2. I have absolutely no idea how this power would manifest or where it would come from but damn I'm curious.
2. I have absolutely no idea how this power would manifest or where it would come from but damn I'm curious.
2.
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It's also interesting in that, in theory, it's the "purest" super-hero power in that it's not about defeating villains, but something which could easily be used for rescues and similar scenarios.Originally Posted by King Prussia
Trifas, Romania
July 28th, 2015
Afternoon
I fly.
With a single leap, the laws of gravity no longer impede me, and I shoot across the street like an arrow.
This is the superpower that I recently obtained: the gift of flight.
Since ancient times, humans have dreamt of the sky. They admired the bird’s wings while fearing Icarus’s fall. In the modern day, humans have built planes and mastered aerial travel, but that is not true flight. It is the planes that are flying, not the people. In that sense, our species has not gotten even a single step closing to achieving our millennia-long dream.
That is, until now. For I have obtained the power that all humans yearn for. I don’t know how I got it and I don’t know how it works, but it is mine.
It is freedom. It is fortune. It is fate. But most of all, in this moment, it is fast.
“Watch out!”
I grab the child as gently as I can while flying the both of us out of the way of the car. It misses us by a hair, and we land by tumbling onto the sidewalk.
Woah, that was a close call. We were nearly both turned into pancakes.
It sure is a good thing that I practiced flying until I could do it at the drop of a dime. Although it seems that I still need to work on stopping and landing.
“Ow ow ow, hey, are you okay, kid?” I ask the child still cradled in my arms.
“Mhm.”
Her reply is curt and stiff. She might still be stunned by the near-death experience. I guess if she’s this scared, then she won’t need to be scolded too hard.
“Oh my god, are you okay? Did you get hurt?”
The mother quickly jumps in, throwing both her arms around her child without even giving any care to me still being here. Well, I won’t complain about being embraced by a pretty woman.
At the same time, the rest of the people at the intersection begin to crowd around to make sure everything’s okay. The driver also gets out of his now stopped car to check the situation. I give them all a wave and thumbs up to assuage their worries.
Luckily, it seems nobody realized that I was actually flying; those who did see me probably assume that I just jumped really fast.
“Oh, Jack. I’m so glad you’re okay. Don’t scare me like that.” The mother tearfully says.
“I’m sorry, Mommy…” The kid says, looking actually remorseful. As I thought, I think nearly turning into roadkill was enough for her to learn her lesson.
The mother eventually lets go of her and me and we all get to our feet one by one. After a bit more hugging, crying, and scolding all at once, the two of them turn to me.
“Thank you very much for saving my daughter. I don’t even know how to thank you.”
“Thank you, mister~”
“Oh no, it’s nothing. I just happened to be nearby.”
“No, it’s not nothing at all. You nearly got run over as well. I couldn’t possibly thank you enough for risking your life to save my daughter. At the very least, please tell me your name.”
“Well, if you insist…”
Actually quite happy to be thanked on the inside, I nod along and introduce myself. In return, I learn their names as well.
“I’m Reika. Reika Rikudou. And this is my daughter, Jack.”
“Hello.”
Reika and Jack, huh. What an interesting pair of mother and daughter.
The MotherThe Daughter
I mentioned this before, but Reika is quite the attractive woman. As her name suggests, she seems to at least be of Asian heritage. With long greyish-black hair framing her very voluptuous figure, she has an alluring appearance that could easily drive men mad. Judging solely by her complexion, I would’ve guessed that she was in her early 20’s, but the age of her daughter suggests otherwise. In that case, perhaps she’s actually close to my age.
As for the daughter, Jack, she’s a rather cute kid who looks about 10-ish. If there’s something to be noted, though, it’d be that she has a scar both on her right cheek and one across her left eye. I wonder is she’s the type of reckless youth who gets herself hurt often. Kids really do have no sense of self-preservation, huh.
“Here, please take this. It’s my contact info and where I’m staying. If you ever need anything, please find me. I owe you that much. At the very least, let me treat you to dinner sometime.” Reika declares, handing me a piece of paper with her info on it.
“Well, since you insist… all right then. I can’t say no to food.”
I graciously take the memo and stash it in my pocket for later. I don’t want to abuse her gratitude, but I suppose I could let her treat me to a meal sometime just to clear whatever guilt she may have in her heart.
For now, I part ways with the two of them shortly after, promising to contact them soon.
“Bye bye, Mister. Thank you!”
“See ya! Have a nice day!”
Well, then, what an exciting start to my stay in Trifas. To think, if I hadn’t come all the way here, I never would’ve been able to save Jack from that car.
See, I knew it was a good idea to come here. Take that, Ma.
Anyways, with that settled, I guess it’s time to finish heading to that hostel.
I’ll be honest. Before my adventure through Europe, I wasn’t too sure about hostels.
I haven’t done much travelling in my life, but the few times I had when I was younger and with my family, we mostly stayed at hotels. Compared to that, the idea of a communal living-type dormitory did seem kind of weird to me. On some level, hostels ranked way below motels on my list in terms of comfort and security.
Due to the haphazard nature of my trek through Europe, though, I haven’t had much choice but to stay at a bunch of hostels across the continent. And you know what, it hasn’t been too bad so far. It might just be because I’ve been cautious, but I haven’t had any trouble with theft or violence so far. I’ve met a lot of really nice people from all over the world, people I would’ve never had the chance to talk to if I wasn’t sharing a room with them. And that’s not to mention how much money I’m saving.
My eyes have been opened. I think I see the good side of hostels now.
This time as well, I find myself sharing my room with a seemingly nice person.
“Oh, good afternoon.”
A blond lady greets me from the top bunk as I enter.
“Hi there. Is this bed free?”
“Go ahead. Just us so far”
“Cool.”
With my new roommate’s permission, I take the other bunk bed in the room, throwing my backpack and gift basket onto the bottom bed.
This time around, I ended up being assigned to a four-person room with two bunk beds, but it seems the other two beds are empty.
My roommate is already in bed, sitting on the top bunk while reading a comic book.
“That a new issue?” I randomly decide to ask after getting my stuff sorted out.
“Hm? Oh, no, I think it’s a few months old. I just saw it in the magazine stand on my way here, so I picked it up. I thought it’d be good for killing time, but I’m kind of regretting it now.”
Looks like she’s reading something from the DC Convergence event that ran not too long ago. Didn’t read it myself, but I heard it was skippable. Looks like she doesn’t like it too much either. Poor girl.
