The long, horror hand of the monster shot forward without warning, wrapping tightly around the blogger’s neck before he could even react.
A strangled gasp escaped him.
Then the creature’s head forced its way through the doorway.
Its jaws stretched unnaturally wide, revealing rows of jagged, bloodstained teeth.
Crunch!
In a single, horrifying motion, it bit clean through the blogger’s neck.
Blood splattered violently across the room, painting the walls and floor in res. The sound of the man’s scream was cut off almost instantly, reduced to nothing more than a wet, choking gurgle as his body went limp.
The livestream continued.
Every second of it.
The burly man, who had been watching from the side, froze for only a fraction of a mont. His instincts kicked in imdiately.
“I’m next...” he muttered under his breath, panic flashing across his face.
Without wasting another second, he rushed to the window and leapt out, the rope tied around his waist snapping taut as it caught him mid-drop. He slid down roughly, escaping just as the monster dragged the lifeless body back inside, its low, guttural growls echoing as it began to feast.
***
Miles away, Ivy watched everything unfold through her phone.
Her fingers trembled slightly.
Her throat tightened as she swallowed hard, pain stabbing sharply in her chest.
She had her earbuds in, the sound isolated....hidden from her children. She couldn’t let them hear this. She wouldn’t.
The monster’s growls echoed through her ears, raw and feral, sending chills down her spine.
Then....silence.
The livestream abruptly cut off.
Ivy blinked, staring at the screen.
“Huh...?” she whispered, her brows knitting together. “It can’t be the monster that ended it... right?”
Her fingers moved quickly as she refreshed the app, scrolling through the platform in search of other livestreams.
Nothing.
Not a single one.
A cold feeling crept up her spine.
“What’s going on...?” she murmured, her voice barely audible.
She exited the app and opened another.
Then another but none of them worked.
Her grip on the phone tightened.
“Is this... the end of online normalcy?” she muttered under her breath, the realization settling heavily in her chest.
A bitter smile tugged at her lips.
“Of course it is,” she added quietly. “It even lasted longer here than in the first world...”
She let out a slow, weary sigh as she continued to rock little Hope in her arms. The baby suckled gently, completely unaware of the chaos unfolding beyond their small, fragile safety.
Ping! Ping! Ping!
A sharp, piercing sound rang loudly in Ivy’s head.
She winced, imdiately grabbing her head as pain flared.
“What now...?” she thought, her expression tightening.
She recognized the sensation instantly....it was her system.
But sothing felt off.
This wasn’t the usual notification tone.
Then....
Ding!
{You’ve forgotten that you attached your temporary warehouse alarm to , Host?}
Ivy blinked.
“Oh... right,” she replied inwardly as realization dawned on her.
{The alarm has been triggered.}
Her eyes widened.
Imdiately, a translucent interface appeared before her, displaying a live feed of her base.
Four burly n and a woman had already forced their way into the warehouse.
They moved aggressively, kicking aside empty crates and opening containers with growing frustration.
“What the hell is this?!” one of the n barked angrily.
He turned sharply toward the woman beside him, his expression darkening.
“You said there was food stored here!” he snapped, stepping closer with heavy, threatening strides. “You recorded her, didn’t you? You showed us the video yourself!”
The woman’s face had gone pale, fear evident in her trembling lips.
“I....I did! I swear I did!” she stamred.
“But there’s nothing here now!” the man roared.
In a sudden burst of rage, he lunged forward and grabbed her by the neck, lifting her slightly off the ground with one hand.
She gasped, clawing at his wrist.
“Are you playing gas with ?” he growled, his grip tightening. “Just because I told you to go out and find supplies, you decided to waste my ti?!”
“No! I’m not lying!” she choked out desperately. “The food was here....I saw it myself!”
His eyes narrowed dangerously.
“The video you showed ...” he said slowly, suspicion creeping into his tone. “Was it fake?”
His grip tightened even more.
“Was it AI-generated or sothing?!” he demanded harshly.
“My love, I swear... there was lots of food here,” the woman cried desperately. Tears stread down her cheeks as her voice broke repeatedly.
“I confird it with my own eyes. I saw how she always ca here, and when she left... I even climbed up to the roof to spy because I kept wondering why she kept coming here all the ti. I really saw lots of food stored here. I believed it would still be here since the apocalypse started. I thought she might not have had ti to co back... or maybe she has already been eaten by monsters.”
Her voice cracked completely at the end.
The burly man’s expression darkened instantly.
“Eaten by monsters?!” he repeated coldly.
Then he suddenly sneered.
“Don’t worry... you’ll be the one getting eaten by monsters now!”
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