Chapter 34: A Glass half Full

  Marcus lay awake in the darkness and stared at the ceiling of his room. They sure had said a lot of embarrassing stuff in the heat of the moment, but Marcus was glad they did. He had not been aware of how many things had accumulated in his mind over the last year. When he looked back at the Marcus a year ago, that guy felt like a different person. Tomorrow would be another difficult day but he was no longer alone on this journey. Marcus turned around and closed his eyes, after some time sweet memories of Monika visited him.

  Marcus and Janette stood in the office of their team leader feeling awkward. “We would like to quit.” Janette said being the bolder one. Russo nodded “Can’t say I didn’t see this coming.”, Marcus felt like he was betraying Russo with this sudden decision. His thoughts must have been visible on his face because Russo laughed “Don’t worry Marcus, you are not the first generation of youngsters I helped getting started. As soon as you are gone the brass will send a new batch over and I will take care of them too.” Marcus smiled and felt relief.

  “What are you going to do now? I guess you will continue together?” Russo leaned back on his chair. “First we will go on a holiday tour, mostly Europe. Then we will look for work.” It was not a great plan, Marcus had to admit but they would play it by ear, they had decided. Russo seemed satisfied with that answer. “It is important to take breaks or you end up as a crazed person.”

  Russo got up and stretched. “I will get the documents ready, but before that there is one last thing to do. Something of a tradition.”

  Marcus found himself back in the training hall, in full gear. Russo had his full equipment on too and was about done with warming up. A final sparring session, that was the tradition. “You ready Marcus?” he nodded and a spear point came flying at him at great speed. A quick flurry of fast attacks, Marcus deflected and avoided most and only took small cuts from the rest. Russo was aggressive but Marcus did not step back, with every attack he blocked he stepped forward.

  Russo moved and Marcus followed, using strikes and kicks to disrupt Russo’s attack pattern. Finally he was close enough and used heavy hits to force Russo into blocking and avoiding his dangerous Impulse Hammer. Russo made a feint and increased the distance between them but Marcus followed. This repeated two more times, “Okay, that should be enough.” Russo waved and the sparring was over. Marcus was a bit unhappy. “There was no need to hold back, sir. You never threw one of your powerful attacks at me. I could have taken it.” He was confident he was tough enough after “training” with the beetles.

  “Marcus, I was not holding back, you just have become this much more of pain to deal with.” Russo was sweating and his hands looked raw and trembled. “You have finally found your own style.” My own style? Marcus did not realize he had changed his fighting style. Sure he had a bit more experience and more confidence in his toughness but he was still using the same attacks and moves. “Until now you have been a defensive fighter, using your toughness to weather blows and wait for a chance to counter attack. Now, you always step forward and pressure your enemy. Your toughness allows you to take attacks and your Anchor makes it near impossible to force you back. It is a fighting style not many can use. You have become strong, Marcus.” Russo explained his insight. Janette watched the whole thing and nodded in agreement. “Thank you, sir.” Was all Marcus could say.

  Janette had it easy, Marcus felt. All she had to do, was to show off her shooting skills by destroying a few different targets. She made a game out of it, using more and more restrictive or stupid rules. “Your ability is incredible Janette. I have no doubt you will become famous.” Russo said and Janette, for once, turned red and said nothing.

  The two bid farewell to the base personnel and the new team members, that they barely knew. The chef made Marcus one last giant meal and a day later a taxi (van) took them away to the airport. Marcus was excited, this felt more like an adventure than the expedition. They did not know what would come next and where they would go and that felt liberating. Marcus still had goals of course, getting to 30ish vitality and unlocking his third ability was the next, but since his youth he had always known what he would do next. Not this time.

  Belgium, France, Spain they stayed several days in one spot and then continue to travel south. Most of their stuff had been taken care by Cerberus (Cherry, god bless her heart) and they did what ever they wanted. They used planes, rented cars, used the train and hiked, for days at the time Cherry joined them and Marcus got used to be looked at. Janette got looks here and there but Cherry was a magnet for men.

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  Although, Marcus was not doing so bad either. Maybe it was the presence of two pretty women or because he felt more confident with his current self, women gave him interested looks. That included Sarah, a university student on a trip with friends. They met in a hotel on Tenerife and he did not need any hints from Janette to know what’s up. They spent a relaxed day at the pool and Sarah and their friends wanted to know everything about the exciting life of a class holder. They avoided to reveal Cherry’s identity and concentrated on the adventures of Marcus and Janette.

