《Anomalous》 AWAKE He came to confused as he stumbled forward on wobbly legs. He bent down and put his hands on his knees to catch his breath. What was happening? Where was he? How did he get here? Vertigo hit him, his sight going blurry and the room spinning as he tried to stand up straight and gain his bearing. His vision swirled, his stomach lurched, and his head pounded. He faced the floor and took deep breaths as the blurry world around him swayed to and fro slowly coming into focus. After a few seconds, it passed, and he began to take in his surroundings. He stood in a large foyer. The building had three floors, and the floors were carpeted. The railings were glass and metal, and the rooms around him were a mix of glass and wood paneling. He wasn¡¯t sure if this was a hotel, a mall, or some kind of college campus. What he did know was that the situation wasn¡¯t normal. For one, he had no recollection of how he¡¯d gotten there; he came to on his feet, and the place was in chaos around him. There was debris all over, broken glass, computers, books, paper, and the like. In addition, there were others all over, some in running or walking posses, others lying on the ground. He couldn¡¯t quite tell if they were real or maybe made of wax or plastic since they were all completely still and had a bit of a sheen to the skin. There was a pervasive silence and stillness in the air, this all felt surreal, as if he was having some type of fever dream or hallucination. Walking up to the nearest figure, he waved his hand in their face. ¡°Hello?¡± He asked. Feeling silly after receiving no answer, he reached out to touch their shoulder, wondering if he was talking to an inanimate object. He couldn¡¯t quite place why, but there was a churning in his stomach as he did, a consuming fear that wasn¡¯t grounded in anything specific just the eariness of the situation. ¡°Ah!¡± He screamed, jumping back as he touched the person. His heart hammered in his chest as he froze, unable to process what was happening. There was no doubt that it was a person. The skin was cold to the touch but also soft and mushy, as only skin could be. His finger left a depression where he had touched them, the skin having sunken in, and black lines began radiating out from the depression. The skin began peeling off as the lines got farther, curling, breaking, and turning dark as if it were paper burning away. Like that, the entire body crumpled and turned to ash before his very eyes. He stood there frozen in horror, not understanding what had just happened. His head was swimming, unable to make sense of what he was seeing. How could a person simply turn to ash like that? He¡¯d heard mention of internal combustion, though he¡¯d never seen it in real life or even on TV, so he thought of it as an urban myth. Was this it, or was something else happening? His heart quickened, beating in his chest as if it were a trapped animal trying to escape. He was breathing hard from fear, adrenaline, and confusion. The horror of a regular person just burning away like that and turning to ash before his very eyes was just too unreal to accept, though he¡¯d seen it with his own eyes As he tried to make sense of it, he could hear something in the background¡­ Someone was calling out to him, in the distance he could hear a muffled voice. He wanted to turn and see who it was, but the horror of the scene he¡¯d just witnessed left him in shock, his muscles frozen and unresponsive. Suddenly, someone gently shook him out of it. ¡°Hello?! Can you hear me!? Do you know what the hell this is!? What is happening here, why are people turning to ashes!?¡± He turned to find a young man shaking his shoulder, yelling questions at him. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know,¡± he whispered as he snapped back to reality, he¡¯d been frozen with fear. ¡°Shit, this is crazy, you¡¯re the only other living, breathing person I¡¯ve seen so far.¡± Said the young man with urgency and trepidation. ¡°Ok, ok, just¡­ Just calm down. I don¡¯t know what the hell is happening either¡­ Maybe, maybe, we should look around for other survivors. Where did you come from? What direction?¡± The man asked. It surprised him, the way he was behaving. His entire life, he¡¯d prided himself in being decisive and steadfast in the face of danger and uncertain circumstances. But here he was unable to gain his footing or wrap his head around what was happening. The young man took several deep breaths to steady himself and pointed to the stairs behind him. ¡°I was on the second floor when I came to. It¡¯s only been about a minute since I¡­ I woke up, I guess? But can¡¯t quite remember how or why I lost consciousness to begin with. What about you?¡± Agitated and disoriented, he was starting to see a pattern. Like the others around him, he and this young man had been frozen in time, and some catalyst had woken them from that state. So the question was, why had others not woken up yet? ¡°Same, I can¡¯t remember anything yet either and have also been up for only a minute or so. - Did you see what happened just now? I touched this person, and they turned to ashes.