Empty Streets

A shockwave, like an EMP jammer, had spread through part of the city, causing a blackout. Unfortunately, Jidenna's house was in the area where it hit.

The once lively street was silent, with blinds drawn and doors shut tightly.

In other areas, broken glass lay on the floor, and car alarms wailed into the night.

In the midst of all this, Jidenna woke up.

He propped himself up, paying attention to the shards of glass on the floor.

"What was that?" He held his head, hobbling to the window and taking a peek outside. Nothing was there, except for the fact that the streets were empty, void of any human life.

A few police cars passed by, their sirens blaring.

He scanned his room again. Apart from his bed, everything else was overturned.

His working table that was propped up to the side now lay on the floor, papers scattered.

'what caused this?' his body gave a slight shiver remembering how sudden it was.

One moment he was smiling, stretching with a bulging stomach and the next, he was slammed against the wall.

'Luckily, the laptop was on the bed, so it was safe.'

He hobbled to the bathroom amidst the crackling speaker announcing,

 "Everyone, please keep calm and stay indoors. Doctors will be moving house to house giving medical assistance."

The announcement kept playing on repeat like a broken radio almost eerily.

In the mirror, his shirt was almost shredded like rag. He lifted the corner of the shirt with his pinkie, his brows furrowing in confusion.

Blood soaked the side of his shirt turning it red 

He lifted up his shirt, he twisted, turning around but there was nothing—no cuts, no bleeding.

To make sure, he ran his hand over his chest, applying light pressure on the places with blood stains, but still, there was nothing.

He looked at his bloody hand in contemplation. 

There was blood on his shirt, body, even his fingers that had came in contact with his body, but there was no injury on his body.

Jidenna shifted uncomfortably where he stood.

"Come to think of it, this wasn't the first time this strange thing has happened," his mind reminded him.

"It happened the first day when I came, hearing that annoying ringing sound. I fainted, but when I woke up, lying curled up on the chilling bathroom floor with blood stains on the tiles and on my nose..."

"But I was fine in the end— in fact, I felt even better after vomiting that disgusting thing," he cringed at the memory of that greenish blob of slime that was also on his body.

Thinking back on it now, it felt like a stupid decision not to get his body checked after such a thing happened.

But at the same time, he couldn't blame himself. 

He had just arrived and was ignorant of many things.

He moved on, remembering that it had also happened a second time. It was that event that sent him on a road of revenge.

"When I was poisoned, I could clearly feel myself dying. My heart was slowing down." His hand covered his chest, feeling the strong and powerful beats. It was a complete opposite of the sluggish ones when he was dying.

"But I still woke up—alive."

"When I was about to die, I can faintly remember a warmth sweeping through my body."

And then today.

Jidenna could no longer ignore it. He wanted to confirm what it was.

"Was it an artifact?"

He was taken aback by another foreign word but shied away from exploring it.

If he did, he would receive a massive migraine.

"The only way to confirm is to injure myself." He shook his head in disapproval.

He hated pain. Jidenna preferred to avoid anything that could cause him pain.

He sighed, feeling annoyed at himself for lacking the courage to get to the bottom of the matter, and at the same time, feeling afraid of what he'd have to do to confirm it.

"Forget it," he shook his head again, sighing, feeling helpless about his situation.

He headed into the bathroom to clean off. Afterwards, he arranged the house; sweeping the glass, propping up fallen objects.

Once he had placed everything, he came to his shattered window, feeling helpless about it.

Hot winds whipped him from the window, so he could only get a blanket to cover it, at least providing some blockage from the winds.

The room felt a little cooler as the sun's rays were blocked.

He walked to the bed where he kept his phone and picked it up.

He tried turning it on, but it lay dead in his palms. He tried the same with his laptop, and unsurprisingly, it was also spoiled.

"Those were the only things I can test for now. As for the rest..." Jidenna gave a shrug, nothing he could do about it.

He might have to wait until the power turned on.

"The shockwave has damaged my phone," he sighed. "Before, I said I couldn't afford another one, but now, I guess I'll have to…"

He gave another sigh, allowing the thoughts of his impending bills to drown him in a whirlpool of a never-ending cycle of lamentation.

Jidenna was only drawn away when he heard a knock.

*Knock knock.*

Abandoning everything, he walked to the door. From behind it, he said, "Who is that?"

"Good day," a deep baritone voice responded from the otherside. "I'm with the government emergency rescue team, here to check on injured residents," At the stranger's words the back of Jidenna's neck tingled.

Ignoring it, Jidenna pulled the door open.

A lean but athletic tall man stood there. He wore a white doctor's coat that reached his knees. Black trousers extended out from where the coat had ended. In his grasp was a white box with a red cross on the top.

The corners of the man's lips stretched into an amicable yet professional smile.

Seeing Jidenna, who at first glance didn't look battered and bloody, but neat and clean, astonishment flashed through his eyes before the doctor composed himself.

The closer one was to the impact, the more severe the injuries. While this building wasn't the closest one, it was still very close.

"The shockwave was still strong enough to shatter the window, and yet this human still looks...fine." Shaking off the things that clearly did not make sense, the doctor introduced himself.

"Hello, my name is Olokun, and I'm here to help."

Olokun, the Yoruba god of the sea, flashed a harmless smile at Jidenna.

Jidenna rubbed the back of his neck, the tingling had grown stronger, as if warning him