Earth

  Alessandro studied his own status.

  Status: Alessandro Dalla Rovere

  Race: Human

  Level: 0 (Unawakened)

  Attributes:

  Strength: 8

  Vitality: 8

  Vigor: 6

  Resilience: 9

  Finesse: 8

  Perception: 7

  Insight: 8

  Clarity: 7

  Resolve: 11

  Cognition: 8

  Racial Trait – Human Adaptability

  He didn’t know what to think about those numbers, he was a big man, and years in construction left him stronger than most. But he was approaching sixty and didn’t have the breath he had when he was young, maybe that’s why his Vigor was low. Honestly this status thing wasn’t really helpful as his sons believed, interesting? Yes, but not really helpful. He knew who he was, he didn’t need Skynet to tell him what he could or couldn’t do.

  The family was still trying to understand the meaning of their own attributes, the house felt quieter than it should have. Quieter, except for the sound that shouldn’t be there at all—faint at first, but carrying across the streets like threads of tension winding their way into every corner of the room.

  Alessandro froze mid-step, his head tilting slightly toward the open gap in the living room curtains.

  That wasn’t a car backfiring.

  It came again—a sharp, staccato burst of gunfire far in the distance, the sound cracking in the cold air. Somewhere behind it, almost buried but not enough, were screams. Not all of them were of fear; some were guttural, angry, the kind of sounds people made when fighting back with everything they had left. Others… weren’t that strong.

  Laura noticed him pause and turned toward the same sound, her eyes narrowing as the second volley rattled out. “It’s getting closer,” she said, her voice low.

  The twins were already at the window, standing on tiptoe to peer through the narrow slice of visibility. Albert pressed his hand to the glass, not for warmth but for balance, while Victor kept scanning in the opposite direction as though expecting something to dart out of the shadows at any moment.

  “That’s not far,” Albert said. “That’s only a few streets away.”

  “I think it’s coming from the west,” Victor added, glancing over his shoulder. “The System’s bonus missions—if we help them, we could—”

  “No,” Laura cut in sharply, already moving toward them. “You’re not stepping outside. Either of you.”

  The boys looked at each other—identical in height, in the angle of their jaw, in the way their brows furrowed when they were about to argue. Albert went first. “But they’re our neighbors. You always told us we should help—”

  “And we will,” Laura said, planting herself between them and the window. “But we’ll do it in ways that don’t get you killed.”

  Victor crossed his arms, his voice quieter but no less stubborn. “The system gives rewards for defeating monsters. If we get stronger now, we’ll be able to protect people later without having to hide.”

  Laura’s jaw tightened. “You’re ten. You shouldn’t be protecting anyone—” She caught herself, realizing the world had shifted too much for that statement to feel true anymore. She softened, just slightly. “You shouldn’t have to protect anyone. That’s our job.”

  The gunfire sounded again, a little louder now, followed by a high-pitched wail that cut off too quickly. The silence that followed was worse.

  Alessandro had been leaning against the back of the couch, letting them talk. But at that last sound, he straightened. “They’re right about one thing.”

  Laura turned on him. “Don’t start.”

  “I’m not suggesting they go out there,” he said. “But we can’t just pretend it’s not happening. Every fight outside is another chance for those things to get closer to the house.”

  The twins seized on the opening instantly. “So we should go—”

  “No,” Alessandro said firmly, cutting them off before Laura had to. “But I am going.”

  Laura’s eyes flashed. “You can’t—”

  “I can,” he said, meeting her gaze without flinching. “And I have to.”

  “That’s exactly what they’re saying!” Laura’s voice rose, the thin thread of control snapping for a moment. She drew in a breath, forcing it down again. “You think I don’t understand wanting to help? You think I don’t hear those people out there? But if you go out there alone, you could—” She stopped, but the word hung in the air anyway.

  Die.

  Alessandro stepped closer, lowering his voice. “If I don’t get stronger now, I’ll never even make it to the Rift. And if I never make it to the Rift, I’ll never get him back.”

  The silence was sharp enough to cut. Even the boys didn’t speak, though both of them glanced down, their expressions shadowing.

  Laura pressed her lips together.

  “I’m not asking you to like it,” Alessandro continued, “but I need you to understand it. This isn’t just about helping strangers—it’s training. It’s getting the experience I need, before something worse shows up at our door. If we barricade and wait for the second phase of this madness to start without improving, we’ll be crushed. I’m not a video game enthusiast but it’s not hard to understand that if we don’t keep ahead of the curve we’ll all perish.”

  Laura’s gaze dropped for a moment, her hands tightening on the edge of the table. When she looked up again, her voice was flat. “And if you don’t come back?”

