Catastrophic Personality Adjustment Counseling: Part 2

Zombie is pacing his counselor’s tiny office. She is looking through his journal. She pays him almost no mind even though he is clearly frustrated. “So that was my first counseling session.” She read out loud from his journal. “At first I wasn’t sure how to go about it, being a zombie and all that. But pretty quickly I realized that my counselor was right. I don’t know much about what kind of person I was before I died, but once I started writing I couldn’t stop, and what I was writing was opinionated and insistent. I had strong feelings about my new life, the world I found myself in and my experiences in it, which ranged from amazing and enlightening to frustrating and infuriating.” She finished the entry and closed his journal. Finally looking up to watch him pace. “So, this is your tenth session. By all accounts you’re doing very well.” She complimented him.

His pacing slowed but did not stop. “If you say so.” He grumbled.

She put his notebook down and picked up her notepad. “Something on your mind?” she asked.

He flopped into the couch with a heavy sigh. “Breathers.”

She scribbled a note. “What have I said about that world?” Her reminder came offhandedly, the way a parent chastises with an obvious question.

He rolled his eyes and stifled the urge to start pacing again. “Racism is a tool of oppression and while you can and must resist the powers that oppress you, never underestimate the poisonous ease their mindset has in corrupting your view of the world.”

She looks up from her pad. “That sounds more like something the Zombie Rights Activist Rigor Mortis would say.”

He met her gaze. “It’s not ‘like’ something he would say, it’s something he did say.”

She wrote a note. “And how much of Mr. Mortis’ work have you read?” She asked.

He shrugged. “Enough to know that the Z.R.A isn’t exactly the be all and end all of justice for my kind.” He watched her carefully.

She stopped writing. “What’s been bothering you about the living?” She asked. Setting her notepad down on her desk.

He tapped his temple three times. “They’re obsessed with brains.”

She pulled her feet up on the recliner and covered them with a blanket. “How so?” she asked.

He leaned forward on the couch. “Every licensed restaurant that serves Zombies serves mainly cow brains. The really high class joins that serve human brains, follow the law and serve certified death row inmates, and those places are expensive, so a majority of the population sticks to cow, which I am more than fine with.”

“Have you ever tried human brain?” She asked with nothing more than curiosity in her voice.

He shrugged his shoulders. “Once.”

“And?” She asked encouragingly.

He sat back in the couch and looked up at the ceiling. “My roommate is a dishwasher over at the Cranium Café. He was given some left overs one night and we tried it. Neither of us was terribly impressed. I found the flavor and texture to be too…rich.” He sat upright again. “Look, not a single zombie I’ve ever met obsesses over brains. We eat when we’re hungry and I’m just as lazy as everyone else who actually has a pulse so I go to Brainagain’s and I eat, Big deal right? But at least twice a day at work I hear ‘Hey man I ain’t a corpseaphobe but you keep looking at my skull like that and I’ma get pissed off’. Like dude! You face is on your skill and I have to make eye contact with you to do my job you idiot!” He angrily flopped back into the couch, once again staring at the ceiling in frustration. His eyes searching the tiles for some sort of sense. “Just because I’m a zombie doesn’t mean I have an uncontrollable desire to eat every brain I see”

She leaned over and grabbed her pad and scribbled a quick note. “So you’re being mistreated by your customer base?” She asked while writing.

He shook his head. “Not all of them, just the ones who ‘aren’t corpseaphobic’”

She set her pad down in her lap. “You can report them. That kind of harassment is against the law.”

Zombie snorted a sarcastic laugh. “So is refusing service based on your pulse or lack thereof but guess how many places I’ll never be allowed to shop in.” shoved his hands in the pockets of his hoodie.

She twirled her pen for a moment and then clipped it to her pad. “You seem to be developing a very strong sense of right and wrong.” She pointed out.

He shook his head without looking up from the couch. “Maybe, it feels more like I’m developing a finely tuned understanding of ignorance and the sheer ineffectiveness a single person has over the course of history.”

“How so?” She asked.

