I walked further down the cracked sidewalk. My stomach growled audibly. Ah! I missed the dinner. Hehe. I did not even realize how hungry I was. The coffee earlier had taken the edge off, but I needed something solid. Burger, sandwiches, coke, chips... Humm... I looked around. I'm go some cheap junk food tonight. On the right, near a stru site, was one of the pop-up food carts. Alrighty.

  The vendor was a young woman ie twenties, dressed in a very thick jacket with a hood pulled up. A small sign on her cart in handwritteers was stuck across the front: "Hot Sandwiches - Freshly Made!" She looked up as I approached. From her expression, she looked tired but gave a sincere smile.

  "What I get for you?" she asked, her voice ced with the weariness of someone who'd been on her feet all day.

  "Two sandwiches. The big ones," I said, pulling out some cash.

  "Anything specific?" she asked, reag for the bread.

  "Surprise me," I replied with a small shrug.

  She nodded and got to work, her hands movily as she yered ingredients and pressed them on a small portable grill. The smell of melting cheese and toasting bread was heavenly. After a few minutes, she handed over two ly ed sandwiches. "Here you go. Stay safe out there."

  "Thanks," I muttered, tug the sandwiches into my jacket, then paid and walked away.

  The warmth and fvor hit me as I bit into the first one. Oh, it tastes freaking good. It was simple—ham and cheese with a hint of mustard—but it might as well have been a gourmet meal sidering how hungry I was.

  The streets were silent except for the distant rumbles of maery or sometimes a car passing by. I should take more night walks from now on. So peaceful, except for those fug cultists and the posters. The city had always been a mix of chaos and resilience, and now it was holding its breath as if waiting for something to happen. From what I heard, Manhattan suffered the most damage while Brooklyn suffered very little.

  Mid-bite into the sed sandwich, I noticed movement ahead. A scruffy, thin dog with matted fur was rummaging through a pile of debris. A goldy. It looked thin and dirty, but there was a colr on the guy's neck. Someone abahe puy. I uand if there were ah out there but I did bring everyone dead back to life, so why the fuck did they abaheir pet to die oreet?

  Let me cheemories a bit...

  Well, money problem, and the family moved elsewhere leaving the guy here. The poor thing looked like it hadn't had a det meal in days.

  I slowed my pad crouched down a few feet away, tearing off a k of the sandwich. "Hey, buddy," I called softly, holding the food out in front of me.

  The dog froze, its ears twitg as it looked up at me with wary eyes. It took a careful step forward, then another, sniffing the air cautiously. When it was close enough, it quickly snatched the piece of sandwich from my hand areated a few steps to devour it.

  "Hungry, huh?" I murmured, tearing off another piece. This time, the dog approached more quickly, its tail wagging ever so slightly. It grabbed the sed pied stayed closer, its eyes dartiween me and the sandwi my hand.

  After a few more bites shared between us, the dog seemed to rex, sitting a few feet away and watg me with a curious tilt of its head. I fihe rest of the sandwid dusted off my hands.

  "I gotta get going, pal," I said, patting the dog on the head as o goodbye. "But, let me heal you." I didn't want to use the Phoenix Force, so I just transferred the healing factor to the doggy and he looked pretty much all healthy and eic. Well, a tle bath would be good for him too.

  The dog yipped ond trotted toward me, tail wagging. I hesitated for a moment, then reached out aly scratched behind its ears. The dog leaned into my touch, its fur soft and warm. That's a golderiever for you. Haha.

  It was funny how quickly things could ge. One minute, you're fighting aliens and saving the world, almost fug Death, and the , you're sharing a sandwich with a stray dog.

  "I've gotta go, buddy," I said, giving the dog o pat on the head. "You take care of yourself, okay?"

  The dog tilted its head again, then licked my hand and trotted off dowreet.

  I watched it go, then turned and headed toward May's orphanage. I wonder if that pce is alright or not. Those kids might be having a hard time. But I stopped after walking for a few minutes. "Sigh!" I looked bad saw the goldy following me. "What are you doing?" I asked.

  [Wooff!!] He barked.

  "You 't follow me, you know."

  The dog yipped again and sat down, staring at me ily. His tail was wagging too much.

  "I don't have time for this," I muttered, tinuing on my way. A few seds ter, the soft patter of paws behiold me that the dog was still following.

