"We should move soon," I said, pushing myself to my feet.
The fatigue from using my ability still lingered, but it had dulled from crippling to manageable.
"Find supplies, food, water, maybe other survivors who received classes."
Aurora stood as well. Rolling her shoulders as if testing her own recovery.
"We should head toward Queens first. My grandmother's place. It's closest. And she built her house like a fortress."
"Agreed. And it's away from the densest parts of the city."
I checked the emergency alert again. Scanning for any new information. Any clue about what was happening beyond our basement refuge.
"Let me try one more time," Aurora said.
Dialing her sister's number again. Her face fell as the same automated message played.
"Nothing."
I reached out, squeezing her shoulder. "We'll find them."
She covered my hand with hers for just a moment. The brief contact conveying more than words could.
Then she pulled away. All business again.
"Let's check what we have. Empty our bags, pool resources."
We dumped the contents of our backpacks onto the floor. Textbooks, notebooks, pens, a half-eaten protein bar, Aurora's water bottle, my battery pack, some loose change.
The meager supplies of students whose biggest concern that morning had been an astrophysics lecture.
"Not exactly apocalypse ready," I muttered.
Aurora managed a tight smile. "We'll make it work. We always do."
She moved to the tool pegboard, examining what hung there. A hammer, screwdrivers, some electrical tape. Basic maintenance equipment.
I picked up a heavy-duty flashlight from the workbench. Clicked it on. The beam cut through the basement's dim corners, steady and bright.
"This could be useful." I tested its weight. "Could work as a club if needed."
"You won't need it for combat," Aurora said, her sword shimmering into existence in her hand. "I can handle the fighting."
The blade pulsed with soft luminous light, then dissolved back into nothing.
"How does that work exactly?" I asked. "The summoning and dismissing?"
"It's part of my Lunar Blade skill," she explained. "I don't carry a physical weapon. The sword exists in... lunar space, I guess? When I need it, I just reach for that connection and it forms."
She demonstrated, the blade appearing and vanishing several times in succession.
"No weight when it's not there. No chance of losing it. And it's always perfectly balanced for me."
'Like my quill,' I realized. "Similar to how my Astral Rewrite ability works. The quill just appears when I need to manipulate reality."
"Exactly. Though yours seems more... complex. Mine's straightforward combat. Yours rewrites the laws of physics."
I nodded, gathering useful items from the maintenance area. Wire cutters, electrical tape, a small toolkit. Things that might come in handy for survival.
Aurora collected a few basic tools as well. Nothing that would help in combat, but useful for general problem-solving.
"If we're going to do this together," Aurora said, "we should probably figure out how to coordinate better."
"What do you mean?"
"Think about it. This whole thing works like a game system, right? Stats, classes, abilities." She gestured at the air where our screens had appeared earlier. "Games usually have party systems. Ways for players to work together."
I considered this. "You think we can form some kind of group?"
"Worth trying. We're stronger together than apart."
I closed my eyes, focusing on the System interface. 'Party formation. Group mechanics.'
Nothing happened.
Aurora frowned. "Maybe it needs both of us? Try saying it out loud."
"System," I said, feeling slightly ridiculous. "Form party?"
Still nothing.
"Maybe more specific," Aurora suggested. "System, create party with Aurora Reyes."
A translucent blue notification materialized between us:
Party Formation RequestAurora Reyes (Lunar Knight ★★★★) wishes to form a party with you.Accept? [Yes] [No]
"It worked," I said, surprised at how intuitive the interface was.
I focused on the [Yes] option, and immediately new information appeared in my peripheral vision. A small indicator showing Aurora's name, class, and what looked like a health status bar.
"I can see your information now," Aurora said, wonder in her voice. "Health, mana levels, even your general location relative to me."
A new notification appeared:
Party "Unnamed" formedMembers: 2/8Party Effect: Shared Experience (80%)Party Skills: None
"Shared experience," I read. "So we both get most of the points when either of us kills something."
"Efficient," Aurora nodded. "And there's room for six more members if we find other survivors."
"We should name it," I suggested.
Aurora thought for a moment. "Something that reflects what we're facing. What we're trying to survive."
"Moonfall Survivors?"
She smiled. "Perfect. System, name party 'Moonfall Survivors.'"
The notification updated:
Party "Moonfall Survivors" namedMembers: 2/8Party Effect: Shared Experience (80%)Party Skills: None
"There," Aurora said with satisfaction. "Now we're officially a team."
I felt a strange sense of relief at that. The party interface created a tangible connection between us, a reminder that we weren't facing this nightmare alone.
"What's our play?" Aurora asked. "Stay here and wait for rescue?"
"The emergency alerts said martial law in major cities. No mention of rescue operations."
I gestured toward the warped door where I'd crushed the zombie.
"And whatever's happening, it's big enough that they're treating it like nuclear war. I don't think help is coming."
"So we get out on our own."
"Yeah. But carefully."
I moved to the door, pressing my ear against the cold metal. The building above us had fallen into an eerie quiet. No more screaming. No more crashes.
Just the distant hum of mechanical systems and something else. Faint voices, too muffled to make out words.
"Sounds mostly clear," I whispered. "But there might be people up there."
Aurora's sword materialized with that soft shimmer of light, casting metallic shadows across the concrete walls.
"Survivors or zombies?"
"Can't tell from here."
"Stay behind me," she said. "If something goes wrong, use your gravity ability."
I nodded, feeling for that connection to my power. The quill didn't appear, but I could sense it waiting. Ready to be called.
We unlocked the deadbolt. Aurora gripped the door handle.
'Here we go.'
She pulled it open slowly. The hinges protested with a soft squeak that sounded deafeningly loud in the silence.