“Regardless of how stupid some people are, I know there are stupid zombies as well, and with the basic understanding of math that I have I can pretty much tell you that if we don’t already, zombies will soon outnumber living humans.”  He sat up and looked at his counselor. “Look the LAST thing I want is for any of the human apocalyptic wet dreams to actually happen, but like I said, humans aren't the only ones who are stupid.” He clarified.

She grabbed her pen and scribbled another note. “Is this a casual worry or…”

He shook his head. “Like I said, every zombie I ever met is just as lazy and laid back as almost every human. But someone’s putting up the resistance signs, someone is writing the literature encouraging us to give the humans what they desperately say they want.”

“And is that what you believe? That humans actually want to face a zombie apocalypse?” She asked.

He shook his head. “Hell no, I’m a zombie and I don’t want a zombie apocalypse, no human actually wants one either.”

“Why do you think they are obsessed with the fantasy then?” She asked.

“They lack a proper concept of scale.” He started. “Human beings have made it a long, LONG way in history on nothing more than fear and ingenuity. They allow the most close minded, fearful and richest among them to lead the rest, most of whom are willfully ignorant bastards that carry around the biggest guns a human can carry and yet still they run in terror at even the mention of equality. This cycle repeats every generation without fail and we have never, not once, learned from it.” He finished, his shoulders slumped.

“You said ‘we’ just then, why?” She asked,

“Because I came from them, I used to be them, just because I don’t have a pulse, and cannot remember being one of them does not entirely sever me from the consequences of their decisions as a species.” He clarified.

“What history lesson would apply to this situation in your opinion?” She asked.

He waved his hand almost dismissively. “Pick and era. Women’s rights, Civil rights, the ADA, same sex marriage, This country has a long, terrible history of holding itself together by targeting a minority and keeping them as marginalized as possible for as long as possible. And those groups didn’t have sixty years of fiction stacked up against them.”

She nodded. “The media has never been kind to the undead.”

He got up and started pacing again “I had hoped after ‘the gays’ became ‘people’, that we might have an easier time of it. But for some reason the LGBTQ population got right in line with the rest of the masses and joined in their hatred for the next new minority. Why humans celebrate getting to the top by kicking the people below them is beyond me.”

She tapped her pen on her pad a few times considering her next question. “Is it really that simple?” She asked.

He shook his head. “Of course not, there’s no part of this that’s simple. But even after ten years it doesn’t feel like humanity is willing to see this situation as anything other than an apocalypse, which to be fair is vast different than the Gay marriage era, because no matter how hard the Tea Party tried to spread the rumors, people refused to believe that gay men were going to march around the globe in a thoughtless mass chanting “coooooooooooks!” and eating straight men from the waist down.” He said down smiling at his horrible joke.

She suppressed a smile herself. “That would have set them back in their quest for equal rights.” She added.

He stopped smiling. “I am being serious though, it doesn’t seem to matter what kind of person I want to be, just what kind of monster Hollywood fantasizes I am.”

She pulled her feet out from under her blanket and sat forward in her chair. “Everyone struggles with who they want to be versus who they are perceived to be.”

He shook his head. “I don’t like it.” He shoved his hands back into his hoodie pockets.

She nodded “Welcome to humanity.” She replied, standing up.

He stood as well and moved toward the door, stopping with his hand on the handle. “So if a vegetarian is someone who eats only vegetables then why are so many people proud of being humanitarians?” He asked.

Lidarion: Chapter 6

With the death of the Ogre the Orcs lost their advantage and gave up what little headway they had made into the barn. In less than thirty seconds the fight had moved outside into open field and the orcs scattered for the safety of houses.

Brandon looked at Trent in both awe and annoyance. “I don’t know if I’m more pissed off or impressed.”

Trent shook his head. “Either way, be it later, teams of two. Search the houses. Hopefully we scare 

them off, I don’t want to ruin this village any more than we already have.” He said as the rest of the soldiers grouped up into teams of two, leaving a pair to guard the barn. The other pairs quickly headed for the closest houses leaving the furthest building for Trent and Brandon.

