State of the World

Mark woke up three hours later. The floor is cold, the roughness of the wood made it uncomfortable to lay down. He opened his eyes and found out that he was still outside of his apartment.

No one came to help him.

"Ow" Mark grunted due to the extreme pain he feels. His body is still numb, pain tingling from every part of his body, bruises and cuts are found all over. Mark tried to get up yet the pain is holding him back.

"I can do it! I can stand! Stand!" Mark said to himself. And despite the pain and the wounds on his body, he still managed to stand up. Yet when he tried to walk, he fell to the floor again.

"Go to bed!" Mark crawled his way to his apartment while saying this to himself. As he continues to crawl into his apartment, he also keeps saying to himself to go to bed. And with his efforts, he finally got what he wished for, to lay on a bed.

"What time is it?" Mark weakly said as he slowly turn his head to the clock.

"9:30 huh... I'm sure as hell I'm late" Mark sighed, this was his first ever absent to his job. And he didn't even call. He looked at the sky outside his window and saw two giant birds flying.

"Scary..." Mark told himself.

Indeed, it was a scary sight. One of the birds has a broken wing and his body seemed to be injured. The other bird following him seemed to be eating something.

"That bird is having a bad day, too." Mark sighed again. He can't even do anything because his body is enduring so much pain. He only refused to pay something he didn't even need lest buy, yet these people had the right to demand him money?

Mark relaxed his body after a while. He picked up a book from beside him and started to read it.

"The world today was very different compared to the past. The 20th Century was often called the Electrical Era. It was the dawn of electricity where inventions were made. Telephones & Computers were two of the most sensational gadgets ever created in that era. Yet by 2030, everything changed.

At that time, the world was full of wonders. Flying cars, floating buildings, robots that served humanity. Yet when the Great Hands appeared and tore apart the sky, all these things were destroyed. Millions died from the falling debris, from inhaling Mana, and from others killing them in a frenzy.

Now, the world has progressed in a different way. After the Apocalypse was the discovery of Mana. And that changed the world into a different place entirely. Multiple systems of using Mana was proposed. But the most succesful of it all was absorption. Absorbing mana is dangerous as it is a very wild energy, but a few years later someone proposed turning it into pure energy that we can use.

Perhaps the barbaric way of swallowing mana was indeed dangerous, but if one were to do it by absorbing the mana slowly through the pores, it would be safe. And it was. And now 3000 years later is a new era, one that uses mana as energy!"

After reading, Mark began to feel hungry. it was already 9:45 AM and he still wasn't able to eat. A soft growling noise could be heard from his stomach.

He reached out under his bed. He lay his hands on a box half a meter wide and pulled it out despite the pain he's enduring. He placed it on his lap and opened the lock on the box. He then took out the contents within it bit by bit. It was food, a full stash of canned goods.

Although much time has passed and there are better and far superior technology nowadays, the industry of canned goods is still surviving 'til now. It is still as popular as it was back in the day. It is produced by technology though so it may or maybe not harmful to our bodies. But it is really really good.

Mark opened one can with great difficulty and finally able to open it. He then ate all of the contents within the can and after a few moments did he finish eating it all. He then used the bandages in the box and used it to patch himself up. He slept again after.

A few hours later though, he heard another knocking sound, but unlike before, it was coming from the windows.