Apocalypse: Rise of the Last Survivor
Chapter 3: Alpha's Gambit
The factory shook as the Rift Alpha's claws tore through the air, inches from Kael Draven's face. Purple light bathed the room, the massive rift pulsing like a living wound. The creature was a nightmare—ten feet tall, winged, with dozens of glowing eyes embedded in a chitinous skull. Its claws, each the size of a machete, gouged the concrete floor. Behind Kael, the factory door exploded inward, Sera and her Covenant hunters storming in, pulse rifles glowing with System-enhanced energy. His Codex screamed: Rift Alpha Attack Imminent. Hunters Closing. Core Enhancer Decision Required: Consume Now or Lose It. Rewind Available: 15 seconds. Cost: 20% stamina. His vitality was at 35%, his ribs screaming from the last fight. One wrong move, and he was dead.
Kael's eyes flicked to the Core Enhancer's glowing residue in his hand. Permanent skill unlock. Unknown side effects. The Rift Alpha roared, its wings snapping open, sending a gust that knocked over crates. Sera's voice cut through: "Draven! Drop the blade, or we shred you!" Her hunters fanned out, rifles trained. Kael's Chronoshift hummed, tempting him to rewind, but 20% stamina was too steep—he'd collapse mid-fight. The Enhancer was his only shot.
He popped the vial's cap and downed the glowing liquid. It burned like acid, his veins igniting. The Codex flared: Core Enhancer Consumed. Skill Unlocked: Kinetic Pulse. Effect: Emit a shockwave, 10-meter radius. Cost: 25% vitality per use. Side Effect: System Overload Risk.
Pain seared his chest, but power surged through him, his senses sharpening. The Rift Alpha lunged, claws aiming for his skull. Kael dove, rolling under a workbench, and activated Kinetic Pulse. A blue shockwave erupted, slamming the Alpha into a wall and scattering the hunters like pins. Sera's barrier flared, absorbing the hit, but two hunters weren't so lucky, crumpling against machinery.
Vitality: 10%. The Codex warned: System Overload Imminent. Rest Required. Kael's vision swam, his legs trembling, but the Alpha was already recovering, its eyes blazing. He gripped the Bloodfang Dagger, its red glow pulsing, draining him further. Vitality Drain: -5% per minute. He sheathed it, swapping to his Glock—three bullets left. The hunters regrouped, Sera barking orders: "Flank him! Rift beast's a bonus!" They wanted the Alpha's loot as much as Kael's head.
The Codex scanned: Rift Alpha Weakness: Central Eye Cluster. Requires precise strike. Kael's eyes locked on the creature's forehead, where a larger eye glowed brighter than the rest. Problem: it was fifteen feet up, and the Alpha's wings were beating, stirring a storm of dust and debris. Kael sprinted for a rusted stairwell leading to a catwalk, bullets chasing him. One grazed his shoulder, blood soaking his Kevlar jacket. He gritted his teeth, climbing, the Codex updating: Hunters: Three active. Sera's Skill: Barrier Overcharge. Cooldown: 30 seconds.
On the catwalk, Kael had a clear shot. The Alpha's central eye tracked him, its wings prepping for a dive. He aimed the Glock, steadying his shaking hand. One bullet, one chance. He fired. The shot hit true, piercing the eye. The Alpha shrieked, thrashing, its wings smashing the catwalk's supports. Metal groaned, and Kael leapt as it collapsed, landing hard on a pile of crates. The impact knocked the air from his lungs, but the Codex chimed: Rift Alpha Critical Hit. HP Reduced: 60%. XP Gained: 600.
Sera's hunters opened fire, pulse rounds tearing through crates. Kael scrambled behind a steel drum, his vitality at 8%. The Bloodfang Dagger's drain was off, but the Enhancer's side effect was hitting hard—his heart raced, his vision flickering with static. System Overload: 10 seconds to stabilize. He couldn't fight like this. The Alpha, still alive, roared and charged the hunters, buying Kael seconds. One hunter screamed as claws ripped through him, blood spraying. Sera's barrier flared again, deflecting a wing strike, but her face was pale—she was burning vitality too.
Kael's Codex offered a plan: Exit: Rear loading dock. Motorcycle still operational. Safehouse compromised. He hated running, but staying was suicide. He bolted for the dock, weaving through machinery as the Alpha tore into the hunters. Sera's voice echoed: "Draven, you coward!" He ignored her, kicking open the dock door.
The motorcycle sat where he'd left it, engine still warm. He swung on, gunning it as the factory shook, the rift pulsing brighter. The Codex warned: Rift Collapse Imminent. Radius: 100 meters.