“Too bad. That’s why I always keep some of the classics on hand, just in case.” I laugh while pulling out the copy of Preludes and Nocturnes that I keep in my bag.
“Oh, is that The Sandman?” She asks, sitting up straighter to get a better look.
“Yeah, you’ve read it?”
“No, I never have. But I’ve heard good things. Is it good?”
“Oh, uhh… yeah, it’s pretty good.”
“I see. Maybe I’ll check it out soon.”
Pretty good? Pretty good!? What am I saying? The Sandman is a fucking masterpiece. This comic book changed my life when I read it in middle school. It has everything you could ever want in a story. It’s a marvel of literature, much less of comics.
Why did I just say that it was pretty good? Could it be…? Did I automatically assume that this woman just wouldn’t “get it” and so dumbed down my review for her? Or was I just scared of geeking out in front of a pretty lady?
Dammit, you idiot. How can you call yourself a true fan like this?
What do I do? Should I correct myself? Should I do it now? Should I tell her all about the imaginative storytelling and deep ideas that the comic presents?
No, I can’t! Because there’s still a chance, she might laugh at me for getting so serious about a comic book. So, I can’t. I have to hide my power level.
“… umm, here. If you want, you can borrow my copy to read.” I offer after deciding that the only way to correct my lukewarm review without exposing myself too much was to just have her try reading it herself.
“Oh, really? Are you sure?”
“Yeah. Always good to get a new fan on board.”
“Thanks, then. I’ll take good care of it.”
She reaches out from the bed and gingerly takes the book out of my hands. Instead of immediately retreating back to her bunk, though, she continues leaning over the bed railing and flashes me a friendly smile.
“I’m Laeticia, by the way. It’s nice to meet you.”
Laeticia
Just like that, the two of us start getting to know each other.
Laeticia is a woman my age with long blond hair and bright eyes the color of amethyst. She has a purity to her mannerisms that I find kinda refreshing. Apparently, she came from France and is here in Trifas on vacation as well. As for why she chose to visit such a small, unnoteworthy town, she said something I didn’t really understand about basking in old memories.
In turn, I told her a bit about myself. At this point in my journey, though, I’ve said it so many times to so many different people, it almost feels rehearsed. I told her all the usual stuff. Like how I’m from New York and how I’m an accountant. How I work at one of those big buildings with lots of windows. How it’s a stupid building built in a weird shape just so that there can be more corner offices. How it’s a crazy building where people go in but only numbers come out. How I decided to take a break from that mind-numbing monotony by backpacking across Europe.
Naturally, I hide all the stuff about being a superhero, but I don’t restrain myself with the rest. It’s not the full truth, but it’s not a complete lie either.
“By the way, do you like comics?” I decide to ask out of curiosity.
“Yes, quite a lot actually. We call them bandes dessinées in my country. Everyone likes them. I’m a big fan of stuff like Asterix and TinTin. But I’ve also been getting more into American comics as well. I had a friend who got me into them a long time ago.”
“Oh, really, that’s cool.”
“What about you? You must be a big fan, I assume.”
“Hmmm, I haven’t actually been reading a lot lately. But when I was in school, I read them all the time and I watched the cartoons too. Oh, but I’ve still been watching the Marvel movies.”
“Oooh, have you seen Age of Ultron yet?”
“Yes. Of course. It was so much fun.”
“Right, right?”
Somehow, the conversation steers back towards our hobbies rather than our experiences, but I don’t really mind. With her leaning over her bed and me standing and looking up at her, we talk about all sorts of things like our thoughts on the Avengers movie or how we think the Civil War movie that’s coming next year will turn out (she’s on Team Cap and I’m on Team Ironman by the way) or how we’re not hyped about the Batman v. Superman movie.
I wonder, when was the last time I was able to talk about stuff like this so energetically? There are other people with the same interests in my office, but I haven’t had the energy to actually care about such things for years now. Damn, now I feel like a kid again.
“Oh, by the way, I got this gift basket today and there’s a bunch of snacks in it. I probably can’t finish them all, so do you want some?” I randomly offer mid-conversation.
“If you don’t mind, I would be happy to take some. Thank you very much.”
And so, in such a manner, the two of us spent the rest of the afternoon on the bottom bed just talking about comics, eating snacks, and reading The Sandman together.
That was how I met Laeticia.
It’s not exactly the kind of dramatic meet-cute you’d find in Hollywood, but it would become a moment to remember. In hindsight, it must have been Fate that the two of us met like this.
The story begins here.
Everything up until this point was not even a prologue. This is how it begins. Not with my mother as I expected, but with a normal, ordinary woman from France.
And later that night, a voice that only certain people can hear cried out in pain and triumph:
Now, arise my brethren!
Let us begin the End of the World!
[Prelude End]
This may be sudden, but let’s talk about the past.
Last winter, someone died.
About 20 people attended his funeral. None of them shed a tear.
Sometime after the proceedings, several other people gathered at the grave. They were a collection of people that shared nothing in common, having all come from different places and different backgrounds. The only commonality they shared was the same grim expression on their faces.
“So, he’s really dead?”
“Yes. It was a perfect and complete self-destruction. It is as praiseworthy as it is deplorable.”
“I do not comprehend. How could he just die like that?”
“… because there was something he wanted to protect, I guess?”
“So, he abandoned his pride and embraced his despair in order to overcome the world’s last hope… what a dumb story.”
“Which means there’s only 71 left now…”
“69, actually.”
“Nice.”
“Shut up. This is serious. Look, there are three names on the gravestone. So, there’s only 69 left.”
“Then what do we do now? The entire plan is ruined.”
“We move forward. We can’t let something like this stop us now.”
“How? The entire foundation is in shambles. We don’t have any contingencies for a situation like this.”
“Then we improvise. And we adapt. It’s not that we only have 69. It’s that we still have 69. As long as one is left, there is still a chance.”
“We only have two years left before the deadline. Any more than that and we’ll miss our last chance.”
“Very well. We merely need to come up with a way to salvage the plan in these two years. With our powers and resources, it should not be too difficult.”
“We can start by finding the seven remnants. Their power should aid us greatly.”
“So, we all have to start working on a new plan, huh. And here I was enjoying my retirement.”
“…”
“Oi, old man! Don’t just walk off like that. Where do you think you’re going?”
