The Apocalypse Has a Respawn Point

Chapter 2: The Girl with the Crossbow

"Shiva, please tell me I'm not losing my mind," Rafael whispered, his fingers cramping around the jagged iron rebar. "Please tell me this is just a really vivid, very painful lucid dream."

"I have already informed you, Rafael, that your current state of existence is entirely real," Shiva’s voice echoed in his mind, cool and resonant. "And if you do not begin moving toward the staircase to your left, your next death will be equally real."

"Right, the stairs," Rafael muttered, dragging his feet forward. "And there's someone down there? A girl? I heard her scream."

"Indeed. Mirella Pranata. She is currently cornered on the second floor," Shiva said. "A Shade-Hound has her trapped. If you do not intervene, her probability of survival is zero percent."

"And what are my chances if I do intervene?" Rafael asked, kicking open the heavy steel door of the stairwell. "Like, five percent?"

"Four point two percent, actually," Shiva corrected him. "Though with your knowledge of the hound's behavior from your previous attempt, those odds have risen to approximately twelve percent."

"Twelve percent? Wow. I feel so much better," Rafael said, leaping down the concrete steps. "That's practically a guarantee!"

"Your sarcasm is noted, but unnecessary. Focus on the task. You have twenty seconds before she is compromised."

"I'm focusing! I'm focusing!" Rafael panted, his chest burning from the ash-laden air. "But why her? Why do I have to save her?"

"Because she possesses information you require, and she is the only survivor within a five-mile radius," Shiva explained. "Unless you prefer to wander the wasteland alone until another hound finds you."

"No, I definitely don't want that," Rafael muttered, gripping the rebar. "Alright, second floor. Let's do this."

"Shiva, do I have any other skills besides knowing the future?"

"No," Shiva replied. "And technically, you do not know the future. You merely remember the past. A past that no longer exists because you died."

"Same difference!" Rafael muttered, leaping over a pile of broken cinderblocks. "Why is this building so falling apart anyway?"

"This was once a residential sector of Jakarta," Shiva said. "During the Great Collapse, the energy waves tore through the structural foundations of most buildings. This stairwell is currently holding together by a thread."

"Great, so if the dog doesn't kill me, the stairs might collapse," Rafael panted. "Exactly what I wanted to hear."

"You have fifteen seconds, Rafael. I suggest you stop wasting breath on complaining."

A sharp, terrified cry echoed from the corridor ahead, bouncing off the cracked concrete walls.

"Stay back! Get away from me, you monster!"

Rafael rounded the corner, his boots skidding on loose plaster and broken glass. "Hey! Look over here, you overgrown shadow-mutt!"

The young woman, dressed in worn leather gear with a compact crossbow, gasped in shock. "Who are you? What are you doing? Get out of here!"

"Duck!" Rafael screamed.

"What?"

"I said, duck! Now!"

She threw herself to the dirty floor. Just as she did, a blur of darkness lunged from the broken window.

"Take this!" Rafael roared, swinging the rebar.

CRACK.

The metal rod connected with the hound’s skull.

"Did I kill it?" Rafael gasped.

"No, Rafael, it is only dazed," Shiva said. "Do not stand there. Strike again."

"Right! Die!" Rafael yelled, slamming the bar down.

The beast dissolved into black ink.

"Oh, my god," Rafael panted. "I actually did it."

"A clumsy execution, but acceptable," Shiva said.

"A thank you would be nice, you know," Rafael muttered, leaning against his knees.

"Don't move," Mirella said, her crossbow pointed at his throat.

"Whoa, hey! I just saved your life!" Rafael raised his hands.

"How did you know?" she demanded. "How did you know it would jump from the left?"

"It was just a guess! A really lucky guess!" Rafael said.

"You yelled 'duck' and 'left' before it even cleared the window," she hissed. "And how do you know my name?"

"Your... your name?" Rafael stammered. "Did I say your name?"

"You called me Mirella," she said, her finger tightening on the trigger. "Who are you? Are you a tracker? Did the syndicate send you?"