The stairwell beyond was empty. Emergency lighting cast everything in dim red. Like being inside a beating heart.
Where the zombie had been, only a dark stain remained on the concrete. Already starting to fade.
"Clear," Aurora whispered.
We stepped out carefully. Each footstep echoing despite our attempts at stealth.
The stairs stretched upward into shadow. Level after level of uncertain danger.
Now that we were listening more carefully, I could definitely hear voices from somewhere above. Too distant to make out words, but the rhythm suggested conversation rather than screaming.
"Security office first," I suggested. "Ground floor. Should have first aid supplies, maybe communications equipment."
Aurora nodded. We began climbing.
At the first landing, Aurora held up a hand. Listened.
The voices were clearer here. Definitely human speech, coming from several floors up. At least two different people, maybe more.
'Other survivors. Has to be.'
We continued upward. One floor. Two.
The emergency exit to the ground floor was marked with faded signs. Aurora tested the door handle.
Locked.
She looked at me questioningly.
I closed my eyes, reaching for my power. The quill shimmered into existence, and with it, that expanded perception of reality's underlying code.
I could see the simple mechanism of the lock. Electronic, but with mechanical backup. I focused on the gravitational fields around the internal components.
A tiny adjustment. Increasing the weight of one small piece of metal until it shifted position.
Click.
The lock disengaged.
Aurora raised her eyebrows. "Handy."
The quill dissolved as we stepped through.
The ground floor hallway stretched before us. Fluorescent lights flickered overhead, some dark, others strobing intermittently.
Abandoned backpacks and scattered papers littered the floor. Signs of panic, but no bodies.
'Where did everyone go?'
We moved carefully down the corridor. Aurora's sword ready, my senses extended for any sign of movement.
The building directory pointed us toward the security office. Past the main entrance, around a corner.
We reached the intersection and Aurora peered around the edge.
She pulled back quickly. Held up two fingers.
Two zombies. Standing motionless near the main entrance doors.
Their backs were to us. One wearing a torn business suit, the other in jeans and a NYU sweatshirt. Staff and students, probably. Now something else entirely.
'Are they guarding the exit?'
Aurora gestured toward the security office door, twenty feet past where the creatures stood.
We'd have to get close. Very close.
I nodded understanding. Reached for my gravity ability again.
The quill materialized silently. Through enhanced perception, I could see the zombies' forms outlined in that strange lunar energy. Their movements slow but purposeful.
They weren't mindless. They were waiting.
I focused on the gravitational field around both creatures. Not crushing force this time. Just enough to pin them to the floor.
The effect was immediate but subtle. Their legs simply couldn't lift. They looked down in confusion, trying to understand why movement had become impossible.
Aurora moved like liquid lightning.
Her sword flashed twice. Clean cuts through both necks. The creatures collapsed without a sound, already beginning to dissolve into motes of light.
Experience gained: 50
The notification appeared and vanished quickly. I noticed that both Aurora and I received the same amount, confirming our party's shared experience system.
We hurried to the security office door. It was heavy steel with a reinforced frame. A card reader blinked red beside the handle.
'Locked, of course.'
I started to reach for my quill again, but Aurora caught my wrist.
"Save your energy," she whispered. "Look."
She pointed to a window beside the door. The glass was already cracked, spider-webbing from some earlier impact.
A few quick strikes with her sword hilt, and the window gave way completely. Aurora cleared the remaining shards and climbed through.
I followed, trying not to cut myself on the jagged edges.
The security office was small but well-equipped. Banks of monitors showed various camera feeds from around the building. Most displayed empty corridors, but a few showed signs of violence.
Bodies. Overturned furniture. Dark stains on walls.
But also movement. On the fourth floor, I caught a glimpse of figures moving deliberately. Too coordinated to be zombies.
"Survivors," I whispered, pointing at the screen.
Aurora looked where I indicated. Three people barricaded behind overturned desks in what looked like a lecture hall. They were gesturing frantically at something off-screen.
One appeared to be an older woman with graying hair and glasses. The other two looked younger—a man in his twenties with dark hair, and a young woman with a ponytail.
"We're not alone," Aurora said.
The office had exactly what we'd hoped for. Medical supplies in a first aid cabinet. Emergency rations in a desk drawer. A working radio setup with backup battery power.
I gathered the supplies while Aurora tried the radio.
Static. Then fragments of voices.
"—containment breach in sector seven—"
"—request immediate evacuation—"
"—all units fall back to—"
The signal faded back to static.
"Military channels," Aurora said. "They're still fighting, but it sounds bad."
A crash echoed from somewhere above us. Followed by shouting.
Human voices. Definitely human.
"Fourth floor," Aurora said, checking the monitor again.
The camera showed the three figures looking increasingly desperate. The older woman was pointing toward the door, clearly arguing with the younger man about something.
Then the woman looked directly at the camera. As if she knew someone was watching.
Her lips moved, forming words I couldn't hear but could read: "Help us."
"They know we're here," I said. "We have to help them."
Aurora was already dismissing her sword and moving toward the window. "What are we waiting for?"
We climbed back through into the hallway. The building felt different now. Less empty. More dangerous.
But also more hopeful. We weren't the only ones who'd survived. The only ones fighting back.
We had people to save.
But as we reached the stairwell, a new sound echoed from above.
Not human screaming.
Not zombie moans.
Something else entirely. A rhythmic scratching. Like claws on metal. Getting closer.
Getting louder.
Aurora's sword flared brighter as it materialized in her grip. "Whatever that is, it's heading for the fourth floor."
I felt my quill trying to materialize unbidden. My enhanced perception picking up disturbances in the reality around us.
Something was coming down the stairs.
Something big.
And those three strangers were trapped right in its path.