Apocalypse: Generic System by Macronomicon (shoe dog free ebook TXT) 📕

“Hey, say something.”

Jessica didn’t say anything.

“Say something!” Eddie roared inches away from her, striking her across the face, filling her mouth with the taste of blood.

Jessica didn’t say anything, simply meeting his gaze.

“Goddamnit,” Eddie said, walking over to one of the men, a guy whose armor and weapons were lower quality and more patchwork than the rest of them.

He grabbed the guy roughly by the collar, dragged him over and practically shoved him at Jessica like a tool.

“Make her say something.”

So that’s Ryan.

“Say something.” The man said, and Jessica felt the absolute need in that moment, to say something, like an itch that would only grow in strength until it washed away all of her reason.

Well, If I have to say something… Jessica angled her finger.

“Pip seven.”

Ryan’s brows furrowed an instant before a hole opened up in between them.

***Jebediah Trapper***

Ding!

You have gained a level!

You are now level 34!

Jeb snorted awake, and immediately regretted it. His head pounded like a marching band, and his body felt like a used condom, stretched out, used up and deflated.

He patted his chest and came away with something sticky on his hand.

 Also covered in mysterious fluids.

“Ugh, Jeb groaned, blinking his eyes open. Everything was dark and something was weighing down on him. I didn’t go blind, did I? That would really fucking seal the deal right there.

After a moment of looking around with his eyes, he spotted a glimmer of light to his left.

But first, I gotta get…whatever this is, off of me. Jeb levered the object off of himself, the glimmering light redoubling as he did so.

Finally he spilled out into the open, gratefully gasping in fresh air as his eyes adjusted to starlight.

It was a massacre.

For every human dead, there were dozens of monster corpses, but there were thousands of monster corpses, stretching out in every direction. Dotted here and there was a familiar face, frozen in the expression of their death.

Behind him, he spotted the corpse of the massive bear-like creature that must have collapsed on him while he was unconscious. He’d been buried under its paw.

Jeb tried to stand, toppling to the ground when his splintered peg leg collapsed out from under him.

“Mother –“ Jeb choked off the rest of the curse. He had no idea if there were more monsters nearby. He crawled back to the giant behemoth he had been partially buried under and began fishing around underneath it.

Score! Jeb thought, snagging the Vivicant Cane and yanking it out, leaning on it as a spare leg as he pushed himself up.

Vivicant Cane, Consumable item.

Carried as a supplementary item by the vaunted healers of Mestikos, These Canes allow the master healers to handle emergencies when circumstances would otherwise prevent them from being able to help, maintaining their vaunted success rate even in the most adverse conditions, along with their priceless prestige.

  Channel Myst through this valuable cane to heal wounds and remove fatigue in an area of effect.

Effect is proportional Myst spent.

1/4 Uses remaining.

Three uses!? Jeb thought, inspecting the cane. He’d put Mystic Triggers on it to go off if he sustained major organ damage –I.E. getting stabbed in the liver – extreme blood loss, heart failure, and brain damage.

I know major organ damage triggered, and probably the blood loss triggered as well, so what was number three?

Curiously, Jeb reached his hand up to his scalp and found it absolutely caked with drying blood.

Did something crush my skull while I was unconscious? Jeb thought, a shiver going down his spine. The thought that his brain had been scrambled and rearranged was…eerie.

Maybe the magic cured my PTSD while it was in there.

Jeb was an optimist, he always liked to view his skull as half-full.

Is there anyone alive? He thought to himself, scanning the massacre. Some of the tougher people like Freeman might have escaped to the…

Safe Zone! Jeb thought, turning toward the distant camp. All his Ejector seats were designed to drop their payloads off at the Safe Zone, and that was exactly where Eddie and his goons were going last he saw them.

I need to get there before they kill Ron!

If he had a read on Eddie – and It wasn’t hard –  the man wouldn’t allow anyone in his little kingdom that might challenge him for top dog.

That included Jeb, Ron, Brett, Jessica…

Almost all of them, except maybe Amanda. She might have higher stats than her level, but she’s not a fighter. She probably ranked somewhere just underneath Eddie.

Jeb wrapped himself in telekinetic force, and shot into the sky, angling toward the Safe Zone, forest sliding by underneath him.

It only took him a minute to get there, but he was almost too late.

From the sky, he could make out several figures locked in combat, dimly lit by the single campfire. One of the figures was smaller than the others, more slender, and grievously wounded, clutching a snapped off spearhead embedded in their stomach.

Jess.

He tore through the air and landed on the ground with a whomp, drawing the attention of the combatants to himself.

Jessica took their distraction as an opportunity to tear the spearhead out of her stomach, flickered closer and stab the closest guy in the neck, sending him flailing to the ground.

She looked a bit like she’d been through a garbage disposal, covered with minor cuts and bruises, her armor and clothes nowhere to be seen.

Jeb scanned the scene. Including the last one, she’d taken out three of Eddie’s group, leaving five angry men facing her down.

“Goddamnit,” Eddie shouted. “Chris, get a hand on that collar, or I’ll tear your damn arms off.” he said, standing between Jeb and his teammate.

Chris, he assumed, lunged for Jess with a longsword. He