1 Chapter 1: When The Sun Mutated

"Ninety-eight. Ninety-nine. One hundred!"

Allen Stryka cheerfully counted as he threw his one hundredth punch in the air. This was after he was done doing push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and jogging along the backyard of their old house. Out in the open while being basked by the midday sun.

Allen looked at the man staying near the doorway. He proudly said,

"See Dad? I can already survive this long in the outside. I have gotten stronger now."

"Yes, yes, now get back here in the inside already."

Alan Stryka replied to his son. He was still nervously looking around the area beyond their doorway. He seemed to still be afraid of the horrors beyond the fence of their home.

Allen pouted upon seeing the expression of his father. But he complied to the request nonetheless.

Alan immediately locked up the door of their house once his son entered. He then said,

"Geez, what would you have done if you got over exposed by the sun's radiation?"

Radiation.

Three years ago, the core of the sun had undergone a massive mutation. This led to the Earth's source of light and energy to emit radioactive levels similar to a nuclear meltdown. Image being exposed to extremely high levels of radiation whenever you open the window of your own house.

Well imagine no more since this was what had exactly happened. The overexpose to radiation had significantly reduced the population of humanity during the first days of the sun's mutation. And the number of those who were exposed, or colloquially called infected, rose as months went by.

But the worst thing that had happened was the fact that humans were not the only ones who got exposed. The sky, the sea, the land and every being around the planet had also been hit by the radiation. However, instead of reducing their population like what happened to humans, the entirety of the animal and plant kingdom had somewhat benefited from this bizarre celestial phenomenon.

Soon enough, beasts that used to only belong to myths and legends began to roam around the world. And this toppled the top of the food chain. The horrors that once kept the children from staying up too late had now kept the adults from getting a good night's sleep.

Allen would have loved to keep on going about the details of such monstrosities but it was already noon. When his father had made sure that the doorway was indeed secure, the two went to the dining area.

"Oh, you survived the radiation huh?"

Bridget Stryka looked unimpressed. She had just glanced at her son for a few seconds then went back to preparing their lunch.

"Of course, Mom. We're already immune to it."

Allen rolled his eyes. But he then offered to help on the kitchen. He did notice that the lunch had practically been stalled in the stove up until the chef on duty had confirmed how many people she was going to serve.

Anyway, the thought here was that there was no way anyone was not yet exposed to the mutated sun's radiation. For example, try bombarding a piece of rock with a radioactive material continuously for 24 hours a day for the next three years. Chances are, every single part of that rock would have definitely been exposed.

The same principle had occurred here. The reason why the remainder of humanity did not perish to the radiation exposure was not because of the precaution of locking down one's houses. Such measures would have only lasted for days at best. What really contributed to the survival of man was their adaptability.

Through the continuous bombardment of the mutated sun, humans had slowly learned to adjust their bodily functions to persevere along these harsh conditions. Thankfully, the Stryka family genes were one of these persevering types.

But this is not a topic that Allen would dare to share to his Mom. Lady Bridget was definitely the medical expert among the three of them anyway.

Thus Allen instead added,

"Plus we got vaccinated already."

"Kuh! Don't even talk about that. Do you even remember how much of a hassle you made back then?"

His Mom snapped at him. Apparently talking about vaccinations was also a landmine. Allen regretted his choices. He should have just talked about the bombardment theory.

Meanwhile his father was quietly heading to the head of the table. Pretty sneaky.

Soon enough lunch was served and the family was eating together. Allen clenched his spoon and fork. He gathered the courage to tell what was on his mind. He looked at his parents and said,

"Mom, Dad, I have something to ask."

***

"You want to head outside of the town?"

Mayor Nark asked. He was a man around his fifties. He was currently sitting on his desk on the town hall. The only difference on this current scene from three years ago was that the mayor as well as everyone on town hall were wearing face masks and face shields.

Allen wanted to point out the futility of such protective equipment. This was radiation exposure they were fighting against not some kind of virus. They might protect their faces but what about their arms? Their necks? Their hair which in effect their scalps?

Well truth to be told a few weeks ago, people had to wear a full body suit if they wanted to go out of their houses. But because the vaccination program had already been administered on their town, people are now allowed to only wear masks and shields.

Nonetheless Allen was wearing the required PPEs no matter how much he disagreed in his thoughts. He did need to follow these 'precautions' if he wanted to gain an audience with the mayor.

He snapped himself out of his thoughts. He first glanced at his father who was also wearing the PPEs beside him. He then looked at the mayor in the eyes. He answered with a determined tone.

"Yes, please allow me to do so mayor."

However,

"I'm sorry but that cannot be done."