Lakeview Apartments, Forest Park, Clayton County, Georgia. Saturday, October 12th, 2019. 09:10.

Sara was back to the hallways with a vengeance, armed with a mop, soap, and a bucket of water.

Decided to clean only the top floor, then move all her stuff upstairs. She didn't even have to clean the apartments where people died. She just needed to move the stuff she wanted to keep from those apartments into the ones she would live in. She took the bucket and the mop and climbed the stairs. She knew of two apartments that were clear of dead people. The one she soiled with the "impurities", and the one across the hallway. She decided to clean the hallway, then those two. Surely the stench would be gone by now.

As she entered the first apartment where she "cleansed" her mana channels, she found that yes, the stench was gone, but also that the living room became a pond. She had left the window open and the torrential rain dumped lots of water on the furniture. Lamenting for the loss of a great living room, she could only hope it wouldn't grow mold or anything. That settled it. Instead of two, she would use the other one only. If she was fine with her bedroom before, a whole apartment was more than enough. Less stuff to clean up. The only downside was that this apartment faced the back of the building and not the street. Maybe the fact it didn't have a direct line of sight to the Necropolis King's "castle" was an advantage, all in all.

The cleanup started by moving everything she wouldn't need from the former owners, apparently a couple. All of their clothes she didn't want to keep were ferried to the apartment across the corridor and sorted by type into piles on the bed. She emptied the closet, then the dresser.

She kept the woman's winter clothes along with a few pieces that struck her fancy, along with all of their jeans and silks. The same pattern would repeat for every apartment. Silk clothes were nice to have and no more shipments would be imported from China or wherever silk was made. Jeans clothes were sturdy and had a lot of uses. She remembered a YouTube channel she watched where they made everything out of jeans. Bags, purses, other clothes.

It was October and she doubted the heating would work. Winter was coming, just as that cable show advertised. The woman's makeup kit could stay as it was high quality. She also removed some framed pictures and all the family photos. No need to feel guilty every time she looked at the typical American poses of a happy family of three, one boy. She deduced the couple had a son of college-age or already a graduate. Crazy, that. Sara thought college was so expensive she couldn't even wrap her mind around the idea people would spend so much money on a piece of paper when actual skills could be acquired for free on the internet. Then again she thought a weekly paycheck working as a busser at the local Wendy's was a fortune.

The gunfight started again, outside. She leaned on her mop and sighed. She was on the other side of the building and she hoped the wooden walls would stop the projectiles. So long no stray bullets came her way, she decided to not mind if the remaining survivors wanted to kill each other. Listening to the ratcheting sounds of automatic fire, she noticed it was further away than before. Maybe another band was attacking from the south. Sara went back to cleaning with a heavy heart. So much loss.

The next hour was spent arduously ferrying her loot upstairs, trying not to smell the gross slime left on the lower floors by the dead people. She knew she should clean it up but she thought it would be a deterrent for would-be invaders. Speaking of which, maybe she should trash the lower-floor apartments and re-lock the doors. Scavengers would start from the bottom up and if they thought the place was already looted, they would leave her alone. Probably. Hopefully. She put that idea to work and raided every apartment from the bottom up. Anything useful or that could be turned into a weapon went with her, especially the knives. Should she do some traps, Home Alone style? Maybe not. These had a tendency to backfire.

She took every food item and water bottle she found. She wrapped the spoiled leftovers in trash bags and piled them by the door of the first apartments next to the stairs on the first floor as a deterrent. Working on waves, she ferried every bit of makeup, every tool, every cleaning and personal hygiene product she found to the top floor along with the clothes she wanted to keep.

The sun was crawling down behind Union City far to the southwest as Sara finished sorting the food. Piles of assorted stuff remained to be worked on. She put all the canned food in travel suitcases as that would last for years. That became her emergency food supply. Then she separated the remaining items by expiration date, trying to plan her future meals and setting aside the stuff she'd eat today, to feed the System Core. Some food would soon be past its "best by" date but during her street years, she learned from the homeless guys in Seattle how to tell if the food was safe to eat regardless of the dates on the package.

