The world outside was worse than Marcus remembered.
He landed hard on the scorched grass behind the school, his sneakers crunching against ash and charred soil. Smoke clung to everything like a second skin. The soccer field had become a graveyard—burned bodies, half-transformed monsters, twisted metal. A school bus lay on its side, a shattered stop sign impaled through its roof.
Marcus staggered to his feet, wincing as his ribs gave a dull throb. The regeneration had healed the break, but not the exhaustion. His legs trembled, not from pain—but from adrenaline fatigue.
[Energy Level: 52%][Recommended: Find Shelter. Begin Resource Recovery.]
"Yeah, no kidding," he muttered, coughing as he stumbled toward the fence. Every breath tasted like copper and smoke. The red clouds still lingered overhead, thick and unmoving like something watching from above.
A low growl stopped him mid-step.
To his right, half-hidden beneath a fallen goalpost, something moved. Not a full monster. Not human, either. Its limbs were thin and shaking, skin patchy with red boils that hadn't fully burst. Its face was… familiar.
"Danny?"
The freshman looked up. One eye had melted shut. His lips were chewed raw, and when he reached out toward Marcus, it was with trembling hands—begging.
"P-please…" he rasped.
Marcus hesitated.
This wasn't like Kaylee. Danny was half-transformed. Something in-between. Still conscious. Still crying.
And that made it worse.
"System," Marcus whispered, "can I… reverse it? Cure him?"
[No Cure Available.][Target in Terminal Mutation Phase. Recommended Action: Mercy Kill.]
Marcus's stomach turned. "No."
[Survival Probability Decreases With Hesitation.]
He took a step back, shaking his head. "No. Not unless I have to."
Behind him, the school exploded.
A deep, bone-shaking boom echoed across the field. The chemistry lab burst outward in a spray of fire and glass. Mutated shadows leapt through the inferno, screeching. They were tracking him. Hunting.
Danny looked up at the noise and let out a terrified sob.
Marcus grabbed a broken plank from the ground and turned, his fingers tightening around it.
"I'm not ready to die today," he muttered. "And I'm sure as hell not going to watch anyone else suffer."
He pulled Danny's arm over his shoulder. The boy weighed next to nothing now—skin and sinew. Together, they hobbled toward the gym building, the only structure that looked even partially intact.
Behind them, howls rose from the flames.
[New Objective Unlocked: Establish Safe Zone][New Mutation Detected in Pursuing Entities][Alert: Enemy Intelligence Evolving]
Marcus paused at the gym doors, heart thundering.
"They're… learning?"
[Affirmative. Adaptive Predators Achieved Baseline Strategic Thought. Hostiles Coordinating Hunt Patterns.]
"Of course they are," he growled. "Because why wouldn't this day get worse?"
He kicked the gym door open and dragged Danny inside. Darkness swallowed them—broken lights, overturned bleachers, forgotten silence.
But at least, for now, it was quiet.
He laid Danny gently onto a yoga mat near the wall and looked around.
No food. No light. No answers.
But he had time. Time to think. Time to breathe.
[Unlocked Skill Tree: Adaptive Evolution Tier I][Skill Points Available: 1]
Marcus stared at the glowing options hovering in the air:
[Silent Step] – Move undetected for short bursts
[Tactile Memory] – Instantly learn any tool or weapon on first touch
[Hunter's Instinct] – Detect nearby hostile intent
[Hardening] – Temporarily reinforce bones and skin under stress
His finger hovered.
Then he selected [Tactile Memory].
"Let's see what I can build from the ruins," he said softly, staring into the shadows.
Outside, the red storm brewed again.