“Good luck, Ren!” I holler, feeling optimistic for the first time since the chaos started.

“You too! We’ll meet back here in an hour,” he replies, Greyson and Kena waving at me as we headed down the road.

I hadn’t noticed at first, but the environment had changed with the start of the new challenge. The once soaked street was dry, the water from the previous challenge gone as if it had simply evaporated. The overcast, soggy clouds were replaced by a bland blue background, neither bright nor cloudy. Every once in a while a small ripple passed across the seamless sky in an unsettling way, revealing the lettering ‘Zone 273’ at passing intervals, before the letters faded back into the blue.

I pulled my eyes from the odd display in the sky and shouted to Theo, who was running down the road like a maniac. Not using his Skill, but fast enough that if he tripped he’d have road rash all over his face.

“Theo! Come on, dude, stay together!”

Sticking his arms out like plane wings, he makes a wide turn, not slowing once, zipping back towards us, his sneakers slapping on the pavement.

“I don’t know how you’re not tired,” I tell him as he joins us, his chest panting as he catches his breath. “You’re going to be exhausted soon.”

“Nah,” he replied confidently. “I’m supercharged! I’ll never need a nap again!”

“Okay, supernerd,” I tell him with a snort. Cassidy giggles at the nickname and repeats it.

“Supernerd,” she tells him slyly, grinning behind her hand. Theo’s mouth pulls into a dramatic frown at her teasing.

“No! That’s not my super name!” he tells her seriously. Benny watches the pair, his hand grabbing one of my fingers as he quietly follows along.

“Well, what issit then?” Cassidy asks him. “If is not Suuuuupernerd.” She draws out the last word, seeing if she can bait him again.

“Hmm,” Theo says, falling into deep contemplation. I guess he hadn’t thought that far ahead, I smile to myself. “I don’t know yet, but it’s not Supernerd, okay?”

“What about you, Cassidy?” I change the subject before the two can start bickering again. “Are you feeling tired? It’s almost naptime.” She pauses, drumming her fingers on her chin before shaking her head.

“I was a little bit ago, but not no more,” she decides brightly. “I don’t needs a nap either!”

“Benny?” I check, gently squeezing his hand. “Are you tired? I can carry you for a bit?”

He blinks up at me owlishly, tilting his head to the side just a bit, before shaking his head. That was as much as I was going to get, so I accepted it. If they needed something, I’m sure they’d tell me. It was better they felt energetic, it would make finding the objects easier. I hoped, at least.

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“Keep your eyes peeled,” I tell them. “We don’t know what the objects will look like, so until we find the first one, we have to pay extra good attention.”

As I gaze around, I realize that just looking from the road isn’t going to find them. Gently guiding the kids to the edge of the road, I poke around the grass, look in a mailbox, and lift up an overturned bucket. They watch me momentarily before picking up on the game. Cautiously they follow suit, looking like baby chickens in search of food as they shuffle through the grass. Moving forwards, I wander through a yard, stopping in front of a front door. Thankfully, there’s only six houses in this zone, three of them being on Ren’s side. Searching inside feels wrong, invasive; but the kid’s lives are at stake.

“Come on, let’s take a look inside,” I tell them. “I’m sure there’s one in here.” If they were, we would have seen them by now. Pushing the door open, Cassidy and Theo run past me, fully into the game now, while Benny follows slowly behind, eyes flitting around as he searches.

I close the door and head after the first two, making sure my third duckling is in tow. The pair had headed for the upstairs, for whatever reason, clambering noisily up the wooden steps. I nudge abandoned clothes as I go, looking for our unknown prize. I’m really hoping they’ll be lit up or something magical like that, but that might be asking too much.

The upstairs has three rooms. After a brief glance, one seems to be a bedroom, another a child’s room, the last being a bathroom.

“Do you want to go look in the grown up’s room?” I ask Benny, giving him the room that Theo and Cassidy hadn’t gone in. He pauses before nodding slightly, walking off to go search. Part of me feels anxious, having all the kids out of my eyesight, but I can hear them still, and we only have so much time.

I dig through the bathroom with speed and efficiency, not worrying about keeping things neat and tidy. Opening drawers, unfolding towels, I dump it all in a pile in the corner. After coming up empty-handed, I exit the bathroom, checking the room Theo and Cassidy are looking in. I let the pair scour the lower areas while I check above their eyesight, moving things on shelves. No, no, nothing. With a sigh, I leave the two and head to the last room upstairs. Frustration is beginning to settle into my mind but I try to calm myself. This challenge is three hours. Once we know what we’re looking for, things should get easier…right?

Shaking off the doubt I find Benny, who’s on his hands and knees, looking under the bed. I ruffle his hair affectionately and continue my search, opening the drawers on the bedside table and shuffling through the underwear in the dresser. I try not to think about the person who would have worn them, the people who had lived in this house, or the fact that they were all, almost certainly, dead.

Just like the rest of the world, an insidious voice in her mind whispered. Where are all the people, after all? Where is everyone?

But just like all the other pessimistic thoughts I’ve had, I shove it to the back of my mind. I just simply don’t have the time or the leisure to worry about it right now. If I want to make sure the kids make it, I need to stay focused on the task at hand. The challenge at hand.

If only I had my Skill, I complain inwardly as I shut this drawer, moving to the next one down. I feel a tug at my shirt and I turn to see Benny, pulling me towards the bed and pointing.

“What is it?” I ask optimistically. Following, he clambers onto the bed, using the blanket to haul himself up a little awkwardly. Once up there, he lifts the pillow, revealing a long, pristine feather.

The beautiful white feather was fringed with gold and hovered slightly off the bed, swaying back and forth in a very ‘item from a video game’ style. It did give off a blue glow, identical to the notification box, but it was faint; I might not have noticed it just from the light.

“Good job, Benny!” I praise him, giving him a hug. “Let’s go get the others and show them!” After bringing in Theo and Cassidy, I begin to explain.

“This is what we’ll be looking for. I don’t know if they’ll all be feathers, but it will glow and look different from the other objects,” I tell them. “And once you touch it, it’s yours. Just like at snack time, right?” They nod. “Good. We need every friend to have one, so we need to find enough to share. Benny, do you want this one, since you found it?”

I expect him to be excited about the offer but he merely shrugs, eyeing it with suspicion more than anticipation. Cassidy sidles up to him sweetly and using her best cute voice asks the little boy, “Can I pwease have it? Pwetty please with stawberries on top?”

“It’s cherries, not strawberries,” Theo corrects her and I roll my eyes.

“Well, I like stawberries better,” Cassidy huffs back before fixing her smile and batting her lashes at Benny. He thinks for a moment before laying his hand on her arm and nodding.

“Yay!” Cassidy squeals in excitement. “Sank you!” Before I can tell her to wait, she grabs the glowing flower and the glowing blue light intensifies, flashing blindingly bright for just a moment before absorbing into Cassidy’s hand.

I hear a faint ding and Cassidy looks blankly into space, probably seeing her own blue screen.

“I can’t read it,” she says, a little disappointed. “But it says this is number one.” Another ding sounds and this time I get my own pop-up.

*The first collectible has been found! 9 collectibles remain*

“Good work, team,” I tell them, helping Benny down from the bed. “Let’s finish looking up here, and then head downstairs.”