The morning went by quickly, as the three of us went to work figuring out how to use our stockpile of food. We still didn’t have electricity, but we had propane that we were using on two small grills. Someone had found them in one of the Director offices on the 4th floor, still wrapped in a gigantic gift bag. I didn’t recognize the label, but Sayde said it was a company that produced a weight-gaining pill the hospital used, named ‘Pensogrinalin’. It was kinda werid they had a backyard BBQ ready to go in their office, but I wasn't going to complain.

  "The directors get little gifts from companies all the time. Sometimes the gifts are bigger, too." Sayde explained.

  As I helped set food out in the cafeteria, my mind raced with the symbiote’s message, and a System notification.

  You may now message Artlonnious.

  The voice had said it would be easier for us to communicate through the chat system. ‘Art’ could experience what I could, but couldn’t hear my thoughts. He could send his own thoughts to me, but I wouldn’t be able to respond. So, the textbox was the best option for us to communicate back and forth. While I had so many questions to ask… him? It? I was also starving, and the smell of cooked food was making it hard to focus.

  I felt dizzy, my stomach turning as my hunger was morphing into nausea. Luckily, we finished cooking and I was able to make myself a plate, following Zahra and Sayde to a table.

  The cafeteria was buzzing with chatter. People were discussing their new classes, the current state of the hospital, everything. I could tell by the small amounts of laughter I heard that morale was rising, slightly. Mrs. Sharpe complained that we didn’t have softer bread for her, but you can’t please everyone. She was eating with two young children, but her attention was mostly on our table, especially after Christian and Dr. Hekla sat with us.

  The head surgeon looked relieved to see us, but that wasn’t the only thing making him look better. The class selection had healed me completely, and it felt a bit like waking up after sleeping for 15 hours. Similarly, Dr. Hekla’s eyes were rested and clear, and the bags under them had deflated significantly.

  Christian, on the other hand, looked tired. His arm was no longer in a sling but his hunched shoulders carried the weight of his care.

  Dr. Hekla smiled and addressed us warmly as he sat down.

  “Mr. Whitaker and Ms. Mansour! It's good to see you two. We tried to bring everyone down before class selection, but we couldn’t find you.” His eyes scanned us, taking in our new forms. “Are your new limbs the result of the System? You look much stronger and healthier than before.”

  I nodded. While we ate, Zahra and I took turns explaining what had happened to us with the Urisflay, the symbiote item, and our adventure into Ralph’s. I half expected him to chastise us for the excursion but he raised a hand to stroke his slightly-greying brown beard instead, taking in each new piece of information. Christian and Sayde were barely touching their food as we spoke, a much more apprehensive look on their faces. Christian and Dr. Hekla’s classes and stats both appeared to me while we finished up our story.

  Christian had the Rare class Constraint Master, along with an impressively high 17 in Strength, which was 1 higher than mine. His other stats were around 10, except for Spirit. His spirit was only a 4, which was worrying. I knew that had something to do with Energy we needed to use skills, but there had to be more to it than that.

  It was pretty obvious how our physical stats changing has also impacted our bodies. What about having a low Spirit? Zahra and I had nearly zero luck. Would that be something we’d need to try and fix?

  My head hurt from the questions, but I turned my gaze to Dr Hekla as the surgeon began to speak, pulling his holographic map onto the table. His class was called Surgeon of Limbo (Epic), and he boasted an impressive 18 in Intelligence. His other stats were also around 12, but his luck was also a 17. I think he had the highest luck stat out of anyone I had seen, but it looked like the residents of the hospital were mostly pretty weak, with stats under 10. If they wanted to survive, they would need to get stronger.

  My thoughts were interrupted as Dr. Hekla’s bright blue map suddenly appeared on the table, the city of L.A. somewhat deformed by the carton of orange juice and syrup, poking through the landscape. We moved the items out of the way as a new notification appeared in front of us:

  Domain Barriers Established

  Domain Sentinel: ???

  We watched as the map began to zoom out, a thick black circle appeared. It began just south of Anaheim, circling the city and San Bernardino before stretching north under Santa Clarita into the ocean. The small islands off Los Angeles were included too, meaning we were entirely boxed in. We could see a bit of other barriers north of us, as well as two more, one in Phoenix, and the other in Las Vegas.

  “It looks like even if our barrier fell, we wouldn’t have a lot of room to travel before entering the next Domain,” Dr Hekla said, zooming in on our specific area. He quickly found the hospital in West Los Angeles. A green checkmark hovered over the building, and he clicked it.

