16 – System Integration

After Lucy awkwardly pulled away from him, clearly embarrassed to be crying in a near-stranger’s arms, she gave him back his gloves, and Andy finished digging Steve’s grave. When the hole was around four feet deep, he deemed it good enough and, with Lucy’s help, he lowered the sheet-wrapped body into the hole. Lucy wanted to bury the three mementos with him, but Andy picked up the photo and asked, “You sure about this?”

She sniffed and nodded, pointing to the trailer—she had more. Andy nodded, set the photo on Steve’s chest, and climbed out of the hole. Ten minutes later, he was tamping down the dirt mound atop the grave, smoothing it out. “I’ve got to do something with the rest of the corpses around the place.”

Lucy nodded, pointed to herself, and then to him. She wanted to help.

“All right, well, there’s a wheelbarrow in the shed. Let’s get it, and then we can gather the bodies near the gate. I think we ought to take ’em out to the wash and build a bonfire. I mean, if someone has a loved one they want to bury…” He trailed off, shrugging. Lucy didn’t seem to want to communicate anything, so he led the way back to the gate to get the wheelbarrow.

They gathered up the monsters that weren’t in trailers first. After their second trip to the gates, this time with the two gorilla-pug corpses in the wheelbarrow, a couple of other sleepless residents joined them, and then, after a few more trips, James and Eduardo came out to help, too.

Andy had no idea what time it was, but it had to be well past midnight. The burial activities had ensured he wouldn’t get any sleep, but he wouldn’t have anyway; there was no way he could after the day's craziness—not with all the questions running through his mind.

That said, he was glad to have the job of cleaning up the park. It kept him focused, and he knew he’d feel better once the bodies were cleared out. When it came time to gather the more human-like corpses from trailers, Andy was thankful for his gloves. He wrapped a dish rag over his face to further remove himself from the reality of the situation, and then he and James rolled Larry’s, Tina’s, and Sheila’s corpses into blankets and carted them to the gates.

The stack of corpses had grown huge—more than a dozen monsters, including the giant spider, and nine humans. All told, the bodies represented fifteen residents and a bunch of pets. “You think we can just drag them out to that dirt lot and burn ’em?” Tucker asked, breaking the strange silence that had fallen over the group.

“There’s plenty of dry wood and stuff if we scrounge around the brush outside the park,” Eduardo said, nodding.

Andy frowned, shaking his head. “I know we should burn them, especially those infected-looking ones, but what if their loved ones make it back?” He groaned, shaking his head. “That’s a lot of digging, though.”

Violet, Eduardo’s wife, shook her head. “We should burn them. It would take hours and hours to dig graves for all these bodies. Meanwhile, we’d be exposed out there. Didn’t you say the System will only hide our community for a little while?”

Andy nodded and gestured to the gate. “And I don’t know if that extends past the fence.” By then, nearly ten people were gathered around. Some were eager to help remove the corpses, but others just wanted to be doing something—sleep wasn’t coming easily to the residents.

“We should gather wood and dead brush and stack it up out there,” James said. “Once we’ve got a good pile, we can throw these bodies on. Anyone who comes here later can get some of the ashes if they want to remember their loved ones, but it ain’t right to keep these bodies around.”

Andy nodded. “Did any of you get the quest?”

“What quest?” someone asked, but Andy didn’t look to see who; another System message had appeared:

***Do you want to share the special quest: Dispose of the corpses in the Sleepy Saguaro Trailer Park, helping to stave off corruption and despair. Award: Experience toward your next level and a personalized System-generated award. Yes/No.***

*** One-time message: Some of the value of your personal reward will be lost if you share a quest, but the overall value will increase with more participants.***

“Yes,” Andy said, wondering if someone would be a big enough asshole to hoard a quest like that to themselves. He didn’t need to think long to know that, yes, some people would be.

“Oh!” Eduardo said.

Lucy grabbed Andy’s sleeve, arching an eyebrow. He imagined she was asking, Did you share the quest?

