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It was late.
Carl had recently broken up with his now-ex-girlfriend and had been searching for apartments since 9 pm. It was now 2 am, and he still hadn't found an affordable, pet-friendly two-bedroom apartment.
He sighs in frustration as he combs his fingers through Donut’s thick fur. She usually only sits on his lap when he’s gaming but she’s been sitting on his lap more often since Bea left for her vacation in the Bahamas. Probably misses her… Too bad Bea doesn’t seem to be missing them much. She’s been too busy cheating on him with her ex-boyfriend Brad or whatever his name is.
Carl combs through Donut’s hair one last time before standing up to look for the pack of cigarettes he keeps stashed in what used to be his and Bea’s bedroom. When he finds them, he opens the bedroom window and lights a cigarette.
Usually Bea would throw a fit if she caught him smoking but Carl doesn’t have to worry about that anymore. Although it has become pretty obvious that Bea wasn’t the only one who disliked his smoking, Donut seemed to hate it too if the disgusted face she made at him was any indication.
That and - “Carl… I can’t sleep.” Asher said, peeking through the crack in the open door.
Asher was his little brother… he had only learned about him recently due to a sheer coincidence. A friend he usually played games with on Saturdays kept pestering him about accepting his friend request on Facebook and after months Carl had finally given in and logged onto his long-forgotten Facebook account.
After a bit of scrolling, Carl had stumbled upon a message he had received from his Father’s second wife, his stepmother; she had gotten in trouble with the law and was on trial for his Father’s murder. The relief he felt when he heard the news that his Father had died made him both happy and ashamed… Ashamed he had spent so long being afraid of him.
Because she was a suspect Carl was given temporary custody of Asher as they either cleared her of the charges or gave her a sentence. Carl wouldn’t blame her if she did kill the man. He was a piece of shit when he was a kid and it seems like he didn’t change much when Asher was born.
Asher had only been here for a day or two and he would hopefully never have to meet Beatrice. Carl had debated moving to Iowa but with the trial going on he thought it would be best to keep Asher away from all of that drama.
“Sorry to hear that bud. Do you want me to heat you up some milk?” Carl responded. He had heard somewhere that warm milk helped you sleep easier but he really wasn’t sure what to do. He was 27 years old and had never watched over a kid in his life and now he’s watching over a traumatized 12-year-old with no one to ask for advice.
Before Asher could respond they both watched as Donut decided to jump through the open bedroom window and land on a tree branch outside. She wandered around for a bit before deciding it was cold as fuck and climbing the tree again but when she got to the branch she had jumped onto in the first place she just stared at both of them as they watched her from the open window.
“Damn it Donut!” Carl yelled as he began sliding on Bea’s small pink crocs. Asher followed him quickly sliding on his small sneakers.
They had quickly run down the stairs to rescue Donut from the tree she had gotten herself stuck in both forgetting to adequately bundle up for the weather in the process.
“Donut!” Carl called holding his arms out for Donut to jump into, “Come on, you little shit!” He yelled, getting frustrated with the cat. Both he and Asher were shivering and he was feeling guilty that he hadn’t told Asher to stay behind.
“What in god’s name is going on out here?” Mrs. Parsons called. Her head was out of the window, “Carl, is that you?”
“Yes, Mrs. Parsons,” Carl responded, still trying to coax Donut from the tree branch, “Sorry. My cat got out, and I’m trying to get her in before she freezes to death.”
“It looks like both of you are the ones who are going to-”
Before Mrs. Parsons could finish her sentence the world ended. The buildings smashed into the ground and were gone in the blink of an eye.
“What the hell?”
Donut had jumped into Carl’s arms as all three of them looked around at what was left of the city they were just in. “What the hell?” Carl repeated before noticing the severed head just inches from his feet.
Without thinking Carl quickly let go of Donut who climbed onto his shoulders to cover Asher’s eyes. He might not be the best with kids but even he knows they shouldn’t see something that fucked up.
“What - what happened?!” Asher asks, trying to remove Carl’s hands from his eyes.
“I’m not sure but trust me you don’t want to see this, just give me a second and I’ll move us away from here,” Carl responds trying to sound calm even though he is freaking out on the inside.
As he slowly starts to lead them away from the decapitated head of Mrs. Parsons a male robotic voice, starts to speak in their minds.
Surviving humans, take note.
As the voice continued talking about some dungeon thing the cold became more and more noticeable to the group. They wouldn’t survive out in this cold, especially without shelter or weather-appropriate clothing.
As if calling them to itself a stairway appeared where a thrift store had once been radiating a relieving warmth in this harsh winter weather.
“Should we go in there?” Asher asks, finally freeing Carl’s hands from the position on his eyes. He was still shivering, dressed in untied sneakers without socks and some worn PJs. They hadn’t had time to buy him some new clothes yet…
Carl looks down at his own shivering form noticing his own lack of warm clothes and responds, “Seems like that’s our only option kiddo.” Donut curls herself tighter to Carl's neck meowing softly as they all enter the dungeon together.
Welcome, Crawler. Welcome to the First Floor.
Crawler #4,121. “Asher.”
Level 1.
Race: Human
Class: Not yet assigned.
Congratulations! You’ve earned your first achievement: You Must Be This Tall To Ride.
Have you ever been to one of those shitty town fairs with rides that have a height requirement? There’s always some little shit wearing big shoes to give them a couple inches even though those requirements were put there for their own safety! … Congrats that little shit is you! You somehow entered the dungeon despite being below the age requirement! How you’re here is a mystery but you better be ready because you’re already strapped in!
Reward: You’ve received a Legendary What the Fuck are You Doing Here Box!