After Cloud's theatrical performance, my brain decided it would be a great time to give up and go dark. Laura and Tobi must have dragged me inside because I woke up in bed. The morning light was coming through the window and the world was still.

I was tucked in rather snugly in there, but everything was disgusting. My clothes, skin, and hair were just filthy with whatever made the Rabidashers' fur was coated in. The smell of fire and gasoline clung to me like a second skin. I couldn't bring myself to care though. All I could do was lie back in bed and feel sorry for myself.

The eye in the corner of my vision was glowing faintly, reminding me that I had notifications to sift through. Overall, the little stunt we pulled the night before had netted me 153 exp, pushing me over the threshold for level 2. It seemed that the System divided the experience between the three of us—the formula of how that escaped me.

I didn't care for the formula. We made progress and that's the only thing that mattered.

You have collected enough EXP to earn Level 1. Level up?

I accepted the prompt and tingling passed down my spine, just like the last time.

The new level came with a point to distribute. After some consideration, put it in my Intelligence attribute. I figured that extra energy was extra good.

After I finished that, I got up and moseyed down to the bathroom, trying my best not to wake Laura and Tobi.

The cabin was getting too cramped. Making that barn Tobi wanted was going to be our priority.

I finished my business and walked to the Shop Terminal. It was about time I got my hands on that goddamned reader. I almost forgot I had been saving my credits for it, with everything happening since the early days. The device arrived the usual way: appearing out of nothingness and falling on the floor with a soft thud. I picked it up and went back to my nasty nest of a bed. It was time for some quality reading.

I booted up the device. After a cheery animation of a swirling galaxy passed, there was a prompt in the infernal green:

Link device to account? Yes/No

I confirmed it, and there it was: So You've Been Integrated: A Practical Guide to the System For Dummies was waiting for me.

Chapter 1: Welcome to the Apocalypse: What Just Happened?

If you are holding this copy of So You've Been Integrated (in further reading SYBI), it means that your planet and the sentient life upon it have recently joined the not-so-prestigious club of unlucky bastards scattered across our Universe. My condolences! However, it was bound to happen sooner or later, so there is no point in being angry about it.

The System comes for all of us.

I, Tzarok of [Kepler-38, Milky Way Galaxy] was in your shoes once. I was just a hatchling when the world changed and brought change and destruction upon us. We thought we were alone in the Universe and were a low-technology planet. We were very much unprepared.

Therefore, I decided to put together this guide for anyone who comes after to give them a better chance than we had.

Nobody can for certain say when the System arrived and started infecting everyone. Nonetheless, the consensus is that there was a time before the System. Over the centuries, many different theories have been proposed and discussed at length.

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

One such theory says that the System is an organism that lives in symbiosis with all life forms found in the known Universe. There is some evidence to support this theory, as thousands of scientists have identified an organelle that exists in similar forms in all living cells, regardless of which element they are based on.

This guide is not here to give a detailed explanation of how that works. You can find suggested further reading at the end of this book.

I had to set aside the reader for a minute. The thought that I was infested with some seemingly intelligent life form was a bit too much for me. Just the first page brought up more questions than I would ever have the time to find answers for.

Also, this theory didn't make sense with what Blyb had told me about corporations bidding for a planet's resources and having to go through the System-enforced protocol of Integration.

If the theory were true, how long would it have been since humans had these organisms inside of us? I sensed that I was missing a big piece of the picture. But that was hardly surprising, given that I had to pick up a book called So You've Been Integrated: A Practical Guide to the System For Dummies.

I heard Laura stir on the couch below, and I got up, leaving the reader in the sheets. I would get back to it.

Tobi was still asleep on the mattress on the floor. Laura had gotten up and was fixing the blanket that he was covered with, tucking him in.

Mom used to do that, even when I was all grown up. She didn't sleep that well at night; something about giving birth made her go to the bathroom often. If I was sleeping under the same roof as her, she would check up on me and tuck me in.

I steeled my heart and smiled at her. She motioned me to go outside, and I followed.

"Goddamn it! My garden!"

I was pissed off beyond belief when I saw the devastation. The raised beds that I spent so much time, energy, and Energy on were scorched by all of the Molotovs we threw at the monsters. At least three of them seemed destroyed beyond repair.

"The fucking potatoes are ruined."

Some of the plants had started to sprout. I was extremely proud of myself for getting the garden up and going. And now I'd have to do it all over again.

"Calm down, you'll wake up Tobi. And besides, we're alive," she said sternly and then gestured at the beds. "We can make them again."

Despite her words, I was shaking with rage and my eyes started to sting with tears.

"What were we thinking?" Fire so close to the cabin?"

"We weren't. We have no idea what we're doing. "

"I guess not," I said and took a deep breath to calm myself down. Everything about this sucked big time.

I wasn't cut out for all this survival bullshit. The things I would do for one more boring day in the office. Hell, I'd even have Jon steal my lunch again, the bastard.

Thinking about my now-former coworker had a grounding effect on me. He was probably dead by now if I was going to be completely honest.

Jon was an overweight man in his fifties, who smoked like a chimney and was out of breath climbing up the one flight of stairs to our office. Given that I almost died several times in the past few weeks, and I was much more fit than Jon, the likelihood of him being alive was not good.

I shuddered. It was a line of thought that if followed, would find me curled up in our basement dry-heaving in panic.

"Get it together, Dee, " Laura said, much more kindly this time, having noticed my distress.

"Okay, " I breathed. " It's going to be okay. "

I crouched at the closest raised bed and surveyed the damage. A description box popped up:

Raised bed

Useful for extending the growing season, raised beds are a simple agricultural technology.

Damage: 62%

Cost to repair: 6 wood resources, 5 Energy

Repair now? Yes/No

"At least we can fix them. "

"There you go. There's no point crying over spilled milk. "

"We'll have to go cut some wood today, so we can start on the repairs. We completely depleted our firewood."

"Do we have to do it today?" she moaned. "I had a little too much action lately."

"Me too, but we have to keep improving this place. We need food, " I said. "But let's wait until Tobi wakes up. I vote we get a good lunch pack from the Shop for food today. If I have to eat one of those snack things today, I will love my ever-loving mind. "

Laura nodded. "Then Tobi and I need to level up and choose our classes. We should discuss the options together. "

"Holy shit! I completely forgot about that. "

She just gave me a sad smile. "That's what yesterday was all about. "

I didn't know what to say to that. It needed to be done and we went out and did it. Sure, I almost died and they probably got some injuries out of it as well.

But that was the name of the game in this new world. The sooner we all get comfortable dancing on the tightrope of life, the easier it will be.

It was obvious to me that we had to take risks to improve our chances of long-term survival. I just hoped Laura would see things the same way soon.

"I'm going to wake up Tobi, " she said and went inside.

I stood in my scorched garden and just let myself enjoy being alive under the morning sun.