Kael opened his eyes, but then he closed them again, groaning, as a terrible pain shot through his entire body, especially his left arm.
But suddenly, he opened his eyes wide, looking at the clear sky, though here and there thin black smoke from burning buildings and cars still lingered. He tried to sit up, groaning constantly; his body felt like it had just been run over by a bulldozer.
He found himself in the middle of the street, buildings collapsed, asphalt roads lifted and cracked everywhere.
The smell of blood mixed with dust from the building ruins made him feel even more nauseous, but he tried to hold it back. He shifted his attention to his left arm, which was throbbing with pain, and saw a large, long gash.
Blood oozing from the wound had already begun to clot, mixed with the debris. Kael moaned softly, checking other parts of his body, but finding only minor cuts and bruises.
He sighed, trying to remember what had happened.
***
Today was Sunday, and Kael had gone out to find lunch and dinner in the shopping district, not far from his apartment. He remembered clearly that it was still 10 AM in the morning because he was replying to messages from his boss on his cell-phone, waiting for his order to be ready.
He sat at one of the tables located in the mall's courtyard, where the cafe was. People bustled about, busy with their own affairs, and he could still hear the voice of a mother scolding her child who was whining for ice cream for the second time.
Kael's face was sullen, irritated that his boss had suddenly moved up the deadline for the financial report, meaning he had no choice but to work extra on his day off.
"When will you send the revised file for company X's inventory? We want to start on their financial report, if possible, by tomorrow."
"I'll send it this afternoon, Sir," he typed back, gritting his teeth slightly.
"Tch… being an accountant isn't as good as I thought it would be," he grumbled, busy replying to the stream of messages from his boss.
He was so engrossed that he didn't notice the people around him looking up at the sky, pointing in fear.
"Look, the sky is splitting!"
The sky, which had been clear, now turned dark, even though there were no thick clouds. From the split sky, several enormous tentacle-like shapes emerged.
Everyone panicked even more, screaming in terror and running everywhere, seeking shelter. That was when Kael began to realize something was wrong around him.
But when he noticed the sky darkening and looked up, catching a glimpse of the tentacles reaching out from the split sky, the earth suddenly shook violently.
He too panicked and ran to an open area. The buildings in the shopping center began to collapse, and the ground and asphalt roads started cracking and rising.
The earthquake lasted a long time, and suddenly, from nowhere, an intensely blinding light enveloped everyone. Kael then blacked out.
***
He forced himself to get to his feet, his hand resting on a crushed car, flattened by fallen debris. Once standing, he surveyed his surroundings, and what he saw made him truly nauseous.
Besides the rubble, cracked and raised roads, and cars that were either crushed or burned, he saw human corpses strewn everywhere.
The strong smell of blood mixed with dust intensified his nausea. Unable to hold it, he vomited by the side of the wrecked car.
"Fuck…" he muttered, wiping his lips with the back of his hand. His head throbbed painfully.
Unconsciously, he staggered towards his apartment, trying to find a safe place to shelter. His mind felt hazy, making the groans, cries, and shouts for help from the still-living victims sound distant in his ears.
He walked with a limp, clutching his arm, moving away from the shopping center. He didn't know how long he had been walking when he heard roars in the distance.
These roars were clearly not human sounds, and they made Kael's eyes widen. He climbed onto a car and looked in the direction of the sounds.
A group of large, emaciated black dogs were seen running towards their location. A few stopped and immediately tore at the human corpses lying on the road.
Kael held his breath, his body tensing, especially after he saw that these dogs had wide mouths and an unusual number of teeth, unlike typical earth dogs.
And then, he saw hundreds of small black mounds moving towards them. Their shapes resembled rats, but each was as big as a cat.
They ran quickly and agilely, also stopping to gnaw on the corpses. Horrific screams echoed from the surviving victims, now being devoured by both types of creatures.
Kael quickly got down from the car, forcing himself to run away from the strange dog pack. He spotted a small mini-mart on the side of the road, its building still intact amidst the surrounding ruins.
Without thinking, he entered, locking the door from the inside. His breath came in ragged gasps, and he moved away from the glass door with a look of horror, then jumped behind the cashier counter, hiding there.
"What the hell was that?" he mumbled, peeking from behind the counter for a while. But then, his mind suddenly clicked, 'They are predators, they'll definitely smell me here…'
Without delay, he leaped to the scattered shelves inside the store, grabbing bottles of floor cleaner and similar antiseptic liquids. He opened several bottles and poured them around the perimeter of the store.
When he was pouring near the glass door, he saw the creatures were already close to his location. Cold sweat began to trickle down his back and forehead, and he tried to pour the liquids as quickly as possible.
He finished just as they were about to pass the mini-mart. Disregarding the pain in his body, he jumped back behind the cashier counter and hid there.
The growls from the strange dogs grew louder, and some fought each other over the flesh. A few sniffed at the glass door where Kael was, but they quickly moved away because of the strong smell of the antiseptic.
He breathed a sigh of relief and finally decided to stay inside the mini-mart for a while, until the creatures left.