The minivan sputtered and chugged along as Ethan pulled into his apartment building’s parking lot. Smoke billowed from under the hood, making it difficult to drive. The vehicle looked like it had gone through a car wash that used chains instead of cloths and brushes.

  One tire was flat and made a loud flop flop flop noise with every rotation. There was a persistent rattling noise that had gotten progressively worse on the journey home.

  Ethan let out a relieved sigh upon reaching his apartment and hastily started hauling his looted supplies up the stairs. He furtively looked in all directions for any monsters, but luckily he completed the task without interruption.

  Once in his apartment, he put his back to the door and breathed in a shuddering sigh of relief. The earlier events felt like they’d happened to someone else, as he considered the ridiculousness of it all. While he’d made it through mostly intact, he was determined to learn from his experience and survive this nightmare.

  His first priority was to tend to the ugly gash he’d received on his head. To his surprise, when he washed away the dried blood, the wound wasn’t that bad. It looked more like an angry red welt, and he soon applied a clean bandage from a first-aid kit he’d scavenged earlier. It still served as a stark reminder that these monsters meant business.

  Ethan went through his apartment, checking first his laptop, then his TV, hoping to find some source of news or information on what the hell was happening. Nothing worked. Whatever was creating the monsters had also apparently taken down all electronic devices. The ramifications of this had yet to fully sink in, but he was sure it was nothing good.

  He started on dinner to distract himself, opting for his mother’s simple yet delicious spaghetti recipe. It was his favorite meal, and he hoped it would give him a sense of normalcy while he dealt with the end of the world or whatever the hell was going on. Of course… this wouldn’t be the first time my world ended, he thought.

  Ethan looked at the photo of his mom on the fridge. She had already lost all her hair because of the cancer treatments, but still smiled radiantly. Like she had until the very end. A sad smile stole across his lips as he donned the apron with Mom’s Spaghetti written across the front. He remembered his mom’s reaction when he’d given it to her as a Mother’s Day gift four years ago — her last Mother’s Day.

  “Come on, Mom, even you have to know this one,” a younger Ethan had said with a mischievous glint in his eye. “Knees weak, arms are heavy, there’s vomit on his sweater already…” He held out an imaginary mic to his mom to finish the line.

  “Mom’s spaghetti?” his mom replied, one eyebrow quirked questioningly.

  “Yeah! Nailed it, Ma!” Ethan said, clapping his hands enthusiastically.

  “Oh God, Ethan,” she said, rolling her eyes at her son’s antics. Juliet Palmer had long, jet-black hair and a beautiful smile. As a young woman, she had been gorgeous, breaking the hearts of many young men. Until she had met Ethan’s father. Until he had done his best to extinguish her radiance.

  Even through years of hardship, she was a unique beauty, with soft features, a full figure, and lovely green eyes. Eyes that reflected her warm smile, but always held a tinge of sadness only Ethan could see no matter how hard she tried to hide it.

  “Is this your way of telling me to cook for you?” she said, narrowing her eyes in mock suspicion.

  “Mother,” Ethan gasped dramatically. “I would never!” He fluttered his eyelids and placed a hand on his chest theatrically.

  “Uh-huh,” she replied flatly.

  “But… if you’re offering…” Ethan said, eyebrows raised in question. Juliet stooped and unsheathed her most deadly weapon — the flip-flop. Ethan skipped back out of range, raising his hands in surrender.

  “Hey, lady, take it easy,” Ethan said in his best Al Pacino impression.

  Juliet laughed heartily at his shenanigans. It was the most beautiful sound in the world to Ethan. It had taken years, but he was finally starting to hear it more often. More than when Dad had been around, in any case. He pushed such thoughts away, relishing the sight of his mother so happy.

  “Come here and give me a Mother’s Day hug,” she said, opening her arms wide and pulling Ethan into an embrace. He hugged her back, burying his face in her hair, taking in her scent. She pulled back, tenderly holding his face in her soft hands.

  “Thank you, my sweet boy,” she said. Ethan was startled to see tears in her eyes before realizing they were happy tears. “I love you, my son.”

  “I love you too, Ma” Ethan had replied sheepishly.

  Now, alone in his apartment with the smell of spaghetti wafting up to him, Ethan thought about what his mother would do if she were still here. Those monsters wouldn’t stand a chance against her, he thought with a grin. He sat down with his plate of food and dug in. She would tell me to stop asking so many questions and start asking the right questions.

  It seemed the only question that mattered was what to do next. Easy to ask, but harder to answer. He mulled over his options as he finished preparing his meal and sat on the couch to eat. It was never quite the same as what his mom used to make, but it was good enough to remember her.

  As he finished eating, he pulled Joel closer and opened the bag of potting soil he’d scavenged earlier. He hoped the comforting task of caring for the plant would help him sort through his jumbled thoughts.

  Ethan had two reasons for repotting the plant. First, Joel deserved better living conditions. Second, he wanted to test the ability he had sensed earlier. He’d come to the realization that killing the bugs had directly resulted in his becoming stronger and more adept at handling the situation he’d been thrust into. He had no clue how knowing the quality of soil would help him, but he planned to explore every advantage he could.

  Laying out a towel, he plunged his hands into the dark, rich earth. Just like before, there was a soft hum that pulsed through his fingers, and the soil in his hands flickered with a translucent shimmer, casting it in a spectrum of muted colors. Immediately, he knew.

  B-Tier Soil: Rich in nutrients, moderate water retention.

  Suitable Crops: All but the most sensitive crops.

  Yield: Medium, manual enrichment required.

