Paradise City.
In the once picturesque and prosperous city, a scene of devastation emerged. The sky, ever so vibrant, was filled with a sense of dread as if a curtain of darkness had been laid upon the sprawling metropolis.
It might just be so.
In an obscure alley, a man was desperately running for his life when he tripped.
His pursuer, as if mad with hunger, eagerly pounced on him. The man, who looked middle-aged, was not going to go down easily. He quickly reached his dirty, grime-covered hands and took hold of a nearby wooden stick.
Looking at bloodstained maw filled with rotten teeth and horrid scent closing on his stubbled face, he used his newfound stick to block it. Unfortunately, this left his body open to the sharp claws of his pursuer.
Gritting his teeth, his eyes moved around; he then saw an open window and a faint silhouette of a young man. Filled with newfound hope, He screamed at the top of his lungs.
"Help me! I got supplies, I-I'll give some to you!"
To his dismay, what he got in response was... silence, followed by a slowly closing window.
To add to his ... the stick finally gave in. He can only watch horror as the jaws of death close in on him.
Amidst his pained cries, he let out one final shout, perhaps out of rage.
"You dog bastard! I hope the zombies get you!"
Watching this scene, Jake was speechless.
What the heck, there's clearly no way to help. Plus, I'm on the third floor!
He can only count the man unlucky, or maybe lucky. After all, he won't have to deal with this mess anymore.
Would I have helped, if i could? Jake quickly shakes off this thought. Things already happened, I shouldn't dwell on it.
Looking at the zombie happily munching, Jake couldn't help but be reminded of yesterday's event.
At the time of the incident, he was lounging around in JP Mall, waiting for his date. Out of excitement, he'd come a little bit too early. Okay, he's an hour early, but who can blame him? He secured a date with the school's belle!
If someone were to see him now, they would see a somewhat handsome young man.
There was a gentle energy in the way he carried himself: shoulders relaxed, one hand tucked into the pocket of his hoodie, and the other playing with his phone. He dressed simply, with a loose graphic tee layered under a hoodie, with slim jeans and a pair of sneakers. He felt like the kind of person you'd want to sit next to on a long ride home.
Standing at 5'11" with a lean, effortless build, he had the kind of presence that was quiet but comforting. His black hair was soft and slightly messy, often falling into his eyes, a deep, inky black that shimmered with a calm warmth when he smiled.
On his head was a pair of headphones which, looking at the way he was lazily bopping his head, were clearly turned on.
As a new song came on, his eyes lit up in excitement.
This one!
As he hummed the starting .... he heard a quiet but clear tearing sound.
RIIPPP
What's that? he wondered, looking around at his clothes and surroundings. As he was searching for the source, he heard it again. This time louder, followed by a few more as if something was tearing apart.
Then saw it. Right in front of him, a small crack had formed in mid-air. The crack, filled with violet-black light, was spreading, as if the world itself were shattering.
Gulp. Jake took a deep breath to calm himself down when suddenly-
*CRACK*
A sound like thunder ripped through the air as the rift widened. What was just now a small, little tear now became a gaping wound in the world, along with flashes of black and violet energy, distorting the very air around it.
And along with it comes.. a tug, or perhaps a push. In the next instant.... Jack felt it. A force was pushing against the rift as if eager to block it. But what the heck? He got pushed too!
Helpless, he can only close his eyes as his body inches closer to the wide open rift.
Everyone, it was nice knowing you!
The process was quick, maybe a blink or two, and in the process, his phone dropped out of his hand.
The phone dropped with the screen facing up. Looking at the screen, one could see the graphic of a music app. It showed one song playing-
Once - Like OOH AHH
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Entering the tear, Jake expected to die a painful and miserable death, but what he felt was... nothing. He only felt himself floating as if submerged in water, but not quite.
Steeling himself, he carefully opened his eyes, and what he saw left him stunned.
Around him, there was no sky. Just a vast ocean of black and violet, shooting through him with streaks of color that moved like lightning toward the tear behind him.
And further out, alien things floated in the distance. Bone-like structures curled like vines, misty, jellyfish-like shapes, and even... titans. Titans that loomed over what semm like shattered worlds.
He even saw flashing images of worlds left in devastation, with zombies roaming around, eldritch horrors beyond measure meandering along with silhouettes of gargantuan creatures in the ruined world's depths.
He couldn't tell if he was seeing the future, the past, or something else entirely.
His eyes darted, tracking the impossible, too many colors, too many shapes, and yet he couldn't look away.
It felt like an eternity, yet also like a moment.
Wide-eyed, Jake murmured in wonder.
"Damn, this is pretty cool- OH SHO-"
The vast expense of colors and unparalleled horrors suddenly rumbled. Perhaps angry at the puny world in front of it, it swept everything towards the tear of space like a dam opening.
Jake, with his body right in front of the now-opened dam, felt countless things as everything swept past him and his body once again entered the rift.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jake's escapades, though, seemed long; were actually but a moment in time, but people had already taken notice of the wide fracture in space flickering with black, violet lights along with the distortion of space that came with it.
Just as people began approaching and taking pictures, the rift bursts open with an explosion of violet black energy that quickly fills the mall, then permeates throughout the entire Paradise City.
Around the world, the same scenes followed. Wide, gaping tears began appearing, followed by bursts of energy that quickly spread, coloring the world with a faint, purple hue.
As the rift began spewing out violet black energy, Jake was flung out, coincidentally in the direction of the south gate of the mall. He was flung out with such force that only the shattering of the glass pane was able to stop him.
That wasn't as painful as I thought.
But then again, he wasn't sure if his brain just hadn't caught up to the horror yet. Jake, more than in pain, was dazed and confused, as well as having a bit of fear. The things he saw and scenes he witnessed, if that is what's happening to Earth, didn't bode well.
He quickly took in his surroundings, and that's when he saw it. Exposed to the violet, black energy, some people are fine, others start fainting, and some... started twitching.
He watched in horror as the man closest to him, a security guard, began convulsing on the floor. Veins darkened beneath his skin. His mouth stretched open in a silent wail. Then he turned.
*CRUNCH*
The first bite was the loudest thing in the world.
The guard sank his teeth into a shopper's neck, and blood sprayed across the tiles. That's when panic erupted.
People ran in every direction. Tables overturned, bodies crashed through glass. Parents dragged children while others trampled the weak in desperation. The infected were fast, not clumsy like in movies, and they were evolving by the second. Twisting, bulging, breaking into things that should not exist.
Jake ran.
He was already at the exit anyway, so he just sprinted to where there were fewer people. He subtly felt he ran faster than normal, but he brushed it off as adrenaline.
As he ran and ran, he took in the scene of devastation around him. People were turning. Fast. And with every bite, another person turned. The roads get blocked, and people are running around in all directions.
With the scene so chaotic, he quickly made a decision.
Avoid places with too many people.
His eyes spinning as he ran, he headed to a somewhat secluded alley. He quickly located an apartment entrance and started opening it. For some reason, the floor was filled with wooden panels, and the friction between the door and the panels made it hard to open. The door creaked with a painful noise, and a few zombies started heading his way.
Stratled, he quickly made his way inside. He tried closing the door, but failed. A few hands are already acting as wedges. Thankfully, the place seemed abandoned, and most doors were not locked.
He ran quickly to the top floor, picked a random room, and just locked himself in.
Phew. That was close.
As he breathed a sigh of relief, he suddenly stiffened.
Behind him, a growl like a hungry beast was heard.