We didn’t talk much as we moved. Every block felt like a gamble, every intersection a coin flip: monsters, or nothing? Sometimes the only sound was Jamie’s uneven breathing and the click of my boots on broken pavement.

  Once, Ethan tried humming—something tuneless, desperate for normalcy—but he stopped when a siren wailed somewhere behind us.

  The city looked wrong, like someone had run it through a cheap video game filter. Streetlights flickered between sickly yellow and garish neon, making the shadows of trash bags stretch and twitch. At one corner, a fire hydrant spouted water that glowed an unnatural blue. A billboard overhead glitched between insurance ads and static, then froze on a single, jagged message:

  STAY INSIDE. TRUST THE SYSTEM.

  I snorted. “Yeah, real trustworthy,” I muttered.

  Jamie rolled her eyes and shifted her weight, wincing as she adjusted her injured leg. Ethan managed a weak, “Maybe it’s just got a virus,” but no one really felt like laughing.

  We reached the edge of a little park, and the system pinged again:

  \[Random Encounter: Scavenger’s Cache Nearby. Reward: Supply Drop, Bonus XP.\]

  I scanned the playground—swings creaking, slide warped and sagging, the sandbox just a pit of blackened gravel.

  “Wait here,” I whispered. Heart pounding, I crept forward, boots squelching in the grass. My heart thudded so loud it felt like the system should ding me for it.

  Under the merry-go-round, something shimmered. I crouched, ignoring how my skirt bunched up and the freezing air bit at my skin, and reached in. My fingers found a metal box—heavy, stamped with the same heart-and-stars logo as my weapon.

  The second I touched it, the system chimed:

  \[Scavenger’s Cache Found! +50 XP. Loot: Energy Bar, Antiseptic Spray, Glitter Bomb x1.\]

  A glitter bomb? For a second, I pictured hurling it at a monster—pink sparkles, chaos, maybe a little bit of hope. I almost laughed. Almost.

  I hustled back, showing Ethan and Jamie the haul. Jamie’s eyes went wide at the antiseptic; Ethan actually grinned at the energy bar.

  “You’re like a magical girl looter,” he said, voice shaking. He bounced the energy bar in his hand as if checking if it was real.

  “Yeah, well, the boots don’t come with pockets,” I said, and Jamie snorted, almost choking on her sip of water. For half a second, it felt like we might be okay.

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  We ate in silence—just a few bites, enough to trick our bodies into hope. Jamie winced as she stretched her injured leg, muttering, “If I ever see the system’s face, I’m going to punch it.”

  Ethan snickered and said, “Get in line.” For a moment, the world outside the playground didn’t matter.

  Then a new sound sliced through the quiet—a low, metallic scraping, too steady to be wind.

  Jamie’s grip tightened on my sleeve. Ethan’s eyes darted everywhere. I stood, weapon raised, scanning the shadows.

  A shape staggered out from behind the swings. Human, or close enough. Tattered clothes, wild eyes, face streaked with grime. He held up empty hands.

  “Don’t hurt me,” he rasped. “Please—I just want to get out. Are you… are you with the system?”

  I hesitated, not sure what to say.

  As if reading my mind, the system pinged:

  \[Optional Quest: Aid the Survivor. Reward: Stat Boost, Group Buff.\]

  Ethan leaned toward Jamie and whispered, “Do you think he’s safe?”

  Jamie shook her head, her knuckles white on the handle of the antiseptic spray, like she was ready to use it as a weapon if she had to. “Does anyone look safe anymore?” she muttered, keeping her eyes locked on the stranger.

  I let out a breath, nodded to the man. “Yeah. We’re heading for the safe zone. If you can walk, you can come with us.”

  The relief on his face was almost painful. He sagged, shoulders dropping as if he’d been holding his breath for days.

  “Luis,” he said, voice hoarse. He hovered at the edge of our little group, shuffling closer but never quite joining in. I caught him glancing at my skirt, the Heart Rod, the blood on my knees.

  Luis’s hands trembled as he wiped at the grime on his face, then he rubbed his arms as if trying to warm himself. He kept his eyes low, picking at the frayed edge of his sleeve.

  I couldn’t blame him. I barely recognized myself, either.

  We kept walking. The silence between us stretched, thick with nerves and something heavier fatigue, maybe, or the dread that came with every new block.

  My legs ached. Sweat prickled down my back, and my chest felt tight, like every breath weighed more than the last. I tried to blink the grit from my eyes and focus on putting one foot in front of the other.

  Luis finally broke the silence. “Did you get a class too? Mine never loaded. Just… error messages. Like I wasn’t picked.”

  He risked a quick glance up, as if expecting us to laugh.

  “Maybe that’s lucky,” Ethan said, trying for a smile. “Picked for what, anyway?”

  Jamie snorted. “To fight chickens with five legs and a glitter stick, apparently.” She glanced at me with a crooked grin, then shot Luis an encouraging look.

  Luis gave a shaky laugh. He rubbed his arms again, then ran a hand over his face. “I tried to get the map to work. All I got was a spinning heart and a message: ERROR 404. Some system, huh?”

  I shrugged. “I didn’t ask for this class. Pretty sure I’m failing it anyway.”

  Jamie nudged me with her elbow, gently. “You saved us. If that’s failing, I’d hate to see passing.”

  Ethan piped up, “You think there’s, like, a leaderboard somewhere?”

  Jamie grinned. “If there is, I hope the system’s at the bottom.”

  We kept moving—four now—toward a safe zone I still wasn’t sure existed. The distance ticked down in the corner of my vision. 0.6 miles. 0.5.

  One foot in front of the other. That was all any of us could do.

  I caught myself wondering, for one dizzy second, if my old self would even recognize the person I’d become. Or if, somehow, I could get us all through this and still find something left to laugh about on the other side.

  My legs burned, my lungs stung in the chill. Every step felt like a question: will I make it, or will I fall?

  Maybe that was enough for tonight.

  And maybe, with these weirdos at my side, I wasn’t as alone as I thought.