Chapter 963: Stargazing for Power

Ethan, Chris, Henry, Sean, Big Mike, and Skinny Pete made it back to the dorm and divvied up the food they’d swiped earlier that afternoon.

It was supposed to last two days. But with three extra mouths—Sean, Big Mike, and Skinny Pete—it barely made it through one.

More hands meant more muscle, sure. But it also meant more mouths to feed.

Luckily, the new guys had brought some supplies of their own. Not much, though. Enough for one more meal between the six of them—maybe breakfast tomorrow, if they stretched it.

"Looks like we’ll need to scrounge up more food before we head out tomorrow," Ethan said, licking peanut butter off his thumb.

Sean let out a sigh. "It’s getting harder to find anything near campus. Most of the convenience stores and smaller supermarkets have been picked clean. The dining halls too. There are only two big grocery stores left that might still have something, but they’re both locked down by the two strongest teams around."

"Strongest teams?" Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Who are they?"

"One’s led by the Exercise Science crew. Their leader’s a guy named Connor Wade. He was one of the first to start fighting zombies when all this kicked off. Knows how to rally people, too. His group’s pushing two hundred now—most of them Tier 2 Enhanced without powers. But Connor himself? He’s already Tier 3."

Sean paused, then added, "The other team’s led by a woman named Vivian. She’s an Awakened—power type, strength-based. Also Tier 3 now. Real powerhouse. And she’s got brains to match. Word is, she rescued a bunch of people trapped in the main dining hall. A lot of them joined her after that. Her group’s even bigger—over two hundred."

"They’ve each taken one of the two big supermarkets near campus," Sean went on. "But with that many people, they’re burning through supplies fast. Even if there’s still food left, it won’t be much."

Ethan grinned and turned to Henry. "Damn, Henry. Your girl’s kind of a badass."

Henry’s face went blank. "..."

"Ethan, can we not go there?"

Chris snorted. "Man, you’re hopeless. No wonder you’re still a virgin in your twenties. Ethan’s been setting you up for weeks. If you had even a shred of initiative, something might’ve happened by now."

"..."

"It’s not like that," Henry muttered. "I just think she’s... easy on the eyes. That’s all. Don’t make it a thing."

"’Easy on the eyes’ is all you need," Chris said. "If it were me, I’d have made a move already."

"Which is exactly why your last girlfriend cheated on you."

"..."

"Okay, that was low."

"Alright, enough," Ethan cut in, waving a hand. "Let Henry figure it out himself."

He leaned back against the wall, arms crossed. "Tomorrow, we’ll pay Connor a visit. See if we can borrow some food. Then we get the hell out of this area."

Chris frowned. "Why not go to Vivian instead?"

Ethan shrugged. "Too familiar. Makes it harder to play the angle."

"Ah... yeah, fair point."

Sean shook his head. "Ethan, food’s life right now. Especially for someone like Connor. He’s not gonna just hand it over."

"Oh, he’ll lend us some," Ethan said, smiling.

Sean blinked, then caught on. In this world, strength talked. Everything else was noise.

"Alright," Ethan said, stretching. "Get some rest. We’ve got stargazing duty tonight."

"Stargazing?" Sean looked confused. "What for?"

"You’ll see. Just come with us when the time comes."

"...Okay then."

Food Lion Supermarket

"Vivian, the shelves are almost bare," a woman said quietly, stepping up beside Vivian. "We went out scavenging today and came back with next to nothing. If this keeps up, we might have no choice but to leave campus."

Vivian didn’t look surprised. "We were always going to leave eventually. The university only has so many resources—we can’t stay holed up here forever."

She paused, then added, "Tell everyone to start packing. We’ll move out in the next couple of days."

"Got it."

"Oh, and what’s the situation with the other teams?"

"Connor’s crew is still holding down the Target supermarket, but they’re probably running low too. The rest of the smaller groups? Most of them are already pulling out. Oh, and—Vivian—we found out today that Matt’s team got wiped."

"Zombies?"

