Elena. Where was she? The empty space beside me triggered a spike of panic. I bolted upright, scanning our campsite with rising dread until music drifted from the dome. Through the half-open door, I caught glimpses of her dancing with Baby, completely lost in their moment together.
I watched them for a moment before making a quick trip to the [Dimensional Toilet]. With that done I focused on that persistent mental nudge — like a toddler tugging at my sleeve — that always appeared whenever the system had something new to show me.
Wisdom +1
Constitution +1
Awareness +1
Parenting increased to 32
Meditation increased to 25
Self Regulation increased to 41
New Affinity Unlocked — Compassion (Rare)
—
Compassion (Rare)
Compassion is the quiet, calm, enduring willingness to turn toward suffering — your own or another’s — with care, sensitivity, sympathy, empathy and without judgement. This affinity embodies the soothing, stabilizing force that calms the fires of fear and tempers the storms of the mind, allowing pain to be held without being erased or denied. Those who walk this path can ease anguish, steady fractured spirits, and weave sanctuaries of safety amid chaos.
—
I traced my fingers over the notification, a small smile forming. Yesterday's grueling hike hadn't been for nothing, and apparently neither had my emotional breakdown by the fire. The system seemed to reward genuine understanding over performative actions. You had to live it, feel it, embody it somehow, and then the mechanics would recognize what was already there.
New Title Awarded — Modern Man (Rare)
—
Modern Man (Rare)
Your world has ended, and you have felt all the feelings — unlike many others of the male identifying members of your race. Seriously, who the hell hurt you guys? You’re aware there are more emotional states than just “fine” and “I need a beer” right?
You've actually taken time to processed these feelings instead of bench-pressing them away. You've talked about them without punching a wall. Cried somewhere other than in the shower. Most surprisingly of all you’ve shown vulnerability without once having to immediately make a joke about it.
*Slow Clap*
Congratulations on not suppressing your feelings until they begin to manifest as borderline narcissistic traits and an odd relentless fixation on power and strength.
The bar is not set very high for you men is it? Don’t be an asshole and show your feelings in a healthy way. How is that an achievement by your society's standards?
Regardless, feeling your feelings is but the first step on your journey as a Modern Man, so continue forward. Beware the path to emotional masturbation and the false catharsis it promises.
Rewards: Bonus Experience for you alone (trust us, you’ll thank us for this momentarily)
—
I burst out laughing at the phrase "emotional masturbation"—a term I'd coined in the privacy of my own thoughts years ago but never dared speak aloud in professional settings. It belonged to that secret lexicon every therapist keeps locked behind their neutral expressions. It was in the top two therapeutic quicksands I'd watched clients sink into over the years. The other being what we professionals called "backdraft" but what I privately termed "Awareness Hell."
The pattern was always the same: people would start therapy, experience the intoxicating relief of finally being heard, and then... stagnate. The temporary relief of venting and validation created an illusion of progress while actually cementing patterns. The validation high became the destination rather than the starting point. "Why learn to swim," their actions seemed to ask, "when I can just keep describing how I'm drowning?" This emotional offloading — or "emotional masturbation" as I called it — provided momentary relief but rarely led to lasting change. Without the skills component, the actual work of processing and responding to feelings, therapy became an expensive confessional booth. Momentarily cleansing but ultimately changing nothing.
That tug once again drew my attention, a gentle nudge to stay focused on the task at hand.
Experience awarded…
Congratulations! You are now a Level 5 Homo Fabulis.
+3 Free Stat points awarded.
1 Aspect choice pending
Quest [The First 24] updated…
Quest [The First 24] Completed!
—
The First 24
Primary Objectives:
- Survive the first 24 hours - COMPLETED
- Ensure [Elena Alighieri] survives the first 24 hours - COMPLETED
Secondary Objectives:
- Reach level 3 within the first 24 hours - COMPLETED
- Help [Elena Alighieri] reach level 3 within the first 24 hours - COMPLETED
Hidden Objectives Unlocked:
- Reach level 5 within the first 24 hours - COMPLETED
- Help [Elena Alighieri] reach level 5 within the first 24 hours - COMPLETED
Rewards: You live. Seriously we shouldn’t have to reward you for that, but I guess a bonus boost of experience can be provided depending on your performance.
—
Experience awarded…
Experience diverted to [Elena Alighieri].