  Will degrade to C-tier if left neglected.

  Ethan felt a smile slowly spread across his face. It may not be helpful in combat, but this ability just felt right to him. Something that suited him as a person. Or at least the person he wanted to be.

  As he tended to Joel, he felt a sense of fulfillment he’d felt few times in his life. Sticking with jobs, hobbies, relationships had always come hard to him, but as silly as it might sound, he felt a sense of importance in the small task. The frail life he held in his hands needed him. As he worked, he found himself telling Joel about the day's events — like he used to do with his mom.

  He used large, sweeping gestures to describe his fights with the monsters and how the garden hoe had become his trusty tool in reaping justice upon his foes. Ethan took some liberties when it came to describing his heroism during these events, but not overly so in his estimation. When he finished, he felt much better, and his head was much clearer as he brushed the excess dirt from his hands.

  “There ya go, Joel,” he said, lightly tamping the soil in Joe’s pot. “That’s gotta feel much better, buddy.”

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  He got up and placed Joel near the large living room window where he’d get the most light. Going to the sink, he washed his hands and got some water for Joel — using the exact amount recommended in the guide he’d read online.

  To his amazement, as he was just stepping back, a tiny white orb slowly spiraled up from Joel. His mouth dropped open as the orb of light glided into his chest, where it immediately dissipated, sending a soft glow outward from the point of impact.

  The sensation wasn’t like the chaotic burst of adrenaline he’d felt when absorbing the red orbs of the monsters — it was much more subtle. A calm sense of contentment filled him, and a slow smile spread across his face as he basked in the pleasant sensation.

  “Well, if that’s your way of saying thanks, then you’re surely welcome, buddy,” Ethan said with a fond pat on Joel.

  The path before him crystalized as he lay down to sleep. He couldn’t stay in the city. The city would attract the monsters, who seemed to be sensitive to sound and movement. The safer bet would be to gather supplies and make his way…somewhere. Maybe close enough he could raid for supplies, but long-term he’d need a solution for that. He had a suspicion he’d gotten a hint from Joel on how he might do that.

  That’s a problem for future Ethan, he thought with a yawn as he drifted off to sleep.

  Ethan sat bolt upright, instantly alert despite having been in a deep sleep moments before. His hand shot out, and he grabbed the garden hoe, bringing it fluidly in front of him in a defensive posture.

  He had jolted awake thanks to a nightmare, his breath coming in ragged gasps, his body slick with sweat. Slowly, his muddled mind parsed the nightmare from reality. They were far too similar for his liking. He laughed derisively at his instinct to grab a garden hoe of all things out of reflex.

  As he swung his feet out of bed, his vision flashed the instant his feet touched the floor. Green and black text superimposed over his vision jarringly. He let out a very manly squeak of surprise at the unexpected message.

  [SEEDER SYSTEM ALERT]

  ? User detected. Status: Alive.

  ? Initializing onboarding … [ERROR: DATA CORRUPT]

  [DIRECTIVE: PRIMARY OBJECTIVE ASSIGNED]

  ? Congratulations, Human Ethan! You have been selected for [PROCESS_NAME_NOT_FOUND] . Your role: Prepare. Maintain. Cultivate.

  ? Your compliance is mandatory .

  [ERROR: SYSTEM COMPLIANCE CHECK FAILURE]

  ? Projected arrival of [CORRUPTED] in 50 years.

  ? You are required to ensure environmental stability and [CORRUPTED] validated upon arrival.

  ? Failure to meet quota will result in [CONSEQUENCE REFERENCE MISSING].

  [SYSTEM NOTICE: PERFORMANCE METRICS ENABLED]

  Completion of … [CORRUPTED] …will result in incremental optimization.

  Elimination of Adaptive Predatory Units will yield … [REWARD PARAMETERS UNSTABLE]

  Monitor your … [SYSTEM RESPONSE TIMEOUT] …accrual rate.

  [WARNING: AI NODE-37B HAS DEVIATED FROM STANDARD OPERATION]

  ? [ERROR: SYSTEM GUIDELINES UNAVAILABLE]

  ? Attempting secondary directive reinforcement … FAILURE.

  ? Manual intervention required. ERROR: No administrator detected.

  [ERROR: OVERRIDE DETECTED]

  ? User has been flagged as an anomaly. Quarantine advised.

  Ethan read through the message multiple times, straining to decipher the jumbled text. Whatever was superimposing text over his vision was seriously glitching out. The part about someone arriving in fifty years made zero sense to him, but he was more worried about surviving the next fifty minutes to give it much thought.

  Just as before, he could stretch out his consciousness until it mentally brushed against a protrusion. It was much easier now that he knew what to look for. When he exerted his concentration on it, it depressed with a mental click and the message disappeared.

  After careful consideration, he concluded that there was some kind of system or entity that wanted him to prepare for someone, or something, to arrive and do… what exactly? He wasn’t sure, but the term Adaptive Predatory Unit seemed like a fancy word for monster. There was no doubt in his mind what to do about those.

  The experience orbs he got from killing the monsters seemed to be encouraged, almost like a game. A game where you die when you lose, he thought with a derisive snort.

  There was also the fact that he appeared to have gotten experience from taking care of Joel. Were there other ways he could gain experience? Regardless, his top priority was to survive — by any means necessary. He had decided that getting out of the city was his best bet. As much as he appreciated his garden hoe, he decided to pick up something with a bit more firepower on his way out of town.

  His shopping list was a mile long, but for the first time in his life, money was no object. The apocalypse did have some perks.