Decent of the Apocalypse

It was currently nine-past in the night.

The sun had settled down behind the horizon, plunging the slum in darkness. The only light source were the windows of the tiny houses.

This did not applied to the brightly lit western area beside this slum. It was bathed with artificial lights of various colors. The western side of this and many such slums were the posh/elite area.

Aashu had been patiently waiting for his father and sister to arrive. After, they came back without any injuries, he felt a sense of relief wash over him. It felt as though his heart was released from a deathly grasp.

The government made an official announcement to console the public. It was about the earthquake and the damages incurred due to it. The official news was describing the regions that were affected by the earthquake and the unbelievable amount of destruction caused by it.

It ended with reassuring the citizens of their safety.

'This doesn't feel like any normal event, after all the damned earthquake has rocked the whole world.'

The magnitude of the event was unimaginable, the tension and the disastrous effects of the earthquake were felt throughout the Earth. Such a thing happening before his encounter with the zombie-dog, would have seemed like a cataclysmic disaster and nothing more.

But, after that event, Aashu's view of the world was changing. It was trying to comprehend reality from a new perspective.

'Am I just overthinking?'

Aashu had other things to worry about like his college examinations, the scholarship he wanted to apply for and of course the new ability he got from the red stone.

After some time passed, Aashu said to his family:

"I am going outside; the internet is not working here."

Aashu told his parents, he wanted to check if there was any notification from his college.

Now, that such a disaster had affected the whole world, the government did not had time for menial things, like conducting examination. But still, he wanted to make sure that he was right.

***

Aashu was walking in the familiar alley.

Though, there was one difference.

Unlike the times when there were scattered sources of light to brighten the alley, today, it was totally plunged into darkness. The clustered construction of houses in the slums, did not allow for much light to pass through the open sky.

After some more time spent walking, Aashu was out on the service road. As he exited the alley. The same scenery of high-rise buildings and the bridge awaited him. Apparently, the bridge had not fallen even after the earthquake.

The government has done an effective job of making the bridge sturdy. If it were to fall the highway would be completely blocked.

The service road and the western-express highway were divided by only a barrier of pedestrian walkway. This made it for easy transportation and a load of noise and pollution for the slum residents.

Aashu sighed:

"Huu...no internet. It is predictable. The underground wiring must have been affected very badly. Though the earthquake was not very harsh with our city, the damages must have been extensive."

'So, I don't have to worry about the exams. That means I can fully focus on training my powers.

The whole world is affected by this sudden change. It doesn't seem like anything good; more like something ominous is happening.'

Some time passed with Aashu standing near the exit of the alley. He was in deep thought for some time. He was trying to glean every and any information that could explain the current situation. But there was simply not much information to process.

'It's getting late, I should return back home.'

Aashu turned around and walked toward the dimly lit entrance and entered the alley leading back to his home. But, just after a few steps in the alley, he heard weird noise.

His whole body tensed on the place.

Aashu was quite on the edge, since the zombie-dog incident.

After closely hearing the sound for a few seconds, it was coming from the gutter a couple of steps away from him.

He would not have heard anything had he been a normal person. But the red stone had not only increased his physical strength but also the power of his sensory organs.

Aashu was now able to see more clearly and hear better. His sense of smell had grown sharper. His could now feel the muscles in his body more consciously. He even felt that he had become sharper.

Due to this, he was able to make out the shapes of the object even with little light in the alley.

Aashu got close to the entrance of the gutter. It was open.

'This isn't an elite residential area, but the gutters should still be closed.'

After analyzing the noise coming from its entrance, he felt a pang of fear in his heart. Aashu recognized it. This rhythm of sound; It was like the footsteps of someone or in this case something running. And it somehow felt wrong.

He felt a chill run down his spine. It was like reliving one's nightmare.

Aashu quickly got up from his place and looked around. He found a broken bat lying in the corner of the alley. Grabbing the hilt of the bat he rushed back to the entrance of the gutter and started waiting.

Aashu felt that the sound was growing louder and soon something was going to appear out of the entrance.

He waited. And the noise grew louder.

In some moments a swift figure came out of the round entrance and a split second later a bat collided with it. The little but heavy figure was thrown deeper into the dark alley.

"Bang"

The body of the figure crashed into the cement floor of the alley.

Aashu dashed toward the falling figure. Reaching beside it he was ready to deliver another crushing strike but stopped. The body of the creature was unmoving and dead.

In front of him was the figure of an unbelievably big sewer rat.

"How is this possible?"