Father’s vision shifted as the yellow line traced the outline of Mister Logs. The eel moved closer until his massive head hung over the desk. Unblinking eyes watched Father closely. The creature was already intimidating enough, but knowing what horrible fangs lay hidden inside his mouth made Father shiver.

  “Who are you?” Mister Logs asked.

  Father kept the shotgun level and ready. He needed a clear shot into the eel’s mouth. Otherwise, the weapon was useless.

  “I’m searching for my Son. Winner of the Sexiest Lobster competition. I was told you know the Hardbody Crustaceans.”

  Mister Logs floated for a moment, just watching Father. He darted closer with his mouth closed tightly. Father didn’t flinch.

  “Ask your question, lobster. I can tell you have one.”

  “Where do I find him? The Reef is too big to go searching.”

  The eel slowly cocked his head. A smile revealed the sharp teeth that stayed as a vivid memory within Father’s mind.

  “You are bold.” Mister Logs moved just a bit closer. “Why would I tell you a single thing?”

  Father nodded toward the shotgun. “I know your weak point.”

  A long tongue snapped out of the eel’s mouth and licked his lips. “Shall we test that?”

  “I’m not leaving here with you alive, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

  The eel’s smile faded. “Who exactly are you?” His eyes flicked to the shotgun. “You know how to hold that.”

  “I’ve had a few practice runs.” Father tapped the trigger with his claw. “What do you do in the trench?”

  The eel’s tail flicked in the shadows, tapping against the office wall. “I run Trash Co. with an iron fin.”

  “What about the Hardbody Crustaceans?” Father took a step forward.

  Mister Logs actually pulled back. It was subtle, but Father noticed the shift immediately.

  “Every operation needs a middle man. There are things to move, and only so many people have the knowledge, skills, or acumen to move such things.”

  Father’s eyes moved past the eel to the shadows. There was so much of the creature he couldn’t see, but as far as he knew, the mouth was the most dangerous part.

  Mister Logs opened his mouth, bigger and more horrifying than Father had seen it before.

  It was all terrifying, and none of it mattered. If he lost now, he would win next time. Each time he learned more, and he would continue learning until he didn’t wake back up in his car.

  Mister Logs lunged forward. Father kept his feet planted and waited until the needle-like teeth were like walls closing in. He could feel death creeping in, sinking into his shell. Despite it all, despite every doubt in his mind, Father didn’t move. He only pulled the shotgun trigger, sending a spray of buckshot directly into the back of the eel’s throat. Little metal balls pinged off other parts of Mister Logs’s mouth, clinking off teeth and digging into the soft tissues around his throat.

  The eel immediately pulled back, hissing while a stream of blood floated into the water. “You hard-skinned filth.” A cloud of blood soon filled the area above the desk.

  Father pumped the shotgun, ejecting the empty shell. “Want to try again?”

  Mister Logs dove through the cloud of blood, reappearing with his mouth closed. Father instinctively shot. Most of the buckshot sunk into the eel’s skin without doing any real damage.

  Father immediately saw his mistake. There was no amount of flexing, flinching, praying, or anything else that would fix the pain of death, or more accurately, dying.

  The eel’s mouth clamped around him, twisted, and tore.

  Returned to Start.

  Beginning Run 15.

  Set Attributes.

  Strength 5

  Endurance 15

  Agility 30

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  Intelligence 0

  Luck 0

  “This is it.” Father ran out of the car with renewed vigor and beat the Hardbody Crustacean lobster to death. He felt an odd thrill as he took out the pigfish. His drive into the trench was accompanied by blasting music that made the car shake.

  Father rushed through the Trash Co. office, killed Lorno and the snow crab, got the shotgun, and returned to the manager’s office.

  He knocked.

  “Come in.”

  Father opened the door with the shotgun hanging at his side. A different tactic could help get some new information. It seemed unlikely, but Father had been so aggressive, and this time, for whatever reason, he wasn’t feeling angry. He was . . . kind of having a good time. The way to defeat Mister Logs was now clear. He had made mistakes until the weak spot revealed itself, and after getting tricked, he was sure his new plan would put the eel down for good.

  “Who are you?” Mister Logs slowly revealed his pale body, drifting closer to the desk.

  1st Checkpoint Boss

  Mister Logs

  “Just a Father. I was wondering if you could give me some information about the Hardbody Crustaceans in the Reef.” Father took a few calm steps inside.

  Mister Logs clearly noted the shotgun, but didn’t seem to particularly care. “And what would I gain by giving some stranger this information, should I have it?”

