Interval 1 - Reflections and Surprises

"Calm down, calm down, now!" I said, piercing the fish with my spear. The fish squirmed until it died.

I looked at my surroundings while I stood inside a river with my pant legs folded upward. My things were beside a rock at the river's bank with POD 000 "sitting" on the rock.

I turned around to catch another one after putting the fish out of the river, and I saw my reflection as I looked at the water.

Black messy hair, a tired face with slightly tanned skin, a short unkempt beard, and two scars, one running from left to right just below the eyes and another on the left cheek.

Therefore, I remembered how I got here.

-Japan, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Year 2003-

I was younger at that time and had an adventurous spirit, traveling the world with the money I saved for a good part of my life.

I have been to all continents, South America, North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania, and Antarctica, stopping recently in Japan. I went through all the islands until I got to Tokyo and I was in the Shinjuku district when it happened.

The deafening sound of bells echoed throughout the city. The impossible happened and a tear opened in the sky, spitting out a woman-shaped giant gray creature and what looked like a red dragon.

The creature crushed much of the district, reducing buildings and people to smudges on the ground. Then, everything turned to chaos, the dragon circled the creature while white and black circles collided in the air.

The sound of bells became unbearable to listen and I fell to the ground, holding my head, trying to stop the noise. Images flashed through my brain along with agonizing pain and what I saw belonged to a fantasy book.

I saw a city appearing out of nowhere, a girl with pink eyes, a flower, five girls fighting the Lords, a white dragon, a cathedral, a giant flower on top of a city, red eyes, a black dragon attacking a castle, a man slaughtering red-eyed soldiers, a red dragon, the gray giant, meanwhile, a word repeated itself over and over...

WATCHERS!

WATCHERS!

WATCHERS!

WATCHERS!

I stood up when the pain disappeared and saw people still in a panic. It seemed that I was the only one who saw those images. Suddenly, the giant crumbled into a white powder, and a jet shot down the dragon with a missile.

Something fell towards me, a black dot that grew as it closed the distance, and it was a person. My legs did not move and that person hit me hard, then everything went dark.

-XXXXXX-

I was not in Japan when I woke up, but in a dark city overgrown with vegetation. I wandered around for a while, shouting if anyone was there, but no one answered.

I walked until I reached a shopping district full of abandoned stores, and by the looks of it, this happened a long time ago. I searched for equipment upon entering a camping and survival store.

I looked at myself in the mirror; I wore a tactical shirt with a black jacket over it, black combat pants with lots of pockets, black boots that reached up to my shins, and a black boonie hat.

A cargo bag stood on the counter, beside the inventory of the things I would take with me.

Two tactical knives, a multipurpose pocket knife, a machete, multi-purpose pliers, my cell phone, headphones, my wallet, and the keys to the hotel in Tokyo.

I walked around the city, looking for any sign of life. I by shops, apartments and offices, but everything was empty.

I thought that some crisis happened, so it would be better to go to a hospital or shelter, there must be people there.

I passed by a police station and called the police, but got no answer. Unfortunately, the empty hospital killed my hope of finding someone when I arrived there. Where the hell is everyone?

I had walked for a long time so I decided to rest. I took my cell phone and looked at the time, it was noon, but the moon still shone in the sky. Is my cellphone broken?

Eventually, I had to look for food and water. I went to the hospital kitchen and rummaged through the pantry for something that was not spoiled.

Suddenly, something cold touched my back and a feminine voice spoke menacingly.

"Do not move."

"What?!?" I screamed, kicking myself mentally for my stupid answer.

"I told you not to move! Put your hands up and turn around slowly!" The voice spoke again.

I did what she said and turned around, but her appearance surprised me. She seemed to be about nineteen years old and one meter and seventy-five centimeters tall, with silvery-white hair, yellow eyes, an angry face pale skin, and sharp features.

"Who the hell are you and what the fuck are you doing here?!? The city has been abandoned for years!"

I would give her a rude answer, but the gun pointed at my face changed my mind, so I told her what she wanted to hear.

"My name is Alan; I was looking for other people and food, mostly food. What do you mean by 'abandoned years ago', what happened here?" I kept a calm appearance, but I was scared to death inside.

"Are you an idiot? Where were you during the SHADES invasion and mass sickness? How are you still alive?"

"Look girl, I don't know what you're talking about. What is a SHADE? What do you mean by mass sickness and why wouldn't I be alive?"

"What cave were you living in the last years?!? SHADES are the monsters that want to invade people's bodies! Simultaneously, people around the world got weaker and weaker until they died, which is why you should not be alive. How, in the name of God, did you survive this far?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Listen here you son of a..." She stopped as the sound of pained groans approached us, and what I saw gave me nightmares for days.

