The main difference between luck and chance is that chance is a neutral term, while luck implies something good or bad.

Zai

I left the hospital and wandered through the city. Cars were abandoned everywhere, some with drivers still slumped over the wheel, others with families frozen in place. It was a macabre still life, a snapshot of sudden, total annihilation. And I was starving.

I ducked into a nearby convenience store, a place I’d frequented during my time working in the city. "Hello?" I called out, the word echoing in the sudden silence. Miss Ping, the cashier, lay slumped behind the counter. Another one gone.

I grabbed a discarded shopping bag—he certainly wouldn’t need it anymore—and filled it with essentials. Food, water, first-aid supplies. My priorities were clear: find a safe place to hunker down, determine if I was still battling cancer, and figure out how to survive in this new world. Survivors were a secondary concern.

First, I needed to know if I would survive. My first priority was setting up a lab. Once I was stable, I could start investigating what had caused this catastrophe. The TVs and radios were silent. The government, whatever remained of it, was gone too.

Speaking of the government… I made a detour to the local police station. I entered cautiously , though I doubted anyone was left to shoot me. Inside, the scene was the same: officers slumped over desks, blood trickling from their ears and noses, their eyes vacant. I still didn’t know how to operate a firearm, but I’d learn. I picked up an MS-BS Radon and an M&P Shield pistol. Tactical, I assumed. They’d have to do.

As far as I could tell, plant life was unaffected. A few animals still roamed the streets, oblivious to the human extinction event. But anything human… was dead.

Had I survived by luck, or by mere chance?

This was the literal fall of civilization. All that manga I hadn't finished. The anime I'd been anticipating. And I hadn’t even found love yet. Damn it. This was infuriating. And when I found out what caused this… I hoped there was someone I could torture. Someone who could feel even a fraction of the agony I felt now.

Elias

On the drive home, the "No Signal" messages kept flashing on my phone. She’s not—She just isn’t—No way. The thought clawed at the back of my mind, a monstrous denial.

I slammed into the mailbox outside my house, the impact jarring me. I didn't care. I just needed to see her face, to hear her say she was okay. I scrambled out of the car, fumbling for my keys. They were a metal ball in my pocket. I threw them aside and pounded on the door, shouting her name. "KARAAAA!" Silence. I called again, the word raw and desperate. Still nothing. I threw my weight against the door. The hinges splintered, and the door crashed inward.

I burst inside, ignoring the shards of glass that sliced into my foot. Pain was irrelevant. I tore through the downstairs rooms, calling her name. Nothing. I bolted upstairs, taking the steps two at a time, nearly flying. I shoved her bedroom door open.

She was there. Lying in bed. She’s sleeping, right? But the red stain by her ear, the trickle of blood on her rose-red lips… She wasn’t sleeping. She wouldn’t wake up. I wish I could just lie down beside her and never wake up either. Why am I still awake? Why couldn’t it have been me?

On her nightstand, I saw her diary. I picked it up, my hands trembling. She won’t mind if I take a peek… just this once. I flipped to today’s date:

Wednesday, Undecember 7th, 2016

My baby just left for work. Imagine him forgetting his keys! I love him. I’m so glad I found him, that he chose me. He promised to cook when he gets home. I can’t wait. We can finish watching Flash season 3. We’re going to have so much fun. Maybe I can steal a kiss or two if he’s in the mood. I’m going to take a nap later. ♡

The words blurred through the tears that streamed down my face. I knew she wasn’t sleeping. I knew she was… dead.

The tears wouldn’t stop. They poured down my face, an unstoppable flood. A sob tore from my throat, a ragged, broken sound. My chest felt tight, constricted, like a vise was crushing me. I couldn’t breathe. Another sob, then another, each one more violent than the last. The pain was unbearable, a physical weight pressing down on me, stealing my breath. A guttural scream built in my chest, a primal roar of grief and rage.

"KAAAAAARAAAAAAA!"

The scream ripped through the silence, echoing through the empty house. As the sound tore from my throat, a searing heat built in my chest, a pressure so intense it felt like my ribs would shatter. And then, a torrent of white-hot energy erupted from my mouth, a beam of pure force that tore through the ceiling, blasting a gaping hole in the roof. Dust and debris rained down around me as I stood there, gasping for air, the raw power of the blast still vibrating in my bones. The scream had become something else, something… impossible.

I was unsure how to feel!!! what the actual fuck did i just do. It replays in my mind over and over. I focus back to my wife my baby, i need to give her a proper burial. I need to send her off with a beautiful wedding dress and Coffin for my Queen so she can sleep in peace. After ill find out what happen here on earth. I swear to God if the government or another country is at fault for this ill reek havoc. I wont let my darlings death be in vein. They will feel my wraith.

I didn't know how to feel. What the actual fuck did I just do? The image of the blast, the hole in the roof, replayed in my mind, a horrifying loop. I forced my thoughts back to Kara, my baby. She deserved a proper burial. A beautiful wedding dress, a coffin fit for a queen. She deserved to rest in peace. Then I would find out what had happened here. I swore to God, if the government, or any other country, was responsible for this… I would unleash hell. I wouldn't let her death, their deaths, be in vain. They would feel my wrath.

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I left the house and made it to the city at full speed. It didn’t matter; no one was on the roads. Only when I got closer did the traffic become congested. I didn’t care. I ran the rest of the way. Surprisingly, I was slow, but I wasn’t getting tired. What’s on my mind currently? That wedding dress she saw in a store, how it captivated her, and how she captivated me. She’s gone, but I know she would come back alive just to wear this dress. So I’ll grant her wish.

I arrived at the store. Surely everyone on the way here was dead, and the cashier was slumped over the desk. A sad sight. I saw the dress staring at me, and here it came again—that salty, warm water running down my face. I found the washroom to clean my hands and face. Then I packed up the dress and went to find a coffin.

It was hard to find a place at first, but in the end, I found a white and gold coffin. Perfect for my darling. I carried it on my back, lugging it out of the store, and made my way back to the car.

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Hours later, I stood in the backyard, the shovel heavy in my hands. The sky had darkened, and a chill had settled over the air. I had Kara in that wedding dress. To add a personal touch, I covered her with her favorite blanket, the one she always cuddled with during movie nights, and I put a silver tiara on her head. As I lowered her into the grave I had dug, my heart shattered all over again. I whispered a promise into the night, a vow etched into my very soul.

"I’ll find out who did this," I murmured, my voice trembling. "And I’ll make them pay."

The wind picked up, carrying the scent of earth and rain. I stood there for a long time, staring at the mound of dirt that now separated me from the love of my life. A faint glow still lingered in my chest, a reminder of the raw, unexplainable power I had unleashed. I didn’t know what it was, but I knew it was connected to this tragedy. And I would use it to find the answers I needed.

The world had changed, and so had I.