The next morning ca.
The sun had barely risen when the group was already on the move again.
The faint chill of dawn wrapped around the ruined city, brushing against the rusted cars and collapsed buildings. Pale light slipped through the cracks of the clouds, revealing streets still coated in dust and death.
No monsters lurked nearby. The eerie stillness stretched for blocks, broken only by the crunch of tal and glass beneath their boots.
Myles walked at the front of the group for a few ters and scanned their surroundings with sharp focus. A little bit of anxiety sat heavy in his chest.
It wasn't a good thing that the streets were this empty. But this was already happening since a few days ago.
He had been thinking about it since last night when finally realized sothing. It wasn't that the monsters were all because they had been killed. Myles thought that they were just hiding.
He could feel it in the pit of his stomach. The real reason this area was quiet wasn't because they were dead but because they were afraid.
"They're avoiding sothing stronger."
His mind went back to the blue giant. That giant's strength was still not known yet. If that creature was in this area and roaming, then it explained the absence of everything else. Probably.
He clicked his tongue quietly and sighed. "We can't level up if there are no monsters around, and if that thing stays close, we'll be trapped here with danger that can appear any ti."
Still, he didn't say it out loud. The others already had enough to worry about, and he was sure that they maybe knew about this.
Instead, he waved his hand and split the group just like yesterday, each pair heading toward different parts of the ruined district.
—
Ryan was now paired with Samantha. They walked side by side through a narrow alley, their boots scraping across shards of glass.Every sound they made seed to echo too loudly in the city that was now empty.
Samantha carried a long steel pipe across her shoulder while Ryan dragged an empty sack filled with scrap tal behind him.
"Feels quieter than I rembered," Ryan said softly, breaking the silence.
Samantha nodded, her gaze scanning the rooftops. "Yeah. Too quiet. It makes think that we're the last people left in the world."
Ryan gave a faint chuckle, though it didn't sound amused.
"Heheh, after all that's happened, it's hard to believe that there was anyone else who survived."
For a mont, neither of them spoke. The sound of the wind whistling through the empty buildings and the clanking of tal they carried filled the gap between their words.
"Have you ever thought about what cos after this?" Samantha finally spoke again, her tone steady but she also seed tired.
Ryan stopped walking. His expression darkened slightly. "After this? I don't even know if this nightmare will ever end." He let out a small breath. "We're fighting, scavenging, and doing everything we can to stay alive. But I wonder… for what? To see another day like this?"
Samantha didn't answer imdiately. She looked down at the tal pipe in her hands, her fingers tightening around it.
"Maybe… to make sure all this still ant sothing. Even if the world's gone we're still here. That has to count for sothing, right?" Samantha said.
Ryan gave her a sidelong glance and smiled faintly. "You really think like that?"
She t his eyes briefly, her expression calm. "If I don't think like that, I'll just break. And I don't want to break yet."
Ryan chuckled again, this ti softer. "Yeah. Fair enough." He bent down to pick up a piece of broken car door and tossed it into the sack. "Let's keep moving. I bet that George will start complaining if we don't bring him enough scrap to hamr."
Samantha smirked slightly. "That's one thing that still feels normal. Getting scolded for being too slow."
They continued forward, their conversation fading into the hum of wind and distant echoes.
Above them, the rising sun spread brightly across the ruins.
Suddenly, a very sharp foul stench drifted through the air.
It hit them like a wave of rotten and vile things, and it was thick enough to make their stomachs twist. It wasn't just decay. It was as if dozens of corpses had been stacked together and left to rot under the sun for days and suddenly being released.
The sll was sharp and invasive and almost tangible to be hold with hands.
Samantha gagged and quickly covered her mouth and nose with her hand. "What the hell is this?" she muttered, her voice muffled as she dropped the steel pipe with a loud clang.
Even Ryan who was hardened by years in the military grimaced and did the sa. His face tightened. His eyes narrowing as he scanned the street.
"This isn't just rotting bodies," he said under his breath.
"Is this coming from that house?" He pointed toward a lone building a short distance away. Its windows were shattered and sothing dark seed to stain the walls near the entrance.
"I don't know," Samantha replied, squinting through the haze. "This sll could co from anywhere."
Ryan shook his head. "This isn't natural sll. The wind is barely moving, but it ca all at once."
He dropped his bag, reached inside, and pulled out a folded crystal spear. With a smooth flick of his wrist the weapon extended to its full length.
Samantha frowned. "Why are you taking that out already?" Her tone carried a trace of nervousness.
Ryan didn't take his eyes off the ruined house. "Because I think a sll like this only ever followed by monsters."
That was all the reason Samantha needed. She reached into her own pack and drew her own magical weapon, an elegant dark bow. The smooth wood caught the sunlight as she created an arrow from nothing and took aim toward the building.
The air grew heavier with a foul stench.
The wind stopped.
And sowhere in the darkness of that house they could see sothing moved.
—
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