In my arms I feel how fragile my mother is. She’s still young, small, gentle. She looks up at me and smiles. It gives me strength.

  “I’ll pack a bag and then we can go,” I tell her.

  “I’ll prepare something to eat for the road,” she says, heading toward the kitchen.

  Then she stops.

  She looks at Dad on the floor. Kneels beside him in silence.

  I know she needs to say goodbye. To tell him he was a wonderful husband. A wonderful father.

  I go to my room and spot the toolbox. I move to open it when—

  Poof.

  It vanishes.

  A notification informs me its contents have been added to my inventory.

  Fantastic.

  I repeat the process with anything that might be useful.

  When I go back downstairs, Mom is moving around in the kitchen. When I step inside, I notice something above her head.

  A green bar.

  And text.

  [Rose Pike – Level 1 | Class: Cook]

  Of course.

  She’s always been an amazing cook. Worked for years in a small trattoria around the corner.

  A support class.

  Good.

  She should be seeing notifications too. Text in her vision.

  But she doesn’t look alarmed. Like always when she cooks, she’s focused. Absorbed.

  My chest tightens watching her do something so ordinary in the middle of this nightmare.

  “Mom. Do you see anything strange?”

  “Let me finish, Jack. I’m almost done.” A faint smile touches her lips. I think she’s hiding in routine. Maybe that’s good.

  When she finishes wrapping the sandwiches, I glance at them.

  Text appears above the paper bag.

  [Rose Burger]

  +2 Strength for 1 hour

  Restores 30% Health over 10 minutes

  When she says she’s done, I reach out.

  Poof.

  They vanish into my inventory.

  “Jackie… what the hell happened?”

  She’s back in reality.

  “Let’s go, Mom. I’ll explain on the way.”

  As we leave through the back door, I cast one last look at Dad. Mom covered him with a sheet. I swallow hard. I have to be strong. For both of us.

  I check the Raider’s body.

  Lootable.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Empty.

  One less thing to worry about.

  We head out.

  At a brisk pace, it should take about thirty minutes to leave the city. We need to move fast. Quiet.

  That won’t be easy.

  Outside, nothing has improved. Smoke has thickened into a choking fog, limiting visibility to just a few meters. My lungs burn. Shops are empty. Many still have lights on and doors hanging open.

  I reassure Mom. I tell her everything will be fine as long as she stays close to me.

  A rough squeal makes me tense.

  From a side garden, a group of rats emerges.

  They’re the size of cats.

  Red eyes. Growling. Filthy. Reeking like sewers.

  [Rat Pack – Lv.2]

  Here we go.

  I push Mom behind me. Grip the axe. Swallow.

  They charge.

  Clumsy. Uncoordinated.

  One sweep.

  They fall like wheat.

  Easy.

  +2 XP

  I loot them.

  1 Poor Hide.

  We keep moving.

  We encounter a few more low-level mobs—dogs, birds. Easy kills. I loot everything. Open the Bestiary while we walk.

  It’s almost empty.

  Like the world has just been created.

  I barely feel fatigue now. Or fear.

  Mom feels both.

  She keeps looking around, asking what that sound was, what’s happening, what that shadow is. I do my best to calm her.

  We also spot another Angry Dumpster.

  We keep our distance.

  Two hours.

  Rubble. Fires. Destruction everywhere.

  Every mob slows us down.

  We should be out by now.

  The farther we get from downtown, the quieter it becomes.

  Quieter.

  And more unsettling.

  Every movement makes me flinch. I grip the axe so hard my fingers ache.

  I see people moving in the distance. Too far to read health bars or names.

  Doesn’t matter.

  Better to avoid other humans.

  I didn’t trust them before.

  Now?

  Not a chance.

  I think about my friends.

  I don’t have many.

  Okay—just two.

  Bob and Steve.

  I wish I were with them right now.

  I wish I’d been able to text them.

  Even just:

  “Guys. The world just ended.”

  But my phone’s dead. No signal since this hell began.

  And I don’t know where they are.

  Finally, the buildings thin out.

  We reach the edge of the last neighborhood.

  Open countryside stretches ahead.

  Hills rising toward the forest.

  Hope fills my chest.

  “Mom. Look. The worst is over.”

  She smiles.

  Then we hear a scream.

  Close.

  Female.

  “Help!”

  It’s to my right, just behind a corner bar with shattered windows.

  We round it and find ourselves in a small square near a low stone wall overlooking the fields.

  There’s a fountain at the center, water still running.

  Tables under a veranda. Most overturned.

  Like a train ran through them.

  I scan the area.

  Grip the axe.

  Where is she?

  Movement.

  Behind the fountain.

  I run.

  Now I see her.

  The girl is on the ground, back pressed against the fountain wall. Long thick hair. Terrified. Covered in blood. Hands raised defensively.

  [Alicia Lynn – Level 2 | Class: Medic]

  Her health bar is below 10%. Deep red.

  In front of her stands something I struggle to process.

  It’s human.

  Or it was.

  Human legs. Human height.

  But from the torso up—

  It’s a cockroach.

  Elongated face. Huge black glossy eyes. Mandibles snapping with a chitinous click.

  Disgusting.

  I force down a wave of fear.

  [Mutation: Cockroach – Lv.3]

  Full health.

  It notices me.

  Lets out a shrill scream—half laughter, half challenge.

  Four long clawed limbs where its arms should be.

  Shit.

  This thing is serious.

  The girl turns her head slightly.

  In her eyes, a plea.

  I’ve got you.

  The insect moves toward me.

  Six meters.

  Careful.

  It lowers into a crouch.

  Prepares to charge.

  Then launches.

  Fast.

  Let’s see if I’ve learned anything.

  I focus.

  Call Power Strike.

  Raise the axe high. Heat surges inside me.

  But it’s too fast.

  Claws slash.

  I try to dodge.

  Too slow.

  One claw grazes my shoulder.

  Tears it open.

  Pain hits like black ice.

  I fall.

  My health drops sharply.

  Nearly a third gone.

  The creature overshoots behind me.

  Power Strike is too slow.

  I don’t know what else I have.

  I get up.

  Glance at the edge of the square.

  Mom is frozen.

  An idea.

  I summon the Rose Burger mentally.

  Use it.

  I would’ve preferred to eat it slowly.

  Not today.

  +2 Strength

  1 hour remaining

  I exhale.

  Brace myself.

  This time I’m ready.

  It repeats the move.

  Charges.

  Claws out.

  I sidestep.

  Swing.

  The blade shears off its two left limbs.

  A piercing shriek.

  Black blood spills.

  Its health drops into red.

  It’s afraid now.

  I can do this.

  One last push.

  I charge.

  A few steps away—

  It snaps its mandibles wide.

  Spits green liquid.

  Too late to dodge.

  It hits my chest.

  I hit it.

  Its health bar empties.

  Zero.

  Then the pain comes.

  My chest is on fire.

  Like being doused in lava.

  I’m afraid to look.

  I drop to my knees.

  Shit.

  My health plummets.

  The world narrows.

  Darkens.

  A notification.

  [Negative Status: Deadly Poison]

  The last thing I hear is my mother calling my name.

  Then darkness.