Congratulations! You are now a Level 6 Homo Fabulis.
+3 Free Stat points awarded.
Good lord that must have been ALOT of experience. I thought to myself. Though maybe the enhanced rewards from my [Wired Differently] was more significant than I thought.
“EEEK! Dad I just made level 7!” Elena cried as she came running out of the dome.
“That’s awesome love! I just made it to level 6”
“HA! Always one step behind me” she said with a self satisfied smirk. I resisted with every ounce of my willpower to point out that she was taking half of the experience I earned.
Parenting increased to 30
Quiet Leadership increased to 26
I let out a little laugh, more aimed at the system's sense of timing than what Elena had said. “How did you sleep love?”
“Great! I feel fantastic. It’s like I have all the energy. I can move WAY faster and I feel stronger.” she said with a degree of manic enthusiasm.
“That’s awesome love. I feel the same. Our new stats must have fully kicked in while we slept.” I said. “I need a minute to check out my new abilities and spend my stat points and then lets have some breakfast okay?”
“Fine, but tummy isn’t really hungry right now.” she said with a pout
“That’s okay. If tummy doesn’t want to eat it doesn’t have too, but food will be available then. We can always have a snack later.” I said with a smile. Full well knowing that she would likely devour whatever was available, as she always did despite repeatedly stating that she wasn’t hungry. Sometimes listening to our body wasn't our highest ranked skill.
I turned to the last of my notifications and opened up my aspect selection.
—
Please select from one of the following options:
Inner Assembly (Trait — Uncommon)
The human mind is not just a single thing, but a series of interconnected parts and selves, all working towards their own goals, but resulting in a singular end result. To a degree, gain active control over several of these selves forming the beginnings of an inner coalition designed to automate certain tasks. You may run 2 of these selves simultaneously. Each self will run independently of the others.
Selves Unlocked:
- The Overwatch — Responsible for passive environmental scanning and detection and monitoring of threats or other things of significance
- The Manager — Responsible for passive stabilization of mana flow, emotional regulation and stabilization of physiology
- The Guardian — Responsible for monitoring any individuals you maintain a bond with, including physical location, emotional state, changes in character sheet, etc.
- The Tactician — Responsible for tactical modeling, prediction, and awareness of effective use of skills in necessary situations
Sanctuary of the Gentle Flame (Trait — Uncommon)
You kindle a soft, steady flame that does not burn, forming a sanctuary of calm around yourself and nearby allies. Within this space, fear, panic, and despair are gently subdued, hostile mental effects weaken, and emotional wounds begin to mend alongside physical ones. The flame grows stronger the more suffering it encounters, drawing power not from pain itself, but from the courage to remain present with it.
Bearing the Weight (Ability — Rare)
You willingly open yourself to another’s suffering, sharing its burden without taking it as your own. A portion of the target’s emotional distress, fear, or trauma is soothed and stabilized, reducing their debuffs while granting you clarity, resolve, or resistance rather than harm. When used at higher mastery, this ability can steady even those on the brink of collapse—provided you have the strength to remain grounded.
Flicker Dash (Ability - Uncommon)
You throw any object intended as a weapon to a target location or enemy. Upon contact, it explodes in fire damage. As a bonus action, you can [Flicker] to the target’s location in a flash of flame and follow up with a melee strike.
Ash Spiral (Ability - Uncommon)
You spin with your blades, unleashing a ring of searing ash and voidflame covering a 5m area centred on you. Anything in the area of effect take fire and abyssal damage, and are pushed 3m away.
Temporal Ricochet (Spell — Uncommon - G Grade)
Fire a bolt of compressed time that bounces between up to 3 targets within 25m of the caster. Each hit deals modest damage, but if it hits all 3, they all suffer delayed burst damage on the next round. NOTE: Any spells selected as part of an aspect selection will automatically provide an upgraded version upon evolution to a higher grade.
—
I let out a mental whistle at the six choices before me. Each had its appeal, but I could immediately eliminate a few. [Ash Spiral]? Too dangerous with Elena nearby—the area effect could catch her in its damage radius. [Temporal Ricochet] had an impressive range, but it just didn’t speak to me, at least not right now. [Sanctuary of the Gentle Flame] and [Bearing the Weight] both offered powerful support options, yet neither matched what I wanted or needed right now.
That left me with [Flicker Dash] and [Inner Assembly].
