The morning sun lit the room. I looked outside, hearing the sounds of gunshots again, seeing the army battle against a group of goblins. Though it was more of a one-sided massacre. I sat down back into the chair, thinking about what to do next.

It should be a few days until the army trace the origin of the goblins back to Central Park, but I shouldn’t try to go alone again. There’s no way to know what the system throws at me again. And from all the people I saw till now she’s the most competent. Just the question if she’s willing to come with me.

I looked at a door, hearing streaming water behind it, a luxury of the earlier years, when infrastructure still worked. Guess I would want to wash myself too if that happened. I started to contemplate how to win her assistance.

She came out of the shower, wearing baggy clothes she found somewhere in the bedroom. They were men’s clothes, a bit too big for her, but probably the only thing around as this seemed to be the apartment of a lone man.

Now that she wasn’t caked in dirt, she revealed a healthy complexion, her hair turned into a light shade of brown.

“Not really fashionable, aren’t they?” She said as she looked through the kitchen, searching for anything edible.

“If you’re going to go for a ‘I stayed at my boyfriend’s place’ look than it’s great.”

“And what would that make you? The boyfriend?” She crouched down, disappearing behind a kitchen island, searching through it.

“Still not interested.”

“And still you’re here.”

I fell silent for a moment, eliciting a silent ‘got you’ from her. “I wanted to ask something else.”

She got back up, a piece of toast hanging down from her mouth. She motioned at me to continue while chewing down at it.

“What are you going to do after this?”

She swallowed down the last bits before she stopped silently, pondering about what to do. “First I’m going to look for some different clothes. I’m just going to die if I stay like this.” She pulled her pants up which started to slowly slip down again. “I don’t wanna get killed because I fell down. After that,” she put a finger to her chin, “I’ll kill more of these things.”

Doesn’t seem like I misjudged her. “Then I’ve got a proposal for you.”

“And you just said you’re not interested in me.” Seeing my exasperated face, she started to laugh. “Sorry, continue please.”

“These monsters are going to get stronger. You saw that black thing.” I stopped for a moment, seeing a brief expression of fear on her face.

“Yeah.”

“Frankly, I would have died without you there, how about working together?” I tried to think about ways to entice her, but it would all fall apart at some point. The only way for a long-lasting companionship was brutal honesty at this moment.

She took a moment, considering my offer seriously. “I don’t know you. We didn’t even exchange names and you’re offering to partner up with me, telling me to trust my back to you.” She let out a long sigh. “Well, it’s better than being struck down again from behind.” She struck out her hand to me. “But don’t you think about anything funny.”

I took her hand, shacking it once. “You’ve got nothing to worry, you’re not my type.”

“Ouch, that hurt.” She placed her hand over her chest, as if having been stabbed there. “I’m Alice.”

“Agni.”

 

We wandered through the streets, looking for somewhere to loot clothes from. It took longer than I thought, given that I didn’t remembered any stores nearby as decades have passed since I was here. Finally, we found one a bit away from the park.

I smelted the lock, making her once again mumbling about the unfairness of me using magic.

“If you like magic that much why didn’t you choose a job with it?”

“I was never good at remembering stuff.” She said as she browsed through some jeans. “Always better at punching.” She pulled out a pair of dark blue jeans which turned wider at the bottom.

“Stop, get something skin-tight, don’t go for looks. You don’t want to get caught somewhere.”

“Cheee.” She clicked her tongue, but still put the pair away to look for another. “You better follow your own advice then. It’s time you get some new one.”

I looked down at myself, seeing what probably should have been blue baggy jeans, ripped here and there, stained in brown colors ranging from dirt to dried blood. “Guess you’re right.”

I walked over to the men’s section, coming back shortly afterwards to see her with three pairs of jeans and half a dozen shirts.

“Don’t believe I will compromise for anything less.” She shoved her clothes to me, before turning to the underwear section. “Go away, pervert. Look for a backpack to stuff that into or something.”

“Haaa, I’ll wait at the door afterwards. Don’t take to long.” Seems like even after the apocalypse women have the nerve to shop for a long time.

 

As much as it got on my nerve, I couldn’t help but smile a bit about her remarks. I missed humane interactions like this. It made me think about my brother and her. I didn’t even know where they are right now.

We never talked about it. It turned into an unspoken rule not to ask survivors about their backstory. Even if they turned as close as we were. There was only the past we lived through together and the future we strove for. I couldn’t even try to guess through their language as the system turned everything into one’s mother tongue.

If we had spoken about it, I wouldn’t be here, I would rush to the end of the world only to be with them. Six years till I met him in China, and another three years till I met her. These are my best chances to meet again.

 

---

 

Inside a shelter in Germany

Kids played around, trying to relief themselves from their boredom, passing a ball between them before shooting at a wall or playing hide and seek between the adults. One kid even swinging his bat, practicing against an invisible pitcher.

The adults on the other hand were tense. Not knowing what happened when these monsters turned up, creatures between man and wolf, like the werewolves of legends. Not knowing when it will over, saved by the army or whatever else could save them. Not even knowing if said help would reach them before their food run out.

A woman came out of the kitchen, her blonde hair tied up in a bun, covered by a hairnet. She took her apron off, giving it to another woman who then got inside. There were too little facilities, making them take turns only so that everyone could get something to eat.

She walked past the cowering groups, paralyzed in fear, towards beds standing near the rear wall. She was too tired to think about them, just wanting to sleep.

Banging at the door stopped her in her step. There were a few times a day when the monster tried to get inside, but these bangs were more quiet, gentler, not ones from ferocious beasts.

“Help, please! Let us in.”

The two people guarding the door were startled, never having heard voices since the first day.

“We’re full, go somewhere else.”

The banging resumed. “Please, we don’t have anywhere left to go. At least let my child inside.”

“We’re full…”

“Haaa, just let them in, it’s not like two people will make us starve faster.”

“… You’re right…” The guard twisted the handle, opening the door.

A person came inside, grabbing the hands of the guard. “Thank you. Thank you sooo much.”

“It’s okay, where’s your kid.”

“He was just behind me.”

The guard turned his head, looking inside the corridor, only to see a lone wolf standing there. “What the!?” He twisted his head back to the person grabbing his hands, only to see him changing, his teeth already closing in on him.

His screamed aroused the attention of the people inside the shelter, making them look at their direction, only to see his blood gushing outwards.

The wolf started to run inside closing in on the nearby children. Before she even knew it the woman rushed forward, snapping the bat of the kid, before she struck at the wolf, covering the children. The woman looked at the wolf, which lifelessly collapsed on the ground.

The woman looked at the sudden message, startled by its appearance before a pained howl snapped her out of it, making her shot around just in time to raise the bat to block the sharp claws striking at her.

She was flung away towards the back, her grip firm on the bat. She pushed herself upwards, as people began to scream, and more and more wolves ran into the shelter.

 

---

 

Alice walked up to Agni, seeing him lost in his thoughts, a pained expression on his face, muttering a name silently. Seems like I’m not the only one who lost someone.