  The sun finally set and Marcus spent some alone time with Sarah. This time Marcus was more proactive and at an opportune moment kissed her and she followed him to his room. Sarah had dark brown skin and night black, silky hair, and the white in her eyes shone brightly in the dark room. Marcus heart beat heavily as he removed her clothing layer by layer, enjoying the scent of her skin. Sarah was very different from Monika, she watched Marcus taking his clothes off with great pleasure while lying on the bed, spreading her legs with anticipation. She wanted him on top.

  Marcus moved upon her, carefully touching and kissing her until their bodies were in the right position to unite. He moved into her and she wrapped her legs around his waist. Marcus had yearned for this experience and could not resist the urge for long, moaning as he found release in her embrace. For a time he rested and they kissed, he felt her curves and told her how perfect she was.

  There was something Marcus wanted to try and he slowly turned Sarah onto her stomach. Sarah followed his touch and without any word from Marcus, she went on her knees and forearms and lifted her hips. It took a moment before everything was at its place but once he moved his hips forward she moaned loader and longer than before. He held her hips and continued enjoying her body and the view of her carnal pleasure. Sarah’s body was covered in sweat and finally she erupted, throwing her head back, only to bury her face into a pillow a moment later, aching with joy. Marcus continued feeling her quivering hot body until he erupted for a second time.

  After the excitement, Sarah wrapped herself around him and he cradled her in his arms. Marcus watched her sleep and felt truly blessed to experience such a tranquil moment.

  Saying goodbye the next day, and moving on with the girls, was not easy. Marcus wouldn’t have minded spending a few more days with Sarah but her group was going back to Madrid too. Janette gave him a thumbs up like a horrible, old uncle and he threw her into the hotel pool, which caused Cherry to show off her strength and send Marcus after Janette seconds later.

  But it was not only fun and games. As time moved on they had to discuss the future. They made plans and the input of Cherry was very helpful. Her experience helped them to avoid some beginner mistakes and eventually they decided it would be best to try to get work with a monster hunter company. Firms specialized in killing monsters for their bodies. A few days later, in a hotel in south Italy, things took a turn to the grim.

  After a day of exploring the area, they came back into the hotel lobby to find everybody huddled around the large TV screens in the bar. A news show was on and a woman spoke “We return to the exclusive story. Just hours ago the White House has announced that American explorers had encountered a new type of Undead. This marks the third time humanity had contact with this dangerous, intelligent existence since the portals arrived.”

  A clip was played, showing a man with white hair standing on a podium. “The American Government has decided to release information about an encounter of Raid Team 5 with the group known as “Undead”. The team was on a mission but was forced to engage with the enemy. After a short but costly battle the team retreated. Six of the 20 heroic team members did perish in the confrontation (names, classes and level scrolled by on the side, they were all over level 70). We are releasing this information and a video depicting the fight with the intention to raise awareness how dangerous this enemy is and in the hopes that other factions might share their information about the enemy with the world too.” A short warning about graphical content rolled and some parents covered the eyes of their children.

  The video was shaky but showed something of massive hall and a large, glowing figure on an equally large, glowing horse like beast, standing in the path of the Raid Team. Marcus could see what looked like a crystalline, humanoid skeleton wrapped in a layer of translucent, pink-grey goo. On its head it had something like a crown or helmet and the only other form of equipment was a long ornamented black sword. The beast had a similar look but was on four legs and had a head like a predator, including long, sharp teeth.

  The battle took only seconds and the rider and its beast quickly avoided various attacks and shrug off the firepower of the humans without a hint of damage. The black blade moved in large arcs and bodies were torn apart, the Raid Team retreated and the enemy did not pursue them. The video ended and shock took hold in all in the bar, including Marcus and Janette. Cherry had a thoughtful look on her face.

  With a stiff drink in hand Marcus and the women sat in a corner of the bar, there was only one topic on all the tables. “Those Raid Team members were all high leveler and they did nothing.” Marcus said and Janette nodded, taking a sip of her drink. “Those things give me the creeps, how can something like this even be alive.” Janette said and Cherry gently touched her cheeks. “This is not your problem right now. Don’t get all bumped out about something bad happening, that is not your style my love.” she turned to Marcus with a serious look, “And you too Marcus, don’t let this drag you down. Concentrate on the things in front of you. The good things in life, like the wedding in three days.” Marcus knew Cherry was right.

  Somewhere, something bad was always happening, if you only concentrate on that, you will never be happy. Marcus remembered the killers from the expedition and the dreadful Hard Boys. He took a big gulp of his drink and fire ran down his throat. Eghhh, he would rather have a soda.