Keneric felt great now that exams had ended. It was Sunday too. Still, a part of him longed to return home to his family after a long semester. Too bad Easter break was a month away. So, instead of roaming around Melbourne University, Keneric and a few friends played two-versus-two volleyball matches right after breakfast.


    And so it began…


    "Mine," Keneric yelled, diving for a receive. The ball bounced off his forearm at an unnatural angle before flying outside. Miko, his teammate, refused to accept this outcome. She chased the ball and caught up to it. Then she returned it to the court. Keneric wasn’t idle either. He got back into position and, when the time was right, soared high and with a slap scored their first point.


    "I thought this was a casual game," Taha grumbled from the other side.


    "Hey," Keneric smiled like a shark. "If I''m playing, I might as well win, right?"


    A comment that made Taha more frustrated. In the background, Isse and Miko shook their heads. They knew Keneric and Taha were best friends off the court and rivals on it. Plus, they had seen this scene repeat over the last three years of college life. Jumping into the conversation now was like shooting yourself in the foot. So they let Taha do the talking, which was shouting at this point.


    The volleyball game began again as both teams scored left and right. Even Keneric stopped bullying Taha after Isse started playing seriously. Soon, the game became more about tactics than dominance.


    By afternoon, they had played five sets with twenty-five points in each round. Keneric and Miko won using their lead from the first few rounds.


    "I''m done," Isse said, collapsing to the ground. She blended into the scenery rather than the conversation in the middle of the court.


    "So next Sunday? Ken? Miko?" Taha asked with a towel on his shoulder.


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    "Sure," Keneric said, while Miko only nodded.


    The three put the volleyballs back into the equipment room. When they were about to leave, Keneric announced, "You guys go on ahead. I''ll use the showers here."


    "But you hate public showers," Miko turned around, raising her eyebrows. "What happened to the one in your room?"


    "Let''s just say someone tried lightsaber battles with the showerhead in their drunken wisdom."


    At this point, Taha was sweating. "Guys, I forgot I had classes later in the afternoon," he said before disappearing from the gymnasium.


    "Today is Sunday, you walnut!" Miko screamed after him, but Taha was gone. Not satisfied, she grabbed Isse (who was still on the floor) and chased after Taha, maybe to find out the complete lightsaber story—who knows?


    Watching this, Keneric laughed. Then he made his way to the locker rooms before entering a shower pod in a corner. Steam rose in spirals as Keneric got over his disgust for public showers and enjoyed the warm water drumming against his skin.


    Outside, though, things weren’t calm. Keneric''s phone, now on top of a bench, buzzed. Rows of messages and missed calls filled the screen, drowned out by the sound of running water.


    The last message read: [Earthquake Alert: Heavy tremors expected. Find shelter.]


    When Keneric came out of the shower, the screen had gone dark. Like whatever happened in the last ten minutes was a dream. Suspecting nothing, Keneric got dressed.


    But before he could walk out of the locker room, the earthquake hit. It was mild at first, like the low rumbling of distant trucks passing on a quiet road. But within seconds, the tremors made the entire gymnasium shudder.


    Keneric ran toward the exit but never walked out. Instead, he took cover under its arch. On his left, glass shattered and rained down on the gymnasium floor. On his right, lockers fell and crashed onto the ground. Outside was worse. Trees were yanked out and lay flat on the solid ground.


    Soon, the earth cracked, and from the fissures sprayed green, bubbling water like sprinklers in farmland. And it didn''t stop. Whatever the water touched mutated. When it touched the land, the soil softened and aerated. When it touched the grass, it grew into long, spiky straws. When it touched the sky, it turned from blue to muddy green. Even the sun looked hazy, tinged with pink and magenta.


    But the biggest change was the terrain. The once-empty campus grounds became a wetland with green puddles, yellow patches, and grassland—dancing in the wind.


    The earthquake stopped after twenty minutes. Somehow, the gymnasium didn''t collapse, but it felt colder, eerier, and darker without electricity.


    The world Keneric knew was gone. This was the day the world became a swamp.