“That looked just like the light when I got my weave.” The woman said.

  “It burned like it too,” Julian remarked as he inspected his forearm. “It's a tattoo of me kneeling to feed that potion to you… so weird.”

  Harvey moved closer and saw an amazingly detailed tattoo of Julian kneeling to feed the ruby red liquid to Hannah. Their bodies were drawn in shades of black and gray, with a golden glow surrounding the potion like a halo. It was stunning, and he couldn't help thinking about his own disturbing set of new ink.

  What was your name, by the way?” Julian asked.

  “Hannah. Hannah Heyward. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you guys hadn’t found me.” Her tone darkened as she looked down at the corpse near her feet. “It was so fast, I barely got a shot off before it was right on my heels.”

  “Well, you’re safe now. I’m Julian Romano, and this is Harvey,” Julian said with a reassuring smile, reaching to shake her hand.

  “Nice to meet you, Hannah,” Harvey added, wiping his sweaty palms on his robe before shaking her hand as well.

  She was shorter than both of them, standing maybe five-four, with an athletic build of compact muscle that reminded him of Cleo. Her long hair flowed past her shoulders in a stark mix of platinum blonde and bone white, the strands blending like frost over silver. One eye was a brilliant emerald green set in living, healthy skin. The other gleamed a cold teal ringed in gunmetal gray. The marbled patches ran across her face and down her neck, splitting her face in two. She looked young, probably around his sister’s age. A quiver sat on her shoulder, but her bow was nowhere in sight. There was a steadiness in her grip when she took his hand, a hint that shock hadn’t erased her aim entirely.

  “I feel… stronger,” Julian remarked after a brief pause.

  “Did you get any notifications?” Harvey asked.

  Julian appeared to stare into space in front of them, making Harvey assume he was looking at a screen that only he could see.

  “I leveled up. A screen like the mirror appeared, saying my class, Warrior, is level 1. I got 2 Vitality, 1 Endurance, 2 Strength, 1 Willpower, and 2 Free Points. Not sure how I am supposed to use those…” Julian muttered as he looked intently at the invisible screen in front of him.

  The trio waited another moment as Julian examined his status. A minute later, another warm glow entered the array of ink covering his body, accompanied by a pained grimace.

  “Turns out I just had to think about where I wanted the free points to go, and it worked. I chose strength and endurance.” Julian announced. “I also got a mark called Born Protector.”

  “A mark?” Hannah asked, “What’s that?”

  “Not sure, it showed up under the Legacy section on my status screen. It’s been a few years since I had much time for video games, but it definitely feels like I’m living inside one,” Julian replied

  Julian looked intently at the empty air in front of him again before muttering something about sharing the screen, and a sheet of blue light appeared for the others to read.

  Next to the description, an image of the same tattoo emblazoned on his arm appeared.

  “That’s amazing. That alone gives you as much strength as I have to begin with.” Harvey exclaimed.

  “You only have 5 strength?” Julian asked quizzically.

  “I’m more brains than brawn.” Harvey laughed nervously

  “I don’t know what the scale is, but looking at us compared to you makes it pretty obvious that you were already stronger. Do you feel any different?” Hannah asked.

  “Yeah! It’s like there’s lightning in my veins!” Julian said excitedly.

  To demonstrate, he moved to a small boulder buried halfway in the dirt and squatted to wrap his beefy arms around it. With clean, practiced form, he heaved until the boulder broke free, raining dirt below as he stood up. He whooped and jogged around a tree before dropping it.

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  “Wow.” Harvey laughed. “That thing must’ve weighed 400 pounds!”

  “Alright, boys, we can play around in the dirt later.” Hannah laughed, loosening up a bit after the strange display. Harvey couldn’t tell why, but he felt safe around Julian. Usually, it took him a while to feel truly comfortable around someone, especially the strong, athletic types whom he’d both envied and feared back in his school days.

  Something about his easy-going demeanor as he saved both Harvey and Hannah from what could only be described as horrors from the underworld formed a trust that belied the time it took to build. Even Hannah, still pale from her close call, seemed steadier now. He wasn’t sure how any of them could be calm, but it was better than the alternative.

  “What about you, Harvey? Any marks?” Julian asked.

  “Um.” Harvey began, the light smile disappearing from his face. “No, not exactly.”

  “What do you mean?” Julian prodded.