The Building furthest from the barn was also the biggest. The village gathering hall. It only had a few rooms but they were spread out on two floors. They approached the front door which was hanging loosely open, moving back and forth a few inches on its damaged hinges. Trent and Brandon stood to the sides of the door and Trent pushed the door open with the scabbard of his sword. Nothing moved inside the building in response. The pair moved into the building covering each other’s backs. Far in the distance they heard the faint sounds of combat and then silence.

Brandon moved off to the left toward a door that would take him to the room where the stairs to the second floor were. Trent moved to follow but Brandon reached the doorway first. He stopped in the doorway for a moment and Trent moved to join him. As he got closer Brandon dropped his sword and Trent saw the back of his tunic turn dark with blood. The Orc kicked Brandon off his rustic blade and Trent blocked the Orc’s first swing and with a flash, severed his head from his body. The head went rolling across the floor and the body dropped lifelessly to the ground. Trent knelt to check on his friend.

He was already fading. His midsection a sloppy mess. “Look Trent, I come with a convenient carrying handle now. Lisa should like that.” His humor did not stop tears from coming to his eyes.

Trent was filled with equal parts fury and utter helplessness. “You are the dumbest bastard I know.” He said.

Brandon gave a bloody smile. “Don’t say it unless you mean it buddy.”

Trent. “What the hell do I tell her Brandon?” He asked.

Brandon was fading out, unable to focus. “Take me to her...tell her myself. Don’t take too long though, you’ve always been, the slow, one” His body didn’t go limp, He didn’t close his eyes, and there was no last gasp. Everything thing that Brandon was just silently vacated the bloody mess that used to be his body.

If Trent had any actual memory of what happened next he had never admitted it. The other members of the unit all swore that he alone killed the rest of the Orcs, even the ones that tried to run were chased down and ended without mercy.

By sunrise the rest of the unit had policed the orcs and the Troll a few hundred feet away from the village. The fire stank of burning flesh and moldy clothing. On the opposite side of the village Trent built a funeral pyre for Brandon. He watched over the fire alone until there was nothing but ash. He took Brandon’s sword and using the only anvil and hammer in the village, broke the blade off the handle. Filled his scabbard with his ashes and tied the handle into the scabbard, sealing the twine with enough tree sap to settle his fears of it popping open.

The raiding party had slaughtered the livestock and horses, the village was still standing but the next few months of their lives would be hard. He combined his and Brandon’s things into one pack, created a shoulder strap for Brandon's scabbard, and got ready to leave the front lines.

The eldest member of the unit approached him as he was getting ready to leave. “The war isn’t over.” He stated.

Trent didn’t even take his eyes off the horizon. “It is for me.” He said with finality, before taking off on foot, 

The XP: Chapter 6

The Group has killed the second to last boss in the Hall of Shattered memories. A monster that had once been a talented human thief had made a deal with a demon to travel freely throughout time. He had no way of knowing that the more he traveled through time the more of his soul the demon sucked into a giant hourglass. Once his soul was trapped entirely he was doomed to spend an eternity defending the Demon’s Cavern of stolen souls.

They had chosen the Hall of Shattered memories for two reasons. The first was that the Thief of Time was easily considered one of the best tests of end game content. Each player on a team had to know their roll and execute it perfectly. The fact that the dungeon was limited to five players and end game content ranged from fifteen to forty players was what made it such a good test. It was an easy gauntlet to run Trart through so he could quickly learn all the skills a Rainbringer relied on.

The second reason was that after the Thief of Time’s death cut scene the entire dungeon reset allowing them to run in it multiple times a day. Every other dungeon had a daily lock out which mean they would have a much harder time recovering the cash they spent on gearing Trart.

On their way out of the Dungeon for the twelfth time Trart asked the question Bob had been waiting the last two runs to hear. “How come we never fight the final boss? I know I owe you guys a bunch of gold but this is really, really boring.”