¡± The man stated. ¡°Yeah, I bumped into someone when I got up, and they turned to ashes right in front of me too. I freaked out and ran.¡± Answered the younger man. ¡®So touching another person who was still frozen in time, for lack of a better term, would turn them to ash,¡¯ the older man thought. ¡°AAAAHH!!¡± There was a loud-pitched scream from around the corner on their left. It was followed by running, and a second later, a woman stumbled out of the hallway into the main lobby where they were standing.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. She came to a dead stop when she saw them and screamed at the top of her lungs. ¡°What the fuck is happening!!? Are we dead!? Is this hell!? Are¡­ Are all these people dead!?¡± They both went to respond in unison in an attempt to calm her. But again, before they could get a word out, a loud, this time deep, scream was uttered from the hall behind them. They turned to see a young man running around the corner and up the corridor holding his left hand up with his right. It seemed as if his ring and middle fingers had been cut or yanked off. Blood was pouring everywhere from the missing digits as he ran, a deep-set look of pain and horror across his face. The next few seconds felt as if they had happened in slow motion. A sickly pale-gray-looking woman came running behind the newcomer, blood dripping out her mouth and down her chin as she chewed on, what one could only assume, were his missing digits. She cackled like a maniac as she ran him down. Five other people in the lobby suddenly began coming to life. They all dropped their arms by their sides and stood up straight as if released from a spell. Their skin took on a pale gray look as black veins became visible along their necks and faces, and their eyes turned black. The newly awakened tilted their heads up sniffing the air and, in unison, turned in the direction of the young man who was running for his life. Then, a scene straight out of a horror movie took place right before their very eyes. Without warning, they burst into a dead run toward him, knocking over and trampling some of the other stationary people turning them to ash as they did. A tall older man with grey hair reached the young man first and slammed into him like a linebacker, propelling them forward as they slid and tumbled on the floor. The moment they¡¯d come to a stop, the large man bit into his neck and ripped out a large chunk of flesh, then sat up on top of the young man to eat said flesh. The young man let out a horrifying scream, which quickly turned into a gurgled whine as he tried desperately to hold his wound and keep it from bleeding out. The large man began chewing on the flesh with his head tilted up looking at the ceiling. He laughed and cackled maniacally with a disturbingly manic stare in his eyes while he ate. The woman who was originally chasing him caught up and joined the others as they reached into the open wound and ripped out gouges of flesh with their bare hands. A horrifying scream rang out from the young man every time a new gouge of flesh was taken. Until either his heart or brain gave out, and his last scream tapered out. The monsters all began eating and cackling in the same maniacal way as the first one. By this time, the young man was already dead. The older man¡¯s skin felt clammy, sweat rolled down his face, and he shivered from shock, fear, and adrenaline. Having grown up in a bad area he¡¯d seen mindless violence plenty of times before, but this, this was so much more than that. It was madness on an unreal level; it was violence and derangement blended together in an abhorrent way. It was unsettling to the extreme watching these people commit cannibalism as they ripped flesh from the now-dead young man¡¯s body with inhuman strength. Naseua began creeping up as they voraciously chewed and swallowed down the bloody flesh as if they were enjoying a freshly cooked steak. He was brought back to the moment by the young woman next to him grabbing his arm to steady herself. She let out a blood-curdling scream as the reality of what they were witnessing caught up with her. Startled, both men turned to look at her, she froze, staring forward as they did, forcing them to turn back to the others before them. When they did, they saw that what they were now sure were monsters, had all stopped eating and laughing and were looking right at them. ¡°Huh?¡± The monsters all uttered in unison as they tilted their heads sideways like puppies, regarding them as if they had done something strange. The older man instinctually grabbed the woman by her shoulder and shoved her toward the exit while turning and pulling the younger man with his other arm. He wasn¡¯t sure if the monsters would also attack them next, but he didn¡¯t plan on waiting around to find out. ¡°RUN!¡± He yelled, and they made for the door in a deadpan run. The older man wasn¡¯t the fittest person in his age group, but once upon a time he¡¯d been in track and field, and he¡¯d always been sturdy. So when he noticed the automatic doors were not opening as they approached, he acted without a second thought or reservation. Reaching the doors, he jumped into them, knees high and elbows out protecting his face. He barrelled through what was left of the large glass doors, stumbled as he hit the floor, dove, and tucked into a forward roll, then continued running after he came up from the roll. ¡°Follow me I live across the street!