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Chapter 2 - Rift Runner

Apocalypse: Rise of the Last Survivor

Chapter 2: Rift Runner

Kael Draven's truck screamed through the city, tires screeching as he swerved around a corner. The rearview mirror showed three black SUVs gaining, their headlights like predator eyes in the dark.

His Codex blared in his skull: Covenant Hunters. Armament: System-Enhanced Firearms. ETA to intercept: 87 seconds. Worse, the air ahead shimmered, a purple scar splitting the street. Rift Activity Spiking. New Rift Opening Directly Ahead. Collision Imminent. Kael's heart pounded, but panic was a luxury he couldn't afford. He had 22 hours until the apocalypse hit full force, and the Covenant was already breathing down his neck. Time to move.

The Codex fed him data: Rift Type: Minor. Spawns: 2-4 Riftlings. Weakness: Core Exposure. Survival Odds: 34%. Riftlings were fast, insect-like beasts with razor limbs, but Kael's Future Codex gave him an edge—he knew their patterns. The SUVs were the real problem.

Covenant hunters weren't grunts; they were System-enhanced, probably packing skills from the first wave of awakenings. Kael gripped the Bloodfang Dagger on the passenger seat, its red glow pulsing like a warning. The System-enhanced knife he'd taken from Marcus was a gamble—its strength boost came at a cost to his vitality—but he'd need every edge to survive this.

He floored the gas, the truck's engine roaring as the rift ahead widened. Purple light spilled across the asphalt, and two Riftlings skittered out, their segmented bodies glinting like oil. Six legs, mandibles like scythes, and glowing cores in their chests. Kael's Codex pinged: Aim for cores. Avoid mandible strikes. The SUVs behind him didn't slow—either the hunters didn't see the rift or they didn't care. Kael's Chronoshift hummed: Rewind Available. 10 seconds. Cost: 15% stamina. He was still winded from the warehouse fight, his stamina barely above half. Rewinding now could leave him too weak to run.

No choice. He yanked the wheel, veering into an alley to avoid the rift's maw. The Riftlings screeched, their legs clattering as they gave chase, ignoring the SUVs. Kael's Codex updated: Riftlings prioritize closest target. Hunters now secondary. Good. Let the Covenant deal with the monsters. He glanced back—the lead SUV swerved, but a Riftling leapt, its mandibles shearing through the hood like paper. Sparks flew, and the vehicle spun out, crashing into a dumpster. One down.

Kael's alley was a dead end, blocked by a chain-link fence. He slammed the brakes, grabbed the Bloodfang Dagger and his shotgun, and bolted from the truck. The Codex screamed: Riftlings 20 meters and closing. Hunters regrouping. He vaulted the fence, landing hard on the other side, his boots splashing in a puddle. The alley opened into a construction site—half-built skyscraper, cranes looming, piles of rebar and concrete. A perfect kill zone if he played it right.

He ducked behind a stack of steel beams, shotgun ready. The Riftlings scuttled over the fence, their cores pulsing red. Kael's Codex flashed a memory from his past life: Riftlings hunt in pairs, flanking prey. Cores detonate on death. He couldn't let them get close. He aimed the shotgun, waiting for the first to expose its chest. It lunged, mandibles snapping, and Kael fired. The blast hit true, shattering the core. The Riftling exploded in a burst of purple ichor, shrapnel grazing Kael's arm. He hissed but kept moving, rolling to avoid the second Riftling's charge.

The SUVs roared into the site, their tires crunching gravel. Kael's Codex pinged: Hunters: Four. System Skills: Enhanced Reflexes, Kinetic Barriers. Great. They weren't just armed; they were juiced up. A woman's voice barked from the lead vehicle—Lara? No, too rough. A subordinate. "Fan out! Draven's here!" Kael's blood boiled. They knew he was alive, which meant the Covenant was tracking him somehow. Had Marcus tipped them off before the warehouse collapsed?

No time to dwell. The second Riftling skittered behind a crane, its core glowing brighter as it prepared to pounce. Kael swapped to the Bloodfang Dagger, feeling its power surge through his arm, his muscles tightening. The cost hit instantly—his vision blurred slightly, his pulse racing as the dagger sapped his vitality. Warning: Bloodfang Drain Active. Vitality -5% per minute. He had to end this fast.

He sprinted toward a pile of rebar, baiting the Riftling. It took the bait, leaping from the shadows. Kael dove, sliding under its claws, and drove the dagger into its core. The explosion was bigger this time, knocking him into a concrete slab. Pain lanced through his ribs, but he was alive. The Codex chimed: Riftlings Eliminated. XP Gained: 400. Vitality: 42%.

