Jason stood by the shack’s door, crowbar in hand, as dawn’s gray light crept over the desert horizon. The auroras had faded, leaving a quiet sky after the night’s chaos. Two hours of watch had left his eyes gritty, but the new strength kept his body steady, sharper than a long haul should allow. The shack’s wooden walls had held through the night, a small win, but the dead dog and bird outside warned of what waited beyond.

  Lila stepped up beside him, bow slung over her shoulder, her ranger hat low. “Ready?” she asked, voice low, her braid swinging as she adjusted her pack, stuffed with cans and water from their scavenging.

  “Yeah,” Jason said, voice gruff, glancing back at Eli and Tim. Eli stood by the table, hoodie loose on his skinny frame, knife tucked in his belt. Tim lingered near the counter, flannel rumpled, eyes darting like he expected trouble. “Move it, you two. We’re burnin’ daylight.”

  Eli nodded, slinging his pack, his shaggy hair falling into eyes that held a new edge after the night’s kills. Tim grumbled, grabbing his water bottle, but shuffled forward, his nerves a low hum Jason ignored. The Grid bound Jason, Lila, and Eli—its spark absent in Tim—but they were a unit now, headed north toward a spring Lila’s map promised, 20 miles off.

  “Stick to the trail,” Lila said, leading them out, her boots silent on the gravel. “Road’s too open—looters, worse. Scrub’s safer.”

  Jason followed, crowbar low, Eli at his side, Tim trailing. The desert stretched wide, sand and sage lit by dawn’s pale glow, the sagging pumps a silent warning as they passed. Jason’s mind was on the spring, the next step to Idaho, 600 miles away. The Grid’s new stat—Vitality—had come with a message last night: Eon Grid Calibration Progressing. Additional Attributes Activating. It felt like a machine waking up, piecing itself together after the flare’s chaos, but why it started with just two stats was a question he couldn’t answer yet. He’d use what it gave, for now.

  They hit the scrub, Lila guiding them onto a faint trail winding through low hills. The ground was uneven, rocks catching their boots, but her pace was sure, her eyes scanning for threats. Eli kept up, quieter than last night, his knife hand steady. Tim stumbled, cursing under his breath, but didn’t slow them down—yet.

  “Keep eyes open,” Jason said, voice low, scanning the horizon. “That dog wasn’t alone.”

  “Nor the bird,” Lila added, her bow unslung now, an arrow loose in her hand. “Grid’s changin’ everything—fast.”

  Eli’s head tilted, like he was listening to something inside. “Feels… bigger,” he said, voice soft. “Like it’s watchin’ us.”

  Jason’s jaw tightened. The kid’s game-talk grated, but he wasn’t wrong—the Grid felt alive, its buzz sharper since the bird’s kill. He didn’t like it, didn’t trust it, but it’d kept them standing twice now.

  A low hiss broke his thoughts—sharp, from a cluster of rocks ahead. Lila froze, arrow nocked, her stance coiled. Jason raised his crowbar, stepping beside her, Eli and Tim halting behind. “What’s that?” Tim whispered, voice high, hands clutching his bottle like a shield.

  “Quiet,” Lila hissed, eyes locked on the rocks. A shape slithered out—long, scaled, but wrong, its body glinting like polished metal, eyes blue and glowing. A snake, but not—thicker, faster, its rattle a metallic clatter that set Jason’s nerves on edge.

  “Level 4,” Eli said, stepping back. “Some kinda snake.”

  Jason’s gut twisted—higher than the dog, meaner. “We kill it,” he said, voice low. “Can’t let it follow.”

  Lila nodded, arrow steady, but the snake moved first, lunging with a speed that blurred. She loosed, the arrow slicing air, but it twisted, dodging, scales flashing. Jason swung his crowbar, aiming for its head, but it darted, tail whipping his leg. Pain flared, sharp, but he pushed through, stance holding.

  “Damn thing’s quick!” Lila cursed, nocking another arrow, her movements smoother than human. The snake coiled, hissing, eyes locked on Jason. He stepped forward, crowbar raised, drawing its focus as Lila circled left.

