Aya crouched in front of her neighbour’s door, some tools laying on the floor beside her. She hadn’t heard anything after she knocked on the door a couple of times, so operation breaking and entering was a go. She grabbed a flat-headed screwdriver to try first. She had pondered how to open the locks and decided to just use blunt force first. She doubted she had the patience or the dexterity to open a door with a hairpin or something like that. Also, she was fairly certain that there were no monsters roaming her hallways. She did leave her own front door open though, just in case she needed to make a quick getaway. She felt like a properly prepared criminal. Well, beside the fact she still didn’t know what she was doing. But that didn’t deter her as she wiggled the screwdriver into the keyhole. Some sweettalking, strong language and a few minutes later, she heard a click and the front door opened slightly. She pumped her arm once before grabbing Jack’s baseball bat and the flashlight.

She slowly and carefully swept through the apartment, but she didn’t see anything living. She was surprised by the mess, toys and clothing scattered on the floor. Until she realised that her neighbour was a single parent taking care of two little kids. Dismissing the thought, she went on to plunder the fridge and freezer, leaving the questionable vegetables behind. ‘Well, that was easier than I had anticipated’ she muttered to herself as she put the food into a bag. ‘At this rate, I’ll be done by lunch. Hopefully I can spot something useful when I check the apartments to come back for.’.

And so Aya’s looting spree continued. Nothing overly exciting happened as she finished one side of the hallways. She had gained a skill called lockpicking, which passively enhanced… you know. Lockpicking. She also had a minor heart attack when a parakeet suddenly started chirping in its cage when she entered one of the apartments. But the poor bird seemed normal, so she had filled its water bottle and put some bird feed inside the cage. She decided she would free the bird when she left. She couldn’t just leave it to starve to death and it felt wrong to just kill it. Not when it wasn’t necessary.

After a small break where she munched on a slightly discoloured apple, she moved onto the rest of the apartments. She was glad that most people on her floor didn’t have any pets, which made the raiding go smoothly. She uttered a small prayer of thanks into the cosmos. Of course, that’s when everything went to hell.

Aya knocked on the front door as usual, waiting a few moments to listen to any sound. By now, she didn’t expect to hear anything and she was almost finished. When she didn’t hear anything, she went down to one knee, wiggled the screwdriver into the lock and waited to hear the telling click. She pushed the door open with one hand as she picked up the baseball bat with the other.

BOOM.

Her breath was knocked out of her at the same time she felt something pierce through her shoulder. She spun around with a cry, landing on her injured shoulder. ‘DIE, YOU FILTHY MONSTER’ a man shouted as another shot flew above Aya’s head. She clumsily rolled out of the doorway, whimpering in pain as blood dripped down her shoulder. Another shot was fired. ‘YOU THOUGHT I WAS EASY MEAT DIDN’T YOU, DIDN’T YOU?! I’LL SHOW YOU! I’LL KILL YOU ALL!’. She heard the man stumble inside the apartment, footsteps coming closer to the open door. Aya shakily drew her gun, aiming it at the door while she lay on her back in the hallway. ‘Listen to me! I’m Aya, your neighbour, don’t do this!’ Aya pleaded.

The man appeared in the door, leaning on the frame as he swung his gaze and his shotgun towards Aya. ‘YOU THINK I BELIEVE YOUR LIES?! DEVIL SPAWN, THE LOT OF YOU! YOU DESE…’.

BANG

With a sob, Aya pulled the trigger. The man jerked, his shot going wide before he fell backwards. Scrambling onto a knee, Aya strained her ears for any noise beside the pounding of her heart and her panting. Slowly, she moved forward when she heard nothing. Trembling, she darted a quick look into the living room before throwing herself back into the hallway. Nothing happened, beside a stab of pain through her shoulder for her panic. Taking gulping breaths, she peeked around the corner. The man lay on his back, eyes unseeing as blood trickled down his neck. Whether by luck or instinct, the bullet had penetrated under the man’s chin and up into his brain, killing him instantly. She collapsed against the doorframe, a sob wrenching from her throat. ‘Why? Why did you… why? Just as I had a plan, just when I felt slightly optimistic at my plans… I… he…’. No more words could escape her constricted throat.

And so, her second day after the implementation of the System ended as her first; full of tears and pain.