Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.-Chapter 503: Tenebra-Expanse.

The base was calm, most residents were enjoying movie night including the Quinn’s. Sunshine and Hades were not. They were taking an evening walk, side by side, holding hands. Their boots were crunching against gravel and their faces lit up more than the protective lantern posts along the road.

"Thank you for throwing Earl a wonderful birthday." He brought up, softly. "First was Ariel’s and now Earl’s. You have given two of my sons the best birthdays of their lives."

"And all without the fancy decorations, foods and champagne, diamonds and extravagance they were used to." She chimed with a laugh in her voice.

"Efficiency first." Hades mimicked Ariel. "I will never forget the look on Ariel’s face when the cake was wheeled out.

Both of them burst into laughter. Nobody would ever forget that face because Lisha had captured a picture of it. She planned to frame copies and send them to every member of the family.

"Do you ever wonder what we would be doing right now if the apocalypse had not happened?" Sunshine asked, softly.

Hades squeezed her hand. "Hmm, I think we would be arguing about my pizza topping choices because we would be having pizza for dinner. And we’d compromise with something ridiculous like tomato, cheese and onion pizza."

Sunshine laughed, the sound echoing against the stone walls of the buildings closest to them.

"I had made plans to move the family from Kingsbridge to one of the little towns, away from the lights and noise. We would probably be living somewhere with a small garden. I’d be growing roses, and you would be fixing the car." He continued lazily.

Sunshine scoffed. "Isn’t it supposed to be the other way round?"

"Like I could ever get you away from grease and wrenches." Hades snorted. "You would be fixing the cars, and I would be watering those roses with our fourth child strapped to my chest. A beautiful purple haired baby girl with my eyes. You got the hair, so I get the eyes."

Sunshine’s eyes softened. "A purple haired daughter would be the perfect addition to our family."

"I am ready when you are." Hades put an arm over her shoulders. "But I know you won’t be ready until the apocalypse is over and the world is normal. So....when Ariel is eighteen and I am walking with a cane. That baby will call me pop because I will be a grandfather by then."

She laughed loudly again. The wind carried the sound along with the faint scent of smoke from all the popcorn and snacks being sold in the market. Sunshine closed her eyes, pretending it was the aroma of caramel flavored popcorn. Hades kissed her forehead and continued to dwell in the illusion of their imaginary life.

****

For her next trip to another world, Sunshine wanted to be more prepared knowledge wise. She did not want to risk being caught off guard by anything this time round. And she did not want to take the wrong travel partner.

The first piece of the information the system provided was an image of the world she was visiting. The first thing to note was that the world was dim. It was not dark, just more of the sun never rises fully and the sky was in a permanent twilight, always.

The world was in a colorless haze, like the kind seen in a horror movie where a haunted town smelled of mildew and rust. Where empty swings moved on their own, creaking slowly, scaring outsiders.

"System could you tell me more about this world and its weirdness." Sunshine requested silently.

[This is a world that feeds on fear...]

Sunshine gasped. "Feeds on what!?" She asked loudly and came to a stop outside her office. Carson was waiting for her outside her door with a file on the information Joy had provided on Emily and Kingsbridge.

Carson squinted his eyes in search of her "Ma’am, are you alright?"

Sunshine nodded and narrowed her eyes, staring at Carson like he was a criminal. In the back of her mind, Sunshine was listing all the reasons as to why taking Carson with her was a great idea.

One reason jumped out more than others. He had seen bad things and his mind was stronger than most. He was the perfect candidate to go with her to a world where shadows clung to buildings like stains.

"How would you feel about taking a trip with me?" She asked him.

Carson nodded. He would follow her anywhere, to the ends of the earth if she requested.

She let him into the office and ducked into the office to finish her research.

The system hummed as soon as she brought her focus back to it. [Like I was saying, the residents of this world feed on fear. If you manage to hold on and resist fear, there will be a benefit for you which is the ability to see in the dark with your natural eyes.]

Four pink pills appeared in her hand. [If at any one moment you and your companion feel overwhelmed, take two of these pills each. They will numb your emotions including fear.] The system continued.

[World: Tenebra- Expanse

Classification: Grey world

Estimated danger: moderate]

Sunshine sighed and whispered, "Carson, I hope you can resist fear." She wanted the promised ability because it would come in handy when earth switched to dark mode.

She returned to her office and asked Carson to close his eyes and placed special vision protecting glasses over them. Within ten seconds, they were far from home.

"Open your eyes now." She told him.

Carson did as she said and he waved his hands around. "Ma’am.....what the hell is this?"

"Another side of the apocalypse, I will explain later." She replied. "Observe our surroundings for now." She handed him a backpack which she had stuffed with weapons, food, water and medicine. "Stick to me."

They armed themselves and looked around, hearts beating rapidly. The ground beneath their boots felt solid, no dust, no life. Above them, nothing. No stars. No sky. Just endless grey, almost dark. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

There were buildings, but they were all the same: rectangular, windowless, also grey. Silence dominated around them, very unsettling.

"Something is watching us; I can feel it." Carson whispered.

Sunshine nodded in agreement. "Something always is."

She took one step forward.

Her shadow moved, but half a second late.

She stopped.

Carson also stopped. "...ma’am," he said quietly.

"Yep. I see it. Don’t look at it too hard." She replied.

Her shadow caught up. Carson’s didn’t.

His shadow stretched wrong—too long, too thin, trembling like it was trying to remember how to follow him.

"I don’t like this," he said.

"Same."

Then, his shadow caught up.

Sunshine stared at it. The shadow stared back_ wrong, stretched, breathing. "I swear," she said calmly, "if it does anything more bizarre, I will shoot it."

The shadow didn’t move again, as if it sensed her intentions. But the feeling of being watched intensified. Doors creaked, opening without being touched. Faint whispers passed through the air, vanishing when they turned their heads. Even their footsteps echoed for too long, as if the ground resented their presence.

And then_ people! They stepped into view silently.

Tall. Slender. Their skin was grey and their eyes dull, devoid of life. Their faces had blank expressions, and they moved as if they were puppets being controlled on a string. It was creepy!

"Ma’am," Carson whispered, pointing a gun at the grey figures walking their way. "I make it a point not to ask you questions about your private affairs. But today is an exception. What the hell are we doing here and what are we waiting for to run?"