The coarse sound of sandpaper scratching against wood filled the workshop. It was a calm day, with few customers. Alaric was glad for it as he thoroughly sanded the surface of the round piece of wood he was working on.

  The door’s chime interrupted his work. He lifted his head and glanced at the door as his sister stepped inside. Her blonde hair glinted golden when the sun shone on her.

  “Welcome back,” Alaric said with a faint smile as the door closed behind her. “How was school?”

  “Boring and exhausting as usual.” She let out a dramatic sigh as she walked past him and put her heavy backpack on the counter. “I’m so sick of mock exams and tests. The whole year’s going to be like this, isn’t it?”

  “Well,” Alaric shrugged. “Yeah. But then you get to go to university. That’s ought to be different.”

  Clara pursed her lips. “Or not. I don’t think I want to. Maybe I could just be a carpenter like you.” She approached him and leaned forward to look at the circular, flat piece of wood he was working on. “So, what will this one become? A table?”

  “That’s exactly what it is going to be.” Alaric chuckled. “And give yourself a chance to experience university. If you don’t like it, you can always change your mind.”

  He put aside the rough sandpaper and bent down further to inspect the surface of the wood. It was as smooth as it could be in this state. “More studying?” he glanced at her as she rummaged through her backpack and plopped a heavy book on the counter.

  Her lips curled down with annoyance. “… Yeah. God I wish the exams were over already.” She stretched her arms, then walked around the counter and approached him to watch him slowly transfer the design in his notebook onto the now sanded and smoothed wood. “That’s way too intricate.” She breathed out after a few minutes.

  “Tell me about it…” Alaric grumbled. It was indeed an intricate design that was supposed to span the entire middle of the table. “I’m dying to know how much the Bennett’s billed the woman though – this will take weeks to complete on my own.”

  “You won’t do it alone, will you?” Clara’s eyes widened. “What about Mr. Bennett?”

  “He’s really not the man you want when you need something delicate made.” Alaric chuckled before continuing. Just transferring the design was going to take the better part of an hour.

  “Fair point.” Clara returned to her seat and opened the book on the counter with a dreadful sigh. “You should get a haircut.”

  Alaric paused to shoot her a glance. “What’s wrong with my hair?”

  “It’s getting in your eyes and looks messy.”

  Alaric put down the pencil and caught a few strands of hair to pull down to his eyes. “It’s not though?” The strands of hair just about reached under his eyebrows. “I’ll get a haircut when it starts getting in my way.”

  Clara rolled her eyes. “You’ll never get a girlfriend if you keep looking like this!”

  “What does that have to do with anything?” Alaric couldn’t help but laugh.

  “You’d get a haircut if you had a girlfriend.” Clara pouted.

  “I… what?”

  Clara burst into laughter at his bewildered expression. “I mean,” she tried to speak between fits of laughter. “You’re twenty one, and-“

  A blue, partially opaque box appeared in the air front of him.

  SYSTEM INITIALISING

  The words were written in bold, white text. If he squinted, he could see through them. Not quite trusting his senses, he stared at the words in quiet confusion.

  “What…?” Clara’s somewhat befuddled voice snapped him out of his daze. “Al, are you seeing this too?” She asked, shooting him a quick glance before her gaze turned back towards the box floating before her.

  “Yeah, I don’t know what-“

  The writing changed.

  THE FALL WILL BEGIN IN 60 SECONDS

  59…58…57

  His instincts screamed a warning as he stared at the dwindling numbers. Quiet dread rising, he pried his eyes off of it. “Clara!” He shouted to grab her attention.

  48…47...46

  Her gaze snapped to him. Her face turned pale. “What happens when it ends?” Her voice was sharp with fear and confusion. “Al, what do we do?”

  “Nothing good, that’s for sure.” He muttered, narrowing his eyes. The Fall. What did ‘The Fall’ even mean? Were they supposed to take it literally? Was something going to fall from the skies?

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Maybe we should go outside?” Clara asked with a meek voice, glancing at the door.

  “Or maybe we should go to the basement.”

  “Oh! That used to be a shelter, right?” her eyes lit up. Kicking the ground, she dashed to the back of the workshop.

  11…10…9

  He ran after her just as she reached the old, metal door at the back of the workshop. She kicked the few cardboard boxes to the side and pulled down the handle before pulling at the door. The handle creaked, and the door rattled at her pull.

  “What?” She breathed out. “They locked it?!” Her disbelief was palpable as she pulled harder.

  3…2…1

  WARNING – THE FALL BEGINS

  OBJECTIVE: SURVIVE

  REWARDS: SYSTEM ACCESS

  Alaric turned around as the countdown ended. His gaze drifted upward, following the lines of the wooden support beams.

  Something crashed somewhere – a cacophony of snapping wooden beams and breaking tiles rose from above before part of the roof collapsed under the weight of a large, charred black rock. It slammed into the ground, breaking the stone tiles of the floor. Deep cracks ran throughout the workshop.

  Not a moment later, another section of the roof collapsed, and a second rock fell in front of the door.

  Clara covered her own mouth with her hand. Her breathing was fast paced and shallow, her gaze trembling as her world turned upside down.

  “It blocked the door.” Her voice was but a whisper, shaking with fear. “The window to our left, we can go through there.”

  Alaric gulped. “Slowly,” he warned her. He snatched a hammer off the tool rack attached to the wall. Sliding his feet on the ground as quietly as he could, he took a single step to the left, keeping himself between her and the two waist-high rocks that had crashed through the ceiling.

