It felt like I had been hit by a truck as I crashed into something hard. My health had fallen to just over half as I tried to get up, my ears ringing and my face stinging as I prepared to defend myself. Some projectile from behind me had exploded, sending me flying into the front wall of the store. I couldn’t see our enemies, but I could hear multiple voices aggressively yelling at us from across the street. They weren’t speaking English, but some language consisting of growls and clicking.

  There had been a line of stores lining the street at one point, but only a few remained in any standing condition. Directly across from Ralph’s was a mechanics shop with a small parts yard. The garages had been totally smashed by some massive force, while the smaller retail section remained standing. I heard crackling and popping as whatever creatures on the roof prepared to attack us again. I also heard Zahra groan.

  She was still on the ground, her back burned from the explosion. She was starting to get back up, but it wouldn’t be in time. I looked around for anything I could use as a weapon, but the street was barren besides the lamposts and a stop sign nearby.

  Well, if I was going to die, I might as well go out doing something crazy.

  I ran up to the sign and pulled as hard as I could. Luckily, the concrete attaching the pole had cracked, and the sign came out relatively easily. I held it up with one hand, momentarily shocked by the weight. It was like holding a kid’s broom. I shook my head clear as a small fire lit on top of the mechanics shop, illuminating the creatures as I darted across the street with my improvised weapon in hand.

  Name: Trash Goblin, Level: 0

  These small green humanoids are the lowest of the Goblinoid race, but it's hard to know if that bothers them too much. Addicted to trash, they spend their days roaming planetary wastelands and landfills, hoping to find another piece of treasure to add to their pile. Unlucky for them, the rest of Goblinoid kind cares little for their trash villages, mowing them down without a second thought. Don’t feel bad though, these little assholes are very proficient at taking advantage of those who underestimate them.

  Leaning over the top of the roof were 4 creatures. They were small, maybe 3ft tall with cracking green and grey skin. They had long ears and malicious red eyes filled with hunger and hate, and I didn't want to know which would win out if they got to us. They were wearing rusted pieces of metal and tin as clothing, one even had a cut-up oil pan to create clothing reminiscent of a tinfoil hat. I realized the fire was coming from one of the creature’s hands, where I could make out a small red orb growing behind the slow-moving smog. A different description popped up from the System for fire-hands.

  Incinerator Goblin, Level 0

  Unlike their more hopeless cousins, the Incinerator Goblin has an incredible affinity for setting things on fire. This allows it to find a home in Goblinoid nests as a lower-class mage under a shaman, or as cooks. These ones, however, are quite fond of stuffing their victims with explosives, no matter how small the offense. So, they’ve been exiled, and now work under the Swamp King. They don’t seem to mind the smell, and their explosives are better off for it!

  As I ran up, the Incinerator Goblin finished its spell. “Krazam, VRATASH!” It yelled as it hurled the glowing fiery orb directly at me. Despite how powerful I knew the thing was, it was still thrown by a weak goblin, and was more like a lob. I slid to a stop and grabbed the sign with two hands, using the momentum to swing it as hard as I could at the orb, hoping it would detonate the orb towards the little shits trying to burn us. The stop sign viciously spun in the air, colliding with the fire spell and causing another explosion which shook the street. I heard a few goblin voices shriek in pain, but as the fire cleared, they were all still standing.

  I was already moving to the side of the building, quickly out of their view of the goblins. The roof was 10-12ft up, but I had to get up there and deal with these monsters. I remembered Zahra’s jump as I took a running leap towards the roof ledge, flying higher than I ever had before and grabbing the ledge with both hands. I quickly pulled myself up to the roof, startling the group. Their health bars popped up, with all but the Incinerator Goblin having about 50% health left. The fiery bastard seemed barely injured from the explosion, and seemed ready to cook me as it raised its hands and began to chant harshly.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  I didn’t hesitate, rushing to the first goblin and punching it square in the chest, the tin shirt crumpling as the goblin screamed out in pain. I punched again, this time feeling ribs break under my fists as I finished the goblin off with a brutal right hook to the chin, sending the body sliding across the roof from the blows. Its health dropped to zero, but I hardly noticed as I was already moving towards the Incinerator Goblin, and the two Trashies that were trying to intercept me. They snarled at me, razor sharp teeth poking out through bleeding gums. One held a hammer as a weapon, and the other was the weird oilpan-hat guy, who held a large wrench.

