The sky bled orange and ash.
From the gym's broken windows, Arin watched the world collapse in silence.
The sun hadn't set yet, but the thick smoke in the air made it look like dusk. Outside, the streets twisted with abandoned cars, shattered glass, and unmoving bodies. Nothing felt alive anymore only the wind, and the hungry echo of what had taken the city.
She sat on the polished wooden floor, back against the wall, arms wrapped around her knees. Her backpack lay beside her, heavy with scavenged supplies. Not enough, but more than most.
Her fingers ached. Her throat burned. But she was alive.
Alive, and one step ahead.
The system chimed softly in her mind like a heartbeat.
[System Update]
XP: 85 / 100
Current Level: 1
Progressing toward: Level 2
Skill growth unlocked: "Improvised Weaponry I"
A faint hologram blue and flickering hovered just inside her vision, visible only to her. The system wasn't cold anymore. It was like it had begun adapting to her rhythm, responding faster, smoother, with less delay. A reflection of her.
She opened the skill tab with a blink.
[Skill: Improvised Weaponry I]
You gain +10% efficiency when using non-traditional weapons.
Effects: Improved grip, slightly reduced stamina drain, increased critical hit chance (low).
Recommendations: Seek stronger materials. You're creative but creativity without strength is still a gamble.
Arin smirked.
"Thanks for the pep talk," she muttered, brushing dirt from her sleeves.
She hadn't slept since the outbreak. Who could sleep when one mistake could mean death?
The gym had been quiet for three hours, maybe four. The infected hadn't breached this wing yet. She'd locked every door, braced every window, used every trick she could think of from the system tutorials and her own half-remembered instincts.
Still, sleep felt too dangerous.
She rose, shouldered her pack, and checked her supplies again.
Three cans of beans, one half-filled water bottle, two first aid kits, a utility knife stolen from the janitor's office, and one busted flashlight.
Better than nothing.
[System Tip: Scavenging Alert]
Nearby storage room detected.
Potential resource yield: Moderate.
Warning: Unstable structural integrity. Risk level: 43%.
Proceed?
Arin blinked, then sighed.
"Why is it never easy?"
She slipped through a side door behind the bleachers. The hallway beyond was dim, walls lined with faded championship banners and rusty lockers.
The smell hit first mold, sweat, and something metallic underneath.
She pressed on.
Down the hall. Left. Another left. The system's blinking guidance pointed her toward a heavy door marked Storage B-12.
She pulled it open carefully.
Inside, dust floated like mist in the slivers of light. Shelves stood half-collapsed, crates spilled open, and somewhere in the back, something skittered away into the dark.
She crouched, flashlight low, and began searching.
[Item Acquired: Rope]
[Item Acquired: Crowbar]
[Item Acquired: Packaged trail mix]
[Item Acquired: Unknown device - Analysis pending]
The last item looked like a small handheld scanner. Military grade?
Before she could inspect it, a faint sound froze her.
Footsteps. Soft. and Precise.
Not the infected.
She killed the flashlight and pressed herself against the wall.
The door creaked open slightly, light spilling in and she saw a silhouette.
Male. Tall. Steady posture.
Her heart jumped not with fear, but something more primal.
It was him.
The boy from before. The one leading the group.
But he was alone this time.
She watched from the shadows as he stepped inside, weapon drawn, scanning the shelves with the same calculated calm she'd used.
No wasted movement. No panic.
They were alike.
Too alike.
The system whispered.
[Warning]: Survivor detected. Not hostile. Observation advised.
Do not engage.
Maintain lead.
Arin didn't need the reminder.
She slipped out through the back exit, silent as smoke.
Let him find scraps. She already had what mattered.
Back in the gym, night finally came.
She sat with her back to the door, crowbar in hand, rope beside her, the scanner now lighting faintly in her palm.
A message blinked on its screen:
[Bio-signal detected: Subject 217 active nearby. Data sync incomplete.]
What the hell was Subject 217?
The system remained quiet.
Too quiet.
Outside, she could hear movement again.
The infected were restless.
The silence between their shrieks was worse than the noise.
It was the space where thoughts crawled in.
She leaned back against the wall, eyes half-closed, but sleep still refused her.
In her mind, Zara's voice echoed again.
"You'll never make it."
The same girl who smiled while poisoning her. Who left her dying and alone.
Arin clenched her fists.
No one was going to kill her again. Not this world. Not the monsters.
And definitely not Zara Vale.
The system chimed gently again, almost like a lullaby.
[New Passive Unlocked: Nightwatch]
Your body adjusts to micro-rests while remaining alert.
Sleep efficiency: +40%.
Fatigue delay: +30%.
Arin finally let herself relax, if only for a moment.
Outside the gym, across the courtyard, the boy stood on the roof of the science building, his silhouette outlined by firelight from the burning city.
He looked down at the same path she had walked hours before.
Following the trail.
But never catching up.