“More people dead today, huh?” Lucas muttered, his thumb flicking up the articles on his phone screen. They all said the same thing; people rarely talked about anything else these days. But it made sense. The world had changed.

  Deaths from the blue blight sickness were increasing each day. The various governments had even given up on lockdowns, deciding that those who were immune should do their part to keep society from slipping into total collapse. Those who died were simply unlucky. That line of thinking was beyond cruel.

  A figure clambered onto the kitchen counter, just at the edge of his vision. Lucas’s head snapped up.

  “Roland, what are you doing? Get down from there!” Lucas said, half-standing from his seat at the kitchen table. What was this idiot thinking?

  His brother turned his head, a cheeky smile hanging on his lips. “But I want some chocolate chip cookies.”

  “And Mum said you’ll get them when you’ve had dinner.”

  “But Mum always says that—”

  “Roland, get down!” Lucas said, raising his voice. He stood fully from his chair and lowered his phone to his side.

  “Roland!” From the other room, his mother’s voice echoed in. “Listen to your brother, or else you’re not getting any dinner and you’re certainly not getting any cookies!”

  Roland’s face fell, his shoulders slumped, and he lowered his reaching hand.

  “See, look what you did now. You’re going to get us both in trouble,” Lucas said.

  Under his breath, Roland grumbled, “She said nothing about you.”

  True as that may be, sadly, that wasn’t how it would go. Their mom would blame Lucas for any trouble Roland caused simply because Lucas was older.

  Shaking his head, Lucas went to reply. But something popped up in the corner of his vision.

  ══════════◆◇◆══════════

  SYSTEM MESSAGE

  ══════════◆◇◆══════════

  | Detection.

  | Anomalous mana signatures fluctuating to critical mass. It is deemed that this world will be consumed if pertinent measures are not taken.

  | Planar shuffling is now online.

  ══════════◆◇◆══════════

  Lucas paused. “Am I going insane?” he muttered, raising a hand and scratching the side of his head. His eyes followed the message as a faint beeping began. He spun, searching for the noise.

  Still on the kitchen counter, his brother reached out into empty air, but then frowned, pulling his hand back and looking at it in confusion.

  ══════════◆◇◆══════════

  SYSTEM MESSAGE

  ══════════◆◇◆══════════

  | Initiation of the planet Earth will begin within three, two, one.

  ══════════◆◇◆══════════

  What the hell is going on?

  Nausea slammed into Lucas. The world wobbled, and his body went limp. A dull thud of kitchen tile slammed through his body, but it was distant. Faint. Seconds later, darkness swallowed his vision. The beeping got quicker until it was just a ringing.

  ????ˊ? ·?? ? ? ? ??· ??ˋ???

  A few—who knows how long—later, a groggy feeling washed over Lucas. He rubbed his bleary eyes as they began opening, and he let out a sigh. What had happened just now? The kitchen ceiling spun above him as a text box popped up in his vision.

  ══════════◆◇◆══════════

  SYSTEM MESSAGE

  ══════════◆◇◆══════════

  | The initiation of the planet Earth, as well as the five contingent planets, has been completed. We will provide you with further information shortly.

  | System initiation will be finalised within the next few minutes. Please stand by.

  ══════════◆◇◆══════════

  Lucas rubbed at his eyes again as the words in front of him faded from existence. “What the heck was that?” he said, wetting his dried lips. Was he going insane? Was he having some kind of psychotic break? He couldn’t go to a mental home. He had too much to do.

  Resting his hand on the cool kitchen tile, Lucas pushed himself up and got onto shaky feet. On the counter, his brother slumped over, one arm and one leg hanging off its edge. He’d fall as soon as he moved.

  “Roland!” Adrenaline shot through Lucas’s veins, and he rushed forward, slipping his hand underneath his brother and lifting him. His brother groaned. Then he shifted, attempting to turn his back to Lucas and rubbing at his eyes.

  “But I don’t want to go to school yet,” he grumbled.

  “Roland!” Lucas said, shaking him. “Are you okay?”

  “I don’t want to go to school.” Roland pulled himself tighter and forced his eyes closed.

  Really. And here I was thinking you’d hurt yourself.