"No! I don't even know what the syndicate is!" Rafael yelled. "Shiva, help me! What do I say?"

"I cannot assist you in lying, Rafael," Shiva said. "Perhaps tell her the truth?"

"The truth? 'Hey, I died ten minutes ago, watched you get eaten, and got resurrected by a magic system'?" Rafael muttered.

"Who are you talking to?" Mirella demanded, looking around the empty, ruined hallway. "There's no one here. Are you crazy?"

"No, I'm not crazy!" Rafael said. "Look, I just... I had a vision. Like a psychic thing."

"A psychic thing?" she sneered. "Nobody has psychic powers. Tell me the truth, or I'll shoot."

"I am telling the truth! Well, a version of it!" Rafael pleaded. "Please, just put the crossbow down. I'm not your enemy."

"You're a stranger who knows my name, knows my movement, and talks to himself," she said, her voice trembling slightly but cold. "That makes you an enemy until proven otherwise."

"I just saved you from a giant shadow-dog!" Rafael said, his frustration boiling over. "If I wanted to hurt you, I would have just let it eat you!"

"Maybe you wanted to make yourself look like a hero," Mirella countered, her eyes scanning his face. "Maybe you're trying to gain my trust."

"Trust? I don't even know if I can trust myself right now!" Rafael yelled. "I was in an office getting coffee an hour ago! Now I'm in some post-apocalyptic nightmare fighting monsters with a piece of junk!"

"Office? Coffee?" Mirella's brow furrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"It doesn't matter!" Rafael sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Look, can we please just talk about this somewhere else? Somewhere that isn't a dark, creepy hallway?"

"We're not going anywhere until you tell me how you know my name," she insisted. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't put a bolt in your neck right now."

"Are you alone?" Rafael asked, trying to sound casual despite the crossbow aimed at his throat.

"That is none of your business," Mirella snapped. "And why are you wearing those ridiculous clothes? Is that... a necktie?"

"Yes, it's a necktie," Rafael said, looking down at his dust-covered office attire. "I told you, I was at work. I was having a perfectly normal day before I got dumped into this dumpster fire of a world."

"You're completely delusional," Mirella said, but her eyes flickered with a strange sort of curiosity. "Or you're a really bad liar."

"I'm not lying! I don't even know how to lie under this kind of stress!" Rafael said. "Just look at my hands! Do these look like the hands of some syndicate killer to you?"

Mirella glanced down at his shaking, blistered hands, then back to his eyes. "A lot of people hide behind weak appearances."

"Yeah, well, I'm not hiding anything. I'm genuinely terrified."

"Because something much bigger is coming!" Rafael shouted.

"Don't lie to me," she said. "The area is clear."

"It's not! Shiva, run a scan!" Rafael thought-shouted.

"Scan complete," Shiva said.

[WARNING: CLASS-3 THREAT DETECTED]

[RUIN-GAZER (COLOSSUS TYPE)]

[DISTANCE: 40 METERS]

"A Colossus is coming! Thirty-five meters!" Rafael yelled.

"A Colossus?" Mirella laughed bitterly. "They don't come this far from the crater."

"They do today! It's thirty meters! Can't you feel it?"

A massive tremor shook the building, sending dust cascading from the ceiling.

"What is that?" Mirella gasped, stumbling.

"I told you!" Rafael cried. "It's here!"

"If you're lying about this Colossus," Mirella warned, her voice tight, "I'll shoot you while we run."

"If I'm lying, I'll let you shoot me!" Rafael yelled back as the floor beneath them began to tilt. "But I'm not! Shiva, is there an exit?"

"The fire escape you used earlier is still accessible," Shiva said. "But the Colossus's path will intersect with it in exactly forty-five seconds. You must move faster."

"Did you hear that?" Rafael screamed at Mirella. "Fire escape! Now!"

A mechanical hum and grinding metal shriek echoed. A giant shadow blocked the light.

"Oh, no..." Mirella whispered, her face draining of color.

"Now can we please run?" Rafael yelled.