1 000

Overlooking the cityscape of Seoul, a floor of a skyscraper with no curtains raised, holding stacks of paper and an overload of technology.

"Chief, Japan's signal is completely gone, no signs of telecommunication either!"

"Tch, how much overtime will I get from this," a middle-aged man sighed, chewing a stick of dried squid.

"No causes traced. Abnormal readings from underneath the country. Earthquake sensors not responding," came the report of a man in a 3 piece suit.

"Request authorisation to commence from the President."

…

Simultaneously three different groups were all set into confusion. One group overlooking the forest of highrise buildings with patches of green, the parks of Singapore.

"Ma'am, Japan is not responding! Permission to proceed?"

A black-haired woman in a suit responded, "Granted, find the cause."

"Unknown."

"Inform the President, stop slacking and get to work."

Another group viewing the grey sky, skyscrapers for as long as the eye could see and a small strip of low traditional buildings.

A group conversing in Mandarin.

"Anything on Japan?"

"Null."

"How useless, inform the President. Get permission to gather the world," spoke a pale raven-haired man, his medium long hair tied back.

The last group, looking over the corporate buildings to the sea, the Opera House in view floating next to the harbour.

An odd male, holding a beer, who knows how that was allowed at work, commanded a group of people dressed in suits.

"Go to the Prime Minister. We have more on our plate than we can handle by ourselves.

…

A dark room filled with computers, large presentation screens, maps, data and people dressed in suits was suddenly ousted into a panic.

"Sir! We've lost Japan's signal, there are signs of backup failure!" yelled a young blond man.

"Analyse the readings! Don't leave a single transmitter unchecked!" came the immediate reply from an old brown-haired man whose eyebrows furrowed out of stress.

"Haaa it better not be a false alarm..." came the dejected voice of another young man, instead of being dressed in a suit, he was wearing a sweater over a white blouse.

"Shut up, this is a serious matter, stop slacking," scolded the old man.

"No leads from Team A!"

"Same for Team C!"

"Team B has nothing!"

"Team D has a possible lead!"

"Report!" came the strict voice of the old man again.

"Japan's signal was immediately cut off, like half a ball acting as a lid. It appears to have come from the ground, the readings are too abnormal and jittery to be measured by any of our transmitters."

"Get the President's approval, we need the entire world on this."

"Yes sir!" was chorused amongst the unknown group.

…

Only slightly afterwards, an underground room abundant in cords and wires was also set into chaos.

"Boss! Japan got cut off!"

"Find the cause!" shouted a burly man with a cigarette in his mouth.

"Unable to be traced, sir!"

"Request permission from the Queen! Quick!"

…

It was just a normal day. Why is this happening? Why am I caught up in this?

…

I had just left school, taking the train to return home, just like every other day.

I used my card to tap the sensor to leave the station, just like every other day.

But when I walked towards the car park, a siren rang. It came from nowhere, there was no source of sound anywhere in sight yet it rang in everyone's ears.

With the sound of the siren came the chaos, violent entities erected out of thin air.

They had the figure of a dog, but their eyes shone red, some of their flesh was peeling to reveal the bones. But those bones were not white, they were pitch black just like their flesh.

The first action they took was dashing at humans, they would bite and claw at their limbs. The unfortunate victims were not saved, everyone was running to save themselves.

People that ran into cars and closed the door were safe.

I desperately sprinted as fast as my shaky legs could take me, running up to each car window, banging on the door only to see no more seats. People piled in as much as they could, laying on top of each other if it meant they would survive. Yet the more I looked, the more I ran, the more my hope drained.

Hope is useless. The real thing that drives actions is fear.

That was when the dread had finally settled in, I was alone in this, those entities would not be halted by anything, they could not be killed.

The siren was still ringing, the cars had all left. A blanket of red and deformed lumps encompassed the concrete ground.

I slowly took steps backwards away from the entities while keeping an eye on them. My legs were still vigorously shaking, the fear sunk into my bones as my eyes were wide glued onto the movements of those creatures.

As if they could sense my trepidation, they abruptly whipped their heads towards me. That rabid crazed look in their eyes bore into me and that was when I thought, 'I might not be able to say a proper farewell.'

Yet I didn't want to die. Those creatures grew closer to me, the only thing I could do was run.

Run for my life.

That was truly when I appreciated my hard work the most, all that effort I had poured into running faster, running longer. It had prolonged my life.

I couldn't look back, all I thought about was running further. Running more. Running until I no longer heard that haunting siren.

But it never stopped, it was as if I ran for days with no end.

Those creatures were still chasing me, I could hear the prod of their legs on the pathways.

My stamina was not infinite.

I had a limit, and I was nearing that limit.

My speed slowed down, that energy I had was gradually being overrun with doubt and utter fear.

They had caught up already, some had pounced on me, one was tugging at my arm.

It burned, one of them sunk their fangs into the flesh of my right arm, a sea of crimson spurted out in bursts as my white uniform blouse became stained.

Another siren grew closer, but this time it was almost comforting. That was a familiar siren, emergency aid had finally come, it gave me a newfound strength when I saw their uniforms.

With my free arm, I pulled one of the creature's fangs away from my bleeding arm with enough space for the emergency workers to pull the entity away from me.

A bullet had lodged itself into the bodies of one of the creatures but it made no effect on those entities. A silent panic had buried itself into everyones' hearts without fail.

By a stroke of luck, the siren had stopped and alongside the cease of sound came the dissolving of those creatures.

The adrenaline that was keeping me conscious had also stopped flowing so I met darkness alongside the blazing pain that coursed through my body. Surely, it was just a one-time thing.