Chapter 1: The Apocalypse
Cough… cough… "All I'm asking for is just a few more hours of sleep on a Saturday, but no… It's 'Neo this' and 'Neo that,'"
Neo grumbled as he walked towards the door of his apartment, getting ready to run an errand. "I mean, It's school all week, and just when I need to rest, Mom has to do her thing."
Pulling the door open, he was just about to step out when he heard a tiny voice from behind.
"Neo? Can I come with?"
Turning around, he saw it was his younger brother, Curtis, who was six years younger.
Squatting down to Curtis's height, he smiled, forgetting his mumbling for a moment as he replied, "Not this time, alright? But maybe tonight we'll go get some sour lemon candy at that store you like. I need to be really quick before Mom is done cooking, alright?"
Hearing the mention of sour lemon candy, Curtis immediately bobbed his head up and down with a cute smile. He turned on his heel, bouncing back to his room with the imagination of the bribe stuck in his head.
Seeing this, Neo smiled, forgetting his worries for a while as he shut the door behind him and walked down the stairs. His mom had asked him to get a few things for breakfast, but specifically asked him to visit a convenience store about five blocks away because of the sales they had going on.
Taking out his headphones, he put on his music as he walked past several stores where he could get the same things for just a little higher than the sales price.
HONK!! HONK!!
Just about a block away from the store, strange sounds filtered in through his blasting headset, but he ignored them, thinking it was just the usual rowdy city.
"What. the. hell?"
Neo pulled his headphones off immediately as he saw someone running in front of him, their body disappearing slowly into motes of green light.
Scared shitless, he turned around and saw it was absolute chaos all over. Everyone was disappearing into the same green light particles. Cars were losing control. People were running in every direction without minding who they ran into.
"Oh no… What's happening?"
Panicking, Neo quickly ran his hands over his body. Only after seeing he wasn't vanishing did he calm down, watching as the chaos unfolded all around him.
Remembering something, he almost screamed as he took off running in the direction of his home.
"Mom! Curtis!"He whispered to himself.
Breaking into a sprint, he pushed himself, dodging the vanishing people and the green light motes in his view, hoping his mom and brother were both fine.
Suddenly, a car that had just lost its driver skidded off the road in his direction from a blind spot, still moving at a dangerous speed.
Neo pumped his legs, eyes locked on the distant turn to his street. A shriek of tires tore his attention left—a sedan, driverless, veering off the road.
He threw himself forward. A wall of force hit his left leg. The world spun, the concrete rushed up, and a flash of white pain erupted in his skull before the darkness swallowed everything.
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"Arghhh... what happened?" He muttered sitting up slowly as he recalled everything.
Everything that had happened felt like a dream at this point, but the eerie silence of the shopping district reminded him of the horror he had just witnessed. Touching his head, his fingers came away stained with blood from where he'd hit the concrete. Wincing in pain, he tried to lift himself up from the ground and felt a blinding pain shoot through his left leg—even worse than the throbbing in his skull.
Looking down, he saw a deep, bleeding gash. Just as panic began to rise, something strange came over him. A cold chill washed through his mind, calming his racing thoughts and forcing a unnatural, logical clarity. He brushed it off as shock or blood loss, too overwhelmed to question it further.
Tearing off his shirt, he quickly tied it above the injury to slow the bleeding. He sat there for a long moment, listening. The silence was absolute—no distant traffic, no voices, not even birds. He'd never heard this part of the city so quiet in all his years living here.
After mustering what little strength he had, he pulled his aching body up and began to trudge slowly toward home. A stubborn, fragile hope still flickered inside him—maybe his mom and Curtis were okay. Even as his mind whispered it was impossible, but he clung to the thought.
Passing an open pharmacy, he stopped for a moment and stepped inside. The emptiness felt wrong, but his injuries were quite serious. He gathered first-aid kits and supplies he could use, stuffing them into a bag before continuing his painful limp home.
His own footsteps echoed through the silent streets, each one too loud. He almost called out, just to break the silence, but fear of what might answer kept him quiet.
Finally, he reached his door and pushed it open. A few hard steps inside and he froze.
The table was set for breakfast. Dishes still warm, untouched. His mom and Curtis had been waiting for him to start.
His eyes fell to the floor—his mother's apron, Curtis's small jacket and a bunch of their clothes —lying empty where they had fallen.
A hollow silence filled him. He limped to the table and slumped into his chair.
His mother's seat was empty. Curtis's booster seat was vacant. His hands moved mechanically, picking up a spoon. He brought a warm mouthful of eggs to his lips. He had to finish. It was the last thing they'd made for him.
Slowly. Methodically. Tears threatened to spill, but he held them back until he couldn't. They fell silently as he emptied every plate, every bowl, as if finishing the meal could somehow keep them close.
Only when the table was clean did he tend to his wounds, cleaning and bandaging them with clumsy, stiff hands.
Afterward, he sat back in the deepening quiet, staring at the ceiling.
"What the hell even happened?"