My shoulder injury netted me a total of three days off. I spent those three days doing nothing but enjoying my time off.

The Corpse Disposal company I worked for had great benefits so I was able to get a few restoration pills made by Morgan Pharmaceuticals. They were the cheapest thing the company offered and by far the most purchased by the general public. Of all their miracle pills, salves, potions, balms, and gels, the restoration pill was used much like painkillers used to be before the era of monsters. A few pills shortened the time it took to heal small injuries to just a few days and also cleared muscle fatigue pretty well. Anything more than a laceration wouldn’t be fixed with a restoration pill.

I looked at the anti-psych medications sitting on my desk, unused. I hadn’t taken any of them for the last three days as an experiment. If I did have a gift I wanted to believe there was more to it than just reading memories of corpses. It would be the first time since I was child that I completely stopped using the meds given to me. I grabbed the bottles and took them to the bathroom before twisting them open and dumping them into the toilet and flushing them without a second thought.

“I’m probably going to regret that.”

I sighed before turning to the sink and staring at my reflection.

One word to describe me? Average. There wasn’t a single defining feature to be found on me. I stood at a height of 179cm, my eyes were a fairly common brown color just like my hair, and to top it all off, I enjoyed staring at corpses. Well, enjoyment was a bit of a stretch, I didn’t like looking at the corpses themselves, just their memories. I could only think that would be a dumb gift if that was all.

I sat in my usual spot on the couch and turned on the tv. I flipped through the channels before I spotted the flicker of a breaking news banner and stopped on it.

“...For those of you just joining the broadcast, there has been an emergency incident. The ruin site near the now-defunct Eighth Street Metro Station has undergone a sudden change. It is believed that several guilds were staging a joint exercise at the time and were caught up in the midst of the event. Casualties are unknown at this time but we will update you as we go on. All residents are advised to stay as far away as possible in case of a breach in the perimeter. We take you now to a live press conference with a Ruin Analyst to assess the meaning of a sudden change in the structure of Ruins...”

I turned off my tv and pressed my face into my hands. I slightly peeked at my phone which sat on the coffee table. The only contacts inside being my father and Resting Place Retrieval. The latter was the name of the company I worked at, famous for its success rate in retrieving the deceased.

Suddenly, my phone rang and the vibration slowly pushed it closer to me, beckoning me to answer.

The call I really didn’t want right came just as expected. I reluctantly picked up my phone and when I opened it a masculine voice, one I really didn’t want to hear, began speaking into my ear.

[Mr. Clay, the company sincerely hopes that your recovery has gone well. But I must ask, have you seen the news?]

“...Yes.”

[Then do you know what that means?]

“I’m still recovering from my injury so I don’t think I can-”

[You’ve already received a dosage of restoration pills so you’re more than ready enough to return. I know you earned your vacation and I hate to be the one to make you end it early but, we’ve received a massive intake of requests and half the workforce is already preoccupied with other sites. So that means we have to grab whoever we can to fill the gap.]

“But-”

[Mr. Clay, what is our company motto?]

“Please don’t make me say it.”

[I’m sorry? I couldn’t hear you.]

“...Rely on Resting Place Retrieval, because only you should be able to decide the final resting place for the ones you cherished.” I gave as much enthusiasm as I could muster which wasn’t a lot.

[That’s right. You're expected to arrive within an hour but a few minutes of tardiness will easily be forgiven due to traffic. As soon as the Government gives the all clear, you'll be going into to grab the bodies.]

“I got it.”

The call ended and I prepared to start my impromptu overtime shift. I envied the person the other line, the organizers, the ones who specialized in business and negotiations and never had to do anything but talk. The weird thing was, I never knew who I was speaking to exactly since it was usually a different organizer who contacted employees each time.

It took me about five minutes to get dressed, putting on an old pair of jeans, a hoodie and some worn out running shoes. After that, I left my apartment rushed toward the metro station that would only be a few minutes away.