The thing was almost two meters tall, with clawed hands and feet, and its body appeared to be made of black and gold pieces. The thing had two white dots for eyes and horns on its head; it also wore pieces of metal as armor on its chest, hands, and feet.

"What is that thing?!?" I screamed scared.

"THIS IS A SHADE!" The girl yelled as she shot the thing.

The shots only pushed the monster back, angering it. The monster then jumped on the girl, throwing her against the wall as her revolver rolled away.

I could have run away at that moment, but I grabbed the machete tied to my backpack and swung with all my might on the creature's neck. I did not know what got into me, a deafening scream echoed through the hospital, blood splashed on my face, and the creature struggled and dropped dead.

The girl looked at me scared, maybe she thought I would kill her after she pointed a gun at me. I approached her, but she backed towards the wall, probably trying to find a way to escape this situation.

"Are you okay?" I asked, extending my hand. The girl looked at me confused but accepted my hand.

"Yes, you dumbass. You could have run away, but you saved me instead, why?" The girl asked as I helped her to get up.

"I have no idea, but how about we start right this time? My name is Alan." I replied, offering a handshake while smiling.

"Novissime Superstes." The girl replied, staring at my face, waiting for some kind of reaction.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked, raising a questioning eyebrow.

"Most people laugh at my name." She glared at me angrily.

"I don't mind your name, but can I call you Novi?"

"No!" The girl replied flatly while crossing her arms.

"Too bad, I'll call you Novi anyway." I smiled.

Novi opened her mouth, probably to curse me even more, but more screams and pained groans interrupted us. That monster wasn't the only one in the hospital.

"We need to get out of here now!" Novi yelled, grabbing her revolver while I grabbed my backpack and machete.

We ran out of the hospital, I was startled, and relieved to be out of there when I looked back since a horde of those SHADES overflowed the building.

I don't know how much time passed but we ran like there was no tomorrow and there wouldn't have been if we had stayed there longer. Novi took me to her hideout in an area away from downtown, in a residential district converted by nature.

Her "hideout" was a ramshackle shack, with old wood walls, a ceiling full of holes, a moldy bed with a dirt mattress, a table and two chairs, and a makeshift kitchen.

"So what did you think of my house?" Novi asked happily, opening her arms while smiling from ear to ear.

"It's cozy." I replied nervously, holding the urge to throw up in disgust.

Novi sat in one of the chairs and pointed to the other, so I sat down and we talked.

"Let's go directly to the point, how are you alive?" Novi asked again.

"I don't understand what you mean, why wouldn't I be?" I replied.

"People lived normal lives in the past until the SHADES appeared and tried to steal people's bodies. We fought against them for a long time, and suddenly, the SHADES became extremely violent and nobody knew why. They increased in numbers, destroying everything in their path, simultaneously, the world population got sick, dying of weakness and becoming sterile. Some panicked and others simply accepted it. I thought I was the only one left until today."

"This is hard to believe, but I assure you that I am perfectly healthy, and I have no idea how I got there. I fell unconscious and woke up alone in this city." I kept a calm facade outside.

However, I panicked on the inside. Dragons and giants falling from the sky and now monsters and plagues, what happened when that thing hit me?

"Now answer me. What place is this? It is 3 pm, but the moon is still in the sky, and my cell phone has no signal. Do you have a phone or computer here? I need to call a friend, or family, anyone!"

"You're in the Realm of the Night and it's always night here, no matter what time of day. I don't know what a cell phone or computer is, and sorry for the coldness, but your friends and family must be dead by now." Novi replied, softening her gaze.

"What do you mean by that? I spoke to them a few hours ago, it can't have been that long!"

"When was the last time you spoke to them?" Novi asked suspiciously.

"At 11 am in the year of 2003!" I screamed, slamming both hands on the table.

"Well, what knocked you unconscious hit you right in the head, because we are in the year of 4190!"

I went speechless at that moment, my mouth opened and closed, but my voice did not come out. I fell backward and everything went black.

-XXXXXX-

I saw another fish passing through my reflection in the water, so I prepared to catch it.

"Calm down, calm down, now!"

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

I missed the fish thanks to the noise, and the fish swam away scared. Gunshots echoed in the streets a few meters away from me. Normally, I would go in the opposite direction, but I changed my mind as soon as I heard the screams.

"AAAHHH!"

"POD come with me!" I yelled, putting on my boots and picking up my backpack.

"Claim: Affirmative" The POD said, floating beside me. So we ran towards the screams.

END OF CHAPTER