Lucas stepped over to the next door down the hallway and tried that one. It didn’t budge. He sighed, releasing the handle as the light above him flickered.

  This was a phenomenon that continued down the hall, as if pointing out the two remaining doors. Lucas eyed them; what if they were all locked? Sure, he could try to kick one down—probably hurting his foot even more—but not only would the wolf hear him, but then how would he lock it?

  You couldn’t reattach a broken lock by hoping it stayed together. He chuckled softly as his fist tightened.

  Oh my gosh, this is ridiculous. I can’t even sneak back outside. Do I just wait here to die? Maybe I could sneak up on it, but then...”

  He almost laughed. The idea was ridiculous. Sneak up on the Flameback? He’d end up just like that man outside, minus the puncture wound. And at least that guy put up a brief fight; it would spot and maul Lucas before he even got close.

  Even if he did successfully sneak up on it, what then? How would he kill it? No, he was being stupid; one of these doors had to be open.

  He padded along the soft carpet, which thankfully still muffled his steps. A moment later, he stopped in front of the third door and reached for the handle, his hand gripping the brass knob. Its cool surface pressed against his skin, and Lucas let out a breath.

  “Please be open,” he muttered.

  Twisting the knob, the door clicked, and his heart relaxed as he pushed it open. The door didn’t creak—again, whoever this butcher was must have hated any squeaking sounds. Lucas couldn’t stand high-pitched groaning noises himself, especially nails on a chalkboard, so he could relate.

  Calming his mind as he stepped into the room, Lucas slid the door closed with a soft click behind him. The moment the sound rang through the air, a wave of relaxation washed over him.

  Sure, it was only a piece of wood, and the wolf could probably knock the door down with a few good hits, but it was something, and he was safe. Or at least he should be.

  Though you could never truly be safe anywhere. That point was hammered home as his gaze scanned the darkened room. There in the corner, a sight caused his heart to tighten, and he raised a hand to his chest as he took a step back. His back bumping into the door, Lucas’s eyes lingered on the gruesome scene.

  A woman lay with eyes wide, her back pressed against the wall, with blood dripping from her side. Next to her, a dog licked her blank face. At first, Lucas had thought the animal was another Flameback—that he’d stupidly stumbled into a room with a creature that was going to tear him apart.

  But no, it was a German shepherd, one that licked its dead master’s face, letting out low whimpers and pawing at her chest.

  His heart twinged a little at that, as the scent of blood filling the room became faint. Fighting back the growing panic in his chest, his mind tried to piece it all together.

  His focus shifted from the two to the thing that had caused this tragedy. A Flameback lay on the brown carpet, a trail of blood seeping from its neck. The wound was brutal, with clear indicators that bites, no doubt inflicted by the same dog now pawing at its master’s side, had caused its death.

  The good boy had tried to defend her, but the poor creature had failed. A failure, which it probably didn’t understand. Yet even if it understood, that would not spare it from how brutal the world had become.

  Lucas’ mind simmered with that thought. How many more animals were in a similar situation? But then something in him clicked, and he fumbled for the door lock behind him, and with a soft clack, it engaged. They couldn’t use handles, but he could never be sure.

  Images of a Flameback wolf turning the doorknob with its jaw slipped through Lucas’ mind. Even as he slid his back against the door and fell to the carpet with a soft thud, exhaustion washed over him. His legs burned and ached like he’d run the world’s longest marathon—not that he even had the training to do so. They could have given out at any time; he’d been so close to dying, so close to the end.

  Shifting his thoughts away from such a morbid topic, Lucas’ gaze flickered to the dog still whimpering next to its owner. It fell onto the floor and let out a low moan as it nudged the woman’s leg with its snout.

  She wouldn’t move—she was long dead. Did the dog even understand that? Did it understand anything of what was going on? The only upside, cruel as the thought was, was that the dog seemed far too sad to pay attention to him. Loss consumed the animal—the loss of perhaps a friend and someone it viewed as a parent.

  Lucas’ gaze fell to his lap; hopefully, his mom and brother were okay. If they weren’t, how would he even go on? He’d be no better than this dog.

  He sighed as he regarded the creature; Lucas didn’t dislike dogs, though his fear of getting mauled by them was always present. It was a rare kind that did that, though; not every one of them was dangerous. But it was probably best he gave this one some time.

  His eyes turned away from the dog and to his cut hands, which rested on his knees. The sliced skin didn’t bleed but throbbed a little when he moved. With a wince, he rubbed his arm and tilted his head back, peering up at the door lock.

  How easy would it be to open, though, if the dog snapped? If it somehow went crazy? No, he couldn’t let his thoughts go there. This dog was nothing like the Flameback wolf. Though that begged the question.

  Where had they come from?

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  While looking like animals one could find in the wild, they acted far from it. Coordinating with other species was one oddity, and practically being on fire was another. That could only mean these things had come from somewhere that wasn’t Earth, but the question was where.

  Then a thought struck him. His mind went back a few—was it minutes? Surely an hour hadn’t passed, but either way—the system. It had come to him when his brother was climbing on the kitchen table. Had it caused this? Did it bring these creatures in? It mentioned something about merging worlds. But what did it mean?

