899  The Darkest Hour          [Emergency Power at 0%!]

[Please plug in the power chord!]

Ren stood in the dimly lit room, his confusion deepening with each passing moment.

This was unprecedented; he had never experienced a blackout in Zone A, not even in his past life.

Something felt off, terribly off. The darkness seemed to swallow everything whole, casting an eerie stillness over the surroundings. It was as if time itself had come to a standstill.

“What’s going on?” Ren pondered aloud, his voice barely above a whisper in the silence that enveloped him.

He moved towards the window and drew back the curtain, hoping to glean some insight into what was happening.

As he peered through the window, Ren’s breath caught in his throat, his eyes widening in shock at the sight from his apartment.

The darkness outside was oppressive, shrouding everything in an impenetrable cloak. Only the faint glow of the moon illuminated the scene, casting long shadows that danced eerily across the deserted streets below.

Ren’s heart hammered in his chest as he surveyed the desolate landscape. The road lay empty, devoid of any signs of life. Abandoned cars lined the street, their headlights casting feeble beams into the void.

It was a scene straight out of a post-apocalyptic nightmare, and Ren couldn’t shake the feeling of unease that gripped him.

Ren questioned, his mind reeling with some sort of explanation as to what was happening right now.

This couldn’t be real, could it?

Yet, as he gazed out into the abyss, he couldn’t deny the unsettling reality staring back at him.

Ren’s mind raced with a flurry of thoughts, each one more frantic than the last. It felt as though he had been transported into another dimension, much like the game he was playing.

Ren pinched himself, a sharp sting shot through his body, a painful reminder that this was not some surreal dream but an all-too-real nightmare.

Evie!

Ren raced to Evie’s room and pounded on the door, the force causing it to splinter and crack under his strength.

In his urgency, he forgot that his evolved abilities granted him a strength far beyond that of an ordinary person.

Ren’s heart clenched with fear when he saw Evie lying on the floor. His heart lurched in his chest when he spotted her lying motionless on the floor, her form bathed in the soft glow of the moonlight filtering through the window.

“Evie!”

Without hesitation, Ren threw his weight against the door, the sound of splintering wood echoing through the room.

Ren wasted no time, dropping to his knees beside her and reaching out to check for a pulse. Relief flooded through him when he felt the steady beat beneath his fingertips.

11:30

But his relief was short-lived as he noticed the feverish heat radiating from Evie’s skin. Panic surged within him as he realized the gravity of the situation.

“Evie!” Ren called out, his voice tinged with desperation. “Evie, are you okay?”

Evie stirred at the sound of his voice, her eyelids fluttering open ever so slightly.

“W-water . . .” she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.

Ren sprang into action, his mind racing as he dashed over to the mini-fridge in the corner of the room. With trembling hands, he grabbed a bottle of water and hurried back to Evie’s side.

“Here,” he said, offering her the water. “Drink slowly.”

Evie drank the water as if she hadn’t had a drop in ages, her thirst evident in every gulp.

“What happened? Are you alright?” Ren’s voice was laced with concern as he watched Evie panting and sweating profusely. Her skin felt like it was on fire, and Ren knew they needed to get her help, fast.

“I . . .” Evie gasped, struggling to catch her breath amidst the overwhelming heat and dizziness. “I got out of my pod . . . but then the sudden heat made me dizzy and knocked me unconscious.”

Her words were strained, each syllable a struggle as she fought to regain her composure.

Ren could see the distress etched on her face, the lines of pain and discomfort evident even in the dim light of the room.

“It’s so hot,” Evie murmured, her voice rasped as she closed her eyes, trying to ease the sensation of suffocation that seemed to grip her.

“What?” Ren couldn’t understand. To him, the temperature felt normal, nothing out of the ordinary. “Hot?”

“Don’t you feel it?” Evie’s question hung in the air, unanswered, as Ren knew that something was seriously wrong.

His evolution must have shielded him from the intense heat.

Or was there something else at play here?

Could this be . . . the end of the world?

Ren cursed himself for his recklessness, for not acting about this sooner. He had assumed they had more time, that the end of the world was still days away. There was no warning, only the rising heat.

But now, caught off guard and unprepared, he didn’t know what to do.

“Don’t worry, Evie. I’ll get you to the nearest hospital,” Ren said to her as he prepared to lift her into his arms.

But then he hesitated, a sudden thought giving him pause.

Evie’s words about the heat rendering her unconscious echoed in Ren’s mind. If the heat was enough to overwhelm her inside the safety of her room, just how extreme were the temperatures outside?

Ren clenched his jaw, weighing the risks of venturing out against the safety of staying indoors.

Inside, at least, they had some measure of comfort, with access to food and water. But if the situation outside was dire, they might not have much time before they needed to evacuate.

“Evie, are you going to be alright in here?” Ren’s voice was laced with concern as he turned to her for reassurance.

Evie nodded weakly, her breaths shallow and ragged. “I just need to . . . catch my breath,” she managed to say, her voice barely above a whisper.

Ren leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, a silent promise of his return. “Stay here while I check what’s going on, okay?”

Evie nodded and could only watch him go.