"Looks like it. But..." The woman hesitated. "Some of the bodies had crushed skulls, but the rest of them were untouched. Doesn’t really match how zombies kill."

"Crushed skulls?" Vivian’s brow furrowed. She went quiet for a moment, then murmured, almost to herself, "Don’t tell me they crossed paths with that group..."

Target Supermarket

"Boss, just finished inventory," a tall man reported to Connor, who was just as broad-shouldered and imposing. "If we ration hard, we’ve got maybe two days’ worth left."

Connor scowled. "Two days, huh? Not great. Especially now that the zombie numbers are thinning out. It’s the perfect time to level up—I don’t want to leave campus just yet."

"Not much choice," the man said. "The other teams are probably out of food too. Maybe only Vivian’s group has anything left."

"Forget Vivian," Connor said with a grunt. "That woman’s power is no joke. We can’t take her in a fight. Tomorrow, send people out again—see if there’s anything left to scavenge. I figure most of the other teams will be gone in a day or two. We’ll stay as long as we can."

"Understood."

Late Night

Ethan and his crew stirred from their beds, then knocked on the door next to theirs to rouse Sean, Big Mike, and Skinny Pete.

Six guys and one cat made their way up to the rooftop. They found a clean patch of concrete and lay down, staring up at the sky.

"Ethan," Big Mike mumbled, still half-asleep, "you seriously dragged us up here in the middle of the night just to stargaze?"

"Yup," Ethan said. "Once the Big Dipper shows up, focus on it. Stare hard. It’ll help you get stronger. Only now, it’s not just seven stars—it’s nine. We call it the Nine-Star Dipper."

"!!!"

"Wait, wait, wait," Skinny Pete said, blinking. "You’re telling me staring at stars makes you stronger? That sounds like some straight-up fantasy bullshit."

"If you’re such a believer in science," Chris chimed in, grinning, "then explain where the zombies came from."

"Uh..."

"Just focus," Ethan said. "We wouldn’t drag you up here at this hour just to mess with you."

"Alright, alright..."

Soon enough, the Nine-Star Dipper emerged in the sky, glowing faintly but unmistakably.

Ethan, Chris, and Henry locked in immediately, their breathing slowing, their bodies going still.

Sean, Big Mike, and Skinny Pete exchanged skeptical glances, then looked up at the stars. Slowly, hesitantly, they began to focus.

Elsewhere, in a dorm room...

"You ever notice how the zombies just stare at the sky at night? What the hell are they looking at?"

"Beats me. There’s nothing up there but those nine stars. Maybe zombies are into astronomy."

"Maybe it’s how they evolve. I mean, they do seem stronger every morning."

"Evolve by stargazing? Come on, even sci-fi novels wouldn’t go that far."

"Whatever. They’re quiet right now, so I’m getting some sleep. Big day of zombie-killing tomorrow."

"I’m gonna try it. Who knows? Maybe it works."

A few minutes later...

"Jesus Christ, I’m an idiot," the guy muttered. "All I got was a stiff neck and burning eyes."

"Go to sleep."

5:00 AM

The Nine-Star Dipper faded from the sky as dawn crept in. Ethan and the others sat up, stretching out their stiff limbs.

Ethan turned to Sean’s group. "So? How do you feel?"

Sean flexed his fingers, eyes wide. "I think... I think I actually leveled up a bit."

Big Mike and Skinny Pete looked just as stunned.

"Ethan," Sean said, still processing, "how the hell did you figure this out? I’ve stared at those stars before out of curiosity, but I never felt anything."

"My ability lets me see energy flow," Ethan explained. "When you focus on the stars, energy trickles into your body. But it’s subtle—too little for most people to notice unless they stare for at least an hour or two. That’s why no one’s picked up on it."

"Damn," Sean said, shaking his head in awe. "Your ability’s insane."

"Alright," Ethan said, standing up and brushing off his pants. "Let’s catch a few more hours of sleep while we can."

"Yeah," Sean said, still grinning. "Good idea."

...