[Flicker Dash] would be devastating as an opener. I could imagine myself hurling rocks as improvised weapons, then blinking to their location for a follow-up strike. But without throwing skills, how effective would I actually be? It seemed like a one-trick pony — good for openers and ambushes, but not much else.
[Inner Assembly], though... My mind had always been a crowded committee meeting with everyone talking at once. The prospect of organizing that chaos, of having dedicated "selves" handling threat assessment and Elena's safety in the background—that resonated. Yes, it was another passive ability when maybe I should be building offensive capabilities. But sometimes the best offense is not being constantly distracted by your own brain.
I felt the familiar creep of decision paralysis and shut it down. Trust your gut, I reminded myself. The buzzing of the bees in my brain (aka my intuition) had always served me well and right now they were buzzing hard for [Inner Assembly]. I selected it and gasped as understanding flooded my consciousness.
Focusing on it, I selected The Overwatch and The Guardians selves. The effect was instantaneous. It was as if a mental fog I hadn't even realized was there suddenly lifted. The constant, low-level anxiety about Elena's exact position and vitals shifted from a screaming foreground process to a quiet, reassuring hum at the back of my mind, handled entirely by The Guardian. Simultaneously, The Overwatch began feeding me passive environmental data — the sway of the trees, the shifting shadows — without demanding my active focus. For the first time since the world ended, my mind felt delightfully uncluttered.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
With my mental bandwidth freed up, I turned to the six unspent stat points waiting for me. I dumped three points into Dexterity, two into Awareness and decided to finally spend the last one on Wisdom — what to me seemed like one of the most important stats of all.
Before I could take further action one final notification popped up.
Quest Assigned: The First Month
—
The First Month
You’ve survived your first day after the end of days. Congratulations. We won’t lie and say you’re killing it, but so far its been reasonably entertaining to watch. Now let's see if you can make it a little longer!
Objectives:
- Survive the next 30 days
Rewards: Class selection process unlocked & evolution to F grade unlocked at level 25
Side Quests:
- Reach level 25 within the first 30 days of the integration. Rewards: Increased Class Evolution options
- Help [Elena Alighieri] to reach level 25 within the first 30 days of the integration. Rewards: 2x Aspect selections for [Elena Alighieri]
- Have one skill at the first threshold within the first 30 days of the integration. Rewards: System assisted Skill evolution or combination.
—
Okay. So Quests within quests. It seemed like Objectives contributed to the final total reward, where as Side Quests were sub-parts of the quest but had their own individual rewards as well. I wondered if they would also increase rewards given for completing the main objective?
“Dad?” Elena asked, grabbing my attention instantly. “What’s the first threshold?”
“Hmm. That sounds vaguely familiar. I think I saw something about that when I was reading last night.” I pulled out my trusty guidebook and eventually found the reference I was thinking of.
“When skills reach a certain point, considered a threshold, they will evolve or offer new skill branches based upon how they have been used. These thresholds may vary based upon the skill, but typically the first threshold occurs around 50 for most skills.” I read aloud.
“Oh. Okay. We need to start training then. None of my skills are that close.”
I squeezed her shoulder gently. "We'll get there. But first, breakfast, then we need to break camp before heading down to explore."
Elena's head snapped toward me, eyes wide with alarm. "Break camp? But all this stuff is so cool! Why would we break it?"
My laugh died in my throat when I caught her genuinely distressed expression. "No, no—it's just an old hiking term. It means we pack everything up and leave the site clean. No actual breaking involved."
"Oh." The tension left her shoulders. "That makes way more sense."
“Now, about that breakfast you definitely aren't hungry for.” I said with a smirk and gestured towards our bags, going to pull out two MREs which I cracked open. Mine materialized as a surprisingly decent breakfast burrito, while Elena’s transformed into a stack of silver-dollar pancakes that literally floated an inch off her plate, dripping with syrup that shimmered like liquid starlight.
"Whoa," she whispered. "Okay, maybe I'm a little hungry."
After finishing our meal, we broke camp and within an hour we were headed out to find a route down to explore the ruins. The descent into the valley wasn't so much a hike as it was a controlled slide. At least for myself. Elena descended with all the grace of a mountain goat powered by pixie dust.
