Hell

"Beast Tamer?"

"Yes, Mr. Ryan. Congratulations, that is a rare class indeed. You should be very proud."

I nodded, still confused. "Can you give me any more details?"

"Certainly!" she chirped. "Beast Tamers, tame wild animals to do their bidding. Once tamed, these animals can be used in many ways. However their intelligence is key to how complicated a task that can be performed."

"And how do I tame beasts?"

"Simply, you must catch them and hold them for a time. In the case of the Buzzard, holding it firmly in your hand was enough."

"What about a shrieker?" I asked, thinking about the possibility.

"I can't give you that information, Mr. Ryan."

"Shit," I swore. "Alright, can you explain resistances then for my clothing?"

"Certainly, Mr. Ryan." She always sounded so goddamn happy. "Resistance is useful in many ways. A single point of resistance is enough to protect from harsh sunlight and mild weather. At three points of resistance, like your boots, armour will absorb minor cuts and abrasions. The higher the resistance, the more damage they will absorb."

"Do things break?"

"Yes, Mr. Ryan. Though there are no formal durability requirements. Simply, if it gets cut or broken, that is it. Fabric can be cut, metal can be crushed."

I nodded along before remembering about Henry's cut. "How much is this healing spray?"

"Five-thousand points."

I hissed at the price, thinking we should use it sparingly. "Edith, what happens to my belongings if I die?"

"You lose them, Mr. Ryan."

I sighed, "Right. Thanks."

"Any time, Mr. Ryan."

I nodded to myself, before summoning a bone from my backpack. Like the spray, it appeared in my hand and I offered it to the buzzard. It made a small chirp and quickly took the bone, before tipping its head back. Making jerking motions like I'd seen crocodiles do, it swallowed it hole, before making a quick flap of its wings.

"Sooo?" Claire said from behind me.

"Apparently I'm a beast tamer."

She stepped closer and took a look at the buzzard on my arm. "I'm assuming that means he won't bite?"

I looked at the creature and a small window like from the dagger popped up.

BUZZARD - FEMALE

IDLE

I reached out and patted its head softly and watched the word IDLE flash to GETTING HEADPATS. "Yeah, she won't bite."

"She?"

I nodded, as Claire reached over and gave the Buzzard a pat herself. "Yeah, when you concentrate on things, they pop up another window that gives a bit of info. I found out by staring at my dagger."

"Huh," Claire, squinted at the buzzard. "It is a she. Sorry little lady."

The buzzard preened under her touch. "She seems to like you," I grinned.

Claire shot me a smile, "Should we name her?" I shrugged. "Well, daddy doesn't care. So I'm gonna call you... Lace!"

Lace preened again and I nodded, "Whatever works."

"Don't be a buzzkill," Claire grinned at me.

I just sighed. "Come on, you hold her, I'll check the box."

Claire nodded as I lifted Lace off my arm and handed it to her. Stepping around, I heard a mournful chirp, before a sudden impact to my shoulders told me Lace didn't want to be separated. When I turned around, again, Claire was pouting, but Lace was getting comfortable on my shoulders.

"Sorry," I said.

Claire nodded, "It's cool. Not like I was getting attached."

I nodded and bent down to check the box. "Just means, you might have to stick around me then, huh?"

Looking over the box, it was like an industrial briefcase of some sort. It looked just about like any you'd see in video games where you'd be in this exact situation. I bent over and tried to pick the box itself up, but it wouldn't budge. So with a sigh, I flicked the latch on the front. The moment the lip cracked open, my view was filled with a screen, like looking in my backpack.

The figure of me was the same as the one with Edith. In the storage squares, was a belt pouch and a dozen caltrops in a single stack. I immediately thought to take it all and they vanished. I felt the weight of the belt pouch settle on my side. The figure of me showed the caltrops were stored in the pouch. I gave it a quick check and I could see I had one empty space in my backpack, and another two empty spaces in the belt pouch. That gave me a total of thirteen items I could carry. Closing the menu, the box vanished like the bodies did and I stood up. Only to bump into something. Turning around, it was Claire, who'd come up behind me.

"Sorry, you okay?"

She nodded, before leaning forward and pressed her lips into my own. I stood like a stunned mullet as she pulled away and shot me a quick smile. "I wouldn't mind sticking around you, at least for a while."

"Right," I said softly.

"Come on, we have a building to search."