  "Hey! Shoo!" I tried to scare him away but he didn't budge. "Go away." I tried to shoo him away with my hands but he just stayed where he was.

  [Wooff! Woofff!]

  I finally gave up and walked away, shaking my head. The dog kept pace beside me, his tongue lolling out as he trotted along. We walked in silence for a few blocks, the night air cool and quiet around us.

  After a while, the dog let out a loud yawn and stretched out his legs before tinuing to follow me.

  I looked at him and sighed. "Fine. You e along for now. But only until I find you a home, okay? Don't get too attached."

  The dog barked again, its tail waggiedly. I couldn't help but smile a little. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad having a panion for the night.

  "Alright then," I said, looking around. "Let's get going."

  ...

  I walked towards the park, the faint glow of campfires and makeshift nterns illuminating clusters of children huddled in bs. The building across the street, May's orphanage, seemed a hollowed-out shell. Windows shattered, walls cracked, and parts of the roof pletely caved in. Even the sign, once painted cheerfully, was hanging by one , swinging in the cold breeze.

  The dog—my ued panion—trotted ahead, wagging his tail as if this were just another adventure. I stopped by the edge of the park, leaning against a tree to take in the se. May was there, her figure illuminated by the flickering fmes. She was ed in a worn coat, kneeling beside a child who looked no older than six. Her face carried exhaustion but also the determination of someone who refused to give up. That was May for you.

  But something wasn't right. It had been a week sihe damage occurred, and not a single e or truck was in sight. The city wasn't perfect, sure, but for a pce like this—an orphanage? Someone should have stepped up by now. I've donated enough money, so they shouldn't have a money problem. That money should've been enough to rebuild the entire building and provide for these kids for months. Besides, I heard the gover had annouhat they are taking care of the orphanages and old-age homes.

  So why the hell were they still living is?

  I stayed in the shadows, watg. The dog sat beside me, his head tilted as if sensing my unease. I crouched down, scratg behind his ears absently while I thought. "Something's not adding up," I muttered under my breath.

  May straightened up, her voice carrying over to me as she addressed the children. "Alright, everyo's time to settle in. We've got another cold night ahead, but we'll get through it, just like we always do."

  The kids hough their faces betrayed their worry. Some clutched stuffed animals; others shared bs, trying to stay warm. My stomach twisted. These kids deserved better.

  I decided to get closer. The dog started to follow, but I held up a hand. "Stay," I whispered. To my surprise, he actually listened, sitting down obediently. "Good goldy."

  I stepped out of the shadows and into the light of the campfire.

  May noticed me immediately, her eyes narrowing slightly in suspi. " I help you?" she asked, standing up and shielding the child behind her instinctively.

  "Hey," I said, keeping my voice calm and casual. "I was just passing by and saw... well, this. What happened? Why isn't anyone helping?"

  Her expression softened slightly, but her eyes remained guarded. "The building was damaged during the attack st week. We've been waiting for the city to send someone, but..." She trailed off, gng back at the orphanage. "As you see..."

  "That's strange," I said, frowning. "I thought there were relief funds set up for situations like this."

  "There are," she replied, her voice tight. "But every time I call, I get the runaround. They say the paperwork's still being processed or that they're prioritizing other areas. I don't know what else to do. I even tried to take out the donation funds that we receive from the bank, but they are saying they have some problems on their ends and with the damages and all... so I couldn't take it out."

  I felt a surge of anger rise in me. What the fuck is going on? Those corrupted motherfuckers! I'm gonna kill them all. And those gover bastards, spreading false news and hope just to get votes. They are gonna pay.

  "How much do you need?" I asked, stepping forward. "I help."

  May shook her head quickly, taking a step back. "No, that's not necessary. It's fine. We're managing."

  I sighed, running a hand through my hair. This is awkward.

  "Hey, May," A familiar voice came from behind. I turned around and saw a blonde girl in a bck jacket standing a few feet away, her expression guarded.

  "Oh, Gwen," May said, looking relieved.

  So, that's Gwen. Dang! Nebu fug up our date. Anyway, let's focus on the current situation. Gwen bought three bags, one on her bad two on both hands.

  "Here. I mao get these from the supermarket or more like super trucks," she said, handing the bags over. "It's not much, but it's better than nothing."

  "Thank you, Gwen," May said, taking the bags and pg them he rest of the supplies.

  Gwen hen finally turoward me. Her expression was unreadable.

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