Returned to Start.

  Beginning Run 3.

  Set Attributes.

  Father rubbed at the bleeding part of his face and hesitantly put a few points into Strength. A headache pounded under his shell. That punch, for the brief moment he had felt it, caused his entire arm to explode. Just because his strength was high didn’t mean he could handle it.

  He stopped at Strength 10 and moved down the list, looking at each one. He wasn’t sure what Intelligence would do while Luck seemed pretty straightforward. Or maybe putting a lot in Intelligence would make him smarter and make choosing his attributes easier.

  Knock.

  Knock.

  Knock.

  Father turned to see the lobster tapping his baseball bat against the car window. “Hey, aren’t you the Father of the Sexiest Lobster? Can’t believe you hit me! You got some balls.”

  Strength 10

  Endurance 10

  Agility 10

  Intelligence 10

  Luck 10

  Father quickly set his stats, wiped blood away from his eyes, and readied himself. That bat hurt horribly before it killed him. He would have to do something different if he didn’t want to feel that pain again.

  “Hold on,” Father said. He carefully opened his car door, stepped out, adjusted the waistband of his shorts, and faced the lobster. “I’m ready.”

  The lobster lifted the bat. “For what?”

  Father lifted his claws. “To fight.”

  “Right. Got ya.” The lobster swung horizontally and smashed the baseball bat against Father’s claw.

  Cracks spread like spiderwebs through the red chitin, causing Father to reel back and stumble. Another swing came from above, hitting right between his eyes. Father was sure he saw some of his own brain before his vision faded.

  Returned to Start.

  Beginning Run 4.

  Father pulled his head away from the steering wheel.

  He needed to be faster.

  Set Attributes.

  Strength 20

  Endurance 10

  Agility 20

  Intelligence 0

  Luck 0

  He unlatched his seatbelt, threw open the door, and rushed from the car. The lobster was just crawling out of his flipped car, still clawing for his baseball bat. Father ran over, feeling unfamiliar speed carry him through the water.

  His feet were a little unsteady with such speed, but he managed to reach the bat first. Father lifted a foot and stomped down on the lobster’s claw, cracking chitin. Father picked up the bat and grinned. Finally, he had the weapon. It had already killed him two times.

  “Hey, wait,” the lobster said. “You’re the—”

  Father swung the bat down, again and again, until lobster meat floated into the water. He fell against the flipped car and breathed, his chest heaving.

  With this, he could get his Son back.

  Father gave the lobster one more kick, just to be sure, then returned to his car. He took a deep breath. Off to the Reef.

  “To save my Son,” Father said. He put the car in drive and pulled down the road.

  He drove for hours. It didn’t take long for the modestly deep trench to be far behind. Huge stalks of seaweed grew alongside the road and swarms of fish darted about far in the distance.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Father watched everything with worry. He had never been so far from home, and while he was sure he was heading in the right direction, there had been no signs or hints that he was nearing the Reef.

  By the time his head ached and his exhaustion found its way back, Father pulled over at a gas station. His car was running low anyway, and perhaps someone would be able to give directions.

  Father stepped out, yawned, and approached the gas station. There were a few other cars outside, though the area was far from busy. A squid stood behind the counter, speaking with some carp that leaned over, scratching feverishly at a lottery ticket.

  “Hello,” Father said.

  “Hm. Morning.” The squid adjusted its hat. Black eyes watched Father closely. Even the carp had turned its head to regard him.

  “How much farther do I have to the Reef?”

  The squid pulled a toothpick from its mouth. “The reef? Where are you coming from?”

  “The modestly deep trench,” Father said. He noticed the carp’s eyes on the damaged chitin from where he had smacked the steering wheel. Father rubbed at the spot.

  The squid pointed with a tentacle. “About 150 miles in the other direction. You drove the wrong way.”

  “Really?” Father pressed his claws against his forehead. “That’s fine. I’ll get some gas. I’ll be back.” Before the squid or carp could say anything, he headed back to the car and leaned against it. He went through the motions, including placing the pump into the gas tank. And nothing happened.

  Father’s eyes finally found the sign that said ‘Pay at the Pump or Prepay.’ He sighed, opened the door, and reached for his wallet.

  It wasn’t there.