I nodded and followed after her. We made it back to the stairs and watched everyone freeze at the sight of Lace.

"Apparently my class is Beast Tamer," I told them all. "Her name is Lace, she's perfectly safe. I'm not really sure what she'll be useful for yet, but we'll get there."

I gave everyone a moment to process what I just said, before heading up the stairs. On the seventh floor, we found that it wouldn't be possible to go any higher. As we piled out of the stairwell, I took a moment to draw out my waterskin and take a few sips as I stared into the darkening sky. The rolling clouds flashed and thunder rolled in the distance.

"It'd be beautiful if it weren't so damn terrifying," Claire said.

I nodded in agreement, "This is the last floor. Let's go over it all and then find somewhere to hunker down for the night."

Claire nodded and headed off to search. I went in the opposite direction. I also kept an eye on the sky. I didn't know if there'd be any more Buzzards. But I didn't want to risk getting into a fight with a whole swarm of them.

"You can warn me if any others like you show up, right?"

Lace made a small chirp noise and I grinned, thinking she'd understood. I swept through the rooms that were still accessible. It was mostly empty though. Being open to the sky meant even a lot of the dust had either been blown or washed away. And as I stepped into the last room I could access, I stopped. This room had no far wall and hung over the edge of the building's structure. But perched on the edge, was a trembling young woman.

"Please don't hurt me," she squeaked.

"Woah, now," I said, pulling up short. "Come away from the edge, I don't want you to fall."

She shook her head violently. "If... If I fall, it'll all stop."

"No!" I spat, hating myself as she jumped. "No, please. You don't understand. Dying doesn't make you stay dead."

She frowned, "You're as crazy as this place."

I shook my head, "Think about calling someone, like on a phone, but in your head."

She frowned at me, but a moment later she jumped in surprise. Unfortunately, that small jump was just enough, that she lost her balance. Her terrified expression locked on mine, as I rushed towards her. Her flailing arms were the only thing I could see as I threw myself on the floor and slid. Throwing out my hand, somehow I managed to catch hers as she went over.

"Oh my god!" she screamed. "Please, I'm sorry, don't let me go!"

I grunted as she slipped. "I'm trying, try and get a hold of my shirt with your other hand."

She swung slowly below me. If not for the wall below, I could have swung her into the lower level, but as it was, I was barely holding her weight as it was. She squealed as she looked down, before swinging her arm up and grasping at the sleeve of my shirt.

"Please don't drop me!"

"Claire!" I screamed. "CLAIRE! HELP!"

I waited a whole minute gritting my teeth in pain, before I heard Claire come in behind me.

"Ryan?"

"She's slipping! Help me!"

Claire rushed over, seeing the woman, she squeaked. In a flash, she was holding a rope and I grunted at the thought. Rope was a good tool, and I forgot to get myself some. What I wasn't expecting was for Claire to lay beside me and tie a loop around my arm.

"Claire, what?-"

"Shut up!" she snapped.

I closed my mouth as she finished her knot. I watched in confusion as she gave it a wiggle and it slipped down my arm, over my hand and down onto the woman's arm. She gave the rope a quick tug and my eyebrows shot up as the loop pulled tightly around her arm.

"Alright, I'm going to tie one end around my waist and brace against the doorframe. Then you can let go and get the others so we can pull her up together."

"Please don't drop me!" The young woman cried.

"You're going to be fine," Claire called, heading back out the door. I grunted at the effort, before the rope pulled tight. "Alright, let go."

The woman's eyes went wide as she stared at me in terror. "Please, please don't let go. I know better now. Please, please."

I just shook my head, "The rope has you. You won't fall. I need to get help, so we can pull you back up. You'll be safe, I promise." She looked up at me and nodded. "I'm letting go now."

Without giving her a moment to panic, I let go. She squeaked in fright as she dropped a few centimeters while the rope took her weight. But I didn't give it a second thought as I scrambled to my feet and rushed out of the room. I gave Claire a nod as I stepped over her.

"Take your time, I got her," she smiled.

I grinned, but rushed anyway. Getting to the stairs, I smiled, seeing everyone now dressed and wearing backpacks like my own.

"Emergency, come with me, now!" Everyone turned and followed. I led them back to Claire with the rope. I brought them into the room where the woman hung. "Alright Henry, you go over and help get Claire upright. Polly, Lillian, you pull. I'm going to help get her over the edge.

