The main difference between luck and chance is that chance is a neutral term, while luck implies something good or bad.

  Zai

  I left the hospital and wandered through the city. Cars were abandoned everywhere, some with drivers still slumped over the wheel, others with families frozen in place. It was a macabre still life, a snapshot of sudden, total annihilation. And I was starving.

  I ducked into a nearby convenience store, a place I’d frequented during my time working in the city. "Hello?" I called out, the word echoing in the sudden silence. Miss Ping, the cashier, lay slumped behind the counter. Another one gone.

  I grabbed a discarded shopping bag—he certainly wouldn’t need it anymore—and filled it with essentials. Food, water, first-aid supplies. My priorities were clear: find a safe place to hunker down, determine if I was still battling cancer, and figure out how to survive in this new world. Survivors were a secondary concern.

  First, I needed to know if I would survive. My first priority was setting up a lab. Once I was stable, I could start investigating what had caused this catastrophe. The TVs and radios were silent. The government, whatever remained of it, was gone too.

  Speaking of the government… I made a detour to the local police station. I entered cautiously , though I doubted anyone was left to shoot me. Inside, the scene was the same: officers slumped over desks, blood trickling from their ears and noses, their eyes vacant. I still didn’t know how to operate a firearm, but I’d learn. I picked up an MS-BS Radon and an M&P Shield pistol. Tactical, I assumed. They’d have to do.

  As far as I could tell, plant life was unaffected. A few animals still roamed the streets, oblivious to the human extinction event. But anything human… was dead.

  Had I survived by luck, or by mere chance?

  This was the literal fall of civilization. All that manga I hadn't finished. The anime I'd been anticipating. And I hadn’t even found love yet. Damn it. This was infuriating. And when I found out what caused this… I hoped there was someone I could torture. Someone who could feel even a fraction of the agony I felt now.

  Elias

  On the drive home, the "No Signal" messages kept flashing on my phone. She’s not—She just isn’t—No way. The thought clawed at the back of my mind, a monstrous denial.

  I slammed into the mailbox outside my house, the impact jarring me. I didn't care. I just needed to see her face, to hear her say she was okay. I scrambled out of the car, fumbling for my keys. They were a metal ball in my pocket. I threw them aside and pounded on the door, shouting her name. "KARAAAA!" Silence. I called again, the word raw and desperate. Still nothing. I threw my weight against the door. The hinges splintered, and the door crashed inward.

  I burst inside, ignoring the shards of glass that sliced into my foot. Pain was irrelevant. I tore through the downstairs rooms, calling her name. Nothing. I bolted upstairs, taking the steps two at a time, nearly flying. I shoved her bedroom door open.

  She was there. Lying in bed. She’s sleeping, right? But the red stain by her ear, the trickle of blood on her rose-red lips… She wasn’t sleeping. She wouldn’t wake up. I wish I could just lie down beside her and never wake up either. Why am I still awake? Why couldn’t it have been me?

  On her nightstand, I saw her diary. I picked it up, my hands trembling. She won’t mind if I take a peek… just this once. I flipped to today’s date:

  Wednesday, Undecember 7th, 2016

  My baby just left for work. Imagine him forgetting his keys! I love him. I’m so glad I found him, that he chose me. He promised to cook when he gets home. I can’t wait. We can finish watching Flash season 3. We’re going to have so much fun. Maybe I can steal a kiss or two if he’s in the mood. I’m going to take a nap later. ?

  The words blurred through the tears that streamed down my face. I knew she wasn’t sleeping. I knew she was… dead.

  The tears wouldn’t stop. They poured down my face, an unstoppable flood. A sob tore from my throat, a ragged, broken sound. My chest felt tight, constricted, like a vise was crushing me. I couldn’t breathe. Another sob, then another, each one more violent than the last. The pain was unbearable, a physical weight pressing down on me, stealing my breath. A guttural scream built in my chest, a primal roar of grief and rage.

  "KAAAAAARAAAAAAA!"

  The scream ripped through the silence, echoing through the empty house. As the sound tore from my throat, a searing heat built in my chest, a pressure so intense it felt like my ribs would shatter. And then, a torrent of white-hot energy erupted from my mouth, a beam of pure force that tore through the ceiling, blasting a gaping hole in the roof. Dust and debris rained down around me as I stood there, gasping for air, the raw power of the blast still vibrating in my bones. The scream had become something else, something… impossible.

  I was unsure how to feel!!! what the actual fuck did i just do. It replays in my mind over and over. I focus back to my wife my baby, i need to give her a proper burial. I need to send her off with a beautiful wedding dress and Coffin for my Queen so she can sleep in peace. After ill find out what happen here on earth. I swear to God if the government or another country is at fault for this ill reek havoc. I wont let my darlings death be in vein. They will feel my wraith.

  I didn't know how to feel. What the actual fuck did I just do? The image of the blast, the hole in the roof, replayed in my mind, a horrifying loop. I forced my thoughts back to Kara, my baby. She deserved a proper burial. A beautiful wedding dress, a coffin fit for a queen. She deserved to rest in peace. Then I would find out what had happened here. I swore to God, if the government, or any other country, was responsible for this… I would unleash hell. I wouldn't let her death, their deaths, be in vain. They would feel my wrath.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  I left the house and made it to the city at full speed. It didn’t matter; no one was on the roads. Only when I got closer did the traffic become congested. I didn’t care. I ran the rest of the way. Surprisingly, I was slow, but I wasn’t getting tired. What’s on my mind currently? That wedding dress she saw in a store, how it captivated her, and how she captivated me. She’s gone, but I know she would come back alive just to wear this dress. So I’ll grant her wish.

  I arrived at the store. Surely everyone on the way here was dead, and the cashier was slumped over the desk. A sad sight. I saw the dress staring at me, and here it came again—that salty, warm water running down my face. I found the washroom to clean my hands and face. Then I packed up the dress and went to find a coffin.

  It was hard to find a place at first, but in the end, I found a white and gold coffin. Perfect for my darling. I carried it on my back, lugging it out of the store, and made my way back to the car.

  Hours later, I stood in the backyard, the shovel heavy in my hands. The sky had darkened, and a chill had settled over the air. I had Kara in that wedding dress. To add a personal touch, I covered her with her favorite blanket, the one she always cuddled with during movie nights, and I put a silver tiara on her head. As I lowered her into the grave I had dug, my heart shattered all over again. I whispered a promise into the night, a vow etched into my very soul.

  "I’ll find out who did this," I murmured, my voice trembling. "And I’ll make them pay."

  The wind picked up, carrying the scent of earth and rain. I stood there for a long time, staring at the mound of dirt that now separated me from the love of my life. A faint glow still lingered in my chest, a reminder of the raw, unexplainable power I had unleashed. I didn’t know what it was, but I knew it was connected to this tragedy. And I would use it to find the answers I needed.

  The world had changed, and so had I.