(End of the World)

The air in the basement was thick enough to choke on. Two men stood under the flickering overhead lights, their shadows dancing wildly against the concrete walls. One was tall and lean, built like a flickering torch; the other was short and round, built like a meatball."I told you I have nothing to do with it! I swear on my life, I didn't say a word!" 🗣Garner, the meatball-shaped man, was sweating profusely as he backed away. "If it wasn't you, then who? You're the only person I trusted with this! Who the hell did it if it wasn't you?!"Earlier that morning, the world had come crashing down on Frank. His girlfriend, Sarah, had cornered him and Elena outside the Caramel Hotel, her hand connecting with his face in a slap that rang out across the parking lot.Someone had leaked everything. Someone told her Frank was having an affair behind her back—and worse, that it was with her best friend, Elena.The sting on Frank's cheek was nothing compared to the fire in Sarah's eyes. She stood trembling in the hotel parking lot, her breath coming in ragged gasps. "You really did it, didn't you?" she whispered, her voice cracking like thin ice. "I didn't want to believe the rumors. I told myself people were just jealous... that you loved me." "But seeing you walk out of that lobby... with her?" Sarah let out a hollow, bitter laugh that sounded more like a sob. "Of all the people in the world, Frank. Elena? My best friend? Did the two of you laugh about me while you were in there? Did you joke about how blind I was?" She took a step back, shaking her head as if trying to erase the image of them together."Every 'I love you' you said was a lie. Every night you stayed 'late at work' was a knife in my back." 🗡💔"Don't touch me!" she screamed as he reached out. "Go back to her. Go back to the room you just left. From this second on, you are a stranger to me. "Frank, please! Believe me! I didn't tell Sarah!" Garner squealed, his voice cracking.BAM! 🔨Blinded by a white-hot rage, Frank grabbed a heavy mirror from the table and hurled it at the floor. The glass shattered into a thousand jagged teeth."How can I trust you when you're the only one who knew about me and Elena?!" Frank roared, his voice vibrating in the small room. "Tell me! HOW?!" Neither man noticed the change in the air. From the heart of the shattered mirror, a strange, inky black gas began to leak. It didn't just drift; it crawled. As the gas touched the objects in the basement, reality began to warp. Things twisted into grotesque shapes."Frank!" Garner gasped, his anger suddenly replaced by primal fear."What?!" Frank snapped back, still consumed by his fury. "There... there are strange noises," Garner whispered, pointing a trembling finger. "Look... the plants... they're withering." The vibrant green leaves turned black and curled into ash in seconds. The basement, once a place of secrets, was now a tomb."Frank... I feel... strange..." Those were the last words Garner ever spoke as a man. Before Frank's eyes, his friend's body began to contort and snap, transforming into a gruesome creature. With a guttural snarl, the thing that used to be Garner pounced.