She wasn't bothered by food not reaching her stomach anymore. Sara's dinner was the questionable food she would throw away tomorrow. Still, she'd eaten worse on the streets of Seattle. She kept at it until the message came.

> You gained 2 points of System Core Strength. Current level (6).

*

*

Lakeview Apartments, Forest Park, Clayton County, Georgia. Sunday, October 13th, 2019. 11:20.

Sara found the fourth and final ghost in her building. This time, she was sure she'd already visited the apartment but the ghost appeared anyway. It was a young woman in her twenties. This ghost hadn't many deformities but her chest was oversized by five cups, threatening to spill out of her clothes. She was sitting on her couch, pretending to watch TV even though the device was dead.

"Good morning?" Sara said. "May I come in?"

The woman apparently broke out of her trance and faced Sara. "Of course, Sara my dear. Please come in!"

Once again the ghost knew her name but this time it was someone she remembered even though Sara couldn't recall the woman's name. She was bad with that. She had retrieved her corpse from this very apartment and burned her at the improvised Viking pyre. "Hello, I'm Sara, from the second floor," she introduced herself.

"I know! Thank you for making my final rites, my dear!" The woman returned with a congenial smile. Sara remarked to herself this one too was aware she was a ghost.

"You're welcome, it was the least I could do," Sara bashfully replied. She wasn't used to compliments and was still emotionally worn out from parting with Joseph. Spiderman weighed heavily in her pants pocket.

"You are too modest. Most would've left us to rot. Please, sit down. Do you want a drink? I have grape juice, I think. Don't worry, it's bottled and I'm sure it hadn't spoiled yet."

The two women moved to the kitchen and the woman opened a cabinet that had exactly one bottle of grape juice. Sara said nothing but she was sure she had taken everything there already. Yet the bottle was there. She shrugged and decided that she wouldn't try to find out how the ghosts did that.

Sara knew the ghosts couldn't manipulate heavy objects so she followed the woman's directions and fetched the half-gallon bottle of grape juice concentrate from a pack of six. She mixed the juice with water in a cup and took a sip.

"Thank you. It is delicious."

"You can have it all," the ghost said. "I don't have any use for it."

"I'm sorry, I don't recall your name," Sara decided to be a bit blunt.

The ghost nodded, "It's fine, Sara. I heard you play with Joseph, may God have his soul. I don't want to burden you with my name. I'm glad you are here to fulfill my last wish."

She sounded like a practical woman. Sara was happy for a normal ghost this time. She was still recovering from Joseph's departure. Before Sara could sort her feelings and say something, the woman continued.

"I want a puppy," the woman said with a sigh, then scowled. "Stupid landlord forbidding pets! It doesn't have to be an actual puppy. Any friendly dog will do."

Sara nodded. Her mission was clear. Find a dog, bring it here. The woman didn't want to burden her with a name but apparently, a living dog was fine. Maybe she wasn't so practical like that but Sara doubted the woman got to choose her own last wish. She knew that the ghosts were awfully straightforward and seldom hid their thoughts. Like Mr. Taylor's remarks on the second guy's plans for her.

She shivered. "I'll go find a friendly dog then. Will any breed do?"

"So long it lolls its tongue, wags its tail, and barks, it's fine," the ghost of the woman said with a grin. "I think you'll find one in the next building."

*

*

Forest Park, Clayton County, Georgia. Sunday, October 13th, 2019. 11:37.

That meant Sara would have to go out of her building to find a dog in the neighborhood. One that survived for a week and hadn't gone feral. Or cannibal, now that she thought about it.

She dressed all black with a tool belt to which she attached Mr. Taylor's pistol and her foster father's knife. She also took a small backpack with two water bottles, lockpicks, work gloves, her cellphone, a roll of duct tape, scissors, some cereal bars, a pack of jerky, a flashlight, and a hammer.