  “A trade.” Father’s heart finally beat quicker. Somehow, lying was more terrifying than fighting for his life over and over.

  “Monetary?”

  “A life.” Father placed his empty claw against his chest. “I’m a talented fighter, and I will be indebted to you.”

  Mister Logs drifted a little closer. “How do I know you’re telling the truth? You could be completely incompetent and I would not know.”

  “I already killed a snow crab and his lover.” Father lifted the shotgun and let it rest on his shoulder. “I assume a member of the Hardbody Crustaceans is considered tough?”

  “Interesting.” The eel inched ever closer. “How do you feel about intimidating elderly fish?”

  “Fine.”

  A smile spread across the eel’s face. “Good. Good.” He floated up to his desk. “The Hardbody Crustaceans are in the Buttress Zone. You can find them anywhere in the Reef, really, but if you’re looking for their base, it’s Buttress. Now, Father, you will work for me until I feel our trade is fulfilled.”

  Father approached the desk. The shotgun still rested against his shoulder, propped up, but firmly held in his right claw. “What do you need me to do?”

  Mister Logs looked at a stack of folders on the side of his desk. “Grab those.”

  Father dragged them over and flipped the first one open. There was an absurdly long number running along the bottom with multiple additional loans over a few years listed underneath. Above was a picture of an old, wrinkled cod.

  “You took out the Hardbody, so I need a collector.” Mister Logs grinned wickedly. “Without those shellfish involved, we can take bigger cuts. You get twenty percent of what you collect.”

  “How do you want me to collect?”

  “How?”

  Father let the shotgun fall so he held it in both claws. He casually fiddled with it. “How do you want me to do it? Violently? Calmly?”

  “I just want you—”

  Father aimed as close as possible to the eel’s open mouth and fired. He immediately pumped the shotgun, squinted past the ejected shell, and fired again. Mister Logs was so thrown off by the first attack that he didn’t immediately snap his mouth closed. The second shot sent a spray of metal balls directly into his mouth, tearing deeper into the wounds from the first shot.

  Father pumped the shotgun again and forced the barrel into the eel’s mouth even as Mister Logs snapped his mouth shut. Sharp teeth scraped on the metal barrel, but it held. Father shot one more time.

  Blood popped from the eel’s eyes.

  1st Checkpoint Boss

  Mister Logs

  Defeated.

  Father’s vision fuzzed.

  Continue or Return to Start?

  Father tapped Continue and recoiled as even more information appeared on the screen.

  Choose a Class.

  Brawler - A fast-hitting, relentless fighter with close quarters combat. Adept with martial arts and melee weapons. Brawlers gain abilities through use of different weapons. Favors a mixture of Strength, Endurance, and Agility.

  Athlete - Outrun, outlast, out perform opponents through athletic prowess. Athletes gain a basic set of abilities related to performance. Adept with sports-related gear and all sports-related activities. Favors Endurance and Agility.

  Gambler - A reckless class for those who search for a thrill. Favors Luck.

  Wizard - Spell-slinging master of the arcane. Wizards gain a basic set of abilities to use immediately, but must find tomes or scrolls to unlock their true power. Favors Intelligence.

  Clown - Jokes, humor, horror, and hostility. Clowns, despite their intended nature, are a horror unlike anything else. Adept at Intimidation and Fear, Clowns do not have preferred weapons or fighting styles. Abilities are gained through creating fear in other creatures. Favors Agility and Intelligence.

  Sharpshooter - When seeing the life in your enemy’s eyes is too much, shoot them from afar. Adept with all firearms. Sharpshooters gained abilities through wielding different firearms. Favors Intelligence and Luck.

  Drunkard - When reliving your worst moments and repeating your failures become too much, you can readily enter a drunken haze until your inevitable death. Will automatically result in a ‘Return to Start’ upon death. Comes with one ability. Favors nothing.

  Father stared at the selections. He scrolled through, rereading them all one more time. It just didn’t seem right. One made him an expert sniper while another made him a clown? One option was to just be drunk until he died. The range was ridiculous. And what was a wizard? Magic wasn’t real. If he picked that and got tricked, he would probably be worse off than before. His attributes also mattered, but he wasn’t being given an option to reset them

  What made the most sense? He had kept the same attributes for a few lives in a row, so he needed something that leaned into high agility. Clown, Athlete, and Brawler all said they favored agility, but it was really only Athlete where Father could understand how it would help. With all the running and moving he had been doing, being more athletic could only be beneficial.

  Athlete

  Confirm?

  Father clicked confirm, then felt a shiver pass through his body.

  Checkpoint 1 Reached.