by J Deleon
“You don’t think this is bad?” Scott looked around.
“No, something worse than this.” Ian looked around as well. “We need to leave here.”
Adam
The streets became quiet. Within an instant, all of the screams and running he had heard vanished. He was able to think properly once more and move at a normal speed. After waiting for a moment, he lifted the lid of the dumpster and peered out. The alley was empty now as well as the streets. The buildings near him were silent with only the sound of falling bricks in the distance.
Adam started out of the dumpster, but hid back inside once he heard a loud footstep. He peeked out and saw a large monster walking.
Near the center of the city, there was no way for him to get out safely. He would have to travel miles before reaching the outskirts. It seemed to him that everybody else had disappeared somewhere—leaving him behind. He waited in the dumpster for the monster to leave before making a run for it.
He ran down the alley and turned the corner. He sprinted as fast as he could down the street before quickly hiding behind another corner, out of sight from a lurking monster. It flashed the bright light and screamed in his direction, making him shutter. He covered his ears and shut his eyes until the pain stopped. He continued running down the street, hiding from every monster he came across. The look of each of them mortified him. He would give anything to not remember what they looked like, but the image of them was plastered in his mind.
He ran and ran until he couldn’t run anymore. His legs gave out, and he fell to the ground. He felt like he would never see the light of day again under the now dark purple sky. He figured this was night now. He laid on the street, too exhausted to stand up, and listened for any more of them approaching. Once he was able to walk again, he made his way to the nearest building in search for help.
He knocked on the door and screamed for help. This consisted a few times until he rested his forehead and fist on the door and slid down in grief. He wept at the thought of solitude. The first thing that ran through his head was his parents. If everything was how it seemed, and he was really alone, then they would be gone as well. Not only was he alone, but he found no trace of even a single body in the highly populated city that was crowded with people not a few hours ago. He would never see them again—this hurt him the most. The thought of not seeing the people that meant the most to him, not even remembering the last moment he saw them or what the last thing he had said to them, killed him inside. He had a lot of time to think about it now. He was the last person alive—alive with the monsters—in the doomed world.
Everything happened so fast; like a blink of an eye. The sky started to pour down the evil, natural disasters began to form in great numbers, and the earth itself began to fall under. Now he was alone, searching the city for as long as his legs can hold, and not one other living thing was found.
A blurry memory of his family came to mind (he expected it to be his most recent memory of them together) and it didn’t want to go away. He refused to believe it. He had to see for himself. But on this night, he was weary. It had been the worst day of humanity and he could walk no more. Instead, he broke a window from the building, went inside, and slept on the first couch he could find.
On the morning after, Adam woke up to a couch soaked with sweat and tears. His hunger led him to a vending machine with snacks of all kinds. He shouted down the halls and through the fallen walls, but not another voice was heard. With a brick from the ruble just outside, he shattered the glass and reached in to get food. He ate as much as he could fathom and then departed to find his family.
It was his mother, father, and little sister he was searching for. They had been on the opposite side of the city where they have always been since before he was born. At twenty-six, his parents had been together for three years before he was born. His sister, ten years younger than himself, had still been in high school the last time he saw her. The three of them were all he had in the world. Adam had lived in a small apartment in the city where he barely made ends meet. It was a hard life for him to live, but he would choose that life over this in a heartbeat.
The sky was still as dark as it had been since it started, but it was no longer a dark purple color. It resembled the same dark gray color it did the previous days.
He knew his journey would be longer than yesterday’s, so he gathered a few supplies for the road. He considered trying to find a car and drive, but the roads were beyond destroyed and in no shape to even try to drive. If he was going to get anywhere, he was going to have to travel by foot. This didn’t bother him, however, as walking was his preferred means of transportation. With a backpack full of food and drinks, a rested body, and determination to find his family, he set off into the city.
Cecily
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Cecily told the lady.
“There might be more people out there. We need to help them.” The lady replied.
It had been a few hours since they left the city. The sky was now a dark purple which was anything but good.
Cecily knew there was no changing her mind. “Find then. We’ll go, but if we die.” Cecily pointed at her.
“We made it out of the city together, we can go back in together as well.” The lady told her.
Cecily smiled. “I’m Cecily.” Cecily held out her hand.
“I’m Jennifer.” She grabbed her hand and shook it; once up and then down.
“It’s nice to meet you, Jennifer.” Cecily had a good feeling about her.
Jennifer returned a smile of her own before proceeding back to the city with Cecily. The area was much harder to see due to the new night. The moon wasn’t visible that night nor were the stars. When Cecily looked up to examine the sky whenever she was clear from all of the trees, she noticed that it was more of a blanket of dark purple clouds, however, thicker and closer to the surface than normal.
