Irvin's lungs burned as he sprinted away from the city square, the chaos of the rapidly growing plants and monstrous pigeons fading behind him. He ran blindly through the ruined streets, dodging debris and broken vehicles. His heart pounded in his chest, each breath a struggle as he pushed his body.

  The city had become a maze of destruction. Shattered glass crunched beneath his feet as he vaulted over a fallen streetlight. The once-familiar landscape had transformed into an alien world of twisted metal and sprouting vegetation.

  Eventually, Irvin's body began to give out. His legs felt like lead, each step becoming harder than the last. He stumbled, barely catching himself on a nearby twisted lamppost. Gasping for air, he looked around wildly, searching for a safe place to rest.

  A massive tree, one that certainly hadn't been there yesterday, loomed nearby. Its trunk was as wide as a car, with roots that had burst through the concrete sidewalk. Exhausted, Irvin leaned against it, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He slid down to its base, the rough bark scraping against his back through his thin shirt.

  As he wiped the sweat from his brow, Irvin noticed the blood-stained bandages on his arm from the earlier dog bite. The makeshift dressing was already starting to come loose, darkened with a mix of blood and grime. He grimaced, realizing he'd need to solve it soon.

  With trembling hands, Irvin pulled out a bottle of water from his backpack. He unscrewed the cap and took slow, measured sips, fighting the urge to gulp it down. The cool liquid soothed his parched throat, but did little to calm his racing mind.

  "I shouldn't stay in one place for too long," he muttered to himself, eyes darting up and down the empty street. The world had gone mad, and standing still felt like inviting death. Despite the exhaustion weighing heavily on his limbs, Irvin knew he had to keep moving.

  Groaning, he pushed himself back up. His muscles protested, but he forced himself to take one step, then another. He had no destination in mind, no plan beyond survival. But in this changing, chaotic world, that would have to be enough for now.

  Irvin trudged through the desolate streets, his footsteps echoing off the crumbling facades of once new office buildings. The financial district, normally a hive of activity, stood silent and abandoned. Remnants of shattered windows now gaped like hungry mouths in the towering structures around.

  He paused at an intersection, scanning the area for any signs of movement. The eerie stillness made his skin crawl. A gentle breeze rustled through overgrown plants that had burst through cracks in the pavement.

  "Hello?" Irvin called out, his voice barely above a whisper. Only silence answered.

  As he moved deeper into the city's heart, the devastation became more pronounced. A partially collapsed residential buildings leaned precariously, its steel skeleton exposed like the ribs of some monstrous creature. Irvin gave it a wide berth, wary of any further collapse.

  The solitude began to weigh on him. Every distant sound - the groan of settling debris, the whisper of wind through empty corridors - sent a jolt of adrenaline through his system. His eyes darted from shadow to shadow, imagining threats lurking just out of sight.

  "Get it together," he muttered to himself, trying to shake off the growing paranoia. But the feeling of being watched, of being hunted, clung to him like a second skin.

  A sudden clatter of metal against concrete made Irvin freeze. His heart hammered in his chest as he pressed himself against the wall of a nearby building, eyes wide and searching. After a long, tense moment, a stray cat emerged from behind a overturned dumpster, twice its original size, in pursuit of something.

  Irvin let out a shaky breath, forcing himself to relax. "Just a cat," he said, attempting to reassure himself. But the encounter only reinforced the danger of his situation. He needed to find somewhere safe, somewhere to regroup and figure out his next move.

  Irvin took a few more steps down the desolate street when a faint sound caught his attention. He froze, straining his ears. There it was again - voices. Human voices. His heart raced as he realized he wasn't imagining it.

  Quickening his pace, Irvin moved closer. He crouched low, his muscles tensing as he approached the corner of a building. Carefully, he peeked around the edge.

  In a narrow alley between two office buildings, he spotted a group of about thirty people. Most of them appeared to be office workers, predominantly women. They huddled together, fear etched on their faces. A handful of individuals stood apart, engaged in a heated argument.

  Irvin narrowed his eyes, considering his options. The sight of other survivors stirred a mix of emotions within him. He didn't want to face this nightmare alone. But another part, the calculating side, urged caution.

  People in panic can be unpredictable, he thought, his fingers drumming nervously against his thigh. I don't know any of them. How do I approach them?

  He watched the group, indecision gnawing at him. The prospect of joining bigger group was tempting.

  "I've always been shit at introductions," Irvin muttered under his breath. "How the hell do I approach a group of scared strangers in the middle of... whatever this is?"

  He shifted his weight, still hidden behind the corner. The argument among the group's apparent leaders grew more intense, their raised voices carrying snippets of disagreement to where he crouched.

  "I don't want to be alone in this shitshow," Irvin thought, his resolve strengthening.

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  Irvin's palm's coated in sweat and as he was about to change his mind about joining them, movement caught his eye. He looked up, his blood running cold with his mouth open.

  Perched on the roof of the adjacent building, a pack of monstrous rats crouched in the shadows. Each was easily the size of Irvin's backpack, their fur matted and patchy, revealing sickly pink skin beneath. Red eyes gleamed with predatory intent as they fixated on the oblivious group below.

  The rats moved with an eerie, calculated grace, their muscles coiling as they prepared to strike. He knew that if he wanted to do something, now was the time.

  Every instinct screamed at him to run, to save himself and let these strangers face their fate. But something deep within him rebelled against the idea of abandoning them to such a gruesome end. A frustrated growl escaped his lips as he wrestled with his conscience.

  "Dammit," Irvin muttered, his fists clenching at his sides. Before he could second-guess himself, he stepped out from his hiding spot and shouted at the top of his lungs.

  "Look out! Above you!"

