“We’ll cut some real quick before we get on the road,” I said. “I’ll get one too. But this is my only weapon.” I held up my hand, index finger extended. “Pew pew.”
“If we get attacked by bottles we’re all set,” said Joe, laughing.
Something occurred to me. Having experienced gamers in the group who know what’s happening and are smiling and laughing is probably knocking a lot of the fear out of this whole thing. Not to mention that everyone here is used to the idea of reality being a little… fluid. What must it be like for people who don’t have those advantages? I shook my head with sudden apprehension, but nobody noticed.
“When I was looking around yesterday I saw a softball bat in the shed behind the cabin,” Joe was saying. “I’ll grab that. Anthony?”
“I need a staff,” Anthony replied. “I’ll cut one outside. There was a bread knife in the kitchen and it should get through a few thick branches.”
“All right. I’ll lead,” said Joe. “I get bonuses for defending others and I’ll probably be a decent tank if nothing crazy happens.”
“Mike in the middle,” I said right away. “Protect the healer at all costs, everybody. If we get hurt, he can help us. If he gets hurt, we’re in big trouble.”
“I don’t have any weapons and I don’t have any tamed animals,” objected Samantha. “What am I going to do?”
“Until we can get you a pet, I mean, a tamed animal, just stick close to Mike,” replied Joe. She nodded.
“How about Mandy behind you, Joe?” I asked. “Mandy, you any good with that whip? Any experience with a gun? Can you help Joe fight without hitting him?”
“I’ve never shot a gun before,” she said, pursing her lips. Then her face firmed. “But I’ll take a fly off his head with my whip.”
“Samantha can use a gun,” said Mike. “We both can. We’re country kids.” Samantha smiled at him.
“You okay with her using your gun, Mistress?” said Joe. “It’s yours, you used your perk for it.”
“I don’t care,” said Mandy with distaste. “I don’t like guns. It was stupid to take it.” She rooted around in her purse and handed it to Samantha.
I remembered something.
“Don’t you have to give her permission to use it, Mandy?” I asked casually.
“Oh, right. How do I do that?” She looked confused by the idea.
“So far just doing things seems to work okay,” I answered. “Maybe hold it and say “’Permission granted to Samantha?’”
She took it back and did as I suggested, then blinked. “It says, ‘Permission to use granted.’” Mandy handed the gun back to Samantha. “Please be careful. There’s a slider on the side that controls the power. The first setting should knock down a person. The last setting is supposed to kill almost anything.” The other woman nodded and carefully put the gun in her bag.
“Okay,” Joe said. “Me, then Mistress.” He was now calling Mandy ‘Mistress’ with no hesitation. Apocalypse rules, I guess.
“Me next,” I said. “I’m ranged damage. Maybe Danielle paired with me? If a fight starts, she’ll be able to either protect the center or sneak around you two and set up for a backstab.”
“Sounds good,” said Joe. “Then Mike and Samantha. Samantha, if we do get into it, use the gun to help if you can. Otherwise protect Mike.”
“I will,” she said firmly, tightening her jaw.
“Mike, if somebody gets hurt, heal them the best you can,” I said. “And don’t try to fight unless you have no choice. We need you to stay alive and healing.”
“All right,” he said, sounding dubious. Maybe he feels bad not being the protector with Samantha, I thought. Tough.
“Me in the back, rear guard?” asked Anthony. “That… okay, that works.” He also sounded dubious. I had no idea if he’d ever gotten into a fight before: he certainly wasn’t as comfortable as Joe with the idea. It seemed like a bad time to ask. At least his gamer experience looked to be kicking in.
“That does it then,” I said. “Mike, please listen to me.” He looked at me curiously. “I know doctors always try to help the worst hurt person first, right” This got a nod from our healer. “Okay, here’s the thing. You absolutely cannot do that if we get in a fight. You have to help Joe and Anthony first.”
He started to interrupt and I kept speaking quickly, not letting him. “I’m serious. Unless it’s obvious that they’re fine, you have to keep them fighting. They’re the toughest. If they get hurt too bad to fight, whatever is attacking us will get past them and get the weaker party members. Like you. Like Samantha. Remember, if the tank goes down, the party wipes.” I paused and looked at his stunned face. “And that means game over. We all die. You never see your kids again.”
Susan, who’d been resolutely staring at her book and ignoring us, laughed sharply at this. A few people glared at her but she didn’t look up.
“Doctors decide who lives and dies every day, Mike. Same thing. That’s all.”
He looked shaken, but nodded, face grim. Samantha put her arm around him and squeezed.
“Everybody got some food and water?” asked Anthony. There was general assent.
We filed out of the house. It was a beautiful day, sun blazing down and barely a cloud in the sky. It was still cool up in the mountains but walking would probably keep us plenty warm. The cabin was set off a local road, with enough curve to the driveway that the road wasn’t visible from the cabin itself as the property had lots of trees. Charming, but now it felt a little isolating.
Joe headed for the shed, which was almost on the treeline. Mandy kept her eyes glued to him. Anthony, the bread knife in his hand, walked toward a brushpile a few yards from the shed and started looking for sticks. Meanwhile the rest of us looked around nervously. There was no traffic noise from the direction of the road. The only real sound was the breeze in the trees.
Emerging from the shed with an aluminum bat in his hands, Joe walked back toward the group. “Nothing else worth much in there. Smells like they keep a mower in there sometimes, but it’s just random junk n…”
A shout cut him off in mid-word and we all jumped. Anthony, a long stick in one hand and the bread knife in the other, was backing away from the brushpile.
“I’m okay,” he said, a little breathlessly. “Samantha. Get over here. Bring the gun.”
Samantha dipped into her bag and came out with the gun, holding it in a shaky hand. “What is it?” she almost yelled.
“It’s a rattlesnake,” he said, much more quietly as he had almost reached us. “It’s… big. It’s really fucking big. Come see.”
Mike reached out as if to hold her back, but she gave him a reassuring nod. “I’ll be careful, honey.”
She walked over to Anthony, and he said, “I’m a city kid, I never saw a rattlesnake except at the zoo. But I don’t think they’re usually that big. See it? It’s on the right side of the brushpile. It must have been asleep.”