Not too far off, in the looming shadows of towering skyscrapers, things moved. Their movements were accompanied by squeaks and the metallic scraping of claws against rock.
At first, there were only a few scattered sounds of moving, but the longer the car alarm blared, the more things gathered in the shadows.
"How long will it take to get that car going," I hiss at Kashyap through gritted teeth.
He doesn't stop fiddling with the car's dashboard to give his reply, simply shouting over the blaring noise, "I've never dealt with one of these before so... we'll see."
These words didn't exactly fill me with confidence, "Well, can you at least get that stupid alarm to stop?"
"That depends, do any of you care about having working air conditioning or a radio?" Kashyap shouts.
August looks thoughtful, almost like he is about to say yes, so I cut him off, "Just fucking get the alarm to stop or we will all die. Who cares if the car is a bit hot?"
Kashyap gives me a grim nod before sticking his arm into the car's dashboard up to the elbow. He twists his wrist and yanks his hand back out with a fistful of wires and the alarm cuts out immediately.
In the following silence, it is much easier to hear the noises that are growing closer and more numerous.
The first thing to move was a rat, it looked smaller and weaker than the one I had fought at first. Its red eyes glowed with madness and hunger, like a rabid dog that had been starved for weeks.
It moved cautiously out into the light, flinching slightly beneath the bright sunlight... but only slightly. And then it began picking up speed, tearing across the vacant car park towards us.
Right as I am about to get into position in front of the rat, August grabs my shoulder and pulls me back. The look in his eye is strange, almost manic. "Let me kill it."
I step back and judge his posture, In his hand, he clenches a kitchen knife that one might use to carve up an elephant presumably. Honestly, I have no idea why he owned such a big knife. But, while the hand that clenches the knife is trembling, his eyes are firm and resolved, if a little crazy.
Taking a step back, I let him have at it. Since carrying along dead weight in the apocalypse is not ideal, I'm not about to start complaining whenever someone wants to take action and help the group.
August was always a bit strange before now anyway. I've never seen him eat anything that wasn't meat and when he cooked steak, it would always be so bloody rare. Sometimes I wondered if he even cooked it at all. My point is, out of all the people I know, he would probably be one of the best set up to deal with the apocalypse... Aside from my family anyway, but, it's not fair to rank them against other humans.
August crouched low, grasping his oversized knife with both hands, pointing it towards the oncoming rat. His hands were shaking, but at no point did he ever look like he might run.
The rat scampered across the asphalt, its grotesque pink tail trailing along behind it, black fur matted with grime and silt. I could almost smell it before it even got here. It smelled like blood and sewage.
From the side, Kyle and I watched intently as the pair collided. The rat jumped into the air, diving straight for August's throat. August, springing from his crouch like an arrow from its drawstrings, burst up to meet the approaching monster.
August fell to the ground and the rat landed on top of him. He held up one arm against its gnashing teeth, blocking its head from reaching his face. With the other hand, he dragged the knife across the rat's belly, gutting it like a fish.
Blood cascaded from the rat's ruined belly, drenching August in a waterfall of sticky red fluids. Anyone would feel disgusted in August's position, being covered in entrails and blood isn't something that any normal person can stand.
So, when I saw the flash of white amidst the red, I got chills. August was grinning manically, his ivory teeth standing out amidst the gore.
Beside me, I can hear Kyle throwing up and honestly, I don't blame him. I would probably do the same... if I hadn't already seen worse.
Still grinning, August pulls himself out from under the dead rat. And, it's only when he begins speaking that I finally come out of the trance his strange actions put me in.
"What's this?" He says while gesturing into the empty air in front of him, "It says here... I have levelled up to level 3. What does that mean?"
My reply is almost mechanical, "You should have gained some stats and grown stronger. If you try jumping or running, you will feel the increase in strength."
August nods in understanding, fiddling about in the air with something that only he can see. Only now do I realise that he is using the system.
