Everyone turned towards Bjorn, gathering loosely with fear written across some of their faces, unsure what to do next. Bjorn looked to rectify that in some way.

  “Now, I'm not trying to take control here. I don't care to. What we need to do, however, doesn't change. Survive. If everyone else has the same supplies as I do, then we have maybe a week of food and water. The ‘quest’ we all received is to survive for sixty days. If we want to do that—and I'm damn sure I do—then we need a source of food and water. We can get to know each other once we know we’re safe or at least safer than we currently are. Preferably not surrounded by corpses.”

  He looked towards Leo. “Kid, you’ve been out there already, did you see anything like a water source?”

  All eyes landed upon the Pugilist.

  “From the memories I have of running,” Leo began, “it was just streets like this one and a few open areas of lesser housing, I’m afraid I didn't spot any water source, although I was too busy running for my life to really look.”

  “Ah no matter, it was a long shot anyway,” Bjorn said, pausing. “Right then, with the state Lena is in we can’t just pack up and leave. I suggest a few of us scout out the area, see if the roads are safe and get some sightlines of exactly where the hell we are. The rest of us remain here and try to fortify ourselves a bit and maybe clean up these corpses.”

  “You want some of us to go out there?!” Jasper exclaimed in worry. “Those things could be everywhere, whoever goes will be killed instantly!”

  Leo interjected before anyone else could speak up about it or before it devolved into just arguing.

  “I’ll go.”

  Everyone looked at him again. Leo shrugged. “I probably have one of the highest Agility stats here so I should hopefully be able to go about quickly. If anyone else has Agility as a high stat then they could come with. We should keep the group to three at most I think.”

  “Are you sure? You don’t exactly look so hot,” Bjorn said, looking him up and down.

  Leo checked his health, which had been ticking up fairly quickly after the level up.

  HP: 163/230

  “Yeah. I’m okay, honest.”

  “Alright kid. If you say so. Anyone else willing to go?” Bjorn asked the room.

  After a moment, Ron stood up and looked at Leo, nodding as if to say “You have my bow!”

  Well not really, but the thought made him smile.

  No one else spoke up to volunteer for the more than likely suicide mission into the giant ant infested city.

  The pair got themselves ready to head out, Amy wishing them luck, still sat cradling her sister's head on her lap.

  Jasper stood silently off to the side, trying to make himself as small as possible.

  Moving towards the door and out into the city, Leo was stopped by a hand on his shoulder from Bjorn.

  “Be safe out there, kid,” Bjorn said, squeezing his shoulder. "Don't do anything stupid, run back here at any sign of danger and we’ll handle it together. I’ll hold down the fort until then.”

  Leo nodded towards the burly man and the pair made their exit.

  The street was lined with identical houses, each one a perfect copy of the last. Like someone had just copy-pasted the layout without care.

  There weren't any obvious ways to climb onto the roofs from what he could see, no ladders or scalable surfaces in sight. They’d need a better vantage point if they wanted to see more of the city.

  So they moved with that in mind.

  Quiet, careful, methodical. Street by street. For nearly twenty minutes, they wove their way through the city without running into a single ant.

  Lucky. But Leo didn’t trust that luck to last.

  Eventually they reached a street that looked different. And by different, he meant destroyed.

  Several buildings had collapsed entirely, rubble scattered everywhere like the aftermath of a bomb blast. Chunks of stone, twisted metal, broken timber. It was chaos.

  Leo spotted one building still standing, partially propped up by a collapsed structure leaning against it.

  “There,” he said, pointing. “We can climb that and get onto the roof.”

  Ron nodded his agreement, and the two of them moved. Swift and quiet, as much as two people could be out in the open.

  Leo climbed the rubble more easily than he expected. Each step carried him farther than it should have. His balance held, no matter how wide the leap or how narrow the footing. Clearly the level ups were paying off already, at least for the Agility part, the other stats were a bit more subtle.

  Within minutes, he and Ron reached the top, and the view stopped him cold.

  The city stretched out in every direction, buildings and streets curving gently as they disappeared into the distance. Nature had reclaimed large sections—vines curling up stone walls, trees growing straight through broken rooftops. Some areas gave way to hills and open plains that looked more like parks, breaking up the uniform sprawl of the city blocks.