“Romania. I have an idea.”
“Huh?”
“I have obtained some information that may help us. If it is true, we will be able to continue with the original plan.”
“Interesting. Are you confident in this information?”
“Yes. I am certain it is our best hope at resolving this setback.”
“Very well. Then go. But be cautious. We cannot afford to be reckless at this stage.”
“There is no need to worry. I am not like those weaklings who died so easily. I am Immortality Incarnate. I am Death itself. And I will be the one to bring an end to this sick joke of a world.”
“Sure, sure, whatever you say, old man.”
“We should get going too then. There is much to do. There is not a moment to be wasted.”
“Then it will be farewell for now. I’ll see you all soon.”
“Indeed. We’ll gather once more when the time comes.”
“Yes. Let us all meet again at the End of the World…!”
Chapter 1
1001 Nights of Wallachia
Trifas, Romania
Casa Rosca Hostel
July 29th, 2015
???
I wake up from a bad dream.
I don’t remember what happened in the dream. All I can recall when I wake up is how bad it was.
There are two types of people who care about the contents of their dream. The first is the superstitious type who thinks there’s some mystical meaning to dreams and suspects that they may receive some magical premonition or revelation while sleeping. The second is the scientific type who believes there’s a personal and psychological meaning to what your brain shows you while you sleep.
I am neither. I don’t really put too much weight in the importance of dreams. If you ask me, a dream is just random slew of information that follows no rhyme or reason. It’s effectively all random. So, to receive a bad dream is no different from getting a bad roll on one of those mobile games with randomized rewards.
This time around, though, the dream I had last night feels strangely ominous. I don’t know why nor do I even remember what happened in the dream, but I just have a bad feeling about it. As if somehow, something from within the dream would impact the real world.
“Ugghh… what the time is it by the way?”
It’s still dark in the room when I wake up, so it must be pretty early. Laeticia’s probably still asleep so I take care not to make too much noise and wake her up.
Still a little drowsy, I slowly grab my phone which I left charging by my bedside and check it for the time…
“Huh? That can’t be right…”
I rub my eyes and blink over and over, but the numbers on the top of the phone screen don’t change. It’s past 10 o’clock. Not 10 PM, but 10 AM. It’s way into the morning already.
But that’s weird. Not the fact that I overslept, but the fact that it’s already morning and yet it’s still pitch black in here.
Feeling a sense of confused alarm, I stumble out of bed and crawl over to the window. It does have a curtain but not one so thick and wide as to completely black out the room. And when I open the curtains, barely any light comes in. Instead, what I see outside leaves me even more bewildered.
Mist as far as the eyes can see. The view outside is covered in mist so thick that I can’t even make out anything else, not even the buildings just across the street. Only the barest rays of light manage to pierce through the curtain of mist, ever so slightly illuminating the wisps of vapor.
“What the hell?”
I’m so shocked right now. I didn’t know that this part of Transylvania had such heavy fog. I guess that explains why it’s so dark this morning… No, wait, even if it did, isn’t this way too thick? If it was going to be this bad, I should’ve gotten some sort of weather warning the day before, right?
I stare out the window in stunned wonder when I hear them.
Ever so faintly, I can hear loud sounds from outside the window. The sounds are coming from all sorts of directions and coming in intermittent bursts, but there’s a lot of them all happening at once.
It takes me a while to realize that they’re screams.
“Wh-what the hell…? L-Laeticia, hey, wake up! Something’s going on!”
I cry out to my roommate and run over to her bed.
But she’s not there. Her bed is empty, and her blankets are thrown to the side as if she got out of bed in a hurry. Despite that, some of her stuff like her hairbrush is still in the room, laying discarded without their owner. Does that mean she left in a hurry without time to gather her things?
“No, wait, that doesn’t matter. I-I need to find her fast. S-something dangerous is going on.”
Unable to process anything but the most pressing matter of Laeticia’s disappearance, I run over towards the door to head out and look for her. But there I find a piece of paper posted on the door that reads:
Do not leave this room
It is safe in here
- Laeticia
I feel my stomach drop.
My knees turn weak as I stare at the piece of paper in dull horror.
The words written on that paper might be reassuring in other situations, but right now they only serve to fill me with thoughts of dread.
If it’s safe in here, then what’s happening out there? Just how dangerous is it outside? What on earth is even going on?
I take a step back in fear. And then another. Soon, I completely stumble backwards and end up taking a seat on my bed. Cupping my head in my heads, I try to regain my guts and wits as I piece together everything that’s happening.
Okay, let’s review.
Right now, I’m in Trifas in Romania. I’m currently inside one of the rooms in the local hostel that I’ve paid to stay at for the duration of my stay here. Yesterday, I check-in and met my roommate, a woman from France named Laeticia. After spending the evening talking about comic books together, we both went to bed.
And now, I’ve just woken up. It’s past 10 in the morning, but it’s so misty outside that next to no sunlight is coming in. Laeticia is gone and she left a note telling me not to leave this room and that this room is safe. Also, I can hear screams coming from elsewhere in the city.
… okay, yeah, this hasn’t helped at all. I’m still as confused and terrified as before.
For now, though, I guess I should listen to Laeticia and stay in here. If her note is any indication, she clearly seems to know what’s going, at least more than I do. Rather than running around like a headless chicken, I’ll stay here and wait for her to come back.
Yeah, that’s the smart thing to do.
… no, that’s not it. That’s just an excuse. I’m just too scared to leave this room, aren’t I? I’m just a fucking coward, aren’t I? Dammit…
Paralyzed by my fear, I just stay in the room, sitting on the bed as all sorts of chaos is seemingly let loose. All sorts of muffled sounds reach me through the window. More screams but also other types of noises that resemble shouting or other forms of activity that I can’t make out. Occasionally, I hear loud, explosive bangs coming from the city. They sound like gunshots, but I really hope they aren’t.
Of course, I check my phone, but it’s no use. I’m getting no service at all. I can’t call for help or even access the internet.
All I can do is just sit still and wait.
And then, out of nowhere—
“AAAAAaaaaaaahhhHHHH!!”
A scream. A cry of abject terror.
But it’s different form all the other distant and muffled noises. It’s close. Really close.
I jump to my feet and look in the direction of the scream. It’s hard to accurately gauge but… that sounded like it came from the street just outside the hostel entrance. If I ran, I could easily get there in under a minute.
