TAKE ON ME [Survival LITRPG Apocalypse]

January 22nd 2027: Utopia

What a disaster.

MY disaster.

Tess stepped out onto the front step of her family's small Shack. The human and monster bodies had all disappeared by now, but the coppery scent of blood still lingered in the crisp morning air.

She looked out across the muddy and blood-stained snow. Several people walked past her with tear-stained faces, or met her eye with a cold stare.

The previous night—after the battle—she had forced herself to sleep. Her mind had been racing, but exhaustion from the battle and the hard hike back from the Spider Dungeon had won.

Now, with a clearer head, she was asking herself a serious question.

Should I even be in charge?

The battle had gone horribly. Fifty-three people had died. A few people who were in Teams Three, Four, or Five had quit. How could she still stay in charge with such a terrible outcome?

If it had been another zero-casualty battle, she would have had multiple goals for today. It was the second day of week four, which meant that the Spider Dungeon they had worked so hard to clear the previous week had already respawned. Same for the Headless Dungeon. She would have debriefed Team Two on their Headless Dungeon run, and then given everyone a rundown of the Spider Dungeon. Plus, there was recruiting and training she had wanted to dive into today.

But now, she just felt so… scared. Defeated. There were so many things to do, but all she could focus on was the horrible outcome of the battle.

All across the hill, the ground was littered with glittering loot where the monster corpses had vanished. However, not many were concerned with picking up their tragic loot.

Tess trudged through the snow, each step heavy. Dark circles rimmed the eyes of everyone she passed.

She bent over to pick up a pile of Copper Coins that had been assigned to her. This area was especially bloody; it was where the Spiders had made their last stand. The Spiders had been able to kill several more people before they were all wiped out.

The Spiders should have never even gotten into camp.

Tess blew out a long breath as images flashed in her mind: the Wolf Spiders howling, and leaping from one victim to the next.

She didn't really know what to do, so she wandered aimlessly around Foundation, fighting with horrific memories, and avoiding eye contact.

Tess found herself at the edge of the town's makeshift memorial area. Quiet sobs punctuated the air as families huddled around crude markers stuck in the ground. A White woman clutching a child's pink coat sobbed as she crashed down onto her knees in the snow in front of a wooden plaque.

Tess hadn't even asked how many of the victims were children.

Tess's chest tightened. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I am so sorry."

Footsteps crunched in the snow behind her, and she turned to see her parents making their way down the hill. Her mother was trying hard to match her father's brisk pace. When they reached her, her father gave her a reassuring pat on the back.

"Are you doing okay?" he asked.

Tess's shoulders sagged. "I messed up again, Dad. I should've been better prepared, I should've—"

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"Well maybe..."

Tess flinched.

"Hold on, that's not—" Hana began.

"Well maybe…I should have listened to you a little bit more. " Bo continued. "I stand by the fact we needed the shelters but…we should of also trained. This whole town needs to do a hell of a lot better. I'm not blaming you for last night, Tess. No one—"

"I am."

A tall Black man was standing near a freshly made plaque stuck in the ground. Standing next to him was Blake, wrapped in his [Crappy] black robes.

"I asked you, Bo," the tall man continued, "right after you cleared the Headless Dungeon. My family was packed and ready to leave with Blake. We were going to run. Do you remember that? I FUCKING asked you if it would be safe here, and you talked me into staying. Now my wife is dead." The man balled his fists. "My kids have lost their mother!"

Blake stepped forward with a sneer. When he spoke, there was hate and venom in his voice. "I keep telling you, they don't give a shit about us. They just want to keep playing kings and queens, casting spells, and fighting monsters." Blake looked down at Hana's undead bone arm. "Or becoming them. You and your friend Brad aren't too far from that now, are you?"

Tess's jaw dropped. She expected her Dad to let Blake have it. But both her parents stood there for several heartbeats, slightly wide-eyed.

"Mom? Dad?" Tess stepped toward them.

"And you," Blake whirled on Tess. "Why on earth would you possibly think you could lead these people? Protect them? These deaths," Blake pointed at the wooden tombstones, "are all on you!"

Tess wanted to argue back. She had tried so many times to get people to work together and train. But she stopped as she lost her breath. Panic began to bubble up within her. Uncontrollable images flashed through her mind of all the mistakes she would surely make if she stayed as leader: all the people she would end up getting hurt or killed.

What the hell had I been thinking?

She couldn't lead these people; she didn't know anything about battles. Plus, everyone still considered her a kid. They needed a capable adult to stand up and lead them.

Her father shook his head and gritted his teeth. He took a step toward Blake.