At the bottom, the forest floor was thick with prehistoric ferns and moss that felt like memory foam, its gentle squish reminding me of walking on those anti-fatigue mats they used to sell for workshops. Abruptly the forest ended in a jagged line of shattered asphalt. It was jarring — like walking out of a nature documentary and stepping into a post-apocalyptic horror movie.
"Watch your step, love," I said, offering a hand as Elena navigated a particularly steep drop where a granite shelf had sheared off.
"I got it, Dad," she chirped, hopping down gracefully. Her boots — black combat leather with those shimmering rainbow laces—absorbed the impact silently.
My new [Inner Assembly] hummed in the background of my mind. It was a strange sensation, like having a browser tab open that you weren't actively reading but could reference instantly. The Overwatch self highlighted loose gravel and unstable footing painting a safe path in my mind's eye without me having to consciously analyze every rock. It left my main processing power free to focus on the impossible skyline looming above us.
We stepped onto the road. The double yellow line was still visible, cracked and faded, disappearing under a massive, spiraling crystal structure that looked like it had been dropped from orbit. The crystal was a deep, throbbing violet, humming with a sound that I felt in my teeth rather than heard with my ears. A low, mechanical drone that made me think of a mechanized warning growl.
"It smells weird” Elena said as she wrinkled her nose, sniffing the air. "And what’s that sound?"
She wasn’t wrong. A scent wafted over us, some odd mix of newly cleaned hospital and stale, fungal must of an old basement. I licked my lips, my enhanced senses picking up a distinct taste on the air. I couldn’t describe it other than it tasted like the aftermath of a lightning storm — bitter and strangely clean, with a sharpness that scraped the back of my throat.
"I have no idea love. My guess is whatever the structure is is radiating magic that’s doing something" I said, muttering the last part. When I focused with my arcane senses I could see the magic radiating off of the strange structure, but I had no idea what it did.
Gripping the hilt of the seax I probed for any nearby threats. While none immediately jumped out I got a strong sense of DO NOT GO THERE from the crystal structure. My Guardian self pinged gently, noting an increase in Elena's heart rate, though reassured me that she wasn't scared; she was awestruck. That makes two of us.
We walked down the center of the street, giving the crystal structure a wide berth. To our left stood the remains of a generic strip mall, the kind that used to house a laundromat, a vape shop, and a nail salon. In fact, it was a strip mall that I was pretty certain I recognized, only half of it was missing, replaced by a grove of metallic trees with leaves that chimed like wind chimes. To our right, a suburban house sat perfectly intact, except it was hovering three feet off the ground, rotating slowly counter-clockwise.
"Dad," Elena stopped, pointing at a bent street sign protruding from a patch of glowing blue fungus.
I wiped the grime off the green metal. Oak Street. The air left my lungs in a rush. "No way."
"Is it...?" Elena looked up at me, eyes wide.
I stared at the sign, my voice barely a whisper. "Oak Street. What's left of it, anyway." The name hit like a punch to the gut — the little tree-lined road just minutes from our house where Elena used to ride her bike to visit her bestie Maddie.
I looked around with fresh, horrified eyes. That hovering house? That was the Miller's place. Mrs. Miller used to give out full-sized candy bars on Halloween. Now her front porch was orbiting a patch of alien weeds.
"Do you think they're... inside?" Elena asked, clutching Baby tighter to her chest.
I activated [Arcane Sense], letting my perception wash over the floating house. Nothing stirred behind those dark windows — no flicker of life energy, no magical signature of breathing bodies. While my new senses were somewhat intuitive, I still wasn’t fully aware of what they could do. They were more like an unfamiliar muscle I was still learning to flex. Either way the stillness of the house felt complete. The only way to be absolutely certain would require me to [Flicker] inside while leaving Elena here alone, which ranked somewhere between "absolutely not" and "when hell freezes over" on my priority list. "No, love. Nobody's home."
We pressed deeper into the ruins. The mashup of realities became more chaotic the further we went. A small economy car — you know the ones people used to enjoy putting oversized spoilers and super loud mufflers on as a way to indicate they suffered with penile dysmorphia — was fused halfway into a block of obsidian, its trunk open to reveal a spare tire and a pristine bag of potting soil. A fire hydrant had been stretched vertically like taffy, looming ten feet tall and dripping neon green sludge.
"This is weird," Elena whispered. "Like, really weird."
