Cold Girl

Alex tip-toed into a convenience store. The windows were smashed open leaving bits of glass lying on the ground haphazardly. The door barely stayed standing with only 1 hinge still keeping it up.

He quickly traced his head around the store, hoping he was the only one or thing still inside. Alex couldn't find anything useful. The shelves were either tipped over or completely bare. He edged quietly to a corner of the store farthest away from the doorway.

The mob of zombies soon reached the dead zombie. They tilted their heads left and right drunkenly searching for food. As the zombies continued to smell the air, they were coming closer and closer to the convenience store.

'Shoot! I gotta go." Alex decided to leave from the back. This was when he heard a voice.

"Mister, please take me with you." A petite girl whispered into his ear. Alex was in shock. He didn't hear her until she was right behind him. If she had been a zombie, who knows what would happen to him.

"Ok, let's go from the back," Alex replied, reaching out his hand to her. Her hand emitted no heat at all. It was almost as if she wasn't alive. He let go of her hand and backed himself away from her, landing on the wall behind him.

"Please don't leave me!" While her body seemed to emit no heat, her eyes made Alex feel guilty. "I'm not a monster!" Her pearl-like eyes watered pleading for help.

The zombies shifted towards them rapidly after hearing the noise. As they stumbled into the building, Alex had to make a choice. Leave the girl or take the girl.

If he left the girl, she could delay the zombies, increasing his chances of survival. If he took the girl with him, he would have to protect her from the zombies and feed her until… And worst-case scenario, if she was a zombie, he would have to stay on alert if she turns. With all the disadvantages laid out, he knew what he was going to do.

"Let's go, I won't leave you. Don't cry anymore" Alex grabbed her hand, pulling her closer to the backdoor. While he knew it would be hard to take care of someone else in a zombie apocalypse, he didn't have the heart to leave her behind.

"Ok." The little girl followed closely behind while wiping her tears with her sleeve.

Through the backdoor, they found themselves in a dark alleyway cluttered with garbage, giving off a foul fragrance. While Alex thought about where to go next, he felt a tug at his shirt.

"We can hide in that house." She pointed towards a two-story apartment building just across the street. All the windows were boarded up, leaving only the front door wide open. "I lived there with Mommy."

'Why would someone let their child go out by themself even if there wasn't a zombie apocalypse?' Even though Alex was only 22, he still felt like he could lecture an irresponsible parent about how to take care of their child.

When they entered the apartment, he felt a sense of security without the worry of zombies. As he held on to the girl tightly in his hand, Alex walked around the building, looking for other people.

"Where's your mom?" As soon as he asked the question, he wanted to take it back. The girl's mother must have left her for a better chance of survival. "Um… I mean, what's your name?"

"Ivy Cici, my mommy gave me my name. She told me to say "I vow to see seas," if I ever forgot my name, but she left me." Ivy became quiet.

"She'll come back someday." Alex tried to reassure her.

"No, she won't. Mommy said I'm a monster." Ivy squatted on the ground, covering her face with her hands.

"She probably didn't mean it, and some monsters are good, too." Alex didn't have any experience with children because he was an only child growing up.

"I'M NOT A MONSTER!!!" Ivy cried louder as she ran upstairs.

Alex scratched his head, confused about what to do. Thinking back to the convenience store, he had also thought Ivy was a monster as well, but if she wasn't a monster then why was she so cold to the touch.

Alex chose to check his notifications. As he ran away with Ivy, he had received a message from the system, but he didn't have time to check it. 'Check Log'

[Human saved

Gained 10 experience (10/10)

Gained 1 Level (2)

Gained 1 Potential Point (2)

UNLOCKED SKILL

Inspect(Active) - Gives the user the ability to check the status of entities up to 5 Levels higher.]

'I can check Ivy's status!' As he ran upstairs, Alex could hear soft whimpering coming from a room. He found Ivy huddled in the corner.

'Inspect!' Alex wanted to know what caused her to be so cold.

[Ivy Cici

(LEVEL: 1 (0/5)) (CLASS: NONE)

STATISTICS:

(STRENGTH: 1) (ENDURANCE: 1) (AGILITY: 2)

(INTELLIGENCE: 3) (WILLPOWER: 1) (PERCEPTION: 2)

SKILLS: Traceless

RANK: Civilian]

'What's traceless?'

[Traceless(Passive) - Untrackable by hearing or heat. User leaves no fingerprints or footprints]

"Ivy, I don't think you're a monster," Alex said as he walked closer.

"Why did my mommy say I was?" Ivy was no longer crying, only sniffling the remainder of her sadness away.

"She didn't know that you are special." Alex also knew that Ivy's mother must have still cared for Ivy since she left Ivy instead of killing her to keep the base.

"Why did she leave then?"

"Because she didn't know what to do."

"Why won't mommy hug me anymore?"

"I… don't know." Alex knew it was because Ivy no longer gave off heat like a normal person.

"Will you hug me?" Ivy was no longer facing the wall, but staring at Alex with her arms stretched outward. While Alex was basically a stranger to Ivy, he was the second nicest person she had met other than her mother.

Before Alex could answer, she jumped into his arms. He didn't know what to do with his arms which just flayed by his side. Should he hold her back or just pat her back? Instead, he did nothing and just waited.

"Mommy, please don't leave," Ivy begged his chest.

[BONUS MISSIONS

1. Find 10 subordinates (1/10)]

…

After 10 minutes, she pushed Alex away, her face was back to normal, white and pure as if nothing had happened. She waltzed away to a pile of snacks lying on a table.

"Come eat some." Ivy already stuffed her mouth full of chips.

"Ok." Alex took a glance out the window and lost all of his appetites.

Swarms of zombies surrounded the building, threatening to break at any moment. Alex knew he could not stay in this house for much longer.

"Ivy" He continued watching the zombies get closer to the house.

"Yes?" She was still gouging herself on snacks.

"We need to leave."