  “You’re alright,” Lucas said, dropping to one knee. Around the kitchen, none of the chairs were knocked over, the white paint wasn’t peeling, and his mother’s orchids were as pink as ever. The house seemed fine. But a sense of confusion and dread still hung within him.

  “What was that just now?” It definitely wasn’t something just affecting him. No, or his brother wouldn’t have fallen unconscious. So Lucas wasn’t going insane. But then, what was going on? Blue blight sickness didn’t start like this.

  But could he be sure?

  Lucas frowned and moved an arm from underneath his brother, rubbing at his forearm. Nothing. No splotching, no heavy blue patches. It wasn’t the sickness, but then what had happened to them?

  Lucas turned his head to the side. “Mum!” he yelled. His voice travelled through the house.

  No reply. Had she fallen unconscious as well?

  “Mum!” he called again.

  Still no reply.

  He sat Roland down on the kitchen tile, resting his back against the cupboard. And as he got to his feet, something prickled his ear. A low growl rumbled into the kitchen. It had come from the front room.

  Lucas frowned as dread slithered its way into his heart. His hand twitched, and his eyes drifted over to the kitchen knives in the knife holder. It sounded like an angry dog, but their neighbours didn’t have any pets. Should he take the knife?

  No, why would he even need it? He let the idea slip. What was he planning to do? Run out there and attack the thing?

  I’ll just see from the window. If someone’s lost their dog, I’ll just call the police. Don’t need it mauling me to death.

  “But it’s probably just some stupid idiot letting his untrained dog off the leash,” Lucas said. “I hope it doesn’t take a crap in the front garden. I don’t want to clean wet, clumpy poop up again.”

  He reached for his phone, snatching it off the floor and slipping it into his pocket. Taking a last look at his brother, he trudged to the front room. He’d be up soon and probably trying to steal another biscuit.

  “Mum, are you alright up there?” he called up the stairs before he moved through the hallway and stepped toward the living room.

  Another low growl came from outside the front room window, this time much deeper. It practically shook Lucas’s body, causing his hair to stand on end. “What on earth is that?” Lucas hesitated for a moment. If it weren’t for the fact that he was safe inside, he might have locked the front room door and turned back.

  But he was safe, so he walked forward.

  As he stepped into the front room, his gaze drifted briefly to the blank TV. He frowned. Hadn’t it been—

  The living room window exploded. Glass splintered through the air, showering the carpet and covering the couch. Lucas staggered back as a wolf landed on the rug in front of him. It was unlike any he’d seen on TV.

  Red and black fur coated its body, and a fiery reddish-yellow mane ran from its head down its spine and to its tail.

  “What the heck is that thing?” Lucas said, shifting a foot back.

  Growling, the wolf stalked forward, its eyes sizing him up, its jaw slackened, drool dripping onto the carpet and steaming off in coiling puffs.

  “What the hell is that?” Lucas said again, his back pressing against the wall. Heart hammering in his chest, he shuffled sideways, inching towards the door.

  The wolf yapped, its jaws slamming tight as it growled and stalked towards him.

  “Lucas, what’s that noise?” Soft padding across laminated wood came from the hallway. His brother was getting closer.

  Lucas held the wolf’s gaze, his fingers finding the door frame with several panicked taps. He couldn’t turn. As soon as he did, the thing would lunge at him. At least that’s what they said on the nature documentaries. But were they talking about wolves or tigers?

  “Get upstairs now,” Lucas said, shifting his back onto the door frame, holding the wolf’s gaze the entire time. He stuck a hand out into the hallway and waved it backwards. “Go now.”

  “But Lucas—”

  “Now, Roland,” Lucas said. He stopped shuffling his feet. What would he do once he left the room? The wolf would chase; that was for sure. But where could he go? Lucas’s voice dropped; its tone firmer. “It’s not safe. Please, just listen to me this once.”

  The wolf continued stalking forward, its growls growing more intense. It was going to jump.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “Lucas, what’s that noise?” From upstairs, creaking came. And a second later, footsteps began coming down the stairs.

