Godless Domain

Kade wiped the last of the tears from his face, forcing himself to pull it together. No more time for feeling sorry. Reality was here, and it wasn't going to cut him any breaks. Zane, noticing the shift in Kade's mood, cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Hey, man... I know things are crazy right now, but we can't just sit here feeling sorry for ourselves." Zane's voice had dropped, more serious now. "We need to figure out what we're doing next."

Kade nodded slowly, trying to focus. Zane was right. There was no time for this emotional mess. They had to keep moving forward. "Yeah, you're right. I'm just... trying to wrap my head around everything."

"You and me both." Zane rubbed his face, still feeling the buzz of adrenaline. "But listen, I've got a plan. We grab what we can, head to my place, and—"

"Wait, what?" Kade interrupted, raising an eyebrow. "Your place? You want to go straight to your house?"

"Yeah, man." Zane shrugged, casual, but the flicker of anxiety in his eyes betrayed his calm. "It's closer, and if things are gonna get worse, I don't want to be stuck out here worrying about my family."

Kade thought it over, the idea hitting him differently than before. He hated leaving his house behind, but Zane had a point. They needed to check on their families. They couldn't stay here, not when everything was falling apart.

"Alright, fine. We take the quickest route to your house," Kade said, pacing the room. "But what happens when we get there? What then?"

"Exactly." Zane grinned, like the plan was already set in stone. "We gather whatever we can. Supplies, weapons—anything useful for the journey. We'll hit the stores before everything goes south. But we need to move fast."

"Shops," Kade repeated, his mind reeling. "Yeah... Maybe we can find Elara. But weapons too. This bat's not gonna cut it if things get worse." His voice dropped, anxiety creeping in. The goblins were one thing, but what about the creature they'd seen at school?

"Right, right," Zane nodded. "We'll find more stuff along the way. Maybe swing by the hardware store, grab some real weapons. Something that'll actually stop those freaks. And then—then we head to my place. That's the plan."

Kade let out a long breath, exhaling the tension building in his chest. "Alright. Yeah. Let's do it. We can't just sit here waiting for things to get worse." He turned to look at the window where the goblin had come through. His stomach twisted. "We need to get our shit together fast. Who knows how many of those things are out there."

Zane grabbed his hammer and gave it a few test swings, a cocky grin appearing. "We got this, man. One at a time, we'll take 'em down."

Kade couldn't help but shake his head. "You're a piece of work, Zane."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Zane's grin faded, his expression shifting to something more serious. "Let's get moving. No time to waste."

Kade grabbed the baseball bat, checking the window again. Everything outside seemed too quiet, like the calm before the storm. But that didn't mean it was safe. They had to be quick. They had to be smart.

Zane made his way to the door, stopping just before stepping outside. "You good, man?"

Kade hesitated for a second, feeling the weight of what was about to happen. They were leaving the house. Leaving everything behind. It felt like stepping into the unknown, a future filled with nothing but danger. But what choice did they have?

"Yeah," Kade said, forcing the words out, though his throat felt tight. "Let's go. But if I see a goblin... it's getting a bat to the face."

Zane laughed, and it felt strange—like a brief flicker of normalcy in the middle of all this madness. "That's the spirit."

Before they left, Kade grabbed a piece of paper and quickly scribbled a note, just in case anyone came home.

"Going to Zane's house. Stay here until I come back. If you can, drive don't walk. A moving metal machine is better for protection."

The note didn't make much sense, but Kade felt better knowing there was at least a chance someone could read it and make plans for their own safety.

With that, the two of them slipped out of the house, moving down the street as quietly as they could. The world was eerily silent, like it was holding its breath. The air felt thick with tension—like the kind of quiet you get right before a storm breaks.

Kade couldn't shake the feeling that something worse was lurking out there, waiting for them. But for now, they had a plan. And that, at least, was something.

It was hard to believe that some kind of invasion was happening. Apart from the occasional grotesque little goblin waddling by, carrying random items, and a few vandalized houses, everything seemed pretty much the same.

It made you feel like we were just having a bad dream, like any minute now we'd wake up and everything would be back to normal.

Luckily, the journey was a quick five-minute walk. Despite all their big talk, they managed to avoid any goblins along the way, ducking behind corners or hiding in bushes. At one point, Zane got so freaked out that he jumped straight into a dumpster.

By the time they reached the outside of Zane's apartment complex, it was clear things had already started to go downhill. Goblins had begun breaking into the lower floors. Zane lived on the 15th floor, so there was hope they hadn't made it up that far yet.

But it was obvious getting up there without a fight wasn't going to be easy.

Fortunately, Zane had swapped his trusted hammer for a metal rod he found in the dumpster while hiding.

With his rod in hand and my bat ready, we were set for the second real challenge of the day.