¡± Yelled the younger man over his shoulder taking the lead once they were outside. They burst into the door to the apartment building, slamming it shut and locking it behind them. ¡°I live on the second floor. Come on!¡± The young man yelled while heading for the stairs. They made their way up the stairs and down the corridor to his apartment. The young man froze when he reached the end of the hall and crossed the T section. Immediately, he raised his hands to stop the others before they made it across as his breath caught in his throat. To his right was a gruesome scene. Lying on the floor was the body of a heavy-set man, an old lady sat on the floor next to him. She had the same pale-gray skin as the others and was ripping chunks out of the man¡¯s flesh with inhuman strength. He tried to quietly and slowly reach for his keys to unlock the apartment, but he was shaking and sweating profusely, and the keys slipped from his hands. The wind was knocked out of them all as the keys hit the floor noisily. They could hear the old monster utter the same ¡°huh?¡± as the others had when she stopped eating. The older man and the woman slowly hugged the wall cutting them off from the monster¡¯s line of sight. The young man dared not move, but he could see the monster sitting there, just staring at him in that weird puppy-like manner from his peripheral. She only stared at him for a few seconds, then thankfully returned to her meal and cackling. He allowed himself a slow, agonizing breath while he, very slowly, bent at the knees and tried to quietly pick up the keys. Every little noise he made was as loud as a gunshot to his ears, giving him pause. Luckily, the monster paid him no mind and continued her meal. It felt like hours had passed before the young man picked up the keys and opened the apartment, though in truth, it was only seconds. Once the door was open he slowly crept in and waved the others in behind him. The older man began moving slowly, but the woman couldn¡¯t stand to be near the unsettling scene for another second and loudly ran across the hall and into the apartment. The monstrous old lady burst into raucous laughter as she rushed over to investigate. The older man bolted into the apartment and slammed the door in its face, locked it, and sat against it hoping it would go away. They tried to control their exhausted breathing as they heard the monster out in the hallway while she sniffed the door and then made some rustling and dragging sounds. The older man looked under the door crack to find, to his horror, she had dragged her meal to the door and sat down in front of it. The young man put a finger to his lips, signaling them to quietly follow him as he led them to the other side of the apartment. It was easier said than done, moving quietly, they were breathing heavily from all the running and adrenaline pumping through their systems. And the older man was starting to feel the pain from hitting the sturdy glass doors earlier. Galvanized They slowly and quietly made their way to the room furthest from the door and hallway, which turned out to be the bathroom. Pulling a chair into the room with them, they used it to prop the door closed in addition to the lock. They each checked their cell phones, finding none had power. They stared at their phones despondently for a time until one of them spoke in a hushed tone. ¡°My name is Rashon. I am¡­ Was a 5th-quarter medical student.¡± He was a handsome, stocky young Black-American man, about 5¡¯ 8¡±, with a clean-shaven face and short dreadlocks, in his mid-twenties. The others quietly looked at him for a few seconds before also introducing themselves. ¡°Maya, not sure where we are, but I¡¯m not in college if that is what you are referring to,¡± said the woman. She was a beautiful Dominican woman with a caramel complexion and the body of a model in her early thirties, about 5¡¯ 5¡±, with long silky black hair. ¡°Jose, way beyond college age and also unsure of where we are or how I got here¡­ I hate to say this, but I think those things are some type of zombies.¡± Said the older man, he was Puerto Rican with mid-tanned skin, a five o¡¯clock shadow of a beard, 5¡¯ 10¡±, and forty years old with a tire in his midsection. ¡°This can¡¯t be real. What are we going to do with that thing sitting in front of the door?..