“Mr. Mayor,” I called out. “They’ve got the kids! And the other hostages. They’re all fine. No other details yet, but our people made it in time.”

  “That’s good news,” he replied, still a little out of breath from rushing over. “We watched the battle from the council room, catching it on TV. Thank you for saving us. That makes it twice in one day.”

  “You’re welcome,” I told him as a light breeze pushed a cloud briefly across the sun, slightly shadowing the area and mayor. But not me for some reasons. I must be just on the edge. Strange.

  He still wheezed a bit, catching his breath. He’s on the, shall we say, portly side and seldom runs anywhere. “The commissioners and I. We all recognize what you’ve accomplished today. We’ve decided to appoint you the head of our,” He hesitated a couple of seconds as his breathing finally slowed down.

  “Our Eddington Game Response Department. We trust you to handle what we’re facing…and what we fear is coming.”

  Looking at him for a few seconds, I held myself still. “Under your and the commissioners’ guidance and watchful eye, no doubt?”

  “Yes. Yes, of course. It’ll be a City/County department.”

  “It may be…but the answer is hell no. I won’t do it.”

  “Wait? What do you mean you won’t do it? You’re the best person for the job. We all want you to lead it. It was unanimous.”

  “I don’t care. I won’t do it. I’m not going to sit in some office organizing people while you look over my shoulder and second-guess every decision, I make…or don’t make.”

  Sliding my hands to my sides, I hooked my thumbs in my belt like Chief Brown did. “I’m already doing that to myself with what happened today. I’m not going to be the one who takes the blame when people die and everything falls apart.”

  “Wha...what do you mean, falls apart?”

  “I mean, once monsters spawn…not just in town, but everywhere. We won’t be able to travel between towns, farm our fields, or get supplies unless we make them ourselves. Not until we level up enough to keep the roads open.”

  “Buh…but….”

  “No buts. It’s going to happen. The monsters are mentioned in the Rules now. I expect them to start appearing in the next couple of hours. Maybe twenty-four hours from when the game started if we’re lucky.”

  “I hope they’ll be weak at first and get stronger later.” I continued. “If not…most of us are dead. And that doesn’t even count all the people leaving the big cities when they run out of food. They’ll be looking for any supplies they can take. That’s coming too.”

  Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly after that tirade. I stared at them, my hands stayed locked in place, daring them to say something.

  The mayor and his group looked stunned. I didn’t blame them. This was the gorilla in the room they didn’t want to face.

  “Look. I’ll help and advise you. You…and I mean you personally, Mr. Mayor…will have to do the work. Dig out your old nuclear war Civil Defense plans from the ’50s and ’60s, assuming you still have any. That’s your starting point. Put police on food and fuel outlets to prevent runs on them.

  Giving him my evil smirk, I demanded, “How much toilet paper do you have squirreled away?”

  Chief Brown burst out laughing behind me after that reference.

  “You don’t need me running things. Anyone can do that. You need me out front…taking care of whatever’s coming. You needed people like me standing between you and those who tried to take over the town. I didn’t see any elected officials on the line except the Chief.”

  Looking again at the rest of the politicians behind him, most cringed, their faces tight with shame. After a moment, I added, “Until you…and I mean all of you…do that…” I swept my gaze and hand across all of them again. “I have to. And right now, I’m the best you’ve got.”

  Crossing my arms, I stared the mayor down. He was an inch or two shorter than me, but he seemed smaller. Half-turned away, his face red, he couldn’t meet my eyes.

  “To think I voted for some of these…politicians. Maybe two or three of them will stand up and help. Maybe.” I watched them squirm.

  That’s when a voice from near the back of the group called out, “I’ll do it.”

  A man, maybe late thirties, stepped forward. Darker-skinned, black hair, clean-shaven. I couldn’t place where his ancestors were from. He wore a blue suit jacket, dark blue slacks, and an light gray button-down shirt, no tie.

