"But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only" (Matthew 24:36).
All over the world, light had given way to darkness in the sky, in hearts and in minds, the moon covering the sun with orange and red edges. In thousands of cities, blood was already flowing freely as the monsters carried out a veritable slaughter. Civilians tried to flee the cities in panic, creating gigantic traffic jams that quickly turned into free buffets for the monsters, which came to devour them inside vehicles that could in no way protect them from danger.
They also took refuge in buildings, basements and skyscrapers, but it was useless; no hiding place could protect them. Helicopters and planes crashed by the hundreds, attacked by flying monsters. These crashes claimed victims of their own on the ground, or in buildings that were blown to pieces. Boats, too, were attacked by small aquatic monsters.
"Close the door!" one man shouted at another in panic.
"But there are still people outside," he replied.
"They're being chased, look! If you don't close that damn door, you're condemning us to death!" the first retorted.
The man still took the time to wait for the other survivors, but when the door closed, the creatures chasing them had managed to get inside, locking them in with the monsters. Screams of pain and panic rang out, and blood now flowed from under the door.
Others wandered the cities in search of shelter, disoriented. A little girl, a stuffed animal in her hand, walked crying through streets already strewn with corpses, until a monster pierced her small chest, leaving her unable to breathe and paralyzed with pain. The stuffed animal fell to the ground before the blood of the girl being devoured came to stain it.
If one word could describe what was happening on Earth at that moment, that word would be hell.
A world where men died devoured, burned, crushed—a world of suffering without the slightest end.
Conventional weapons barely worked. Only heavy-caliber weapons such as explosives seemed able to kill them. The armies of every country began to march on the cities to try to eradicate the threat. Explosions multiplied threefold, fivefold in every city in the world. It was the only way to kill the monsters. The army managed to considerably reduce the number of monsters in the cities; victory was even within reach. But by the end of the second day, most of the armies had been completely decimated, leaving the populations to fend for themselves.
This sudden collapse of the army had been caused by the appearance of what came to be called "bosses." Monsters that were stronger and tougher than normal monsters, and therefore harder to kill. And so the army was almost wiped out, those two days marking the moment when humanity stumbled and began to sink into despair.
Left to fend for themselves, the populations, beyond escaping the remaining monsters, also had to meet their most basic needs:
Eating and drinking—missions that always proved perilous and costly, sometimes in human lives.
Day 2 / 11:30 p.m.
Some of those who had survived had set up supply groups tasked with going out to find food.
"It's your turn to go get food today!" said one man.
"What? No, it's Sully's turn!" the other replied.
"Sully hasn't come back since yesterday, Robert, so today it's your turn!"
"He hasn't come back?"
"No, unfortunately."
"Damn it! Give me the bag."
This small group of survivors was hiding in a cellar. The man carefully opened the trapdoor to check that there were no monsters nearby. Once he was sure he could go out, he left the cellar and headed for the place where they got their supplies, a small store three streets away from their hideout.
The man moved with extreme caution and without the slightest sound. The streets were still lit thanks to the automated power grid, but who knew how long that would last. Those same streets were strewn with countless corpses or destroyed by earlier fighting.
He finally reached the last intersection before the store, which he could see in the distance. He scanned the area and saw no monsters anywhere nearby. Still cautious, he crept along the walls and the cars, finally reaching the store.
"Great!" he said as he went in.
He began filling his bag with supplies, going down aisle after aisle. As he moved forward, he trembled with horror when he discovered Sully's half-eaten body in one of the aisles.
"Shit!" he thought as he discovered the corpse.
He took cover, because it could only mean one thing: there was a monster in the store. It didn't take him long to spot it: a white humanoid creature, stained with blood, with multiple mouths all over its body.
Robert slowly backed away; there was no point staying any longer, his bag already full of supplies. But he inadvertently knocked a bottle off a shelf, and it shattered. The creature rose quickly and moved toward the sound. Robert, for his part, had frozen and crouched down without a sound.
"This creature seems to find its way by sound. I didn't see any eyes, so all I have to do is not move," he thought.
The creature reached the end of the aisle he was in. Robert's breathing grew louder, and his heart raced. The creature, it seemed, had no eyes, just as he had thought.
But the creature stayed at the corner, leaning in a little further as if it could see him, while Robert remained frozen at a safe distance. Suddenly, on the creature's white skin, an eye snapped open. Robert, still motionless, went pale with horror.
"Damn it!" he said, breaking into a run toward the exit.
The creature began to chase him, smashing through the store door he had already passed. It was fast, far too fast. In no time it caught up with him and dealt him a violent blow that sent him crashing into a wall, injuring him in several places. The creature took its time walking toward him.
"Damn it, I'm really going to die in this rotten place…" he thought, still dazed.
The creature stood over him; a large mouth full of sharp teeth began to open slowly. Still dazed and facing his own death, the man made a decision: to fight to the very end.
He sprang up to strike the creature, to no effect; the mouth closed on his arm. Blood flowed as his limb was violently severed. He screamed in pain, clutching the stump, while the mouth opened again.
Adrenaline took over and made him forget the pain. Determined, the man threw his fist at the creature with all his remaining strength.
"Take that, you filthy bastard!" he shouted.
Midnight!
The man's fist blew away half of the creature's body, and it collapsed to the ground. Stunned, the man who had thought he was about to die looked at the now lifeless body of the creature, while feeling his own body grow even stronger, a new energy flowing through his veins.
At the same moment, Lucas, who until then had been holed up in the police station, was also being attacked by monsters, which were already devouring several other officers, including the leader. And when one of the creatures lunged at him, on some strange instinct, he tore off its jaw.
And all over the world, others were also achieving the feat of killing monsters. And so, on the third day, humanity regained hope, for when we stumble, we can always get back up.
"Indeed, I say to you that on this day and at this hour you are born again" (1 Peter 1:23).
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