He smiled and nodded. “Let’s get this done, everyone.” He looked around for Bernice, realizing that, though he’d locked the padlock on the gate, he didn’t have a key to unlock it. The manager was there, near the corpse of the giant spider. She stepped forward with her big keychain and opened the lock.

He and the residents spent the next two hours dragging broken, dead branches, dried-out brush, and even fallen cholla cacti over to a massive pile in the middle of the big dirt lot outside the trailer park. They made a mound large enough to hold all the corpses easily, and by the time they were done piling them on, the eastern horizon was orange and pink with the sunrise. A resident named Omar brought a can of gasoline and doused the pile and then, while everyone stood back, threw a match onto it.

A great whump erupted from the bonfire, and flames rapidly spread through it. Despite the rainstorm, the dried-out wood and scrub brush burned like mad, and soon, the disturbing scent of burning meat added to the smoke of the mesquite branches began to waft through the air. “Ah man,” Tucker groaned. “That’s just wrong.”

***Congratulations! You’ve completed the special quest to dispose of the corpses in the Sleepy Saguaro Trailer Park. You’ve earned experience toward your next level, and a personalized System-generated award will be delivered shortly!***

***Congratulations! You’ve reached level 5 in your Umbral Warden class! You’ve gained another improvement point and learned the level five bound ability, Twilight Steps.***

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***Twilight Steps – bound: You can channel mana to move more quickly in dimly lit environments. Mana cost: 2 per second.***

Just as with Piercing Dusk, Andy knew he could cast Twilight Steps. It was like the knowledge had always been there. “Freaky.”

Lucy tugged his arm, and he looked at her. She tilted her head, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, I got a level and a, uh, spell.” He shrugged. “Weird shit.”

“I’m level three now,” Eduardo said. “Anyone else gain a level?”

Two or three others said they had, but Andy was already walking away from the lot toward the trailer park. He turned and hollered at the little group of impromptu undertakers, “Sun’s coming up, folks. Should probably get inside the gate. That fire might attract something.”

When they were standing inside, Lucy held up her notepad with a note: I am going to try to get the kids at the school.

Andy looked at her for a long couple of seconds, wondering if he should try to talk her out of it. He put himself in her shoes and knew there was no damn way she was going to back down. She’d just lost her brother and felt like she needed to do something good. She needed a win. Besides, those kids needed help. The quest wouldn’t still be there if the parents who’d gone to the school had been successful, would it? He nodded and said, “Give me a few minutes to fix my spear, then I’ll meet you at the gate.”

She stared at him, and he wondered if she was going through the same mental process he had. After a few seconds, she nodded and mimed shooting a bow. She was going to get her bow.

“See you soon, then.”

Andy jogged to his trailer and retrieved the spearhead he’d gotten from the System, but before he could step out, tinkling chimes sounded, and red steam rose from the linoleum by his feet. He waved it away and leaned over to find a leather pouch with a brass, screw-top lid—a waterskin. It had leather cords wrapped around it, and he figured they were meant to tie it to his belt or something. When he picked it up, the System sent him another message:

***Your personalized reward has arrived: a capacious waterskin! This artifact is enchanted to hold nearly ten times more than a standard waterskin. Congratulations!***

“Uh, that’s pretty cool…” Andy tied it to his belt, grabbed his spear and spearhead, and jogged over to James’s trailer. He knocked on the door, calling, “James!”

Andy heard the older man’s footsteps as he walked through the trailer, noticeably shaking the structure. When James opened the door, his eyes were wild and bloodshot with lack of sleep. “What’s up?”

Andy held up the spearhead. “Got this from the System. Can you switch it—”

“Get in here!” James beckoned him in and started walking toward the back of his trailer. “Come on!” As Andy followed, James spoke rapidly, “I’ve been experimenting. Already earned another tinker level, and the System gave me one of those points. I put it into one of my tinker skills, ‘basic

reinforcement,’ and it gave me another skill! Gave me something called ‘blueprint recall,’ and I’m not sure what it does, but I’ve been playing with putting stuff together. I get experience for making stuff. I got three percent of a level for carving a spoon!”