  “Then you’ll have to protect them. The doors are barred, the windows covered, and the boys ready to defend themselves if they have to. If they were older, I would say that we should go out together—no wait, listen to me first,” he said.

  The boys opened their mouths at the same time, but Laura’s glare cut them off before they could start.

  “You’re not going out there,” she said again. “Not tonight.”

  Albert clenched his fists, frustration bright in his voice. “We could help! Even if we just—”

  “You want to help?” Laura interrupted. “Then stay here and make sure this house is safe. That’s how you help me. That’s how you help your father.”

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  Victor looked at Alessandro instead, as if hoping for a different answer. “You could take us with you. We’d stay behind you, and—”

  “No,” Alessandro said. His tone was steady, but there was steel in it. “You think I’m going out there to put you in more danger? Not a chance.”

  “But the bonuses—” Albert tried again.

  “—will still be there when you’re ready to fight without getting yourselves killed,” Alessandro finished. “You don’t throw yourselves into a fire just because someone tells you there’s gold in the flames.”

  The boys fell silent at that, though neither looked convinced.

  Alessandro exhaled slowly and turned toward the window. “Before I do anything, we’re checking the perimeter. If we’re surrounded, I’m not stepping outside. If we’re clear, I’ll go. You,” he pointed at Laura and then the twins, “stay here, watch the windows, keep the doors locked. If something gets too close—don’t hesitate.”

  Laura’s mouth pressed into a thin line, but she gave a small nod.

  The boys exchanged another look—half defiance, half reluctant agreement—then nodded too.

  The gunfire echoed again, closer still. And underneath it now, faint but unmistakable, came a guttural, animalistic roar.

  Alessandro’s hand tightened on the rifle. “Let’s move.”

  They went room to room, checking the narrow slices of street they could see through each window, listening more than looking. In the far west, shadows flickered between houses where muzzle flashes flared. From the south, faint movement in the alleys. The east and north seemed quiet, for now.

  When they circled back to the living room, Alessandro’s jaw was set. “West is where it’s bad. If I go out the back, I can circle around, avoid the main street until I’m closer.”

  Laura stepped in front of him again, her voice low. “If you hear anything too close, you come back. No heroics. No staying out longer than you have to.”

  Alessandro’s mouth twitched—half a smile, half grim acceptance. “I’ll approach it the same as when I hunt, I’ll flank the worst of the fighting and do what I must.”

  Albert finally spoke again, his voice small but steady. “Bring them back if you can. The ones still alive.”

  Victor nodded. “And kill as many as you can on the way.”

  Alessandro’s eyes met theirs, something like pride there despite everything. “That’s the plan.”.

  They heard more sounds in the distance, like someone snapping sticks over and over. But each second carried them closer, each sound grew sharper. Some of those cracks rolled together in chaotic bursts — not fireworks, not construction — gunfire. And behind the harsh percussion came the human sounds: voices tearing themselves raw.

  Some screamed in wordless agony, others shouted names, and some, chillingly, bellowed orders or curses with a force that seemed to push through the air. There was no single rhythm to it, no organization — only the discordant echo of a neighborhood collapsing under something neither man nor nature had prepared for.

  The family stood still for a moment. Even the twins, who usually filled any silence with chatter, didn’t speak.

  Laura was the first to break it. “It’s closer than before,” she said quietly, eyes on the window as if she could pierce the drawn curtain with sheer will. “That… that wasn’t there just minutes ago.”

  Albert moved toward the wall, tilting his head as if listening harder would help. “Those are rifles. Not hunting ones. Assault ones, like in video games.”

  “That’s not the point,” Laura said, a bit sharper now. “The point is that people are dying out there.”

  “Exactly,” Victor cut in, turning to Alessandro. “People are dying. Our neighbors. Aunty Rita who gave us cookies every time we step by, old Nino with his dumb stories. We can help them!”

  Laura’s gaze snapped toward him. “Victor—”

  “No, hear me out,” he pushed on, his young voice firm in a way that didn’t quite fit a ten-year-old’s face. “The System gives rewards for helping, right? For killing the monsters. If we help now, we can get stronger faster. And then we’re not just hiding here hoping nothing breaks in.”

  Albert chimed in, nodding. “We’re not kids anymore. And the System for sure doesn’t care about our age.This is the time to—”

  “This is the time to stay alive,” Laura snapped, her voice cutting clean through the air. The twins flinched but didn’t back down.

  Alessandro leaned forward in his chair, elbows resting on his knees. His eyes weren’t on Laura or the boys — they were on the floor, as if something there demanded his focus. “They’re not wrong,” he said finally, voice low.

  Laura turned to him with disbelief. “Alessandro—”

  “They’re not wrong,” he repeated, lifting his head to meet her eyes. “But they’re also not ready.”

