She sighed, leaning against the window, her fingers drumming against the frame as she watched the wrecker finally haul Dusty onto the flatbed.
The weight of everything settled in her chest, a mix of frustration and helplessness that made her jaw clench.
The driver gave her a thumbs up before driving away, taking her beloved Duster to get fixed—or what was left of it.
Now all she had was her old scooter, tucked away in one of the spare rooms, Scoot-scoot, as she'd affectionately named it.
She thought back to when she and Sandy had taken it out for a spin, Sandy's laughter echoing as they almost tipped over in the parking lot.
It was a rickety little thing, good for errands but not much else, and definitely not up to par with the luxurious lifestyle she'd gotten used to.
But for now, Scoot-scoot was all she had.
"Great," she muttered, turning away.
The phone buzzed in her hand.
It was time to make the dreaded call.
With a heavy sigh, she dialed her insurance company, her thumb hesitating for a split second over the call button.
She already knew exactly how this was going to go.
A feeling of dread sat like a rock in her stomach.
After a few rings, the customer service rep came on the line.
Her voice was chirpy, almost robotic, and definitely too cheerful for Zoe's current mood. "Thank you for calling Allcrash-Adjacent Insurance. How can we assist you today?"
"Yeah, hi," Zoe said, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "I'd like to file a claim. My car got trashed during… well, a Shard incident."
There was a pause on the other end of the line, followed by the sound of typing. "I'm sorry, ma'am, could you repeat that? Did you say a Shard incident?"
"Yeah, you know, giant dimensional rift, monsters spilling out, one of them smashed my car into a tree," Zoe said, her fingers tapping irritably on her thigh, trying to keep the sarcasm out of her voice but not quite succeeding.
Another pause.
More typing.
Then, in a too-pleasant tone, the rep said, "I'm afraid we don't offer coverage for Shard-related damage, ma'am. That would fall under an Act of Reality exclusion."
Zoe stared at the ceiling, her patience rapidly thinning. "Act of Reality? What does that even mean?"
"Well, Shard incidents are considered extraordinary events, and as such, we can't cover damages related to them," the rep explained, her tone remaining infuriatingly calm. "I'm afraid you'll have to cover the repairs out of pocket."
Zoe let out a long breath, trying to steady her voice. "Out of pocket? You mean I've been paying for full classic car and everyday driver coverage, and you don't cover monster attacks?"
The rep paused again, probably sensing Zoe's mounting frustration. "That's correct, ma'am. I'm very sorry, but we don't have Shard insurance at this time."
Zoe clenched her jaw. "Of course you don't."
In the background, Snacks—his sleek wings folded neatly against his back—had been curiously nosing around the corner of the living room when he managed to knock over a stack of snack boxes that Mina set in the corner for Zoe.
The loud clatter filled the room, making Snacks jump back, his eyes wide, his pride momentarily shattered.
Just like a cat would, he raised a paw and reached out to bap the nearest box, all hunkered over and ready to run.
When it didn't move, he nosed around them.
"Snacks!" Zoe snapped, her frustration finding an outlet.
Snacks looked at her with wide, inquisitive eyes, a box stuck over his snout, moving like he was munching on the flavored animal crackers inside.
His sleek features made the moment both absurd and oddly dignified. The absurdity of it almost made her laugh, but she was too angry to let it out.
She hung up without saying goodbye and tossed the phone onto the couch, glaring at it as if it were responsible for this mess.
Zoe took a deep breath, letting the silence hang in the air.
She hated this.
She hated how helpless she felt.
Dusty was more than just a car; it was the last tangible connection she had to her dad.
And now, all because of some stupid Shard incident, she had to empty her pockets just to keep it alive.
"Why does everything have to be so complicated?" she muttered under her breath.
For a moment, she let herself fantasize about a world where she wasn't a chosen one, where monsters stayed in video games, and where fixing cars didn't require fighting off multidimensional chaos.
Snacks, still with the box on his snout, padded over to Zoe, letting out a muffled whimper, his wings tucked close to his body as if trying to maintain some sense of dignity.
She sighed, reaching down to gently pull the box off.
"What am I gonna do with you, huh?" she muttered, scratching behind his ear as he leaned into her touch, his tail giving a hopeful wag.
She gave a small, tired smile, the weight of everything pressing down on her as she glanced at the mess Snacks had made.
She had bigger problems, but at least this mess was something she could fix.
She stood, and straightened up the boxes, setting them side by side like toy soldiers ready to march across her desk to her then remembered her snack vault and tossed them inside it.
Snacks tipped his head and let out a curious-sounding chirp as the boxes tumbled through the shimmer and vanished.
