David's backside slid down the door. Any reserves that might have occupied his body had left him. A lifetime's worth of questions had sprung up today and there was no one to answer them.
' Only in private can you let it out, ain't nothing wrong with that m'boy.' His grandfather's memory resurfaced. Tears ran down David's face. His whole body convulsed uncontrollably as loud sobs escaped from him. He pulled in his knees and flung his arms around them. At first slight tremors escaped and shook his body but soon after his whole body convulsed.
He gripped his hair and began pulling on it. His sobs became deep and terrible screams. David's emotions were cascading out of control, previous years haunted him. Everything had gone so wrong so long ago. Usually, all the events were tightly locked away within David's soul. Buried so deep that calling the origin of this weight of responsibility his mind wasn't enough.
The rays of sunshine turned into the creeping orange of dusk as his screams became wails and finally into sobs once more. Any residual shivers turned into controlled and poised stillness as the soft silver glow of the moon illuminated his apartment.
With his mask put back into place, David rose with urgency. The grinding noises of mechanical gears filled the entrance as he unlocked his old gun safe. Luckily it was an old analogue one he had from the 2000s instead of a newer digital one. Single-shot hunting rifles, buckshot shotguns, 9mms, and even 2 assault rifles filled this safe. Not to mention the neatly organized shelves of ammo. The Sig & Sauer was placed with the other handguns and the ammo joined the rest.
Next came the supply. He strode to the pantry and just dumped the duffels into the pantry. Possible scenarios filled his head. Without processing them he kept them in the back of his mind. The freezer was still well below freezing, for now, so he stuffed all the steaks and other high-calorie items from his fridge into it before shutting the door.
All that was left in his fridge was some meat, cheese, and eggs as well as 5-gallon jugs of filtered water. ' The gym at least taught me to always have water around' David mused. He made himself some sandwiches before settling on his dining table.
Plans upon plans filled his mind as he watched his hands responded with practiced dexterity. After cleaning up some crumbs and the paper plate, he wiped his mouth and crashed down on his couch. With it being old and sturdy David was still surprised it held out under the customary abuse. He closed his eyes as predictions started to hammer away at him.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
" Status," he said into the empty living room but nothing appeared. " Inventory," " Information," " Help," " Admin," " Character," and " Log-out," were other phrased spoken aloud. David glowed with embarrassment, but he truly believed that this was the right course of action.
With a sigh, David focused his attention on his hands. Seemingly nothing had changed, as the gray color had not moved up his palm. He grabbed a nearby marker and drew along the edges of the invading color. With his feet pulled up and his mind racing at top speeds David drifted off.
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A blond-haired young lady was racing across the streets. With her was another woman named Isabel, and her infant Tom. Tom was cradled in Nessa's arms, as the burden of carrying the child had been too much after hours of wandering the dark and empty streets.
After the wreck they both had waited until dusk arrived for any sign of EMS. None had come, any cells didn't work and power seemed to be out. The situation had become bizarre. As the touch of warming orange light began to fade Squaks, chirps, and hisses had arrived. Red beady eyes stared at them from every dark corner and crevice. Survival instinct kicked in and the unlikely Trio took off.
With maddening dashes and hammering hearts, they tried to escape. But the pursuit was endless. Every new corner they braved without thought, was met with more red eyes. Houses they glanced at were filled with other silver eyes staring eerily from behind curtains or boarded windows.
Mindlessly they ran for their lives. That was until they found it. Something that was so significantly out of place that historians would later call ' Laments Beacon'. A 10-foot tall structure made of stone lay within the midle of a park before them. It surface was polished black and upon drawing near without blemish. The front and back were 2 feet across, and the other 2 sides barely 4 inches.
Nessa stopped as if mesmerized reaching out her hand but a growl shook her out of the trance that had taken hold of her. With a furious born of fright she turned. There 20 feet away from her was a swarm of rats. Rats covered the whole street from curb to curb. But ordinary rats they were not. Massive creatures the size of mastiffs stared at them with red eyes.
The cacophony of hisses and growls was deafening, but for some odd reason, they couldn't draw near. As if a force field was baring the way. Some of the rats even jumped to cross the invisible line but collided with something in mid-air.
Both the women wondered what transpired and started to relax. Tom began to cry, as his mother started to understand his plight. A glow of all the colors of the rainbow had begun to suffuse the black pillar behind them.
Bodies tensed as all three of them stared transfixed at the Monument. Closer and closer they drew as if hypnotized by something otherworldly. Nessa's fingers were just a hairs distance away from it as gold light blasted about.
