Apocalypse Notebook 1

The moon hovered high over the city—a watchful distance envied by its many residents.

The wind swept over the occasional low growls, shrieks, and curses, all synonymous with city life.

Residing in a metropolis always followed the unspoken rule: eat or be eaten.

Who knew this was not only meant to be taken literally? 

A bolt crunched into the skull of another rabid rat as the hound-sized creature dropped and twitched.

Jason loaded another bolt while surveying the battle.

At the front, facing the corner of the park, his lieutenants and captains chopped, butchered, and pierced the once-human creatures.

To his rear, the human barricade stood firm against the horde of red-eyed rats, holding on despite the dwindling unfortunates being dragged away into the darkness.

"Lows, have those scavengers stand firm, shoot them if you will! The double fangs are slipping through!"

He hollered at a minion nearby while kicking the head of the rat near his feet.

Feeding the ones residing in his camp meant their wasted lives belonged to him.

"Boss! It's here!"

A shout from the front diverted his attention from the bloody defense.

Turning around, the reason for this wanton human sacrifice stepped from the overgrown vegetation to the grime-coated pavement.

A green humanoid creature, the embodiment of some sort of mutation not known.

The enticing traps of sending humans to their demise in the park paid off. Curiosity brought this being from the depths of the overgrown park onto the bordering cracked concrete and asphalt.

"Kill it!"

A barrage of makeshift swords, arrows, and bolts assaulted the creature.

The attack chipped away at the tough bark but left no visible damage to increase the morale.

 A shriek response, followed by a flurry of needles, as if a prickly cactus self-detonated.

Screams followed from his troop as the foremost ones fell, purple blotches spreading from the embedded needles.

"Damn! Use the firebombs."

"But, Boss."

A subordinate replied while watching the defense lines and the remaining comrades fighting for their lives.

"Do it! Half the ghouls in the city are probably on their way after the scream."

Jason shouted. What mattered was not the lives of human scavengers or his teammates. Only the green pearl set in the creature's bark chest mattered.

His aide removed a pair of thin glass bottles from his bag, filled with liquid, and topped with a rag. Seeing the glare from his leader, he ran toward the battle. Lighting the homemade bombs, he smashed them onto the humanoid.

Five bottles later, the creature shrieked under the shroud of fire.

He continued to smash the flammable bottles, but then the creature went berserk. Another unsuspecting needle blast sent the remaining squad scampering and dropping in pain. The flying limbs of the creature latched onto the arsonist, engulfing them both in burning wails.

Jason watched as the creature dropped a charred figure and tottered toward him. He turned to flee but stumbled on the body of a dead comrade. He scrambled to his feet when the creature dropped smoldering at his feet.

Using a javelin to confirm the death, he hastened to use his knife to dig out the pearl.

Screams and the sound of a scattering, panicked frenzy at the barricades informed him of the onslaught of the attracted denizens.

With the pearl plucked out, he turned to escape.

His puzzled eyes moved downward to the knife embedded in his stomach. The wet fluid flowed down the hilt to the charred hand.

"You killed us all for a stupid pearl..."

The barely audible rasp escaped the burnt lips.

Staggering a few steps back, he wrenched the knife from his abdomen. The fingers had long released the last strike of their living life.

"Stupid bastard. Holding a grudge."

Jason stumbled, falling hard.

The knife lay before his eyes on the asphalt, the blade tinged with discoloration.

"Poison..."

Like a thousand stakes piercing into his paralysed body, with his nerves at full senses.

His eyes were unfocused in torment, and his twitching body was unaware of the green pearl in his left palm melting and sinking into his skin.

***

Beep

Beep

His arm reached out to slap the snooze of the alarm.

Lying in bed, Jason slowly opened his eyes.

He blinked while his body stiffened.

The memories of the night replayed vividly in his mind.

Tensing his body, he focused on his surroundings.

The high ceiling and lavish bedroom with arched windows and brightly colored walls entered his brain.

From the outside of the huge glass panes, sounds of traffic with the occasional honks reached his ears.

Jason slowly sat on the bed, feeling for his wristband. The lack of a monitoring and measuring device caused him to raise an eyebrow.

He scanned the room again, feeling the familiarity.

"This is my room. Before the fall. What madness..."

His eyes halted on the display of the clock.

"2025?"

Impossible!

He gasped at the date.

Four days from now, at midnight, it would begin.

How could any survivor of the time forget the fall of dystopia?

Standing up, he tottered to the window. The strewn clothes on the bed and the smell of alcohol on his breath informed him of his condition.

Looking out from the penthouse, he surveyed the bustling city and the large, welcoming park in the distance.

If it was all a dream, it was all too real.

Jason sat down as he sifted through the unimportant memories of his life before the apocalypse.

Well, not that unimportant, he smirked as he recalled his escapades with the few girls and women he crossed paths with during his rise to fame.

"Ah"

He searched around, finding the object he desired. Holding the phone, he blinked at the password-protected screen.

"..."

For a minute, his thoughts eluded him on the operation of this forgotten device.

Fingerprint...

Jason fumbled around until calling a number.

A commanding voice answered at the end,

"Speak."

After five years, Jason still flinched. Calm was restored after a breath. He never came into contact with this bastard after the fall.

"Hey, Dad. Calling to find out if your trip is delayed?"

"Is there something important? Another failing grade because of wild parties won't cut it."

"No, just checking in."

Jason ended the call and tossed the smartphone on the bed. He sighed.

Sitting down, he heaved a few times before settling down.

He remembered...

His old man was on a trip to London and his flight was delayed. Because of this, Jason spent the night at a friend's house partying.

The apocalypse met him there.

'Holy smokes, I'm back at the beginning!"