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 charge here, and I don't particularly want to," Bjorn said, raising his hands slightly. "But what we need to do doesn't change. We survive."

He glanced around the room, making sure people were actually listening.

"If your supplies are anything like mine, we've maybe got a week of food and water between us. The quest says sixty days. That means we need a proper source of both if we want to make it that long, and I know I do." His expression hardened. "We can all get to know each other once we're safer than this. Preferably somewhere that doesn't stink of blood and 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 out there,” Leo began, “it was just streets like this one and a few open areas of lesser housing. I didn't spot any water source. I was too busy running for my life to really look. Sorry."

“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." His voice dropped, like he was worried his words would bring them. "We should just stay safe."

"Like I said, not an option. We need information," Bjorn said.

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. He ached a little, but nothing serious.

HP: 163/230

“Yeah. I’m okay, honest.”

“Alright. If you say so. Anyone else up for it?” 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 reckless. 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 near enough a copy of the last that it felt less like a real neighbourhood and more like someone had repeated the same design until they got bored.

There was no easy way onto the roofs either. No ladders, no balconies close enough to jump to, nothing obvious they could use for a better vantage point.

So they kept moving 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 antling.

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

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

Several buildings had collapsed outright, rubble strewn across the road like the aftermath of an explosion. Broken stone, splintered timber, bent metal. The whole place looked like it had been smashed apart and left where it fell.

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

“There,” he said, pointing. “We can try 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, streets and rooftops curving gently as they faded into the distance. Nature had swallowed large sections of it already. Vines crawled over stone walls, trees burst through broken roofs, and whole stretches of the city gave way to hills and open greenery that looked more like wild parkland than anything built by human hands.

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.

It yawned out beyond the city in utter silence, dark and bottomless, like the world had simply been cut away.

Like they should have been floating in deep 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.

At the heart of the city stood a massive glowing dome. It shimmered faintly in the sunlight, translucent but undeniable, enclosing the entire central district behind a barrier of pale energy. Whatever was inside it, they weren't getting there yet.

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, talking quietly. “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 after her, breathless but laughing. “Stop running and we'll keep you safe. It's dangerous out here!"

Ashley knew that was a lie.

They'd already seen what these men did to the last person who begged. They hadn't spared him. They'd butchered him where he stood, almost cut him in half, and laughed 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, looking her over. 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,” the rogue said, his voice almost playful. “You hand over the girl, drop your supplies, and I let you walk away. Nice and easy. Scout's honour."

His grin was friendly. Unnerving.

Ashley waited for Derek to tell them to go to hell.

She waited for him to grip her hand tighter, to step in front of her, to do anything.

Instead, he let go.

“I’m sorry," he said quietly, not even able to meet her eyes. "I don’t want to die. I... I can't. I have to go home."

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,” the rogue said, almost gentle, like he was praising a dog. Then his smile thinned. "See, there's an issue though."

Derek stared at him. "W-What?"

The rogue stepped in close enough that Derek couldn't move back in time.

"I'm a liar."

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.

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

"Ah, for fuck's sake, Bill," the rogue snapped, wiping blood from his cheek. "Look at the mess!"

Bill just grinned. "Sorry. I couldn't resist."

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 ignored the blood stains on her robes, the splatters on her face. She managed to push into an alley in hopes of safety.

“Shit. Go get her!" the rogue ordered.

Her legs were burning, her breath came in small hitches as the terrors of the day caught up to her. Bill caught up a moment after 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 hideous. He was gleaming with sweat, 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 delight. “God, I missed this," Bill said softly.

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, she had no idea.

"Mac'd lose his mind if I had you first," Bill said, crouching beside her. "But he never said I couldn't have a bit of fun."

His eyes flicked down to her ruined ankle.

"You reckon that grows back?"

His face was close enough that Ashley could smell his tangy, rancid breath.

A knife, bloody from whatever sick act he'd done with it before, gleamed in his hand.

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

“Hey, asshole.”

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