The bike roared through the streets, Kael's vision blurring as System Overload hit its peak. He swerved around abandoned cars, sirens wailing in the distance. The city was waking to the apocalypse—screams, flickering lights, and the faint glow of new rifts on the horizon. His Codex updated: Rift Alpha Eliminated by Hunters. XP Shared: 200. New Objective: Locate Civilian Enclave, 0.9 miles north. Kael's jaw tightened. Civilians. In his past life, he'd tried saving them, only to be betrayed. This time, he'd focus on survival, but the Codex's nudge felt off—why prioritize an enclave now?
He pulled into a deserted lot, hiding the bike behind a dumpster. His vitality was at 6%, his body screaming for rest. The Codex flashed: Civilian Enclave: Warehouse district.
Estimated survivors: 30. Threat Level: Moderate. Covenant Activity Suspected. Kael froze. The Covenant was already targeting survivors, likely to secure early System loot or worse—recruit for their Erythra Pact. The Codex's earlier reveal burned in his mind: Lara's deal with the alien overlords. He couldn't let her win, but saving civilians meant risking exposure.
Footsteps crunched nearby. Kael drew his Glock, down to two bullets. A figure stumbled from the shadows—a woman, early 20s, blood on her jacket, eyes wide with panic. "Please, help us!" she gasped. "Monsters… they're attacking the warehouse!" Kael's Codex scanned: Civilian: Mia Chen. No System activation. Status: Unarmed, injured. She wasn't Covenant, but trust was a death sentence. Still, the Codex pinged: Future Codex Entry: Mia Chen, key ally in original timeline. Died protecting enclave.
Kael's gut twisted. In his past life, he'd never met Mia—she'd died before he reached the enclave. His rebirth was rewriting everything. "How many?" he asked, voice low. Mia clutched her side, blood seeping through her fingers. "Three creatures… like spiders, but bigger. They came from a glowing crack." Riftlings. The Codex confirmed: Riftling Nest. Enclave under attack. Survival Odds: 19%.
He could walk away. His vitality was too low, his ammo nearly gone. But the Codex's mention of Mia as a "key ally" nagged him. Plus, if the Covenant was nearby, he could ambush them, get answers. "Stay here," he told her, handing her a medkit from his pack. "Patch up. I'll scout." Mia nodded, trembling, as Kael crept toward the enclave, the warehouse's silhouette looming a block away.
The scene was chaos.
Riftlings skittered across the warehouse roof, their cores glowing. Screams echoed from inside, mixed with gunfire—civilians with scavenged weapons, holding the line. Kael's Codex scanned: Survivors: 28. Riftlings: 5. Covenant Presence: 2 hunters, observing from east side. So, the Covenant wasn't attacking—just watching, letting the Riftlings soften the enclave. Typical. They'd swoop in for the loot once the survivors were dead.
Kael's vitality ticked up to 7% as the Overload faded, but he was still shaky. He needed a plan. The Codex highlighted a weakness: Riftling Nest Core. Destroy to collapse nest. Location: Warehouse basement. Risky, but it'd wipe the Riftlings and draw the Covenant hunters out. He circled the warehouse, sticking to shadows, and slipped through a broken window. Inside, survivors huddled behind crates, firing wildly at three Riftlings. A man with a hunting rifle shouted orders, but his shots missed the cores.
Kael didn't announce himself. He moved low, heading for a stairwell marked by the Codex. A Riftling spotted him, mandibles clicking. He activated Kinetic Pulse, the shockwave sending it crashing into a wall, but the cost dropped his vitality to 4%. Warning: Critical Vitality. Collapse Risk. He stumbled, catching himself on a railing, and descended into the basement. The nest core glowed purple, a pulsating orb surrounded by webbing. Kael pulled his last shotgun shell, but the Codex stopped him: Shell ineffective. Use Bloodfang Dagger.
He unsheathed the dagger, its red glow flaring. Vitality Drain Resumed: -5% per minute. He had minutes before he blacked out. He slashed the webbing, the dagger's power cutting through like butter, and drove it into the core. The orb shattered, purple energy exploding outward.
The warehouse shook, Riftlings above screeching as the nest collapsed. Kael's Codex chimed: Nest Destroyed. XP Gained: 800. Vitality: 2%.
He staggered up the stairs, vision blackening. The survivors were still fighting, unaware he'd saved them. Outside, the Covenant hunters moved in, their pulse rifles ready. Kael's Glock had one bullet left. He couldn't take them, not like this. Rewind Available: 15 seconds. Cost: 20% stamina.
He had no stamina to spare, but collapse was seconds away. Then, a new voice—cold, mechanical, not the Codex—echoed in his mind: System Arbiter Intervention. Chronoshift Anomaly Detected. User: Kael Draven. Action: Immediate Assessment.
A figure materialized before him, humanoid but wrong—its face a blank mask, its body shimmering with System runes. The Arbiter's voice was ice: "Your timeline manipulation violates protocol. Explain, or be erased." Behind it, the Covenant hunters froze, rifles raised but unmoving, as if time itself had paused. Kael's vitality hit 1%, his body swaying, the Bloodfang Dagger slipping from his hand.