Morgan returned to Frank’s room. Frank still lay snoring; he no longer looked pale and sickly, but he was still a little gaunt-looking. After his cleansing ritual, entering the room with Frank was an assault on his nostrils. Glad that Frank was looking better, Morgan grabbed his old backpack and one of the ration packs. He left one on the desk next to Frank’s bag for when he woke up.

  Making his way back to the main floor, he asked if there was a cafeteria. The man at the bottom of the stairs directed Morgan to the far side of the foyer. Opposite the entrance was a large door. Through the door was a large open area filled with tables and chairs. A few small groups of people were gathered at the tables.

  They all stopped to look up as he walked in, then went back to eating. Some were eating real food, vegetables, and steaming meats. Morgan’s stomach growled at the savory smells of meat and gravy. The smell of freshly baked bread started him drooling.

  He sat down alone at a table and opened the box. It was a huge disappointment. One side had a pouch with a thick oatmeal-like sludge. The other was a slab of dense, tightly packed bread, or meat loaf. Morgan couldn’t really tell because it tasted like cardboard. The oatmeal stuff tasted exactly the same. A few of the people noticed him trying to swallow the food. He was starving and trying to eat it as fast as he could, but it was just too dense and dry to manage.

  A young woman with bright red hair in a short French braid that hung down in front of her shoulder, and a wicked scar on her right cheek from eyebrow to chin, sat down in the chair opposite him. She held out a large pitcher of clear water. As he grabbed it, he looked into her clear brown eyes. She had tanned skin, a lot of freckles, and large eyelashes. Under her small nose, her lips were oblong, almost as if her mouth was a little too large for her face.

  She grinned for an instant, showing gleaming white teeth, and said, “Heya, stranger, I’m Mara. The food bricks go down a lot easier with a lot of water.” She was wearing a much-used and battered, thick leather apron over a blue blouse and jeans.

  Bobbing his head slightly, and choking down a dry swallow of bread, Morgan replied, “Thanks, My name is Morgan. I am new here.”

  She chuckled a bit, covering her mouth with a hand, and then swept her hand over those in the room. “We are all new here. Well, not all of us. The Academy was on break, classes start in like three weeks, so most of the students were with their families. I am, was, the newest teacher at our prestigious Academy.”

  She absently grabbed her braid and rubbed it between her fingers, “ Now, I don't know what use a computer and electrical engineering teacher is going to be,” She frowned a bit, melancholy seeping into her features. Then perked back up and continued, “Well, anyway, it was good to meet you. Hope to see you around Morgan,” she said, standing from the chair.

  “Good to meet you too. I hope I see you,” he said reflexively. Then realized what he had said, face heating. But she had already turned and begun heading back to the table she had been at. He went back to devouring the food as fast as he could.

  Sophia said excitedly.

  Morgan asked. He had forgotten about the core in his backpack.

  Morgan thought sarcastically,

  Morgan replied with a snort. He looked around, but no one seemed to notice.

  The food didn’t taste good, but it filled him up. He threw away his trash and returned the water pitcher to a large tray near the door that he must have missed on the way in.

  He felt better than he should. It hadn’t even been 24 hours since the end of the world as he knew it. But he felt more self-confident than he ever thought he would.

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Morgan thought

  His heart started to beat faster with anticipation. Decision made, Morgan went to head outside. In the foyer, he ran into Katherine talking to Mara and two other men wearing slacks and dress shirts. Seeing Morgan, Katherine beckoned him with a wave of her hand.

  “Morgan, this is Mara, Scott, and Bryan.” Each of the men held up a hand as she said their names and then excused themselves to go do whatever tasks Katherine had just assigned them.

  “I just met Mara in the cafeteria,” Morgan said, “She helped me drink.”

  Sophia laughed. Are AI supposed to laugh?

  “I mean, she helped me get a drink.” Morgan corrected.

  “Okay, that’s wonderful,” Katherine said, politely ignoring the awkwardness. “I was hoping you could show me on the map where you found that girl. Mara moved in over on the east side of town about a month ago. She might be able to provide some assistance.” She started to walk down the hall without waiting for a response.

  “Sure. I know about where it was. If your map is any good, I should be able to point it out no trouble,” Morgan said, finding it hard to keep up with her long stride without feeling like he was rushing.

  “You will be surprised,” Was all she said as she pushed open a door. This door led to a circular library. It was two stories tall inside. The walls were covered in bookcases filled with old, expensive-looking leather-bound books. Thin slits in the walls let in sunlight that hit a large crystal in a bracket that caused it to glow, filling the room with a warm, soft light.

