The air was still a sweltering 104 degrees， thin acrid smoke clinging to every breath.

  Everywhere he looked was craters and rubble. The neighborhood was gone， every building reduced to ash and broken concrete. The trees were nothing but bckened stumps.

  Kane wore a gas mask over his face， a backpack slung over his shoulders with a few days worth of food and water. In one hand he held the modified bone saw， the butcher’s cleaver taped to his left forearm with a roll of heavy-duty tape， along with a stack of old magazines for extra armor.

  The world was dead silent.

  He was used to the loneliness of the Wastend.

  Alone， he walked into the haze of smoke， heading straight for the Veyra City High School staff housing.

  Along the way， he passed countless bodies. Some half-burned， some with their heads crushed by meteors.

  The Colpse had hit at midnight. Most people had been asleep in their beds， buried when their buildings colpsed on top of them.

  But the bodies hadn’t rotted in the heat.

  Kane knew that at midnight that night， every single one of these corpses would rise again. The Infected. They’d feast on flesh， their broken bodies regenerating， growing stronger. They’d devour any living thing， any Star Shard they could find， evolving into the nightmare that would haunt every survivor for years to come.

  As he passed a half-colpsed shopping mall， he felt eyes on him.

  He froze， turning his head to stare coldly at the building.

  The upper floors had caved in completely， but the ground floor had somehow survived， thanks to the reinforced concrete.

  It made sense. There was plenty of food and water inside， plenty of space to hide. It was no surprise someone had survived there.

  Kane didn’t care. He kept walking.

  Inside the mall， in a locked back office， a boy with a soot-streaked face peered through a crack in the wall， his eyes locked on Kane’s back until he disappeared into the smoke.

  He couldn’t have been more than 15 or 16， his school uniform tattered and filthy， barely recognizable.

  “He’s gone，” he said， letting out a shaky breath. “We don’t have another mouth to feed.”

  “Kael… is that really the right thing to do?”

  In the corner behind him， huddled on the floor， was a girl no older than 11.

  Her arm was broken， splinted with two charred pieces of wood and wrapped in rags， dark dried blood staining the fabric.

  “Most of the grocery section colpsed. We don’t have enough food as it is. We can’t afford to help anyone else.” Kael sighed.

  “But Jett went out to find food three days ago. What if he comes back?” The girl’s voice trembled.

  “You really think he’s coming back， Wren?” Kael asked quietly.

  The girl fell silent， her head dropping to her chest.

  Kael walked over， brushing a strand of hair out of her face. “Wren， Mom and Dad made me promise before they died. No matter what， I’m gonna keep you alive. I swear it. On my life.”

  If Kane had been there， he would’ve recognized that little girl in an instant. Wren. The youngest of the three women who’d died to save him.

  …

  Kane had no idea he’d just passed the girl he’d sworn to protect if he ever got a second chance. He moved fast through the rubble， getting closer to the high school with every step.

  He felt a few more sets of eyes on him along the way， other survivors hiding in the ruins. He ignored them all.

  Suddenly， he froze.

  He turned， staring at a crater a few feet away. In the dim， hazy sunlight， he caught a fsh of blood-red light.

  He jumped down into the crater， digging through the dirt and ash with the tip of his bone saw.

  Seconds ter， he closed his hand around a blood-red crystal the size of a walnut.

  A Star Shard.

  He hadn’t expected to find one this fast.

  Seven years in the Wastend， every survivor knew everything there was to know about Star Shards.

  They’d fallen with the meteors， hidden in the craters， buried under rubble.

  He also knew that after midnight that night， when the Infected rose， every st Star Shard on the surface would be devoured by them.

  Only a tiny handful would ever make it into human hands.

  After that， the only way to get a Shard was to kill the Infected and cut them out of their bodies… or get impossibly lucky.

  Every Shard held something. No one knew exactly how many different things there were， even seven years ter.

  Most of the time， it was just food， water， basic supplies. If you were lucky， enhanced gear， evolution serums.

  The rarest thing of all? An Ability Awakening Serum.

  Abilities were the most coveted thing in the Wastend. They turned ordinary humans into gods. To an Ability user， regur humans were nothing. Less than dirt.

  And everything， from supplies to gear to Abilities， was ranked. From F-Rank to SSS-Rank.

  A loaf of bread at F-Rank might restore your stamina.

  But anything higher? It could boost your strength， heal fatal wounds， even regrow lost limbs.

  Kane squeezed the Shard as hard as he could. It didn’t even crack. He’d forgotten his body was still just that of a regur human， no enhancements.

  He set the Shard on a solid piece of concrete， lifted the bone saw， and smmed it down.

  Crack!

  The Shard split open， a bright white light bursting out of it， glowing for three seconds before fading.

  In its pce y a heavy-duty green military combat jacket.

  Gear.

  His very first Star Shard， and he’d pulled gear.

  From the feel of it， it was only F-Rank. But even so， it was stronger than any regur fabric. A regur knife wouldn’t pierce it.

  A good sign. A faint smile tugged at Kane’s lips.

  When the Infected rose that night， this jacket would save his life.

  He stripped off his old shirt， pulled the jacket on， and felt a little safer already.

  He slung his backpack over his shoulders， grabbed his bone saw， and kept walking.

  He didn’t find another Star Shard on the surface after that. Soon enough， he stood outside the Veyra City High School staff housing.

  It was nothing but rubble now， dead silent. If he hadn’t known Liam Thorne was here， he never would’ve guessed anyone was alive.

  The Infected hadn’t risen yet. The mutated beasts were still just regur animals， hiding from the heat. Most survivors were still holed up， too scared to move， too shocked by the end of the world.

  Most people would stay hidden， waiting for help that would never come.

  But not everyone.

  Not Liam Thorne， the high school English teacher.

  Right on cue， he crawled out of a half-colpsed basement， a kitchen knife in his hand， his face gaunt and exhausted， his white t-shirt stained with fresh blood.

  He stared out at the ruined world， frozen in shock.

  He had no idea that a pair of cold， hateful eyes were watching him from behind a broken wall.

  Kane knew if he showed himself too early， he’d change the timeline. He might make Liam miss the Star Shard that held the Soul-Binder Ability entirely.

  The first time around， he’d met Liam three days after the meteor shower ended.

  By then， Liam had already awakened the Soul-Binder. But he hadn’t bound a single beast yet. He was still just a regur man， his leg crushed by a fallen piece of wall， bleeding out. Kane had saved his life.

  He’d never known exactly when Liam had found the Shard.

  But now he knew. It was today.

  After midnight， the Infected would rise and devour every Shard on the surface. Liam， in his current state， would never be able to fight them off. He’d never be able to dig through the rubble blind.