"Whatever Its still better than nothing"
I added as I shoved the rounds into another pocket anyway. Ammo was ammo. Then my eyes landed on the IV bag. I picked it up, squinting at the faded label. ARS.
"…damn If Im right thats Anti-Radiation Solution, this shit Is practically a relic at this point"
I murmured. Genesis leaned in, suddenly very interested.
"Oh. Oh that's actually good."
A slow grin spread across my face.
"Hmph, damn right It fucking Is with this my radiation contamination problem is good as gone."
I stuffed the IV bag into a thigh pocket, patting it like it might vanish if I didn't reassure it.
Genesis looked at me, then at the safe, then back at me.
"…I hate how lucky you are."
I laughed softly, rising to my feet, rifle back in hand.
"I do have a ten luck stat"
I said smugly.
"Remember?"
She groaned.
"Gods help me."
I snickered and headed for the stairs. Each step creaked like it was personally offended I was still alive.
Dust sifted down from above with every footfall, catching the sunlight like lazy sparks.
At the top, I eased the basement door open and slipped back into the house proper. Same stale air. Same quiet.
I crossed the living room and stepped back out into the street.
Cold wind hit my face again. I took a second to scan. Left. Right. Rooftops. Windows. Nothing obvious.
"…you're not even pretending to be cautious anymore, are you?"
Genesis muttered.
"I am cautious,"
I replied, already walking.
"I'm just selectively optimistic."
"That's not a thing."
"It is when it keeps working."
The next house was only two blocks down. Less collapsed than the others, but still scarred, bullet holes stitched across the siding, one window blown out entirely.
The front door hung crooked, half-open like it was waiting to complain.
I approached slow this time. Rifle up. Breath steady. Inside, the smell hit first. Damp. Rot. Something sweet and wrong again. The layout was familiar enough that I felt the déjà vu settle into my shoulders like an old coat.
Then I heard it.That damned buzzing.
"…try not waste bullets this time"
Genesis warned quietly.
"...no promises"
I whispered back as I did they came into view as I cleared the hallway, three mutated flies again, crouched along the walls and ceiling like obscene decorations.
Same swollen bodies. Same stuttering wings. One of them twitched its head toward me.
"Time to die cunts"
I muttered as I fired my rifle, the first shot cracked past the nearest one, chewing into the plaster behind it.
"…fuck."
Second shot went wide, punching through a doorframe and showering splinters.
Genesis didn't even yell this time. She just sighed.
"Fucking unbelievable."
The flies surged. Third shot finally caught one center mass.
It burst mid-air, spraying ichor across the ceiling.
Fourth shot took the second clean through the head, another wet explosion, wings shredding themselves apart.
The last one skittered sideways, wings shrieking. I tracked it, jaw clenched.
Fifth shot. A hit. It detonated against the wall, leaving a dark smear that slowly slid downward like the house itself was bleeding.
Silence fell again. Smoke curled from the barrel. My ears rang faintly. I exhaled.
DING.
YOU KILLED A MUTATED FLIE +XP
YOU KILLED A MUTATED FLIE +XP
YOU KILLED A MUTATED FLIE +XP
Genesis stared at the notifications, then at me.
"…five shots. Again."
"Well what can I say consistency is key,"
I said while shrugging, lowering the rifle while glancing at Genesis from the corner of my eye.
She looked like she wanted to strangle me with my own sling.
I cleared the rest of the house quickly. Same drill. Same emptiness.
Then, tucked beneath a collapsed shelf in what used to be a study, I spotted it. A safe.
"…you do realize It could be booby trapped"
Genesis said immediately. I was already kneeling only to pause for a second.
After hearing her words as I considered the possibility of my head disappearing only to shrug the next second.
"Meh If I die I die"
I muttered as I pulled out the bobby pin and screwdriver from my pocket, the same ones I found, still bent, still ugly.
Slotted them in, leaned close, and listened. Metal scraped softly. Turn. Pause. Adjust.
Click. The sound was crisp. Satisfying.
SAFE UNLOCKED +XP
Genesis closed her eyes.
"I hate this universe."
I opened it. Inside lay a compact short-range scope, scratched but intact, glass miraculously uncracked.
