from her to the zombies. ‘He wants me to shoot them?’ Panic flared, she’d never fired a gun before.

  Arthur caught her eye and grinned as if to say, I’ve got you. Moving behind her, he let his MP drop to its sling, then guided her right hand as she drew the pistol. His left hand cupped the bottom of the grip, bending her elbows slightly so her back pressed against his torso.

  Warm breath brushed her ear as he whispered, “Okay, first shooting lesson…” A shiver ran up her spine, but the groan of a nearby zombie yanked her focus back, fear sharpening her attention.

  “If you see the front sight between the wings of the rear sight, then your target, nod.” She did.

  “Good. Three actions: take a good breath, let it out halfway, then pause. Gently pull the trigger and I mean gently or you’ll foul your aim. Got it?” He tapped her finger on the trigger, dragging his own across her glove. She nodded.

  “And finally, the gun will fire. It’ll kick, so keep your grip firm.” His hands tightened around hers. “As soon as it fires, we’ll switch targets, breathe, and shoot again. These guys are slow enough you can pick your shots unless it’s a horde. We’ll do this three times. I’ll help you aim; you just watch the sights. If it goes bad and I push your shoulder down, kneel, and I’ll finish it. Got me?”

  She nodded, matching his breath. On the next exhale, she focused down the sights on the first zombie, arms slack, head cocked. Slowly, she squeezed the trigger. The pistol coughed, the recoil jolting through her hands. A hole bloomed in the zombie’s cheek; black blood sprayed from the exit wound as it crumpled.

  Arthur shifted her aim to the second zombie. She exhaled, fired, the bullet pinged off a container. She fired again, another ping. The zombie began to turn toward them, joined by the third.

  “Slow, steady pull,” Arthur murmured. “Half-hold on the grip, you’re anticipating the recoil. Just let it happen.” Nodding, she inhaled, tracked the zombie’s head, and squeezed. The round punched through, dropping it instantly.

  The last zombie stumbled toward them, arm raised, the other hanging by strands of skin. She breathed, aimed, and fired. The skull burst, and the body toppled.

  !!! Congratulations !!!

  You have acquired the skill: Shooter / Pistols

  Shoot and kill targets with a pistol

  Tier 1 - Gain the skill

  “Nice!” Arthur whispered in her ear, “now let's go loot the bodies and then head into the warehouse, let me clear the area first.” Stepping back, he let her hands go and moved around her, his MP back in hand sweeping the area as he walked over to the downed zombies. He motioned for her to step forward once he had cleared the area.

  “How do I loot them?” Mav asked, standing over the bodies and looking down. She could see one was once well dressed in a suit and was sporting a large watch and gold wedding band on its finger. The second male zombie wore jeans and a tee shirt and had nothing of value she could see while the third was female in running tights and a tank top who had the outline of a cell phone in the side pocket of her tights.

  “Two ways,” Arthur said, kneeling down beside the female zombie and pulling her cell phone out of the pocket. The phone was wrapped in a protective case that had slots for ID and cards on its back. In one slot was a bright blue card with a white stripe. Arthur took the card and set the cell phone back down on the ground.

  “First, you actually loot them, like go through their pockets and things checking for plastic,” he held up the credit card, “which is what is currency here in Umbra.” He handed the card to her and she slipped it into her shoulder bag. “You can also take jewelry, it has little value now, but some crafts people use it, so it trades well. This method is more thorough and will always get you more loot, best way to know what’s in a man's pockets is to look for yourself.” He smiled and settled back onto his feet in a squatting position.

  “Secondly, open your inventory while standing or kneeling beside one of the zeds.” He said pointing to the well dressed one. Mav moved over to the creature and knelt down. She mentally opened her inventory, framed boxes appearing in her HUD, on the right was her inventory while on the left was a new set of boxes framed in red. Above them it said ‘Zombie E-Class’ and there were ten boxes in its frame.

  In the boxes she saw; Gold Band x1 / Rolex x1 / .22 ammunition x11. Below the box was a button that read [Take All]. She focused on that button and the zed’s belongings shifted over into her inventory, its framed box fading out as soon as the transfer was made. She felt the weight of her bag slightly increase, validating that the items had transferred.

  !!!Congratulations!!!

  You have acquired the skill: Loot

  Loot a target successfully

  Tier 1 - Gain the skill

  “Figure it out?” Arthur asked, standing by the third zombie and then said “nothing” with disgust. Mav nodded and he raised his gun once again gesturing to the warehouse and they continued. Arthur pushed the door open with one foot then cleared the doorway with a quick sweep of his MP. Nodding to Mav, he stepped inside and she followed, quietly pulling the door closed behind them.

  “Ok,” he started to whisper leaning in, “I am going to make a fast circuit and clear any zeds.” Seeing a confused expression flash across her eyes he smiled and continued, “slang for zombies. Like I was saying, going to clear the warehouse and secure the doors then we can go over some more stuff before you head over to that player encampment. You climb up on this stack of boxes and then I'll start, ok?”

  With a quick nod Mav climbed up the side of the boxes and sat cross legged on the top. Her HUD displayed a new message as soon as she sat;

  !!!Congratulations!!!

  You have acquired the skill: Climbing

  Skillfully climb objects

  Tier 1 - Gain the skill

  Mav made a mental note to ask Arthur about these messages and how that system worked then peeked over the edge of the boxes to watch the big man pull his three lens goggles down over his eyes and stalk into the half light of the warehouse.

  After a few minutes she heard the cough of his gun and duel thumps, ‘bodies falling to the ground obviously’, she thought. She heard the cough again and another thump, and then moments later a fourth thump but no cough. ‘Must have done that one with a blade,’ she assumed. She followed the sounds and built a mental map as he worked an expanding semi circle from their starting location.