  Safe Zone: Jonsson Cancer Center, guarded by Hellish Urisflay S.A.I.

  Cleared by Applicant Levi Whitaker.

  Note: Safe zones are places to recover without worry from monsters attacking. Applicants cannot be harmed by monsters while inside. These zones can be destroyed, however. If the applicant who cleared the Guard dies, the area will cease functioning as a safe zone.

  Although Zahra and I had told them about our encounter with the bear-thing (or at least what we could remember), we didn’t know that's why the area had turned into a safe zone. Now we knew for sure that whatever I did to activate Force Resonance destroyed the Urisflay. Even with that, people still left the hospital. They hadn't returned, meanwhile most of the sick patients who had stayed put were fine. Everything was so chaotic and changing rapidly, it was hard to know what to do.

  “You both deserve thanks. Even if you didn’t know what you were doing, this safe zone has made it possible to survive, at least for now. We have very few people who have changed for the better from these last 24 hours. Both of you will surely be instrumental in our survival, and that of the hospital.” Dr. Hekla turned, my cheeks burned from his praise. He smiled, his face a bit thinner than before. Everyone had changed from the Class Selection, it was just harder to tell with some people.

  “For now, we need to think up a plan of action. From what these two have told us, there are creatures out there which are more deadly than what we can handle right now. Our main goal should be to get stronger, find more safe zones, and see if there are other items like this symbiote that Levi and Zahra found. We can’t be sure of what the items will do, but it's best we try. A lot of the patients here need care that we can no longer give them. The emergency generator is running out of fuel, and finding some with no electronics is going to be difficult. The truth of the matter is unless we can find some way to help stabilize the litany of complications our patients have, they may not last long.”

  Hekla hung on those last words, his eyes staring at the map in front of him.

  Sayde figeted across from him, her eyes darting as her mind raced.

  “But we can see their health move! And while it's continuous, I can heal them with my new class. I’m… not sure how long I will be able to keep it up but I can stop the worst of it for a bit.” Sayde had placed both her palms on the table in front of her as she spoke, her sleeves crumpled and rolled up. Small cuts and bruises scattered across her shaking skin, but her eyes were focused and determined.

  Christian looked at her. “While that may be true, it still isn’t a permanent solution. What we really need are stronger items so we can survive until the next level up. If you can handle the people here, maybe we can make hunting parties to get stronger. We’re going to need food anyway, so it's more a question on ‘how many’ not ‘if’.

  Sayde nodded slowly, crossing her arms in front of her and pursing her lips for a second.

  “I agree with both of you. Sayde should use her ability to support me here, while Christian, Zahra, Levi and whoever else go out to find more information. If we can find another safe zone, we can hopefully clear a path between it and here for other survivors to find as well.” Dr. Hekla addressed the table, his deep voice fresh with confidence and a strength I envied.

  Did I really have to go back out there?

  My knee shook at the thought of it. We had looked death in the face a few times already, wasn’t that enough? Before I could respond, Zahra did.

  “Sounds like a plan. Levi and I will definitely help, and hopefully we can save a few more people. If we can loot a decent amount of food, that won’t be an issue. So maybe we should prioritize a few grocery stores nearby if we can. What good is a new leg if I don't use it, right?” She joked, prompting a few smiles to crack through the gloom which suffocated the table. I could tell they were relieved she had agreed with the plan. With a legendary class and the boost from the symbiote, Zahra was likely the strongest person in the hospital, and Dr. Hekla knew it.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  I sighed. “Well, it's a decent plan. And it's better than what I’ve got. When should we head out?”

  “We can head out together tomorrow morning. I need time to figure out my class and its skills, and it's probably not a bad idea for you two to do the same. Meet me in the lobby and I’ll see if I can get a group together.” Christian said, standing from the table and clearing his plate. Sayde and Hekla exchanged a quick glance but I didn’t know why.

  “When you find a safe zone, be careful. It will more than likely be guarded, which means we should make a plan once we find a location. We can figure out how to kill the guardian and keep going until we’re out of this damn nightmare.” The three of us remaining nodded as Hekla finished, the blue map disappearing from the table as he got up.

  “The most important thing is survival. The stronger we get, hopefully the more people we can protect. Do your best but don’t take unnecessary risks.”

  “We’ll try.” I mumbled to myself as he walked away. It was a nice speech, but he wasn’t the one actually fighting the things out there. I didn’t know how useful a class like Surgeon of Limbo was, but I was willing to bet on it being a healer class of some sort. That would be incredibly helpful to have in the party, but I kept my mouth shut. His plan made sense, and I didn’t have an alternative. Sayde went to the kitchen to organize, leaving Zahra and I alone.