  “I’ll run it,” he said. “I teach organizational management at the university and the state tech school. I can set it up…if Mr. Brinsford tells me what we need.”

  Staring at him, the face rang a bell, but no name came. “What’s your name?” I asked.

  “Sakraney. Srihari Sakraney. But people usually call me Harry.”

  The name was vaguely familiar. “I think I voted for the woman he beat.” No matter.

  “Harry. Glad to have you stand up and take the job.” I did a quick REVEAL STATS on him. His game name was Harry. Class: Bard. Bard? Subtype: Instrumentalist, stringed and guitar.

  “Thank you. When you go home, get your guitar and bring it with you everywhere. Hard shell case if you’ve got one. You’re gonna need it.”

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  “Huh? How did you know I played?”

  “REVEAL STATS. You’re a Bard. Instrumentalist, specializing in guitar. If you don’t have other weapon skills, it is your weapon. You support a party or demoralize enemies. Nimblefingers did that earlier with his lute, drum, and the song we sang. For a level one spell, it was a hell of a buff.”

  “I heard it…I felt better. Didn’t know why.”

  “Good thing I, and other gamers, do. You’ll be popular with parties if you want to level up. Maybe even the other kind of parties too. And if angry citizens come after you? Your music can soothe the savage beast,” I added with a chuckle. He laughed too. A few people behind me joined in. None in front.

  “We’ll talk about it,” I said. “You’re on the city council. You know what they wanted me to do. Toss it out and design something that works. The simpler, the better. If anything in the current plan is good, keep it. If they give you grief, contact me. I’ll come…or send someone.”

  He smiled. That was a good sign. “Maybe I’ll vote for him next time?”

  “Thank you. I’ll talk to people who know how this stuff works. I’ve played First Person Shooters. Got a few ideas.”

  “Good. Just remember…no organizational plan survives contact with real people.” We both laughed. The other politicians didn’t. Some squirmed or scowled. A few smiled.

  Maybe there was hope for the political class yet?

  “I seem to have heard something like that somewhere.” He said, grinning.

  “Here’s an Irregulars Guild invite,” I said, sending it over. “CHAT is the fastest way to reach me, unless I’m asleep. You can scan messages too, no need to listen to the chatter. Sending my email as well. No idea how long the net will last…but we’ll use it while we can.”

  “I’ve been thinking about that. So many things we take for granted,” he said.

  “By the way…any word from the university? We had a couple of students in the line, but no contact from anyone over there.” I asked him.

  “No. I got an email saying everyone had to attend a mandatory meeting this morning, but I was called here first. Figured this was more urgent. I’ll reach out and see what’s going on.”

  “Thanks. We need their help. There’s a couple thousand students and faculty here for the summer. I used to do editing for University Publishing. I’m semi-retired now, doing freelance work for them.”

  A message flashed...he’d joined the Irregulars.

  “Thanks for joining,” I said.

  “Thank you for inviting me.”

  [Harry:] [William of Brinsford] I’m going home now for my guitar. I’ll let you know when I get back. You were right. Most of the two councils wanted you for the fall guy when this goes wrong. That won’t work with me. I’m used to them. If I need backup, I’ll call. I’ll read up on guilds now that I’m in one. Thanx for that.]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Harry] You’re most welcome. If you need backup or moral support, I’ll send Bhaarrt or Shadow. Your choice.]

  Without speaking to them further, I turned and walked away, joining the others by the reporter. I did my best to ignore anything said behind me.

  [Harry:] [William of Brinsford] I’ll take you up on that. I think they’d both enjoy it.]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Harry] They would.]

  [Harry:] [William of Brinsford] [Shadow’s very intense. I don’t want her mad at me.]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Harry] [Got that in one. I don’t either.]

  [Harry:] [William of Brinsford] [Is she legal? 18 or older? There were some kids from the high school in your line.]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Harry] [There were? I don’t think anyone was checking ages or IDs. Why?]