"There's someone hanging off the edge?" Lilliana asked with shock.

I nodded, "Yeah, so let's get this done quick!" Everyone got into position as I stuck my head over the edge to check on her. She looked terrified, biting at her fingernails of her free hand, but smiled when she saw me. "We're gonna pull you up, when you get near the edge, you're going to have to climb if you don't want to lose skin."

She nodded, "Thank you."

I glanced back, "Alright, PULL!" Lillian and Polly pulled as Henry helped Claire go from a brace position to a pulling position. I glanced down to check the woman and she nervously smiled. "PULL!" The rope shifted and she lifted up to the edge. I reached down and took her wrist. I gave her a quick pull myself and got her hand on the ledge. "Careful now, give another pull." Everyone moved again and the woman was able to start pulling herself up. With her arm coming over the top, the others kept up the momentum as I moved to support the woman. Bit by bit, she slowly came over the edge and she flopped onto the ground with a squeal of joy.

I quickly bent over and grabbed her hand, before slipping the rope off her wrist. As I stood, I pulled her up with me and everyone crowded around with a hearty cheer. As I turned, Claire threw herself into my arms, pressing herself in for a deep kiss, that I responded to eagerly. I didn't see Polly's crestfallen glance at Claire, nor did I see the frown from the young woman we just saved. All my attention was on the beautiful woman in my arms as her tongue probed into my mouth. And as if to celebrate this momentous occasion, the heavens opened with a crackle of thunder.

"Quick, get downstairs!" I shouted.

As one, we all rushed for the stairs, only to find it blocked by a small group of people dressed similarly to us.

"Hey, we wanna join up with you guys," the man in the front called.

"Fine, get down one level!" I yelled.

It took a few moments for everyone to turn around. But soon I was leading our ragtag team down into the sixth level. Once we were out of the rain, the group that followed us parted and let me through. I looked out the various holes in the walls and judged the direction of the rain. With a nod, I waved for everyone to follow me and headed for the opposite side of the building. Here, we moved into a large spacious floor that was mostly covered from the elements. But the parts that were still open, didn't have any rain actually coming inside, so I turned to the group.

"What the fuck is that?" A middle aged man called, while gesturing to Lace.

"This is a buzzard. Her name is Lace."

"I saw those eating people, what's it doing with you?" A woman shouted from the back.

I nodded, "Apparently my class is beast tamer. I caught her and in the process of working out what to do, I somehow made her mine." Lace chirped in agreement.

"She's safe?"

I shrugged, "I wouldn't try provoking her. But Claire likes giving her head-pats, so she can't be that bad." To prove my point, Claire stepped up and patted Lace on the head, eliciting a series of crooning chirps. "Now, I can see everyone has their survival pack. I'm not going to sit here and pretend I have all the answers. So either discuss them amongst yourselves, or ask your representative. If you hear me speaking with Edith, that's my representative."

"Mine's Edith too."

"And mine."

"Really? Mine's Edith."

I stopped and looked at the confused faces of everyone around me. "Edith?"

"Yes, Mr. Ryan?" She practically purred with happiness.

"Edith, are you everyone's representative?"

"Yes, Mr. Ryan."

Dismissing her with a thought, I looked over everyone. "Alright, I just asked. She's everyone's representative. I don't know what that means, but let's not think about it too much. We've bigger problems." I looked around the room and made a quick headcount. Other than Henry, Lillian, Polly, Claire and myself, there were almost a dozen others. Some I recognised from the lower levels. A couple, I didn't. "I'm thinking, we settle down for the night and discuss what we're doing in the morning, all in, raise your hand." I watched as just about everyone raised their hand. But the one or two people who didn't, saw they were outvoted and raised as well. "Right, I'm gonna go drop my stuff in that corner," I pointed to the corner on the far side of the room. It was closer to the window, but further from the stairs. I figured it was a happy medium for safety. Either way, nobody complained.

Heading over, I reached for my backpack, and slid it off my shoulders. I wasn't sure it was actually going to do that, considering it seemed to spawn straight on my back. But now, with it in my hands, I could see it was made of sturdy leather, unlike that cheap plastic crap school kids used.

"Hey, mind if we join you?"

I turned and spotted my original group with the one we rescued, who was still naked and talking to Edith. "Sure, pick a spot-"

"How about you put your bedroll here," Claire pointed to a spot a little away from the wall.

I shrugged, "That works."