  “So what now? I guess we have a day to practice?” Zahra said, standing and stretching her legs. She looked ready and I couldn't blame her. The speed she had was super-human from what I’d seen, and some testing never hurt anyone.

  “How about we get some pants?” I said, opening my map on the table.

  “Okay but fair warning, I’ll take a hospital gown over jeans any day. Apocalypse or not, I will not be constrained.” Zahra stated adamantly, leaning over my shoulder.

  We went to the closest clothing store I could find, which ended up being a half-burnt down Urban Outfitters, about two blocks away. We let Sayde know where we were going, quickly leaving so none of the less… ‘put together’ patients saw us. It was hard to know how some might react to our bodies or any of the other strange powers people were getting. We saw Christian deal with a few of them, calming them down and hopefully preventing a mental break. It was hard to know with some people. One hour they’d be fine, the next they’d be crying and screaming for a family member to help them. Some people had always been like that, but it was different now. I couldn’t ignore those screams as easily. Things were fucked up, and they had every right to be upset.

  The store was fairly large, containing casual and street clothing, which I gravitated more towards. Finally, I saw them, excitement and relief filling my chest. Within a few seconds, I had torn through the display of joggers, finding a comfortable pair of black ones that fit perfectly. It was still fairly warm outside for a September day, so I grabbed a grey, long sleeved shirt to finish the outfit. I also grabbed a greenish-brown hoodie. It somewhat matched the smog that still filled the streets and sky, and I hoped it would make me a little more stealthy.

  While I tried to find something that fit correctly, I decided to send Art a message. I could hear Zahra rummaging and quietly taking things off their racks for her outfit.

  Levi: Hey, are you there?

  Art: Hi Levi, I am.

  Levi: I have a lot of questions to ask you, if that's okay.

  Art: Sure, kid. Ask away. A System Integration is always a confusing time for native species.

  Levi: Ooookay. So you’re like an alien right? A symbiote that’s… inside me, can hear and see what I do, and gives me power. Is that correct?

  Art: For the most part. I’m specifically from the Ardolon Galaxy, located in the Inner Universe.

  Levi: Inner Universe?

  Art: Yes, it's the most populated area of the universe. Multiple galaxies all living in harmony together under the System. Earth is basically out in the boonies by comparison, which most would call the Outer Universe. Graxis essentially sponsored your planet for System Integration, despite its relative solidarity.

  Levi: Who the hell is Graxis? Why would they do this?

  Art: The Graxis Institute is a race where every Graxian individual participates in research, effectively a culture-wide scientific think-tank. They are progress-obsessed people, willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their goal.

  Levi: Which is what? Destruction of Earth? The Universe?

  Art: The exact opposite, actually. It's a bit of a long story, many millenia long. The short version is this: Back when Graxis was still a backwater planet with zero reputation, one of their scientists made a discovery. A space phenomena which traveled across the Universe, consuming all it came across. The real kicker was the scientist was sure it was coming to the Graxian home planet. So, he united the planet and created the Graxis Institution in order to figure out how to stop it. For a while, they were thought to be mostly harmless. But about 10,000 years ago, they got confirmation from their models that the original scientist who found the moving black hole was right; it was on its way to consume Graxis. From there, they’ve got more and more extreme in their methods to stop it until we find ourselves here.

  Levi: I don’t understand! What do you mean by a moving black hole? Why Earth?

  Art: Nothing much to explain. It's a black hole that moves, eating planets, stars, and anything else along the way. Why Earth is a bit more… complicated, and depends on who is running this research experiment on the Graxis side. Every Graxian undertakes a research hypothesis after they come of age, basically proposing an experiment that could result in saving their planet. The really good ideas actually get some backing from their unique technology and government funds. Other planets and alliances want to get on their side due to the transformative nature of their terraforming technology. Everyone wants the aliens with golden touch.

  Levi: So that's what the System is? Graxian technology to defeat this black hole thing in space? Do they know how stupid that sounds?

  Art: Close, but not quite, kid. The System that lets you level up and get stronger is unique to the Inner Universe. It's technology that potentially predates the creation of the Universe itself. It allows Inner Universe galaxies to access system leveling if they choose to have their planet integrated. The unique thing here is that Graxis petitioned the Inner Universe council to allow the System to spread out to Earth. Of course, it helps that Graxis is one of the only organizations which can bring the System to a planet and integrate it with zero funds or assistance.

