A dark-haired teen - a young boy with a lean, muscular build- just passed seventeen sat on the couch, eyes locked on the TV across from him.
"Come on Ratman, don't die." He pleaded.
Another boy lounged beside him- same age, same build just with brown hair instead of black.
"Just because you don't want your favorite character to die doesn't mean that he won't." The boy with brown hair spoke to his best friend.
"Axel, Axel, Axel." Kale tutted.
"I have told you numerous times that hope and faith can change things." Kale glanced at Axel from the corner of his eye before focusing on the screen.
"Bro it's Ratman, not the Messiah." Axel raised his eyebrow with a slight smile on his face.
Setting the movie to record, Kale stared Axel dead in the eye.
"Blasphemy. Now beg for forgiveness." He spoke slowly with mock anger.
Raising his hands in surrender, Axel let out a sigh.
"In my opinion, books are far more interesting. I mean take a look at this online novel that's currently a hit. The name is Shadow Master." Axel showed Kale his phone screen.
"Is this the Axel I know? I remember when we first met and you wouldn't even think of having fun. Now look at you! Haha, I am the worst influence." Kale rose his head in pride.
"Now if you'll stop speaking…" Kale turned back to the television and resumed his indulgence in the movie he was watching.
Axel sighed and gave in, thumbing through the digital pages of the novel. Minutes passed - maybe more - until the screen suddenly fizzled to static.
"WE INTERRUPT THIS PROGRAM WITH BREAKING NEWS!" A news anchor appeared and spoke, her eyes shaking and voice trembling.
"WE ARE UNDER ATTACK FROM AN UNKNOWN FORCE." She sucked in a breath and froze.
"ALL CITIZENS ARE EXPECTED TO EVACUATE TO COLLECTION POINTS. YOU ARE ALSO ADVISED TO REMAIN CALM IN THIS MOMENT." Cold sweat ran down her face as she read the information in real time.
"WE HAVE UNCONFIRMED FOOTAGE OF A MASSIVE-" The screen went static.
Axel and Kale stood to their feet.
Both their phones vibrated at the same time drawing their attention.
[THIS IS A MESSAGE FROM THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT]
[ALL CITIZENS ARE TO APPROACH THE CLOSEST COLLECTION POINT TO YOUR RESIDENCE. ALL COLLECTIONS POINTS ARE INDICATED IN THE MAP PROVIDED]
[MAY GOD HELP HUMANITY AND MAY GOD HELP THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA]
"What the fuck is going on?" Axel cursed under his breath with his hand running through his head.
Kale's hand shook as he read the message.
"My family is out. What about them?" He felt his legs weaken.
His phone dropped out of his hand as his grip weakened.
The ground convulsed with a boom, and the lights in his house went out with the force, throwing Kale to the ground.
Bending to pick up his phone, Axel couldn't stop staring at it.
"The power's out." He muttered.
"And there's no signal? What the hell's going on?!" His voice took on a higher pitch but he quickly reined himself in.
As far as he knew, panicking wouldn't change anything.
The only thing it would achieve would be putting them at risk of making mistakes- something they couldn't afford at the moment.
They would only try to contact their family only after ensuring that they were safe.
He looked at the map that had been attached to the alert - the collection point was only five blocks away.
"Kale, we need to leave, now!" Axel raised his voice at his best friend, snapping him out of his hysteria.
"But my family took my sister out for her performance at her school's recital. I don't know how they are or what's going on or how to even contact them…" Kale continued to ramble on with his breath becoming shallow.
"I understand your fears, my family is at my house but you don't see me panicking unnecessarily because it won't change anything." Axel placed his hand on his friend's shoulder to calm him down.
"I'm pretty sure that your family is already on their way to the closest collection point to her school." He smiled as he managed to suppress Kale's fear.
"Now let's get going, the sooner the better." Axel grabbed Kale's hand and pulled him to his feet.
They headed for the door and, just short of it, could hear the chaos that was going on in the streets.
Hands shaking, Kale reached for the doorknob, and what he saw shocked him.
Even though it was around midday, the sky was already darkened by pillars of smoke billowing from the burning buildings in the distance.
People carrying all sorts of weapons were running across the streets.
Looters carried around goods stolen from various stores, malls, and shopping complexes.
There was total chaos.
'Humans. The alert just barely came through yet there's so much chaos.' Axel lamented.
Glass shattered nearby, drawing their attention, and the source was none other than a middle-aged man breaking into a house.
He removed all the glass and gripped the window pane before jumping in.
The sounds of feminine screams and pleading soon followed before a loud gunshot that made the two flinch.
Kale peeled his eyes away from the crime being perpetrated and looked at his phone to confirm the location of the collection point.
He gripped the lower seam of his shirt and put it over his nose to prevent him from breathing in the smoke.
Axel soon followed suit with a small bandana he had in his pocket and without looking back, they ran to their destination.
Mid-run, a thunderous explosion cracked the sky, the shockwave hurling them off their feet like rag dolls.
They stood up and turned their heads to the source and saw a large burning building.
From the flaming structure walked out an ink black creature.
It stood on all fours with a large, humanoid body with long arms that ended in two-inch claws. Its legs were slim, bony, and unnaturally long.
Its skin was smooth and shiny, oily even, with a large mouth and two shiny black eyes.
It seemed to notice their presence and lunged at them.