Adam stopped the car and pulled out the keys. He slid out of the car and saw Kate and Kiel do the same. Kate handed him his bag and jacket to carry.

  He wore the jacket and slung his bag over his shoulder. He then removed the ropes attaching the crate to the car.

  With Kate’s help, they both carried the panels toward the shore.

  Adam observed his surroundings. The sun was about to set; they were at a roofed parking lot just before the shore. They would have to walk from here to reach the island. Luckily, they had enough time before the tide came in.

  He walked first, with Kate by his side helping him with the panels, and Kiel closely following behind. Shortly afterward, they reached the shore. It was almost empty, filled only with junk half-buried in the sand and debris that had probably washed in from the sea.

  Then they reached the causeway. Adam was right—they had plenty of time. He saw Kiel slightly open his mouth at the sight. Adam wasn’t surprised; he would have done the same if it were his first time seeing it. The causeway was a wide stretch of land used to reach the island; however, when the tide came in, the causeway would submerge beneath the sea, making passage almost impossible.

  The setting sun worked its wonders, giving the sea around them an almost orange glow. Adam thought that if it weren’t for what had happened today, he might actually enjoy the scene.

  But as things were now, he couldn’t.

  He turned his head slightly and saw Kiel following them. The boy was still admiring the view. Adam couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Nolan had been heavily against the use of guns. Would Beth really fire one out of curiosity? She didn’t seem like the kind. Or maybe he was overthinking it. Maybe Beth really was just curious.

  Kate noticed Adam’s distant look and asked if he was okay. Adam shrugged it off and told her it was nothing.

  He sighed weakly and focused on walking.

  After some time, they finally arrived at the island. The sun was barely visible on the horizon when they did. The island was surrounded by tall wooden fences. Standing before them was a two-door wooden gate with a steel door knocker. With his free hand, Adam used it to knock on the wooden gate.

  While they waited, Kiel noticed something on the other side of the island.

  “Wait, was that a—”

  Adam didn’t reply. He simply nodded.

  A silhouette of a massive ship could be seen, lit by the fading afternoon light. Its paint was scratched and worn; Kiel could only make out the first part of its name from where they stood.

  It read: “USS V”, with the rest of the letters too far away to see.

  After a short while, an old woman—around her forties—opened the gate. She had black hair and brown eyes that widened with a smile when she saw Adam and Kate.

  “Adam, where have you two been? We’ve been worried, thinking about what happened,” the woman said.

  “A lot… a lot happened,” Adam replied, looking at Kiel, who shyly stepped back from the unfamiliar woman.

  The old woman looked surprised at the sight of the boy, but she immediately urged them inside with a smile.

  “I can tell you’re all tired. Leave the panels here. You should all get some rest—we can talk about what happened tomorrow.”

  Adam nodded. So did Kate. Neither of them was particularly excited to talk about what had happened. They dropped the crate and walked toward a building in the center of the island, with Kiel still closely following. The new environment probably overwhelmed him, Adam thought.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  The structure was a massive single-story building. Its walls were painted white and gray. Adam pushed open its glass door and headed deeper inside with Kate and Kiel. The corridors were lit by lamps attached to the walls at regular intervals. Adam navigated the building with ease, knowing it almost by heart. Eventually, they arrived at a series of doors. Adam stopped in front of one and unlocked it.

  “This one is vacant. You can sleep here,” Adam said to Kiel, who replied with a shy nod as he entered the room.

  Adam then saw Kate about to enter her own room. Before she did, she looked at Adam and nodded.

  She looked tired. Adam couldn’t blame her—he was too. He returned the nod and entered his room.

  When Adam entered, he didn’t even bother lighting the lantern. He simply threw his bag beside the bed before lying down.

  Sleep didn’t come easily. As tired as his mind was, he still couldn’t stop thinking about the things that had happened. It wasn’t the first time Adam had seen someone die. He had met many people and lost many as well. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that he should have been used to it by now.

  But he wasn’t. No matter how many deaths they mourned, it never made the next one easier.

  They had only known Beth and Nolan for a short time, yet life felt so fragile and rare that losing it was far harder than it should have been.

  Adam felt his eyes grow teary. He shook it off and convinced himself that despite everything, they were still lucky. Nine years in this hell, and he still had Kate by his side.

  The thought of losing Kate made him shiver.