The two traveled through the trees for what seemed like hours. The sound of crunching leaves and twigs snapping under their feet sent chills down Cecily’s spine. As they moved closer to what they hoped was the city, flames started to appear around them. The trees and grasslands had yet to extinguish. Soon enough, every tree in their vicinity was engulfed in flames or nearing their downfall. A few trees had already burned to the ground or fell over onto other trees. It was here when they decided to avoid the closed areas and opted out to the open fields. What they feared about this, however, was that they may be in open view for the monsters.
Cecily, wearily, walked a few feet behind Jennifer who was also looking weary. They had been walking for over an hour and the thought of them being lost came across her mind more than once. She was fighting to stay awake, but her eyelids were too heavy for her to keep up.
“M—maybe we should…” Cecily started to slouch. Her blinking became more frequent and lasted longer. Her feet dragged in the dirt as she tried to keep up. After a blink that lasted a second or two, she sprung her eyes open to see Jennifer fall to the ground. “J—Jezif!” Cecily was too tired to remember her name. She ran towards her and fell by her side to check on her. Jennifer was still breathing, but she was exhausted. It had been a day like no other for the two of them. Cecily knew it was time to let go for a few hours. “Are…are you…” Cecily rested her head on Jennifer’s stomach and fell asleep.
Cecily couldn’t recall her dream that night once Jennifer woke her up by springing onto her hands and bottom. Cecily first noticed the gray sky that still blocked out the sun. It took a moment for her to realize that yesterday did actually happen and that she was alone with a stranger she had barely survived with. A moment came when she wanted to just run away and never look back, but she remembered Jennifer and decided to stay.
“C—Cecily right?” Jennifer rubbed her forehead.
“Yeah.” Cecily did the same. “Juliza?”
“Jennifer.” She laughed.
“Oh,” Cecily chuckled as she sat up. “Sorry.”
“It’s ok
ay.” Jennifer stood up and looked around. “It’s all still here.” Her voice saddened.
Cecily saw the remaining buildings from the city in the distance. They had traveled the wrong way the previous night; it would take the rest of the day to get back.
“We went the wrong way.” Cecily fixed her purple head band and her glasses. Her dark hair that she had worn pushed back was now in a mess. She put her hair in a ponytail to stop the annoyance. Her glasses were noticeably scratched from the escape, which she couldn’t help but look at.
“We’ll get there.” Jennifer told her.
Cecily finally stood up next to Jennifer. “Well then, let’s go.”
The two started back to the city once again. The day was still dark, but it was bright enough to see. It reminded Cecily of days when there would be nothing but heavy clouds just before a serious storm. Only now, the clouds never left and the disasters never past.
“Do you think they’re causing all of this to happen?” Cecily asked Jennifer.
“What do you mean?” Jennifer replied.
“Like, the tornadoes, earthquakes, all of the other things that we saw. Do you think they’re the reasons why they’re happening?”
“It’s possible.” Jennifer told her. “But the disasters started before they came, didn’t they?”
“Oh yeah. Maybe, they’re attracted to the disasters? I’m not sure.”
“Let’s just hope that’s not true.” Jennifer didn’t give another response to the subject. Cecily assumed she felt uncomfortable talking about them.
The purple started to return to the sky as they neared the city lines. Cecily checked, for the hundredth time, if her phone had any reception—there was still none. Jennifer had tried her phone as well earlier, but not nearly as frequent.
The cold air started to become stronger as they pushed forward; they eventually started to feel concerned.
“This isn’t right!” Cecily shouted to Jennifer over the heavy winds. “We need to take cover!”
“Okay, let’s go!” Jennifer tried to protect her eyes from the dirt that was swirling around them. They noticed a tornado in the distance. “It’s a tornado!”
Cecily ran as fast as she could with Jennifer by her side. The winds tossed and turned them as they tried to get away. The tornado followed them towards the city as they entered the streets. As soon as they could, the two ran into a secure looking building and tried to take cover. The building they chose seemed to still be in good shape. The solid walls still stood tall under the metal layered ceiling. The electricity had been running in the building all night and was still going strong. The two were immediately relieved that they had a well-lit, secure place to take shelter.
“It’s coming!” Cecily felt the ground shake from the tornado coming closer. She was fortunate that there weren’t any other disasters at the moment. The tornado, however, was now the least of their worries. They were back in the city, along with the monsters that had taken over.
A few moments past before they were sure the tornado was long gone. They unclenched their fists and stood up to make sure.
“Is it gone?” Jennifer asked.
“I think so.” Cecily answered.
“Hello?” A voice echoed through the large room. It came from the shadows of a well-guarded area they hadn’t had time to notice. There was a portion of the large room blocked off by tables and doors. The lights that would light up that area were turned off and only the silhouette of the fortress showed. The voice came from inside of it. Cecily tried to make out other voices.
“Who’s there?” Jennifer asked a bit too aggressively.
A table slowly moved from its position to create a small opening. A man crawled out of the gap and stood up. As the man walked closer to them, Cecily was able to make out his large, brown beard that covered half his face. His long shaggy hair was pushed back behind his ears to show off his matching eyes. His clothes were dirty and filled with sweat from the recent events. He seemed more scared of them than she was of him.