  Mulling over the question, Lucas let out a breath as he pictured the system screen. It had popped up for him earlier, so maybe…

  A white text box flashed to life before him.

  ══════════◆◇◆══════════

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

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  It was the same question again. Hesitating, Lucas’ gaze flickered to the dead wolf on the carpet across from him, and then to the dog.

  If he clicked yes, what would the animal do if he passed out like last time? Would the dog attack him while he was vulnerable?

  Lucas sighed, pushing the thought down. It wouldn’t help, and either way, what choice did he have? Go outside and risk being attacked by the wolf? No, right now, he didn’t really have any other option but to select the class and hope for the best.

  With that in mind, he brushed his hand against the rough carpet and waited for any last doubts. When they didn’t manifest, he raised his hand and pressed the “yes” button. As his finger bumped against it, he braced himself for the blackness to consume him again. But that didn’t happen.

  Instead, the box disappeared, and he waited for a moment, a soft breeze slipping in from the cracked-open window on the other side of the room. Outside, the growls and barks still sounded, though they were becoming fainter now, as if the town was calming down—if a world burning could ever be calm.

  Pursing his lips, he hesitated to check if his ears were deceiving him. But a second later, the text box reappeared with three classes. Eyeing them, Lucas slumped back down and tilted his head to the side, scratching his chin.

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  SYSTEM MESSAGE

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  | Puppet Master — A master of puppets fights from relative safety. Instead of blades or bows, they wield constructs born from their own hands. These creations take many shapes and sizes, and a true master is adept with them all.

  | Elemental Swordsman — A swordsman is one who builds himself with each swing. This is doubly so for those who must wield the elements and survive. Nature is not to be played with, nor its wielder underestimated.

  | Aegis Brute — The Brute is one that prides themselves on defence, be it of themselves or their allies. To that end, when it comes to penetrating a brute’s shield, very few would be its match. Therefore, these bastions stand as a guiding wall in the darkness.

  ══════════◆◇◆══════════

  After reading them over, Lucas took a moment and sighed.

  He scratched at the side of his head and considered the class that stuck out to him the most. The Elemental Swordsman seemed interesting enough, though that would mean he’d have to get close to these creatures and attack them.

  He wasn’t sure how well that would go. As if to remind him of that, the metal rod he’d stupidly thought of using to fight the wolf sat at his side. He brushed his fingers over its surface. Its silver glinted, and he nodded; fighting up close wouldn’t end too well for him.

  His gaze then flickered back up to the screen, and he considered the Aegis Brute. That class sounded powerful, but it also sounded like he’d be stuck in one place, waiting for something to break through his defences and eventually kill him.

  If he chose that, sure, he’d be safe, but for how long? He wouldn’t even be able to fight back effectively. Having a lot of defence didn’t mean you had an equally good amount of attack, and there wasn’t exactly anyone around here who could help him.

  His gaze flickered briefly to the dog. Could it help him fight? Though the creature, still pawing at its owner, was far from being in any shape to continue fighting.

  That brought up another question. Since it had killed a Flameback wolf, would it have gained a level? Did it have a class?

  He shook his head at the prospect of the dog looking over a selection of classes like he did now. It was an amusing thought, but he needed to figure out his own class situation first before considering the animals.

  With his gaze moving back to the screen, his eyes lingered on the last one he’d yet to consider.

  The Puppet Master. From the sounds of it, he’d be controlling things far away from the actual creatures that were trying to rip him to shreds, and he would be more than fine with that. Relative safety was better than no safety at all.

  He nodded and brought a hand to his chin, as images of him pulling the strings of mannequins flittered through his mind. They’d fight and defend him, all without putting him in danger.

  I must be going crazy, deluding myself with fantasies of fighting these creatures, but then again, what can I do? I can’t get home through this mess without something. This, so far, is feeling like the only normal thing that’s left. The world’s changed, and things are trying to kill me, yet all I can do is read a message box.

  His head lolled forward, and a decision bubbled forth in his mind. He’d choose the Puppet Master. That was the only thing that guaranteed he’d at least be safe and probably survive long enough to get home.

  Raising his hand, he pressed the Puppet Master class. His finger clicked against it, and he smiled a little. Though a faint concern bubbled in his chest, he hadn’t fainted last time, so this probably wouldn’t be different. But you could never—

  His vision went black.

  When he awoke, bleary-eyed and slightly numb, Lucas was staring up at a white void, and silence filled the surrounding space.

  So I still have to pass out. How absolutely brilliant; I pray I don’t get turned into a snack.

  Lucas sat up, resting his arms on his knees, glancing around the space. As his gaze moved around the white horizon, a text box popped up at his side.

  ══════════◆◇◆══════════

  SYSTEM MESSAGE

  ══════════◆◇◆══════════

  | Time Left: 00:05:00

  | Time Experience: 10 —? 00:01:00

  | Time Left: 00:06:00

  ══════════◆◇◆══════════

  “Five minutes,” Lucas muttered. “It also converted the XP I got from the wolf to an extra minute. So I have six minutes, but six minutes to do what?”