Jeff had finally gotten a quiet moment when the world ended.

Being a stay at home dad with two kids left little time for calm moments. Poopy diapers, snack times, errands and 'learning moments' made for a busy day. Happy but non-stop.

Jeff set up the tablet for his five year old son, Ammon, and got some paper and crayons for his three year old daughter, Ember. Nature was calling and the kids needed to be pacified. He hoped he'd be able to finish before the next mini crisis.

With fingers crossed and butt cheeks clenched Jeff made his way to the bathroom. Despite his hurry he met the eyes of the man in the mirror. He looked down with a sigh and got on with his business.

His body was blissfully relieved, but his mind was still overloaded with crap. He tried to tune out the constant subconscious pangs of regret by reading a web novel.

The good stories let him escape for a bit. They let him see through the eyes of a protagonist with purpose. Someone who was ambitious and made it to their goal despite all odds.

Jeff had the ambitious part down, he even had the talent part down. Being a jack of all trades had its benefits, even if he was also definitely a master of none. However, he had the big problem of ‘being in the real world’.

Fictional characters had it lucky, they never have to deal with his bane…. Burnout.

Jeff grew up on his step dad's ranch, so he knew how to work hard. He did several sports back in high school and knew he could strive to produce a result. He even ran cross country despite his asthma. He had proven to himself that he could do hard things.

But races have finish lines, life does not.

For Jeff, pushing himself till the buzzer was easy. Squeezing out every drop of energy till you won made sense. But, try to do that in everyday life, and you fall apart.

Jeff knew that all too well.

Life just doesn't have a win condition. Hitting a goal only leads you to a new goal. Accomplishing everything in a day only leads you to a new day with more to accomplish.

That didn't work well for Jeff. He was a hare sprinting in a race meant for tortoises.

There was a name for people like him, too. A dad who tried but failed, succeeded but quit too soon… or too often.

Deadbeat.

Jeff put his phone down. The book wasn't doing it for him. He jumped to a phone game instead.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

You're not a deadbeat. Said his 'shoulder angel'.

Yeah, you just look, smell, and act like a deadbeat. His inner demon was quick with the reply.

He gave himself a sniff test, when was the last time he showered…

He jumped back over to the book again. This was his only moment of free time and the kids were actually being quiet. This wasn’t time to lose himself in self-pity.

Instead, he lost himself in the book until the end of the chapter came.

Wait, his kids were being too quiet. That was usually a bad sign. He quickly finished the process and flushed.

Jeff knew that being a parent comes with the ever hanging worry that your kid has suddenly stopped breathing in the other room, so he was alarmed, but not yet panicked.

He exited the bathroom and checked where he left them.

Nope, not there.

He would probably find the two of them calmly playing together in one of their rooms. It didn't happen often, but maybe this would be one of those miraculous occasions. He checked Ammon's and then Ember's rooms checking for the strawberry blond hair they inherited from their mother, Emily.

He saw a bit of movement and felt his hope flutter. Unfortunately, it was just his lounging grey tabby cat, Link.

Remaining mostly calm he shouted out, "Hey Link, have you seen the kiddos?" He layed the playful tone on pretty thick. "My kids wouldn't hide for me, would they?"

He listened for the typical giggles that followed such a comment.

Nothing…

Now, with quicker steps, he went through each of their typical hiding spots. Nope, nope, nope.

"Hey kids! I'm serious now, come out so I know you're safe!" He hollered in his 'dad voice' while making his way to their apartment's entrance.

The door was still locked. He knew that meant they couldn't have left, but he still poked his head out and checked. He saw the staircase leading up to their apartment and the courtyard he shared with the three other neighbors on this side of the apartment building.

He felt like hollering again, but didn't want his neighbors to know that this deadbeat dad apparently lost his kids.

Kids first, wallow later, he reprimanded himself.

Nearly running now he was checking kitchen cupboards and places he knew they wouldn't be able to hide in.

What do I do if they actually are lost? Call the cops? He thought, officially jumping into panic mode. "Kids!?" He yelled loudly and then again. "Ammon!? Ember!?"

Maybe they had locked the door behind them somehow? He ran outside desperate for any other places to look. He nearly tripped down the stairs and ran out into the apartment parking lot with his head on a swivel.

There was a car stopped in the middle of the complex parking lot that was not yet parked. Could they have been hit?! No, the driver was just staring up at the sky…

Then Jeff looked at the sky and read the words that were printed boldly across the blue sky like it was a computer screen.

Welcome to the Multiverse. Your planet has been connected to the Boschyan System. Head to a System Pillar for more information.