Ellie and Alex checked the neighboring house from their balcony too, but there was no sign of creatures—or anyone. They reported back to the others, and everyone agreed to meet in the afternoon.

Back inside, Ellie gave Alex a few minutes of healing. His wounds were improving rapidly, and the pain dulled further. Feeling better, he started preparing lunch: a large salad with grilled chicken. They needed to use the vegetables before they spoiled, and Alex was determined to get back in shape.

Just as they finished eating, the lights went out again.

Ellie: Should we go back to the patio?
Alex: Yeah. We can train some more.

Before heading out, Alex handed Ellie his sword, offering to use the kitchen knives himself.

Ellie: No. I’ll take the big kitchen knife. That thing is too big.

Alex: Oh, honey.. that’s why I love you. 

Ellie: Idiot

Several neighbors joined them in the courtyard. The practice targets started as cardboard boxes, but they quickly tore apart after a few hits. They moved on to sturdier things—bricks, wood scraps, and cans.

Everyone was making progress. They could now shoot projectiles with some precision, though the magic still wasn’t perfect. No matter how carefully they aimed, there was always some dispersion.

Antonio appeared, looking grim.

Antonio: Hey, everyone. I got the radio to work, but I can’t broadcast—missing parts. I’ve heard some disturbing news.

Out of the 50 apartments in the building, Antonio reported, 11 were empty, or not used for regular housing before God’s announcement, and 17 families had left in the chaos. That left 22 apartments occupied. Over a dozen adults were now in the courtyard, drawn together by necessity.

The group clustered around Antonio, the air tense.

Antonio: Cars and guns have almost entirely stopped working. Communications are mostly down. Some groups from the army are still trying to maintain order, but… gangs have already started forming. Dozens—maybe hundreds—of people looting, attacking whoever they find. Huge spiders, like the one Alex killed, have been reported all around the city.

A ripple of murmurs went through the group.

Nikola (firmly): That makes sense. Look, we’re over 30 adults in this building. If we stick together, we can protect ourselves.

Alex (hesitant): What would our endgame be?

The group went silent, confused.

Jorge: Surviving.

Nikola: Yeah, but surviving is a goal, not an endgame. What I mean is—what then? We stick together, we fend off any attacks, and… what? We hope for the government to regain control or die when we run out of food?

The weight of the question hung in the air. No one spoke.

Finally, Jorge broke the silence.

Jorge: I get your point, Nikola, and it’s a good observation, but right now we barely have any information. I think we should stay put for a couple of days and see what happens. Then we’ll know how to move forward. Antonio, is it okay if we take turns listening to your radio? Any information we can get will be key.

Antonio: I don’t mind, but if the lights don’t come back, we’ll need car batteries. Without broadcasting, they should last us a few weeks.

Nikola: Good. Cars aren’t working, so we can use those. Jorge even has a crank generator we can use to recharge them. We’ll take turns—two-hour shifts in groups. Just listen, take notes, and share updates.

Antonio: Alright, I’ll bring the radio to the reception area. We can use the doorman’s desk and chair. Give me a couple of hours—I need to eat and set up connections for the batteries.

Nikola: Great. We’ll meet there in a couple of hours so you can show us how it works, and we’ll plan the shifts.

Alex (hesitant): Err… I have a portable 12-volt solar panel for camping. You know, the ones for phone charging that come with a battery. Think we can use it?

Antonio: That could work!

Alex: One tiny problem. It’s in our storage—down in the garage.

Ellie: You are NOT going down there.

Nikola: Well, we’ll need car batteries anyway, so someone has to. Best to go in a group.