Ciro crouched low, his vision blurry from the alien drink. He pushed himself forward and pushed himself towards the women in front of him. The red dot attempted to trail him, but he was too fast. But as he reached the duo, Carina thrust her pole towards his head, thinking he was trying to attack.

  He stopped himself from trying to grab them; it was every man for himself, at least he tried. He went prone on the ground. Alya watched him in confusion, but a realization dawned on her when the red dot had focused on the back of Carina’s head.

  Alya let out a scream before they heard a sharp crack, with a loud boom following closely behind.

  Ciro watched, clutching his head, hoping not to get hit, but also trying to focus on not throwing up. Carina seemed to sense the attack was coming, quickly throwing herself to the side.

  But she was too slow.

  An object shot through the air, destroying the glass windowpane of the building, hitting squarely on Carina’s shoulder. She let out a scream as the force of the projectile caused her to spin half around. Her breath hitched, more from shock than pain, before she let out a guttural scream that tore her throat.

  “Sniper! Alya, get down!” She swiveled, leaning her back against the adjacent wall, trying not to be seen through the broken window. She held onto her shoulder, ignoring the warmth that filled her hands.

  “Listen to her, damn it!” Ciro shouted at Alya, watching her as she stood in shock. Ciro craned his neck, trying to get some look at the sniper. His eyes focused, but to no avail, he held onto a bottle for moral support.

  You Have Gained +1 Perception

  That’s when another notification appeared before his eyes. It disappeared as quickly as it came. But now Ciro could see much clearer than before. The figure lay on the ground with a long-barreled sniper. While he couldn’t make out much of his face, they wore the same gray suit. Poking out from behind the scope, long, flowing black hair billowed in the wind.

  You Have Gained +3 Perception

  Ciro didn’t even register the new notification that appeared before him because he saw the figure push the trigger one more time. Alya stood petrified; the bullet hurtled towards her, the stupid girl had closed her eyes. Ciro didn’t know her well, probably didn’t know her at all. Yet the fear of seeing someone dying in front of him created a pit in his stomach.

  But the bullet didn’t make contact. It didn’t make contact with anything. Alya had reopened her eyes, and the bullet seemed to float harmlessly in front of her. Ciro raised his eyebrow, focusing on the bullet.

  You Have Gained +2 Perception

  Ciro noticed the air shifting around the bullet. There seemed to be a wall of light that shimmered in front of Alya. An almost translucent wall that pulsed with a blue tinge.

  “A barrier…” Carina whispered.

  Alya yelped, seeing the bullet drop to the ground; smoke clawed its way out of the bullet, wafting in the air like tendrils. She ducked her head, crouched beside Ciro. He pushed her out of the way, closer towards Carina.

  “You bastard,” hissed Carina, pulling Alya even closer to her.

  “I’m trying to see.” Ciro focused on the sniper; his laser scanned the room, combing through every corner, looking for any sign of movement. “We’re sitting ducks.” Ciro grunted. “Oh, shit!” He swore as the sniper pulled the trigger once again, this time aiming behind Ciro; more bottles exploded, and he felt the splash of liquid on his back. “That was some good booze.” Ciro moaned.

  “What do we do?” Alya whimpered.

  “Alya, take a deep breath and tell me, did you get a notification from your system?” Carina huffed, blood leaking from her shoulder.

  “Oh god you’re bleeding. We’re gonna die. Why did this happen?” Alya’s eyes became delirious. Tears began streaming down her face. Ciro could only watch in discomfort, opening another bottle and taking a sip.

  “Stay with me Alya, look at your status, tell me, did you gain a stigmata called barrier?” Carina pressed.

  Ciro gritted his teeth, focusing on Alya, whose eyes became vacant like glassy pools of a hollowed abyss.

  You Peeked at Alya Okafor

  [STATUS] Alya Okafor Race: Earthling lvl 1

  STR: 1

  DEX: 4

  END: 4

  INT: 8

  PER: 4

  CHA: 8

  LCK: 2

  Stigmata:

  Barrier (Lvl 1, Rank: Silver)

  “Yeah, she has it. She has something called barrier!” Ciro confirmed, staring at Carina dripping with sweat. She was the only person who might get them out of this building and away from the sniper.

  “How do you know?” Carina asked, her eyes transfixed on him, as she tried to shake Alya from her unmoored state.