But that would mean leaving this room. That would mean getting out of this safe haven and going into the unknown outside…
Unconsciously, I find myself glancing at the mark on the back of my hand – the red symbol that suddenly appeared on me one day – and I think about what it represented to me.
What do I do?
Choice!
2. We are a super-hero (or at least someone aiming to be one !) so without thinking much, it feels like the natural choice.
Agreed, yeah. 2.
2
Was initially considering some manner of caution, but given Protag-kun's Heroic-isms, it's the only decision lel
The Act of dozing off in the afternoon is a luxury indeed.
Coffee would be nice, though.
[Collection of my Servant Sheets]
Now Revamped!
1
2 It's Hero Time
It's gotta be 3.
Laeticia is out there, Jeanneing it up no doubt, but Jack's got her NP up and running. Also, we've got the Father&Son duo out there to contend with (probably). It's too dangerous for someone with no offensive powers to speak of. Flight isn't gonna be worth much against a servant who can move at servant speed (or Jack, with her Presence Concealment)
Also, I think out Protag-Kun is liable to get things mixed up if he goes out there. There's too much missing context in this GW. I don't think Protag-kun is ready for it yet. Instead, I want to confront Laeticia. She clearly knows more than we do, and we know she's probably a 'good guy'. I say we wait for her, and then confront her when she comes back. We fly around, maybe flash our cspells. We do everything we can to get her to spill the beans on the Grail War.
tldr, 3. "I want WAIT for and CONFRONT Laeticia. She clearly knows more than we do, and she's probably a 'good guy'. When she gets back, we fly around, flash our cspells. We do everything we can to get her to spill the beans on the Grail War. "
2.
There are 3 outcomes to this. 1. We find Laeticia/Jeanne. 2. We Find Jack 3. We Find a third person.
These can be mixed if we find multiple people... But I say we can risk it. Call to adventure and all that.
Trifas, Romania
Casa Rosca Hostel
July 29th, 2015
???
I get up and head for the door.
I’ve made up my mind: I can’t stay here. I have to see what’s happening out there for myself.
I know that it’s dangerous. I mean, I’ve seen enough horror movies to know how bad of an idea leaving your safe haven is. I know that the smart thing to do would be to stay here and wait for someone else to find me. That’s just common sense.
But the thing is… common sense doesn’t matter to me anymore. Because I’m not a common person.
I’m a Superhero.
If I was going to just sit on my own ass and ignore something happening just because it isn’t affecting me, then I wouldn’t have come to Trifas.
Full of such conviction, I reach for the door handle and ready myself for whatever may be awaiting me outside. But the moment I try to twist the doorknob, I suddenly feel a searing pain in my hand—
“Ow!”
I quickly retract it and stare at the door handle which burnt me.
The doorknob felt hot. Just now, it was like touching a stove. Why?
Usually, when a door handle is hot, it means there’s a fire outside the room… right? But I feel like I would’ve noticed if there was a fire in the building. For one, the smoke detector should be going off, so that means… Screw it, this isn’t the time for this. I’ll just take my chances.
I wrap my hand in the hem of my shirt as a makeshift glove and turn the handle as quickly as I can. It doesn’t really work to mitigate the pain, but I do manage to get the door open and step out into the hallway.
As expected, there are no flames waiting for me.
The hallway outside the room is dark and quiet, eerily so. The lights are all off in and outside of the dorm rooms, leaving the entire hostel shrouded in nearly complete darkness. Nobody else seems to be in the building.
I look around and try to see what could’ve caused the door handle to be so hot, but I can’t find any obvious cause. Instead, I happen to notice a weird bundle of beads tied around the door handle on the other side. Upon closer inspection, I realize it’s a necklace with a crucifix at its end. I think it’s called a rosary. I wonder if someone put it here as a charm. Was it Laeticia?
It’s weird, but there’s so much weird stuff going on, I can’t spare it any more thought.
Moving on, I continue to make my way through the hostel, going as fast as I can without bumping into any of furniture in the darkness. I can barely see it with little light, but there’s mist inside the hostel too. Luckily, it seems to be thinner than the mist outside.
Unluckily, there really doesn’t seem to be anyone else in the building. I call out loudly and briefly check the other rooms as I pass through for anyone else who might have escaped my notice, but the whole building is devoid of life. Not just guests but the staff are gone as well; it’s hard to imagine that all those people I saw yesterday left while I was asleep. The only thing I can think of, or rather the only thing I can swallow, is that there was some sort of fire drill or something that I slept through.
But of course, that kind of wishful thinking has no place here.
“Dammit… what’s going on?”
I grimace as I reach the front door of the building without finding anyone.
My head hurts. I hadn’t noticed it before in all my confusion, but I have a serious headache. I’m starting to feel like there’s a fog in my brain as well. I wonder if it’s from all the stress of the situation.
I push through the pain, though, as I also push past the front door and get out on the street.
The view outside, however, doesn’t give me any relief. In fact, it looks all too similar to inside the hostel.
A barely lit road covered in thick mist. Everything is dark and foggy that I can barely even make out the buildings across the street. Neither can I see any other person around me.
“Hey!? Is anyone there!?”
I shout out, hoping that there might be people nearby I simply can’t see in the dark mist.
I make my way up the street towards the direction of where I heard that scream from earlier, while yelling at the top of my lungs, desperate to find anyone else in this dreary hellscape.
“Hello!? If you can hear me, please respond! I heard a scream here earlier. Is anyone in trouble?”
The streets remain silence. Only the continued sounds of somethings in the foggy distance can be heard, a distance so far and shrouded that it doesn’t even seem real anymore.
Soon enough, my throat gets tired and the fatigue of looking around while trying to see through the curtain of mist catches up to me. I come to a stop on the road to catch my breath for a moment.
Just then, as I’m about to give up and reconsider my course of action, a silhouette comes into view.
“Huh? H-hey! Over here!” I call out, excitement swelling up within me.
The figure slowly approaches and I’m slowly able to make out its shape. It’s a person! I finally found another person!
Forgetting my fatigue, I dash towards the figure to meet up with them.
But the moment I am able to make out the details of their appearance, I stop in my tracks.
The Figure in the Mist
It’s a man in a business suit splattered with blood. His skin is as pale as now and his eyes are wide open in a look of frozen terror. Numerous gashes dig deep into his shoulder and his arm is tearing at the elbow, revealing the bloody muscle within. But worst of all is a large wound on the side of his neck, as if a large animal had taken a bite out of it. And despite all these severe injuries, he continued to stumble forward with an unblinking, lifeless expression.
