Hannah sat cross-legged, her back against the cold, graffiti-marked wall of the alleyway. Her eyes, red from exhaustion and tears, were fixed on the alley's entrance, scanning it nervously every few seconds. Her hands rested limply on her lap, clutching a worn photograph—her most precious memory. Every time she looked at it, her heart ached. A sad smile tugged at her lips as she whispered in her mind, *"Mom... Dad..."* The tears she had fought so hard to hold back finally spilled over, leaving streaks down her dirt-stained cheeks.
She stole a glance over her shoulder at me. I lay stretched out on the concrete, arms tucked under my head, chest rising and falling in a rhythmic pattern, oblivious to the world around me. Despite the chaos that raged outside, I looked at peace, my face calm beneath the moonlight filtering through the cracks in the broken buildings above. Her gaze lingered for a moment, and the weight of her guilt pressed down harder on her heart.
*"Mom, Dad… you told us to run when the portals opened, but I said so many horrible things to Brother… I blamed him. I yelled I pushed him away. Yet…"* She bit her lower lip, trying to stifle the sob building in her chest. *"He never stopped protecting me. Even after everything I did, he doesn't hate me for it."* Another tear fell, joining the first.
In the distance, faint sounds of explosions and gunfire echoed through the city streets. The noise was relentless—a cruel reminder that their world was now one of survival, not peace. Hannah wiped her tears away, gritting her teeth. She had to be strong, stronger than she'd ever been before. Breaking down wasn't an option anymore, not while her brother bore the weight of their survival. She had to be better, for his sake. She gripped the photograph harder, her knuckles turning white as she whispered to herself, "I'll do better. I'll protect him too."
Suddenly, a rustling sound cut through the heavy silence. Hannah's body tensed, her head whipping toward the alley's dark mouth. The shadows seemed to come alive, shifting, crawling closer. She held her breath, heart hammering in her chest. Was it just the wind playing tricks, or was something there? Slowly, she edged closer to me, fear creeping up her spine.
"Brother…" she whispered, as her hand reached back but it went right through the space where I should've been. Confusion and dread filled her as she blinked and looked around. I was gone.
Her pulse quickened. 'Where's Brother?' She frantically scanned the alley, but I was nowhere to be found. Her breathing grew faster, panic threatening to overtake her as the shadows seemed to stretch and thicken, swallowing what little light there was.
A sharp groan broke the tension like a gunshot. Hannah's heart jumped into her throat, her head snapping toward the alley's entrance. Her eyes went wide, horror freezing her in place. A pair of glowing crimson eyes stared back at her from the darkness.
"Brother!"
The figure stepped into the dim light, revealing a body sprawled out on the ground, a dagger sunk deep into the man's neck. Blood gushed from the wound, pooling around him, and soaking into the cracked pavement. I knelt beside the body, my face shadowed, wiping the blade on the dead man's shirt, as if it were a mere inconvenience. Hannah's breath hitched in her throat, her mind struggling to comprehend what she was seeing.
"H-how did you…?" she stammered, words faltering.
"Hunter's Instinct," I answered, my voice cold and detached, as though my actions needed no further explanation.
"What's that?" she asked, voice trembling, her wide eyes darting between me and the lifeless corpse.
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[Hunter's Instinct (D): Passive] Allowing the user to detect danger and track targets. This skill sharpens all senses, enabling the user to perceive hidden threats.
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"I sensed danger. When the man entered the alley, I acted," I replied matter-of-factly, unfazed by the blood spurting from the man's wound.
Hannah's gaze locked onto the pool of blood beneath the man. "But... what if he came to help us?" she whispered, the tremor in her voice betraying her fear.
"He was a threat, Hannah." I placed the dagger into my inventory, my expression unreadable as I stood up.
Her hands trembled, clutching the photograph to her chest like a shield. "How… how could you tell?" Her voice was barely audible, like a fragile thing ready to break.
"I just could." My tone was final, leaving no room for argument.
Hannah fell silent, her mind spinning, trying to process what had just happened. The sight of the dead man—the way his body crumpled, the blood staining the ground—was burned into her memory. She shuddered as she realized how easily I had killed him, without hesitation, without emotion. The brother she thought she knew seemed like a distant memory at that moment, replaced by someone far colder, more ruthless. The weight of that truth settled heavily in her chest, making it hard to breathe.
