Apocalypse’s Heart: The bond system

The sky was bleeding.

Thick clouds swirled above the crumbled skyline, their twisted shapes glowing crimson from distant fires. Ash fell like gray snow, clinging to the tattered streets below. Buildings stood as blackened husks — steel skeletons hollowed by flames and time. Once-busy roads lay buried beneath shattered glass, rusting cars, and the rotting remains of those who hadn’t been lucky enough to escape.

Leon Vance pulled his jacket tighter against the biting wind. His boots crunched over broken asphalt as he moved quietly down the alleyway, eyes flicking between shadowed corners.

One more block… just one more block.

The gas station up ahead was mostly intact. Its rusted roof sagged, but the windows hadn’t been shattered — a rare sign of hope in this dead city. Leon adjusted the strap on his backpack and hurried forward.

The air stank of smoke and decay, but he’d grown numb to it by now. Survival dulled everything — hunger, exhaustion, even fear. He barely remembered what it felt like to be comfortable.

As he neared the station's door, he froze.

Footprints.

Fresh ones, pressed into the soot-covered ground. Too small for a raider — maybe a scavenger. Or worse... something not human.

Leon’s fingers curled tightly around the crowbar strapped to his side. Quietly, he edged closer to the door and leaned in, straining to hear.

Soft breathing. Faint footsteps. Someone was inside.

Damn it...

He had two choices — back off and risk losing the supplies… or go in and hope whoever it was wasn’t hostile.

His stomach growled. He chose the second option.

Leon crept inside, moving between the empty shelves. The air was stale, thick with the scent of mold and gasoline. Dust coated every surface, and most of the racks had already been stripped clean.

The sound of shuffling feet came from the back. He followed quietly, crowbar gripped tight.

Peeking around the corner, he spotted her.

A girl — no older than twenty — knelt beside a pile of overturned boxes. Her blonde hair was tied back in a short braid, and her clothes were worn and patched. A knife gleamed in her hand as she rummaged through the shelves, muttering under her breath.

Leon exhaled softly.

Just a scavenger... not a threat.

He stepped forward carefully, clearing his throat to avoid startling her. “Hey.”

The girl spun instantly, knife raised.

“Whoa!” Leon threw up his hands. “I’m not here to fight.”

“Then turn around and walk out.” Her voice was cold, her grip firm.

“I just need supplies,” Leon said. “We can split whatever’s left.”

She eyed him carefully, her gaze flicking to his crowbar. “And if I say no?”

“I’ll leave,” Leon answered honestly. “I’m not looking for trouble.”

For a moment, she seemed to consider it. Then she sighed and lowered the knife.

“There’s barely anything here,” she muttered. “I checked most of it already.”

Leon nodded and relaxed, stepping further inside. He knelt beside a few unopened boxes and started sorting through them. Crushed water bottles, empty snack wrappers… nothing useful.

“Name’s Leon,” he said without looking up.

“Iris,” the girl muttered.

They worked quietly for a few minutes, the silence broken only by the faint creak of shifting shelves. Leon found a half-full can of beans and slipped it into his pack.

“You from one of the survivor camps?” he asked.

Iris shook her head. “Was. Not anymore.”

She didn’t elaborate, and Leon knew better than to press. People didn’t like talking about what they’d lost.

A distant shriek split the air — sharp and inhuman.

Leon froze. Iris did too, her fingers tightening around her knife.

“...That’s close,” she whispered.

They both knew what it was.

Ravagers.

Twisted creatures born from the Rift — half-human, half-nightmare. They hunted anything that moved, their skeletal bodies wrapped in dry, leathery skin. Worse yet, they never hunted alone.

“Back door,” Iris whispered.

Leon nodded, slinging his pack over his shoulder. They crept quietly toward the back exit. Leon reached for the handle — but froze.

Something scratched at the other side.

A low growl rumbled just inches away.

Iris’s face paled. “They’re already here…”

Before Leon could react, the door burst open. A twisted figure lunged inside — skin stretched tight over jagged bones, its empty eyes glowing faintly in the dim light.

“Run!” Iris shouted.

Leon swung his crowbar as hard as he could. The metal struck the creature’s skull with a sickening crack. It staggered, but didn’t fall.

“Go!” Leon shoved Iris toward the aisle.

The Ravager lunged again. Leon dodged, grabbing a shelf and toppling it over the creature. Metal clattered as the beast thrashed beneath the fallen rack.

Leon bolted after Iris. They sprinted through the ruined aisles, leaping over broken glass and twisted metal.

The front doors were just ahead.

They burst outside — into more trouble.

Three more Ravagers waited in the street. Their sunken faces twisted into something resembling a grin as they spotted fresh prey.

Leon’s stomach turned.

“We can’t outrun them,” Iris muttered, breathless.

Leon gritted his teeth and stepped forward, crowbar raised. He knew this was it. There was no way they were getting out of this.

I can’t die here…

The air shifted — a strange pulse that rippled through his body. For a moment, everything seemed sharper — the wind against his face, the ash swirling in the air, the steady rhythm of Iris’s breathing beside him.

Then something clicked inside his head.

> [NEW BOND FORMED: IRIS BLACKWELL]

Skill Unlocked — Combat Instincts: Enhanced reflexes and danger perception.

A surge of clarity hit Leon like ice water. His fingers tightened around the crowbar. The Ravagers lunged, but this time… he moved first.

Leon sidestepped the closest beast, spinning the crowbar in a swift arc. The metal struck the creature’s skull with bone-crushing force. Without stopping, he twisted away from the second one, ducking under its claws and driving his weapon into its ribs.

Both monsters crumpled to the ground.

The last Ravager screeched and lunged — but before Leon could react, Iris appeared beside him. Her knife flashed, burying itself in the beast’s throat.

It fell still.

For a long moment, neither of them spoke. They just stood there, panting, surrounded by twisted corpses.

Iris turned to him, her expression half-surprised, half-impressed. “Didn’t think you had that in you.”

“Me neither,” Leon muttered. His hands still shook from the adrenaline.

“Thanks,” she said softly. Then, after a pause, “Don’t die on me.”

Leon exhaled shakily and glanced at the darkening sky. The fires still burned, and the ash still fell. The world was still ending.

But for the first time in a long while… he didn’t feel powerless