I nodded silently, eyes scanning our surroundings for anything recognizable. The twisted landscape held fragments of familiarity, but based on what I was seeing, we were heading away from our neighborhood, not toward it. A knot of disappointment tightened in my chest. No chance of seeing what remained of our home, though perhaps that was a mercy.
The road opened into what must have once been the town square, though it resembled a nightmare architect's fever dream. A massive object hovered at its center, morphing from cube to dodecahedron to shapes with too many angles that made my vision blur when I tried to focus on them. Past this mathematical abomination stood buildings whose outlines triggered an unsettling recognition in my gut.
"Look!" Elena shouted, taking off at a run before I could stop her. "The Library!"
"Elena, wait!" I called out, my anxiety spiking. I cast [Haste] on myself, blurring forward to catch up to her.
She skidded to a halt in front of the brick building. The roof was gone, sheared off by a slab of the pale crystal, but the front doors were intact. And taped to the glass, miraculously preserved, was a flyer for 'Story Time with Mrs. Gable.'
I put a hand on Elena's shoulder, feeling the tremor running through her frame. "We can go in," I said softly. "But stay close. Books are great, but falling masonry isn't."
We pushed the doors open. They groaned, the hinges rusted or perhaps just tired of the apocalypse. Inside, the library was a mausoleum of dust and paper. Shafts of light filtered through the open roof, illuminating rows of overturned shelves. Where the non-fiction section used to be, the floor had dissolved into a pool of shimmering, liquid mercury.
"Don't touch the silver puddle," I advised, steering her toward the Children's section.
Elena moved toward a familiar circular rug — the one with the map of the world on it. It was singed at the edges. She crouched down, picking up a tattered copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
"It's ruined," she said, her voice small.
I scanned the shelves. "Not all of it." Dropping to one knee, I opened my arms — an invitation she immediately accepted. She abandoned the tattered book and crashed into my chest, her small frame trembling against mine as I enveloped her. Holding her close, I couldn't help but think how ironic it was — all those post-apocalyptic novels I'd devoured never prepared me for these countless small heartbreaks, these quiet moments where the weight of what we'd lost crashed down on us both.
Elena pushed away from the hug and resumed her exploration of the library. I noticed a shelf that had somehow escaped the worst of the destruction and ran my fingers along the dusty spines. One book seemed to pulse beneath my touch, threads of arcane energy weaving through its binding. "Elena," I called, "you might want to see this."
I pulled out the thick volume. I triggered [Identify] to see if anything happened and was pleasantly surprised at the reaction.
—
So You Don’t Want to Walk in Circles: A Beginners Guide to Cartography (Common)
This skill book imbues the user with +5 Cartography. May not be used to exceed a knowledge level of 10.
—
"Jackpot," I grinned, handing it to her. "The System is turning the surviving books into skill books. Check the others."
Elena wiped her eyes, her resilience kicking back in. "Really?" She grabbed a copy of a dinosaur encyclopedia. “This one gives a skill called Dinosaur Taming. Wait…aren’t dinosaurs extinct?”
“I sure hope so.” I muttered under my breath.
"Whoa!" She grabbed another. "Dad, Witches & Wizards School is now a [Wandlore] manual!"
We spent the next twenty minutes raiding the ruins of the Children's section. It was a strange, quiet moment of looting amidst the devastation. We found books on [Gardening], [Basic First Aid], and curiously, a cookbook that granted [Culinary Chemistry].
"Bag 'em all," I said. "Even if we don’t need them all, we may be able to trade them once we find others. Knowledge is power, quite literally now."
A sound from the back of the library froze us both.
The sound of fluttering paper — like a thousand book pages being rifled through at once — erupted from beyond the door to the children's section. Then came a heavy rhythmic thumping, each impact vibrating through the floorboards beneath our feet. A loud crash echoed as something massive toppled over — shelves collapsing, perhaps, or a reference desk being overturned. Whatever it was dragged itself forward with deliberate, menacing slowness, the irregular scraping noise growing louder with each passing second.
My Overwatch self flagged the noise instantly: rapid movement, multiple limbs, heavy mass. It fed me information on the nearby exits - doors, windows — and hiding places. I silently motioned for Elena to follow me as we found a place to hide.
"Behind me," I whispered, drawing [Dimensional Edge]. The blade shimmered, reflecting the dusty light in impossible angles.
Elena stepped back, her bracelets expanding into those armored bracers, shifting like liquid mercury. She didn't cower; she prepared. That's my girl.
