I remembered someone in the reviews had mentioned that this app once helped them avoid a disaster.
Whatever. Desperate times called for desperate measures.
Even if there was only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, I had to try.
With that thought, I reopened the app and quickly typed in a new question. [There’s a bear outside my door! How do I survive?! Tell me, quick!]
The AI responded instantly.
[Self-rescue plan generated.]
[Plan A: Create a loud noise to alert neighbors and provoke group intervention.]
[Plan B: Attempt to climb across to the neighboring balcony via the window.]
[Plan C: Use flammable items in the home to make a simple Molotov cocktail and throw it to drive the bear away.]
Make noise to alert the neighbors?
It was the middle of the night, and most of them worked 9 to 5 and were fast asleep by now.
And even if someone did wake up, who would dare confront a beast that could walk upright and mimic human speech?
What if the noise provoked it and it went berserk?
Climb to the neighboring balcony through the window?
This was the 23rd floor. It was pitch-black outside and raining.
Just glancing down made my head spin. Climbing out would be no different than jumping to my death.
As for a Molotov cocktail, sure, I had half a bottle of vodka and a few cans of hairspray.
But even if I managed to make one, how was I supposed to throw it through a reinforced security door?
And what if I failed to scare it off and ended up setting the whole apartment on fire?
This wasn’t a rescue plan; it was a death sentence!
The AI app wasn’t saving me; it was pushing me straight into danger.
Just as panic began to spiral, a loud BANG exploded from outside the door.
It wasn’t a knock, it was an impact.
That bear had started ramming the door.
The force behind it was terrifying. The already rusted security door shook violently; it wouldn’t last much longer.
I couldn’t hold it in. A scream tore from my throat.
Tatiana’s voice rang out, panicked through the phone, “Zariah, what happened?!”
Tears filled my eyes as I choked out, “It… It’s hitting the door…”
“Tatiana, where’s Samuel? That bear, it’s about to break in…”
Tatiana tried to stay calm, forcing her voice steady. “They’re almost there! My brother said they’re already downstairs in your building! Zariah, you have to hold on…”
Before she could finish, my phone beeped, a low-battery warning.
Then the call cut off.
The terrifying crashing outside stopped as well.
Everything plunged into a deathly silence.
And then, slow, heavy footsteps. Something was walking away from my door.
A flicker of hope lit up in my chest. Maybe the rescue team had subdued the bear?
But the silence didn’t last long.
A muffled grunt, like someone being choked, slipped in through the crack beneath the door.
Right after that, a thick, metallic scent filled the air.
Blood.
Had Samuel and his team taken the bear down?
I gathered what courage I had left and crept toward the door, whispering, “Samuel? Is that you?”
No response. Just suffocating silence.
Then a bone-chilling sound pierced the stillness. The sound of flesh being torn apart. Chewed.
Something warm and wet began to seep in under the door.
My stomach lurched. I clamped a hand over my mouth, my entire body trembling uncontrollably.
Cold sweat drenched my pajamas.
Samuel, the firefighter who had followed me around since we were kids, always calling me “Sister Zariah,” had he been eaten by the bear?
My legs buckled, and I sank to the floor, my back sliding helplessly down the wall.
Despair and terror surged over me like a tidal wave, ready to drown me whole.