  Red lines that reminded him of the veins on the back of his hand appeared on the rocks almost simultaneously. They climbed up from the bottom, joining together at the very top of the rocks. The charred surface began to bulge, tension rippling beneath it. Fine cracks splintered across the swell—then came a deafening crack as the stones erupted apart.

  Four wolf-like creatures emerged from the rocks, two from each. Their jet-black fur glimmered in places with crimson veins, just like ones that formed on the rocks before they shattered. Their tails were abnormally long, their claws sharp enough to leave marks on the cracked stone slabs as they slowly walked towards Alaric and Clara.

  “Al..?” Clara whispered.

  Thrusting the chaos that was his thoughts to the back of his mind, he clenched his fingers around the hammer’s handle. Its weight didn’t give him much confidence.

  “Clara,” he softly spoke as to not trigger the wolves. “When I tell you to, run outside, ok?”

  “But-“

  “Please.” She was tall and athletic, but she was still recovering from that damn cold she got two weeks ago. Even if she was in perfect health, there was no world where Alaric would let her face these monsters. “I’ll be fine.” He lied. “Trust me, ok?”

  Almost as if his words angered it, one of the wolves lunged forward. It leapt over the debris, landing just in front of Alaric, its jaws reaching for his left leg.

  He slid his leg back and holding the hammer with both hands, slammed it onto its head with all his strength. The disgusting sound of snapping bone and tearing flesh sent a shiver down his spine. The creature’s jaws snapped close as it hit the ground, it’s skull smashed under the hammer.

  One down. He raised his blood soaked hammer again, watching the remaining three wolves. His heart raced, its beat deafening. He could hear Clara’s muffled breathing as she stood behind him.

  Then, two more wolves rushed forward, leaping over the debris.

  “Run!” He shouted at the top of his lungs, slamming the hammer against the snoot of one of them. He felt something shatter under its weight. The wolf yelped, its neck bent oddly as the force of the hit sent it sliding across the ground, blocking the path of the second wolf.

  He heard footsteps behind him, and the creak of the opening window. Good. That small relief emboldened him as he rushed forward. The hammer came down on the second wolf’s back just as it tried to regain its balance. Something snapped under the weight of his hit, though he didn’t want to think what that was, exactly. Without giving himself a moment to think, he lifted the hammer and slammed it down again, and again and again, until both wolves stopped moving.

  OBJECTIVE ACHIEVED

  SYSTEM ACCESS GRANTED

  His legs were shaking looking at the mangled mess of blood and fur sprawled out before him.

  It’s not over yet, he reminded himself as his gaze snapped to the fourth wolf. One more. There is one more-

  It leapt forward before he could finish his thought. His tired arms were too slow as he swung the hammer, his body too heavy to react. Its powerful jaw closed over his left leg, just beneath his knee.

  Searing pain blinded him for a moment as the wolf shook its head violently, pulling his leg along with it. He fell down, his back slamming against the ground. The hammer escaped his grasp. His back scraped against the debris-covered floor as the wolf dragged him along the ground.

  He tried to kick its face, but his shoes seemingly didn’t bother the damned creature. He clawed the ground on either side, desperately trying to grasp anything that could help him. A gasp escaped his lips as his right hand touched the yet-warm body of the first wolf he had killed. He felt the warm, sticky wetness of blood on his skin.

  If he didn’t do something now, Clara was going to find him like that too – bloody and lifeless, a husk on the ground. The thought alone was horrifying. Dying now was the worst thing he could do to his little sister.

  He felt his fingers brush against an object as he desperately sought something to use as a weapon. It was a thin piece of metal with a wooden handle. He curled his fingers around it, not caring what it was. Anything was better than his bare hands, but even now he had no way of reaching the beast.

  He took a deep breath and stopped struggling. His heart pounded, loud in his ears. He feared the wolf would hear his heartbeat, notice he was still conscious. His back scraped against the floor for a few moments more before the jaws clamped around his knee finally let go.

  The soft steps of the wolf’s paws approached him. It’s breath stank of blood and rot as it sniffed his chest. A low, guttural snarl rumbled in the air.

  His eyes snapped open the moment he felt its breath on his face. The wolf-like creature, startled by his sudden motion, showed its teeth, preparing to lunge at his throat.

  His grasp around the wooden handle tightened. Using the last of his strength, he plunged the tool into the wolf’s eye. A sickening squelch followed as the sharpened point pierced the eye, collapsing it inward. Blood spewed out from the wound, and the wolf-like creature’s limbs gave a jerk before its lifeless body collapsed on the ground.

  YOU HAVE PROTECTED SOMEONE ELSE

  ADDITIONAL REWARDS HAVE BEEN GRANTED

  He pushed the blue box floating in front of him to the side, crawled towards the wall and emptied the contents of his stomach thoroughly. Only when he was done did he sit and take deep breaths. The heavy smell of blood filled his nostrils, almost immediately making him feel sick again.

  “Clara!” He shouted. His voice came out much quieter than he intended. When had it gotten so cold in here? “Clara!” His fingers felt a bit numb as he struggled to tear a strip off his shirt. He couldn’t quite grasp the cloth firmly enough. His limbs seemed to betray his will.

  Pain clouded his mind. He looked down at his leg. The wound was clearly visible through his torn jeans. He was still bleeding.