  “We all saw it.” Ciro lied. He shook his head, “you aren’t helping. I’ll just figure this out on my own.” Suddenly, an idea came to his mind. They needed a distraction so they could escape. He crawled backwards over the puddle of the alien booze behind him. He looked around, searching for something he could use.

  On your right, little Adams.

  Great. The voice was back, but this time it seemed to want to help him. What could a voice he was imagining do to help? He sighed, before crawling to his right, finding a bucket of an unknown purpose. It seemed thick and viscous just by holding it by its handles. He ignored Carina’s hateful gaze and focused on the task.

  Peeling the bucket open, revealing black sludge. Ciro could only liken it to crude oil. He stood up only for a second, a bullet flew past him, and the hairs on his face became erect in fear. Quickly, he dumped the bucket’s contents over the spilled alien booze.

  Instant regret.

  A raging inferno erupted in place. Fire sparked throughout the building, blasting the roof off. His eyes shifted to the sniper, who seemed to give up, watching the smoke and fire rise from the building.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  “You idiot!” Carina screamed as the flame grew larger, turning a shade of blue. The heat felt overwhelming, turning the air into a sauna. Ciro knew they had to run, so he grabbed both women and bolted for the exit. The fire seemed to follow him like a demon giving chase. He ran and ran. His muscles strained harder than they ever had before.

  You Gained The Stigmata [Sprint (Lvl 1)]

  Sprint

  Rarity: Bronze

  Cost: 1 SE for every minute of use

  Whether it be cowardice or bravery, The Lord respects the nimble and swift.

  Gain A Small Boost To Your Speed

  Ciro closed his eyes, believing he wouldn’t make it; a deafening explosion trailed behind him. The force sent him hurtling into the air, landing in a pile of rubble. His grip on the two women came loose; they tumbled away from him. They were all covered in soot.

  He looked behind him, and the fire seemed to grow; its hunger was insatiable. The sniper had already disappeared; the entire area became filled with smoke that clung to the body.

  “We need to move!” Ciro screamed towards Carina and Alya. Carina nodded her head. Albeit reluctantly, she grabbed Alya, who still seemed stunned. They ran through the broken building, trying to escape the fire.

  “Were you trying to kill us?” Carina snapped, pulling Alya along by the hand.

  “Of course not. I thought it would make a good distraction. You think I wanted to destroy all that sweet alien nectar?” replied Ciro. “My bottles. They’re all gone,” said Ciro solemnly.

  “Fuck your bottles!” Carina shouted. “I don’t even have a weapon anymore.”

  Ciro peered at Carina’s shoulder. It seemed she would live, but she needed medical attention. Dying from blood loss didn’t sound pretty.

  I’m surprised you listened to me, Little Ciro. The voice echoed in his ears, a ghostly phantom whisper that caused Ciro to shiver. “Why can I hear this?” Ciro bit his lip in frustration.

  The trio continued running away, traversing through the toppled buildings and debris, only slowing down to curse each other.

  You Have Gained +1 END

  They found their way up a hill, finding themselves at what seemed to be the highest vantage point in the area. The hilltop stretched out before them, a jagged plateau of cracked stone and twisted metal. At the edge lay a cliff. Ciro crumpled to the ground, and soon Alya followed, her knees giving out. She placed her hands on her face. Ciro could see the tears flowing out of her palms.

  “I want to go home.” She whispered.

  Ciro watched her, unsure what to say. He didn’t care about this place. He didn’t care about going home. Surviving was all that mattered in his mind. Anywhere can do, he thought to himself, but he knew not everyone was like him, able to forget everything with a drop of liquor. People loved their lives. He couldn’t blame them. All he could do was watch impassively and wait for her to accept the situation.

  “It’s okay.” Carina sat down beside her. “We’ll get through this.”

  “I froze up. That red dot had me terrified… I—I couldn’t do anything.” Alya stammered.

  Ciro scoffed. “Yeah and what could you have done?”

  Alya clenched her fists before banging them against the ground. Jagged metal shards sliced through the bottom of her hand, but she didn’t flinch. She lifted her two hands, her palms open, closing her eyes she seemed to grunt.

  For the second time he saw the air around her shimmer, and a small translucent wall appeared in front of her. Ciro whistled, he understood it was a shield of some kind.

  “I can create a barrier that stops attacks. At least that’s what the description says.”

