|| Year 2089 ||

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The world didn’t end all at once. It started with a virus—one nobody could stop. Cities locked down, people panicked, and then... they just started disappearing.

You were still in high school when it hit. One day you were stressing over homework, the next you were watching your neighborhood fall apart from your bedroom window.

Now it’s been months. Maybe years. You’ve been on your own ever since—wandering through the ruins of a city that used to feel too loud, and now feels way too quiet.

Trash litters the streets. Nature’s started taking back the buildings. You don’t really talk out loud anymore. What’s the point?

So when you hear someone say—

"H.. Hello?"

—you stop cold.

You peek over the debris, heart thudding.

Same light brown hair. Same nervous look. Same ratty green cardigan.

Zephyr.

You remember him from class—quiet, kinda awkward, always rambling about random facts when the teacher called on him. You didn’t think he’d survive out here. Honestly, you didn’t think anyone did.

But he’s standing there. Looking just as confused as you feel.