  I dodged the hammer swinging through the air and returned a quick jab to the face, which seemed to completely stop the monster in its tracks. I spun towards the other goblin, grabbing the oilpan off his head and slamming it down on top of him with a loud crunch. I cringed from the sound of its neck breaking, it was brutal. Before any more hammers were swung at me, I delivered a spinning back kick to the other creature’s temple, sending it flying off the roof and landing with a dull thud below. I would have been shocked at my strength if I wasn’t entirely focused on the Incinerator Goblin, who was beginning to walk to the edge of the roof, hands consumed by red-hot fire as it charged a spell bigger than the previous ones. It looked back at me, an evil smirk stretched across its face as it turned back towards the street below and finished its chanting.

  Damn it, no! Zahra! I darted forward, but I was too slow. Whatever this creature was about to fire off, I wouldn't be able to stop it. I watched in horror as a massive beam of red energy flew from the goblin’s hands below, but it was cut short as a figure burst through the smog, as if propelled by a cannon. I barely registered as she flew past the Incinerator Goblin, a loud crack filling the air as Zahra continued another 10 or so feet into the sky, her knee raised from the strike. I heard the sound of something bounce off the roof behind me, about at the same time I realized the Incinerator Goblin no longer had a head.

  Holy Shit, Zahra decapitated it.

  The goblin’s body collapsed onto the roof slightly before Zahra landed beside me, blood splattered all over her new leg. She looked down at me, slight shock starting to register on her face as her legs gave out. I rushed to her side.

  She was shell shocked, eyes wide and face covered in blood.

  “I… I didn’t know that would happen. I just heard you fighting and… I moved so quickly. I brought my knee up to protect myself, but I barely felt any contact with that guy. It was like I was some… unstoppable force or something. My god, I decapitated him, didn’t I? I killed him. They were going to kill us but… Why does it feel like this?

  “It's starting to sink in for me too. These monsters were created to kill Zahra, and they aren’t hesitating. If that fire spell had gone off on us, it would have been really bad. You saved us, even if you had to take a life. Or whatever this weird ‘System’ counts as life. Either way, it sucks.” She lifted a hand towards me and I took it, looking down at the street below.

  “I just… I didn’t want to kill him, Levi. And it happened so easily, so quickly I could barely stop myself. We have to be careful around using these bodies, or we might seriously hurt or kill someone we weren’t meaning to. This kind of power is… scary if we can't control it.”

  “Hey, don’t beat yourself up for saving both of us. Of course we’ll be more careful and try to figure out how to control our powers, which is why we’re out here right? Not back at the hospital where someone could have been hurt in the crossfire.” She nodded, staring ahead. I could tell my words weren’t reaching her. Before I could continue, however, a loud gurgling from both our stomachs reminded us of how long it had been since we’d eaten. Nearly 24 hours at this point, unless you count the weird symbiote-thing he had ingested.

  Wait, had Zahra also ingested one of the symbiotes as well because we shared rewards? Was it a different symbiote or the same one that I have?

  Zahra gave me a sheepish smile before jumping down from the roof, landing with barely a sound. I followed her, attempting to bend my knees on impact. It was much harder than it looked, and it already looked hard. I basically winded myself from the attempt, stifling a wheeze as best I can as Zahra stifled a giggle.

  “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll get better with practice. In the meantime, how about some protein and electrolytes? If we get lucky, they’ll have something better for us to wear”

  I followed her into Ralph’s, my ears ringing. Hopefully they had hearing aids.