Holy shit, it’s a zombie.
A moment after I come to a stop and realize what I’m looking at, the man seems to notice me as well. His neck turns and his eyes suddenly lock onto me with mechanical speed. The instant he confirms my presence and location, he abruptly breaks out into a sprint, charging at me like a feral beast.
Holy shit, it’s a fast zombie!
“Waaaahhh!”
Unable to even think about what’s happening, I instinctively jump to the side, driven by pure animalistic fear.
The zombie, his jaw wide open, misses me, but quickly turns to charge once more. Just as I retreat, he chases, following me like a dog no matter how much I try to backstep or sidestep him.
My head is on fire. I’m screaming so loudly I can’t hear my thoughts. I have no idea what the hell is happening. The only reason I’m able to move at all are my innate instincts and desire not to die.
A zombie? A fucking zombie!? This is what we’re doing? Shit fuck shit I don’t even have the mental capacity to think about this sudden development and what it means about what’s happening in this town.
As it hunts me down incessantly, the zombie swings around its arms like a maniac. These attacks aren’t anything as sophisticated as a punch or a strike; they can only be categorized as the flailing of a wild beast that no longer has the intelligence to use its body properly. But that doesn’t make them any less dangerous.
After a few dodges and weaves, I make a wrong turn and end up within the zombie’s range. One of its arms are swung at me and I barely manage to raise my own arms in time to guard.
“Pwoh!!?!”
A heavy impact shakes my body. It feels as if I was just hit by a metal bat. Even through my guard, the pain from the blow reaches my abdomen.
I’m sent tumbling backwards from the blow and end up slamming into the window of the shop behind me. The entire window frame shakes violently as if reeling as much from the attack as me.
“Uhhhh…” I groan in both sharp and dull pain. “M-my arms… are they broken?”
I examine my arms that somehow managed to stay intact despite feeling like they were about to tear off. They hurt like you wouldn’t believe, but I can’t tell if they’re broken.
But I’m given no time to examine my wounds as the zombie continues its relentless assault. It lunges at me once more, this time opening its mouth as wide as it can.
Oh, shit, it’s gonna bite me!
Even through the panic and the confusion and the headache, I know exactly what that entails.
My body moves before I can even consciously consider a countermeasure. My arm flies forwards and upwards on pure auto-pilot and ends up colliding with the zombie’s chin. I had only meant to hold it off to protect myself, but I end up delivering a strike to the zombie’s head: a perfect and completely accidental uppercut counter.
The zombie’s head is sent flying backwards and its neck bends at an inhuman angle. If it were a normal person, they would die from snapping their neck like that, but the zombie remains unfazed. It raises its head once more, without showing any signs of pain, and bares its sharp teeth.
This time, the zombie lunges with its arms out first, grabbing onto the shoulder of the arm I used to counter and preventing me from repeating the attack.
Perhaps the zombie did have some intelligence left after all if it was able to pull a stunt like that. But it’s not the only one who’s learning!
I use my free hand to grab the zombie by the neck and hold it at arm’s length so that it can’t bite me. It gnarls and chomps in protest, but no matter what it tries, I don’t let it move its head in any way that can let it get a bite on me.
For a moment, the frenzied melee comes to a standstill. Not because the zombie’s stopped trying to bite me, but because I’ve managed to keep it at bay. Even now, though, it’s putting all its might into its neck to try and sink its teeth into me.
Thankfully, I’ve managed to evade imminent zombification. So that’s good.
Let’s take this moment of peace to examine the situation and maybe stop screaming for five seconds.
Okay, let’s see… first of all, I’m being attacked by a zombie. So, that’s a thing that exists. Good to know.
Also, based on how much my arms hurt, I’m pretty sure it has super strength. So, that’s fun. Yay, zombies with super strength! I’m going to die! Hahaha!
But seriously though, this is bad. It’s got me pinned to against the window of a shop on the street. There’s no way I’ll be able to shake off such a strong grip, so I’m basically stuck. On a good note, I do have a grip on the zombie’s neck, so it can’t bite me. Even with its superior strength, as long as I’m holding the neck, it can’t move its head in anyway that’ll let it get me.
So, it’s got me pinned so I can’t escape, and I’ve got it in a hold so that it can’t bite me. Which means… it’s a stalemate. In that case, I guess it comes down to a battle of stamina… no, wait, isn’t it impossible to outlast a zombie? Then aren’t I screwed?
Okay, never mind, I feel like screaming again. I need to scream or else the thoughts of my inevitable death will be too loud.
But no matter how much I scream, there’s no one around in this misty, empty city that will come and save me.
“AAAAAAAAGGGHHHHHHHH-haah?”
My death screams come to an abrupt pause as I suddenly notice the zombie make an odd movement.
Instead of mindlessly pushing forward like usual, the zombie pulls back its shoulders a little. I wonder for a second what it’s planning until I notice its free arm swinging backwards like a pendulum.
“Oh shi—”
The pendulum swings back and the zombie’s forearm smashes into the side of my torso.
The force of the impact is devastating. It is no different from being hit by a baseball bat. In moments, I feel a sharp, dizzying pain in my side and then the sensation of the air getting forced out of my lungs. My knees nearly collapse, and my arm loses its strength.
Even so, I don’t loosen my grip on the zombie’s neck. It is nothing but pure adrenaline – the raw, unfiltered fear of death – that keeps my grip tight.
But even willpower has its limits and something in me knows I can’t keep this up if I take another blow like that. Unfortunately, the zombie seems ready to give me another one as it pulls back its arms once more.
“Aggghhhh, dammit, you little—”
I want to scream again, and I want to curse at the same time too, but I lack the ability to do either with the air knocked out of me. Instead, I put all my efforts into saving my life.
The fatal pendulum comes swinging back, but I’m ready this time. I twist and bend my waist to just barely avoid the attack. The zombie’s fist collides with the window behind me instead, hitting it with all its bone-shattering force.
“Woah there!”
The entire window shakes violently from the blow. I can’t see, but I think I even hear something cracking. Jesus, just how powerful are those punches?
Before the window even stops shaking, though, the zombie pulls back yet again and readies another strike.
“Wait, hold on, if you do that now—”
But it can’t and it doesn’t listen. The zombie just throws another blind swing at me and I’m forced to dodge once more.
