Book 3 starts today, so check back in a few hours for the start of it! Until there, here's a recap of book 2 for anyone that needs a refresher. Thank you for taking this journey with me!

With the threat of Gabriel gone the Torres family and their neighbors were finally able to take a rest and collect themselves. They discovered that even after the apocalypse it's pretty damned hard to rest and relax without power. What were they going to do - sit and read books? Of course not! So boring.

Anyway, this called for a side quest! Time to get the power up and running! They made it to the power plant without incident, but then were immediately trapped there when their van was shot all to hell. They defeated burrowing worms (one of my personal greatest fears, even more so than zombies) and radioactive dogs to get to the plant. Their frantic run to the central power plant was a humbling experience for the family. They'd been hunting around their house for so long that they were used to being the strongest around. This was the first time they faced something that really could have killed them all and there was no way for them to defeat it - and it wasn't even that far from their home. The book may not have explicitly said it, but it caused a lot of introspection for all of them now that they knew they weren't nearly as strong as they thought.

They made it into the facility, something they couldn't do without both Cass and Luna pushing their skills to the limits. From the first moment inside the plant they realized that this wasn't a standard grind like The System had given them before - whoever was running the plant was testing them in many ways, pushing the limits of their skills, decision making processes, and familial bonds. The challenges they faced weren't something they could hack and slash their way through, they had to strategize and cooperate, all while knowing they were being watched. Although they were being tested by a psychotic AI, it also provided a huge opportunity to learn more about themselves and their powers. They discovered that The System starts everyone off with generic versions of powers and abilities but is willing and able to customize the powers to individuals that push past their limits. "But how do regular ol' humans force an all-powerful System to bend to their will?" you may ask, to which I would reply "Stop asking questions and just blindly accept everything!" But no, they learn that The System simply adapts preset powers to fit their needs, and the ones who put themselves in situations that require the most need are the same ones who may need the most custom skills. Thus the risk/reward system allows people who take on the greatest risks to reap the biggest rewards. So reap they did - They reaped their way all the way through the plant and to the end only to discover three important things:

Fara, the girl they rescued, was actually the psychotic AI that had been tormenting them the entire time. She wanted to get out of the plant but wanted to verify that whoever she left with was strong enough to survive in the outside world and caring enough to adopt her.

Zavier had to choose to leave with them or leave them alone to chase his own quest.

The System was throwing a new challenge their way and they didn't have a lot of time to prepare for it.

Zavier made his choice, opting to take on his challenge. To some it may seem selfish, to others common sense - to Zavier it was the only way he felt he could protect his family. It also fed a lot of his personal desire to grow stronger and learn more, but who can fault a guy for being driven and motivated?

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Anyway, everyone escaped the plant, one way or another, and what was left of the family arrived back home with a realization that their neighborhood was in no way prepared for the Cryptid Challenge.

Meanwhile Ed, our stalwart artist hero, was surviving in the dunge - basement of Mason's compound, tortured regularly by Gabriel. Gabriel wanted to know how Ed could track him no matter where he went. He realized that if Ed could do it then others probably could too, and he'd potentially left a lot of enemies with very personal motivations to kill him in his wake. Ed, true to form, dished out only sarcasm and jokes, even after losing important fingers. (They're all important, I know, but I guess these rate on the lower end of the important scale.) The System Announcement interrupted Gabriel from removing Ed's manhood and led to Ed not only escaping but also discovering a new magical power set.

This led to Ed escaping back to the Torres's neighborhood for a reunion with Tess, Luna, and Cass. The four of them met with the Bouchards to strategize surviving the upcoming Cryptid Challenge (or Crypto Challenge, if you're a moron). What it came down to was that they needed more people - easily said, not so easily done. They divided up tasks and started gathering as many people as they could from the surrounding areas. This also gave them an opportunity to find some new and interesting characters that would help them out in unique and fun ways.

So now we find ourselves standing on the precipice of the Cryptid Challenge, a motley crew of about 100 people and a few strong individuals ready to face the hordes they know are coming their way. They know this will challenge them and many may die, but with great risk comes great reward.

Oh yeah, one more thing - Cass pissed off Mason big time, which convinced him to take his fairly well-trained army (that is 5x bigger than the Torres community) and wipe them off the face of the earth. Kids, am I right?

I'm also going to be putting less focus on character sheets and more focus on the organic growth in this book - I don't want to bog down the story with a lot of stats, even if they're in their own chapters. I will still provide character sheet chapters when they've seen a lot of growth or gained a cool new skill or power, but not for every level. Also note that there is a character appendix at the end of the book, in case you need a refresher on any of the characters that we may not have seen since the first book.

So here we are! Enjoy!

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