Orion felt paralyzed on his couch. Every muscle in his body was on fire, and his numerous wounds continued to ache. Samantha had been kind enough to wrap his cuts with a shirt, and he had his bruised ankle resting on a soft pillow.
Andrea was sleeping in Orions bed, still unconscious. Everyone else was gathered in Orions apartment, silently listening to the sounds of beasts outside. It seemed like they couldn't get inside if the door was closed, they didn't even seem to try. It was convenient, but it didn't take away from the fact that the survivors were trapped in Orions apartment.
Devon, the man with the shaved head, sat on Orions armchair, cigarette between his lips. Orion had asked him to not smoke, for which he had received a dirty look. Orion got a better look at Devon's tattoos now that he wasn't busy fighting off a horde of monsters. He had a small symbol on every finger, like a skull or a cross, and the tattoos on his neck seemed to be the design of a snake coiling around his body. Below his left eye, he had the Roman numeral for the number nineteen. Orion wanted to ask why, but figured Devon wouldn't be prone to sharing.
The older man and woman were George and Monica, and they were Samantha's parents. George was a grumbly old man, who seemed to hate everything and everyone. It made Orion wonder how he ended up with such a kind woman like Monica.
The older woman sat next to Orion on the couch, her hands in her lap, fingering one of the many rings she wore. She had a smile, but Orion could tell she was nervous. Her husband was searching through Orions fridge. He hadn't asked if he could have anything.
"You seriously don't have any beer?" He questioned, an irritated tone infecting his voice. Samantha spoke up from her seat at the island.
"All the beer would be warm by now idiot."
"What have I told you about talking to me that way?!" George pointed a finger at Samantha. The young girl nearly responded, but she was cut off by Devon.
"Shut up! I'm too tired to listen to the two of you right now."
George mumbled something under his breath before returning to the fridge. Monica cleared her throat on turned to Orion.
"It's a…lovely place you have dear." She said sweetly. The feeling of hope had returned to Orion when she sat near him. It was a comfort in such a trying time.
"You're lacking a bit of decoration." Devon said, spreading out on Orions armchair. Orion sat up slowly before speaking.
"Yeah, sorry. I just moved in and haven't had time to fully get settled."
Samantha raised an eyebrow.
"Didn't you move in like, several months ago?" She questioned. Orion was surprised that she knew that, and also embarrassed to be exposed for his lack of effort. He looked away from her sheepishly.
"Works been busy," he said quietly before turning to Devon. "Where did you get a machete?"
Devon shrugged, taking another drag of his cigarette.
"I dunno, bought it a while back because it looked cool. Came in handy."
Orion couldn't figure out for the life of him what Devon did for work. George had shared loudly that he was a very successful Sales Representative, much to Samantha's dismay.
It seemed like Monica was a stay at home wife, and she had proudly shared that Samantha was in her first year of university, and was majoring in history. The young girl seemed rather smart, but was a little quiet. Except when her father was talking, she tended to get very loud in those moments.
Orion addressed the room.
"Well, I suppose it might be handy if we discuss our abilities with each other. Im sure you've all done so already, but I wouldn't mind being caught up."
"And why should we trust you?" George asked suspiciously. "How do we know you're not some monster waiting to kill us all?"
"He bleeds red numb nuts." Devon said tiredly. "Plus he was half dead when we found him, I doubt he'd be much of a threat even if he was a monster."
"Hurtful…"
"I can go first." Orion said, leaning towards the table infront of him. He placed a hand on the table and let a small amount of moss grow across its surface.
Devon and Monica both leaned forward to get a closer look, confusion covering their faces. Samantha looked over from the island. A small sound of surprise escaping her.
"It's works as a touch sensor," Orion explained. "I don't know how far the range is, but if anything interacts with it, I'll know."
Devon nodded.
"Sick. What about your friend?" He said, nodding to Orions bedroom down the hall.
"She has a kind of invisibility."
"Kind of invisibility?" Monica asked. Orion nodded.
"If someone becomes aware of her presence or location, the invisibility turns off for them. But so long as she remains quiet she's entirely hidden."
Devon and Monica nodded, and then Devon spoke.
"I got some sort of like, echolocation thing. I can produce sound waves and if anything interferes with them, I can sorta like feel it."
It was a similar ability to Orions, but it lacked the range that [Decay Searcher] had. Orion was still sure they could find a use for it though. Monica shared next.
"From what I understand, I have a 'reassuring aura.' I'm not sure it'll be very useful."
Orion had guessed that her ability was something along those lines. Monica was downplaying its potential, the confidence Orion had felt in the hallway was massively helpful.
"Thats great, it'll make dealing with everything outside a little easier," Orion turned to face Samantha. "What about yours?"
Samantha seemed a little sheepish, as though she was embarrassed or otherwise unwilling to share her ability.
"Acidic blood." She said quietly. Orion instantly understood her hesitation. If he understood correctly, her ability would require her to harm herself to use. It was the only offensive Gift the group seemed to have, but it definitely came at a cost.
They would need to keep her ability in mind, but Orion would try to work around it. The less they had to use it, the better.
Finally, Orion turned to George, who was still searching Orions kitchen.
"George? Care to share?" Devon said, a little sarcastically.
"I already told you, I ain't saying anything!"
Orion raised an eyebrow at this. George was hiding his ability?
"Whats up with this guy?"
"George, knowing what we're all capable of is hugely important. You should really tell us." Orion argued. George turned his chin.
"You don't need to know anything. My ability can't help you, so leave it!"
Orion turned to Devon, who just shrugged tiredly. Orion was beginning to understand his impatience with the older man. He was stubborn, and impolite, and Orion didn't trust him even slightly.
"By the way," Devon said, putting out his cigarette. "Do you got any of the weird stat things unlocked?"
Orions heart sunk. He had been hoping this new group would be able to shed some light on the stats, but it seemed they were equally as confused as he was.
"I haven't unlocked anything yet. I think we need to kill more monsters to figure it out."
Samantha cut in.
"How many kills do you have?" She questioned. Orion turned, and put up two fingers. She nodded.
"We all have one, but Devon has three, so that brings the total to nine,assuming Andrea only has one kill."
Orion nodded to confirmed. He turned to Devon. Who wore a slight prideful smile. Three kills didn't seem like a lot, but each one must've been an extremely deadly affair. And he seemed to be mostly uninjured aside from a few scrapes on his cheek and hands.
"He must be pretty capable in a fight, we're lucky to have him on our side."
"Theres thirty-four rooms per floor," Samantha continued. "So that's twenty five monsters we still have to kill."
Orion felt his stomach drop. Twenty five monsters? How the hell were they meant to handle that? Especially now, when all the beasts were roaming freely together outside. They might've had a chance before if they coul've entered each room and isolated each monster, but now, they had lost the advantage.
"Twenty six." Devon muttered quietly, almost like he didn't want anyone to hear. Everyone turned to him. He stared down at the table, and he ran a finger over one of his numerous hand tattoos. It was a skull that became golden on one side. It reminded Orion of the [Decay Searcher] icon.
"There's something in the lobby," Devon continued. "It's…big. I didn't see it, but I was able to detect it with my gift. And I heard it."
His voice shuddered slightly at that last part. He seemed afraid. The nearly stoic attitude he had held in the hallway was falling apart. Whatever was in that lobby, it was a problem. Twenty five monsters, and something more. Orion swallowed his fear.
It appeared the group had its work cut out for them.