Sarah kept her distance from the group, her heels clicking softly against broken concrete. Her eyes drifted to Irvin's shoulders, watching how he moved with surprising grace for his size. The way he scanned their surroundings reminded her of a predator - alert, calculating - it unsettled her.

  He didn't hesitate, she thought, remembering his strong hands lifting her to safety. Not like the others who just ran past.

  Another explosion rocked the city behind them, and Sarah stumbled. Her ankle twisted, sending a fresh spike of pain up her leg. She bit back a curse, forcing herself to keep moving despite the growing ache.

  The group ahead bunched together, following Mike's lead like lost sheep. Sarah noticed how Irvin stayed on the periphery, watching. Always watching. It made her skin prickle with unease.

  What's his angle? She'd seen enough workplace politics to know nobody helped others without expecting something in return. Her gaze caught on his hands - the same ones that had touched her legs with surprising gentleness. Heat crept up her neck at the memory.

  "Keep up," Dave called back, his voice grating on her nerves.

  Sarah quickened her pace, drawing closer to Irvin. Not too close, but close enough that his presence offered some comfort against the chaos around them.

  Better the devil you know, she thought, then hesitated. What about the devil that saved your life?

  She watched him tense at every sound, his head turning to track movement in the shadows. There was something mechanical about his movements, like he was running calculations rather than acting on instinct.

  The group ahead stopped again, Mike and Dave's voices rising in another argument. Sarah used the moment to catch her breath, leaning against a wall. Her feet throbbed in her heels, but she didn't dare take them off. Not with glass and debris littering every surface.

  Should have worn flats today, she thought bitterly. Should have stayed home when the power went out. Should have-

  A distant screech cut through her thoughts. Sarah's head snapped up, searching the sky. She caught Irvin doing the same, his body coiled like a spring.

  "We need to move," he said, voice low but carrying.

  Sarah pushed off the wall, ignoring the protest from her ankle. She'd rather deal with the pain than whatever made that sound. As the group started moving again, she found herself drifting closer to Irvin, drawn to his calm competence like a moth to flame.

  Just until we're somewhere safe, she told herself. Then I'll figure out what he really wants.

  The ground shook, sending ripples through puddles of rainwater. Irvin steadied himself against what used to be car frame, scanning for the source. A deafening crash erupted as bricks and concrete exploded outward from a nearby building. Through the dust emerged something that shouldn't exist - a massive creature with the bulk of a boar and the savage features of a dog. Its red eyes fixed on their group, saliva dripping from curved tusks.

  "Holy shit," Irvin breathed. His mind raced to calculate their odds. The beast's muscles rippled under patchy fur as it pawed the ground, easily the size of a small car.

  Mike's voice cracked with panic. "Weapons! Everyone grab something to fight with! Now!"

  The group scattered. Women and several others bolted immediately, while the remaining survivors scrambled for debris. Irvin watched as Tom struggled to lift a metal pipe, his face red with effort. Dave couldn't budge a chunk of concrete that should have been manageable.

  The augments, Irvin realized, his stomach dropping. These people don't have any or they have wrong combination.

  The creature charged. Its hooves thundered against the pavement as Mike screamed for everyone to run. The group abandoned their futile attempts at arming themselves, fleeing in a panicked mass toward their original destination.

  Irvin's struggled to run, his body screaming with pain and soreness. A woman in a business suit stumbled, her heel snapping. The beast caught her before she could rise, its tusks ripping through flesh. Her scream cut short.

  Keep moving, Irvin forced himself forward, fighting the urge to look back as more screams pierced the air.

  Two men tried diving behind a car. The creature plowed through the vehicle like it was cardboard, crushing them beneath the wreckage. Blood pooled on the cracked asphalt.

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  Irvin's mind raced through scenarios, each one worse than the last. His enhanced strength might let him fight, but one wrong move and those tusks would tear him apart. The creature was too fast, too strong to take head-on.

  More survivors fell behind him, their deaths marked by wet sounds and snapping bones. The monster was barely slowing as it cut through their numbers.

  Irvin's lungs burned. His legs trembled with each step, muscles screaming in protest. He couldn't keep running - not like this. Behind him, the creature's hooves thundered against broken pavement, closing the distance with terrifying speed.

  Can't outrun it. Can't hide. His gaze swept the debris-strewn street. A fallen lamppost, too heavy. A mangled car door, solid metal. Then - there. A chunk of concrete, cracked but manageable.

  Irvin spun, his augmented strength letting him heft the concrete block. The beast charged forward, its red eyes locked on the fleeing group ahead. He hurled the chunk with all his might. It struck the creature's flank with a meaty thunk.

  The monster wheeled around, focusing its burning gaze on him. Well, that worked.

