Apocalypse Life/Issue 1

Phonecall
It was 8:42 in the evening. Instead of the usual book reading or TV watching, Julius was frantically running around his apartment, as if he was getting ready to leave for vacation.

"What else do you need me to get?"

"Your passport. Documents. Whatever the hell is important in paper!"

He was digging through his desk, looking for the documents. All he had in hand was his passport. He had his pressed against his left shoulder, with his cell phone in between. He had been talking to his sister.

"Can't.... can't I just carry my passport? Won't they take care of every--"

Julius stopped and turned to look at the open entrance to his bedroom. A gunshot just rang just outside his door. For a few seconds, his sister's voice became mute. Then it all came back again.

"S-say again?"

"What's that I just heard?"

Julius continued to look at his bedroom's entrance, slipping his passport on his pocket. Flashes of red light passed by the window right behind him. He could hear sirens ringing around him.

"Grab some food, a flashlight, a-and... make sure everything's easy to carry. I want you to leave as soon as possible, alright?"

Julius had a worried look on his face, but his sister couldn't see it. He ran toward the front door of his apartment, where all of his things stood. Two carry-on bags and a pull bag of clothes, and a backpack full of other necessities.

"W-what the hell am I doing, Margaret?"

Julius wiped the sweat in his forehead and sat on his couch. He placed his phone down on the table in front.

The thought that danger is suddenly lurking around him in such a short vicinity. The thought that things might not come back to normal again. The thought that the world is on its impending doom. Julius just couldn't wrap his head around it. Not now. Not this soon.

It was, after all, this phone call that woke him up. Before, he thought he'd have enough time to get ready. Before, he thought he was far from danger. If his sister hadn't called him a few hours earlier and warned him of the impending doom coming his way, he would still be here, acting as if everything will be normal for a little bit more.

He came back to his senses when he had just heard his sister's loud voice ringing on his phone. He had just forgotten to turn it off. He grabbed it.

"--to break through? Shit... Jules, come on.. are you still there?"

"Margo? What's happening?"

"Holy shit, Jules... I thought they had you! I-I have to go. T-they've managed to break through one of the doors here; they're mobilizing everyone. I'll try to call back again, maybe 30---"

"Margo? Margaret?"

He hung up, placed his cell phone on his pocket, and started looking over all of his items. He grabbed the backpack and checked it for items. Most of its bulk was packaged food, along with many other hygiene items. He ran back toward his room to search for something.

He rummaged in his walk-in closet. After a minute of searching and hesitating, he finally found it; a stainless steel bat unopened from its package. There was a post-it note that said "It's steel this time. Can't hardly break; for you Jules". He'd remembered it was a gift from his childhood friend, whom he had just seen a month ago. "Because I break too many wooden bats," he muttered silently to himself.

He removed the plastic wrapping, and started feeling it on both his hands. It was a little bit heavy, but not too restricting for him to swing it freely. Suddenly, he heard banging on his front door.

He slowly walked toward it, bat in both hands, ready to swing. Another bang. He was a few feet close. And at last, it forcefully opened. For a brief moment, he heard busy sounds and loud sirens out the door. It quickly silenced when the unknown assailant closed the door, forcefully.

He rushed to see who entered. It was a neighbor of his, one he barely talked to. Sweat poured from his head into his shirt. A spot of blood with a sort of bandage was stuck above it. The man looked desperately at the door, his face nearly pressed against it. He looked at Julius for a second, then back at the door. He was pushing against it with force.

"G-got anything to block this?" he asked.

Julius was speechless for a moment, then started looking around.

"Um, uh....."

The man looked at his luggage, and quickly ran to it. He left the door hanging open for a bit as he felt the weight of the bags. He threw them one by one until he felt the pull bag, in which he quickly pushed toward the door to block it.

"C'mon, man! Quickly! Get boards, nails, hammers, shit like that! C'mon!"

Julius, who was looking at him the whole time, was waken up a bit. He thought for a moment where he had put his tools.

"I-I don't have any boards... just, the tools and---"

"What? No tools!?"

The man, who worriedly looked at the front door as he was leaving it open, walked toward the kitchen.

"We can break the boards of these cabinets a-and use it to block. Get the tools!"

The man tried his best to pull the cabinets' doors. His struggle made it evident that he was a bit out of shape.

Julius pondered a bit as to where he put his tools. He walked toward a walk-in closet next to his bathroom.

He rummaged there, only seeing hung jackets, boxes, and other things. There was no tool set.

"Got one of these boards! Where're those nails, man?"

Julius looked a bit more then turned to the man. He was holding a thick closet board; too thick for nails, he thought.

As he continued to look, he heard one of his windows shatter.

"Shit!" he heard the man shout.

He quickly ran toward the man, grabbing his bat on from a wall it was hanging on earlier.

"How the fuck did they get in here!?"

One of them broke into the only window in his kitchen. The over-sized man rushed toward the assailant, hoping to use the board as a weapon. Just as the man was busy whacking the window-breaker, a few more of them entered into the already-broken front door.

Julius was in a quick panic; he looked at the man, who was too busy to care, and the two other people limping toward his house. One of them had blood near her neck; one of them was a police officer. Julius, for a moment, was awestruck at what he had just seen.

He quickly returned to consciousness when one of them was getting ready to grab him. He managed to dodge the woman, then the police officer. He quickly grabbed his backpack, confused at what the do next.

He ran toward his bedroom, hoping to find his car keys. Along the way, he felt his cellphone vibrate. He had no time for this now; he had to get out of there. He locked his bedroom door, then quickly grabbed his keys from the desk. As he looked for a way out, the door suddenly shook. Behind it, he could hear both moans, and the man's shouting.

He continued to think. Is he going to face what's behind the door, or is he going to force an exit out his bedroom's window? The phone on his pocket continued to vibrate. He thought that this can't be the time to put himself in harm.

He quickly opened his window, his backpack right behind him, and his bat on his right hand. Just as he was climbing on it, the door finally broke; the woman and police officer rushed in, hoping to grab him away. Beyond it, he could hear the man shouting.

"C'mon, man!? Where are you!?"

He rushed, almost jumping outside of the window. He was quickly met with the downward slanted ground below him, quickly landing him into the cement below. The surprise slightly delayed him from getting up, but once he saw his two chasers come out from the window, he quickly stood up.

He was finally outside, into a new world. Sirens were ringing from a distance. Feint sounds of megaphone announcements echoed. Shouts of people. Sounds of fire burning. This isn't the same world anymore.

Julius had just landed himself into the ramped entrance of his apartment district. He quickly ran toward the parking lot, hoping to find his car. His phone ceased vibrating. Julius, at first, wanted to call back, but the sight of the parking lot made him think otherwise.

After finding his car, all Julius hoped for was to return his sister's phone call.