The Game Before the Fall

Chapter 3: A second first time. (Part 1)

Chapter 3: A second first time.

2 years, 6 months, 3 days after the Fall:

The scene shocked everyone watching. Hundreds of us who had lived past the fall, resting in a hidden bunker, barely making it day by day but somehow we had survived. The screen played live from the feed of Liberty, hailed as the last great city of man and what was once Washington. The gates had been torn open. Rift Walkers on masse rushed into the city as hundreds of its protectors were thrown about, already dead or dying.

All of it stemmed from the fall of one women. The mighty Zen. Her body, broken and held up like a trophy between the teeth of a Rift Walker. It was an army of Rift Walkers never seen before. The fight that broke before the gates, a thrilling show of how far humanity had grown but also, how far humanity still needed to go. Zen. Our Hero. Our Master. Our Teacher. She had died. No matter how many she destroyed, more still came, and now, she couldn't go on.

I felt my soul crushed and the rest of the bunker felt it as well. Aria was crying beside me. Vanter silent. We lost our hope.

*

I woke cold. My heart aching. Aria was still there sleeping. I left the room and was greeted by a light coming from the kitchen.

"Sorry did I wake you?" Zen stood at the fridge. "I got hungry. Want some?"

She had stayed the night from Dad's assistance after spending another dinner at our place. The pile of blankets on the couch spread out.

"N-no, I'm fine." My breathing steadied. Zen was still alive.

"Are you?" she looked concerned. My Hero and idol that I had only ever met in passing was now in my kitchen and pecking at our leftovers.

I laughed, "Yeah I am now."

*

"And that is the end of the basic forms," Zen posed and held a charismatic thumbs up to the camera. "Join me next time where we add variations to these basic forms." She paused as I ended the recording. "How was that?"

"Great," I said honestly surprised. We had some hiccups at first but she acted incredibly naturally and was easily able to describe the finer movements of her style of martial arts. While she called them the basics, we had to go over several iterations of what Zen considered basic and what the majority of the world considered basic. "I'll hand the video to Dad and he'll edit it for your website and social media."

"Are you sure he isn't doing too much?" she asked concerned. "Is it normal?"

"Well, he goes above what's expected but don't worry about it," I couldn't exactly say the entire truth. It was definitely not normal for someone in marketing to also be able to create websites, organise your accounts and even edit videos but work like that had been piled onto him for years now. Luckily his firm allowed him to take a few weeks early for the end of year break, though it was my complete intention to not have him go back to that rotten place.

"I have a good feeling about this," Zen nodded quite content. Several weeks had passed since our meeting at home and since then there had been a few major changes. Dad had created an extensive plan to lift Zen's business to the next level, a lot of which centred on Zen herself. Zen's dream wasn't a single gym, but more about her martial arts, her gym was just the beginning. First there was her website showcasing the gym, many of its pictures being of Zen, Aria and me. That combined with our handing out of flyers and coordination with the local stores just outside the alley had gathered quite a few more patrons to the gym. We did have to tone down Zen's passionate barrage, else she may scare them away. Our biggest goal however was Zen's socials and video channel. While we hadn't released any videos yet, Dad was in the middle of building up a collection and gathering private feedback. Much of the money he had taken in the first place was being spent to accomplish everything, something I didn't quite so mind with our current arrangement with Zen.