(7) death

Marcy was the first. A bullet pierced her neck when nobody was expecting it.

Steven had managed to come back on his own the first ‘trip’ to another dimension, so he didn’t need the ability yet. The outsiders sure as hell had no clue, and even the Cattlayans-- back when they weren’t Cattlayans, just ordinary humans according to the rest of the multiverse-- weren’t aware.

Those watching were ready to scream when her body had hit the floor, but no one expected it to disappear almost instantly.

The girl herself woke up in another universe, confused and with a sore throat. She was alive, miraculously.

She had cheated death.

After that, the rest were quick to follow. They didn’t all go to the same universe, of course not, but they all went through the same experiences.

Steve, stabbed in the chest. Rui, hit by a truck. All equally brutal and fully the fault of those who didn’t know what they were dealing with.

Rex was the only one after them who died before the Change; struck down by another gunshot. He was also the first new Cattlayan to appear in Gordon City (he shocked quite a few people when he appeared on the sidewalk with a torso covered in dried blood).

...Not long after, billions were dead.

Those who died then wouldn’t ever be able to come back.

There were those, however, who were able to assimilate before they died. Those drifted through the void before popping out in the multiverse somewhere. Those who escaped the fate of their home began to realize things they never realized living among their own species. Things like greater senses or athletic capabilities.

There were also new changes solely thanks to the Change. The ability to understand and travel through the multiverse. The newfound and stunning almost-immortality. Those tricks were unlocked with the fear of the event.

Of course, something many of these people also realized was that many of them had a quite beautifully blooming case of PTSD.

Pure death, some learned, only comes from the monsters.

(Marcy and Will had a theory that their species may now also still die from old age, but neither of them are sure how long they were supposed to live now).

Of course, there were certain glitches in the system. Everyone still physically scarred, so no one was very eager to see what effect lava had on their powers.

No one knew what would happen once society was rebuilt, as well. Would overpopulation be bad?

The fact that was an extremely long time away soothed some.

For now, everyone was just concerned with fixing their ‘endangered species’ status.

...’Everyone’ being about 40 people spread out across the globe; those that managed to find their way back home on their own.

Later on, more outposts would grow, more survivors gathering together. The last relics of society. They’d rebuilt things completely some day.

After all, history tended to repeat itself.

---

Sometimes i think i should add ‘cattlayan’ to my laptop’s personal dictionary so it doesn’t try to correct it, and other times im like. naaah.