¡± Said Maya, as desperation began creeping back into her voice. ¡°The police station isn¡¯t too far from here, if we can get back outside we might be able to make it there. This might be an isolated incident or some sort of virus or something,¡± Rashon offered up while opening the shades and curtain to look outside and point out the direction of the station. What they saw froze them in place for maybe the third time that day. The scene outside was quiet and desolate. They could see many cars along the road and several frozen people on the streets. All of the buildings had some type of damage, in fact, the windows to Rashon¡¯s apartment were blown out. The area was very much in line with how one would imagine the apocalypse. As if a cataclysmic event had happened not too long ago, and all of the people either fled in a hurry or were no longer alive. Aside from the cackling of the monster outside the apartment and their heavy breathing, there was a pervasive silence to the world around them. There were gigantic trees in the distance, and large vines covered several smaller buildings to the right. At the same time, other buildings seemed as if they¡¯d been abandoned to nature some time ago. Gunshots to the left pulled their attention, and they saw smoke rising in the distance from that same direction. ¡°Shit, the police station is in that direction, isn''t it?¡± Asked Jose with a resigned voice as he leaned against the wall and felt his heart sink to his feet. Rashon took a step back, nodding, and sat on the toilet wrapping his head in his hands. The world had gone mad overnight, and now they were trapped in his apartment in an apocalyptic scenario. Maya stumbled into the tub and asked for a moment to cry quietly to herself. She had only recently found peace and quiet, and now it had all vanished in the blink of an eye. *** ¡°Do either of you remember what happened? How things got this way, or when? Or even what you were doing before this¡­ This blackout?¡± Asked Jose, breaking the silence that had enveloped them. The others shook their heads in quiet contemplation of those questions and more. What had they been doing before waking up here? How had the world gotten like this overnight? How could they forget an event that would bring the world to such a state? They were all so desperately lost and confused. They¡¯d woken up to a completely different world than the one they knew. Not one of them could make sense of the madness happening around them. People were seemingly frozen in time, others had turned into monsters and were eating each other, and others were turning to ash from the smallest touch. Worst yet, some of them were far from home. What kind of a nightmare scenario had they found themselves in? After a few minutes of quiet contemplation, they heard gunshots from across the street in the direction they had come from. They quickly ducked to the floor before realizing the gunshots weren¡¯t aimed in their direction. Afterward, they crawled back over to the window to see what was happening. A police officer ran out the building''s front door, he was trailing blood from a gash on one of his arms. He ran for the parking lot in front and took cover between some cars. A few seconds behind him was a group of zombies; the ones from earlier seemed to have picked up friends. The officer stopped to empty his clip into the group chasing him. He managed to hit one in the head, dropping it on the spot. He¡¯d also hit others, but just like zombies in movies and popular literature, they seemed to be immune to anything but their brains being destroyed. These zombies, however, were not exactly like the ones seen in shows and movies. They showed some signs of intelligence and were fast and agile. Not only did they zig-zag to minimize the possibility of getting hit in the head, but they also split into teams to flank the officer and trap him between cars. Once they had him trapped, they wasted no time jumping him. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Meanwhile, more zombies were attracted by the sound and blood; some jumped out of the second and third-floor windows of the building, bringing the total to thirteen. The first group of zombies lifted the officer, once subdued, and tore off his limbs, claiming one each for themselves before the newcomers arrived to fall over the torso. ¡°What is that thing?¡± Maya whispered in horror as she pointed down and to the left. They turned to find a large, monstrous dog making its way across the street to the zombies. It was a Doberman the size of a horse, with bulging muscles all over and a long reptilian-like tail. The tail had a razor-sharp bone sticking out of the end sharpened into a pike. It approached the zombies in a slow trot and began snarling and slobbering as it closed in on them. The zombies hadn¡¯t noticed it till it was too late. It reached them and let out a vicious, mind-numbing bark right on top of the zombies, releasing a sonic wave. Several of their heads burst from the sonic wave, while others were sent tumbling several feet from the force. The six zombies that remained quickly recovered and jumped the beast. But they were just no match for it. Even with their superhuman strength the beast barely moved as it was tackled. The beast stabbed several of them straight through the temple with its tail, bit one''s head off, and shredded the others with its menacing claws. The beast grabbed the largest parts of the officer''s remains and trotted off in the same direction it had come from after obliterating the zombies. For a few seconds, they all stood there, just staring at the horribly bloody scene across the street. ¡°What? What was that? What did we just witness?¡± They all stammered, utterly confused at what they¡¯d just witnessed. ¡°Was that magic?