“M—my name is Sean.” Cecily heard more rustling from the fort. Tiny voices whispered and cried the more she paid attention. “We need your help.”
Ian
“So you were in your car when they disappeared?” Ian asked as he wrapped his arms around his knees.
Scott and Ian had made it out of the downtown area of the city and found refuge in a small home on a street neither of them were familiar with. It was a large enough city for the two of them to not know every part of it. This led to them being able to find a rural area where not a lot of damage had taken place. The houses still showed proof of all of the disasters that had occurred the previous day, but a few were still intact. They found the house that was in the best condition and decided to stay there for the night.
Ian sat on the floor, hugging his knees, as he and Scott discussed the previous events. Ian was still shaken up about it all. He wasn’t as reluctant to speak up about what he remembered as Scott was. He repeatedly asked Scott questions about his experience to avoid talking about his own.
“I was.” Scott replied to his question. “I saw that…weird, green light hit my window right before everybody just…” He snapped his fingers. “…vanished.”
“So the light didn’t touch you?” Ian asked curiously.
“I don’t think so.” Scott thought for a moment. “I felt everything slow down. Like I slowly watched the human race end, right before my eyes.”
“I felt that way too.” Ian told him. “And I didn’t touch the light either. I mean, I was out in the open when the bright white lights were happening, but I found shelter when the green light flashed. I only saw the glow of it, though—not the actually thing.”
“I wish I hadn’t.” Scott shook his head. “It took them all away. Not a trace of anybody around me. I checked the buildings, I tried to call out to anybody who could hear me, and I couldn’t find anybody.”
“Do you think only the people who directly came in contact with the light disappeared?” Ian asked pondering the idea.
“Maybe.” Scott replied.
“What does all of this mean?” Ian rubbed his forehead. “Why are they here? They must have fallen from somewhere.”
“We don’t even know what they are yet.” Scott told him.
“They’re here for a reason.”
“And we’ll find that reason out.” Scott finished. “But right now, we have to see if there are any more people out there. They could be in great danger. We have to help them.”
Ian felt a sharp pain in his head. He rubbed his forehead again to try and ease it. “Right. Find survivors first.”
“If what you said is true, then there must be others who survived. People who took cover or stayed in their houses. There has to be more people out there.”
“You’re—” The pain had returned—more violently this time. Ian couldn’t finish his sentence. The pain in his head had grown tremendously. He started to sweat and groan in pain. He pulled at his hair and fell to his side as his head started throbbing. The speed picked up every second. He shut his eyes and screamed at the top of his lungs.
The darkness he saw came to life. A vision, tinted in red, showed a burning orb plummeting down. The large orb hung high above him in the dark sky. It embodied the purple sky and gave out its own dark red shine onto the world. It was as large as the sun, but stood out like the moon. All Ian could see was the Red Orb in the center of his vision with the dark sky behind it. The image stayed until Ian finally opened his eyes. The pain in his head was gone, and Scott was helping him up.
“Are you okay?” Scott’s voice was in a panic. “What happened?”
Ian was at a loss for words. He kept a hand on his head to assure him that he was back in reality. “I’m not sure.” Ian remembered what he had just seen. He couldn’t get the image out of his head. “I saw something.”
“What?” Scott stared at him. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. Like, a vision or something.
I’m not sure.” Ian tried to make sense of it all.
“A vision?” There was a hint of skepticism in his voice. “Are you sure?”
“No, actually. I’m just as confused as you are.”
“Well, what did you see?” Scott asked.
“Uhm, a large, red, sun sort of thing. But it wasn’t the sun. It was something else, but it looked like a sun—only really red and coming closer to us. It was also night time so it looked like the moon, but, you know, red and large. I don’t know.”
“Slow down.” Scott shook his head to try and understand. “What was it?”
“Like, some red orb thing.”
“Red orb?” Scott looked to the side. “What makes you say that?”
“What?” Ian was confused as to why he was asking about such an unimportant piece of information.
“Why did you say orb and not something else?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes.” Scott said sternly.
Ian didn’t know why he used the word. It felt right for him to use it—like it was supposed to be an orb.
“It just felt right.”
“It felt right?” Scott repeated.
“Yeah, I think it’s supposed to be an orb.”
Scott stared at him. “I believe you.”
Ian didn’t understand. “You do?”
“I do.”
“Why?”
“Well,” Scott started, “what you saw, the way you described it. I’ve been an officer for a very long time. I could tell when people are telling the truth or not. Something tells me you’re telling the truth. I don’t think it’s a good thing either.”
“You don’t?”
“I’m afraid not. This…Red Orb—I think it’s coming. I don’t know what just happened to you, but I know that it was to tell us about this Red Orb.”
“You don’t think it will happen again, do you?” Ian was concerned. He didn’t want to go through that again.