39. Locke #3
Debbie roars and launches herself at me since I’m the one running at her with a hammer. Her large meaty fists slam against the ground, and then she shoves through the piled-up snow like it’s nothing. It doesn’t slow her down at all, not like us.
“Yes,” Cipher answers. “You should revel in that fact.” He pauses. “Keep Vesper alive.”
And then he’s gone from my mind, probably off to talk Vesper through this. He gives me no pointers, no hints, nothing. He just leaves me to go toe-to-toe with this fucking abominable yeti.
“Oh my god,” Steve draws out. “Debbie! Long time no see! Girl, you’re looking particularly savage today! Sauvage even. Meow!”
With my hammer raised and all my force behind it, I slam into Debbie. The hammer connects right at her shoulder, hitting the beast hard enough to make my hands hurt where they grip the handle.
Debbie . . . doesn’t move.
She looks down at me with a raised brow.
I stare up at her with wide eyes. “Oh, fuck,” I say, just before her fist punches out and sends me flying through the falling snow.
I scream as I fly at least thirty meters away and slam into the soft, freshly fallen snow built up.
At least it’s a soft landing, I think as I drag myself back to my feet and look around.
In front of me, Vesper is rushing around Debbie, her hyena mask firmly in place.
Brilliant. At least she can tell where Debbie is even if we can’t see.
I’ll be honest. I’d forgotten she had the thing, that she could use it like that, but the moment she’s wearing it again, I remember her wearing it before.
She has better items than me. Her blade, her mask, her cloak.
“You know,” I grunt to Cipher as I start pushing through the snow again. “If you want me to protect her, I’m going to need better fucking items.”
Noted, Cipher murmurs in my mind.
I watch as Vesper dodges around Debbie and slashes at her with her blade, making the abominable yeti even angrier than she already is. Debbie rushes Vesper, her large fist raised.
“Hey, Debbie!” I shout, drawing her attention. “Fuck you!”
I throw my hammer as hard as I can. It slams into Debbie’s face and there’s a sickening crunch that echoes even above the howling winds.
I have about two seconds to grin and feel like I did something.
My idiot brain thinks that all it would take to defeat such a monster.
When the hammer falls to the ground and Debbie looks at me with blood dripping down her snout into the snow, I know I fucked up.
Her eyes meeting mine, Debbie reaches down and picks up my hammer.
Without looking away, she grabs it between her two hands and snaps it in two.
Vesper’s eyes widen as she stumbles back away from the yeti. There’s no need though. Debbie is completely focused on me right now.
And I just lost my best and only weapon.
Okay. So, I’m really going to die here then. This is real.
Debbie starts to charge at me, scrambling through the snow with ease.
My eyes flick over to Vesper and hold as she starts to run after Debbie.
She screams something I can’t hear, her expression frantic as I just stand here.
I have no weapon. There’s nothing in my hand as the yeti rushes me, but I don’t look away from Vesper.
Looking at her is like looking at the blanket of stars here. Beautiful. Almost blinding. Peaceful.
“Thank you for giving me the time I had with her,” I tell Cipher, finally looking away from the woman who gave me a taste of goodness and back at the yeti closing in on me. “I know you didn’t want to.”
Cipher doesn’t answer.
Sighing, I tilt up my chin and face the charging yeti, my shoulders tense as she roars and slams through the snow. She raises her fists . . . I close my eyes . . .
A bright, blinding light appears right in front of me, so brilliant, I have to scrunch up my face even with my eyes already closed.
NEW TEMPORARY SKILL BUFF HAS BEEN GRANTED: Guardian Angel
You’re willingness to sacrifice yourself for someone you care about makes you an angel. Enjoy this actual guardian angel for the next 30 seconds.
“The fuck?” I shout as Debbie’s fists slam into Steve rather than my face. I scramble backward away from the fight, confused, as the two monsters meet. Every time Debbie tries to get me, Steve blocks her fist.
“Oh my god, girl!” Steve drawls. “You need to calm down! Lockey Poo totally didn’t mean to upset you!”
This only seems to piss Debbie off more.
She grows more enraged and frantic with each of her hits.
Steve takes them all, no flinches or even moving under the onslaught.
Debbie seems to crumple around him rather than doing any damage to Steve, but Debbie isn’t so lucky.
Her hands are bleeding now, leaving red prints in the snow as she tries to find a way through.
I check my buff. I have exactly fifteen seconds to figure out what to do before the buff expires.
“Locke!” Vesper shouts. She’s holding up the blunt dagger she no longer uses. “Catch!”
