“On a scale of 1 to a pedo in prison, how fucked are we?” Zig asked and she looked at the rest of the people in the house. “I’m thinking at least an eleven.”

  “’t say I don’t agree.” Charlie grunted. “If they’re as dangerous as you say, then any group that runs into a wendigo will have several casualties at best. Might eve wiped out entirely, especially si seems like they’ve got those servant cultist things.”

  “Do you think that they’ll all have that? TJ said that it seemed pretty ready to just kill them because it wao, even if the System called them its cadre.” Zig argued back. Those two were the only ones who didn’t just let TJ’s report settle over them, with Stanton leaning ba his chair and looking at the ceiling while Laura chewed on her lip. The two representatives of the hunters tiheir arguing bad forth until Stanton finally spoke.

  “If these things are meant to be a representation of the eventual Boss, there ’t be too many of them, right?”

  “Yuess is as good as miJ respohe quarreling couple going quiet. “When I asked the System, I got nothing. Just an additional expnation of what ae is.”

  “Frustrating though that is, it makes sense.” Laura answered. When TJ and Stanton looked at her, fused, she shrugged before answering, “As far as I tell, the System doesn’t give specififormation about the Tutorial itself, except for the requirements for clearing it. When it is general information about what a Tutorial is, or even this entire test to Asd, it seems willing to ahe ahat it gives regarding specifics are always in respoo specific questions made with additional information that an individual acquired withiorial itself.”

  “I’m sure you said something important there. Care to say it in agnon for the rest of us?” Stanton asked after a brief pause. Laura ughed, seeming half embarrassed and half in genuine mirth.

  “Specific questions about the Tutorial, like hoeople are left living, or houkwudgies there will be, will never be answered. If it’s about how the System itself works, like general rules to acquire an Occupation, it will answer. If you want to know something about the Tutorial, like what ae is, you o have learned about the existence of ae beforehand. Or, as we’ve learned from TJ, that there is a definitive perimeter of safety that is stantly shrinking. How nobody already asked that is beyond me.”

  “Which is why we ’t just ask what the Boss will be, or what a wendigo’s weaknesses are.” TJ added on with a nod as he disregarded the praise he received. He’d asked as mud received a resounding silen response.

  “Exactly. Though, it never hurts to try.”

  “And again I ask, what are we going to do about this?” Zig asked. “If you ended up like that from one of them, then we o figure out what to do.”

  The rest of the group obviously agreed that something o be done, but had no idea of what it could be. Each idea, from “everyoravel together,” to “make TJ travel with each group that goes to get levels” was shot down for reasons of practicality, to it defeating the purpose in the first pce. Eventually, Laura raised a hand and brought the discussions to a halt.

  “We sleep on it. Tomorrow, I will be making the annou requiring that every member of the unity take direct steps to increase their levels. I know that there will be no she of resistao my decration, but it o happen. My primary will be with enf the rule, sihere is not much that we withhold from the relut or incapable.”

  “There shouldn’t be ahat’s truly incapable of going out.” TJ ftly replied. “There’s plenty of Disciples to ensure nobody is actively dying, and though I feel badly for those like Granny Penny that struggle to move, they’ll get better the more they level, and we ’t provide for those unwilling to work. Those who refuse to work for the good of the whole wo what I provide.”

  “We ’t starve people!” Zig shouted back, her eyes fshing with rage. “It’s unsable!”

  “It’s happened all throughout history.” TJ tered, though his stomach twisted, knowing what he was suggesting. “You feed every homeless person you ever see? You give all your moo people who are struggling? How many single parents do you know that are living paycheck to payched miserable? Did you spend all your sary on them? And they deserved more than someone who just stays in their house and provides nothing to everyone else!”

  “I tried. I gave what I could. And more than that, we’re in a position now where we help other people. I like helping people! I like being a good person, a protector, and helping those who are struggling more than me. Don’t you?”

  “Yes.” TJ shrugged helplessly. “I do. I’ve always liked helping people.”

  “Then why would you–”

  “Now, I won’t go hungry, weaken myself, for the good of someone who refuses to admit that we’re stu this now. I won’t. My son needs me, and I’ll happily work with people who uand that this is life now. But if someone wants to be a leech off of me risking my life, then they go parasitize someone else.”

  “This is hard, TJ.” Laura cut in. “Everyone here is miserable with the hand we’ve bee, and it won’t help us to alienate everyone as they’re making a hard transition. I agree that there should be bes for assisting in the effort to protect the rest, but we ’t make it mandatory to fight. It will end ira deaths, low morale, and possible political u.”

  “There’s less than 200 people here, Laura.” TJ retorted. “It isn’t real politics. We tell people how it is, and then they’ll do it or pay the damn sequences.”

  “And what if ten hungry old people decide they ’t fight for food?” Laura responded, her voice soft ale but firm. “What if Granny Penny thinks she simply ’t do that, and ends up starving in a room, alone? What if a member of the hunters decides to feed her? Do we then reduce the rations they get and endahe rest of the huo prove that Penny should have starved to death because she was afraid?