  His voice echoed off the buildings as he pointed frantically at the roof where the mutant rats lurked. The group's argument ceased abruptly, all eyes turning to Irvin in confusion and alarm.

  Irvin's warning shattered the relative calm of the alley. Heads snapped up, eyes widening in horror as they caught sight of the monstrous rats scurrying down the wall.

  For a heartbeat, silence reigned. Then, chaos erupted.

  Screams pierced the air as the rats launched themselves from the rooftop. People scattered in all directions, their faces contorted with terror. Briefcases and purses became makeshift weapons, swung wildly at the descending creatures.

  A woman in a torn blazer hurled a chunk of concrete at one of the rats, missing it. "Get back!" she shrieked, stumbling backwards as the beast landed mere feet from her.

  Irvin found himself rooted to the spot, his mind reeling at the pandemonium he'd unleashed. A flash of movement caught his eye - three of the mutant rats had broken off from the main pack, their red eyes fixed squarely on him.

  "Shit," he muttered, fumbling with the cleaver in his hand. His fingers tightened around the handle just as the first rat sprang towards him.

  Irvin swung wildly, the blade whistling through the air, missing the rat entirely. It missed him by mere inches, hissing with malevolent intent.

  He slashed again, desperation fueling his movements. But the creatures were too quick, too agile. Each time the cleaver came close, they darted away, leaving Irvin off-balance and increasingly frustrated.

  "Goddamn it!" he snarled, his breath coming in ragged gasps. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he struggled to keep the circling rats at bay.

  One of the beasts lunged, its yellowed teeth bared. Irvin's arm moved, the cleaver forgotten. His fist connected with a sickening crunch, and the rat's skull caved beneath the force of the blow.

  Time seemed to slow as the creature's lifeless body hit the ground. Irvin stared at his hand in disbelief, his knuckles slick with blood and bits of bone.

  "Holy shit," he breathed, a surge of adrenaline coursing through his veins. A savage grin spread across his face as he turned to face the remaining rats. "Come on then, you bastards!"

  He lunged forward, abandoning all pretense of using the cleaver. His fists became brutal weapons, smashing into the mutant rats with bone-shattering force. He grabbed one by its mangy tail, swinging it to bash its head against the alley wall.

  As Irvin tore through the rats with his bare hands, a small part of his mind recoiled at the brutality. But a larger part, a primal, ruthless side, reveled in the carnage.

  He caught a glimpse of his reflection in a shattered window - blood-spattered, wild-eyed, grinning like a maniac. For a moment, he barely recognized himself.

  Irvin's fists flew with brutal efficiency, but the sheer number of rats forced him back step by step. He found himself inching closer to the group of office workers, their panicked cries filling the air.

  A woman in a pencil skirt stumbled, her heel catching on the uneven pavement. She fell with a shriek, and two rats immediately pounced. Irvin lunged, grabbing one by its leg and hurling it against the wall. But he was too late for the other - its teeth sank into the woman's throat, silencing her forever.

  "Fuck," Irvin muttered, his jaw clenching. His stomach almost turned as he watched the woman die in front of him, but more rats swarmed towards him, their red eyes gleaming with malice.

  In a split second, Irvin forced his mind to focus on Augments. Seeing lights flickering around him he pushed towards strength, but once it reached five, something shifted. The light in his belly split into two.

  Augments: 1

  Head [Intelligence] 0

  Heart [Charisma] 0

  Hands [Spirit] 0

  Belly [Strength] 5 — [Constitution] 0

  Legs [Agility] 0

  There was some limit stopping him from pushing the augment beyond five. Without thinking he pushed the remaining augments into Constitution.

  As he snapped back to reality, the same feeling of dread assaulted him again, loosing his focus one of the rats jumped on him, racking its claws over his chest. He yelled with pain, flailing wildly to crush the rat, its bones cracking under his enhanced strength.

  "Come on, you bastards!" he roared, kicking another rat away. "Bring it!"

  Through the chaos, Irvin noticed some of the male office workers finding their courage. A burly man in a rumpled suit swung a broken chair leg, catching a rat mid-leap and sending it flying. Another stomped on a creature's head with his polished oxford, grimacing at the mess.

  Irvin's lips curled into a grim smile. Maybe these pencil-pushers weren't completely useless after all.

  As he fought, Irvin's mind continued working. This is insane, he thought, ducking under a leaping rat and crushing its spine with a well-placed elbow.

  How the hell did I end up playing exterminator for a bunch of suits? But he knew the answer - he couldn't just stand by and watch them get slaughtered. Even if he didn't particularly care about their lives, he needed allies in this new world. And letting them die would be a waste of potential resources.

  The last of the mutant rats scurried away, leaving behind a scene of carnage. Irvin stood among the group of office workers, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. Blood and gore covered his clothes, his hands sticky with the remnants of the brutal fight.

  Seven bodies lay motionless on the ground, their lives cut short by the vicious attack. The survivors huddled together, some tending to the injured while others stared at Irvin with a mix of awe and fear.

  As the adrenaline began to fade, Irvin felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him. He wiped his bloodied hands on his pants, grimacing at the mess. The office workers kept their distance, clearly unsure what to make of the man who had just decimated a pack of mutant rats with his bare hands.

  A middle-aged woman in a torn blouse stepped forward, her voice shaky but determined. "Thank you," she said, meeting Irvin's eyes. "You... you saved us. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't showed up."

  Irvin nodded, unsure how to respond. He wasn't used to gratitude, especially not in circumstances like these.

  "Do you have somewhere to go?" the woman asked, glancing at the others. "You could... join us, if you'd like. We're trying to figure out what to do next, but nowhere seems to be safe."

  Irvin's body felt massive relief. Nice. At least now, I don't need to approach bunch of strangers. He looked at the woman, before extending his arm. "I'm Irvin."