The Gift of Loot Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Bear-Serker Potion

Read chapter 33 of The Gift of Loot by Jack_Golightly on NovelPedia.

"That's a potion," Thomas said. "It's called Rage of the Mama Bear." Jo looked at the crystal flask a little like she was holding a hand grenade. "Yeah, cool and all, but is it one of those potions that change you forever, or a one-time thing?" Twitch asked. Thomas turned to him. "Why do you think you are involved in this conversation?" "Because I killed the bear." He nodded so fast it looked like he was vibrating. "I'm part of the team." "You are not !" Thomas sputtered. "There is no team. Jo and I are just trying to get out because you and your buddies chased us in here, shooting –" Jo cut in. She had put away her sword and looked at them both with an unimpressed eye. "Enough. You two argue worse than children. But also, Twitch, you are not part of the team. Don't even think 'bout cozying up." Twitch huffed, but he didn't look actually offended. Not that Thomas cared about his feelings, particularly, but he got the impression suddenly that Twitch was just trying to wind him up. So, determinedly, Thomas ignored him and walked over to Jo to get a closer look at the potion. What little he could see behind the thick, crystallized glass was a deep, mud brown. Not appetizing. "Does your System show anything else?" Jo asked Thomas. "No, just the title, and I don't know much about potions." Twitch jumped in, speaking quickly. "I've seen them come in two types: the ones that are one-off and give great boosts or healing, and the ones that provide lesser boosts but are supposed to last forever." "You got an alchemist in your gang?" Thomas asked, only a little snidely. He was still irritated at Twitch, and at himself for healing him, even though (sigh) it was the right thing to do. He just didn't know why the guy hadn't fucked off already. He must have accidentally scored a point, because Twitch looked down even as he shuffled in place. Though the guy wasn't currently relying on his gift to keep himself alive, it seemed he was always... Twitchy. It made Thomas wonder if that was the key to his skinniness, if he just burned off every calorie he ate. Nah, it was probably drugs. "No alchemists, I've just seen some potions. Okay, a lot of potions," Twitch said. "Like, a whole ass vault of them. And they were separated into those two types." "Did you steal them?" Jo asked. Twitch shook his head. "No, I was only lookout for that one. 'Cuz of my Gift, I have to step in if things go wrong. Nothing did, so." He jerked a shoulder up and down. "I didn't see any of the gains from that hit. That all went to the high-rankers, the veterans, and the lieutenants. They always get the good crap." He made another jerky shrug, both shoulders this time. "I'm barely even a regular." "Uh-huh." Skeptical, Thomas decided to change the subject. He looked at Jo, who was the only one who mattered in this conversation. "What do you want to do now? Those last couple of bears were hairy—that was not a pun," he snapped to Twitch, who had opened his mouth. Jo paused and thought about it, fingers drumming on her belt an inch from one of her blades. But she wasn't reaching for it. Clearly, she wanted to be in control of her emotions. "Do you think we can find the exit without more battles? If we were careful ?" She emphasized the last word, communicating that she meant with her Gift. She didn't want Twitch to hear about it, and Thomas didn't blame her. "Give me a moment." Thomas didn't need to close his eyes to use his healing sight, but he'd perfected it in the dark, and having that darkness around him helped. Though what he saw didn't make a lot of sense. He opened his eyes a few seconds later. "There are only about five bears left. A lot have disappeared and..." he trailed off, his frown deepening as he struggled to discern what the faint life signs in the distance were telling him. "I think your friend, Griff or whatever, is fighting the boss." Though Twitch was in almost constant movement, he still seemed to slouch. At Thomas's words, he stood straight up, rigid a