Eighth Street, my destination, used to be a popular hub but when a ruin emerged, everything was torn down and a perimeter was raised to guard against monsters. The weaker Gifted of the Guilds often used it train so it was surprising to see something go wrong.

Whatever the case was, I had a job to do so I hurried. The train wouldn’t take me directly there, but it would drop me off close enough.

…

It took a total of fifty-five minutes to arrive at the outskirts of the perimeter. Since there was too much traffic for a taxi to bring me closer, I had to go on foot and it was not a fun experience. A crowd of reporters, pedestrians with their phones at the ready, and Gifted from smaller guilds stood outside a metal fence. I fell into the crowd and squeezed my way through until I arrived at the front, facing a very intimidating looking man dressed in a grey army uniform with a gun hanging from his shoulder.

“No entry is permitted.” He didn’t even glance at me as he said so.

“Wait, I’m not-” I fished in my pockets and brought out my employee ID. “I’m with Resting Place Retrieval.”

The guard rudely snatched the ID out of my hands before pulling out some sort of scanner. He checked the barcode under my unflattering employee picture before it beeped.

“Go in.” He stepped out of the way and opened the gate, allowing me entry.

“Hey! Wait! Tell us what’s going on and I’ll make sure you’re paid for it!”

“We’ll buy the rights to your firsthand account for three hundred dollars.”

I ignored the competing offers of the reporters and continued on. All the buildings that had previously occupied Eighth Street had been torn down and because of that, there was a relatively empty and flat path I had to walk.

There were surveillance towers set up along the fence. Small tents and trailers were scattered around behind the fence. In the center was the Ruin site, surrounded by a 5-meter concrete dome and held shut with a reinforced steel blast door.

I spotted the distant guild tents of Sleeping Lion, Eternal Sword, Red Owl, and Faithful Arrow. All of them were immensely powerful guilds that would cause people to kill each other for a spot in one. Of course, Sleeping Lion and Eternal Sword were in their own league with the former being acknowledged as the number and Eternal Sword holding the role of number two.

As I moved in the opposite direction, I wondered if the whole phenomenon of Gifted appearing messed with people’s head. Most of the grandiose guild names sounded like esports teams if I was being honest.

Eventually, I found my way to a white medical tent where my fellow Corpse Collectors were already waiting. Having the magnetic personality that I did, they all looked at me briefly as I entered before looking away. I didn’t expect them to say anything and went for a locker before putting on something similar to a hazmat suit.

“Alright, I’ve been assigned as the team leader for today. As soon as the guilds are finished collecting the possession of the deceased and eliminating any monsters they come across, we go in and retrieve the bodies, got it?”

Everyone voiced their understanding and began loading up their equipment. We used carriers to retrieve corpses, a machine that resembled a cart with five rectangular metal coffins piled on top of it. Once you located a corpse, you’d press a button and the metal coffins would extend and lower itself to the ground so you could load up a dead body with relative ease.

The bigger guild’s had their own recollection and sweeping teams, people they’d send in to clear out all threats while the weapons, items, and supplies their guildmates had were retrieved. They usually left the armor on as to not touch the corpses and there was no way for us to steal them since the coffins were checked by the respective guild members before being shipped away.

We were forced to wait for another hour before we were finally allowed to start the retrieval process.

I followed behind the team with my cart in hand but I couldn’t help but feel my skin crawl as the blast opened with a metallic groaning. I breathed deeply and hoped that stopping the use of my medication wouldn’t hinder me.

…

“Careful on the steps.” Our team leader said as he descended the stairs. The carts easily adjusted to uneven terrain so there was no worry of them slipping unless the one pushing it was the cause.

The electric lights stopped at the base of the stairs and that’s where the true boundary of the ruin stood. Torches hung on the wall, burning brightly as if they were just lit but they were probably decades old. The torches hanging in the ruins were a mystery as they were extremely hard to remove from the walls and once they were the flame died out. Further study showed they were made from ordinary pieces of wood.

“Alright, it should be clear since the guilds went through already. Start grabbing the bodies and load them up so we can leave. We’ll split up after grabbing everything in the center cavern.”

