The Apocalypse Has a Respawn Point

The air tasted like a mixture of burnt rubber and old copper. Rafael Kusuma choked, his lungs burning as he dragged himself upright against a wall of crumbling brick. Before his eyes, a translucent blue screen flickered into existence, humming with a low, rhythmic vibration.

"What the... what is this?" Rafael wheezed, rubbing his eyes. "Is this some kind of joke? Hey! Is anyone there?"

The screen pulsed in response.

[SYSTEM INITIALIZATION COMPLETE]

[HOST: RAFAEL KUSUMA]

[STATUS: CRITICAL]

"Host? Critical?" Rafael stared at his trembling hands, coated in a layer of grey ash. "Am I in a game? This has to be a dream. I was just... I was just at the office. I was heading to get coffee."

He looked up, and his heart skipped a beat. The alleyway he sat in was part of a city that looked like it had been put through a meat grinder. Skyscrapers were jagged teeth against a sky the color of a fresh bruise. There were no birds, no hum of traffic only the whistle of wind through hollow windows.

"Okay, Rafael, stay calm. Just breathe," he whispered to himself, his voice cracking. "It’s a hallucination. Or a coma. Yeah, a coma makes sense. Maybe I got hit by a car on the way to the cafe."

He tried to stand, his knees buckling. "Help! Is there a hospital? Anyone?"

Silence was his only answer, until a low, guttural growl echoed from the mouth of the alley.

"Hello?" Rafael called out, his voice trembling. "Is that a dog? Hey, boy? I don't have any food, but if you're friendly..."

A shape emerged from the shadows. It wasn't a dog. It was a nightmare woven from ink and malice a four-legged beast with skin that seemed to smoke, its eyes two glowing pits of hollow violet.

"Oh, god. Oh, no, no, no," Rafael backed away, his heels catching on a rusted pipe. "Stay back! I’m warning you! I’ll... I’ll kick you! Get away!"

The creature, a Shade-Hound, lowered its head, its translucent teeth baring in a silent snarl.

"Please!" Rafael screamed, his hands flying up to shield his face. "I don't want to die! Not like this! System! Do something! Help me!"

The hound leaped.

It was a blur of shadow. Rafael felt a weight like a falling boulder crush his chest. Then came the pain hot, white, and absolute. He felt the snap of his collarbone, the wet tear of his throat being ripped open. He tried to scream, but only a bubbly, metallic gurgle came out.

"It hurts..." he thought, the world fading to black. "It hurts so much..."

[HOST DECEASED]

[RELOADING LAST CHECKPOINT...]

*

Rafael gasped, his eyes snapping open. He bolted upright, clutching his throat, his breath coming in ragged, hysterical gulps. He was back against the same brick wall. The same smell of ash. The same blue screen.

"I’m alive?" he gasped, frantically feeling his neck. "There’s no blood. I felt it. I felt my skin tear. How am I alive?"

"Because you haven't finished your purpose yet, Rafael," a voice replied.

It wasn't a human voice. It was melodic, yet cold like wind chimes made of ice. It seemed to resonate directly inside his skull.

"Who said that?" Rafael scrambled to his feet, spinning around. "Where are you? Show yourself!"

"I am Shiva," the voice said. "The administrator of your current reality. Or, if you prefer the terminology of your previous world, I am your System."

"Shiva? Like the goddess?" Rafael looked at the blue screen, which was now scrolling with new lines of text. "What do you mean 'reality'? I just died! A monster literally ate my throat! I felt it!"

"You did die," Shiva’s voice was disturbingly calm. "And you will likely die many more times. You should get used to the sensation. It’s quite a motivator, don't you think?"

"Get used to it? Are you insane?" Rafael shouted at the empty air. "I want to go home! Send me back! I don't belong in this hellhole!"

"Home is a concept that no longer applies to you, Rafael Kusuma," Shiva replied. "You have been transmigrated. This is the wasteland of the Old World. Your survival is now tied to the Checkpoint System. When you die, you return to the last 'fixed' point of safety. This alleyway is your first."

"Transmigrated? Like those damn novels?" Rafael hit the brick wall with his fist, then hissed in pain. "Ow! Okay, the pain is real. This isn't a dream. You're telling me I’m stuck in a loop of getting murdered by shadow-monsters?"

"Only if you remain weak," Shiva said. "The Checkpoint System is a gift. Most in this world die and stay dead. You, however, have the luxury of trial and error. Though, I suggest you start learning quickly. The soul doesn't take well to being shredded repeatedly."

Rafael slumped back against the wall, his head in his hands. "This can't be happening. This is a nightmare. I’m just a data analyst. I don't fight monsters. I don't even like horror movies!"

"The Shade-Hound is still out there, Rafael," Shiva reminded him. "It will be at the end of this alley in approximately sixty seconds. What is your plan?"

"My plan?" Rafael looked up, eyes wide. "I don't have a plan! Give me a sword! Give me magic powers! Isn't that how this works? Give me a 'Beginner’s Gift Box' or something!"

