The Roleplayer

Postal

Crash.

Riley shot out of his chair.

'What the hell was that.'

A window popped up.

"Quest received: Home Defense."

"Quest Details: Defend your family and your home."

"Quest Rewards: 300 exp."

Immediately after, he heard the loud, shrieking scream of his mother.

"AAHHH! Get out of my house! I'm calling the police!"

Riley had all the information he needed to know. There was at least one unknown intruder — likely more — in the house, and his mom was in danger.

'If anyone hurts my mom there'll be hell to pay.'

He grabbed his baseball bat and unhinged his window. He looked down at the one storey of distance separating him and the cold, hard floor. He had always wanted to try making that jump, but had been afraid of hurting himself. Plus, he had had no reason to actually attempt it other than dumb, childish rashness.

Riley took a deep breath. He wasn't worried about hurting himself; he could not afford to. The only thing he was worried about was making too much noise on impact. He aimed for the grass-covered backlawn, and jumped.

Rustle.

'No noise. Perfect.'

Riley straightened up. He had to hurry; time was of the essence.

Glancing through the kitchen window, there was no one to be seen.

'They must be near the front of the house. If I run around the side, I bet I can get the jump on them.'

Hurriedly, but still taking care not to make too much noise, Riley made his way around the house. Whoever it was, they didn't seem to have stationed any guards outside — he soon managed to reach the front porch uncontested.

He made his way to the front door. Peering in, he saw a scene that made his blood boil.

His mom, sitting on a couch, whimpering. Her clothes were ragged and bloody, the result of multiple cuts and physical altercations. Two thugs were standing around, keeping an eye on her. They were both armed with a dagger.

Riley saw red. He didn't know who these people were, but they would pay dearly for treating his mother like that. He sprinted in.

Before the thug closest to him could even react, Riley had struck him with <Power Swing>, in the head, with his baseball bat. As the body crumpled onto the floor, Riley moved on to the second.

By this time, the second thug had noticed him, and was charging at him with the knife. Aiming for his hands, Riley batted. The swing struck the thug square in the hand, causing the knife to fly away and embed itself into a nearby wall.

"Wait! Sto-"

Without giving him a chance to finish, Riley brought his bat down on the thug's head. With a sickening "crack", the thug's eyes rolled backwards and he crumpled onto the floor. With both men neutralized, Riley rushed over to his mom.

"Mom! Are you okay?"

His mom grabbed his arms.

"Listen to me, Riley. There are three more. They went upstairs looking for you. They knew who you were."

Riley's eyes widened.

"We need to get out of here Riley. We need to call the poli-"

Her eyes rolled upwards as her body went limp.