  But what truly caught his eye… was the edge.

  Where he expected more land, or sea, or maybe even just the end of the city… there was nothing.

  Just a vast, silent abyss.

  A chasm that seemed to go on forever, dark and endless. Like staring into space except there was a bright sun hanging high above, shining down from a clear blue sky.

  This place… it isn’t Earth. Not even close.

  He turned away from the abyss, scanning the other direction and froze once again. His throat went dry.

  A massive, glowing dome stood at the city’s heart. Translucent and faintly shimmering, it enclosed the entire central zone like a barrier. Whatever was inside… it wasn’t accessible. Not yet. They’d have to go around it for now.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Leo kept looking, taking in more details. A river cut through the city in the distance, maybe a mile or two away. It snaked through the buildings towards the dome.

  Then he saw them. Two enormous towers rising high above the rest of the skyline. Their design was impossibly intricate, elegant and alien. They stood equidistantly apart from each other on opposite sides of the dome. One of the Towers was much closer than the other but still a long way away. At the top of each tower, a massive glowing crystal pulsed with energy, the same colour as the dome.

  Are those powering the shield? he wondered.

  Leo described what he could see to Ron, pointing out the dome, the river and the towers. “You see anything else?”

  Ron didn’t respond at first, just scanned the streets below. Then he pointed.

  Down on the road, an antling was dragging what looked like the remains of a human corpse.

  Ron reached for his bow, already lining up a shot.

  Leo raised a hand. “Wait. Let’s see where it’s going. Might lead us to a nest or something.”

  Ron hesitated, then lowered the bow with a grunt. “As long as it dies.” There was venom in Ron’s voice. Personal.

  He didn’t say anything. Instead, the two began to trail the creature, quickly descending from the building, staying low and out of sight.

  They followed it for nearly ten minutes, slowly creeping along the streets and alleys while keeping it in line of sight. They drifted further and further from where they’d left the others.

  Then it happened.

  A scream.

  It was sharp, human and agonised. It echoed from the next street over, splitting the air like a knife.

  The antling froze, its antennae twitching. It shifted in place—almost confused—then seemed to make a decision.

  It kept walking, moving parallel to the sound with the corpse still dragging beneath it.

  Leo turned to Ron and quickly whispered. “I’ll check the scream. You keep following?”

  Ron gave a silent agreement.

  Leo took off at full speed toward the noise.

  ~

  Ashley ran for her life, hand locked in her boyfriend Derek’s as they tore through the ruined streets. Just hours ago, they were celebrating their one-year anniversary. Now they were being hunted.

  Not by ants—they’d already snuck past a few of those.

  No, these were people.

  Two men, dressed in warrior and rogue starting gear, maniacally laughing, and giddy with the chase.

  “Come on now, pretty!” one of them called out. “We’ll keep you safe. Stop running and we promise you’ll live.”

  Lies. They’d seen what those men did to the last survivor who begged for mercy. They’d butchered him like meat. Cut him almost in two with a swing of a sword, laughing while doing it.

  “They’re going to catch us!” Ashley gasped, panicked and breathless. “Should we hide?”

  “We just need to keep running,” Derek said, panting. “Maybe the ants will go after them with all the noise they’re making. We can’t fight them, Ash! They’re killers!”

  Ashley dared a glance back. “Wait.. there’s only one now!”

  The warrior was still behind them, but the rogue was gone. Had he fallen behind? Attacked? Perhaps there was a chance to live after all.

  Then Derek stopped cold.

  Ashley turned—and the words died in her throat.

  The rogue stood in front of them, grinning like a wolf. He’d circled around.

  Now flanked on both sides, Derek raised his wand with a shaky hand. “S-Stay back! I’ll blast you!”

  The warrior arrived seconds later, hunched over and panting.

  “Sheesh, haven’t run like that in a while.” He straightened up, leering. “Put the wand down, man. You can’t win. But you can live.”

  Ashley froze as their gazes drifted to her. Their eyes weren’t just predatory—they were hungry.