  “Oh, no.” He dug around, searching everything. His wallet would have been with him inside. He had never forgotten to grab it before, but he had also never been robbed before. Did he forget it or did the crab take it?

  Either way, he was 150 miles away from the reef with no gas.

  Hitchhiking was a thing people did, but it was dangerous and probably not nearly as easy as it looked in movies.

  If he went into the gas station and explained his situation, maybe they would give him some free gas.

  Father did one more search for his wallet, confirmed it wasn’t there, then hurried inside. “Hi again.”

  The squid rested two tentacles on the countertop. The carp had moved to the roller grill and was standing before it, eating some wrinkled taquitos.

  “I seem to have forgotten my wallet and I desperately need to get to the reef.”

  “That sucks,” the squid said.

  “Desperately,” Father said, emphasizing the word.

  The carp walked over, chewing a taquito loudly. “Better start walking.”

  The squid pointed a tentacle at the fish. “That’s free advice.”

  “My Son was abducted by some Hardbody Crustaceans,” Father said.

  “Ain’t that what you are?” the carp asked.

  “No, no.” Father tapped his claw against his chest. “I’m just a lobster. They’re a gang of crabs and shellfish.”

  The carp popped the last of the taquito in its mouth. “A lobster ain’t a shellfish?”

  “I need to save my Son!”

  The squid leaned more onto the counter. “Don’t raise your voice.”

  Father stormed out the front door. Every second he took to figure out what was happening or where he was just meant more time his Son would be locked away or tortured.

  Father grabbed the baseball bat from his car, smeared some of the lobster’s blood onto his shorts, then stormed back in. “I need—”

  He saw the spray of ink shoot from the squid. It was incredibly quick, but he was quicker. He moved aside, dodging a majority of the sprayed ink. Some caught his shoulder and stained it black. Mostly, the ink hung in the water and acted as a smokescreen.

  Something clicked by his head.

  The carp stood with the barrel of a handgun pressed against Father’s skull. “Does a shellfish skin work as a helmet?”

  “I don’t know.” The squid stepped through the ink cloud with a shotgun raised. He bumped into father’s chest with the barrel. “We can find out.”

  Father clenched the bat tightly. His claws threatened to cut right through the worn wood. “I just want to save my Son.”

  “Stealing gas ain’t saving nobody,” the carp said.

  “You can walk out of here,” the squid said.

  Father stared directly into the squid’s black eyes. Without gas, he wasn’t getting anywhere. If he fought the squid and carp and won, he could take the gas. If he lost . . . it would hurt, but he’d be back in the modestly deep trench. His fifth run would start, assuming that there was no limit to these runs.

  Anything for his Son.

  “Don’t,” the squid said.

  Father lifted the bat.

  The shotgun blast sent him flying into a shelf of chips. The carp shot a few times too. Bullets pinged off Father’s red shell, but each impact felt like a stab to the guts. With effort, he climbed back to his feet.

  A spray of ink hit him in the face. Father flinched, heard the blast of a shotgun, then felt the searing heat of pain.

  Returned to Start.

  Beginning Run 5.

  Debuff: Squid Ink

  You were killed while covered in squid ink. Your vision is cloudy.

  Father pulled back from the steering wheel. The pain of hitting his head was far less than he had felt, however brief, from the shotgun. It was still horribly disorienting.

  His vision was cloudy and dark. With some effort, he could see past the cloudiness to the interior of his car.

  “Debuff?” he asked. He opened the door as the notification hung in his vision and swung his legs out. There was no option for attributes. He couldn’t fight without changing his strength or agility.

  Groans from the lobster escaping the flipped car were loud enough to make Father tense. He didn’t need to feel the pain of death again.

  “I see the debuff,” he said.

  More information?

  Options for Yes and No appeared.

  Father quickly selected yes and cast a glance to the side. The lobster was grabbing his baseball bat.

  A debuff is applied to the next life when user is killed with specific conditions.

  Examples:

  Squid ink - cloudiness

  Poison - illness

  Fire - hot touch

  Other debuffs will be recorded in user’s interface upon discovery.

  The words vanished, giving Father just enough time to see the lobster standing before him.

  “Look at me, all surprised.” The lobster raised the bat.

  Set Attributes.

  Father sighed.

  Returned to Start.

  Beginning Run 6.