Perhaps drawn by the scent of blood, a few more rats emerge from the shadows. There are four in total and each one looks bigger and more vicious than the rat August killed. Picking up Kyle by the collar, I shake him out of his stupor.
Dragging his face close to mine, I can see that his eyes are glazed over, 'He's in shock,' But, we don't have time for that.
A crisp sound rings out as my open palm slaps Kyle's cheek. And, almost like he was resuscitated, his eyes regain focus briefly. Taking advantage of his lucidity, I begin speaking, "Listen to me! 4 rats are coming, I can take 2 August can take one, so you just need to hold off the remaining one long enough for one of us to help you."
Kyle grips the Tyre iron in his hands nervously, it's not hard to see how nervous he is. Kyle is shaking like a leaf in the wind. Not like August, who was shaking from adrenaline, more like a normal person in this situation. He is scared.
Still, despite his obvious fear, Kyle gulps and nods. "I'll do it," He whispers in a soft voice.
After patting him on the shoulder, I move out in front of the approaching rats, heading for the biggest two. 'With my increased strength, I should be able to take them on,' I think.
The oncoming rats become black blurs of fur and claws as they streak toward us. Reaching out both my hands, I get into the third stance. My hands are splayed out wide like I am going in for a hug. By making myself bigger like this, it is much easier to catch the attention of the oncoming rats.
The leading two rats squeal grotesquely and begin to target me "It works just like my dad said it would," I mutter to no one in particular.
On either side of me, Kyle and August get ready. One of them clutches a tyre iron nervously shaking in fear. He pulls back the tyre iron like he is getting ready to swing a baseball bat. August, who is still covered in gore, continues to grin, holding the knife out with one hand, the other is now outstretched, baiting the oncoming rat.
The first rat reaches me, dashing into my open arms. Right as it's about to tear open my chest, my foot blurs, streaking up like lighting into the rat's throat.
Before I can pull my foot out, the second rat collides with me, bringing me to the ground. Now, I begin grappling with the writhing creature as it wriggles above me. Once I can get it into a chokehold, it will all be over.
After a brief struggle, I slip out from under the rat and pounce on its back. Digging my legs into its side like I am riding a mechanical bull, I cling on for dear life as the creature writhes beneath me. Its bony body offers little in the way of handholds, aside from the matted fur that covers it.
Once I've found my footing, I bring my arms under the rat's throat and begin to squeeze. Like a snake, I constrict around its throat, every time it tries to breathe, I squeeze tighter and tighter, choking the life out of the monster.
Vaguely, I can hear the sickening crunch of metal crushing bone over and over again, along with wretched squeals of pain.
Beside me, Kyle is repeatedly swinging the tyre iron into the rat's ribs. Each swing produces the crunching sound of bones being shattered. Also, listening closely, I can hear Kyle crying. Amidst sobs, he keeps muttering "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," With each swing, he apologises... before swinging again.
There is no such moral dilemma for August, who, taking advantage of his improved strength, repeatedly stabs the rat in its back and throat. All the while, grinning like a wicked spectre.
August is the first to kill his opponent. The wolf sized creature falls to the ground, its matted fur crisscrossed by countless stab wounds.
Next, Kyle's opponent goes limp. Its body was misshapen and bruised by the endless hammerings of the tyre iron, which has now been bent completely out of shape.
Finally, I felt the life leave the rat I was choking and its struggles ceased. Tossing aside the limp body, I rolled to my feet. I was half expecting more rats to show up before the car got started, but thankfully the noise of an engine revving proved me wrong.
[LVL 5 Mad Rat killed - 500 Experience Gained]
[LVL 5 Mad Rat killed - 500 Experience Gained]
[Level 3 > 5 - (8 stats increased)]
"Get in!" Kashyap shouts
Leaping into the back of the truck, I can finally let out the breath I had been holding all this while.
August tried to sit in the front, but Kashyap kicked him out. Kashyap said something about August being a 'Blood drenched maniac who would ruin the upholstery.'