  “Eli, back!” Jason barked, seeing the kid edge closer, knife out. Eli obeyed, pulling Tim with him, who was muttering panic under his breath.

  The snake struck, jaws wide, and Jason sidestepped, crowbar slamming down. It caught the body, scales crunching, but the thing writhed, tail lashing Lila’s ankle. She grunted, stumbling, but her arrow flew, piercing its neck. The snake thrashed, hissing, and Jason swung again, crushing its head with a wet crack. It stilled, blue eyes dimming, scales dull in the dawn.

  Jason panted, crowbar slick with blood, his leg throbbing but steady. Lila steadied herself, breathing hard, her ankle red but unbroken. “That was no rattler,” she said, voice tight, bow still raised.

  His vision flickered—New Attribute Unlocked: Perception 9—his senses sharpening, the desert’s edges clearer, sounds crisper. A second message followed: Eon Grid Calibration Progressing. Attribute Integration Expanding. Lila and Eli flinched, their own HUDs flashing.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “Seein’ better,” Lila said, her eyes narrowing, scanning the scrub with new focus. “Like I could spot a coyote a mile off. Calibration again—what’s that mean?”

  “Got it too,” Eli said, eyes wide, knife steady. “Feels like I’m… noticin’ more. Like the Grid’s openin’ up.”

  Tim gawked, clutching his bottle. “More tricks? You’re all freaks now!”

  “Useful freaks,” Jason said, sharp, wiping his crowbar on his jeans. The Grid was building, adding stats—Vitality last night, now Perception. The initial two-stat limit felt like a glitch, the flare’s chaos maybe scrambling the Grid’s boot-up. Answers could wait—he’d wield what it gave.

  “Move,” Lila said, bow ready, glancing at the snake’s corpse. “Trail’s not safe.”

  Jason stood over the snake’s metallic corpse, its blue eyes dulled in the dawn’s gray light. Lila paused beside him, bow slung over her shoulder, her ranger hat low. Eli stayed close, sneakers scuffing softly, knife tucked in his belt, while Tim lagged a step behind, muttering under his breath, water bottle clutched like a talisman. They’d pushed toward the spring 20 miles north, the trail winding through low hills, Jason’s senses sharpened by the new Perception 9.

  Lila halted, raising a hand, her bow half-nocked. “Tracks,” she said, voice low, nodding at the dirt. Shallow claw marks crisscrossed the trail, fresh and jagged—not snake, not natural. “Somethin’ big passed here. Recent.”

  Jason crouched, squinting at the marks, his perception picking out their depth, the predatory curve. “Bigger than that dog,” he said, voice gruff. “Grid’s work?”

  “Has to be,” Lila said, eyes scanning the hills. “It’s changin’ everything—us, them.”

  Eli leaned in, eyes wide. “Looks huge” he said, voice quiet.

  Tim’s bottle sloshed as he stepped back. “Huge? We’re dead! That snake was bad enough!”

  “Pipe down,” Jason snapped, standing, crowbar ready. Tim’s panic grated, and the Grid’s calibration message still nagged: Attribute Integration Expanding. Perception had joined Strength, Endurance, and Vitality, but why the slow rollout? The flare’s chaos must’ve scrambled it, and they were caught in its gears.

  “Trail’s too narrow to skirt,” Lila said, arrow loose in her hand. “We push through, eyes sharp. Or we backtrack—lose time.”

  “Forward,” Jason said, jaw tight.

  Lila nodded, leading on, her steps silent despite the rocky ground. Jason followed, Eli at his side, Tim’s muttering a low drone. The hills closed in, scrub giving way to jagged stone, the trail twisting through a shallow gully. Jason’s eyes darted, catching details—a scuff on a rock, a bent twig—his perception unnervingly sharp.

  A guttural snort echoed from the gully’s end, deep and rumbling, freezing them mid-step. Lila dropped to a crouch, bow nocked, her hat casting a shadow across the dirt. Jason raised his crowbar, stepping beside her, Eli and Tim huddling behind. “That’s it,” Lila whispered, peering through a gap in the rocks. “Big.”

