Somehow we made it through the night without incident. I managed to find some volunteers to take shifts watching the gates. Looking out the narrow viewports wasn't ideal but it would have to do until I could put up some watchtowers.

  By the time I stepped outside, the sun was already cresting the eastern wall spilling colors of yellow, orange, and purple across the field. Dew clung to the grass, catching the light and glittering like diamonds. Each step wet my pants as I walked, but after the night we’d just had, the chill was almost welcome. I'd had Mike tell everyone to meet in the field this morning, that I wanted to address the community.

  I approached the growing crowd with a smile and a wave. "Good morning everyone. I hope you managed to get some sleep, because this morning we have some important topics to talk about. So... last night I received two quests from the pillar. One to clear out beast dens in our territory and the other to expand and make more long houses.

  The longhouse quest will take care of itself with time. The beast dens, however, are another story. There are 14 remaining. And while Akira, Greg, Mike, and myself may be more powerful than we were yesterday, in order for our community to grow and flourish we're going to need help hunting these beasts. Now that being said it doesn't come without it's benefits. I'm sure you've all seen you have a level now."

  I turned around facing the pillar, crouched low then took off at a sprint. Running faster than an Olympian past the pillar to the far wall and back in moments.

  I continued with steady breath as though I never left. "You'll get experience and level up as you fight, gaining the power to defend what you care about. I'm only level 11 and already faster than a professional athlete. Imagine what could happen at level 20... Level 50. I have a wife and 4 daughters waiting for me on the other side of the planet. I don't know how the system expects children to survive out there, but I promise, I will gain the strength to save them."

  I swept my gaze across the crowd. "So I ask you, what do you care about? What will you fight for? If you have a combat class please step forward, and together we'll clear these threats and gain the power to defend what we hold dear."

  It was silent for a beat before several people started moving toward the front. I stood there expectantly. Hoping to see a large crowd of combatives, but after a couple minutes it became evident that no one else was coming to join the small group that had made their way forward. I counted... Seventeen. Only seventeen people. Including Akira, Mike, Greg, and myself that meant we only had 21 combatives out of everyone here.

  I looked longingly at the faces around me. "Is there anyone else...? Anybody?"

  Silence stretched into an uncomfortable emptiness. Those in the crowd looked left and right looking at others in the crowd as if willing one of the others to step forward. You could feel the worry and tension in the air.

  I started talking to the seventeen, meeting every persons eyes as I spoke. "I want everyone to listen up. I know a lot of us, myself included, were hoping for a larger group. This may not be the army we wanted, but it's the one we have. I promise you all, I will use every bit of my skill and real world experience to keep you alive and safe."

  Then I turned to face the rest of the crowd. "As for the rest of you, you'll be safe within these walls. I've been told by the elves that your classes will be able to thrive here within the pillars influence.

  My first priority is getting enough short term housing for everyone. Then I can start putting in more infrastructure making it possible for you to more easily practice your crafts. However, until then, I challenge everyone of you to try and find ways to perform your craft without a proper setup. I don't know if it's possible but it's worth a try.

  If there aren't any more questions, for now I'd like to talk more with our new defenders."

  As the crowd was starting to thin out a woman approached me with what I assumed was her son. The woman looked to be in her early 30's and wore a pair black leggings and a grey hoodie. She had black hair tied back in a ponytail and was smiling at me. The boy was about my oldest daughter Patricia's age, so not quite a teenager yet. He was in khaki shorts and a Minecraft shirt.

  The woman approached, her hands resting firmly on her son’s shoulders. “Mr. Dean, I have some good news. I confirmed with the other parents last night. My son, along with the other children, all received an additional system message when we woke up. According to them, kids are ineligible for a class or levels until they turn sixteen.”

  She glanced down at the boy, then back at me. “The system also said that before each gravity shift, it'll temper their bodies automatically to handle the new environment. We don’t know what happens if someone turns sixteen before the process is complete, but there’s a fifteen-year-old here who'll turn sixteen in ten months. So we’ll find out.”

  A massive weight lifted from my chest. My girls wouldn’t be crushed when the shift came... It didn’t mean they were safe, but it stripped away one of the nightmares clawing at me. I let out a shaky breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.

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  I met her eyes, vision blurring just slightly. “That’s… that’s a massive relief. Thank you. That means I still have time to find them.”

  I let the woman's words settle into my heart, clinging to the hope they provided. My girls would have a chance and that was enough. A chance was all I needed.

  But I couldn't live in that moment forever. There were still people depending on me, and threats outside these walls.

  I wiped at my eyes and squared my shoulders. "Again thank you very much, but if I'm going to save my girls I need to save everyone here first."

  She ruffled her sons hair to his displeasure. "Of course, you do what needs done. Thank you for keeping us safe."

  I nodded in appreciation at the lady as she turned to walk away. Then faced the 17 that had gathered. Akira, Mike, and Greg stood with them now off to one side..