Bob smiled. “Aside from engaging the daily lockout, It took you three attempts to do everything you needed to do so we could kill the thief of memories. The Keeper of Forgotten Promises is easily three times harder. So, do you wanna pay off your debt nice and quick or do you wanna screw around?” She asked.

The others were behind Trart all praying for the right answer. Trart thought about it for a second 

looking guilty “Would you be super pissed if I said screw around for a bit?” He asked. The others silently celebrated and cheered behind him. By the time he spun around they were standing normally.

Bob’s smile was much larger. “I wouldn’t mind screwing around for a bit. And besides, we can always finish up the last five runs tomorrow.” She pointed out. “All right then, let’s screw around. Now listen up. Here’s how this is going to work. The Keeper of Forgotten Promises is half a step below end game content. I will be playing Dreams of Unbridled Fury and Etude of Ebbing Sanity.” She explained.

“When did you learn to play two songs at once?” Stygian asked.

Bob waved her hand. “Long story short, I paid The Matriarch to take me to and run me through the Theater of a Thousand Solos. There’s a specific boss that gives intertwining songs as a custom perk.” She explained. “Blackout I need you to consistently cycle Serenity's Waterfall, I know we’ve run this before just you and me, but we’ve got two more people to cover.”

“The only reason we were able to two man this place was because I was direct healing you for most of your life every second. If I run Serenity's Waterfall it’s gonna leave you exposed.”

Stygian stepped forward “Not as much as you might think.” He offered.

Bob nodded. “You are more right than you know. This fight normally requires a tank and an off tank. So this entire fight consists of you taking an absolute pounding.”

Trart stepped up. “What about me? What do I do?”

Bob turned to Trart. “You get to go hog wild. Stygian is gonna pull more agro than you ever thought possible which means you get to use every aspect of that pretty little gun we bought you. I want you to be a trigger happy death dealer. Bring the pain and bring lots of it.” She demanded. “Now is everyone clear how this is going to work?”

They all nodded.

Bob turned toward the entrance. “All right then, let’s do this.”

The others followed her into the Dungeon.

University of Console Heroics: Chapter 6

A little over a month into the semester the auditorium for History of the Second Dimension was a lot quieter than it had been on the first day.  Sanders was sitting in what had become his usual spot near the front of the room. The other students were either waiting quietly for the professor or having hushed conversations.

The door opened and Professor Banister walked into the room with his satchel over his shoulder and the large stack of papers that was the student’s first essay. He set them down on the front table. “I have finished grading your first papers. Please note that I graded rather generously and commented on improvements I expect to see from now on. For those of you that are asked to do so, please come see me after class, my office hours are in the syllabus. After you get your paper we are done with class for the day, please use your time wisely and review your work.”

Without another word Bannister left the room. The students waiting until the door shut behind him before rushing the front of the room to get their papers. Sanders waited for the mob to clear out. When he left his chair there were only a few papers left on the front table. He found his and looked it over. There was a red C– on the first page. Below it was a note ‘Very thorough paper but there is no drive, no statement. You’re just reciting the events that happened when you should be exploring why and how they happened. Please see me during my office hours.’ 

Sanders moved back to his chair and shoved the paper in his bag, zipped it up, threw it over his shoulder and left the room.

Professor Banister’s desk was a monument of essay’s and paperwork. Each class had its own stack of assignments waiting to be graded and returned to their creators. His tiny castle wall of papers left just enough room for a desk lamp that lit what little actual work space he afforded himself. He was grading an essay with a red pen, making notations and commenting at the bottom of the page, giving further research direction. A knock at the door paused his pen. “Come in.” He automatically replied.

Sanders entered the tiny office, leaving his hand on the outside door knob. “You wanted to talk to me about my paper?” He asked.

Bannister looked up from his work and immediately recognized Sanders. “Yes I did Mr. Sanders, please come in and have a seat.” He motioned to the chair on the opposite side of his desk. Sanders closed the door set his bag beside the chair and sat down. “You’re a targeting and terrain management major aren’t you?” Banister asked.

