Value of a life

Time didn't pass the same way inside the safe room.

No clock. No phone signal. No sun. Just the low hum of fabricated security and the distant, too-quiet sense that the world beyond those walls had moved on without him. Or ended.

Kael sat on the floor with his back against the cool metal wall, arms wrapped around his knees. He had stopped shaking, mostly. But the thoughts didn't stop. They just looped.

Was it real? Was it permanent?

His stomach growled.

Loud.

"…Seriously?"

Of all the things to still function in the apocalypse—his metabolism was top of the list.

[Note: Safe Room contains no food provisions at Level 1.]

"Yeah, thanks. Figured that out."

Kael sighed, then looked up at the glowing interface again. The gauntlet on his wrist pulsed with soft light, waiting for a command.

"…System," he said, voice low, cautious. "How do I get more points?"

There was a short pause.

Then:

[Acquisition Methods:]

Survival: Defeating hostile entities.

Discovery: Finding rare resources or anomalies.

Creation Milestones: Building complex or original structures.

Mission Objectives: Optional tasks to aid long-term survival.

Population Preservation: Assisting or saving human survivors.

Kael swallowed hard.

"…So I have to go out there," he muttered.

[Correct.]

He stared at the ceiling. As if it might suddenly open up to show a sky that wasn't bleeding or broken.

It didn't.

His hunger gnawed deeper.

"…What about the Steel Sentinel?" he asked, suddenly. "Is it still out there? Can I… talk to it?"

The system responded immediately.

[Steel Sentinel Unit: Status – Operational]

[Location: 94 meters east of your position.]

[Current Task: Area suppression. Threat neutralized.]

[Awaiting further commands.]

Kael blinked. "Wait... threat neutralized? The monster? It's dead?"

[Affirmative. Target terminated. 150 Points rewarded.]

His breath caught. He actually leaned forward.

"Wait. Wait, I got—what? You didn't tell me I earned points already!"

[You did not request notification at the time.]

Kael stared, jaw slack, then practically shouted:

"Tell me next time!"

[Acknowledged.]

His interface flicked again.

[Current Points: 150]

He exhaled sharply, a weird, unsteady laugh escaping his lips. "Okay. Okay, this is… this is something."

Still, he looked toward the door—what passed for one, anyway. Solid black material. No handle. No window.

[Would you like to exit the Safe Room? Y/N]

He didn't answer right away.

His stomach growled again, like a warning siren.

"System… can the Steel Sentinel escort me?"

[Command can be issued remotely.]

Kael hesitated.

Then raised the gauntlet.

"Command: Steel Sentinel, return to my position. Defensive escort formation."

[Command Accepted.]

[Steel Sentinel en route. ETA: 32 seconds.]

He stood slowly, legs aching from sitting so long.

And waited.

Thirty seconds later, the wall hissed open—not slid, hissed—and the stale, metallic air of the ruined city rushed in. Smoke. Ash. Something burning far off.

And then it stepped into view.

A ten-foot tower of armored steel, scarred from combat, glowing faintly at the seams. One arm still held a faintly smoldering plasma cannon. The other looked like it had been clawed, but was intact.

[Steel Sentinel: Online. Protective Protocol Engaged.]

It stepped aside and stood by the door like a bodyguard from some nightmare-future military.

Kael stared up at it.

"…You actually listened."

No answer. Just the sound of servos humming and metal shifting slightly as it scanned the surroundings.

Kael tightened the gauntlet on his wrist.

He took one step out.

Then another.

The ground was cracked and scorched. Debris littered the street like broken teeth. The air was thick with dust and the iron-scent of blood. A few burned-out cars still smoked where they'd collided. A figure lay collapsed in the distance. He couldn't tell if it was a body or just a shape.

His breath quickened.

The world looked... wrong. Everything was still, but nothing was safe. Every sound made his skin crawl.

But he kept moving, the Steel Sentinel keeping pace behind him like a silent titan.

"System… anything nearby that's safe to scavenge?"

[Scanning…]

[Result: Abandoned convenience store detected. 47 meters northeast. Minimal threat level.]

Kael nodded slowly.

"…Let's go."

He didn't feel brave.

But the hunger didn't care.

And now, he had 150 points, a personal war machine, and the knowledge that he'd killed something from another dimension.

The fear was still there.

But something colder was starting to settle in beside it:

Resolve.