  “Mum, stay where you are and bring Roland up with you. There’s something down here,” Lucas yelled with some desperation. She couldn’t come down; if she did…

  “What?” his mom replied. The creaking stopped at the top of the stairs. He couldn’t see her, but he could practically feel her eyes on his back. If he didn’t do something, she’d come down. One of them would get hurt.

  The wolf growled.

  Lucas dived. It jumped.

  It slammed into the wood, clawing into the doorframe. The frame cracked, and Lucas bolted for the front door. Roland’s scream split the air as the little boy rushed backwards and up the stairs. The wolf, luckily, focused on Lucas.

  “Come here!” Lucas yelled at the wolf.

  It growled, yapped at him, and closed the distance again. And in one frantic moment, Lucas yanked on the door, wrenched it open, and leapt out. The wolf started running, charging behind him.

  He blitzed out into the front garden, and a sense of wrongness immediately hit him. Trees that didn’t belong dotted the familiar streets. His neighbour’s house, which had been there for years, was now missing, replaced by a large oak.

  Before Lucas could fully process it, the wolf bit at him. He staggered, and it barely missed his ankle. Leaping over the garden gate, Lucas stumbled onto the pavement and then broke into a sprint. The wolf followed behind, clearing the fence and rushing after him.

  Screams filled the air around Lucas. Across the street, several people ran. They stumbled as behind them, wolves, much like the one chasing him, lunged at them, tearing into them.

  What looked like a fiery boar charged down the middle of the street, turning and then ramming into a car that was trying to leave its driveway. Tires popped, and the people inside screamed, scrambling from the vehicle, only to be taken down by several wolves seconds later.

  What is going on? What the heck is going on? Has hell opened up or something?

  Lucas continued sprinting, running for his life.

  Slamming into the hood of a car, Lucas leapt over it as the wolf, still chasing him, snapped at him. It clawed onto the hood of the vehicle, inches from him as he leapt off and continued sprinting.

  “Kid, over here!” a man shouted from a shop doorway as Lucas rounded the corner.

  Someone pulled the man in a moment later before Lucas could even think of turning to him. The door slammed shut. Wolves smashed into it seconds later. Down the street, a gunshot rang out, followed by more screaming. The place was in utter chaos.

  His lungs burning, Lucas continued to swing his arms, the wolf closing in yet again. He threw in some more curves, trying to keep the beast at a distance. If he ran in a straight line, it’d catch him—there was no doubt about that. He had to keep using the environment.

  As he ran, adrenaline pumping through his veins, the wrongness wormed in his stomach again. Buildings that didn’t fit where they should. Mrs. Maple’s, the town ice cream shop, was gone, and in its place was a bank crushing every single house around it. A sad irony.

  Lucas stumbled left, turning down a street as the wolf leapt over another car, somehow keeping a complete focus on him. Even as other people ran by, it stayed on him. Did it have a vendetta against him or something?

  People were closing a garage door ahead. It lowered slowly, first blocking their heads, then their shoulders. If he ran faster, he could make it.

  “Slow down!” he yelled, waving. “Please, I need help!” Lucas staggered, his lungs burning, barely able to hold his breath. They’d wait. They had to, right?

  But the barrier continued to lower, and moments later, he slammed into it, pounding against the metal.

  “Please let me in!” he screamed with desperation, a coldness flooding his chest.

  Behind him, the wolf slowed to a trot as it closed in.

  He turned, his heart hammering in his chest, his palms pressed against the metal of the garage door, his back firm. Lucas lowered himself onto the ground. The wolf took its time with some delight. It slowed, stalking closer and closer, its jaws hanging open. Its saliva dribbled onto the asphalt.

  It had him. He couldn’t run. His legs were exhausted, and he could just about breathe.

  So this is it. This is how I die—eaten by some random wolf at the end of the world. What a way to go! What a goddamn way to go.

  The wolf stepped closer and closer, but just as it was about to take one more step forward, a car slammed into it. It dragged the wolf away, crunching into a brick wall, the horn blaring as the person inside slammed into the steering wheel headfirst. They didn’t move. The driver’s forehead simply bled as the car horn honked.

  Lucas blinked. He considered going over for a moment, but then—another bark.