  Her stomach turned from the thoughts that seemed to carry across the air like rotten meat.

  Derek’s voice shook. “What… what do you want?”

  The rogue clicked his tongue. “Tell you what,” he said in a playful voice, “give us the girl and drop your supplies. We let you go. No harm done. Scouts honour.” He held his hand over his heart as he bowed slightly.

  His grin was as wide as it was cruel.

  Ashley waited for Derek’s firm and immediate rejection.

  And waited.

  It didn’t come.

  Instead, he looked at her—eyes filled with guilt—and let go of her hand.

  “I’m sorry, babe. I don’t want to die. It-it’s my only choice.” His voice was empty as he looked at her feet.

  Her heart dropped like a lead weight. All the love she felt for him was replaced with disbelief and rage.

  “You piece of shit!”

  Her hand cracked across his face. The sound ringing out in the fairly enclosed street. The two men whooped in amusement.

  The rogue then sauntered forward as Derek lowered his wand in capitulation.

  “Good boy,” he said, voice mock-gentle as if talking to his dog. “Though you’re wrong about one thing.”

  Derek blinked. “W-What?”

  The rogue's eyes went icy cold.

  “You thought you had a choice.”

  A blade slipped into Derek’s chest, penetrating all the way to the hilt.

  Ashley gasped in shock and horror, an internal scream that she couldn’t express.

  Derek stood still in shock, blood already bubbling from his mouth as he tried to speak. He fell to his knees. The wand clattering to the ground next to him.

  The warrior stepped up from behind and, without hesitation, brought his sword down. Giggling.

  Ashley turned away, but she still heard it. The wet, horrible crack of a body being split open.

  “Ugh, Bill!” the rogue said, wiping blood from his face. “Can you not spray me when you do that? Or at least give me a fucking heads up.”

  “Sorry, Mac,” Bill said, grinning. “He was just so pathetic, I couldn’t help myself.”

  Ashley took this moment of sick, horrific bantering to run for her life once again.

  Tears were blurring her vision as her feet pounded the ground in steps as fast as she could push them. She managed to push into an alley in hopes of safety.

  “Damn it! Go get the girl, you clown!” Mac shouted behind her.

  With legs that were giving out, and the terror of the day's events, she didn’t make it far. Bill caught up in moments and crashed into her, shoulder-first.

  “Coming through!” he yelled as he collided with her.

  She hit the ground hard. Her vision spun, ears ringing from the impact.

  Whatever fight or flight she had left in her pushed her onwards.

  Move!

  She managed to force her hand to glow with a strong radiant light, activating her healing spell through the haze. Clarity returned quickly but not nearly fast enough.

  Bill loomed over her, grinning wide and maliciously. His face was scarred, tattooed and ugly. He was gleaming with sweat and sadistic glee, the remains of her boyfriend painting his armour red.

  She scrambled backwards in panic. Bill however, didn’t allow that. He stomped on her ankle with a sickening crunch.

  She screamed. Louder than she had ever done before. Loud enough that her throat hurt, even through the agonising pain of her ankle.

  Pain exploded up her leg as bone split skin. She couldn’t even breathe now through the agony.

  And he didn’t stop.

  He pressed harder, grinding her foot into the dirt.

  Her screams still echoed down the alley.

  His face lit up in sickening delight. “God, I love this place. Missed this feeling in prison,” he muttered, almost reverent. A moisture built up in his eyes.

  When he finally let off, she lay there shaking, sobbing. Delirious from the overwhelming pain.

  Her ankle was ruined—nearly severed, and bleeding badly. Her robes were soaked from perspiration and blood, which of it was hers and which was Derek's, no one would know.

  Bill tilted his head. “Mac’d kill me if I had you first. But he didn’t say anything about having a little fun. Do you think you can regrow limbs?” He licked his lips as if looking at a juicy steak.

  He crouched beside her, face close enough that Ashley could smell his tangy, rancid breath.

  A knife, taken from one already killed, gleamed in his hand.

  He reached for her robes, hand shaking with excitement. It moved inside—

  “Hey, asshole.”

  Bill turned just in time to catch a glowing fist to the face.