I spent the better part of an hour just levitating around the living room getting used to the sensation while Donny poured over his abilities and skills with a fine-toothed comb. As he did, he added notes and additional information to the spirals, occasionally asking me to verify some information with my own system. I couldn’t say I was giving him my full attention, though.

Cindy had stopped by to let us know that it was okay to just hang around. Everyone downstairs had departed, going about their assigned tasks with fervor. When I offered to help, she quickly shot me down, instead asking that I focus on training my abilities and understanding as much of the system as I possibly could. At this point, we were simply waiting for the next wave to trigger. I wasn’t going to argue.

I did a quick pirouette in the air, falling into a backflip that lead to a corkscrew, before righting myself once more. Flying was awesome.

It was an easy thing to do, no more difficult than walking, but I was struggling to describe exactly how it felt. It was like… I just told my body that gravity didn’t work anymore. Gravity still affected me, my hair and clothing always drooping down, but my body didn’t seem to care. I swam through the air with ease, lazily navigating the slight currents created by the air conditioning.

I just wish I knew how the strange ability worked. The mechanics of my flight were completely lost to me, relying on some fundamental truth that I couldn’t figure out. I still had mass, as tested by Donny, and though the force I could unleash was slightly less than I could when pushing off the ground, it was still there. We were just missing a piece of the puzzle. As aggravating as that was, it was still awesome nonetheless.

Checking my watch, I realized that it was getting close to 5 am. I blinked blearily and stifled a yawn. I was finally starting to tire. It was an eventful day, and apparently, despite my physical changes I still needed to sleep.

With a quick wave and a passing comment to Donny, I headed to bed. He hardly noticed me, too engrossed in his tables and experiments. With a thud and a groan, I landed on my bed. Hastily, I threw my shirt onto the floor. Setting an alarm on my phone to wake me up in six hours, I closed my eyes.

The next thing I knew, I jerked awake to the sensation of my head crashing into something. I was only a few inches off the ceiling. I started to panic, then realized that I was floating safely around the room. I had managed to activate the ability while I slept.

Getting dressed in the same clothes from yesterday, I moved to the kitchen, passing Donny who was conked out on the sofa, in almost the exact same place I’d left him last night. I really needed to go shopping soon and get some things that actually fit. Depending on how things went with the next wave, it might be closer to clothes looting instead.

It was now just before noon. The next wave would come in two hours. Just a few hours before the whole world realized that shit was going to hit the fan in a major way. Following my usual ritual despite the unease in my heart, I went to the kitchen and started a pot of coffee.

After a few seconds, I heard Donny groan from the living room. His heavy feet hit the ground with a thud, and he trudged over to the counter. I grabbed an extra cup from the shelf, and poured two cups, pushing one into his hands as he approached.

“ ’Morning. Thanks for the coffee.”

“No problem.”

I took a sip, enjoying the flavor more than anything else.

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I watched, fascinated, as he expertly brought the cup to his… snout? Before taking a long pull.

“How does that work, exactly, Donny?”

He tilted his head in curiosity.

“How does what work?”

Unable to articulate myself this early in the morning, I pointed right at his mouth.

“That! Your mouth shape is completely different than before! And your teeth too, I guess. You just seem to talk perfectly well, as well as eat and drink with no problem. I just thought it would be hard to adjust to.”

“Now THAT is a good question. And also, I have no idea. I know how to eat and talk, just like I know how to breathe fire. I think it came with the race change. How do you know how to fly?”

“I guess I just know. That’s… weird.”

He tilted his head in thought, before taking another sip of coffee.

“How so?”

“So much of the system doesn’t seem to work right. Every time we look, we run into another error message. But whoever made it had the time to build instinctual use of each race's features and traits into their brains? How is that supposed to make sense?”

“You’re right Vic. It doesn’t make sense. When Cindy came to get me, she mentioned that you had been contacted by an Administrator named Luna. Could we contact her and ask?”

“I’d love to, but I wouldn’t even know where to start trying. It’s not like there’s a ‘system help’ menu.”

At that moment I half expected one to pop up right in front of me, but no such luck. That would have been too easy.

We fell into silence, both of us contemplating the future. After several minutes of silence, Donny finally spoke up.

“How much time left, Vic? I’ve been too afraid to check.”

I pulled my phone out of my pocket.

“An hour, thereabouts.”

Silence descended again. After a few seconds of that, though, I couldn’t take it anymore. Chugging the rest of my coffee, I started moving towards the door.

“I’m going to go see if there’s anything I can do downstairs.”

Donny rose, tilting his head up and opening his mouth wide, before comically pouring the rest of his coffee in. Once he was done, he shot me a toothy smile.

“Sounds like a plan, Vic. Let’s go.”

The Garcia’s shop floor had changed dramatically. Instead of weird goods and sundry items, the store was filled with canned food, bottled water, and survival equipment. The windows had plywood layered over them save for some small slits that would let you check outside. I could even see a simple wooden plank latch that could be lowered to lock the door even tighter.

A few people I recognized from last night still milled around moving goods about. Stepping onto the street, though, I marveled at the change. The alleys on both sides had been fortified with makeshift barricades. Anxious families milled about, mostly clustering towards the building on the left side of the Garcia’s store.

Catching a passing man I didn’t recognize, I asked him where everyone was going.

“You’re Ms. Vic, right?”

I was surprised when he referred to me by name, and apparently, it showed on my face.

“Ms. Shepherd mentioned that you were one of the first changed. Everyone is going to the hotel next door to get ready for the next wave if you want to join us.”

The hotel he was talking about had been put up for sale recently. I heard the previous owner had neglected it to the point where it needed to be torn down, but I wasn’t sure. Regardless, it was extremely dilapidated, and sorely needed a fresh coat of paint.

“The old hotel? Is that okay? Who owns it?”

“Oh, it’s owned by the city, technically. It was going to be put up for auction at the end of the month. It’s worn down, but the structure is sound. It just needed refurbishment. If you’ll excuse me, though, I need to get going. My family is waiting.”

With a quick goodbye, the man turned and fled into the hotel, following a stream of people seeking companionship and some semblance of safety. I checked my phone again.

Time was running short; only twenty minutes or so left. Donny asked if I wanted to go join everyone in the Hotel, but I didn’t feel like being around a bunch of other people for this. Bidding me farewell after I assured him it was alright, he turned, leaving me alone on a now empty street.

Unsure what to do or where to go, I decided on a whim to go to the small patch of grass behind the store. Flying over the barricade in the alleyway easily, I entered the serene garden and sat down in the grass. The sun was high overhead, the Texas spring warm, with just a touch of humidity. It would have been a beautiful day.

I closed my eyes and waited, focusing just on my breathing, as my heart started to beat ever faster.

*ding!*

The alert rose before me, as the earth began to tremble. The second wave had begun.