Sanders nodded. “Yes sir.”

Bannister leaned back in his chair. “Then why take history of the second dimension instead of Study of the 3^rd Dimension with Malcolm Evans?” He asked.

Sanders shrugged his shoulders. “I felt like I needed to get outside my major for a while.” He answered.

Banister nodded. “And this class turned out to be more work than you expected?” He asked.

Sanders nodded. “A lot more.” He clarified.

Bannister sat up right again. “You’re a shitty liar kid.” Sanders was shocked but kept quiet. 

Bannister stabbed his finger into one of his taller stack of essays. “I don’t have an assistant genius. I grade ever one of these English junkyards myself. Your paper stood out like a sore thumb.” He chastised him.

Sanders cleared his throat. “That was, descriptive.”

Banister sat back in his chair again. “So was your paper. So enlighten me as to why you wrote a perfect paper that asked no questions, made no statements and drew no conclusions.”

Sanders didn’t flinch “It’s all original work, I didn’t plagiarize anyone or anything.”

Banister shook his head. “That wasn’t my point and you know it. You write about the history of two dimensional games like you grew up during that era, and yet your paper shows no bias. You’re a TTM major so why take this class at all if you’re not passionate about the subject matter?” He demanded.

Sanders shrugged his shoulders. “Honestly I just wanted a chance to get to know you.” He answered.

Banister was thrown for a loop. “Why not just introduce yourself?” He asked.

Sanders gestured to the office. “You’re a professor in the 2D era, I’m a TTM major. Without this class I don’t have a reason in the world to even walk into this building much less start a conversation out of the blue with a tenured professor.” He explained

Bannister raised an eyebrow. “Conversation about what?” He asked.

“Your career” Sanders replied.

Banister pointed to the essays all over his desk. “You’ve seen the last fifteen years of my career right here, and every time you sit in my class.

Sanders shook his head. “I mean your other career.”

Banister glared at Sanders “Is that what all this has been about?” He accused. “Figured you would try to dig up some gossip before you graduate?”

Sanders shook his head. “No. This is about me asking as friend and a student about your life before you became who you are today.” He clarified.

Banister leaned his chair back. “Whelp, sorry to burst your bubble kid, the story is nothing but a rumor and even if it wasn’t it would still be none of your damn business.”

“It’s either a rumor you wish was true or a truth you’re trying to forget. You can lie to everyone but yourself.” Sanders offered.

Bannister almost exploded out of his chair. “You keep running your mouth and I’m libel to flunk you right out of my class!” He yelled.

Sanders sighed and grabbed his bag. “I didn’t mean to antagonize you.” Banister straightened himself up. “I was kind of hoping we could actually be friends.” He finished.

Bannister glared at him again. “I don’t need any friends kid, I need A papers from you, from now on.”

Sanders nods sadly and stands up. “You can shut me out professor, but I hope you don’t” He stated.

Bannister wanted to explode again, but he kept his cool, sort of. “Give me one good reason I should trust you? So far you’ve been nothing but a pain in my ass. I have every right to drop you on yours!”

Sanders opened the door a crack and turned around. “The past burns us all from the inside out professor. We either have to let it go or perish in the fire. I’m just trying to be a sympathetic ear.” 

There’s a moment of silence. Bannister is stunned. Sanders leaves and closes the door quietly behind him. Alone again in his office with his thoughts Bannister starts tapping his pen on his desk. 

Shades of Justice: Chapter 10

Outside the mall Warren noticed several people fighting with their phones. From the ranting he overheard no one was able to get a signal of any kind. He could see cars navigating their way through the intersection without traffic lights. He checked his phone which like the others was showing now service. He took a couple of deep breaths to try and suppress the panic building in his chest.

“Does this stuff still work?” He heard Sonya’s voice come from the glasses he had forgotten he was wearing.

“Warren here.” He responded “We’re in trouble, there is a crazy, computer monster running around town.” He explained while walking into a trash bin alcove to make sure he had privacy. “He knocked out the power at the mall and no one can get cell signal.”  He whispered while glancing around the trash bin to make sure that he wasn’t being overheard.

