Frank startled awake, sights and sounds disorienting him. He flailed in bed, body on high alert as he took in the unfamiliar room. There were posters on the wall for bands he didn’t know, and every flat surface was covered with the collections of its previous inhabitant. There were plush toys, a slew of unique looking dice, and rocks that must surely have had some emotional attachment, as he couldn’t see any reason they would warrant shelf space.

Gradually, his racing heart began to slow its tempo, and he glanced over at what had thrust him from sleep. His phone, blasting an alarm to get ready for work. He sighed.

“I was sleeping so well too…” he muttered as he went to swipe the alarm away. For good measure, he removed the alarm as well.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, he stared at his phone in thought. Most days, he’d wake reluctantly and scroll through his phone in bed until he had to get going. Today, it felt different. Idly, he scrolled through his notifications. There were the standard ‘we miss you’ messages from apps he hadn’t used in weeks, automated marketing emails in his burner email account, and a prompt to catch up on his friends' Twitter posts.

I guess it’s technically ‘X’ now, he thought as he clicked into the app. He hadn’t been an avid user of the site at any point in his life, and certainly didn’t follow anyone he knew in real life on it. He scrolled through his recommended page. In between sponsored posts and regular day old posts, there were a few people who’d taken the time to put something up. If it was for themselves, or for others, he couldn’t tell.

He paused on one post in particular. It was a simple message. He could have written it. Why are you still here? There’s nothing here for you anymore. Life is outside. It’s scary, but it always has been, hasn’t it? There will be others. You aren’t alone. Go.

Frank rubbed his shoulder. It still ached a little, but it was almost back to feeling normal. For a wound he’d gotten yesterday, the speed it was getting better was almost miraculous. He chuckled, shaking his head. I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to how easy Skills make things.

He shut his phone off and looked around. His room wasn’t huge, and it had clearly belonged to someone else before, but it was a roof over his head and bed to sleep in. He hadn’t thought much past that when he’d been assigned to the space, and his stuff was haphazardly thrown about the room. The bike and antlers took up a significant amount of floor space on their own, and the bits of cardboard armor he’d tossed off were sitting in the corner.

Groaning, he dragged himself out of bed and on his feet. If this is going to be my room for a while, I might as well treat the space right. With as much energy as he could muster this early in the day, he set about cleaning up the mess he’d made. His armor fit easily under the bed, and the antlers just barely squeezed into the closet, alongside a guitar case. The bike would have to find a home elsewhere, either in the apartment or at a bike rack outside.

He stood in front of the closet door, looking at the antlers. He hadn’t been sure last night, but there was something about them that drew his attention in a way that was new. Maybe it’s the Skill I picked up. He swiped through the System to find it.

[Hunter’s Knowledge]

Gain insight into your prey.

He poked at the menu a bit. It’s just so vague. But… He pulled a bottle out of his pack, the bottle he’d filled with deer blood for enchanting. He felt the same odd draw to it. I can feel this Skill, but I don’t think it's what’s pulling me to these items. I think it’s [Artificer].

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Shaking his head, he tossed the blood back in his pack, and shut the closet. “Maybe I can find someone else today who has a similar experience with their Skills.”

More awake now and ready to face the day, he walked out of the room. His room was in an apartment, and he was sharing it with a few other people. They’d made it to bed before him, so he hadn’t had the chance to meet them. Not having a key for his room, but still wanting to have some measure of privacy, Frank stuck some enchanted tape on the door. It was something he could remove with his knife, Papercut, but might keep anyone else from going in.

He tried opening the door, and it wouldn’t budge. Satisfied, he headed out for the day.

When he stepped out of the building, he stopped in surprise.

The sky was getting lighter, but the sun wasn’t yet in sight. The streets outside were packed with people. Frank hadn’t ever lived in cities with good walkability or much in the way of public transit, so he was used to seeing streets filled with cars. Seeing just how many people could fit in the same space was astonishing.

The city had taken over a few blocks at this point. Frank had been placed into one of several apartment buildings not too far from the library, and the area had been fairly empty when he’d gone to sleep. The city has been working overtime while I slept.

The cars that had been scattered about, stopped on the road, the sidewalk, and even the one that had been part way through a storefront had all been removed. In their place, tents had popped up. There were tents for first aid, like there had been at the library, though there appeared to be fewer patients now. There was a tent that was very obviously set up to assign housing in the nearby buildings. There was also, somewhere, food.

Frank sniffed as he meandered through the crowd. There were hundreds of people out on the street, mainly either curious early-birds like himself, or refugees who looked to have spent the entire night on the run. He heard more than a few newcomers telling city workers stories about monsters.

He shuddered. A crazy deer was one thing. True monsters, chasing you through the night? I don’t think I would have made it in their shoes.

He followed the smell of food toward the end of the block. There was still a crowd here, but it thinned out considerably past this point. It made sense to Frank, as there were still cars in the road, and no damage had been cleared out. The only people further on seemed to be working. There was something about them that piqued his attention.

He watched in amazement as a bulky man squared up against a car, hands planted firmly against it, and pushed. It was a struggle, but the thing moved.

“It’s crazy to see, isn’t it?”

He jumped, blushing a bit that he’d been caught staring with his mouth open. He turned to see a young man, probably about his own age, standing beside him. He was neatly dressed– well, as neatly as could be expected, given the circumstances.

Frank nodded. “It’s amazing. I’m assuming it’s some kind of Skill, but it’s still weird to see.”

The man just bobbed his head, looking at him. “Yeah, I don’t have any really interesting Skills myself yet, so seeing stuff like that is just…” he mimed his head exploding. “You know?”

“Yeah, I’ve seen a few things that really knocked my understanding of the world yesterday. I think we probably all have, at this point.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, yeah I think so. Hey, you hungry?”

“I don’t think I’ve eaten any real food since breakfast yesterday.”

The man started walking back towards the crowds. “Me and some friends are getting breakfast. You should come join us,” he said, gesturing for Frank to follow.

Frank glanced at him. He’s not gonna stab me in an alley, is he? A little suspicious, but feeling safe with all these people around, he just nodded. “Sure.”

He spared one last glance at the crew working in the street. Suddenly, it hit him.

The man finished pushing the car, now sitting perpendicular to the road. Just like several others they had moved. He nodded to his companions, none of which had helped him with the car.

Because they were on guard.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, man. Let’s go get something to eat. Watching them is just going to put you on edge.”

Frank turned to him, stunned. He nodded. “I think you’re right. Let’s go get some food.”

Silently, he followed his new friend.

What happened while I was asleep?