Gunfire erupted. Bullets pinged off the slab, forcing Kael to roll behind a bulldozer. The hunters were closing in, their System-enhanced aim unnervingly precise. Kael's Codex scanned: Weapons: Pulse Rifles. System-Enhanced. Ammo: 20 rounds per magazine. Reload Time: 3 seconds. He counted shots, waiting for a lull. The moment it came, he popped up, firing his shotgun. One hunter dropped, clutching his chest, but a kinetic barrier flared around another, deflecting Kael's second shot.

"Draven!" the woman shouted, her voice cutting through the chaos. "Surrender, and we'll make it quick!" Kael recognized her now—Sera, Lara's enforcer. In his past life, she'd been the one to hold him down while Lara carved him open. Rage surged, but Kael shoved it down. Emotion was a weakness. He needed strategy.

The Codex offered a plan: Construction site crane. Weak point: Support cable. Collapse creates distraction. Kael glanced up. The crane's cable was rusted, barely holding a stack of steel beams. He fired at it, the shotgun's blast snapping the cable. The beams crashed down, forcing the hunters to scatter. Sera cursed, her barrier flickering as dust clouded the site. Kael used the chaos, sprinting toward a half-built stairwell, his Codex mapping an escape: Exit via rooftop. Access to adjacent building. Safehouse 1.4 miles west.

He climbed, legs burning, the Bloodfang Dagger still draining him. Vitality: 38%. He couldn't keep using it, but dropping it wasn't an option—it was too powerful. Gunfire chased him, bullets chewing concrete. Sera's voice echoed: "You can't run forever, Draven!" He ignored her, reaching the rooftop. The city sprawled below, oblivious to the rift's glow in the distance. His truck was trashed, but the adjacent building's fire escape was close. He leapt, barely catching the railing, his arms screaming.

The Codex pinged: Safehouse Location Updated. Warning: Rift Activity Spiking. Third Rift Detected, 0.8 miles south. The timeline was unraveling faster than Kael expected. His rebirth was changing things—rifts opening early, Covenant already hunting him. He slid down the fire escape, landing in another alley. His shotgun was down to three shells, his Glock untouched.

The Bloodfang Dagger pulsed, tempting him to use it again, but he sheathed it, fighting the urge. Vitality: 35%.

He needed a vehicle. A motorcycle sat parked near a dumpster, keys still in the ignition—sloppy, but lucky. Kael hotwired it in seconds, the engine roaring to life. The Codex guided him: Safehouse: Abandoned factory, west side. Security: Reinforced doors, no Covenant presence. He gunned the bike, weaving through backstreets, the wind cutting through his torn jacket. The city was waking up to the chaos—sirens wailed, distant screams echoing as the third rift opened. Civilians were starting to notice, but Kael couldn't save them. Not yet. Survival came first.

The safehouse was a rusted factory, its windows boarded, its doors chained. Kael broke the lock with a rebar shard, slipping inside. The interior was dark, littered with broken machinery, but the Codex marked it clean—no hostiles, no rifts. He barricaded the door, catching his breath. His vitality was dangerously low, his ribs aching from the Riftling blast. He needed rest, but the Codex had other plans: New Objective: Analyze Core Enhancer Effects. Warning: Covenant Tracking Signal Strengthened. Hunters 2 miles away.

Kael pulled the Core Enhancer vial's remnants from his pocket, its blue residue still glowing. He'd used it on his knife in the warehouse, but the Codex hadn't logged its full effects. He focused, and the System responded: Core Enhancer: Temporary boost to weapon or user. Permanent unlock of one System skill upon consumption. Risk: Unknown side effects. Kael hesitated. Drinking it could give him an edge, but the "unknown side effects" made his skin crawl. He'd seen survivors mutate from System items in his past life.

Before he could decide, the Codex flashed a new entry, its tone urgent: Future Codex Update: Lara Voss. Motive Revealed. Objective: Prevent Kael Draven's interference with Covenant's Erythra Pact. Kael's blood ran cold. The Erythra—the alien overlords behind the apocalypse.

The Covenant wasn't just betraying him; they were selling out humanity. Lara had known, even in the original timeline, and she'd killed him to keep it secret. His fists clenched, the Bloodfang Dagger's glow reflecting in his eyes.

He had to move. The safehouse wasn't safe for long—not with the Covenant tracking him. He needed to consume the Core Enhancer, arm up, and strike first. But as he raised the vial, the factory's walls shook. Dust fell from the ceiling, and the Codex screamed: Rift Breach. Major Rift Opening Inside Safehouse. Spawns: Unknown.

Survival Odds: 12%.

Purple light erupted from the factory's center, a rift twice the size of the last. Something massive stirred within—claws, wings, a roar that shook Kael's bones. The Codex flashed: Entity: Rift Alpha. Strength: Catastrophic. Weakness: Unknown. Kael backed toward the door, shotgun raised, as the creature's eyes—dozens of them—locked onto him. Outside, engines roared. The hunters had found him.

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