Blake's eyes narrowed. He turned and left with a final, "you're going to get us all killed."

The Black man's anger seemed to dissipate, leaving a broken shell of a man behind. He turned his back on them, and stared down at the wooden memorial.

Tess felt her father's shaking hand on her back as he led both her and her mother away and further up the hill.

Tess shook her head and took a few deep breaths. She felt like she had been drowning in cold water, but the sensation seemed to slightly fade the further away she walked from the memorial site.

Bo closed his eyes and took his own deep breath. He cleared his throat. "As I was saying . . . I think we can do better, but last night wasn't your fault, Tess. I think you reacted quickly, and it could have been a lot worse, to tell you the truth."

He gestured behind them to the out-of-sight plaques. "No matter who is at fault, though, we still lost a lot of people. We've all gotta step up our game. It won't take many more nights like this, and we'll be wiped out."

"I have some stuff to take care of," said Hana. "Tess, are you all right?"

Tess nodded, her jaw clenched.

"All right. Come find me if you need to talk. I'll see you both later." She gave Bo a quick kiss, then headed toward the Shacks.

"I haven't been able to find Bridget yet this morning, but I did bump into Mike," Bo said. "He was meeting with Team Two. Want to go check in with them and see how their Headless Dungeon run went?"

Tess didn't want to go, but she knew her Dad wouldn't accept that answer. She nodded.

Oh God, please no more bad news.

Within minutes, they stood before all ten members of Team Two. Tess looked over the thankfully still-alive team: Mike; Jill; Eric; Brad; Sophia the [Ranger]; Priya the [Sorcerer]; Tushar the [Monk]; Charlie the [Fighter]; Jeannie the [Life Guard]; and Veronica the [Rogue].

Brad stepped forward and pulled Bo into a hug.

Her dad looked uncomfortable, but he let Brad hug him anyway.

"Is everyone okay from last night?" Bo asked.

"The team is okay," said Mike, "but we lost some close friends."

All of them looked solemn.

Tess stared at the ground as another bout of horrible images burst forth in her mind.

Bo sighed. "I am sorry to hear that. It was a horribly shitty night."

Everyone just nodded.

Priya and Tushar wiped at a few tears.

They were all silent for a few moments.

"What about the Dungeon?" asked Bo. "How did it go?"

Tess did her best to push the visions to the back of her mind.

Brad shrugged, and a grin spread across his face. "We had a hick-up at the start, but then it was easy. All Level 1 the whole time. Nothing but Pygmies. Boss was just a slightly tougher, faster Pygmy. Still ten waves in the first room, but no big deal. Room Two didn't have any human heads or creepy stuff. Piece of cake."

Tess nodded. "Good job. That's a giant relief to hear. What was the hick-up?"

Veronica's cheeks were flushed. "It was my fault," she muttered. "I guess I wasn't as mentally prepared as I thought I was. I'm good now. Please don't kick me off the team!"

"Uh, what happened?" Tess asked.

"Around wave five of the first room, everything was going fine . . . until I found myself deeper into the enemy lines than I had meant to be. I kind of had a small freak-out, and bolted."

"Turns out, running deeper into the Dungeon when the waves are active triggers them faster than normal," Mike added. "We found ourselves fighting wave five, six, and seven all at the same time. We handled it, and no one was hurt." Mike made eye contact with Veronica. "And we learned some valuable lessons. I don't think we need to replace anyone."

"Of course we don't!" Brad said, and laughed. "No big deal. One time mistake." He pulled a clearly embarrassed Veronica into a side-hug.

"I'm glad everyone is okay," said Tess. "That is some good info about the waves."

Mike cleared his throat. "We got a ton of blueprints, more [Crappy] loot, some resources, and a bunch of Coppers." He glanced between Tess and Bo. "What should we do with it all?"

Bo stroked his thick red beard, considering. "Well, we didn't set any terms, so technically it's all yours. But I hope you spend the Coins, sell the gear, or give it away: help push the economy forward." His eyes lit up. "The blueprints though . . . can I see them? Actually, hell, I'll buy the whole stack if you want to sell."

Mike shifted uncomfortably. "Well, I promised to sell a bunch of the blueprints to a few others. If that's okay?"

Bo's eyebrows shot up, but he nodded. "Of course. It's all your stuff to do what you want with, and we need to start getting things made."

"Thanks, Bo. Look, we're gonna go spend some time with our families. We'll catch you around."

Tess's first instinct was to ask them if they would clear the Headless Dungeon again this week, or possibly even travel out to the Spider Dungeon and let a different team defeat the Headless Dungeon for the experience. But she couldn't bring herself to ask.

It isn't my job anymore.