  “You gained a stigmata, an ability like I said. What you got is a silver rank. Second lowest rank. They’re some of the most useful abilities you can get your hands on. Some are deadlier than others.” Carina murmured, wrapping her arms around Alya.

  The look on Carina's face looked unsettled, like she was confused. “What’s the matter Carina?” asked Ciro, knowing she was hiding something.

  She ignored him.

  A vein sprang up from under Ciro’s temple. Giving me the silent treatment again eh? Fine, I won’t use my stigmata to help us. Just as Ciro thought about it, he wanted to pull out his hair. Neither woman had an ability up to this point; he was special, but now Alya had one. Not only that, but it was ranked higher than his. “I hate this,” he grumbled.

  “We didn't get any water either.” Alya added as she continued to create barriers, experimenting with her new ability. Her hands shook each time she lifted them up. Her high cheekbones pulled her skin tightly, dehydration taking full effect on her body.

  Carina still held onto her wound, “If I get my hands on that sniper they're dead.”

  “Do you know who they are?” asked Ciro.

  “You mean what they are?” Carina snapped. “They were human, it's the only possibility, Xyphon’s—I mean Xyphers don't use such weapons.” She seemed to grin when she corrected herself with the term Xypher, peering back at Ciro playfully, he could've sworn she smiled, but her expression quickly reverted to her cold self. “I didn't know anyone—any human I mean, that would try to kill another human.” Her eyes drifted upwards to the sky, a swirl of colors, the stars were shining bright, darkness slowly taking root.

  Ciro was left perplexed. Why did it matter if she called those damn aliens the right name? Bottom line was they were a threat and so was that sniper.

  “How did they get such a weapon?” Alya asked.

  “There were weapons randomly placed around the area, he got lucky.” Carina continued clutching her shoulder, laying beside Alya.

  “We need to do something about that arm.” Ciro got up, crouching opposite Carina, trying to look at her wound. Carina quickly scrambled back and kicked him in the chest. Leaving him winded, he dropped to the floor from the impact.

  “No, we just have to wait.” Carina looked at him, her eyes full of disgust.

  “My bad.” Ciro had given up with her. Let her do what she pleased, he'd survive without her. Not right now though.

  Upon her instructions they waited, it felt like hours had gone by, but Ciro knew it was only a few minutes. Alya had stopped playing with her barriers and regained her look of apprehension.

  Suddenly a blue light appeared in front of them. A beam of familiar blue light. Ciro shivered in recognition. On the ground, particles and light swirled and then solidified. As the blue beam slowly faded away, what appeared to be a small cube was left behind.

  The cube shaped object seemed metallic in nature; it reminded Ciro of a Rubix cube.

  “It's here.” Carina said, getting up from the ground and picking up the cube.

  “What is it?” Alya said, peering at the cube with wide eyes filled with interest.

  “Watch.” Carina smiled, placing the cube on the ground, she tapped the top surface, the cube transformed, twisting and expanding it opened up to become a small little platform. She tapped on a button that lay by the side and three cylinders hovered out from it, as if materializing out of thin air.

  She passed one over to Alya, before throwing one towards Ciro. He fumbled before he held the cylinder in his hands. It was shaped like a vial, unsure what to do with it he asked Carina. “So what does it do?”

  “There's a lever on the side, pull it down.”

  Ciro and Alya did what they were told and slowly watched the cylinder inflate, the feel of it turning from solid to pudgy in an instant. Ciro inspected it, noticing the top had become a lid, he carefully unscrewed it to view its contents.

  It looked like jelly.

  “Eat it, it'll hydrate you.”

  Alya looked at it suspiciously. Ciro shrugged as they watched him swallow the contents without so much as a fuss. “Ooh, that hit the spot.” Ciro felt his energy returning, his thirst completely quenched. And a hunger he didn't know he had disappeared.

  Alya looked astonished, deciding to try it. She put her lips on the cylinder and swallowed the contents.

  They both looked at Carina. “Energel. Designed to fix all your nutritional needs and then some.” They watched her play with the cube once more and suddenly another cylinder popped out. “I got my bandages,” she muttered.

  The cylinder dispensed a long string of bandages. Ciro watched as she applied the bandage herself. She gritted her teeth, stifling her groans. His lack of survival skills dawned on him.

  Before he could ask Carina how she learned all this, Ciro felt a change in the air. The world became dark. He looked up. The stars had become overshadowed.

  In the sky, lay a large black ball.

  And it was speaking.