While he spoke, James led Andy into a back bedroom. It was cramped, the center occupied by a long, folding table, while milk crates full of tools and parts were stacked along the walls. Andy set his spear and the new spearhead on the table. “That’s crazy, man—crazy but cool, I mean.”

“Let’s see how this goes…” James started unfastening the bolts he’d used to attach his old knife to the shovel handle. A few seconds later, he slid them out, then pulled the knife out of the wood. He took Andy’s new spearhead and, after fiddling with it for a minute, pulled four shiny, stainless nails out of the conical socket. “Gotta pound these through after we fix it to the haft. First, I need to shape the haft to fit this socket better.”

Andy watched as James used a much sharper knife to carve the shovel handle’s blood-stained tip to a rough point. “I didn’t even see those nails.”

“Did you look inside that socket?”

“Nope.”

“Well, that’s why, young feller!” James chuckled, then slid the spearhead over the reshaped shovel handle. “Just right!” he crowed. Then, he pounded the four nails through the perfectly sized holes in the metal, affixing the spearhead to the haft. “Oh!” He looked at Andy with wide, excited eyes. “Twenty percent toward level four!” He held the spear out, and Andy took it.

“Thanks, James.” He hefted the spear, admiring the much longer, broader, double-bladed spearhead. “This’ll do nicely. Congrats on the experience.” As he spoke, Andy wondered how far into level five he was. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he saw the value floating in his vision:

Experience toward next level: 14%

He blinked, then focused on James. “I’m going with Lucy. We’re going to try to find those kids at the school. See you in a few hours, I hope.” Andy dug his leather gloves out of his back pocket and pulled them on as James walked him to the door.

The older man clapped him on the shoulder. “Take care out there, Andy. You’re doing a fine job around here, so be sure you come back, you hear?”

“Yeah, I hear, James. I’ll try.” Andy turned toward the gate, hurrying, hoping Lucy hadn’t gotten impatient and started off without him. She wouldn’t do that, would she? He realized he didn’t know; he hardly knew the woman. Just as it dawned on him that he ought to stop and fill his, apparently, magical waterskin, the System dropped another bombshell:

***Congratulations, Sapient Beings of Earth!

The System is pleased to report that the first phase of integration has concluded successfully. With this milestone reached, the following exciting developments are now in motion:

1. Evolution Through Adversity

* The first day of System integration has resulted in a 37% reduction of Earth's sapient population.

* This natural attrition ensures that only the most adaptive and resourceful individuals will forge the path forward in this bold new era for Earth.

2. A Thriving, Interconnected Future

* Due to Earth’s rich biodiversity, low population density, and favorable settlement conditions, it has been selected as an Open Settlement Zone for sapient species on overcrowded or inhospitable System-integrated worlds.

* This dynamic influx of new cultures and civilizations will bring innovation, competition, and unique challenges—key ingredients for rapid advancement.

3. Diverse Newcomers, Exciting Encounters

* The incoming settlers will range between levels 10 and 20 in their primary classes.

* Many of these newcomers will be eager to collaborate and build alliances. Many others may view native populations as obstacles to their success.

4. An Opportunity for Growth

* You may attempt to welcome these new populations and benefit from trade, knowledge exchange, and cultural enrichment.

* Be prepared to experience highly competitive territorial disputes—an unparalleled opportunity to test survival instincts, combat prowess, and strategic leadership.

5. Preparation Period: 40 Days

* To ensure fairness and an even playing field, Earth’s native inhabitants will be granted one full System cycle (40 Earth days) to prepare before settlement portals are established.

* Use this time wisely! Strengthen your communities, develop your skills, and claim your place in this grand new era of System-world integration.

The System encourages all survivors and settlers to embrace this momentous occasion with determination and ambition. The greatest rewards come to those who rise to the challenge, adapt to new circumstances, and carve their place in an ever-expanding universe.

Thrive. Conquer. Ascend.***