Levels

Level 1

They stood right in the middle of huge main square, surrounded by a desolated city. Devastated buildings and skyscrapers in every direction. Rusty metal parts hung off every corner, glass fragments covered the ground and a decrepit stench swayed in the air.

For the first minutes Dayl and Allessa just stood there, scrutinizing their new surroundings and marvelled at the gigantic constructions.

Allessa gawked at a collapsed skyscraper blocking the way directly in front of them.

"How are we ever going to figure out what we'll have to do to complete Level 1? This place is tremendous."

"To be honest Allessa. No idea, this is ridiculous, we can't just run straight into it without a plan. It would take months to explore the whole area."

"How about we try to get a better overview of this place?" Allessa asked while all her courage dropped.

"Sounds good to me" Daly answered with a low, dull voice.

They moved on to the highest building they could find until they stood directly in front of the entrance (or the spot where the entrance once probably had been).

The ruined architecture seemed pretty much unstable, but the other ones didn't look more capable to hold to people either. So the duo of them entered.

A demolished wooden stairway was the only way to get right to the top of the building.

Quickly, but with enormous consideration Dayl stepped on the first stair.

"Be careful, those stairs don't seem to promise much."

"Don't worry, I'll be careful, Mister 'Let myself get killed by a dragon.'" Allessa mocked him sardonically.

Dayl pretended not to have listened and went further up. Allessa followed.

Every step was a new gamble not to break through the ground all the way down to the first floor, the further they got up.

All of the sudden Allessas attention shifted to Garros and how she had to leave him behind and would probably never see him again, exactly at that one moment of negligence the wood under her feet cracked.

A second later the whole step shattered and she fell through it. Fortunately her body got stuck between the splattered stairway.

Dayl was holding her with his hands on her left arm.

"Shit, we have to be quick, the staircase won't last long with me holding you like this" Dayl said in a strained voice.

"Are you able to pull yourself up?"

"I don't know, let me try" Allessa answered, calmer than she ought to have been given the situation.

Her feet were searching for something to push off. Through all the struggling, her feet managed to find the railing of the staircase down under.

With Dayl pulling at her arms and Allessa pushing herself off, they were able to break her free from the wood splitters.

As soon as she was out of it, the whole stairway dared to collapse.

"Come on now! Run!"

Together they ran as fast as they could through the enormous skyscraper, breaking through the door that was blocking their way to the roof and suddenly coming to a halt, with the view of the whole Level 1 Area.

Allessa stepped to the Dayls side, who was already examining their underlying area.

"Thanks, I wouldn't have made it without your help."

"No need to thank me."

"Why is that?"

"Now we're even." Dayl turned his face to his right and gave her a broad smiley.

Allessa looked kind of startled but then, a loud gentle laugh left her mouth.

"You are and idiot Dayl." She said and gave him a cute smiley.

"Now let me see your scratches, perhaps we can do something about them."

Allessa sat down and Dayl looked at the spot where the cracked wood had cut her skin. He took off his Sweater and sliced it into two pieces. He took the rag and placed it around Allessas bruises to cover them from dirt.

"Thanks a lot, that's better."

"It's not much, but it'll do for now."

They stood up and walked to the edge of the roof. After a few minutes discussion where they should head next and many guesses what the actual objective of Level 1 might be, Allessa spotted something a few blocks next to their position.

Another competitor was sitting on the street. He seemed to be near unconsciousness and not able to move any further.

Then, they realized why he was completely spacing out, he was missing his right arm. It looked like it had been torn off from something or someone, blood dripping on to the ground, he fell to his side, his head clattering to the ground.

Now, he definitely was unconscious or even worse.

A moment later, something that looked like an oversized mantis came into sight near the other participant, ready to feast on his body.

"Dayl, we have to help him!" Allessa said in a husky voice.

"How are we supposed to help him? Look where we are!"

"I've got an idea. Have you ever really looked around our supply room back in the ship?" Allessa asked while fumbling around in the pockets of her tunic.

"Not really, but how does that help now?"

"Ha! Got it." She pulled out a grenade and held it up in the air in a kind of triumphing way.

"WHAT THE HELL?! A GRENADE?! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING ALLESSA!?"

"Calm down, we can distract that thing with it."

"Oh I really have a bad feeling about this..."

"Trust me, It'll work" Allessa gave him an encouraging look.

She pulled the splint out of the grenade and held her hand behind her head, ready to throw it.

A split second before she released the grenade of her hand, she lost her balance and nearly fell off the roof.

The grenade bounced off the roof and clattered to the ground directly in front of the building Allessa and Dayl sat on.

With a loud "Boom" the grenade exploded and instantly the mantis attention was caught by the deafening sound of the explosion.

It turned away from the body of the other competitor and looked to the direction where the sound had come from.

"See I told you it would work." Allessa threw up her hands in a winning manner.

The monster down under, looked at the spot where the grenade detonated, then to the roof of the building, catching sight of Allessa and Dayl, directly looking at them.

Allessas triumph eased.

"Oh ... shit."

"Yeah great plan you genius."