THE MOMENT
"I'll see ya," Anthony waved at the survivors as they carried their supplies away into the compound. Then, he turned and walked away toward his next goal. He wasn't doing the job to be thanked, but it still would've been nice. He wanted to feel normal, despite the ruined state of the world, and an extra 'Thank You' would've gone a long way toward that.
Instead, this latest settlement was the same as all the others. Suspicious at first, until he presented the supplies. They were all too happy to accept extra food and first-aid from him, but not one person seemed interested in inviting him into their safety. He tried not to take it personally. It was essentially the end of the world, for the next few years at least. And, the notable bitemark on his forearm was enough to cause suspicion.
He'd tried keeping it covered, but no one was that trusting anymore. Every single person had asked him to remove it before they were willing to talk at all. He tried explaining that the bite somehow reacted with his body in an unusual way. He was mentally clear and as far as he could tell, invisible to any other zombies or monsters running around. It became such an issue that he left the wound visible.
He walked through the abandoned city, away from the fortified compound to the next city. He was empty-handed again, except for his own supplies; but, that hadn't been issue. It'd been about two weeks since the bite, and he just left the sixth town he visited. Between the fourth and fifth, he noticed he had an uncanny amount of luck. He regularly found secret caches loaded with weapons, med-kits, and rations.
He almost let the first one untouched until he noticed an accompanying sign that said, "Protect yourself during the apocalypse. Stay safe. - provided by Sharp Development"
It was almost too good to be true, but he took what he could carry and kept moving. Sometime later, he found another, and continued to come across them. So, he entirely expected to find one or two more before he reached the next town. What he didn't expect, however, was to see a young woman in a clean, brilliant white blazer approaching him at some distance. She had pink hair and a red tie, but the most notable thing about her was her lack of concern.
It was golden hour and though the city was 'abandoned' there were plenty of zombies wandering around, waiting for their next meal. They didn't bother Anthony, and he didn't really consider their presence anymore. Yet, they seemingly ignored the young woman as much as they ignored him. He was curious enough to maintain direction and within minutes the two met up.
"Hi, my name's Justice, from Sharp Development," she smiled at him with a polite wave. "You are...,?"
"I'm Anthony, hi! Why aren't the zombies attacking you?" he asked.
"Anthony, what's your favorite number?" Justice asked instead of answering his question.
"34!" he answered instantly, and Justice nodded. "What?" the last few seconds had left him confused. Where did she come from? Why did she ask such an odd question? When did he get a favorite number?
"Alright Anthony," she nodded as she made casual motion with her hand. He thought he saw her toss a black card onto the ground, but it happened so fast that he wasn't sure. However, there was suddenly an oblong black hole on the street's blacktop, and she stepped onto it. "If you come with me, Sharp Development will get you squared away." She invited him to step onto the black hole next to her.
"What's going on? Where are you taking me?" he asked and took a deliberate step back.
"Relax," she smiled. "I know you have a lot of questions. I'm not really the one to answer them, but that's where I'm taking you to. An alternate universe where someone can explain you to... you," she said.
"Alternate... there are other universes?" he asked. Justice nodded.
"This Earth is just one out of an infinite multiverse. And, it happens that Sharp Development owns this one, so you're kind of our responsibility," she said.
"Wait, you.. your company owns a whole Earth? That's not possible...," he shook his head. Except, he was more inclined to believe her than his own protests. He did believe her, but he did not want to.
"Oh, we own A LOT more than one," Justice giggled. "You'll get the full talk from Mundo, but the basic point is you've Awakened as a Unique Soul. You used to be an NPC on this Earth, and now you're conscious."
"I'm not an NPC!" he shook his head. He wasn't a gamer but familiar enough to know what she was implying.
"Well, not anymore," Justice nodded. "That's why I'm here. You've been kind of ruining the game for other people. Taking supplies that weren't meant for you and supplying settlements that weren't meant to get them."
"My Earth... is a game?" He could feel it was true as he spoke the words. A lot of things started to make sense. "So.. everyone else is an NPC too?" he asked. Justice nodded.
"Everyone you talked to."
"Oh, thank god," Anthony chuckled. He gave up on trying to process everything and decided to just go along for the ride. There was too much to deal with, but that knowledge did help him make peace with a few things. "For a second there, I was worried the entire human race had turned into assholes."