  [Harry:] [William of Brinsford] [Legal liability for minors. Also, what happens when they kill someone? We talked about only allowing 21 and older to go hunting monsters.]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Harry] [They already have. Gone hunting, that is. There were real monsters in the other line. Some of them looked under 18…and I think they enjoyed killing their hostages.]

  [Harry:] [William of Brinsford] [I know. We have to look at the legal aspects of what is happening. Until the laws change…they still apply.]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Harry] [We’ve tried to be careful. Chief Brown sent an officer with us to avoid breaking too many laws. Blaze is FBI. We’ve talked about it. No good answers yet.

  [Harry:] [William of Brinsford] [You’ve been avoiding the question. Is Shadow of legal age? Optics matter.]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Harry] [She can vote. Don’t know if she’s registered. She’s not 21 yet.]

  [Harry:] [William of Brinsford] [Thanks. That takes a load off. I’m in my car now. Not sure if this counts as texting while driving…but I need time to think.]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Harry] [Gotcha. Drive safe. Grab something to eat...you may regret not doing it later.]

  [Harry:] [William of Brinsford] [Will do. Bye.]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Harry] [Bye.]

  That conversation gave me a bad feeling we’re going to need a lawyer. A damn good one. At least until things change…if they do. That thought ran through my head as I headed for my van.

  [Sir Andrew of Darkfeld:] [Irregulars] [Everyone’s welcome at my place tonight. 8pm unless we get called out. Brats and beer on me. Bring everything else. 837 Jordan Ave, southwest side. Come round back.]

  [Sir Andrew of Darkfeld:] [Irregulars] [Bring your families if you want to.]

  A chorus of “I’ll be there” messages followed, with a few ride requests that got sorted quickly.

  [William of Brinsford:] [Blaze] [What is your ETA back here? We got a party to get ready for.]

  [Blaze:] [William of Brinsford] [I saw. 15-20 minutes away. Meet you at your van?]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Blaze] [Sounds good to me. I’ll be there.]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Irregulars] [If you’re coming to the party, bring your gear. If we get called out, you won’t have time to go home and get it.

  Got a couple of “Roger that” responses. Bhaarrt, Shadow…then Blaze. I smiled.

  At the van, I unlocked it and popped the passenger door. It felt good to get out of my doublet. I draped it inside out over the back of the seat to let it air out. Sitting in the doorway, I rested…thinking about how to spend my new points while I waited for Blaze.

  The gentle breeze and warm mid-May weather didn’t match what we’d just lived through. It should have been dark and gloomy. Maybe the sun just came out now that the fighting was over.

  My level was getting high enough that where I went next would shape how I played this game. Problem was…I didn’t know what was coming. I hoped for low-level spawns for a while. Maybe dungeons were already forming, waiting to mature before opening.

  My deep sigh came from being tired…and from being everybody’s Mr. Know-It-All. I didn’t know where to go from here.

  The game raised my PRIMARY STATS a little each level, but I still received points I could allocate as I wanted. I’d already decided to put at least one into ENCHANTING. I wanted more options. Same with TRANSFER MANA. I needed rechargeable, larger Mana Batteries. Stronger shields were also a must. One level in SHIELDs now…maybe one every level going forward.

  My Mana Pool wasn’t something I could directly boost, but increases in both INTELLIGENCE and EGO made it bigger. That would have to do.

  MENTALIST needed a bump, too. Better shielding. Maybe a better CHARM spell, like CHARM MONSTER. Dual-classing bites hard. I don’t get twice the points for skills and spells.

  I finished assigning stats, spells, and abilities just as I saw Blaze walking toward me in the distance. I left two points unspent until I was sure what to do with them.

  Finally, I found something that at least the title fit. It's a pretty good song.

  Musical Interlude:

  Bread, Guitar Man

  I have a if you want to ask questions, make suggestions, or just talk about the story.