“I think he did more than that, my parents place has lost net access.” Sonya pointed out.

 “Same here.” Greggory’s voice chimed in.

“So what do we do now?” Kelly’s voice joined the channel.

“Um, how about you guys suit up, defeat Hexa Decimal and break his control over the internet?” Technarius offered plainly.

“How are we going to find him?” Kelly asked.

“I’ve tracked him to the Lakeland South freeway exit. It looks like he’s caused quite a large pileup.” Technarius explained.

“How are you tracking him if he’s shut down the internet?” Warren asked.

“So glad you asked Warren because this IS the perfect time to teach you how this technology, which is older than dinosaurs is still working without your precious internet.” Technarius snapped.

“Technarius that’s enough.” Lumarion piped up.

“Sorry what I meant to say was ‘go Shades of Justice!’” Technarius clarified.

“Could have just said it was a stupid question.” Warren commented as Technarius teleported him and the others to the freeway exit where Hexa Decimal was wreaking havoc.

There were dozens of overturned cars, most of which were on fire, civilians that weren’t caught in wrecks were doing what they could to save others who were, many were just running as far away from the chaos as they could. The Shades were all in their suits and appeared in a line near Hexa who was attempting to kick a car over.

“Hexa Decimal! Prepare to face justice!” Warren shouted.

Hexa Decimal turned to face the Shades, laughing at Warren’s proclamation. “Oh! I’m so scared, the freshman class has come to show old Hexy whose boss! Woe is me! What ever shall I do?” He snarked until Cat 5 cables shot out from his hands wrapping around each of the shades necks with lightning like speed. He gripped the cables and dragged the choking shades to their knees. “While you weren’t whose attention I was trying to get, but I must admit, it is a pleasant surprise! Perhaps I might impress my employer in the process of getting my revenge!”  He yanked the cables again and the shades fell to their hands and knees quickly choking to death.

Catastrophic Personality Adjustment: Part 1 (Blood and Profit Returns in 3 weeks)

Death is not an easy concept for the average person to handle, which is funny because it’s pretty clear that most of us don’t have the first clue about life either.

Cold was the first sensation he registered. At first he couldn’t locate the origin of the sensation but as more of his mind regained awareness it became the input that defined his reality. The cold moved closer and began to awaken and define the extremities of his body. He could feel his back and shoulder blades pressed against it. It traveled up his neck and into his shoulders. Curved around his elbows and brought feeling into his hands. He could sense it defining the edges of his hips and the bulk of his rear end. As his legs began to register sensation he could no longer hold back a full body shiver and his teeth began to chatter. He opened his eyes slowly as he reflexively wrapped his arms around his torso. Where ever he was there was very little light and it was diffused softly, he touched his face, but found nothing clouding his vision. He blinked several times and his vision cleared. He could now see that he was naked, He was sitting on a metal table, a sheet had covered him and bunched at his waist when he sat up. Next to the table there was a chair with what turned out to be a gray pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt.

It took him almost ten minutes to get the pins and needles out of his legs and make sure they could carry his weight. Once he was sure he could stand he got dressed and felt the stiffness in the rest of his joints. There was a piece of paper under the sweat suit. All it said was ‘Room 305’. The room he was in was small, barely enough room for the table he had woken up on and the chair that held the clothing. From where he was standing he could almost reach the handle of the door, which led him into a plain looking hallway that was brighter but still not fully lit, There was a sign on the far wall that had 300 – 315 with an arrow pointing down the left side of the hallway and 316 – 330 with an arrow pointing down the right side of the hallway. He checked his paper again and made his way down the left side of the hall looking for room 305.

The door to room 305 was open. Soft orange light drew a rectangle on the concrete floor. He stopped and knocked on the door frame, taking a look into the room. There was an woman sitting in an old worn reclining chair. She wore no shoes and her feet were buried in a deep plush rug that appeared to be nothing more than random sprays of color. She smiled warmly when she noticed him in the doorway.

