"Zero? Is that you?"
An old woman stood before Adan, a familiar face in unfamiliar clothing. He had only ever seen her wrapped in a white lab coat, sterile and distant. But here she was, standing among ordinary people, blending in as if she belonged with them.
"You're Zero, aren't you? It's me, Dr. Aniston."
"Y…"
Adam tried to speak, but his throat locked up. His legs froze in place. His vision tunneled, the bustling street melting away—replaced by a small, white room.
And once again, he was there.
Alone.
His breaths turned shallow, strangled. His pulse pounded in his ears, drowning out everything else—until suddenly, a blaring car horn snapped him back.
He gasped, staggering a step back. His voice trembled as he spoke.
"Are you… are you real?"
Dr. Aniston didn't answer right away. She just stared, wide-eyed, as if she had seen a ghost. Then, without breaking eye contact, she reached into her bag—a radio.
"Patient Zero. Location confirmed!"
"No!" Adam's eyes went wide.
He didn't think. Didn't hesitate. He just ran.
Shoving through the crowd, ignoring the shouts and protests around him, he sprinted. He didn't dare look back.
Run. Run. Run. That was the only thought in his mind.
He didn't stop until he saw the scavenger office. Until he saw his bus.
"Adam? It's rare to see you so early—"
Adam didn't even bother greeting Jefferson and immediately got on the bus, shrinking down onto his seat and making sure that his head was below the window. Hans, who was seated at the seat next to him, didn't know whether to talk or ask him what was going on.
After all, he had tried talking to him the past few days, but Adam only responded with either a hello or a hmm. But after thinking about it for a good three seconds, Hans approached Adam.
"Hey…" He whispered as he placed a hand on Adam's shoulder, "...Are you—Ow!"
Before he could finish his words, however, Adam smacked his hand away and looked at him with wide eyes.
"I'm…" Adam's breaths turned heavier by the second as he looked at Hans's eyes, which were the only things you could see with how covered he was.
"I'm sorry," Adam whispered, "I didn't… I didn't mean to do that."
Hans stared at him for a second. He was about to ask him how he was again, but Jefferson's voice roared inside the bus before he could say anything.
"Aight, boys!" Jefferson clapped his hands, "You already know what day it is. It's Selection Day! That mean we headin' out to that new Dome as soon as it pops and we wait 'til the fighting's over. Hopefully, it's close. If not, guess we back to them old dusty-ass deserts!"
The scavengers inside the bus buzzed with excitement at the news, some even clasping their hands together in whispered prayers, hoping they'd be chosen by the Administrators to fight.
The Domes spawned randomly across the world each month, though they've been documented to typically appear within a thousand kilometers of the previous locations.
It was like the Domes were slowly eating up the Earth, razing it to the ground bit by bit… by bit.
But nobody cares anymore. Nobody cares. So why… why are they still looking for me?
Adam covered his head with his hood as the bus began to move. Everyone was noisy due to the excitement filling the air, an excitement that was only fueling Adam's anxiety even further.
Hans seemed to notice this. He only stared at him, however, as Adam looked more unwelcoming than most days. But right when he got the courage to approach him again, he almost tumbled forward as the bus suddenly stopped.
"What's going on here!?" Jefferson quickly shouted.
"There… there are people blocking the way!"
"What!?" Jefferson and the other scavengers stood up from their seat to look in front of them, only to see several black SUVs in front of them, "Today's Selection Day! I ain't got no time for this bullshit!"
Jefferson was about to step out of the bus to confront them, but several people got out of the SUVs while carrying guns.
"Oh, okay…" Jefferson stepped back and started tapping the driver's shoulder several times, "...Drive through them! Drive! Drive through them n—"
Before the driver could step on the gas, everyone watched as a huge man practically ripped off the door, throwing it like cardboard.
"A… A Hero!?" Everyone on the bus screamed, "But… what? Why are they—"
Jefferson stepped aside as one of the people from the SUV entered the bus. Unlike the others, who were dressed in sleek black suits, this one stood out—an old woman in casual clothing. The very same woman Adam had run from.
Dr. Aniston.
"Everyone, calm down." The doctor smiled at Jefferson, "No one's going to be harmed. We're only here for this person."
Dr. Aniston then raised a poster. A CCTV image of Adam running away, his face as clear as day.
Jefferson looked back at his crew, his eyes settling on where Adam was sitting. He groaned for a moment before turning to face Dr. Aniston and saying,
"Nah, ain't seen that face before. Y'all recognize him?"
"Nope."
"It's kinda blurry. Do you have a better picture?"
"That's a pretty face. Why are you looking for him?"
Not a single one of the scavengers gave Adam up. Hans, who was in the seat next to Adam, even sneakily stood up, pretending to get a better look at the photo before changing seats and sitting beside him to block him from the doctor's view.
"Are all of you sure?" Dr. Aniston narrowed her eyes, "Our sources and surveillance say that he rode this bus."
"Lemme see that again," Jefferson leaned closer to the image but shook his head again, "Nope, no."
Dr. Aniston strode deeper into the bus, her gaze sharp and searching. Jefferson moved to block her path at first, but the moment the Hero in a suit stepped inside, he hesitated—his shoulders stiffening before he silently stepped aside and took a seat.
Unbothered, the doctor pressed forward, her eyes sweeping over the scavengers one by one.
And soon, she reached Adam's aisle.
"You…" Dr. Aniston's eyes narrowed further as she saw a scavenger with his hood up, "...Show your face."
"Oh, he's sleeping!" Hans chuckled as he nudged Adam, "I could wake him up, but we sort of drank last night and he's hammered."
"Wake him up, then." Dr. Aniston placed her hand on the head of the seat.
"James. Wake up." Hans shook Adam while making up a fake name to call him, "He's not—Huh?"
Hans looked back to the doctor, only for his eyes to widen and his breath to pause for some reason.
"I am not going to ask again." The doctor looked at the Hero, gesturing for him to come forward. But something also caught her eye that caused her to pause, "You—Hmm?"
The Hero was glowing—no.
Everyone on the bus was glowing.
"Wait… wait a minute!" Jefferson stood next to the driver's seat, staring at his hands as they began to glow. Slowly, they dissolved into shimmering particles of light, dancing away from his body like fireflies disappearing into the night.
"Me!?" He screamed, "Wait, no… since all of us are glowing. Then… the next battlefield's… it's right here!? In the city!?"
"Tell everyone to gather together!" Dr. Aniston and the Hero quickly rushed out of the bus. As for the scavengers, they all had mixed reactions as they watched themselves fade away into light.
As for Adam, well…
"No… No. I don't want to…" He stuttered under his breath. Pathetic. His entire body, trembling in fear and the only thing he could hear was the violent beating of his heart,
"I don't want this… I don't want to suffer. No more… no more pain… please."
And with those words, he and everyone within a fifty-mile radius disappeared. Slowly, a Dome appeared in the sky, slowly building until it closed them off from the rest of the world.
[Get ready for the 242nd Battle! Troops deploying in 1 hour!]