An ocean breeze hit me in the face, and my eyes started watering from the bright sun. But I kept them open, assessing the situation.
The bird was perched precariously close to the edge and only turned its head when I entered. There was no space for me to [Leap] closer. I had to make it move, without going airborne. There was a good chance a bird would go flying if it was outnumbered. It was only slightly taller than Andy.
"Stay behind!" I yelled at Andy and swung the door shut with my foot.
I scurried behind the HVAC box and peeked out to see the seagull lifting to its feet. It waddled closer, turning its head side to side. I heard banging and scraping on the other side of the door. I must have crashed the cigarette box and closed the door for good.
"Here, birdie, birdie," I called.
The segul took two more steps, and I judged it to be close enough for my skill.
I tightened the grip on the can, stepped out of my hiding spot, squatted and said [Leap], aiming for right under its belly. Swaying on my feet, I landed a little bit further from the chest feathers than I aimed for. But the bird was moving, still taking a step towards me.
I pressed the button on the aerosol and the lighter at the same time. The cloud of fire was so close to my face that I could smell the hair burning in my nose, but there was no time to pull back. I closed my eyes and continued spraying the entire front of the bird in flames. The acrid smell of burning feathers forced me to hold my breath.
When the heat became unbearable, I jumped to the side to see the impact. The feathers went aflame, like a torch, fire quickly spreading outwards.
The seagull screeched loudly and backed off. I released one more spray, aiming for its side, but the bird was already gone. The wings were beating frantically. Wisps of black smoke and bits of burned-off fethrs curled in the air currents created by its frantic motions.
I was swatted off my feet by the intense air current, almost falling over the edge. The bird flopped down and wriggled around, but there was no soil on the roof to help extinguish the flames. The seagull realized it in a second and leaped off the roof, heading towards the ocean. It was flying in erratic patterns, diving and swooping unpredictably. But the fire was already on its wings, and the exposure to air wasn't helping.
I stood up to see if the bird would reach any water.
It was almost beautiful. The flaming bird flying through the blue skies, like a phoenix. Fortunately, it was only a human-eating seagull, and it entered a corkscrew trajectory over the suburbs. The flaming body disappeared in someone's backyard.
I looked over the edge for the longest moment, waiting to see if the fire would spread onto houses. There were no plumes, but it was also a bright day, so it would be hard to spot. I licked my chapped lips and hissed in pain after touching a blister on my bottom lip. I touched my lips and used [Heal Wound], grateful that the cooldown had timed out.
A glimpse of grey smoke curling at the edge of my vision made me turn. A fire burned on the outskirts of town. It was barely visible, but the dark plume stood out sharply against the bright blue sky. It seemed to be coming from somewhere near the landfill. I made a mental note to stay away. This was likely the same smoke we'd spotted from the mountain two days ago, and judging by its colour and how long it had been burning, nothing good was happening there.
The Deal Hand notification covered my view. The bird was dead, so it was time to go. If there was anything I've learned through my five years of living in California, it was that seagulls never came alone. Where there was one, there must be a colony nearby.
With a loud creaking noise, the metal door popped, and Andy stumbled onto the roof. He was panting hard, his face red and sweaty, a pry bar in his hand. The man must have been trying to pry the door open this entire time. It was a good thing we chose to look for another spot to enter.
"Chloe, you ok? Why did you shut the door?! You could have gotten killed! Where is it?" He said, coming closer and looking around.
"There," I indicated the bird's crash site. "It was just by the edge of the roof when I stepped out. I didn't want you to spook it into flying off."
"That was very selfless of you," Iris commented on my actions in an impassive manner.
"That was very stupid of you," Andy said, staring at the house where the bird had landed. Then he turned to me. "I thought we were a team. You can't keep pushing through this like a solo player! Sure, you level faster, but you're also more likely to get yourself killed!"
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His rebuke made my face tingle, as if he'd slapped me. I'd risked my life coming here, and he was upset I hadn't shared the "levelling" with him? Closing the door had been the right call. It was the only way to get the job done.
"Who the fuck do you think you are?" The words came out sharper than I intended. "I came here to help you find a doctor. I'm not the one treating this stupid Deck like some game. You are! Everything I've done was to protect your fat ass!"
"That's not..." Andy's expression shifted, anger drained. His mouth softened, eyebrows lifted slightly in the middle before going completely flat. He'd shut down all emotions from showing. "Yeah... you did protect me. I am wrong. You're right." He said in a dull voice, turning away. "Let's just get home so Iris can help Mom."
