(The world was broken 6 years ago...)
Shit!
I exclaimed bolting into the room in front of me, slamming the door and pressing my weight against it.
(A high thermal radioactive explosion, wiped out more than half of the earths population, leaving behind terrible fates for those who managed to survive...)
Slowly, I stepped back.
My eyes locked on the door-knob.
They began to glow.
Panting, I could hear my heart-beat, pounding in my ears.
(Ever since then, the word ' Normal' lost its credibility...)
The surroundings were silent -too silent.
With every passing second, the stillness felt more threatening.
A shadow lingered beneath the door.
Slowly it wavered left, then right before disappearing completely.
(Everything was affected by the radiation. The air, soil and animals)
I stood as still as possible, holding my breath, afraid even the sound of air leaving my lungs might give me away.
Then the door shook.
"Fuck!" I reacted, falling to the floor.
It rattled again, harder, then the knob began to turn clockwise.
(Its effect on humans was a different case...)
"Shit... not now. I'm still charging" I whispered, crawling backwards.
Energy pulsed through my veins.
I closed my eyes, attempting to restrain my system.
Bang!
The door swung open.
"Ethan?"
A voice echoed towards me.
(No one could tell who was or wasn't poisoned by the radiation until they mutated. So we created something called "The Expulsion Level")
"Dude!"
"Why are you sitting on the floor?".
The familiar voice uttered again.
I opened my eyes and they returned to their natural brown colour.
There she stood.
One hand on the door handle. Short dark hair framing her face and her big brown eyes -obviously judging me on the spot.
(Everyone's Expulsion Level starts from one then slowly rises based on how much you expose yourself to anything radioactive.)
"Dude!" she repeated.
"khm...Khm!" I cleared my throat awkwardly.
"Oh, Hey" I adjusted my stance.
Her unfazed, judgemental eyes gazing at me. At a glance I could tell she saw right through my act.
(When someone's expulsion level reaches 60%, they begin to mutate. Turning into a dangerous beast).
(But there are ways to reduce one's expulsion level)
"Hm!" she exclaimed stretching out her hand towards me.
"AUFSTEHEN".
I grabbed it.
"Aufstehen?"
"That's a new one" I said, standing up. " German or Spanish?"
She exhaled. "Well it's actually..."
"Wait!" I interrupted. "Do you smell that? It stinks like rotten eggs".
Mia paused, slowly sniffing the air. "That's not eggs" she said, Stepping into the hallway to pin-point it.
"That's Sulphur"
Swiftly, I came out.
"Sulphur?"
"What direction was that just now?"
The hallway was oddly calm. This eerie feeling of uncertainty hovered in the air.
Then I had a thought.
"Mia", I said, staring ahead. "Before you found me... did anything seem off?".
She turned, confused "Off?"
"So you didn't see anything?" I rephrased, instinctively grabbing her hand.
"what's wrong?" She asked further, noticing the seriousness on my face.
The lights flickered.
"Shit!" I murmured.
"Was ist los?" She asked again.
"Mia," I said, gradually releasing my grip. "When I say run... run like hell."
"What?" she whispered.
I paced through my thoughts.
"Dammit! I can't do anything". "Not while Mia is standing right here".
"Could I do a small explosion? Something strong enough to stop whatever is coming, but quick enough so Mia wouldn't notice".
A low growl echoed from around the corner.
And with every passing second it grew louder, and so did the stench of sulfur.
"That's no guard dog" Mia whispered, slowly stepping back.
The growl grew even closer.
"Ethan?"
Her voice wavered, thin with uncertainty.
"Ethan!"
She yelled out once more.
The creature's shadow stretched across the wall.
"Holy shit!"
"Run, Mia-run!" I screamed.
We bolted in the opposite direction, as the unknown entity charged after us.
-Shit I can't do anything.
-Not while Mia is right next to me.
It's claws carved scares on the walls and floor. Then the beast let out a feral roar blasting through the hall.
"What is that thing?", she screamed.
"How the hell would I know!".
"Maybe a radioactive infected dog?"
We burst through a door at the end of the hall.
"Shit, 2 paths, which do we follow?" Mia stammered hastily.
"We would have to separate" I suggested staring at the path on the right.
Her heart instantly dropped.
"I... I can't", she stammered, gripping my arm tight, tears slowly crawling down.
"I... I'm scared, my legs... they won't move Ethan".
Quickly I held her shoulders.
"Hey... hey!, look at me!" I shouted.
"You know what... take this" I handed her my backpack.
"I'll draw its attention and you go the other okay?".
"Hmm!" She nodded, sprinting off.
I gave a gentle exhale.
"Alright, now that she's gone..."I whispered, returning back into the hall and shut the door behind me.
Softly I cracked my neck. "Alright then".
My eyes glowed bright blue, then i stretched my hand forth.
The air began to vibrate.
Energy pulsed through my veins tinting them red.
Fragments of charged particles peeled off my skin, merging into a dense sphere in my palm.
As they merged, it grew bigger emitting bright crimson light.
"ok this might do" I whispered aiming at the beast.
"unique skill..."
"ECLIPSE"
My surroundings began to vibrate intensely.
Then...
The merging charges suddenly vanished.
My eyes and subtle glowing veins instantly reverted.
"What the hell?" I whispered.
"That's never happened before.."
The beast lunged.
Swiftly i bolted out.
I could feel it closely behind me, uncoordinated but relentlessly wanting to tear me to shreds.
I dove into another room and slammed the door shut, just as it crashed onto it.
The door held.
I slid to the floor, Panting and sweating.
"That's never happened before" I muttered.
Then I looked up, to understand exactly where I had entered, only to be left stunned.
At the center sat a big table surrounded by chairs.
On it were blueprints, models and papers, with drawings, symbols written on them. I stood up for a proper inspection.
The surrounding walls were burnt, coated in ash and some unknown liquid substances.
What the hell happened here?, I whispered softly, scouring through the materials.
In them were the words 'CYCLOPS ORDER' reappearing multiple times in thick dark ink.
Amongst the materials I noticed a button mounted into the desk.
I stared at it.
"I know I shouldn't... and it might possibly be a trap".
"But then again...".
I pressed the button.
The subtle hiss of gas slowly emerged from its center accompanied by an elevating vat.
Inside it was a girl.
Pale, motionless, and with an oxygen mask strapped to her face.
Her hair floated in the transparent liquid she was placed in.
Bang!
The steel door dented inwards.
"Shit!" My heart dropped.
I need to find a way out fast.
Then I recalled something.
A painting.
"Wait a minute…"
My eyes scanned the walls frantically.
"Son of a—" I muttered, recognizing the symbols from the documents.
No way.
I examined the burned section of the wall more closely. Strange markings had been seared into it — almost deliberate.
Then something shifted in the air.
I sank to the floor, my head spinning with questions.
The metal door exploded inwards, and the girl in the vat opened her eyes.
Far outside, beneath the star-filled night sky, stood a woman.
The building brightly reflected in her crimson eyes.
"I suppose that's over" she whispered.
Then stretched forth her right hand towards the building.
"Boom"
she chanted in one gentle exhale.
Tiny fragments of light gathered around the building, then plunged it to it.
The night erupted in fire.