Susan opened the door to her apartment building and walked inside. Finally, she was home. She glanced at the mailbox, but didn't expect much. As always, there was nothing there. She pulled down her hood and began walking up the stairs.

Susan's apartment was on the sixth floor. When she and Anna had moved in, it had taken some time to get used to it. The neighbors were nice, and even if it was an old building, the view from the porch was pretty nice.

Susan walked past two Octarians who were sitting in the hallway of the third floor. She waved and continued climbing the stairs.

The sixth floor was pretty quiet when she got up. Not much happened during these hours. Susan walked over to a door to her left and took out a key. But before she could open, the door was flung open from the other side.

"For crying out loud, Susan!" Anna said and attack-hugged Susan. "Do you know how much you scared me?"

Susan regained her balance and put her arms around Anna. "Yeah, I know," Susan said awkwardly. "Sorry I worried you."

Anna pulled away. "What happened? You didn't report in for hours! And when you finally did, you didn't tell me anything!"

Susan rubbed the back of her head. "I know, I know. Explaining it through a radio would've been way too complicated."

"Well, come on in then and tell me," Anna said and walked inside, Susan following right behind her.

Their apartment was pretty small, with one large room which acted both as a kitchen and a living room. There was one bedroom with two separate beds and a small bathroom. In the corner of the living room was a table that Anna used as a workspace. On it was an old computer Anna used in her work. It had taken them months to build it, and it wasn't really useful for anything except work.

Anna sat down by the kitchen table and signaled Susan to sit across her. Susan sat down and the two of them stared at each other. "So, are you going to tell me what happened?" Anna said and leaned back. Susan nodded and began reciting the events of the day.

"They attacked Randall's group?" Anna asked wide-eyed. Susan nodded and stretched her back. "Yeah, they fought in the sandstorm."

Anna stroked her chin, deep in thought. "And you got out of there without being seen?" she asked and looked into Susan's eyes. Susan hesitated before continuing. "Not… exactly."

Anna raised an eyebrow and Susan continued. "A group spotted me as I was hiding. Had to fight my way out."

"And?" Anna asked. Susan had a difficult time forming the words she wanted to speak. "I had to… kill two of them."

Anna sighed and looked down at the floor. The two of them remained silent for a few moments before Anna spoke again. "You had no choice Susan," she said and looked back up. "We have to do what we need to do to survive."

Susan nodded. The reality of what she had done was starting to sink in. She knew she'd done it in self-defense, but…

Susan sighed as Anna kept going. "Did they see your face?"

Susan shook her head. "I had a mask on."

"Well, then there's no harm done," Anna said. "What happened after that?"

Susan leaned back. "I drove here. Oh, by the way."

She pointed at the tracking beacon. "I bought what you wanted."

"Oh, nice!" Anna said and stood up to examine the beacon. "For how much?"

"15,000," Susan said. Anna nodded and picked up the beacon. "Honestly, not a bad price for something like this," Anna said and lay the beacon on the table. "Anyway, are you hungry?"

"Starving," Susan said as she realized how hungry she was. She hadn't eaten anything since this morning.

"Alright, I'll go prepare dinner. We're having ramen." Anna said. Susan's eyes widened. "Ramen? Where on earth did you find ramen? Didn't it cost a fortune?"

Anna smiled. "No, I found a guy that was willing to sell it to me for a pretty low price. I thought it was some kind of scam, but no."

Susan scratched her head. "I guess people are starting to recover from the flood, if decent food is starting to become so available."

"Guess so," Anna said. "He told me he was opening a business. Said he wanted people to taste what food was like back then. His name is Carlos."

"Carlos," Susan muttered. "Are we gonna shop from him from here on out?"

"Well, if he continues to sell for such low prices, I don't see why we shouldn't," Anna said and turned on the fire under the pot. "You go rest a bit, I'll call you once dinner is ready."

"Alright, thanks," Susan said and stood up. She made her way to their bedroom. It was small and cramped, but still a bit cozy. Besides, anything beats sleeping on the streets. Susan lay down in her bed and closed her eyes. As the smell of ramen filled her nostrils, her eyelids became heavy and she drifted into sleep.

Silence. Susan looked around. She was standing in the middle of the market. The wind breezed in her hair. "Hello?" she called. No answer. Not a single soul could be seen or heard. Susan walked around. Everything seemed to be in the ordinary. But where was everyone?

"Hello!" she called again. Her voice echoed throughout the market, like the buildings were answering her call. Suddenly, Susan could feel a chill crawl up her back. A feeling of unease overtook her, and she looked around frantically. Then, she saw them. At the other side of the market, stood six figures. They stared at her, their faces obstructed by shadow.

Susan froze as a feeling of panic nailed her in place. The figures weren't doing anything. Just… staring. Susan felt exposed and vulnerable where she stood, as the eyes of the figures stared into her soul.

She was finally able to break free and turned in the other direction. She was only able to take a few steps before she froze again. They were there as well, closer than before. Susan looked in every direction, looking for an escape. But no matter where she turned, there they were, coming closer and closer.

Susan buried her face in her hands. "Go away!" she shouted. "Leave me alone!"

Only deafening silence answered her call. Susan looked up hesitantly, and jumped. A few meters away from, stood the figures. Shadow covered their faces. The only detail she could make out were their eyes, which looked at her with judging looks.

Susan's feet betrayed her and she crumbled down. "Just leave me alone…" she whispered into the emptiness.

Suddenly, the figures were gone. Susan looked in every direction, afraid that they would jump at her at every second. But they were gone. Susan stood up, confused.

Then, the earth began to rumble. The ground shook and cracks formed in the concrete. What was happening?

Susan could hear something roaring behind her, and she spun around. Her heart froze. Water came flooding down the streets around her, crushing everything in its way. Susan turned and ran as fast as she could, but she could hear the flood come closer and closer.

Suddenly, the wave crashed on top of her and she was dragged down. Susan watched in horror as the distance between her and the surface grew greater with every second. She tried to swim, but no matter what she did, the sun's light became fainter and fainter.

She looked down. There was no bottom. Just endless, terrifying darkness. Susan's movements began to slow down, and her vision darkened.

Then, she heard a voice.

"Susan."

It was faint, but she could hear someone call her name.

"Susan."

What was it? Was it an angel? Was she dead? It sounded so familiar.

"Susan."

Susan felt like she had to do something. But what?

"Susan."

The voice echoed around her. Suddenly, Susan saw a beam of light ahead of her. Something that cut through the endless darkness. A hand came out of the light and reached out to her. She could feel warmth radiate from the light. Oh, that's right. She had to—

"Susan, wake up."