I hope I can gather some news.
Ariciah moved through the crowded streets, her heart racing as she activated her newfound ability. The sensation of turning invisible was unnerving, like slipping beneath a thin veil that separated her from the rest of the world.
Master the talent that I am given.
She felt a tingling rush run down her spine, and suddenly, the eyes that had been glancing her way slid past her as if she wasn't even there. She walked on, brushing against people who didn't flinch, slipping past those who never noticed her presence. The city, alive and bustling, seemed entirely unaware that a shadow walked among them.
At first, the experience left her dizzy, the world blurring around the edges as she struggled to keep her footing. The disconnection between herself and the rest of the city was jarring. She could hear the chatter of the crowds, the laughter of children, and the murmur of conversations all around her, but she felt utterly apart from it all.
It was as if she were a ghost wandering through a world that no longer recognized her existence. A shiver crawled up her spine as she watched a group of teenagers run past her, laughing and carefree, oblivious to the horrors that would soon turn their lives upside down.
But Ariciah knew that this strange power was a gift, one she had to master quickly if she wanted to survive. She pushed through the disorientation, focusing on controlling the ebb and flow of her invisibility.
It feels great being invisible sometimes.
She practiced in the quieter parts of the city, stepping in and out of the shadowy alleyways where she could slip into invisibility without drawing attention. She experimented with the limits of her ability, timing how long she could stay unseen before the strain of it started to wear her down.
It wasn't easy. At times, she lost her focus and reappeared suddenly, her body snapping back into view before she could stop it. More than once, she stumbled into a busy street and had to duck behind a parked car to avoid being seen.
But with every mistake, she learned. She refined her movements, trained herself to become lighter on her feet, and focused on staying calm even when her heart hammered in her chest. Slowly, her confidence grew, and she began to see the potential of her invisibility as a tool, not just a temporary escape.
Ariciah began using her invisibility to slip into places that were once out of reach. She wandered into the government offices, standing in shadowed corners as clerks filed paperwork and officials held whispered discussions behind closed doors. At first, she felt like an intruder in these places, but her curiosity overpowered her discomfort.
She listened to conversations she never would have had access to in her previous life, fragments of information about city budgets, contingency plans, and rumors about a strange illness spreading in remote parts of the country. The words sent chills through her, a grim reminder that the apocalypse she had once lived through was already beginning to unfold.
I can't believe things started this early.
She made a habit of visiting the local police station, slipping into the briefing room where officers gathered to discuss reports of violent outbreaks in nearby towns. Ariciah kept herself hidden in a dusty corner, listening as the officers debated whether the rumors were just the usual panic or something more serious.
The discussions were laced with tension, their voices growing sharper each day. The first time she heard them mention "quarantine," she knew the clock was ticking down faster than she had hoped.
Each time she ventured out, she took careful note of everything she overheard, mentions of supply routes, the locations of emergency shelters, and whispers of military mobilization. She eavesdropped on local politicians, learning about plans to evacuate key personnel if things went south, and the gaps in their preparations that would eventually spell disaster.
Despite the vibrant life surrounding her, a growing sense of urgency gnawed at her insides. She could see the threads of a crumbling world unraveling beneath the surface, even as the city continued its oblivious dance through daily routines.
If the public had been aware ahead of time, the country could have had better survival chances.
The more she learned, the more her sense of isolation deepened. Ariciah carried secrets that would shatter the fragile peace of those around her if they knew, secrets about the horrors that would soon descend on their city, about the bodies that would pile up in the streets, about the desperation that would consume their lives.
No one can escape the chains of the law.
But she couldn't warn them, couldn't change the course of their fate without revealing herself, and even then, who would believe her? Instead, she kept to the shadows, storing her knowledge away like a squirrel preparing for winter, and with every day that passed, the weight of that knowledge grew heavier.
Everything is controlled by the government and people in power.
Ariciah's invisibility also allowed her to explore the preparations being made by the military. She sneaked onto the outskirts of a base located near the city's edge, slipping through gaps in their patrols under the cover of night.
She watched soldiers unload crates of ammunition and food rations, stockpiling supplies in anticipation of something they couldn't quite name yet. Ariciah knew that even these preparations would eventually falter when the true scale of the disaster became apparent, but for now, she made note of where their stores were kept, knowing that one day she might need access to those supplies.
Information is hard to disseminate.
The tension of keeping her abilities hidden and balancing her own preparations weighed heavily on her. Each time she returned to her small apartment, she felt the strain of keeping up the facade of normalcy, even as she stockpiled food and water in her virtual space, hoarding supplies in a place no one else could reach.
She practiced her combat skills in the space when she could, reliving the moments of her past life when she had barely survived by the edge of her teeth. But each night, when she lay in bed, her mind filled with the voices she had overheard that day, a wave of anxiety crashed over her.
It wasn't just the fear of the apocalypse that kept her awake. It was the dread of losing herself in the process. She had once fought tooth and nail just to make it through each day in a world that had become a nightmare, and the thought of returning to that kind of existence filled her with a cold, creeping terror.
But this time, she vowed, it would be different. This time, she had the power to act before everything fell apart. She would not let herself be reduced to the helplessness that had defined her before.
She began to use her invisibility for more than just gathering information. Ariciah started mapping out safe routes through the city, memorizing back alleys and hidden passages that could serve as escape routes when the chaos began.
She made lists of the locations where supplies could be scavenged, mentally marking places where food might be stashed, and where weapons might be found.
She avoided contact with people she knew, afraid that even a casual conversation could betray her secret. As much as she wanted to see her family, to warn them, she couldn't bear the thought of putting them in danger by revealing herself too soon.
Each time she saw her brother's familiar silhouette through the window of their childhood home, or heard her father's voice drift through the open door, the ache in her chest grew deeper. But she forced herself to stay away, knowing that her presence would only raise questions she wasn't ready to answer.
Invisibility, she realized, came with a price.
It allowed her to move freely, but it also meant that she was alone, watching the world from the outside, unable to reach out or connect.
I can't let anyone know about my talents.
She could see the faces of people who had once been friends, but she was nothing more than a shadow to them now, slipping through the cracks of a world that still believed itself invincible.
As the days crept closer to the apocalypse she knew was coming, Ariciah clung to the hope that her sacrifices would mean something when everything finally fell apart, that the distance she kept, the secrets she carried, would one day make a difference in the fight for survival.