  I spoke up so everyone could hear. "Alright folks listen up. From now on I'm going to refer to you as the guard, because that's exactly what we're doing, guarding what we care about. We're the only thing standing between the people of our village and whatever lurches outside.

  Over the coming months we're going to have to become a tight knit group. I want us spending as much time with the other members of the guard as possible. Learning each other's quirks, likes, dislikes... Anything and everything about what makes your fellow guardsmen tick. I've been in battle, both before and after the system arrived. Being able to trust the person next to you to have your back is key."

  I clapped my hands together “So, let’s start with the basics. Everybody take turns introducing yourselves. Tell us your name, where you’re from, what kind of class you have, and a little about yourself.”

  One by one, they stepped forward.

  The first was a man in his late fifties with tired eyes and a clinical calm about himself. “Mark Jenson,” he said. “County coroner, back home. The system gave me something called Necromantic Bonecaller, seems like it’s tied to the dead... or undead that is."

  He chuckled. "Guess that fits.”

  His voice was dry, but steady. A couple people shuffled uncomfortably at the word undead. Then he turned toward me, the edges of his lips curving up ever so slightly into a grin."By the way did you have any plans for the goblin corpses outside the gate?"

  I thought about it for a second, then shrugged. "No, that actually saves us a bunch of work. By all means help yourself."

  I'd been around death before and it never really bothered me that much, but I could tell some of the guard was uneasy. Hopefully a few battles will fix any reservations they have.

  Next came a wiry woman in her late twenties, her sun-browned skin and calloused hands giving her away before she even spoke. “Sierra Coleman, Rock climber. My class is Earthspoken Rockwarden. From what I can tell, it lets me move or shape stone. I should be able to help put the beat down on some monsters with that."

  A broad-shouldered man followed, he was in his early forties "Jeffrey Black. I’ve been a firefighter most of my life. Class is Flameforged Firekeeper. Seems like it lets me control fire and resist heat. Guess all those years running into burning buildings weren’t wasted after all.”

  Then a younger woman stepped up, early twenties, dark eyes sharp beneath her tied-back hair. Her stance was rigid, almost military, and her voice carried authority. “Reyna Morales. Corrections officer, maximum-security prison. My class is Shackle-Binding Linksman. I can use chains as melee weapons and bindings. I'm excited to see what I'm capable of now."

  They continued on, each sharing their names, backgrounds, and the strange new powers the system had chosen for them. Piece by piece, the Guard began to take shape.

  Before long everyone has introduced themselves and after the last person went, I looked through my HUD finding the beast den pillar quest. I willed it to share with the guardsmen and knew I had succeeded when they all looked at the air Infront of them.

  Then I addressed the group. "As far as I can tell it doesn't give us any directions or hints as to where they are, only that they're in our territory. The territory of the pillar has a radius of 10 kilometers, meaning that we have over 300 square kilometers to search. It'll probably take some time to locate all of the beast dens. so while we're searching for the dens we'll need to be hunting for wild game and edible plants."

  I motioned to Akira. "Akira's good at tracking so she should be able to help us find the dens and prey animals easier."

  I started walking toward the southern gate motioning for the guard to follow. "When we go out on hunting parties we need to leave at least a couple guardsman here to protect the village. We can enlist the help of some villagers to watch the viewing ports and sit in the towers once their built, but we need someone who can do some damage here on call if you will."

  I stopped in front of the southern gate and turned around facing the guardsmen. "Let's start doing two hunting parties a day. Whoever stays behind in the morning, goes in the afternoon. For now pick two among your ranks to stay and the rest of us will go."

  I pivoted around grabbing the lock and opening the gate. "Let's go find out who's hiding in our back yard."

  Nods of approval came from most of the group as all but two guardsman made their way through the gate. As we started walking towards the forest I let my mind drift thinking about all that needed to be done. It wasn't going to be a sprint. This was a marathon, one that we had hardly began.

  Alice blinked her eyes open, trying to remember where she was. She... She'd been at the park with the girls. It was the weekend, no school, so she'd brought them out to play at the playground.

  So... why was she laying in the grass. Her head felt foggy. Like she couldn't quite make a clear thought.

  She sat up rubbing at her eyes trying to focus. How had she wound up here. She remembered parking on the far side of the park, remembered the walk down the trail toward the playground. She had Sara and Rachel in the double stroller while Suzie and Patricia raced their bikes ahead. She remembered the walk...but not getting there. It was blank after that. She didn't understand. What was going on?

  That's when she took in her surroundings and a jolt of panic wormed it's way into her stomach. She was somewhere completely foreign. She was surrounded by wilderness, no sign of the park, and no sign of her children. Consuming fear wrapped itself around her heart.

  She cried out at the top of her lungs. "Girls!...Girls!... Where are you?!... Mommy's here!"

  Only silence answered.