"You have the Checkpoint," Shiva said. "That is your gift. Everything else, you must earn. Or steal. Or find. Now, I suggest you move. Unless you enjoyed the feeling of your windpipe being crushed?"

"No! No, I definitely did not enjoy that!" Rafael stood up, his legs shaking like jelly. "Wait, if I die again, I just come back here? Right here?"

"Correct. Until you reach the next designated Checkpoint. Now, move. The Hound is scenting the air."

Rafael peered toward the mouth of the alley. He could see the faint shimmer of the beast's shadow against the ruins. "Okay. Okay. Move. Think. I need a weapon. Anything."

He scrambled through a pile of debris, his fingers catching on a piece of jagged rebar. He pulled it free, the rusted metal feeling heavy and clumsy in his hand.

"This is it?" Rafael looked at the rod. "I’m supposed to kill that thing with a piece of trash?"

"It’s better than using your fingernails," Shiva remarked dryly. "Though your chances of survival with that are currently 4.2%."

"Thanks for the confidence boost, Shiva! Really helpful!" Rafael hissed. "Can you at least tell me if there’s a back way out of here?"

"There is a fire escape three meters to your left," Shiva said. "But the ladder is jammed. You'll have to jump."

"Jump? I haven't been to the gym in three years!" Rafael looked at the rusted ladder hanging just out of reach. "Great. Just great."

"Thirty seconds, Rafael," Shiva counted down. "The Hound has picked up your scent. It remembers the taste of your blood, even if this timeline hasn't seen it yet."

"Stop talking! You’re making it worse!" Rafael lunged for the ladder, jumping with all his might. His fingers brushed the cold metal, but he slipped, crashing back down into the trash. "Damn it! Come on!"

He tried again, his heart drumming against his ribs like a trapped bird. This time, he caught the bottom rung. He hauled himself up, the metal groaning under his weight.

"I'm doing it! I'm actually—"

A low growl echoed from below. Rafael looked down. The Shade-Hound was there, its violet eyes fixed on him. It didn't bark. It didn't hesitate. It coiled its haunches to spring.

"Move, Rafael!" Shiva commanded.

"I’m moving! I’m moving!" Rafael scrambled up the ladder, his breath coming in short, panicked bursts. He reached the first-floor landing just as the beast’s jaws snapped shut inches below his feet.

He collapsed onto the metal grating, gasping for air. "I... I made it. I’m not dead. Did you see that, Shiva? I’m not dead!"

"A temporary victory," Shiva said. "You are currently twelve feet above a predator that can climb walls if it gets hungry enough. I wouldn't start the celebration quite yet."

"Climb walls? You didn't mention it could climb walls!" Rafael scrambled to his feet, clutching the rebar. "Where do I go? Which way is safe?"

"Safety is a relative term in the wasteland," Shiva replied. "But if you stay on the rooftops, you might live another ten minutes."

"Ten minutes? Is that all I get?" Rafael started running along the narrow walkway, the metal screeching under his boots. "What kind of world is this? What happened here?"

"The Great Collapse," Shiva said. "The veil thinned, the shadows entered, and humanity lost the vote. Now, it is a playground for things that do not breathe."

"Wonderful. A playground for monsters," Rafael muttered. He reached the end of the fire escape and looked across a narrow gap to the next building. "You want me to jump that? No way. Absolutely not."

"The Hound is on the ladder, Rafael."

Rafael looked back. The creature was indeed hooking its shadow-claws into the rungs, pulling itself up with terrifying speed.

"Okay! Jumping! I'm jumping!"

He took a deep breath, cleared his mind of everything except the sight of the opposite ledge, and leapt. It was a clumsy, desperate flail of limbs. He hit the concrete of the neighboring roof hard, the wind knocked out of him.

"Ugh... my ribs..." he groaned, rolling onto his back. "I think I broke something."

"Your ribs are intact," Shiva informed him. "However, your dignity took a significant hit."

"Shut up. Just shut up for a second," Rafael panted.

He lay there for a moment, looking up at the bruised sky. It was so quiet. Too quiet. Then, through the silence, a sound pierced the air.

It was a high-pitched, curdling shriek. A woman’s scream.

Rafael froze. His blood ran cold.

"That scream..." he whispered, his eyes widening. "I heard that. Before. Right before the dog got me the first time."

"Indeed," Shiva said, her voice dropping to a lower, more serious tone. "The timeline is catching up. The event that triggered your arrival is repeating its sequence."

"Help! Please! Someone!" the voice cried out again, closer this time. It was coming from the floor below him.

Rafael looked at the door leading into the building. He looked at the rebar in his hand. He was terrified. His legs were still shaking, and he could still feel the phantom sensation of his throat being ripped out.

"If I go down there, I'm going to die again, aren't I?" Rafael asked.

"Probably," Shiva replied. "But if you don't, you'll never find out why you were brought here."

Rafael swallowed hard. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and gripped the rusted metal rod until his knuckles turned white.

"I really hate this," he muttered, walking toward the door. "I really, really hate this."

"Welcome to the wasteland, Rafael," Shiva whispered. "Try not to die too loudly."