Mewo & Cornball
Mewo kicked her blanket like it offended her.
Cornball nudged her.
“Dude… we survived an apocalypse creature.”
Mewo groaned.
“Yeah but now I have to survive getting up early.”
Cornball snorted.
“Bro.”
Goober Opens Up
Goober sat alone at first—knees to chest, blanket around their shoulders—until Randomiser slid over next to them.
“You okay?” Randomiser whispered.
Goober hesitated.
Then shook their head.
“I flinch easily but I’m not scared often,” Goober murmured.
“But tonight… I was scared. A lot.”
Randomiser put a hand on their arm.
“It’s okay to be scared. Like—totally okay.”
Goober swallowed.
“What if something else is out there?
What if we leave and something worse finds us?”
Randomiser shrugged.
“Then we run. Or fight. Or… y’know… cry loudly enough to stun it.”
Goober cracked a tiny smile.
“…Thanks.”
“Anytime,” Randomiser said.
Silence Returns
One by one, they drifted into their own thoughts.
Even the speaker-cat curled up and slept, purring softly beside Cornball’s foot.
The emergency lights dimmed to their night-mode glow—gentle and amber.
Toady lay back on their blanket, staring up at the ceiling.
“Hey,” they said quietly.
“We’re all still here. That’s what matters.”
The group murmured in agreement.
No jokes.
No panic.
Just a tired, fragile relief.
For a moment…
The bunker felt almost peaceful.
Then, just before sleep claimed them—
A soft static hiss crackled through Yoshi’s backpack.
He jolted upright.
The crank radio turned on by itself.
A whisper came through the static:
“…north… don’t go north…”
The radio clicked off.
Everyone sat up at once, wide awake.
Mewo’s voice trembled.
“…That wasn’t Devesto.”
Toady stared into the dark.
“No,” they whispered.
“It wasn’t.”
