Nora knew the road ahead.
She'd traveled it with her crew before the ambush. Knew where the Road Knights set up checkpoints. Where they patrolled. Where they slept.
"There's a pass," she said, pointing at a hand-drawn map. "About twenty miles east. The Road Knights don't watch it at night."
"Why not?" Alex asked.
"Because the monsters come out after dark. Big ones. Even Vera's people won't risk it."
"But we will."
Nora looked at him. "You're crazy."
"Probably."
Sarah leaned over the map. "If we go through the pass at night, we avoid the Road Knights. But we face whatever monsters are out there."
"One problem at a time," Alex said.
"That's not how problems work."
"It's how I work."
---
They left at dusk.
The RV rolled east, lights off, engine low. Sarah navigated by memory and moonlight.
Alex sat in the passenger seat, key in his pocket, journal in his hand.
Almost there, he thought. Almost to Zero Mile.
Almost to Mom.
His system pinged.
```
[System: Common Supply Crate (White) detected]
Location: Pass entrance, 0.5 miles ahead.
Survivors in area: 0.
```
"A crate," he said. "At the pass entrance."
"Trap?" Jade asked.
"Maybe. But we need the credits."
Sarah pulled over. Alex climbed out.
The pass was a gap in the mountains—dark, narrow, dangerous. The crate sat at the entrance, glowing white.
Alex crouched beside it.
Eight seconds.
One... two... three...
He watched the shadows. Watched for movement.
Four... five... six...
Nothing.
Seven... eight...
The lock clicked.
```
[System: Common Supply Crate (White) opened.]
Rewards:
– MRE x2
– Water Bottle x2
– Flare Gun (3 flares)
– Credit: 50
```
Fifty credits.
He looked at his system.
```
[User: Alex Chen]
Level: 7
Credits: 675/800 to next level
```
One hundred twenty-five to Level 8.
Close, he thought. So close.
He walked back to the RV.
---
The pass was dark.
Narrower than the tunnel. The walls scraped the sides of the Winnebago.
Sarah drove with her teeth clenched.
"I hate this," she muttered.
"You said you could drive through anything."
"I said that before I knew anything included this."
Alex almost smiled.
Behind them, the entrance to the pass shrank to a pinprick, then disappeared.
Ahead, only darkness.
---
The monsters came at midnight.
Not Asphalt Creepers. Not Devourers. Something new.
They had too many legs and too many eyes. Their bodies were the color of old bruises.
Alex pulled up his system.
```
[System: Shadow Stalkers (Level 8) detected – Pack of 6.]
Warning: These creatures hunt in groups.
```
Level 8. Same as him. But there were six of them.
"Everyone stay inside," Alex said.
"What about you?" Sarah asked.
"I'm going out."
"That's stupid."
"Probably."
He grabbed his tire iron and stepped out.
---
The Stalkers circled him.
Fast. Low to the ground. Their eyes glowed red in the darkness.
Night Vision, Alex thought. Thank you, blue crate.
He could see them clearly. Every movement. Every angle.
The first one lunged.
Alex swung. The tire iron caught it in the skull. It fell.
The second came from behind. He spun—blocked with his arm—felt claws rake his sleeve.
Pain. But not deep.
He swung again. Connected.
The third and fourth came together.
Alex dove. Rolled. Came up swinging.
One fell. The other stumbled.
The fifth and sixth hesitated.
Alex stood in the middle of the pass, tire iron raised, blood on his hands.
"Come on," he said.
They ran.
---
```
[System: Shadow Stalkers defeated: 4 of 6.]
Reward: 200 credits.
```
Alex leaned against the RV, breathing hard.
His arm was bleeding. His back ached. But he was alive.
He looked at his system.
```
[User: Alex Chen]
Level: 7
Credits: 875/800 to next level
Level up available.
```
He pressed confirm.
```
[System: Level up complete. Current Level: 8.]
[System: 75/900 credits to next level.]
[System: 2 levels until Legendary Perk selection.]
```
Level eight.
Two more to go.
"Worth it," he muttered.
James was beside him, bandaging his arm. "You're going to run out of skin."
"Then I'll grow more."
"That's not how bodies work."
"It's how mine works."
The medic sighed. "You're as stubborn as Elena said."
---
They camped in the pass.
The monsters didn't return. The walls kept out the wind. The RV was warm.
Alex sat on the roof, watching the stars.
Kira climbed up beside him.
"You're bleeding again," she said.
"It's just a scratch."
"It's always just a scratch with you."
Alex looked at her. "You sound like Sarah."
"Sarah's smart."
"She's something."
Kira smiled. "You like her."
"She's my mechanic."
"She's more than that."
Alex didn't answer.
---
Dawn came gray.
The pass opened onto a plain—flat, empty, endless.
And in the distance, a glow.
Not a crate. Something bigger.
"What is that?" Danny asked.
Nora's face went pale. "Zero Mile."
Alex stared at the glow.
My mother is there, he thought. Waiting.
"Let's go," he said.
---
The plain was empty.
No crates. No monsters. No survivors.
Just road and sky and the glow on the horizon.
Alex checked his system.
```
[User: Alex Chen]
Level: 8
Credits: 75/900 to next level
```
Eight hundred twenty-five to Level 9.
Too far, he thought. At this rate, I won't reach Level 10 before Zero Mile.
"We need to find more crates," he said.
"There are no crates," Jade said. "I've been scanning. Nothing."
"The system is holding back," Maya said. "It doesn't want you to reach Level 10 before Zero Mile."
"Why not?"
"Because Level 10 means Legendary Perk. And Legendary Perk means you might actually win."
---
Marcus walked beside the RV.
He'd been quiet since the pass. Thinking, probably. Same as Alex.
"Your mother reached Level 10 before Zero Mile," Marcus said.
"What was her perk?"
"I don't know. She never told me." He looked at the glow. "But I know it changed her."
"Changed her how?"
"She wasn't afraid anymore. Of anything."
Alex thought about that. About what it would feel like to not be afraid.
Liberating, he thought. Terrifying. Both.
"Two more levels," he said.
"Two more levels," Marcus agreed.
---
The glow grew brighter as they drove.
It filled the horizon now—warm, golden, inviting.
Like a trap, Alex thought. Like all of this.
But his mother was there. Waiting.
He couldn't turn back.
"Sarah," he said. "Stop the RV."
She pulled over. Alex climbed out.
Walked to the edge of the road. Looked at the glow.
Zero Mile, he thought. The end of everything. The beginning of everything.
I'm coming, Mom.
His system pinged.
```
[System: Rare Supply Crate (Blue) detected]
Location: Abandoned farmhouse, 2 miles ahead.
Survivors in area: 4.
```
Four survivors. One blue crate.
"Sarah," he called. "Two miles. Blue crate. Four survivors."
"Friendly or hostile?"
"We're about to find out."