  Adam forced himself to sleep, trying to escape his thoughts.

  He closed his eyes and waited for it to come.

  Little did he know, those thoughts would follow him into his dreams.

  …

  After his eyelids grew heavy, Adam plunged into a deep slumber—but it wasn’t the rest he had expected. He wasn’t in his bed, and it was early morning.

  He blinked, his vision blurry. Someone was walking beside him. He tried to focus on the figure and realized it was Kate. She mumbled something, but Adam couldn’t make out her words.

  Adam felt as though he were merely watching from his own perspective, as if his presence were unnecessary and things would unfold with or without him. It was a strange feeling, one he couldn’t describe.

  Suddenly, they came to a halt.

  With a swift motion, Adam pulled out his knife and struck Kate’s neck. Blood spilled as Kate fell to the ground, lifeless.

  Adam wanted to check if she was alright, but he couldn’t. Whoever he was watching wasn’t him.

  He looked down at the knife and wiped the blood from its surface. Its silver edge reflected his face.

  It was the same face Adam had.

  Only the eyes were green.

  He jolted awake, his hair disheveled and his head throbbing with pain. He didn’t know what he had just seen.

  He didn’t want to know.

  Adam stood and opened his drawer, adjusting to the darkness around him. Inside, he found an old lighter and used it to light the lantern in his room.

  When the light filled the space, he realized how messy the room was. He arranged his bags and other items scattered across the floor. When he looked at the mirror attached to the wall above the drawer, he realized he was just as much a mess as his room.

  He changed his clothes and fixed his hair. He placed his dirty clothes in a laundry basket beside the bed and took a new set from the drawer.

  He picked a plain black shirt and black pants similar to the ones he had worn before.

  Once he decided he didn’t look as bad as he had the night before, he blew out the lantern’s flame and grabbed another black jacket before heading outside.

  He knew exactly where he was going.

  Adam navigated the corridors seamlessly until he arrived at another familiar door. He turned the knob and entered the room. It was wider than his own, with a glass window that let the early sun bathe the entire space. Beside the bed stood tall green oxygen tanks.

  Adam looked further and noticed a girl half-lying on the bed, smiling at him the moment she saw him.

  …

  “So who is she?” Kiel asked Kate in her room. He had been exploring the building when he saw Kate enter and was urged to follow. Inside, Kate introduced him to a girl named Althea—someone around Adam’s age. After some small talk, Kate asked how she was doing. When they finished, Kate said she should tell Adam that she and Kiel would be waiting in her room. She added that Adam would likely head straight to Althea’s room when he woke up.

  “Someone special to Adam,” Kate replied, recalling the question as she inspected the massive collection of books on her tall bookshelf. After some thought, she picked one and slid it free.

  “Adam met her the night it happened,” Kate said as she sat on the edge of her bed.

  Kiel tilted his head in curiosity, sitting at the foot of the bed. Before he could ask her to elaborate, Kate continued.

  “Adam was in one of the red zones when it happened. He was just a boy then.” She paused to turn a page. Kiel wondered how she could tell a story while reading something completely different.

  “He was with his mother, who—like almost everyone else—had turned gray.”

  “What happened then?”

  “Adam ran. For some reason, the creatures were more interested in staying close to one of the meteors and attacking each other than chasing a boy.” Kate paused again to flip the page.

  “Adam ran as fast as he could until he reached the causeway. Unfortunately, his timing was terrible. The tide was rising quickly. He tried his best to cross, but the waves were too strong.”

  The story fully captured Kiel’s attention.

  Kate continued. “Adam grew tired as the tide rose higher, eventually washing him away from the causeway.” She turned another page.

  “Luckily, he ended up on the shore. A girl saw him and asked for help.”

  “Is it the same girl in that room?”

  Kate nodded. “She was the daughter of this place’s caretaker. It used to be an island owned by a music composer.”

  “Wait… why does she look—”

  “Sick? Because she was,” Kate said, closing the book and looking at him.

  “So she isn't like us?” Kiel asked, staring at Kate.

  “She wasn’t exposed to the meteor if that's what you're asking. Most people here weren’t.” She rested her hand on the book’s cover with a sigh.

  “Yes, there’s a chance she could be like us and gain

  the ability to heal quickly.”

  Kate bit her lip and paused.

  “Or she could turn into a monster.”