The morning after the storm was a shade of ash and silver.
Mist clung low to the ground, curling like smoke through the bones of the ruined city. Every step over the broken concrete felt like walking across a graveyard cars overturned, buildings crumbling into themselves, the sound of distant metal groaning in the wind like the world still mourning its fall.
Jaden adjusted the strap of his scavenged backpack. "Are we sure about this route?"
Silas trotted a few paces ahead, hoodie fluttering like a cloak. "Absolutely not. But it's the fastest path to the dam unless you feel like taking a scenic stroll through a mutant hornet nest."
"…Pass."
Behind them, the group moved with careful silence. Rowan took point at the rear, scanning rooftops and alleys. Aya stayed close to Kael, who still winced with every other step. Niko kept her head down, a slingshot clipped to her belt and a faded charm bracelet dangling from her wrist.
"So, uh," Niko said after a long silence, "what's the plan if the dam is crawling with hostiles?"
Silas pointed dramatically at Jaden. "We sacrifice our protagonist and run."
Jaden rolled his eyes. "You've been playing too much Dungeons & Death Zones in your celestial spare time."
Silas snorted. "You mean did play. Before your world went poof. R.I.P. my character 'Meowgic Mike.' He had a charisma stat of 20 and a +3 tail accessory."
Aya blinked. "Is he like… half-cat?"
Silas beamed. "Full-cat. Also full-fabulous."
Rowan sighed. "This is the apocalypse, not a comedy club."
"Could be both," Kael muttered.
They reached the old overpass just after noon. The skeletal remains of the bridge stretched overhead, its lower half collapsed into the ravine like a snapped spine. Rusted signs dangled by chains, one still bearing the word "Hope" in flaking blue paint.
Silas turned to the group. "This is the drop point. Past here, the system gets weird. Glitches. Time loops. Echoes."
Niko squinted. "Echoes?"
"Moments that shouldn't be," Silas said. "Like déjà vu that bites back."
A shiver ran down Jaden's spine.
They descended into the gully with care, boots slipping against wet stone and moss. The air changed the deeper they went colder, thinner, like the space between seconds. The mist clung tighter. The silence deepened.
Then they saw the first one.
A figure stood in the ravine ahead, facing away from them. Thin. Unmoving. Dressed in a bloodstained hospital gown.
Jaden froze. "What is that?"
Silas grabbed his arm gently. "An echo."
The figure didn't move.
Rowan raised his blade. "Should we engage?"
"No," Silas said sharply. "Don't touch it. Don't even breathe too loud."
The group inched past the phantom figure. Up close, Jaden saw its hands tremble like wind through paper. Its head slowly turned, just enough to show a mouth that wasn't quite a mouth. Just… teeth. And too many.
They passed. The figure vanished in mist, like a memory dismissed.
Kael exhaled shakily. "This is worse than the Wraith."
Silas shrugged. "Different kinds of nightmares. Less murder y. More existentially oof."
They reached the far slope, climbing up toward the overgrown remains of a maintenance trail that wound toward the dam. Trees had broken through the path, roots tearing apart what once was. Birds didn't sing here. The only sound was their breath and the crunch of boot against gravel.
An hour in, they finally rested near a moss-covered pipe, steam curling out of its mouth like it still exhaled ghosts.
Aya passed out can rations. Kael devoured his in three bites. Rowan didn't eat. Niko played with her charm bracelet, fingers twitching with unease.
Silas sat beside Jaden, legs stretched out, arms behind his head. "You're doing good, hero."
"Doesn't feel like it."
"You haven't died yet. That's a high score in this world."
Jaden huffed. "You're really trying to comfort me with Dark Souls logic?"
Silas grinned. "If the shoe fits, dodge roll."
Jaden smiled despite himself.
Niko looked up. "Why are you like this?"
"Me?" Silas blinked. "Trauma. And too much internet access during my celestial internship."
Kael chuckled. Aya gasped softly.
Rowan finally spoke. "We're near the dam. I see the top of the turbine building. Smoke's rising."
Jaden stood. "Then we move."
---
They approached from the east, weaving through twisted scaffolding and shattered solar panels. The dam loomed like a fallen titan, its walls cracked, control towers leaning like drunks. Water still roared below but it was red stained, thick with sediment and… something else.
They found the source of the smoke near a service tunnel an old campsite, long abandoned. A few still warm embers. Scorch marks. And blood.
Niko crouched near a ripped tarp. "Raiders?"
Rowan shook his head. "Something faster."
Aya pointed to the far wall. A glyph glowed faintly pulsing lines of gold, flickering between runes.
Silas's expression shifted. "That's not human. And it's not angelic either."
Jaden stepped closer. "Then what is it?"
"…Something that remembers angels. And wants to become one."
They all stared at the mark.
Then, from the tunnel's mouth, came the sound of breathing.
Ragged. Wet. Like lungs that didn't remember how to be lungs.
Everyone turned.
Something moved in the dark.
Author's note:
My teeth hurt with the lovelife problems of my friend dang I just have problems.