“You must be Tony.” She said, waving her hand. “Come in, sit down.” She gestured to the empty couch across from her recliner.

More than anything the mention of a name caused his curiosity to override his caution. “I can’t remember anything, why can’t I remember anything?” He asked, sitting down.

She sat back in her chair and looked at him for a moment, taking in his current state of awareness. Finally she replied. “Because you died.”

The answer hit him like a truck. “I what?” He asked in shock.

She nodded slowly. “It says here” She held up his report. “That you were stabbed during an attempted robbery.”

His gaze was a thousand miles long as he tried with what little cognitive power he had to remember something. “I – I don’t remember anything.” He finally admitted.

She nodded. “That’s one of the primary side effects of the Necrophage.” She handed him a pamphlet that was covered with smiling people in fun settings. “It’s the medical term for the disease that brings the dead back to life.” She said.

He looked at the bright green letters screaming this is your afterlife! At him. He opened it, scanned it, quickly realized he didn’t have the desire to read it at the moment and closed it again. “I’m a freaking zombie?” He said in disbelief, mostly to himself.

The woman in the chair nodded. “In layman’s terms.”

He tossed the pamphlet aside in anger. “I don’t care how you’re supposed to say it. I died and some virus I have brought me back to life.”

The counselor nodded quietly. She readjusted, picking her feet up off the carpet and sat cross legged in her chair.

He grabbed the pamphlet again and started folding it in half. “And that's why I can’t remember anything?” He asked.

She nodded. “Side effect of the Virus. Honestly we’re not really sure why it happens, but everyone that is infected with the Necrophage comes back to life with almost no memory of their past life. Its one of the reasons we started this program.” She explained with a softness in her voice.

He looked around the room and held up the pamphlet that had now been folded and unfolded in different ways half a dozen times. “What is this program anyway?”

“Catastrophic Personality Adjustment Counseling. Or C.P.A.C. for short. I’m here to help you assimilate back into society.” She handed him another stack of papers that explained the program.

He looked down at the cover page where the program name was printed in bold black block letters. “So, zombie 101.” He clarified.

She shook her head. “We’re not going to teach you how to mob humans and tear them limb from limb, It’s more focused on helping you discover what kind of person you are now. Helping you define and understand your new personality so you can live a pleasant and fulfilling afterlife.” She noticed he seemed to be blankly staring at the stack of documentation in his hands. “You’ll want to check those pamphlets out this week, they cover the powers of the Z.R.A”

 He looked up at her. “The Z.R.A?” He asked.

She nodded. “The Zombie Rights Amendment. It’s been the law for almost ten years now.” She leaned over the side of her chair and grabbed a book out of a cardboard box on the floor. She then handed the book to him. “This is your daily personality journal. Try to write in it at least once a day. It’s going to be one of the most important tools you have In developing your new personality.” She then grabbed the cardboard box, handing it over as well. “This is everything you had on you when you came to the hospital. There is a map in there that will lead you back to your apartment.”

He rustled through the items in the smallish box for a second until a thought hit him. “Did I have a job?” He asked while looking at his license.

She nodded. “You do. You have already been transferred to a different department to make it easier on yourself and those you used to work with. You start your retraining next week.” She clarified.

With the box in his hands he stood up and looked at the door to the counselor’s office. “So, do I come back next week or something?” He asked looking back at her.

She nodded. “And once a week. Until you feel you are ready to take on the world by yourself.”

He nodded and opened the door, went out into the hall. “I’ll see you next week then, I guess.” He said as he closed the door.

The counselor went to her desk grabbed his file from a stack and flipped it open to the patient status page and began writing her notes. 

Lidarion: Chapter 5

When the war began there was no shortage of ready recruits to fill the ranks for the Lidarion army. But by the end of the first year all they had to show for their efforts was a nearly identical border layered in bodies and twisted metal. The Lidarion army had been shattered, regrouped, spread thin and nearly wiped out, rebuilt, and redeployed, each time with smaller numbers in less units, with fewer supplies between them.