His tone was insincere, but why would I care? The adrenaline from the fight was crashing hard, leaving me shaky and exhausted. I pushed myself up from my crouch.
We walked back to the second floor in search of a clean room, where we could regroup. I needed to assess the damage to my face and select a new card.
"Should we check out the pharmacy?" I asked, opening the wrecked door to the staircase.
"It must be on the first floor." Andy's tone was flat. "Probably already ransacked anyway."
"Is it common for you to steal?" Iris asked casually, following us.
Her tone was strange again. I couldn't tell if she was attacking my character or genuinely curious.
"It's not like there's a pharmacist around to sell us what we need," I said finally, when we reached the staff break room with its cracked vending machine.
The place was not ideal, but it had a door, no bodies, and actual chairs. I sank into one gratefully, my legs still shaking from the adrenaline.
Andy propped the door with his pry bar, wedging it into the gap between the closer arm and the door frame to block the hydraulic system. That was smart thinking, since the door didn't have a handle we could bar.
He took off the top of his jumpsuit and went to the water tap to rinse his centipede burns. His t-shirt was drenched in sweat, and the wounds must have been stinging from the thick fabric rubbing off the blisters.
"Here, let me help," Iris suggested, coming closer to Andy and touching his hand.
In the blink of an eye, all the pinkness and swelling receded and disappeared, as if it had never been there.
"Wow," Andy whispered.
"What level is your healing card?" I asked in astonishment.
"The cards we get are a reflection of our soul, as much as they are a reflection of our accomplishments," Iris said and walked towards the window.
Despite our fight, Andy and I exchanged a look. More and more things about Iris felt off to me. She didn't carry herself like a survivor, someone who'd endured desperate fights to collect powerful cards. She was aloof, just a distant observer. She seemed almost... foreign to this place. To us.
But when Andy looked back at Iris, his face was full of hope.
Gazing down, I focused on my reflection in the pocket mirror. My face looked sunburned with singed eyebrows and stubs of ashen and curled eyelashes. The area around my mouth looked slightly better, but the white, bumpy scar on my face stood out like a dead pixel on a screen. The situation wasn't dire enough to make me ask Iris for help. Besides, I could heal myself once my card's countdown refreshed.
I closed my eyes and pulled the Deal hand screen, looking over my choices. There were two blue cards and one green. The first blue card had a pawprint with very impressive claws and [Predator's Instinct] on the bottom of it. Second was a picture with a blast of fire and [Pyromaniac Torch] on the bottom. The last was an already familiar green card with a mask, split into two sections, one sad, one smiling - [Game appearances].
I ignored [Game appearance] for the same reason I always did - it wasn't immediately useful right now.
[Predator's Instinct] sounded strong and ominous. I would want to read the description for it, but I wasn't ready to make it my final choice only to satiate my curiosity. Because the second blue card, [Pyromaniac Torch], seemed strong and useful, something I need to have in my arsenal. Was the name a little sinister? Yes! Who would have liked to be called a pyromaniac?
It just called to me on a deep emotional level, and I couldn't resist. I pulled the card in my deck and read the description.
[Pyromaniac Torch] - Fire recognizes a kindred spirit. Go on. Light it up. Just be careful what you feed it. Cooldown 10 minutes.
That was the vaguest description ever, but also… I couldn't wait to test it. The card nearly whispered to me, tempting me to try it out.
When I opened my eyes, I saw Iris staring at me with curiosity.
"Can I help you?" I asked to break up the awkward silence.
"What did you get?" Andy chimed in, like he couldn't help himself.
This game-like reality must be a good substitute for his gaming addiction. I should come up with something similar, or before I know it, I'll be stopping strangers on the street to ask if my ass looks good in these leggings.
"A torch skill," I answered.
"Like a light?"
"No, like a flamethrower…. I think."
"Hm..." He nodded and headed towards the exit. "We should go."
I got up to my feet with renewed vigour. I was ready to fry up some monsters.
Chloe's Deck (5/10):
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Blue Card: [Leap]
Instantly leap forward up to 6 feet. Beware of obstacles. Cooldown 30 minutes.
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Blue Card: [Heal Wound II]
A medium burst of healing for a single target area you touch. Cooldown 1 hour.
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Green Card: [Spear]
Basic proficiency with spear weapons. Grants +5% damage and improved accuracy when wielding spears.
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Green Card: [Poison Tolerance]
Dulls the worst poison effects, giving your body time and chance to fight it. Does not work on lethal poison dosages.'
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Blue Card: [Pyromaniac Torch]
Fire recognizes a kindred spirit. Go on. Light it up. Just be careful what you feed it. Cooldown 10 minutes.