Not On The Survival List

Summary

That goddamn video was the last thread I had to pull.

In the grainy footage, at three in the morning, my parents were standing perfectly still by my bedside. They stared at me for what felt like an eternity before finally turning toward the door.

"Don't wake him," my mother’s voice whispered through the crack in the door, fragile and haunting. "Just let him stay here. Alone."

By the time I clawed my way out of sleep, the world had fundamentally shifted. The entire city looked like someone had hit the pause button.