  “Mine isn’t called a mark,” Harvey stammered. “It’s… not a good thing. Not like yours.”

  “Is the tattoo something freaky?” Hannah asked.

  “Kind of? It’s just…” Harvey stuttered before Julian interrupted him.

  “Hey, man. You don’t have to show us if you don’t want to. Just know that no matter what it is, I’ve got your back. I don’t know if I would’ve been able to kill that hound without you, but I know for sure it would’ve left me with some nasty wounds. We make a good team, and friends don’t judge their friends' bad tattoos.” There was an uncanny sincerity in Julian’s voice... until he got to the punchline.

  Harvey mulled it over before deciding it was best to share his stain. He wasn’t positive, but the overwhelming fear he felt was likely a function of his abysmal willpower. He’d never been the bravest soul, but every rustling leaf and twig cracking beneath their feet made his skin crawl. It wasn’t fair to let them trust their backs to him without knowing his limitations, and he’d never overcome his shame if he hid it away.

  With a thought, his own status screen appeared. Instead of the mirror, it was a screen of blue light just like the kill notifications.

  Harvey looked crestfallen as the others read. Julian placed a consoling hand on his shoulder and looked at him with concern.

  “I don’t know what brought you to that ledge, but we’re here to help you climb back up,” Julian said.

  “Thanks. It all happened so fast… I never meant to...” Harvey exclaimed, holding back tears.

  “You had a moment of weakness, but that doesn’t mean you’re a weak man. You know how many firefighters I know who let their darkest days get the best of them? They teach classes about it in the academy because they know the day will come when something happens that we don’t have the strength to handle. You never know when, why, or where, but we all know it’s coming sooner or later. Do you know what they teach us to do in those moments?” Julian asked.

  Harvey shook as he began to sob, unable to get a single word out through the waterfall of emotion racking his body.

  “They tell us to lean on each other. Lean on your brothers and sisters who have strength to spare on the days you don’t have any left. Still, some choose to take their own lives, but I refuse to believe that a moment of weakness in that person's darkest hour is a stain on their legacy. It doesn’t change all the amazing things they accomplished over a lifetime of struggle and service.” Julian exclaimed. “I believe that with my whole heart. I don’t know if you had anyone to lean on in that moment, but I’m going to let you lean on me until you believe it too.”

  Harvey felt an invisible power wash over him as Julian spoke, almost like the words enveloped him in a warm embrace, giving him courage that was not his own. He wiped the tears from his eyes and looked up to face his new friends.

  “Thank you,” was all he managed to choke out.

  “Of course, man,” Julian said reassuringly. “Now let’s see that tattoo. It’s a part of you now.”

  Above the description of his mark was a small image of a brown and black rope tied into a noose. He removed his robe, folding it loosely before draping it over a low-hanging tree branch. Then, he removed his shirt and displayed his bare chest for the two to see.

  Touching one of the thicker veins of ink crossing over his heart, the noose hung down. He felt a pang of shame and regret at the sight of it, and he rushed to replace his shirt.

  “Thanks for sharing that with us, Harvey. I’m sorry for pushing you. I had no idea it was something that heavy.” Hannah spoke somberly.

  “It’s ok. It feels better having what got me here out in the open. I figured you should know why I’ve been so on edge.” Harvey replied.

  They nodded as Harvey pulled the robe back over his head.

  “You died today, too?” Hannah asked Julian, receiving a nod in return. “I guess that explains it. I’ve been… or I guess I was… fighting stage 4 thyroid cancer. I’ve been going through some intense treatment lately, and I honestly didn’t know if this was just some strange nightmare I was having... Guess I died in my sleep. I hope my family is going to be ok when they find out.”

  “Thyroid cancer? But you’re so young! That must have been devastating,” Julian said.

  “It was, but honestly, I’ve made my peace with it. I’m going to miss my life, but maybe this is for the best. I feel healthy again, even if my skincare routine is going to need a major update,” She replied, massaging a gray patch on her forearm. “Or, maybe this is just a nightmare and you both will disappear when I wake up.”

  A distant screech reminded them they weren’t alone in the forest.

  “If it is a dream, we’re all having it. So, let’s do our best to stay alive until it ends. Sounds like there are more things out there waiting to tear our throats out. There are also more people who need our help. Let’s go find them.” Julian said as he began trudging up the hill again.