  Albert frowned. “So when do we get to fight? When it’s too late?”

  Laura’s hand shot out toward him, palm up as if she could halt his words in the air. “We don’t even know what’s out there! There are armed people shooting and screaming! You think those numbers you see now mean you can fight? That they’ll protect you from teeth, claws, or bullets? Those numbers are nothing, they just tell you how you are now, and you are children!”

  “But we can’t just sit here!” Victor countered stubbornly. “Doing something’s better than nothing! In games, if you don’t fight early, you fall behind. The System won’t wait for us.”

  Alessandro looked between them, the two identical faces set in determination, and saw himself — the younger version of him that once thought courage alone could solve anything. That boy hadn’t lived through this kind of hardships before. But Alessandro had.

  “I know why you want to go,” he said slowly. “I also know that if you step outside right now, without more training and better weapons, without knowing what’s around each corner, you won’t come back.”

  Albert met his gaze evenly. “Then come with us.”

  Laura’s hand curled into a fist. “Absolutely not.”

  Victor looked at her, frustration flashing in his eyes. “Why? If Dad’s with us—”

  “Because you’re my sons,” she said, her voice breaking on the word ‘sons.’ “Because no amount of rewards is worth losing you in the first hour of this nightmare. Because I…” She stopped, pressing her lips together hard. “I can’t lose anybody else…”

  The silence was heavy.

  “Raime is going to come back.” Albert’s voice cut through the room, the certainty in his voice was nearly palpable. “He’s not going to wait for us to save him, he’s going to fight and escape the Rift himself. He’ll return stronger than ever.”

  “Yeah, you know he’s as smart as he is stubborn” Victor followed after his brother. “You don’t have to worry about him, mom. And we need to do the same he does, fight to overcome all of this.”

  Outside, another burst of gunfire ripped through it, followed by a chorus of shouts. One, louder than the rest, screamed for help until the voice cracked. Then there was nothing.

  “Give us the chance to help, we don’t ha...”

  Alessandro stood up. “We need to know where they’re coming from.”

  Laura turned to him sharply. “What?”

  “I’m not sending the boys out there. And that’s final,” he said, looking at the twins before returning his gaze to her. “But if we don’t secure this house, it won’t matter. If the street gets overrun, the monsters will push through anything. I’ll make a sweep. Find the direction of the worst of it. I’ll get the other rifle from the car, you cover me from the windows and in the meantime show them how to use the guns.”

  Victor opened his mouth, but Alessandro raised a hand to stop him. “You’re staying here with your mother. Both of you. You’ll watch the windows, the back garden, the street. If anything moves toward the house, you shout. After I come back, if something is coming toward us, you’ll have the chance to try your aim..”

  “Really?” Albert asked.

  “Yes,” Alessandro agreed. “It’s survival. I’m not debating this. I know you played a lot of games in which you kill monster and fight, but I’m sure you remembered what happened this morning in the woods. You will have to learn, and you will have the chance to fight, but not outside for now, let’s see how well you shoot first then we’ll see.”

  The words hung in the air like the toll of a distant bell. Laura’s lips parted, but no words came out. The twins exchanged a glance, understanding dawning — not fully, but enough to feel the weight of it.

  “That’s not something you can just—” Laura began, but stopped. The determination in Alessandro’s eyes was unshakable.

  “You think I like the idea of them stuck in this situation?” he asked, voice hard. “I don’t. But we don’t have the time for them to be ready. Especially if we sit here hoping the world fixes itself.”

  Laura closed her eyes briefly, exhaling. “So this is it. You go out, we stay in. And you think that’s enough to keep us safe?”

  “For now,” he said. “It’s the best we can do.”

  The room fell quiet except for the muffled chaos outside.

  Finally, Laura nodded, slow and reluctant. “Fine. But you check every corner before you step into it. You hear me? And if it’s too much, you run back.”

  Alessandro gave a small nod. “Agreed.”

  The twins didn’t look satisfied, but they didn’t protest further. Their fists were clenched, their eyes still burning with the desire to help — but beneath it was the understanding that for now, they were benched.

  Alessandro moved to the front door, checking the locks, then the windows, peering through small gaps in the curtains to gauge the shadows outside. Every sound seemed louder now — the scrape of something on pavement, the flutter of the curtains in the dark, the crack of a far-off shot.

  He turned back to them. “Stay low. Stay quiet. I’ll signal three times on the window if I need you to move to the back of the house.”

  Laura stepped forward, touching his arm briefly. “And you come back in one piece.”

  A thin smile ghosted across his face. “I love you, keep them safe.” He kissed her briefly, then he went out, leaving the family pressed against the walls, listening to the storm of violence beyond their safe haven — and hoping it stayed beyond for just a little longer.