The heavy hit smashes into the window once more at the exact same spot and, this time, shatters the entire glass.
The two of us, man and zombie alike, fall over now that the window we were leaning on is gone and we tumble into the store.
Several sharp pains pierce my back as I fall on the shattered glass from the window. I’m pretty sure I must’ve gotten cut at least a little by the glass shards, if not worse.
But there is some silver lining. Due to our position, I fell on my back when the zombie fell face-first into the glass. It must’ve taken more damage from the fall than me.
Anyways, anticipating the zombie’s next attack, I quickly get up and throw myself into the store to gain some distance. The instant bull charge that I expected doesn’t come, however.
For some reason, it seems like the zombie is having a little trouble getting back to its feet quickly. I don’t know if it’s because it was injured in the fall or if maybe it’s motor functions aren’t perfect due to being a zombie, but it seems like I have a little bit of extra time to get some distance.
As I cautiously retreat, I look around at the unknown store we ended up falling into.
It’s a supermarket. A decently large one too. There’s plenty of aisles with a variety of goods in them. Unfortunately, there’s no one else inside and mist is leaking in both from the broken window and a broken-down door – something to think about later.
Now then, I don’t have much time before the zombie gets up.
What do I do?
Choice!
1. Hiding, flying and just waiting things out run into the problem that for all we know, help isn't coming (Laeticia would expect us to stay safe inside) but more enemies may be coming as I doubt there's only one zombie around. And going for the full body contact maneuver is risky when it's... a zombie ! You know what happens when people get bitten by zombie ! Mr. Super-Hero should know what happens when people get bitten by zombies !
Finding a weapon is a good investment for right now but also for every other zombie (or similar creature) we fight. And high-speed flying maneuver would get less dangerous and more efficient if we can hit enemies with something else than our fists so, you know.
Get geared !
Nodnod Getting a weapon with reach is one of the essential principles of zombie survival scenarios, my non existent Zomboid play hours taught me so, +1
True Rider
1
You can discussThe OG RequiemConQUEST and other Quests in Discord (disc is much more active here).
Click the image to ConQUEST
1
1
As seeing being able to fly away from the zombie using our superpower of flight isn't an option lets go with...
1.
Trifas, Romania
Kaufland Hypermarket
July 29th, 2015
Morning
I need a weapon.
I clearly can’t beat this thing by myself. And even if I were strong enough, fighting a zombie with my fists is suicide. One wrong move and I’ll end up becoming a zombie myself. I’ve seen enough zombie flicks to know you need something with range in order to effectively fight a zombie.
Ideally, I want something that’s just the right length where I can keep the zombie away from me while not being too large to swing around. It also needs to be durable without being too heavy.
The only question is, can I find such a convenient weapon in this supermarket?
Obviously, they aren’t going to be selling swords and axes at the local grocery, even if this is a medieval town. A chainsaw… probably isn’t likely to be here. Even if it was, it would take me too long to figure out how to turn it on. In terms of more common items, then, I guess a bat would work. There’s a decent chance of finding one if there happens to be a sports aisle. Alternatively, a shovel would be a really effective too. I feel like there’s a slim chance of finding one of those.
Even as I think about such things, my entire body is in motion, sprinting into the store and getting as much distance from the zombie as I can.
As I run, I try to navigate my way through the supermarket by reading the signage, but to little avail. The interior of the store is far too dark and misty to make out the words. Though now that I think about it, I can’t read Romanian anyways, so it was a lost cause to begin with.
“Food, food, food, more food— dammit, where are the weapons?”
None of the aisles I pass by seem to have anything I can use to protect myself with, unless I plan on fighting with sausage link nunchucks. Before I know it, I run into a dead-end in the produce section.
Although I’d like to turn around and check the other side of the store now, the sound of heavy footsteps behind me tells me otherwise. I turn to find the zombie already back on its feet and stumbling its way towards me again. I suspect that, once it gets into range, it’ll charge right at me just as it did last time.
Without any more time to spare, I frantically look around me for anything that I can use to defend myself, but the only things here are fruits and vegetables. I momentarily consider smacking the zombie with a pineapple and then crushing a watermelon over its head, but I know such a stunt is way too risky – it wouldn’t give me any more reach than I already have.
“Wait. Over there!”
Out of pure luck, I happen to find a viable weapon not too far away. I quickly scramble over to it before the zombie gets here.
There in the produce section, abandoned by its previous owner, is a janitor’s trolley just left in the middle of the floor. A variety of objects is stored on the trolley from a rubbish bun to a dustpan and etc. but what I’m really after is the mop.
I grab the cleaning utensil by its wooden handle and pull it out as if I were King Arthur drawing the sword from the stone. The mop is exactly the length that I was looking for, giving me just enough reach to hit the zombie from a safe distance. It isn’t exactly what I had in mind, but it’ll do for now.
“All right, come at me, you ghoulish gimp!” I yell, more out of fear than excitement, as I hold the mop in front of me as if it were a sword.
As if responding to my desperate shout, the zombie finally recognizes my existence again and immediately dashes forward at full sprint. Picturing myself swinging the mop straight at the zombie’s head, I physically and mentally prepare myself as best as I can for the incoming assault.
But it never comes.
For some reason, just before it reaches me, the zombie suddenly stops in its tracks. It isn’t like it ran into a wall or anything that was impeding its progress; it just suddenly decides to stop moving forward.
“Huh?”
I am left completely confused by the zombie’s actions.
Even though it was attacking me with such fervor just a second ago, it now stands still, almost seeming to be hesitating about something. Then, to my utter surprise, it takes a few steps backs, increasing the distance between us.
What’s going on? Why isn’t it attacking me? Is it scared of my mop-fu? Somehow, that doesn’t seem likely. Then what is it?
Just as I’m seriously contemplating the zombie’s strange actions, it throws me off once more.
“Eh? It’s circling around?”
The zombie, instead of continuing to charge straight at me, abruptly turns and moves to the side in order to get to me from another direction.
Now, my confusion is even greater. I seriously have no idea what the zombie is thinking (if it even is capable of thought).
Think. I don’t know what’s happening but there must be some clue as to why it’s acting this way. Even in the heat of panic with a terrible headache, I wrack my brain to try and figure out the mystery before the zombie can finish circling around.