Debbie whips her head toward Vesper and changes tactics.
“No!” I shout, rushing after Debbie. “Steve! Help her instead!”
“No, can do, Lockey Poo! You still have ten seconds of my protection.”
“Fuck!”
Vesper spreads her legs apart, bracing herself.
She lifts her Bloodsense Fang, her eyes narrowing behind her mask.
I watch, horrified, as Debbie closes in.
Vesper darts to the side, but the snow is too deep for her to move fast. She stabs down as Debbie’s hand swipes at her, sending her flying through the air.
“Time’s up!” Steve giggles, and disappears from in front of me. He reappears right in front of Vesper, stopping the yeti’s fists from pummeling her before she can get to her feet. “Man, Debbie. You’re just like trippin’-dicular, you know?”
Debbie immediately turns back to me, and I realize I have thirty seconds to survive before Steve comes zooming back over to me. I can survive thirty seconds. I’ve got this. When Debbie’s fist slams into my chest and knocks the breath out of me as I fly backward, I change my mind.
I don’t got this.
Her fist hits me again before I’ve even landed, and I feel something break.
PAIN IGNITION, passive skill
Each injury suffered boosts your strength by one for thirty seconds.
The notification pops across my screen as well as my stats.
STRENGTH: 14
Another fist to my stomach.
STRENGTH: 15
STRENGTH: 14
Each hit boosts my strength and then one falls off as the thirty seconds from a previous buff falls off.
I drag myself up out of the snow and hit Debbie back with the one active ability I have, my fist striking her jaw with my Splinter Strike.
Surprisingly, she stumbles back, howling in pain, so I strike again, but it lacks the same oomph and I quickly realize I can only use the Splinter Strike once every thirty seconds.
Still, my fists do more damage than the hammer had thanks to my other passive skill, the Brawler’s Instinct.
For every hit I land on Debbie, she hits me back just as hard, boosting my strength with each hit.
Stupid. I’d been so stupid. I haven’t even thought about using my skills before now. Neither of us have.
It’s the longest thirty seconds of my life.
My bones are aching. I’m pretty sure I have at least a few cracked ribs judging by how hard it is to breathe.
I’m bleeding from various cuts and injuries.
My nose feels broken and blood drips from it onto the white snow.
We’ve created a grotesque painting across the white powder with our fight.
I raise my fist, swaying on my feet a little, prepared for the next painful hit, when Steve appears in front of me.
TEMPORARY SKILL BUFF GRANTED: Guardian Angel
I slump, my body screaming at me to sit down, but I can’t. We still have to fight. We still have to win.
Realizing that she can’t beat me to death again, Debbie turns back faster to Vesper who’s preparing herself to battle with her own blade.
The wind whips her cloak around her, her hair blowing in the same breeze, and as I lean back in the closest snow bank, I realize I’ve never seen anything more beautiful.
Even as Debbie disappears in the falling snow, Vesper turns with her, sensing where she is thanks to her mask.
“There will be a loot crate dropping before you in ten seconds,” Cipher says out loud.
I tilt my head back. “Breaking rules again?”
“Finding loopholes,” he replies. “The two of you are currently the top favorites of a very powerful woman in Luxe. She has generously donated a sparse loot crate to ensure your survival. I simply made sure she sees the two of you most often on the programming.”
I cough and there’s blood on my hand when I pull it away. I wipe it in the snow. “It’s hard to hate you when you do shit like that, you know.”
“Allow me to help your hate return,” he mocks. “I did it only to save Vesper. You are just a benefiting bystander.”
I grin even though he can’t see me. “Much appreciated,” I laugh. “Thought I was going to have to start liking you.”
“Rest assured, there is no need, player three million, six hundred and seventy-three thousand, five hundred, and seventeen.”
Vesper screams as Debbie sends her flying through the air.
I can hear Svetlana shouting something about heads as Vesper lands in a particularly deep snowbank and disappears beneath the snow.
A small parachute appears from above and lands in the red-stained powder before me.
A small box is attached that I quickly pick up and open.
NEW INVENTORY AQUIRED
ONE ARCTIC SMITE
Weapon, battleaxe, common
The cold steel of this axe’s blade shines like cracked ice.
ABILITIES INCLUDE:
FROST FURY. When attacking with this weapon, all medium size enemy creatures within ten feet have a chance to take ten cold damage and are frozen, paralyzing them for three seconds. Normal effect is one cold damage, as well as adding plus two to strength. The buff will be represented in your stats.
ONE SHARD
TEN HARROW COINS