2 Happiness Ruined

Everything went normal, until 22 /June/2042.

At the dawn of June 22nd, the people of Atlise received a shocking message.

[ALERT: Stay Home! People are requested to stay home, due to the evolution of toxic gases in the air. The level of pollution in the air had reached its maximum and if going out would cause struggles in breathing leading to sudden death. Please do wear mask for your safety! DO NOT COME OUT UNTIL NEXT ANNOUNCEMENT....]

People had no idea about the happenings, until they noticed it through the window. People could see nothing, as the pollution looked similar to the " Pea Soup Fog". This caused anxiety in the hearts and minds of the people.

[Note: London faced Pea soup fog in December 1952, that caused chaos and death for several days. Toxic fog is called Pea soup fog. Pea soup fog is a very thick and often yellowish, greenish and blackish fog caused by air pollution that contains soot particles and the poisonous gas Sulphur dioxide.]

The government immediately sent millitary and smart forces to distribute food, water, oxygen mask and other requirements to each and every citizens. Supplying food each day is indeed a hard task. Therefore the forces distributed huge stocks of food and water, to each houses. So that people could store and use them a week or two weeks. The smart forces took in-charge of citizen helpline center. People can call and ask them for any help at the center.

The Chief of O'Brien announced an emergency meeting at his company. The staffs who stayed their night at the company gathered at the hall and the others at home via video conferencing . Christopher O'Brien came forward to initiate the speech.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! I'm glad to meet you all. We've gathered you all to announce something important. I hope everyone is aware of the situation, we are facing now. The evolution of toxic gas is very dangerous and it's already been 2 days since the evolution. We've not found the source of the disaster. As a citizen of Atlise, we have prior responsibility to help our people and other species in days of hard times. I want the experts in all departments to join hands and find a way to neutralize it. We need to control it immediately to avoid major problems. Remember the days you guys worked hard, day and night for the project "LAVA", for the past three months. LAVA succeeded as the world's fastest transport, with thousands of passengers seat. With the same determination and sincerity, I want you all to work on this situation. Without any further delay, let's work together to save our precious land. Mr.Osman(Secretary of O'Brien) will give detailed information of the works allocated to each staffs. Now, I request the experts to gather at the meeting room immediately". After the speech, Christopher O'Brien went straight to the meeting hall.

" Guys, please come forward", Osman called everyone and started announcing the staffs works.

"We're gonna divide you guys into three teams", saying Osman turned towards the display that was behind him. The team list got displayed on the big screen.

" Now given your teams, please stand as Team1, Team2 and Team3. The three teams are assigned to work on a new and a very important project. These three teams are gonna work under three different heads."

"Christopher O'Brien, the Head of Team1",

"Samuel O'Brien, the Head of Team2",

"William O'Brien, the Head of Team3", Osman gave detailed information of every teams work.

The company took wise decision regarding the situation. Within 2 days, they successfully discovered a new project and even started working on it with a perfect plan.

People in the country weren't aware of how tragic the situation was.

_ _ _ _ _ _

Days rolled by...

Time is indeed, a great magic. As days ran faster, People got used to the situation and they began to live like the days when things were normal. At first, they found it difficult to live this uncomfortable and risky life, without oxygen mask, no one was allowed to go outside.

With the safety precautions, adults went outside their houses whenever they wanted. They went to work everyday. People held events like Marriages, Parties and other occasions, which cannot be postponed. But people felt sorry for the bridegroom, as they wore Oxygen mask at their own wedding. A fun fact was that, a lot of people got married in this situation than before.

Government allowed people to continue their routine like before but with one important restriction. Children weren't allowed to be taken outside often as they might feel suffocated wearing the mask. Home was the safest place for them as the gas never entered houses, buildings or any other closed space.

So the children enjoyed their days, mostly at their home and sometimes at children cafe newly opened for them.

One afternoon, the citizen Helpline recieved a call from a citizen.

"Hello Sir! My name is Jane living at winston street. I've a very close neighbour living at the next floor. She is a very good friend of mine and was at a depressed state, for the past two months due to some personal issues. I visited her daily, inorder to accompany her. After a while, she payed visit to my often, got close with my family and became one among us. I noticed that she had a change of mind and started enjoying her life forgetting about her past. But for the past two weeks, she wasn't welcoming any visitors nor did she came out of her house. She had been acting wierd and gross. So I visited her, two days before...", while she spoke her voice trembled in fear. She then continued...

"I unlocked the door password and entered the house without her knowledge. And I got shocked to see her in a torn dress with a messy hair. There were nail scratches all over the wall and self tortured marks on her hands. She was just sitting on the floor, immersed in some deep thoughts. As soon as I called her name, she started making wierd sound like a crazy person. I couldn't bear to hear the sound and my heart beat up fastly. I wanted to console her so I ran and hugged her. She pushed me aggressively and stabbed me on my elbow. More than the pain and fear, what shocked me was her face and behaviour. The nerves on her face were insanely visible outside and her eyes completely looked like a monster. Something bad might have happened to her. Please help her!", the woman cried in the phone.

The Chief immediately sent a troop and a doctor to check the condition of the citizen. Among the troop, they'd sent two recruits for experience. As soon as the aircraft reached the destination, they saw a person waving at them. It was none other than the caller. She showed them, her friends house.

Four among the soldiers and a doctor entered the house. They saw her sitting in a terrifying pose, facing the wall. The undaunted Senior soldier went forward to negotiate with her.

"Don't panic! We are from the forces. We're here to help you. Please wear your mask and come out with us", Senior soldier spoke with her from a distance.

The woman sat there in a frozen state not responding him. The senior showed a sign, to the soldier next to him and they both moved forward. As soon as they got near her, she started making crazy sounds. On hearing the sound, both stopped for a while.

Suddenly, she started laughing like a witch. Whenever the soldiers moved a step forward she laughed, cried and threw tantrum. The doctor observed all her actions for a long time. The soldiers got confused and they failed to verify what had happened to her.

Then a long silence prevailed in the room. They ordered the recruits to come near them. This time they could do nothing, but to take her out without her will. It was at that moment she got up all of a sudden and started scratching the wall. One of the recruits got annoyed by the sound...

" Oh...come on. Pease stop! I've never thought my first experience would be this terrifying. It's like a horror movie. I don't think she's normal, she might be possessed. Lets do something to provoke her, it's the only way to take her with us. Oh god! Senior, look at her face. Its 100 % confirm, she's something", the recruit screamed looking at her face and that's when the senior looked at her clearly. They could do nothing as she acted aggresive and wild.

With high difficulty and struggle, they succeed in sedating her. The soldiers got relieved only after she became unconscious.

Immediately, they all stepped outside to fetch a stretcher.

While they were out, they heard someone screaming in pain. They all rushed to the house in great speed and reached the house in no time. When they got inside the house, what they saw made them shocked.....