  Irvin grabbed a splintered wooden beam. "Come here!"

  The beast pawed the ground, lowering its head. Irvin's heart hammered against his ribs. He dove right as the creature charged, feeling the rush of air as those deadly tusks missed him by inches. The beast crashed into a wall, shaking loose a shower of bricks.

  Before Irvin could recover, the monster's hindquarters slammed into him. The impact sent him flying. He hit the ground hard, vision blurring. The creature loomed over him, ready to finish what it started.

  A rock struck the beast's eye. Then another. Tom stood thirty feet away, launching projectiles with uncanny accuracy. Each hit made the creature flinch and roar.

  The augments. Which one did he pick, Agility?

  Irvin scrambled to his feet as the beast turned toward Tom. He drove his fist into its flank, enhanced strength letting him actually hurt the monster. It groaned, turning back toward him, but Tom pelted its other eye, keeping it off balance.

  They fell into a deadly dance - Tom striking from range while Irvin landed blow after blow up close. The creature couldn't focus on either target, growing more enraged with each hit. Blood matted its fur where Irvin's strikes connected.

  Irvin's arms ached, knuckles split and bleeding. The beast was weakening, but still dangerous. It charged again, slower now. Tom's rock caught it in the eye, making it stumble. Irvin saw his chance. He grabbed a fallen pipe and swung with everything he had, catching the monster under its jaw.

  The beast's head snapped back with a sickening crack. It collapsed, twitched once, and went still.

  Irvin dropped the pipe, chest heaving. Tom approached, equally winded.

  "Nice aim," Irvin managed between breaths.

  Tom nodded. "Nice punch." He gestured at the fallen monster. "Wouldn't have managed this alone."

  No, Irvin thought, studying the older man. Neither of us would have.

  Irvin and Tom trudged into the park, their footsteps heavy on grass that had grown wild and thick in mere hours. Strange flowers bloomed overhead, their petals an unnatural shade of blue. The surviving group huddled beneath twisted trees, their faces pale and drawn.

  Mike paced back and forth, his earlier bravado replaced by haunted eyes and trembling hands. Dave sat on a fallen log, head bowed, no longer concerned with the previous argument. The fight for leadership seemed trivial now, washed away by the blood of those they'd lost.

  "Thank god," someone whispered as Irvin approached. A few survivors rushed forward to help support Tom, who'd developed a noticeable limp during their escape.

  Irvin's muscles screamed in protest. The adrenaline crash hit him hard, making his vision swim. He stumbled to the nearest tree and slid down its trunk, barely registering the rough bark against his back.

  Need to stay alert, he thought, but his body had other ideas. His mind slipped into the mental space filled with his body, assigning his new point to Constitution. The familiar warmth pulsed through his body.

  Augments: 0

  Head [Intelligence] 0

  Heart [Charisma] 0

  Hands [Spirit] 0

  Belly [Strength] 5 — [Constitution] 2

  Legs [Agility] 0

  Irvin barely returned to himself before darkness took him.

  Irvin's eyes snapped open as Tom shook his shoulder. A cold breeze hit his skin, making him shiver.

  "What the fuck now?" The words died in his throat as his brain caught up with his senses. He was naked. Completely.

  "Sorry to disturb your nap, but this shit seems to never end." Tom stood over him, his middle-aged body exposed to the world. The man's slight paunch hung over pale thighs, a sight Irvin wished he could unsee.

  This has to be a nightmare. Irvin's hands pressed against the ground, finding only scraps of degraded fabric where his clothes should have been. He pushed himself up, scanning the park. Everyone stood in various states of undress, their clothes having apparently disintegrated while he was out.

  "So it's not just buildings and animals, but now clothes as well?"

  Tom crossed his arms, seemingly unbothered by his nudity. "Looks like this integration thing wants to strip away everything humans built before it's done with us."

  Irvin glanced down at his chest. The wounds from earlier had mostly healed, leaving fresh pink scars across his torso and arms. The constitution boost actually works like you'd expect. At least something makes sense.

  Around the park, people dealt with their sudden nudity in different ways. Some tried to gather leaves or scraps of fabric. Others stood frozen, as if hoping this was all a bad dream. The women especially struggled, attempting to hide behind trees and bushes while shooting death glares at any man whose eyes wandered their direction.

  This changes everything. Irvin's doing everything he could to keep his eyes away from the naked women. No weapons, no tools, no protection from the elements. We're back to fucking nothing.

  A woman's sharp voice cut through the air. "Stop staring, you pervert!" She pressed herself against a tree trunk, face burning red as she yelled at a man who quickly averted his gaze.

  This is about to get complicated. Irvin noted how the group was already splitting along gender lines, with clusters of women seeking safety in numbers while the men tried to maintain some semblance of normalcy despite the situation.