She checked Jonesboro and the side alleys several times for any activity or observers before going out through a hole in the back fence. Jonesboro was off-limits. The Necropolis King obviously had a vantage point over the whole strip of asphalt and no qualms about putting bullets on anything that moved over it. Sara crossed the alley to the next five-over-one and used the hammer to grab the fire ladder and pull it down. It creaked and made a lot of noise. Once it was latched down, Sara let go and hid behind a trash dumpster, focusing on hearing any noise, especially people approaching to check the source of the sound.

Nothing. No steps, no megaphone. The only sound came from the heavy winds. It brought new soot from faraway places.

Sara climbed the fire stairs and checked the windows to see if any were open. She climbed three floors and obviously enough, all windows were locked. She was hoping to strike it lucky but anyone leaving a window next to the fire stairs open was asking to be robbed. She sighed and decided to make some noise again. She removed the hammer from her backpack and tried to pry the window open with the back hook. When that didn't work, she covered the side of the window next to the latch in strips of duct tape. Then she swung for the rafters as a sharp impact would make less noise than a soft one. The glass broke but didn't scatter. The duct tape kept most splinters together and stopped the cracks from spreading all over the pane. Satisfied, she peeled the duct tape, revealing an almost perfectly circular hole in the glass. Putting a glove on, she reached in and opened the latch. Her former life as a burglar was paying off in the Apocalypse.

She took a moment to think about that. Hardened criminals, not that she considered herself one, had a psychological advantage over the upstanding citizens that led a normal life. While the normal people would be too busy lamenting the loss of their normal life and friends, the tough and callous would proactively go and secure resources. She was halfway between both. It was already the 13th and only now she was leaving her building. Almost a week after Armageddon.

She entered the empty bedroom and opened the door leading to the rest of the apartment.

That's when the stench of the dead struck her nose.

She retched and almost threw up on an empty stomach. Sara was thankful the System Core processed her food and left almost nothing behind, giving her only the nutrients she needed. She hadn't needed to do the number two for days now.

It was worse than anything she smelled from the people in her building. If this was what they would smell today if she hadn't burned them, she had no option but be glad for the fairy's Quest. The whole building would be unlivable.

She covered her nose and mouth with a damp pillowcase and a bandana tying it in place. While that didn't stop the smell, It helped. She dreaded the stench would only get stronger once she got closer to the bodies.

She checked the house. The developer was the same and the apartment was very similar to hers. Probably to cut down architect fees, they changed only a little and mass-produced the buildings, maybe over the entire country. She took one glance at the master bedroom and slammed the door shut. She'd found the source of the stench.

The couple who lived here had just arrived home, and had just changed out of their business suits. They had the window open and the rain drenched the bed and the corpses. The number of insects flying or crawling over the two on the floor was repulsive. They were bloated and had a pink foam coming out of their mouths, nostrils, and other orifices. She tugged the corridor carpet to block the gap between the door and floor before moving on.

The kitchen was clean save for a small layer of dust and soot that gathered these few days since the Apocalypse and well-equipped with state-of-the-art appliances. She suspected that either these people could live somewhere nicer, or this building was better than hers. She checked the alley, found it clear, then opened the window. With the one she entered from also open, an air current quickly circulated in the apartment, dragging the stench and stale air out. She saw no dogs but the pantry was well-stocked. The couple that lived here were quite fond of cooking their own food, it seemed. Instead of ready-to-eat food, they had a ton of cooking ingredients. The fridge was awful. They didn't have many leftovers since the world ended on a Monday, but the cooking ingredients and raw meat had all spoiled. The premium fresh produce they should be proud of eating was ruined. She only salvaged a tray of eggs that could still be good for eating.