"It's okay," she told him. "I can get them back whenever I like."
Zoe sat at Code Crusher and booted it up.
Snacks watched as it beeped and Windows opened with a tipped head then pawed at her lap.
She slid back a little and he stood up on his hind legs, with one claw on her leg and one on the desk to peer at the screens.
Instead of opening CCO, Zoe went for her Bitcoin wallet, She still had about 5 Bitcoin, and at 250k each that was a respectable fortune, but a million dollars didn't go far in today's economy when push came to shove, especially with an expensive car to rebuild.
Finding parts for a 1976 Dodge Duster was like hunting unicorns, especially when she was dead set on keeping the engine's original parts. That meant scouring sites like BayBee, a place to bid and shop for stuff that somehow always had what she needed—if she was willing to sell her soul for it.
Snacks, apparently oblivious to her stress, had begun chasing his own tail, spinning in elegant circles until he lost balance and toppled over, landing on his back with a soft "thud."
Zoe glanced down at him, shaking her head. "You're not helping, you know," she said, but a small smile tugged at her lips despite everything.
She groaned, pulling out her BytePad and typing "1976 Dodge Duster bumper" into BayBee's search bar, her mind holding onto a sliver of hope that maybe, just maybe, she'd find a miracle listing that wouldn't cost her an arm and a leg.
The results popped up, and her mood worsened immediately. The prices were sky-high, and the sellers were scattered across the country. Shipping alone would cost a fortune.
"Damn it," she muttered, clicking through the listings.
This wasn't just going to dip into her investment funds—this was going to sink her lifestyle for the next month.
Forget daily DashGrub orders and keeping the maid service. She'd be living off instant ramen and whatever snacks were left in her Snack Vault if she had to keep shelling out for car parts like this.
As if sensing her despair, Snacks waddled over, nosing at her knee.
He let out a tiny chirp, his eyes wide and curious.
Zoe glanced at him, then at the tablet, and back at him again.
"Yeah, you're cute, but cute doesn't pay for car parts," she said, her voice softening.
She reached down, giving him a gentle pat on the head, sinking her fingers into his mop of hair. "Guess we're both in for a rough month, huh?"
Snacks tilted his head thoughtfully, his bright eyes filled with curiosity, then promptly climbed onto her lap, curling into a neatly coiled ball.
His body fit perfectly, and he let out a small huff of comfort, his wings folding elegantly as he settled in.
His warmth was a small comfort, and Zoe found herself absentmindedly scratching behind his ears as she continued scrolling through the overpriced listings.
Her gaze drifted toward the window, where the faint flicker of lightning from the distant Shard was visible over the treetops.
Even from here, she saw the occasional blue flash, signaling the instability still brewing inside the dimensional rift.
The Loom's warnings echoed in the back of her mind, vague but persistent.
Something about the Shard expanding, growing more dangerous—like it was hungry, spreading its influence.
The thought made her skin prickle.
She rubbed her temples, the faint glow of the brackets reappearing in her peripheral vision as if they knew she was thinking about it.
"What do you want now?" she muttered.
But the Loom didn't flash any messages this time.
Just that faint reminder of the Shard's presence, as if nudging her.
Snacks shifted in her lap, his wings tucked neatly as he let out a soft snore, his elegant form somehow managing to look dignified even in sleep.
Snacks wriggled a bit, shifting until his head rested directly on her hand, effectively blocking her from scrolling any further.
"Oh, come on," Zoe sighed, trying to nudge him off.
But Snacks only responded by snuggling in deeper, a soft rumble vibrating in his chest like a lazy purr.
"You know, you're supposed to be my sidekick, not my boss," she said, though the corners of her mouth twitched upward.
Snacks yawned in response, showing a flash of tiny, sharp teeth before settling in even closer.
It was hard to stay mad with that kind of adorable insistence.
Zoe looked down at him, her irritation easing slightly. "If only it was as easy as just napping through all of this," she whispered, her fingers tracing the scales along his back.
Zoe bit her lip, contemplating the thought for a moment.
She didn't want to deal with the Shard—it wasn't like she had a hero complex.
But if she dealt with it, maybe everything would go back to normal.
Maybe she could put all of this behind her for good.
Maybe the Loom would stop bugging her.
Maybe she could just finish this whole "chosen one" nonsense and finally get back to her game, where things made sense.
She reached for her phone again, pulling up her contacts list.
She paused, her finger hovering over the call button.
Mina.
She smirked, knowing what she was thinking was selfish, but wasn't that the whole point? Mina had been pestering her about being a hero, right?
"Maybe it's time to see how much Mina really wants me to be a hero," she murmured, her finger tapping the contact.