  He turned. There, a wolf eyed him. He’d slipped from one wolf’s mouth straight to another’s. It yapped, and somehow, he found the power to get to his feet. He hopped up and began running again. His legs were shaky, but he ran.

  He turned down an alley, sprinting as behind him the wolf yapped and barked. Ahead, a ladder hung, connecting up to a fire escape. Could he make it? Perhaps. But then, if he dropped, the wolf would tear him apart. He had no other choice, though. Towards the end of the alley was a thick brick wall, unclimbable for someone of his calibre.

  I should never have given up sports class. I mean, rope climbing wouldn’t exactly help, but at least it’d be something.

  Lucas’s legs continued to shake with every step as his breath hitched in his chest.

  I can do this. I can do this.

  The wolf yapped behind him and bit inches from his leg. It almost caught him. Why hadn’t it caught him? Was it playing with him?

  Taking all the courage he could muster, he pumped his legs and leapt, reaching out for the bar of the fire escape. Then, with a slap, he gripped onto it firmer than he’d ever held onto anything in his entire life.

  He screamed with exertion, pulling himself up, but as he did, his arms began shaking, growing weaker and weaker. Below, the wolf jumped, trying to bite at him, then dropped and growled. Something above shook, steel groaning. His arms spasmed.

  I’m going to fall. No, please, no, not like this.

  Then—nothing. His arms gave out. He fell backwards, screaming and slamming onto the concrete below. Pain shot through his back and flooded his body, and he let out a groan, closing his eyes tight, awaiting the vicious tearing that would soon begin.

  But it never came.

  Instead, the groan of clattering, tearing metal split the air. The sound of something falling followed. The wolf looming a few feet away yelped, turned, and then a deafening boom and crunch followed. Air rushed over Lucas, blowing his hair into his face and showering him in dust and stone.

  He coughed, hacking up dust and phlegm as he groaned, trying to blink away the dirt that clung to his lashes.

  “What just happened?” he said, sitting up, pain sparking as he moved. He clutched at his stomach, eyes wandering the area. He then turned his head. A sizable pile of debris lay behind him, stacked high as blood trickled from underneath it.

  ══════════◆◇◆══════════

  SYSTEM MESSAGE

  ══════════◆◇◆══════════

  | Congratulations on defeating the [Flameback Wolf - Novice 1]!

  | You have gained 10 XP.

  | XP threshold has been reached.

  | You may now unlock your class.

  ══════════◆◇◆══════════

  Lucas blinked at the message that had popped up. It was the system message he’d seen earlier, before all this started.

  “What is going on?” he muttered. This was beyond jarring; things were trying to kill him, and he was getting these notifications. But why?

  Gripping his stomach, he staggered to his feet. He’d survived somehow. In the distance, screams still echoed in the chaos, punctuated by heavy popping. Fireworks? No, gunshots most likely. But then, where did these people get guns? No one in Sthearts had ever seen a gun before, unless it was on TV.

  He looked down at his hand—cuts, mostly. They weren’t deep; the bleeding was light.

  I should be fine. Just gotta get home, get some plasters.

  The system message had changed and now blinked as if to get his attention.

  ══════════◆◇◆══════════

  SYSTEM MESSAGE

  ══════════◆◇◆══════════

  | Would you like to begin class selection? [Yes/No]

  ══════════◆◇◆══════════

  Lucas blinked. Should he do it? No, not yet. He wasn’t safe. What if it knocked him out again? Then he’d just be food for these Flameback wolves, as the messages seemed to call them. He brought a hand to his lip. What did ‘Novice 1’ even mean, in this case? Was it like a game?

  Raising a shaky hand, Lucas pressed “No.”

  The words before him disappeared, falling away like grains of sand. He blinked. Around him, dust began settling on the ruined stone. The rubble pile in front of him wasn’t too high.

  He winced as he took a step. Massaging his side, he then lifted his shirt. Slight bruising. Had he broken something? No, people always said that if you broke a bone, you could barely move. He could move just fine. This was more like someone had just punched him, really hard.

  Releasing his shirt, he let out a shaky breath and moved forward. With some pain, he clambered onto the unstable pile of rubble, navigating it. Lucas avoided random rebar and watched his steps. He slid on some loose rock and almost cut himself a few times. But in a few minutes, he’d climbed over and touched down on the other side.

