He checked his HUD again. The display revealed no signs of life. He strained to listen one more time. Besides the wind, he heard nothing but the whining sound of a strained power line.

Satisfied, he entered civilization for the first time in days; a neighborhood, much like the one he’d grown up in, sprawled out in front of him.

He checked the road one more time to ensure it was clear and then took off running into the yard across the street. The tall blades of prairie grass snapped like twigs as he passed through them. Nothing green remained, not a single leaf.

Alex’s vision fogged over. Gritting his teeth, he narrowed his eyes and tried to focus, but the effects of dehydration were taking over. He rested against a child’s swing set and listened again for the familiar scratching of Spiders. He focused on the filthy glass doors leading into the house. They were covered in dust and dirt, but otherwise unscathed. He checked the windows; they too seemed to be undisturbed. His HUD still looked clear. Everything looked safe.

The thought gave him pause. No. Nothing was safe, not anymore.

Five quick paces across the yard and he was at the door, resting his back against the aged siding of the house. His first impulse was to break the glass, but instead he tried the handle. It clicked, unlocked.

He grinned at the small victory as he slipped through the opening, but his relief was short lived. Inside he was greeted by a dark room, only a few rays of sunlight bled through the curtains to guide him. Standing there in the shadows, he suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of fear. Slowly, he reached down and drew his combat knife out of its sheath.

The knife shook in his gloved hand. Holding the weapon did not feel natural. He was a teacher, not a soldier, and he had never been a fan of weapons. But this was a different world—a world where he had no choice but to protect himself.

He crossed the room cautiously and tiptoed toward the kitchen, the knife held out before him. He froze again when he saw the undisturbed room. Three plates were arranged neatly on the table for a family that would never eat together again. The room was an eerie relic from a time when food, water, and shelter was taken for granted; A time when people’s biggest fear was whether they would be able to make their credit card payment. The world had changed overnight. Bills no longer mattered. Monsters were real. And water was the most important commodity of all.