  “Worse, what if those same ten hungry old people storm the store and fight for a fistful of bread or a mouthful of rice? Do we incarcerate them, and take more people off the front lio guard our makeshift prison? Do we kill them and instate a form of fascism in the hopes that the military state we create and the ideals we enforce allow us to find success?”

  As Laura poked holes in TJ’s certainty, he wavered. He’d sworn to do what was necessary to see his son, and even to kill whoever he o, monster or otherwise. Even so, he knew he couldn’t justify the sughter of, though not the is, but definitely not the necessary.

  Uo respond, unwilling to admit h he’d been, TJ threw up his hands and stalked out of the house. Charlie started to get up to go after him, but TJ heard Stanton saying something as the door closed behind him.

  “Give him a minute. He’s–” the rest of Stanton’s words were cut off by the smming of the door. TJ felt and knew how petunt he was being, but even so, he couldn’t keep himself from walking out into the yard and taking a series of breaths that didn’t serve to calm his temper. The cold air felt ni his face as he rolled his shoulders. Another minute passed before Stanton, going off the heft of each step, walked out. The old man merely stood in panionable silence beside TJ for a time. The sileretched on, and TJ felt his embarrassment grow as they stood.

  “I get we ’t kill everyone who doesn’t help out.” TJ growled. “I know we ’t just starve out anyone who won’t level up, but we have to do something! There has to be something to do to keep people focused. We ’t sit around and do nothing, because if we do, we’ll all die!”

  Stanton didn’t look at TJ, though he did nod in agreement. Then, after letting TJ tio grumble, he asked, “What do you think we should do?”

  “Hell if I know.”

  “Do you want to be in charge?”

  “Never. I’d go crazy, and I o be out here killing things to make sure that I at least live to see my son.”

  “You know what Laura’s Occupation is?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Bureaucrat.” Stanton said as if TJ hadn’t said he’d known. “I don’t know what fresh hell she went through to have that be her Occupation instead of just her job before, but she chose it. Trust her to be good at it.”

  TJ sighed and patted the old man on his shoulder. He didn’t feel the o ent any further on it and walked back to the . Before he could walk in, though, the door opened. Laura nearly bumped into TJ and raised both hands in surprised.

  “I apologize. I didn’t see you.”

  “No worries, Laura. Sorry I gave you a hard time. I’m on your side, let me know what you need me to do tomorrow.”

  The Bureaucrat simply nodded, as if she’d never doubted that he would happily do what she needed. “For now, simply stand beside me tomorrow when I make the annou. I am pnning on addressing our town at 8:30. You’ll be there?”

  “Sure. Have a good night, Laura.”

  “Of course. Thank you for your willio help, and all that you’ve already done for us.”

  Then, without looking back, Laura walked away from the and towards the general store. Before long, her om shadow, Jeff, came out of the woods, surprisingly close, and escorted her home.

  “I don’t like him.” Stanton grumbled to himself as they turned back towards the .

  “He’s a bit freaky, yeah.” Zig said as she and Charlie walked out of the , arms linked. “Not a bad guy, though. I think he just really wants Laura. Don’t think she’ll ever go for him, though.”

  “I wouldn’t have thought you two would be together.” TJ shrugged. “So weirder things have happened.”

  “Why not?” Zig demanded, her left hand trailing higher up Charlie’s chest. “He’s hot and a good kisser, nothing wrong with having someone in bed with you.”

  Stanton grumbled and pushed his way betweewo into the house. Zig exaggeratedly stumbled back, shaking her fist at the crotchety old man.

  “Five him.” TJ sighed while he wao do the same. After so pletely putting his foot in his mouth earlier, though, he was loathe to. “And me, for that matter. Two sad widowers might have a different approach to it than you guys. Have a good night.”

  Zig sputtered at the direct admission of Mari’s death, but Charlie nodded as he walked away. Though he didn’t physically pull the apologetisure how to react girl, Zig quickly bobbed her head with a muttered “sorry,” and hurried off to walk with Charlie. TJ chuckled, and, before wandering into the house himself, decided to gather up the pelts id fotten on the porch’s bannister.

  IJ found a somewhat unobtrusive pce to y the pelts out in the parative warmth from the fire. Though he was sure the smell would have disgusted him just a couple days before, he didn’t mind, and after an Appraisal firming to him that these were Well-prepared javelina hides, TJ found himself boiling the iio use as cords for whatever he decided to make with the hides. He lost himself in the flickering fmes, watg as they danced and sang. TJ imagined he could hear something they were saying, and supposed he might just be, sidering he heard the wind speaking nowadays. With his MP partially recovered, TJ idly used Wind Manipution to stoke the fmes until his Primitive Craftsmanship vinced him that the iines were done for tonight. A part of him wao move ahead with processing the horns and cws from the wendigo already, but he decided against it. Instead, he id the iines out to cure as he instinctively uood was necessary, and finally he walked into the same pce where he slept the night before. Tomorrow was another day, and would begin the fifth day sihe apocalypse came.

  Strangely, though, TJ slept soundly, his dreams formless and rexing.

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