Suddenly, the sharp buzz of a walkie-talkie broke the tension. *BUZZ* *CLICK*
"Kal, everything good? Over."
I grabbed the device from the dead man's belt, pressing the button as I spoke calmly into it. "Yeah, I'm turning back now, over."
"Good. We've got some food. Be back soon."
The walkie-talkie fell silent, and I tucked it into my inventory without another word. My eyes flicked toward Hannah, whose face was pale as she stared back at me, uncertainty clouding her expression.
"You ready to go?" I asked, my voice flat.
She nodded, but the doubt in her eyes told a different story. She wasn't sure who her brother had become, and that terrified her even more than the chaos outside the alley.
-
The silence between Hannah and me was thick, almost suffocating, as we walked down the dimly lit street. Neither of us spoke, but I knew her mind was racing with the same thoughts as mine.
'How could I have been so cold?'
There was no easy answer, no simple justification for what I had done. The man I had killed had been human, not a goblin or one of the other horrors that now roamed the streets. But was he really any better than those monsters? He had been ready to kill us without hesitation. And in that moment, when survival demanded a decision, I had made it. The cold truth settled heavily in my chest: he would've killed us, so I killed him first.
My eyes swept the street ahead, where the faint flicker of streetlights barely held the darkness at bay. Goblins, giant spiders, and gods knew what else lurked just beyond that fragile barrier. My grip tightened on my blade instinctively.
Beside me, Hannah's small figure moved quietly, her hands clutching that old photo like it was the only thing tethering her to this world. She stared at the ground, her eyes fixed on each careful step as if fearing any misstep might bring more danger. A pang of guilt stabbed through me. I should have shielded her from all this—kept her from seeing what I'd become.
"You okay?" I asked, my voice low, almost hesitant.
"Yeah, just... hungry," she muttered, her eyes still locked on the cracked pavement.
Reaching into my inventory, I pulled out a granola bar and handed it to her. "Here. Tell me if you need more."
She took it, but her expression remained distant, as if lost somewhere I couldn't reach. She chewed slowly, her face twisting after the first bite. "Tastes like paper," she mumbled, her words barely audible.
I couldn't help but chuckle, the tension between us easing, even if just a little. "That's Mom's homemade granola for you."
Hannah grimaced, taking another reluctant bite. "I told her a thousand times this recipe needed chocolate chips."
"And she told you granola bars are supposed to taste like—" I cut off mid-sentence as something caught my attention down the street. A flash of movement—goblins, three of them, creeping toward us, eyes gleaming with hunger and malice.
In a heartbeat, I activated my skill. "Burst Step."
I vanished from where I stood, reappearing behind the lead goblin in a blur. My blade sliced through its neck before it even realized I was there. The head toppled, and the body crumpled to the ground as I spun, already moving toward the second one.
Its eyes widened in shock, but there was no time for it to react. My sword cleaved through its torso with ease, spilling its insides onto the ground. Before the second goblin's body even hit the dirt, I was already facing the third.
This one had a split second to comprehend the massacre of its comrades, its beady eyes darting between the fallen bodies and me. Fear flashed across its face, and for a moment, it hesitated, caught between fleeing and fighting. I smiled coldly, feeling the familiar rush of power coursing through me. My eyes burned with a blood-red glow.
"Aim Throw."
I flicked my wrist, sending a dagger hurtling through the air. It pierced the goblin's throat with deadly precision. The creature gasped, clutching at its neck, blood gurgling out as it staggered backward. It fell to its knees, convulsing as life ebbed from its body. The twitching grew weaker until finally, it collapsed into a lifeless heap.
[You have leveled up.]
[
I wiped the blade on my sleeve, staring down at the fallen creatures. "This is getting easier," I muttered to myself, my voice devoid of satisfaction. It was just a grim reality of this new world. Life and death, survival at any cost.
Hannah had inched closer, watching me from a distance, her face unreadable in the pale streetlight. Her expression wasn't one of fear exactly—but it wasn't trust either. I tried to smile, though it felt hollow. "Sorry about the mess. If they'd seen us first, things could've gotten ugly."
She nodded, but her eyes lingered on the blood-soaked street, her thoughts hidden from me. I couldn't help but wonder what she saw when she looked at me now.
"Help." A faint voice echoed from the alley nearby, barely a whisper on the wind.