  Jason followed her gaze, spotting a hulking shape—bear-like, but wrong, its fur matted with metallic streaks, eyes yellow and glowing, claws glinting like steel. It pawed the ground, sniffing, a low growl vibrating the air. “Trouble,” Eli said, voice trembling but clear.

  “Damn,” Jason muttered, gut twisting. Bigger than the snake, meaner than the dog. The Grid’s reach was growing, and they were in its crosshairs. “Can we slip past?”

  Lila shook her head, arrow steady. “It’s blockin’ the trail. Smells us, I bet. Fight or run.”

  “Fight,” Jason said, voice hard. Running meant losing ground, and the spring was their lifeline. “Hit it hard, fast.”

  “Agreed,” Lila said, eyes narrowing. “I’ll draw it—aim for the eyes. You go for the skull.”

  Jason nodded, gripping his crowbar tighter, muscles coiled with power. “Eli, Tim, stay back—way back.”

  Eli obeyed, pulling Tim behind a boulder, the older man’s protests a muffled whine. The bear-thing snorted again, head swinging toward them, its glowing eyes locking on. Lila loosed her arrow, the shaft flashing through the air, striking its shoulder. The beast roared, a sound that shook Jason’s bones, and charged, claws tearing dirt.

  Jason met it, crowbar swinging, aiming for its head. The iron connected, a dull thud against metal-laced fur, but the beast barely flinched, its claw raking his arm. Pain flared, sharp, and he staggered, blood seeping through his jacket. Lila’s second arrow hit its flank, drawing another roar, and she darted left, keeping its focus split.

  “Keep movin’!” Jason shouted, circling right, crowbar raised. The bear lunged, jaws wide, and he dove aside, his roll faster than expected. He swung again, catching its jaw, bone cracking, but the beast swiped, claws grazing his side, pain burning hot.

  Lila’s third arrow pierced its eye, yellow light dimming as it bellowed, rearing up. Jason seized the chance, charging, crowbar arcing down with all his weight. The iron smashed its skull, a sickening crunch echoing, and the beast collapsed, twitching, then still, its metallic hide dull in the dawn.

  Jason panted, blood dripping from his arm, his side aching but holding. Lila lowered her bow, breathing hard, her own scratches red but shallow. “Hell of a fight,” she said, voice tight, wiping sweat from her brow.

  His HUD flickered—New Attribute Unlocked: Intelligence 8—his thoughts snapping faster, reactions to the fight’s chaos clearer, like he could track the bear’s moves in hindsight with uncanny precision. A second message followed: Eon Grid Calibration Progressing. Attribute Integration Expanding. Lila and Eli flinched, their own HUDs flashing.

  “Quicker mind,” Lila said, her eyes narrowing, testing a mental tally of arrows left, distances ahead, like it came smoother now. “Like I’m processin’ faster. Calibration’s still goin’.”

  “Got it too,” Eli said, eyes wide, his knife hand steadier. “Feels like I could… plan better, maybe.”

  Tim crept out, pale, bottle shaking. “Now you’re thinkin’ faster? What’s next, readin’ minds?”

  “Useful,” Jason said, sharp, wiping his crowbar, the iron clean again. The Grid was stacking stats—Strength, Endurance, Vitality, Perception, now Intelligence, boosting his ability to react, to strategize under pressure. The two-stat start had to be a glitch, the flare’s chaos slowing its rollout, but it was catching up, and he’d wield it.

  “We’re not done,” Lila said, nodding at the gully’s end, where the trail opened to a wider plain. “Spring’s that way, but we’re exposed.”

  Jason checked his arm—bleeding, but not deep, his body tougher than it should be. “Patch up, keep movin’,” he said, voice firm.

  Lila pulled the first-aid kit from her pack, tossing bandages to Jason, who wrapped his arm, the sting bearable. Eli took a strip for a cut on his hand, his movements precise, while Tim watched, muttering about monsters. The gully’s rocks loomed, the bear’s corpse a heavy marker at their feet.