Renee blinked at the stats on the holographic system, her lips at a loss for words. Turns out, no matter which way she looked, the hologram followed, and aside from being a floating mirage, it was impossible to dismiss the intruding system from her vision.
Where did it come from?
"A system huh…" Renee heard Cyrus murmur thoughtfully to himself, his gaze trained on something in front of him, and her eyes narrowed in confusion.
Did he also receive a system like her? Why wasn't she seeing anything? Can he see hers too? Or could it be that the systems are only visible to their designated users?
Wait, what did it mean by selected?
She must be going mad.
"Can you tell us… tell me what's really going on?" She asked the holographic system hovering a meter away from her face, hoping for some answers, but there was none.
"Hello?"
"I don't think systems work that way." Cyrus shook his head as he glanced in his sister's direction. Regardless of the fact he couldn't see what his sister was literally about to scream at, he knew she was encountering the same twisted situation as him.
He returned his attention to the holographic stats displayed in his own vision.
[User Profile:]
. Name: Cyrus Blackwell
. Age: 25
. Class: Survivor/ Technomancer
. Level: 1
. Experience points (XP): (0/100)
. Tech proficiency: 50
. Strength: 100
. Agility: 100
. Intelligence: (50/100)
. Vitality: 100
. Skills: locked
.
.
.
His dark eyebrows furrowed into a thoughtful frown, and he pressed his lips into a thin line. The whole universe must have turned upside down already, considering the heavy impact of that explosion, and as shocked as he was to discover they were still alive, with the building stable, the next thing that pops up in his head is a system that spoke about them being selected.
Selected for what exactly? Was it already the end of the world? Or are they undergoing some post-apocalyptic moment?
He couldn't decide which questions needed the most answers.
"This… looks like a game." Renee exclaimed softly after absorbing her own interface. She knew that much because she had indulged in this role playing fighting game with Cyrus, and that made her a little familiar with the stats on her holographic screen, except this time around, it's not a game.
This is real life!
Below her stats was the (SA) icon, and a number 4 popped just above the icon, like how one receives a notification. Renee's gaze lingered on the icon for several minutes, wondering what the (SA) stands for, and she was worried. She would really hate to touch an unfamiliar feature and activate a suicide bomb! Or what if it stands for suicidal attack?? That can't be possible, right?
Damn you intrusive thoughts!
Gathering her courage, she clicked on the icon with a hesitant finger, and she stepped back when a system alert feature was displayed on the hologram.
[System Alert]
. Monster Detected: Warning when a hostile creature is nearby.
. Quest Update: provides updates on ongoing Quests.
. Level up: Celebratory notification upon leveling up
. Emergency Healing: Automatically suggests healing options in critical situations.
.
.
"So that's what it meant, a system alert." She mindfully noted.
"Uhm… Renee." Cyrus's voice snapped her attention in his direction, and just like that, the system faded from her vision. She figured the only way to activate and deactivate the system was through mind focus, because when she heard her name, it opted for her distraction, thus deactivating the system and dismissing it from her view.
But how is that even possible? A system that can be summoned through mind-link.
"Renee."
"Yes?" Going up to her brother who was scrolling through one of the computers again, the look on her face paled drastically at what he showed her.
"Those monsters are… they are multiplying." He uttered, bracing himself for what he was about to watch.
Outside, through a hidden camera he discovered while going through the computer, they could see thousands of monsters dragging themselves through the ruined streets. Civilians on the run were caught and ripped apart by these monsters ravaging the suburbs. Asides targeting the humans, the monsters were fighting one another, even devouring themselves to gain the flesh of the humans other monsters had taken.
An aircraft flew by, dropping bombs that killed both the running humans and the monsters, and they felt the impact. One of the monsters viciously ripped a pole and swung it hard at the aircraft, and it exploded into flames mid-air. Houses were on fire, roads were blocked, and monsters were everywhere, aggressively searching for their next victims.
Shockingly, humans themselves were turning into these things. Even those who had been brutally ripped apart had transformed into these mutated creatures, and their roars were deafening.
"We are so fucking dead." Cyrus turned off the cam and withheld a shiver. The air around them felt cold, and Renee could feel her body system tremble as she moved away from brother's side, trying her very best to unsee the horrifying images he just showed her.
She hugged her body and shook her head in mental denial. Their lovable city was turning into something else, something terrible, yet nothing is to be done in order to subdue the havoc! No explanation! No nothing! Asides from what the system had told them, they knew nothing more except that their planet was in danger.
"What is happening?" Suddenly weakened by the reality of their situation, Renee found herself a place to sit and think. Strangely, her mind wandered to the stranger she met at the funeral, his smiling golden eyes taking over her vision, and she couldn't help but think about his safety.
"This doesn't make any sense," Cyrus ruffled his hair as the images on the cam kept popping in his mind now and then. "We… we can't stay stuck here forever. I need to think of something, but what?"
His brows were pulled together, and he was sure that the monster after them must still be in the house, so going back there was already erased in terms of doable options.
He would have suggested they stay here until everything wears down, as it was the only safe place they knew, but there was no sign of food resources. How will they survive?
"Come on, think, think, think, think." He pressured himself.
Renee glanced in her brother's direction where he kept muttering inaudible sentences to himself, and she took a deep breath.
"The system says we were selected." She swallowed repeatedly, controlling the tears swimming in her eyes, "it mentioned something about evacuating from the planet, which I'm not sure how we can make that possible but, how are we the only ones human? I mean, how come everyone is turning into these monsters except us? What triggers it? Why are we immune?"
Renee couldn't bring herself to think they were the only survivors left, or were they?
******
Bear with this author : ) our mysterious silver-haired won't be appearing until after a couple of chapters ♡♡