Alas, the apartment had no dog. But the keys were in the lock and she had easy access to the hallway. Sara walked out of the apartment and whistled. Soon enough she heard a low whimper and a hoarse bark coming from ground level. She gave up on visiting the other apartments, for now. Her focus was on rescuing a poor doggie and completing her quest. On the next landing downstairs, she whistled again and paid attention. She heard another weak yelp and scratching against a door.

On ground level, she found the building manager's apartment. Sara deftly picked the lock and pushed the door open just a little bit, bracing the door in case the dog tried to escape.

The manger's apartment also smelled like the dead. "Who's a good boy?" She cooed.

The dog barked happily. Sara slowly pushed the door open and finally saw a muzzle. A blood-covered muzzle. The girl shrieked and slammed it close. The dog didn't like it and barked angrily. She had finally found something she dreaded ever since the world ended. Cannibal critters. Or anthropophagic animals, since they were eating people and not their own.

Regardless, she needed a dog. Maybe the ghost and the man-eating dog would be a perfect fit since the dog couldn't eat the ghost. She forgot for a moment that the ghost would vanish and leave the dog behind. Sara was concerned about being eaten herself. Or an infected bite. Yes, she could probably avoid getting killed and eaten but an infected bite would be a slow death sentence. She put on her work gloves and opened the door again. Peeking inside, she saw the dog laying on the floor, tail wagging and bloody muzzle open, with a tongue out. It looked friendly enough if it weren't for the damn blood.

"Who's a good boy?" She asked again. The dog bobbed his head and the tail wagged fiercely.

The gloves were made of thick cured leather and would probably stop the fangs from breaking her skin. Remembering a video about police dogs, she went back to the other apartment, took a blanket and wrapped it around her left forearm, keeping it in place with strips of duct tape. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door all the way and took a good look at the dog.

It was a Shiba Inu, the same breed of the notorious doge meme. Sara took a step into the house, wary of any reaction by the animal. Some dogs were extremely friendly until you trespassed on their territory. But the fluffy cannibal just stood still, splayed on the floor, wagging its tail.

"Who's a good boy?"

"Woof," the tail wagged.

"Yes, you are!"

"Woof," the tail wagged fiercer. The dog kept lolling.

She approached him with the covered forearm forward. Then she reached with her right hand and patted it on the head. The dog seemed happy and licked her glove. Were it not for the blood, she would take off the gloves and hug the furball. But it was a man-eating beast, almost a monster. Sara looked away from it and tried to figure out where the dead people were. She moved her head to one side or another, keeping her hand on the dog's head. She would sense if it tried to snap and eat her.

She saw flies buzzing in the living room. Sara grabbed the dog's collar and lamented it didn't have a leash. She tugged it up and the dog complied, standing up. With a twist, it obediently turned around and she had it lead her to the living room. There she found a bloated body on the couch, leaking fluids and with the same foam coming out of its mouth. The dog barked and whimpered as if it were calling its master back to life. The tail now was between its legs and the ears low against the sides of its head.

Then she heard a squeak and the dog rushed out of her grasp. It ran to the kitchen and Sara could only follow it, berating herself for not holding onto the collar. The thick gloves messed with her fine grip. The cannibal monster could have broken free and bit her! But before she went, she took a good look at the corpse. She saw no bite marks, no visible flesh exposed. Only the bloated pustules and the swarm of flies and bugs crawling over the body.

Reaching the kitchen, she saw the dog with its butt up and the front paws close to the ground. it seemed to be gnawing on something. She approached and gagged. She'd found a dozen or more partially eaten dead rats next to a hole in the wall. Everything looked chewed upon, both rat carcasses and the hole. By dog and rat respectively, she assumed.

Sara sighed in relief. The dog wasn't a cannibal, it was a bona fide good boy. It was killing and eating the rats that attempted to enter the apartment to eat stuff and the dead people, the dog's master included. Now that she was no longer focusing exclusively on the dog's bloody muzzle, Sara noticed she had a terrible case of tunnel vision. She saw bloody paw prints all over the corridor, leading everywhere but the master bedroom and the living room. A particular strong set of prints trailed between the kitchen and the restroom.