  “Alright, that wasn’t too hard,” he muttered, dusting off his knees.

  Large tears ran up and down his jeans, skin exposed in places. It was red, but not bleeding. He was thankful for that. He didn’t have any plasters on hand, and running around with more scrapes than necessary would be bad. His hands were problem enough already.

  Alright, now how do I get home? The high street was barely what I remembered, and I didn’t even get a proper look at anything.

  ????ˊ? ·?? ? ? ? ??· ??ˋ???

  Minutes later, Lucas hugged a wall. He peeked around the corner and bit his lip at the scene in front of him. Ahead, a man swung a bat from left to right, beating back a wolf that was trying to bite him. With each swing, the wolf dodged and then returned, nipping at him. He was keeping it at bay… just about.

  It seems these things are everywhere.

  Lucas turned his head. At the other end of the street, several wolves dragged bodies down the road, deeper into a forest that he was pretty sure wasn’t there this morning.

  Those poor people. I hope Roland and Mum are okay. Did I lock the door? Surely they would have when I left. But the wolf destroyed the window. What if—

  Something slammed into the building, and Lucas’s head snapped to the sound. The man who’d been fighting back the wolf with a bat staggered forward, and a boar with fiery red fur running down its back slowly backed up, puffing out hot air.

  As if receiving a signal, the wolf barked before leaping in and biting onto the man’s shoulder, dragging him to the pavement as the boar sniffed the air. Its head turned from left to right before it trotted off. Had it found something?

  Lucas leaned back against the wall. His heart hammered in his chest as his fist tightened, body shaking.

  Okay, so they’re coordinated. Coordinated and murderous. How the hell am I getting home?

  He couldn’t sprint. He wouldn’t make it. Even now, his legs were like jelly, and his side burned. He’d have to sneak. But could he even do that? A wolf wasn’t exactly the easiest creature to sneak past. His friend had a deaf dog, and even that could tell when Lucas was leaving the front room.

  Alright, you’ve got this, Lucas. Just be calm, be steady, and don’t trip.

  Getting low and crouching as deep as he could, Lucas shuffled forward. His eyes snapped towards every sound, every bark. The screams had grown quiet now, distant. He was pretty sure he still heard some gunshots, but they were far away. Whoever it was, they were leaving.

  Is anyone even still alive around here?

  He stayed low. Gravel scraping under his shoes, he pulled up to a Nord Niesta, hand pressing against the car’s metal door. Shuffling forward, he peeked over the hood. Four wolves stood in front of the garage door that had closed on him earlier.

  Two wolves flanked either side of the door, and in the middle, a boar—fire flickering on the thick mane on its back—snorted before charging forward. It rammed into the metal with a dull, shaking clang. With a squeal, the boar bounced back, stumbling across the pavement and falling on its side. It then snorted, tipped itself up and shook its head before turning for another run-up.

  Screams came from behind the garage door, along with shouting. In the connecting house, at the second-floor window, a woman pulled aside the curtain. Her body shook as she watched the creatures, her face white. Someone moved her away a second later and blocked the window.

  I’m actually kinda glad they closed the door on me now. Who knows how long that situation’s going to last? Those things seem determined. I should call my mum; what if—no, I can’t. I should at least send her a message.

  He reached into his pocket, gripping his phone and pulling it out. But his heart sank as the screen came into view. The glass was cracked and chipped, flakes of it falling off even as he brushed his thumb across the ruined surface.

  Are you kidding me right now? I can’t call my mom, and I can’t even use Maps.

  Lucas jabbed at the phone screen with his thumb, frustration seeping into his chest. The blasted thing had probably broken when he’d fallen from the ladder earlier.

  The wolf deserved to get crushed even more. The phone wouldn’t work again. Should he throw it away? No, that wouldn’t do. What if the Flameback wolves could track him through scent? He would be screwed and wouldn’t even see them coming.

  Slipping it back into his pocket, Lucas peered over the car bonnet. The boar was still battering the garage door. With each knock-back, the beast got back up. It was undeterred. With a few more clangs, the metal dented.