¡±Asked Maya. Zombies were one thing, but magic or superpowers of some kind? That was leagues beyond what they knew reality to be. ¡°I don¡¯t know what that was. But zombies were scary enough, and now we have giant beastial dog monsters with - some type of breath attack to worry about too. Whatever is happening, surviving it just got a lot harder,¡± interjected Jose, hysteria leaking into his words. ¡°I don¡¯t know about you two, but I need to get high,¡± stated Rashon as if he¡¯d already resigned himself to this new world. He walked out of the bathroom to do just that. He reached for a jar on top of the fridge. When he opened it, it seemed like mold had grown over the buds and even melded with them somehow. ¡°What the fuck?¡± ¡°What happened?¡± Both Jose and Maya asked in tandem, quickly walking out of the bathroom. Rashon handed the jar to the others for a good look, as Jose grabbed the jar and brought it closer to inspect, the dammed thing opened a mouth and tried to jump out at him. Fear and adrenaline coursing through him, he slammed the jar on the floor, stomped, and ground all of it until it was dust. ¡°Fuck me!¡± He half-yelled, half-whispered - catching himself halfway through - exasperated and unnerved. Things just kept getting crazier and crazier. First, they woke up, who knows where. Then, they witness a zombie apocalypse. Then, some kind of hellhound makes short work of said zombies. And now, weed had become some kind of sludge monster and tried to bite him. Sweat poured down the forehead of the others as they glanced at the front door, hoping the monster outside had been drawn to the gunshots and could no longer hear them. Otherwise, it would likely come crashing through the door and devour them soon. Jose heard a chime, and a blinding pain struck, dropping him to his knees. It was as if something had burst inside his body, causing intense momentary pain and blindness. His entire body felt like it was being crushed for a heartbeat, then he convulsed and vomited black sludge as he hit the floor and steam rolled off his body. When he opened his eyes a voice rang in his head. User Interface Protocol initiated¡­ You have defeated a Slime Variant. Galvanization Protocol initiated. Then, a screen appeared before his eyes. [Health: 200/200 Ether: 20/20 Level: 1 Soul: Ancient Race: Sapient Genus: None Species: None Strength: 5 Constitution: 6 Endurance: 8 Agility: 8 Dexterity: 8 Awareness: 10 Wisdom: 7 Capacity: 12 Free Points: 4 Skills: Strike] ¡°What the hell just happened?¡± He asked disoriented. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Asked Rashon while helping him to his feet. ¡°What are you trying to grab? There¡¯s nothing there.¡± ¡°Yeah, what happened? You suddenly screamed and fell to your knees vomiting - whatever that disgusting stuff is.¡± Added Maya with concern in her voice. ¡°You guys didn¡¯t see that?¡± He asked them. ¡°What, the monster?¡± Asked Rashon. ¡°There was some type of hologram in front of my face. It was like a status page or something.¡± ¡°You mean like in video games or anime?¡± Asked Maya. ¡°I - guess so?¡± Answered Jose, vaguely familiar with the anime reference. He was a fan of fantasy stories, anime, and games but had not had the time to read a book, watch cartoons, or play a game for a long time. ¡°Damn, maybe we¡¯ve been isekaied or something.¡± Rashon blurted out with a nervous chuckle. The atmosphere quickly turned somber afterward as realization set in that something beyond all comprehension had happened to them and, perhaps, the world, if they were even still on Earth, that is. Jose¡¯s mind swirled as he looked around the room. He was clearly the oldest person there, and as such, he felt compelled to be a leader and protector for the others. The responsibility he felt for others around him had always been his greatest weakness. It often resulted in him taking on burdens that were not his to bear. That thought brought him to his family, as long as he could remember, he¡¯d tried his very best to be a good example for all in his family. But at the end of the day, not only had he always felt that he had failed in that endeavor, but it also alienated him from them and, eventually, from others as well. He was often seen as too responsible, too straight-laced, often people would refer to him as an old man in a young man''s body when he was younger. This, among other things, had forced him apart from his siblings as he got older. The only family members still in his life were his nieces and nephews, who were all adults now. But if the world had changed and they were in danger, then he had to do everything in his power to get to them and help. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Jose said somberly, realizing this. ¡°I have to go; there are people I need to get to. ¡ª Do you have any weapons in the apartment Rashon?¡± ¡°I think we all do¡­ Have people we need to get to, that is. And I do have some swords, but they are meant to be decorations at best. The campus police office is at the back of that building though. If we can manage to get back there safely, we should find plenty of guns¡­ Hopefully,¡± answered Rashon.