She understood why soon enough. After he finished his rodent meal, the Shiba Inu went to the restroom, flushed the toilet, then started to happily lap the water. It came back dripping, then shook its head and splashed water on both sides of the corridor. It approached Sara and politely sat a step away from her as if it was awaiting instructions. The girl removed the blanket from her forearm and put away her gloves. She'd dealt with the black gunk once, what is a little toilet water? She was sure the toilet had been flushed dozens of times, it only had a little rat blood in it. Nothing to worry about, surely.

"I'm going to cover your master with the blanket, okay? He surely is feeling cold," she explained to the dog. The animal just tilted its head. After checking the pillowcase over her mouth and nose had no gaps for a bug to get in, Sara carefully walked into the cloud of insects that was the living room, watching the dog's reaction all the time. She held her breath as she approached the corpse. Then she carefully put the blanket over it and closed her eyes for a little prayer.

The dog didn't attack. Sara let all her suspicion drain away. She left the living room and petted the dog. "Do you want to go for a walk?"

The Shiba Inu became extremely excited as it heard the last word. It ran to the kitchen and rummaged on the shelves by the back door, fetching a leash it brought back to Sara. The girl had her work cut out for her. She only hoped the dog wouldn't bark the whole neighborhood awake. But the Shiba Inu was extremely... wait a second. She found a nametag on the collar when she attached the leash. The dog's name was Rudy.

She searched the apartment and found a massive key ring with keys to all apartments, each with the number written on them with a sharpie. It also included the front and back doors. With that, she wouldn't waste time picking the locks. Excited with a new building to loot, she went out with the dog.

Rudy behaved like a gentleman. The dog stood next to Sara as she led it out through the back door and into the shared parking lot after she checked it was empty.

She would come back for the loot later. The ghost's mission came first.

*

*

Lakeview Apartments, Forest Park, Clayton County, Georgia. Sunday, October 13th, 2019. 11:58.

The obedient dog then followed her up the stairs and into the ghost lady's apartment.

"What a nice doggy!" The ghost purred. "Who's a good boy?"

Rudy was wary of the ghost but Sara nudged him forward. Remembering that ghosts vanished after their request was done, Sara wondered that she would probably get to keep him after the ghost...

"Oh, shit," the girl cursed and backed away as the situation changed.

Or not.

The phantom suddenly stretched, its mouth beaming rhomboid as its forehead and chin stretched and became angular. The eyes turned feral and the fingers elongated into claws. Then the apparition dove upon Rudy, tearing the very soul of the Shiba Inu out. Rudy whimpered, then died.

The specter held Rudy's soul in its claws, then cradled it in her arms as she resumed her normal human-like appearance. Sara was petrified with fright. Then both ghosts started to slowly fade away. The woman had a face full of regret as she apologized to Sara.

"I'm so sorry, Sara. My wish was fulfilled and I knew I would move on soon enough. Rudy was sick and dying, the rats he ate had human flesh in their bowels and that's poison for him. If I let him with you, you would only suffer as he withered before your very eyes. Human flesh will twist and corrupt the animals that eat them. Remember that, ple..."

Then they were gone. Vision spinning, Sara fell to her knees again as the emotional damage was too much for her. First Joseph, now Rudy. Maybe the ghost already knew Rudy was sick and had planned this small act of mercy in advance.

> Mission Complete...

"Not now! Give me an abridged version later." Horrified, she closed her eyes and shook her head until the hallucination of a blue window vanished.

Sara had another breakdown as she walked out of the woman's apartment with Rudy's corpse wrapped in a blanket. She was done with ghosts for a while. And now she had a dog to bury, without a single patch of earth to do so. Rudy was the best boy ever and he deserved a proper funeral.