  There was a ladder to be able to reach the higher shelves attached to a rail halfway up the wall. In the middle of the far side of the room was a large, half-circle wooden desk with a high-backed leather chair behind it. Spread out on the desk was a map of the town. The detail was amazing. He could see what looked like burned and destroyed houses. Wrecked cars in the streets. It was a little surreal.

  “It shows what the city surrounding our established town looks like. It has about a 30-minute delay. It doesn’t show living things, but it has been very helpful,” Katherine said, reaching down to touch a corner of the map. Morgan didn’t know what to say. The town was large. He looked at it for a few seconds.

  A light blue line formed on the map in his vision. He explained to the two women what had happened. Sophia provided a little comment box on every house they had cleared with information about the occupants, the monsters, or if it was empty. Morgan relayed the information as he pointed to each house. He realized he had messed up when he finished, and they didn’t say anything. He looked up to see both of them with shocked expressions on their faces.

  “I have two questions,” Katherine said after quickly recovering, “One. How did you remember all those things, but then didn’t know if you would be able to tell me what house you found the girl in?” She held up a finger, “And two, are you sure the number of creatures you fought is correct? You cleared over 40 houses and fought creatures in at least half of those houses? No wonder you were in such bad shape,” she finished quietly. She never held up the expected second finger, just dropped her hand to her side.

  “Yeah,” Morgan replied softly with a deep breath, “It was hell out there.”

  “I do have good news, though,” Katherine interjected, “All of the people you left in the houses as you cleared the way have been escorted to the Academy. I processed most of them myself.”

  Mara still just looked at Morgan with an unashamed awe.

  “Well, I did plan on heading back into the city tonight. Where do you recommend I search?”

  “What!!” Mara exclaimed, “Are you crazy?”

  “Mara, calm down,” Katherine said calmly. “The area that we had the hardest time getting patrols into is the southeast. Just beyond where you and Frank found the girl. There are still four blocks at the southernmost part that groups fought creatures and would not go farther.” She pointed out a section at the edge of the map.

  “Okay then, that is where I will be going. I will return in the morning to check on Frank and give you a report,” Morgan declared. As he looked at the map, he saw the north eastern section, where his apartment had been, was a large charred-looking patch over five square blocks. He touched it. “What happened here?”

  “We speculate,” She said quietly, “there was a tanker truck driving to the petrol station. It crashed on the street, and by the time we were organized and able to send people there, this is the result. Also, the Davidson Heights prison facility north of town had riots. Dozens of cops were killed, and who knows how many criminals escaped.”

  “What happened to Saint Vincent’s?” Morgan asked quietly.

  “The orphanage? It was burned in the fire, I am afraid.” Katherine replied.

  “Oh...That’s where my apartment was.” Morgan said glumly. “I didn’t really have anything, just some clothes, but what about the children?”

  “Some of the children are here now, as well as two of the nuns. A large group of people from that area of town were awakened by the fire.” Katherine said, looking at a list on the table.

  “That’s some good news at least,” Morgan said, “I’m gonna get going now.” Morgan started to turn. He needed to get outside and get some air. Thinking about the orphanage burning was making him get nauseous.

  “Good luck,” Mara quipped quickly before turning to leave, “I need to get my tasks done before it gets dark,” She bobbed a small curtsy with her apron and then left.

  “Yes, as she said, good luck, young man. I shall remain hopeful for your return.” Katherine sat wearily in her chair. Feeling as though he had been dismissed and thrown out of the principal’s office, even though he was already leaving, Morgan left, thanking her on the way out.

  He walked past two more guards at the gate after they unlocked it for him. Then he was alone. He stopped, leaning heavily on the wall, taking in large gulps of air. The home, if you could call it that, he had grown up in for his entire life, had been burnt to the ground. He wasn’t really close with any of the other children there. After he had turned eighteen, he had moved out, across the street. But the loss of them, and the other nuns, left an empty pit in his stomach.

  After sating his need for fresh air, he walked about 50 yards down a side road and checked to see if he was still connected to the store. He was, so he checked out and paid 3 common tokens for the new large backpack in his cart.

  He transferred everything to the much more spacious and robust-feeling leather backpack and then strapped his old backpack to the side of the new one. Putting the new one on his back, he adjusted the straps and then stepped off determinedly to the south.