A humanoid figure lurched into view from the doorway's shadows. Standing over two meters tall, its body was a mass of shredded paper, hundreds of kilos worth, rustling with each movement. Perched on what passed for its face sat a pair of stereotypical librarian glasses — wire-rimmed half-moons that would have been comical if not for the fact they rested on a featureless paper visage with no eyes beneath them. The blank mannequin-like face beneath those scholarly spectacles sent a chill down my spine.
—
The Librarian 1468-25
Species: Charta Esse
Level: ?? (E Grade)
Given birth from the destroyed knowledge of the old world, The Librarian is an evolved paper golem, its body a collage of torn pages, faded illustrations, and fractured text from a thousand different volumes. It’s singular, obsessive purpose is to guard the fragmented wisdom that survived humanity's fall.
The Librarian is currently non-hostile to you and you REALLY want it to remain that way unless you literally want to die from a thousand paper cuts.
—
"SHHHHHHHHH!" The golem hissed, the sound like dry leaves skittering on pavement. It’s towering form turned to face us as it spoke, its face a swirling vortex of torn pages.
"We have a library card!" I offered weakly.
The golem raised an arm, it’s fingers razor sharp claws made of paper. It stared at us holding its hand out.
"Our cards are, uh, at home," I stammered, gesturing vaguely toward the apocalyptic wasteland outside. "Maybe check your records? We're in the system."
The golem's head swiveled with a dry rustle toward the circulation desk. Where a computer once stood, only a melted plastic shell remained, its innards fused into an unrecognizable lump. It turned its head back towards us, its hand still out expectantly.
I stared at the paper monster's outstretched hand and felt a hysterical laugh bubble up in my throat. Of all the apocalyptic scenarios I'd imagined — zombies, nuclear winter, alien invasion — not once had I pictured myself being asked for a library card by a sentient origami nightmare while standing in the children’s section of my local library. Even the end of the world wasn’t enough to escape bureaucracy.
Knowing our time was likely limited, I shouted "Move!" as I shoved Elena to the left. She needed no more prompting as she made a break for it. She bolted for the exit at the back of the children’s section with me quick on her heels. Vaguely Overwatch advised me that The Librarian had made no overt moves to follow us yet, but watched our exit.
We made it out of the Children’s section only to come to skidding halt, the soles of my shoes squeaking against the linoleum with a sound that seemed deafening in the sudden silence. Three more of the paper monstrosities turned toward us in perfect unison, their wire-rimmed glasses glinting menacingly.
"SHHHHHHHHH!" they hissed, the collective sound like a gale force wind tearing through a forest of dry leaves.
"Inside voices," I whispered frantically, gripping Elena’s shoulder to keep her from bolting. I didn’t need my Tactician self active to know that combat was suicide. We were staring down a literal E-Grade literary firing squad, and our only hope was to leave before they decided we were a threat.
I gripped Elena's wrist and tiptoed toward the exit, each footfall as silent as a held breath. At the security sensors, my heart stuttered and I paused for half a second —had she already stuffed those skill books into her backpack? Before I could ponder further Elena walked through the sensors, that mercifully remained silent. I quickly followed her. Once clear of the doors we both took off at a run, until we were at least a dozen meters away.
We collapsed onto the concrete outside, lungs burning. A notification caught my attention.
Quest Unlocked: The Repository
—
The Repository
You have discovered a repository of knowledge hidden within the ruins of your town's former library. While you made it out alive this time, you may not be so lucky again without finding a way to convince the local Librarians that you belong.
Primary Objective:
- Gain access to The Repository.
Secondary Objectives:
- Complete quest before reaching F grade.
Note: This quest must be completed BEFORE reaching E grade.
Rewards: Access to the knowledge within The Repository. A skill or ability custom designed by the system for you.
—
Before I could consider the quest much, Elena's shoulders began to shake, a snort escaping her lips. "Good thing you cleared your late fees last week, huh?"
My face drained before a laugh bubbled up from somewhere deep and desperate. The absurdity washed over us in waves, this shared moment of hysteria amid the end of everything. When our breathing finally steadied, I nudged her shoulder with mine, our eyes meeting in weary camaraderie. Her smile froze suddenly, her gaze fixing on something over my shoulder. I turned, muscles tensing instantly — we weren't alone.