The zombie suddenly stopping its attack… does that mean there was something deterring it from attacking? And if it’s circling around now, that means that whatever was deterring it doesn’t apply to an attack from another direction. So then was there something specifically in the path between me and the zombie earlier that blocked it from progressing?
I look at the wide road that would’ve led the zombie to me and can’t find anything noteworthy. There’s just a bunch of fruits and vegetables in the produce counters…
Wait, vegetables? Could it be…?
“Is this it?”
I hop over to one of the produce counters and grab a clove of garlic from it.
Almost immediately, the zombie stops again. It turns its head to me slowly, almost seeming to show an expression of fear.
As an extra test, I toss the garlic at the zombie. Immediately, it jumps away and evades the bulb as if it were a live grenade.
That confirms my suspicions.
Holy shit, it’s not a zombie.
It’s a vampire!
I see, it all makes now. I had automatically assumed zombie because of its appearance, but vampires are undead creatures too. And that also correlates with it trying to bite me so much. If you think about it too, it makes sense for it to be a vampire, since we’re in Transylvania.
Wait, does that mean my destiny as a superhero is to become a vampire hunter? Am I gonna become the Blade of this universe? Is the big bad villain gonna be Morbius? Is it Morbin’ Time!?
“Either way, now that I know what you are, I also know your weaknesses...”
I grin, for the first time since I woke up today. The tables have finally turned. I finally see a light in this foggy, depressing darkness.
Perhaps the vampire knows it too as it takes another timid step backwards. If it weren’t for the fact that it can’t make any expressions, I imagine it would be sweating right now.
“Yosha! Let’s do this, you stupid bat!”
I grab as much garlic as I can with one hand and then begin sprinting towards the vampire, the mop still in my other hand. The vampire promptly starts running away, escaping from my garlicy grasp as fast as it can.
Using the speed it showed earlier, it begins running for the store exit, making a beeline for the broken-down door at the front. Its sprint is truly impressive, worthy of its superhuman strength and easily surpassing what you’d expect from an average human.
However, it makes the mistake of running in a straight line. Because, I still have a special power that I haven’t used yet. I didn’t have the luxury or composure to use it earlier in the fear of battle, but now that I’ve seized the advantage, I can unleash my full power.
I fly.
Using my special superpowers, I jettison through the store with my feet off the ground. The vampire may be fast, but my flight is even faster; I catch up to it in no time, my body approaching its retreating back like a speeding bullet.
“It’s Morbin’ Time!!!”
With a thundering war cry, I thrust the mop forward and ram it into the vampire’s back with all the momentum of my high-speed flight. The mop’s wooden handle pierces through the monster, coming out through the being’s chest and penetrating the area where its heart should be.
The vampire’s pierced body begins to convulse. With the mop still through its chest, it flails around wildly, struggling its utmost to somehow free itself of the weapon. But in the end, they are nothing more than the last moments of a dying beast. Soon enough, all resistance ceases, and the vampire falls limply to the floor.
“Haa, haa, haa… is it over?” I pant as I carefully watch the vampire body in case it somehow revives and attacks again.
After a few more moments, the body continues to remain dead and I’m finally able to relax. I end up falling backwards on my ass as I just collapse entirely.
For a while, I just lie there on the cold ground, catching my breath and letting my heart get some rest. Slowly, the adrenaline wears off and my muscles relax. With it comes all the pain from the damage I took during the fight. My entire body aches, but my arms are the far worst off; they feel like hot lead attached to my shoulders. Just moving them feels difficult and they send searing jolts of pain every time I try to bend them.
Even so, once I had rested enough, a strange feeling of jubilee washes over me. I start to chuckle in between my gasps for air before it slowly turns into a celebratory fit of laughter.
“Hahahahaha, I did it! I beat a vampire! I’m a Superhero! Ahahaha!”
Even with my body’s damaged condition, I can’t help myself from pumping a fist into the air and proclaiming my victory to the world.
“Hahaha— Ow, ow, ow! Ahhnnn, it hurts.”
I laugh so much that the pain doubles. Not just in my body, but my headache gets worse as well. I guess my stress hasn’t gone down even after getting rid of the immediate danger; everything still feels fuzzy, and I can hardly think for more than 10 seconds without my brain throbbing.
If anything, now that the initial shock and terror has slightly worn off, I feel even more dread at the current situation.
“… seriously, what the hell is even going on here?”
Trifas, Romania
Old Town
July 29th, 2015
Morning
Once my body feels just a little better after some much needed rest, I get off my feet and properly think about what I’ve gotten myself into.
No matter how I try to rationalize it, though, I can’t find an explanation for everything that’s going on. It’s still just a giant mystery to me. All I know is that there’s this really thick mist and that vampires are a thing.
At this point, the only way to figure out what’s going on and do something about it is to head out there once again and learn what I can. Not to mention, I should try and see if I can find anyone else who’s still alive. I’m almost certain there are more vampires roaming the streets besides the one I beat, and I can still faintly hear sounds of something in the distance. I don’t know how much I can do, but if there’s a chance of me saving someone else, I need to go and try.
For that, I prepare as well as I can and stock up on whatever supplies I need. I take some of the bags from the registers and fill them with as much garlic as I can carry. Besides that, I also find a flashlight I can bring, some bandages to dress my wounds, and a broom I can use as a backup weapon for if my mop fails.
Speaking of which, I cautiously pull the mop out of the vampire’s chest, taking care in case it somehow revives the moment the weapon is removed. Luckily it does not and I’m able to add the bloody mop to my inventory.
Huh, now that I think about it, it is lucky that a single stab was all it took to take down the vampire. Aren’t they supposed to be nearly immortal or something? Wait, does the mop count as a wooden stake to the heart? Is that how it works?
Anyways, once I’m all ready and packed, I venture out into the misty town of Trifas once more, staying on guard for any vampiric encounters I may face.
“I wonder if Laeticia went back to the hostel…”
I find myself absentmindedly thinking about my missing roommate as I wander through the dark and empty streets. Since she was gone by the time I woke up, she should’ve gone into the town, right? But I wonder if she’s okay with all the vampires lurking around. Could one of them possibly have gotten her?
But then again, she was the one who left me the note telling me to stay in the hostel. Based on that, I feel like she might know more about this situation than I do. Does that mean she has something to do with this situation?
“…”
My feet come to a pause. For a moment, I consider going back to the hostel and seeing if I can meet up with Laeticia again. I have so many questions I want to ask her, but I’m also kind of worried about her too.
