[Timed Quest: Family Matters]

  Time Remaining: 2:00

  I duck behind an overturned car. Catch my breath. Spit blood.

  I wait for the Dumpster’s next strike. It slams into the vehicle in an explosion of trash and shattered glass.

  I make one last dash and manage to turn the corner.

  I run.

  What if I don’t make it in time?

  Shit.

  I’m not far from home, but what is usually a quiet street at the edge of town is now chaos. Smoke forms a thick curtain, like something out of Silent Hill. My eyes burn.

  I run down the middle of the road. Buildings ahead are on fire, vomiting debris onto the sidewalk.

  Two people burst out of a house screaming. One drags a half-open suitcase. The other is still in pajamas. They look around, lost and terrified. They shout something at me, but I don’t listen.

  I can’t stop.

  I don’t have time.

  One minute.

  Two hundred meters.

  Last turn.

  There’s a small park just before my house. As I pass it, something freezes me in place.

  A Dark Sapling Lv.1 has a guy cornered. He’s trying to shield a girl lying on the ground behind him. She looks dead. Or unconscious. Her clothes are soaked in blood. The guy is unarmed. The Treant makes shrill noises.

  It sounds like laughter.

  I shiver.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Time Remaining: 0:40

  Fuck it.

  I grip the axe and cross the park in two strides. I reach the mob.

  One swing.

  It splits in half.

  I ignore the +1 XP notification flashing in the air.

  The guy stares at me, stunned.

  I turn and run back toward the entrance.

  Twenty seconds.

  My heart is a drum. Cold sweat runs down my spine.

  I exit the park. My parents’ house is right there. Just a few steps away.

  It’s intact.

  Not burning.

  No visible damage.

  I rush up the driveway, out of breath.

  Five seconds.

  I take the three steps to the porch in a single leap and reach for the handle.

  I open the door—

  [Family Matters: Quest Failed]

  Time Remaining: 0:00

  I hear my mother scream.

  I’ve never heard her scream like that.

  I run into the living room and see them.

  All three of them.

  My mother stands in the middle of the room, trembling, her back against the wall. She’s staring at the floor.

  My father lies on the ground, collapsed in a pool of blood.

  My vision blurs. I almost lose my balance.

  Yes.

  It’s my father.

  A man stands over him, a bloodied knife in his hand. He turns sharply and sees me. His eyes are glassy, unreadable.

  It doesn’t matter.

  He stabbed my father.

  Above him, a green health bar and red text.

  [Robert Finn – Level 2 | Class: Raider]

  The pawnshop guy.

  I sold him some Magic cards a while back.

  “Sorry, man. A timed quest popped up and—”

  I scream and charge.

  I grip the axe with both hands. Heavy steps.

  He’s not someone I know anymore.

  He’s an enemy.

  He sees the blind fury in my eyes.

  That’s right.

  This is the reckoning.

  He backs away, trips over a small table, and falls. He raises his hands as if to shield himself.

  He’s afraid.

  I lift the axe above my head.

  As I draw back for the strike, something shifts inside me. A strange energy builds—like a volcano about to erupt.

  [Power Strike: Ready]

  I bring the axe down with all my strength.

  The blade enters his skull.

  There’s no resistance.

  The impact cleaves him in two.

  Blood sprays across the room.

  Instinctively, I let go of the axe and stare at my hands.

  They’re shaking.

  Blood runs between my fingers.

  Thick. Sticky.

  I’ve just killed a man.

  [Level Up available]

  Nausea hits me hard. Bile rises in my throat.

  I can’t look at my mother.

  I kneel beside my father. His eyes are closed. His breathing is shallow. He’s covered in blood—his own and the Raider’s.

  “Dad,” is all I manage.

  He moves his hand. I grab it. He pulls me closer.

  With a thread of a voice, he whispers:

  “Protect your mother.”