Beneath it sat a small, sealed pack labeled MAES aka Mental Activity Enhancement Solution. Basically chewing gum with drugs. I blinked.
"…you're fucking kidding me."
Genesis leaned in, reading the label.
"…oh. That's actually useful for a cave man like you"
Hearing this I snorted softly, lifting the scope first, weighing it in my hand.
"Yeah well I'm an Idiot so what sue me"
I said.
"Well maybe at least it will help you but something."
She replied.
"Fuck you"
I barked while giving her the stink eye to this she responded with another jab at my self esteem.
"But It won't fix your personality."
This time I just Ignored her as I pocketed the MAES pack, feeling its weight like potential.
"Fucking Ai b..."
I muttered to myself as I stood, slung the rifle properly across my chest only to shut up before finishing my words.
"What was that?"
Genesis said through gritted teeth as she looked at me with murderous eyes.
For a split second, the curse words were right there on the tip of my tongue.
My jaw even shifted like I was about to say them.
Then every survival instinct I had, old, scarred, and painfully experienced started screaming in unison. Don't. You will regret it.
She will not let it go. Ever. So I swallowed the curse, forced my face neutral, and pretended absolutely nothing had happened.
Genesis noticed instantly.
"Hmph. Thought so, fucking pussy"
She huffed, smug enough that if she'd had a physical body I would've tripped her down a flight of stairs.
I didn't dignify that with a response. I just stepped back toward the door, boots crunching over broken plaster and bug husks, rifle held low but ready.
Outside, the street waited, quiet, ruined, pretending it wasn't potentially full of things that wanted me dead.
"Alright next one on the right,"
I muttered to myself.
"Of course it is,"
Genesis replied.
"Why change a winning strategy."
The next house was smaller. Narrow. One story, roof half-collapsed, front window completely gone.
The door was still on its hinges, though, which honestly felt suspicious at this point.
I approached slow, scanning as I went. No buzzing. No movement.
No sounds except the wind sighing through broken glass and distant metal creaking like the city itself was tired.
I nudged the door open with my boot. Inside were was nothing. No immediate stink of rot. No skittering. No ominous clicking or breathing that wasn't mine. Just dust.
Old furniture. A place that had been abandoned in a hurry and then forgotten.
"…wow,"
I murmured quietly.
"An actually empty house."
Genesis floated in, looking around like she was offended.
"No enemies. No screaming. No explosions,"
She said suspiciously.
"That feels almost wrong."
I swept it anyway. Habit. Living room first, overturned chair, a picture frame facedown on the floor. Hallway next.
Bedroom with a bare mattress and clothes scattered like someone had been interrupted mid-pack. Kitchen last. Cupboards empty.
Sink bone-dry. Fridge door hanging open, mercifully empty.
I was just about to turn around when something small caught my eye on the counter. A bottle. White plastic. Faded label.
I picked it up, squinting.
"Iodine tablets,"
I read aloud. Genesis leaned in.
"…radiation countermeasures,"
She said.
"Well, well. Look at you, accidentally being responsible."
I snorted softly and popped the cap, checking inside. Still sealed. Pills intact.
"Guess the universe felt bad about the glowing water,"
I muttered, pocketing the bottle after grabbing one pill and swallowing It down.
"You know Its a bit late for that"
She scoffed.
"Yeah, yeah go suck a dick.
I barked back as I made one last pass through the house, then headed back out, stepping into the street again.
The wind picked up slightly, tugging at my clothes, carrying dust and distant echoes of things I didn't want to think about. I scanned ahead. Another house waited further down. Bigger.
I crossed the street and approached the next house with a healthy amount of skepticism and a deeply unhealthy amount of optimism. From the outside, it looked promising. Two stories.
Front door still attached. Windows broken, sure, but in that inviting way that said someone definitely hid something here before the world went to shit.
"Alright,"
I muttered, rifle lifting slightly.
"Don't disappoint me."
Genesis hovered at my shoulder.
"Oh it will,"
She said flatly.
"They always do just like you."
I nudged the door open. It swung inward with a long, tired creak, like the house was already apologizing.