We entered a large cavern with multiple tunnels as per his instruction and there were humanoids made of dirt and stone scattered all around along with corpses of humans. I prepared to be pulled into their final moments but, surprisingly, it didn’t happen.

“Clay, what are you doing? Stop staring and get started.”

“R-Right,” I answered.

I approached a body out of my own volition which scared me. There was a sense of control to my actions that I didn't have before. Feeling nothing from the corpse meant I might've I lost my gift.

Sure, my habit of staring at corpses was inconvenient and it pushed people away from me, but it was the only thing that really gave my life meaning. I could only feel a sickening regret toward giving up my medication.

My breathing began to run out of my control and I felt like I was on the cusp of a breakdown. A deep anxiety plagued my mind. If I lost my gift what would death mean to me then? Would the trauma and sense of loss I should've felt come pouring down at me?

But, when I stared at the corpse, a flash of scenes ran through my mind and it felt as if they were burned into my retina. A short glimpse of memories played out like I was a spectator.

“What was that?” I whispered as I continued staring. I almost wanted to jump in joy when I realized that my gift was still present though it had definitely been altered in some way after I gave up on the meds.

“What’s the hold up, Clay?”

“...Nothing!” I shouted back with a slight hint of joy that would surely seem misplaced in this environment.

I looked around and became sure the Team Leader was singling me out a lot more than everyone else since no one had a body loaded just yet.

I cautiously reached out toward the body of man in his 20’s like me but he I didn’t see anything when I touched him. I focused on him with the desire to see his memories play out and it was like a switch flipped in my head. My gift activated and I could see his last moments.

“If these monsters are pouring out it means the advance team is dead! We have to go back and inform everyone else!”

I saw him fighting with dozens of humanoids made from mud while the other Gifted helped.

“I don’t know how you Faithful Arrow guys do things but Sleeping Lion doesn’t leave its guildmates that easily. We’re holding on for another ten minutes, leave if you want!”

The glimpse of the past stopped when I felt I understood enough and I was pulled back into reality. I was no longer forced to remain idle while the memories played out in front of me. And that realization of the control I seemed to have created a vivid sense of relief and joy.

I’m glad my back was turned to everyone because I was smiling like a maniac. The sensation was much more than pausing a movie and returning to watch it later. The medicine I had been taking for most of my life turned out to basically be poison to my gift.

I began working earnestly, loading up the carts while gaining insight into the situation.

“You won’t get away with this! I swear!” An Eternal Sword guild member was carrying a member of the Red Owl Guild on his shoulder. His form was bloody and battered as he advanced slowly.

The ones holding the center cavern were long since dead as well as the monsters they fought.

“It’s too late to say that, now.” A Sleeping Lion guild member followed close behind the man at a leisurely pace. He toyed with the sword in his hand and watched them as if they prey.

“Fuck you! You think just because your a big guild you can betray us?!” The man bearing the Eternal Sword insignia laughed, spitting out blood at the same time. “When they find out, do you think you can resist the pressure from all of the guilds?”

“You really talk to much.” The Sleeping Lion guild member rushed toward his back and stabbed his sword into the injured man’s back, twisting it viciously before kicking him away. After watching the lifeless body hit the wall with a thump, he finished the woman wearing the Red Owl insignia and retreated back into a tunnel.

“Ah!” I felt a little numbness throughout my body as the memory came to an end.

I look toward the tunnel where the apparent betrayal seemed to occur and my skin felt like something was scurrying beneath its surface. It was a sensation similar to the moment when I first entered this place. There was...something at the end of the tunnel that caused it.

“Alright, the main cavern’s clear, let’s pick a tunnel and go in. We can go in groups of-”

“I’ll go through this one!” I shouted as I pushed my cart into the dim tunnel.

“Anyone wanna go with him?” I could hear the team leader ask behind me.

There was no answer and a few of my co-workers even began snickering. I didn't pay their rudeness any mind since I didn’t want anyone to follow me in the first place.