As I went to open the bag, I found it quite firmly closed with no obvious way to open it. But I shrugged and thought to summon the bedroll and it appeared in my offhand. Turning, I rolled it out where Claire had pointed. What I didn't expect was for her to immediately roll hers out between mine and the wall. Polly also rolled hers out beside mine, but not quite as close. Henry and Lillian did the same, rolling theirs out a little off to one side to give us room. The only thing we were missing was a warm fire, to dry off in front of after I went for a walk in the rain.

"Shit," I grumbled. "Edith?"

"Yes, Mr. Ryan?"

"Can I get two more backpacks and some soap, please?"

"Certainly, that's four-hundred and fifty points."

"Oh, what about dental, anything for that?"

"Chewing sticks are another fifty points for a pack of fifty."

"That too, thanks."

"Certainly, Mr. Ryan. You have seven-thousand and thirty-nine points remaining. "

I blinked and the items I requested appeared in front of me. I quickly separated my items. Anything to do with bedding and evenings went in the first bag. So that was the chew sticks, soap, bedroll and blanket. In the other bag, I'd keep food and firewood, so it only contained the flint and steel, the day's firewood and the chunk of meat I'd purchased. That only left the waterskin and healing spray, which I left in the main compartment of the bag. But... I realised I had no way to refill the waterskin.

"Edith, can I get a bucket and a jug please?"

"Certainly, that's one hundred and five points. You have six-thousand, nine-hundred and thirty-four points remaining."

"Thanks," I sighed.

The items appeared and I nodded. The jug would fit inside the bucket and the bucket was a decent size. All I needed now, was to light the fire and go for a walk in the rain. So I pulled out the firewood and the flint and steel. I examined it for a moment and didn't get any further information. It didn't even have a class of rarity. I shrugged and struck the flint with the steel over the wood. It let out a shower of sparks and the wood lit up like a proper fire in a single moment.

"Shit," I jumped back as the flames nearly scolded my hands.

"There's just something not quite right about that," Henry said, staring at the flames in shock.

I nodded in agreement. "Alright, I don't know about you. But I've got dirt in uncomfortable places. I'm gonna take a shower. The store sells soap and stuff if you want to buy some. I summoned my evening pack, which immediately appeared on my back and I headed for the exit with the bucket and jug.

Chapter Three

I thought about heading upstairs, but I reasoned, if there was something flying around tonight, it would be safer with a bit of cover. So I kept to the floor, but headed for the opposite side of the building where the rain was pouring in. When I found a suitable room, I sent my clothing back into the bag, along with my dagger, before summoning the soap. Slipping the bag to the floor, I strode out to the edge where the rain poured in. As I set the bucket and jug to fill with rainwater, the initial shock of the cold water made my squirm, but I forced myself to stand it and eventually the water began to feel comfortable, rather than jarring. Lace on the other hand, immediately opened her wings and flew off into the gale. I worried for a moment, but dismissed the idea, somehow knowing she'd come back when she was ready.

Grabbing the soap, I scrubbed myself down. It had sand or something in it, so the soap itself scrubbed at my skin. It also lathered nicely, so I pulled some through my hair. I scrubbed at all the small clumps of dirt stuck to me and turned about in the rain. Mid turn, I felt a pair of hands run up my back, making me freeze. Before I could decide if someone was about to shove me off the edge, they started scrubbing my back with their own soap.

"You do mine after, okay?" Claire said.

I nodded and washed the rest of the soap from my hair so I could open my eyes. "Thanks," I said, blinking away the water.

Looking over my shoulder, I could see Polly standing beside me, while the new girl removed her clothing with a thought and moved to join us.

"This just got really awkward," I muttered to myself.

Claire must have heard me as she giggled softly. A flash of lightning struck a nearby building making us jump. A moment later we all laughed, feeling the tension in the room begin to ease. With smiles on everyone's faces, the soap was passed round as I washed off the rest of mine. With me wet, but clean, I made myself useful and started scrubbing Claire's back. She made small noises of appreciation when the scrub turned into a rub and I worked the soap into her tense shoulders.

"That's really good," she purred.

I grinned and kept it up until the soap was mostly washed away.

"Ryan?" Polly asked, moving closer.

I glanced at Claire and only saw her smile, so I nodded and she beamed as she turned around.

"You can do Maiya next," Claire whispered in my ear as she stepped back out of the rain. .