I look back down the road I just walked through and contemplate whether to keep going or to head back.
But before I can make that choice—
“Hey! There you are!”
An unexpected voice calls out to me. I freeze in place and slowly turn towards the source.
In the dim mist, the silhouette of a woman stands atop a nearby building, looking down on me with what I imagine to be impunity. Not too long after I notice her, she gracefully jumps down from the roof and lands without any injury. As she gets closer to me, I’m able to make out her appearance.
Pink-Haired Woman
A young woman with short pink hair. I reiterate for emphasis that she has bright pink hair. Clearly it must be dyed, but it looks so natural that I’m left amazed by it.
Wearing a short skirt that barely covers her unmentionables and a bright, cheery smile, she hops over towards me as if she were on a Sunday walk through the park and not walking through a dark, misty street plagued by vampires.
The moment I see her, I feel an inexplicable. It isn’t fear. Nothing about her is scary. She likes utterly normal and harmless compared to the stuff I’ve already seen today. So, it’s not fear. But I don’t know exactly what it is either.
“What are you doing wandering about a place like this? I was looking for you. Don’t tell me you got lost or something.” She says with the casual geniality of a friend of ten years.
“Eh? Huh? Ummm…”
I’m at a loss of words. I don’t understand this girl at all. Not what she’s saying and not how she’s acting. She’s so removed from my comprehension that it feels like I’ve suddenly started watching a movie midway.
Just as I’m racking my brain to try and wrap my brain around her appearance here, my headache worsens even further. A sharp pain like never before tears through my head like a dagger through leather.
There’s static in my brain. I can’t describe it in any way other than static. Its like a million noises and images all jumbled together and bouncing around my empty skull. But through that sea of radio noise, a single gut feeling comes through and reaches me.
That feeling is familiarity.
I don’t know. I don’t know why. But somehow… I feel like I know this woman. I feel like I’ve met her somewhere before…
“Ugh! My head!”
“Hey, what’s wrong? Are you hurt? Are you okay?” The woman asks with a concerned voice, leaning in close to check on my condition.
Even as the pain furthers and the static grows louder, I grit my teeth and try to fight through it. I have to- I have to figure out what’s happening. Otherwise, I— I just need to know. I need to ask her.
“Uhhhh, just… just who are—”
At that very moment, on the brisk of cathartic release, I hear a heavy footstep behind me.
“Shit, not right now.”
It’s another vampire.
Just like the one before, it suddenly appears from the mist, dragging its body through the street without any life or purpose in its movement.
This time it’s an older man with a balding head and a large belly, but the signs of being undead are the same. There is no mistaking this thing as a monster anymore.
“Dammit, fine. Come at me. I’m not scared of you anymore.”
I yell out in false bravado and prepare to take on the new threat.
While the pink woman is weird, it’s obvious that the vampire is the more pressing matter to deal with, so I put her aside and focus on survival. Perhaps that decision served to distract me from thinking about the woman as my headache slightly ameliorates and I’m able to move and think again without feeling like my brain was being scooped out with a rusty spoon.
I quickly brandish my mop of doom and reach into my bag to pull out some garlic. But before the vampire can attack, the pink woman unexpectedly steps in front of me and waves her arms at the undead creature.
“Hey, stop that! You’re not allowed to bite this one. He’s off limits.” She shouts loudly, while making several gestures that indicate the prohibition of the vampire’s attack.
To my surprise, the vampire actually stops walking forward. It tilts its head at the woman as if questioning her orders.
“He’s one of us. A friend. Do you understand?” She scolds the vampire. “Now get out of here. Hurry up and do your job. There’s plenty of other people you should be sucking right now. Go!”
On her command, the vampire turns around and leaves, heading off to find its next prey.
Once its back can no longer be seen through the mist, she turns to me and makes an exaggerated shrug.
“Phew. Man, vampires, am I right? They’re so stupid and so hard to control. It’s a real pain the butt that we have to work with them.”
“Eh? Uhhh, yeah…”
I end up agreeing on pure reflex, unable to absorb what was happening at all.
This woman… she just gave commands to one of the vampires and it actually obeyed her? So that means she’s on the same side as those monsters? Is she the one controlling them all and unleashing them on this city?
“Alright, come on. We should get going too. The others are waiting for us.” She declares as she taps me on the shoulder while walking past me once more.
“Oh, uhh…”
I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what I could possibly say without stepping on some landmine that will immediately blow up in my face.
I don’t know how or why, but the woman seems to know who I am. Or perhaps, she’s mistaken me for someone else. Either way, she’s being quite friendly with me and telling me to follow her.
Not only is she the first human I’ve met since waking up, but she clearly seems to know what’s going on here. If I follow her, I should be able to learn more about the situation as well. So for now, maybe I should follower her after all… at least until I learn what I need to learn.
As I try to decide whether I should do so or not, there is yet another interruption. But this time, it is not a vampire and yet it is somehow even more terrifying.
It is a chorus of screams. Loud and filled with painful terror. So loud that it’s not too far away, likely only a block down this road.
“Aaah! Waaaah! UWAAAAHHHHH!!”
I immediately crack my head towards the sounds while the woman slowly turns her face towards the general direction.
“S-someone’s being attacked…” I mutter in astonishment.
“Yeah, looks like it. Pretty close to here too. I wonder if the vampire from earlier is responsible.” She coolly observes.
“Wh-what do we do?” I ask, turning to her and her superior knowledge for guidance. Instead, what I get in return is blood freezing.
“Don’t worry about it. The vampire minions will take care of all the civilians. That’s their job after all. We don’t need to get our hands dirty or sweat the small stuff.” She answers in a reassuring tone of all things.
“We’re just gonna leave them…?” I question, staring at her with wide, terrified eyes.
“Yeah, we don’t have time to waste. Come on. We’re gonna be late.” She just nods and continues walking forward.
Still in shock, I just stare at her back as she slowly submerges back into the mist. Just before her figure fully disappears though, she stops and turns around to check on me. The slightly questioning, slightly provocative look on her face asks me if I’m coming or not.
Funny enough, I can’t move because I’m asking myself that question right now.
What do I do?
Choice!
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A wise and beautiful woman who exudes an aura of grace. She is a sly, cunning, manipulative person who always gets what she wants, whether through trickery or ruthlessness. Her own fighting abilities are low, but she should not be trifled with. What does she ride? Men, of course!