  “Ta dah!” Zahra said, interrupting our conversation in the textbox. My head swam with the information as Zahra emerged from the only dressing room with a door left. I looked up at her new outfit, expecting a lot more colour than I would be comfortable with. We had to avoid anything that would make us stand out, I wanted to avoid trouble if possible.

  I was pleasantly surprised that Zahra had a similar idea, besides her shirt. She had a pair of black leggings, a black shirt with a pink haired anime girl on it, a green button-up jacket, and a camo baseball hat.

  Art: Speaking of which, you have a skill you should probably give to Zahra. Since you were in a party when you defeated the Urisflay, you can gift her the skill even though you were the one rewarded with it. Her symbiote hasn’t awakened yet, typically it takes some time depending on the host’s compatibility. We had perfect compatibility, so it was nearly instant. I don’t imagine Zahra will be far behind, and she should have the skill just in case.

  Hellish Procession. The skill I got from killing the Urisflay, unfortunately not compatible with Force Brawler. He was right, it was probably a good idea to pass it along to someone who could use it.

  “Honestly, I was expecting worse. Check your menu, I’m going to try and send you a skill I can’t use.”

  “Hey, what's that supposed to mean?” She feigned anger, but was already bringing up her menu. I clicked on Hellish Procession and a dropdown menu appeared, most options locked besides the one I needed, party transfer. I clicked it, confirming menus until Hellish Procession slowly vanished from my skill list.

  A few seconds later the skill appeared on Zahra’s menu, an animation playing as ‘chains’ wrapped around the skill unlocked, allowing both of us to finally see its description.

  Hellish Procession (Epic)

  While toggled, your footprints light ablaze and damage enemies. Footprint fires cost 1 energy per second (current toggle limit: 90 seconds). Damage scales based on Intelligence and Dexterity.

  Considering how fast Zahra was now, this felt like a good skill to deal some continuous damage. Zahra ooh’d and ahhh’d as she read the skill. We would have to test it to see how useful it was but it was a step in the right direction.

  “We should probably share all our skills now, it would be a good idea to know what we’re working with.” I navigated the party menu, where it looked like you could hide/show certain parts of your stats or skills to party members. Automatically, I could see her class and stats. The skills, however, required a separate input to share with your party. The first one to pop up was the skill from her class, the next from her symbiote.

  Grasp of the Hells (Legendary)

  Passive: Your attacks have a 25% chance to inflict fire damage and the burning status effect. You have immunity to cold damage, and party members have cold resistance within 10ft. of you.

  Alone, the general stood against the angels. His rage ignited the entire landscape in hellish flame.

  It was a good skill all around, giving us some protection (although I didn't know how helpful it would be in a warmer place like L.A). Plus, it was the first status effect that we could inflict on other creatures. I really liked that, it meant we could strategize with more than our skills and fighting ability. It also explained the heat just flowing off her. It looked like her symbiote only gave her one skill, unlike mine. However, it was a doozy.

  Skeletal Reinforcement (Legendary)

  Passive: You take half damage from all damage types, not including continuous damage effects. Resistance to falling damage up to 250 ft.

  The stars were nutrients for the bones of the wretched.

  Again, two weird senteces to end the skills. I didn't like the sound of either of them, but I was more focused on the effects. These symbiote skills blew me away. Not only were they strong, but they directly helped us survive the System Integration. We had a fighting chance, if we were smart.

  “Greater Regeneration, huh? That’s a pretty amazing skill. And you have two activatable skills, I’m jealous. Force Resonance is probably what killed the Urisflay, but this Density Shift is cool too. You get some resistances, and ability to deal multiplicative damage, and then heal after. It's a good loop.”

  I felt my cheeks flush again as I scanned the smog in front of the shop for any movement.

  “Yeah but I can’t use it a whole lot, kinda like the skill I sent you. Plus, I’m pretty sure your passive skills are really strong together, especially with how high your stats are.”

  “I guess we’ll have to see tomorrow morning when we go out with Christian. If we see any level 0 creatures, they should be a piece of cake. Unless they get more poison sticks, we gotta stay away from weird alien diseases.”

  Her words rang with irony as we entered back into the smog, making it back to the hospital with relative ease. We even saw a few animals scurry across the street, a raccoon family and a single grey tabby cat. When I focused on them, they had no labels or classes, and they didn’t seem to be losing HP from the smog, which was interesting. We headed back to the hospital as the sun set, where we grabbed a few cots and set up, listening to people talk, laugh, sing, and cry as we fell asleep.