Night fell quickly.
One second the sky was gray and dim, the next it became dark. There was no sunset. Just the sky becoming darker over time.
Someone lit a fire using broken wood and scraps around the ruins, they found some old weapons… they had some value. The flames flickered weakly, barely giving heat.
This was a temporary safe zone.
Those words wouldn't leave my head.
We spread out, but not too far. No one wanted to be completely alone. At the same time, no one trusted anyone else enough to sleep close.
I sat against a cracked pillar, knees pulled up, eyes scanning the dark.
Mira sat nearby, sharpening a short blade she must've found earlier. The sound was steady. It helped calm him down more than the fire.
"How many hours do you think we passed?" someone asked.
"No clue," another voice answered. "It's hard to tell without the sun in the sky."
"That's on purpose," Mira said quietly.
A few people looked at her.
"We wont know when to move, we have to act on instinct." she continued. "Well not like I know much about this world."
A guy across the fire scoffed. "You sound like you wasted your life playing games."
She didn't look offended. Just tired.
"I've played a lot of games like this," she said. "This one… just nevermind."
That shut him up.
The system hadn't said anything since we talked. That made me worried.
A sudden clatter echoed from deeper inside the ruins.
Everyone flinched.
"It's probably some wind," someone whispered.
I listened.
No wind around us, no water either.
The sound of stone scraping against stone rang deep inside.
Something moved beneath us.
I stood slowly.
"Don't," a man hissed. "You'll probably trigger something."
"I'm not triggering anything," I said. "It already knows we're here."
That was the truth no one wanted to hear.
A woman near the fire broke down crying. Quiet at first. Then harder over time.
"I just wanted to play something before bed," she sobbed. "I have work tomorrow. I have a family… I have so much left to do."
No one knew what to say.
A notification flickered in my vision.
NOTICE:
MENTAL FATIGUE INCREASES OVER TIME.
Yeah. No shit.
A man named Owen, he was tall and nervous, always kept glancing at everyone, he stood up suddenly.
"We should take watches," he said. "Like… shifts. If this place gets dangerous we need to know about it."
No one argued.
That scared me.
No one was questioning him, they were all too tired to give it much thought.
That was how groups of people died…
We split into pairs. One awake, one resting. No one really slept.
When it was my turn to watch, the fire had gotten weak. The shadows danced across the walls, stretching into shapes.
Mira sat beside me.
"You still haven't used your points, you know you can't keep them forever," she said softly.
"I'll spend them when I have more information," I replied.
She smiled faintly. "Who knows, we all might make it out of here…"
I considered lying.
"More people are going to die…," I said. "None of us can trust each other, we have too much to lose, better be alone than dead."
She nodded.
"Still… At least you can trust me?"
"Yeah."
We sat in silence for a bit.
Then she said, "People are going to start killing each other."
Not if.
When.
"I know," I said.
A scream cut through the ruins.
We both stood instantly.
"It's from the west side," someone yelled.
The stone cracked.
A section of the floor collapsed, the dust all went upward as something massive shifted beneath the ruins.
The system chimed.
WARNING:
SAFE ZONE FAILURE IMMINENT.
Panic erupted among everyone.
People grabbed their bags and weapons. Someone shoved past me, nearly knocking me over.
"MOVE!"
"WHERE DO WE GO?"
"DON'T LEAVE ME HERE"
I opened my status window again.
Ten points.
Still untouched.
My heart hammered hard.
I didn't have much of a choice, not now.
The ruins weren't protected.
They were bait to kill more people.
That's why the monsters didn't follow, they knew we would have to go back eventually.
I closed the window.
Still not yet.
"Everyone to the east exit!" I shouted. "Go now!"
Some listened.
Most didn't.
The ground split open behind us.
Something roared.
And the first night ended just like that.
End of Chapter 4.