The war entered its third year and Trent didn’t even know what to call the group of soldiers he was a part of. He and Brandon had been assigned to a forward scouting party almost half a year back, but shortly after they arrived the unit commander deserted. Surprisingly there were no arguments over field promotions or changes in leadership, the group continued to operate on their most recent orders, scouting the border and keeping the actual combat units advised of possible dangers or decent places to attack. At first Trent thought the men who stayed were just loyal citizens concerned with protecting the border, but as they scurried from town to town like mice in search of cheese they began to hear less about orc raiding parties and marching battle companies and more about the war being over. 

They had met up with the forward most Lidarion company and while there were plenty of rumors surrounding the possible end of the war, there was nothing official heard or seen. And so their traded information for food and what meager supplies they could and headed north. The company had heard nothing from the northern most villages at the edge of the Cliffside Mountains, and it seemed as good a place as any to carry out their duty.

Which is how they ended up with five terrified families hiding in the village barn desperately hoping the orc raiding party that had emerged from the protection of the Infinight Forest. It had taken most of their time to round up the families and get them to the barn at the furthest edge of town. The initial plan being to slowly sneak them out of the back door and get them to safety. Unfortunately the barn had no back or side entrances of any kind leaving them stuck as the raiding party entered the small village and ransacked house after house. The killing of the cows, sheep, and pigs gave them a buffer of time to place as many bales of hay in front of the door as they could. But there weren’t enough to blockade the door and the raiding party made quick work of the raw meat that used to be the towns livestock.

The scouts had long ago come up with silent hand signals for almost anything they might need to communicate regarding troops, locations, numbers and types of weaponry, which for over a year now had consisted of mostly orcs, the edge of the Infinight Forrest, raiding parties, and basic melee weapons. Which is why when the ground shook with a terrifying rumble Trent signed to Drew the forward scout who had first seen the Orc’s leave the tree line. He asked if he had seen a Troll with the raiding party, Drew shook his head as the ground shook again, scaring some of the younger children into crying out. They were quickly silenced by their parent’s terrified hands over their mouths. The ground shaking steps were getting closer to the barn and the disgustingly labored grunting confirmed that the raiding party did indeed have a Troll with them.  Trent looked around the barn for Brandon but could not find him among the peasants. He wasn’t one of the three men waiting behind the hay bale pile with swords drawn. Trent started to scan the rear of the barn, until a pebble bounced off the top of his head. He looked up to Brandon making his way over to an open window in the partial loft of the barn. He had a bow and several arrows and hand found a semi decent source of high ground for what was almost certainly going to be a very bad fight. Brandon gave the sign for Troll and the sign for Club. Trent nodded and motioned to the families to get back along the farthest wall of the barn and hide as best they could among the supplies and loose hay. The ground shaking was deeper now and getting louder. Trent knew there wasn’t much time left and drew both his swords. He didn’t hear 

Brandon’s first two shots because the Troll had smashed his hand through the wall of the barn to grab their lookout and squish his head like a grape. The Trolls other fist game through the sliding door of the barn and caused two of the hay bales to explode. The Troll screamed and let go of the bloody mess that was the unfortunately look out. Brandon Dropped down next to Trent with no arrows left in his quiver.

“I tried to blind him boss, I only got the left one, which he doesn’t seem too happy about.” Brandon explained as the Troll wildly slammed his fists into the barn door and quickly disintegrating wall.

“Every little bit Helps” Trent replied as they barn door fell apart under the aggressively pounding fists of the half blind Troll. The troll then picked up one of the orcs and threw him through the hay bale blockade and then decimated what was left coming through himself. Trent and Brandon moved to engage the Troll when two of the scouts who had been helping the peasants hide in the back of the barn dropped down on the Trolls back. Their swords buried almost to their hilts in either side of its neck.

The troll wavered a few steps, moaned, fell to its knees, then onto its lifeless face. The sudden loss of their advantage gave the orcs pause which was all Trent, Brandon and the other two scouts needed as they launched themselves into the battle.