The next few days we spent familiarising ourselves with our abilities and figuring out what kind of teamwork would be best with our current composition. Though we had all agreed that Jye was better at backline damage, the only projectiles we found at the gym were smaller weights, but we’d talk about hitting up a Kmart and pocketing bags of knives.

Though it was accidental, we figured out that Axel’s [Ground Smash] did a decent amount of damage while also stunning people. Jye had ended up in bed for half a day recuperating 12HP and whilst tending to them, we’d watched in horror as their broken foot creaked and cracked to correct itself. They’d been in intense pain too, screaming and writhing upon the gym mat we’d laid on the floor. Perhaps it was witnessing that that made me confident this wasn’t just some delusion. What kind of coma patient imagined healing hurting?

On the third day, electricity flickered out. Axel had thought ahead and filled up the beer bottles with water, so we still had a couple litres left. We started soaking our cup noodles. Honestly, it changed very little about the experience other than having to chew a little more.

I’d finally been able to use [Channel] without a system error. Unfortunately, with my current mana and stamina pool, I could only use Axel’s [Ground Smash] without major detriment. It turned out that I had to use whatever stat was required for the channelled abilities. Though we still couldn’t determine the true name of Jye’s first ability, we discovered that as long as they had enough mana and stamina, they could increase the effect of it without limit. Given that it seemed to increase the weight of an object, we took to calling it Dropping A Load. The first time we ended up in stitches, but it just stuck. But we called it Load for short.

Suffice to say, after multiplying the effect ten times, the dumbbell had sunk through the floor, past the concrete foundation, and into a deep dark hole. After that we didn’t test out Jye’s Load to its fullest capacity since the ramifications of sinking a weight into the Earth’s core probably wouldn’t be good.

Eventually, we came to the party pattern of Axel closing the gap between the target with his [Swift Footed] trait, then using [Ground Smash] to stun them, then backing off, and then Jye would pelt projectiles and layer on their Load on their down arcs. Since I could only use [Ground Smash] with my [Channel], I was delegated to protecting Jye and locking down anyone who approached. If the projectiles didn’t finish the target off, Axel would dash back in, and we’d repeat the process.

On the fifth day we ran out of cup noodles.

It was probably for the better.

 

“So, Woolies and Kmart?” I asked, closing the gym door behind the three of us.

Axel led the way. “Yeah, though all the groceries are probably gone. We’ll pick up what we can. Kmart, we all need to grab weapons. I’m thinking a bat for me. Knives for Jye. What would work for you?”

I thought for a moment. “I might get a broomstick? Staffs seem cool.”

“Staves,” Axel said.

“That’s what I said, I want a staff.”

“No, you said staffs. The plural of staff is staves.”

I glared at him. “You’re really hard to get along with, you know that, right?”

“I know that only too well.”

Despite food being the more pressing matter, Kmart had simply been easier to get to. Woolies was another block and none of us wanted to risk the trek without being able to properly defend ourselves. Whilst our training allowed us to work together, I don’t think any of us were truly ready to fight anything or anyone. Jye’s brush with the “healing” foot also made us want to err on the side of caution. Regenerating health points was far worse than losing them.

It was weird, but the streets were eerily quiet. Even the sirens and alarms had long since quietened. The looting had lulled too. People had seemingly withdrawn into hideouts or perhaps they had been driven to the Dungeons. I hoped they had left for the bush, to escape all the shit happening around here.

When we arrived, the Kmart store’s front doors had been smashed through, with bricks sitting inside. Avoiding the jagged edges, we squeezed in and weren’t surprised to find a lot of the merchandise had been taken. Large electronics were the most noticeably missing, which was the sad reality of life. Too bad they wouldn’t be able to use them anymore, not with power down. We all went our separate ways to the different sections in Kmart. Axel went to sporting goods, Jye headed to the kitchenware, and I went to the cleaning supplies.

Luckily not many people had use for broomsticks during the end of the world. There was a plethora of options to choose from, ranging from cheap plastic to name brand wood. To test them out, I gave them a thwack against the floor. The plastic was too slippery in my grip. I ended up picking a wooden one. It was surprisingly sturdy and fit nicely in my hand. Guess ergonomics mattered a lot when it was something someone was going to be using on the regular.

“Guys?” I called, wondering if they'd finished their selections too.

Walking through the clothing department, I picked up a few exercise clothes in my size and shoved them into the backpack my mother had bought me for paintball. It had several different compartments, all specifically designed to store different types of ammo or paintball supplies. Honestly, it’d been extremely helpful. I was glad that Axel had remembered it.

I made my way to the electronics, hoping to find the only other items I thought would be necessary in this post-electricity world. Batteries. It wasn’t surprising to find the shelves empty of the better lithium brands with only a few spare homebrand AA and AAA left. A couple of Ds too. Better than nothing. I packed them into one of the smaller compartments of my backpack, hoping they wouldn’t be damaged by anything.

Taking one more quick scan of the electronics section, I looked for anything else that would be useful to us. On the smaller knickknack shelves were several thin watches, more closely resembling bracelets than timepieces. Without phones, it would be hard to keep track of time… I grabbed the lot of them and headed back to the entrance. Hopefully Axel and Jye would be there too soon enough.

“How’s your staff?” Jye asked, approaching me with an armful of glinting knives.

I gave it an experimental twirl but fumbled and it slipped out of my fingers. It clacked against the ground. “Ah, fuck. Well, let’s pray I get better at that.” I stepped forward to pick it off the ground, but my toe caught the edge of it, kicking it into a roll. Ears now hot, I shuffled after it before plucking in from the ground. This time I held it firmly in my grasp.

“You sure you’re gonna be okay with that?” said a familiar grating voice.

Fucking Axel. “I’m sure it’s just a steep learning curve.”

“Keep telling yourself that.”

Axel too had apparently taken the time to check out the clothing section and had changed. He was now wearing black jeans that had hanging chains and a white tee with metallic fangs in the centre accompanied by the words “Bite me.” The shirt was probably two sizes too small and clung to his chest and midsection in a way I’m sure was appealing to others. Aesthetically, it was the type of thing I expected a teenage k-pop boy to wear, to be honest. It was also ridiculously impractical. I was about to make a comment and joke with Jye, but the slight blush and their inability to meet Axel’s eyes made me rethink my words.

Despite the hatred Jye harboured for him, I guess it was difficult for others to forgo their attraction to Axel. For a moment I wondered if the name of our party would end up being a lie. Maybe Jye and Axel would hook up. Maybe hatefuck? Though I wasn’t sure if Jye was Axel’s type. Historically, Axel tended to prefer people shorter than him with soft eyes and easy smiles. Most of the party-goers that came and went from his room were like that.

In Axel’s left hand he held a metal baseball bat. “You sure you don’t want one of these too?”

Statistically, left-handed people die earlier than right-handers. I wondered if that was a promise. In response to his question, I shook my head. “I’m not melee enough to be comfortable that close range. I’ll stick with my stick, thanks.”

He shrugged and the shirt rode up to reveal part of his abdomen. Jye physically turned to walk to the entrance. I could imagine the expression on their face. I’d seen it on many a passerby’s features before. Judgmentally, I frowned at the six-pack that was now peaking out.

Noticing my silent words, Axel tugged his shirt back down. “Suit yourself.”