The Day of the Apocalypse 1

Hurried footsteps echoed throughout a long hall as the sound of small chats, keyboard typings, and phone calls buried it under.

A tall figure in a formal black suit held a stack of papers in his arms. He had messy black hair that reached his neck, ashen eyes, and a pretty well-built body for his side hobby.

He walked up to a glass cubicle and entered it.

Inside, there was a young man with lively eyes talking to a female coworker from the neighboring cubicle.

"It was wild, man." The man laughed.

"You should come next time." He suggested the female coworker who was giggly like a little girl.

She saw the man in a suit come in and quickly hid her smile behind a poker face, fixed her stature, and left the cubicle without even saying goodbye to the lively man.

"Tomorrow, 7 pm! Don't forget that!" He yelled after her.

With a face full of smiles, he went back to his computer only for the man to intervene.

"Organize these papers by tomorrow morning," Eve says to the worker as he hands the stack of papers.

The man's head jerked towards him as the stealthy entrance of his manager surprised him, and the sight of the stack of documents diminished the life in his eyes.

"Uhh, Manager Ivarage! Didn't see you there!" He nervously laughed and then gulped.

He fidgeted as he voiced his complaint. "Isn't this a little… too much for me?"

Eve stared dead in his eyes, causing his face to pale.

"This is the minimum work required for your position. If you hadn't been late almost every day then it wouldn't have piled up like this."

Eve continued to stare at the poor man and offered a piece of his mind.

"Personally, I have no experience in that field but women generally prefer men who can keep the house afloat of any debts and poverty. Spending your salaries on alcoholic beverages might get you a one-night stand for sure but not a wife that would take care of you for the rest of your life.

It is better to be single than accidentally getting a child with a person who doesn't love you."

Although he was 26, Eve had no experience in any relationships and he didn't intend to have some. All he did was share some of the wisdom Jonathan had left him.

The man, named Thomas, picked up the stack from his hands and got to work, whilst looking like a zombie.

Accomplishing his task, Eve got out and headed for his office.

In his presence, nobody dared to make unnecessary sounds and focused on their work.

It was not because he was overly strict, far from it. He had been taught to respect others' personal space as long as they do something wrong, don't do something they are supposed to, or invade his first. 

It was because he had no understanding over social norms. For example, a guy in his cubicle suddenly makes a joke so good that everyone in the vicinity breaks out laughing.

Some people would be curious and ask for the joke, and contribute to the laughs of the masses themselves until their manager dispelled them and encouraged them to work.

Eve would naturally get curious over the sudden commotion too so he would ask what was the joke.

"Do you know how many babies it takes to paint a wall?" A person would say to him.

"I don't know. Maybe it depends on the pay per hour. Children would be motivated if there is a prize." He analyzed the sentence.

"..."

"Depends on how hard you throw it. HAHAHAHA"

"..."

"..."

"I do not see how infanticide triggers happiness for you."

"Forget it."

Almost every interaction followed this template.

At a certain point, they stopped goofing around during work hours and started giving their focus to the job.

They didn't completely stop goofing around though. Normally, Eve didn't care as long as every individual did their assigned tasks so they reserved their socializing till then.

Sometimes, it is easier to follow a stubborn child's lead than try to argue with them. This was a similar situation.

Eve walked to the door with his name on it and entered it.

His office was an actual room instead of a cubicle but not it had nothing fancy.

It had a window that allowed the view of skyscrapers that reflected the sunlight, giving it a golden color, a desk in front of the window with a PC and some papers, shelves on the other two sides, and a couch to rest along with a coffee machine.

Four small tree-like plants decorated the four corners, providing extra oxygen in exchange for extra responsibility.

Eve sat on his comfy chair and opened up his laptop.

He sorted through files and sent the necessary mails to their respective people and laid back.

'The lunch break should be near. I should check up on the news in the meantime.'

Keeping up with the latest news was a habit Jonathan made sure to drill into Eve.

He opened up a trusted news site and saw the trending headline.

"HORRID ABOMINATIONS SIGHTED NEAR THE EMPIRE. NEW BIOWEAPON OR ALIENS?"

'...'

'... What a peculiar headline. I should be able to spare a few minutes to check it out.'

He clicked on the article and started reading out loud.

"Humanoid monsters were seen by live witnesses outside the periphery of the Empire. The number of sightings all occurred during the last 3 days and the witnesses managed to capture footage of the beings in question. (The following images have been zoomed in to make the creatures visible) " 

A couple of images along with a video were attached to the text and Eve clicked on them.

"...What the fuck are those things?"

Thanks to the recent technological developments, cameras have obtained a higher quality and it demonstrated its might in these few pictures.

A head like that of a goat, eyes of a fly, body of a beetle, and legs of a horse. It was horrifying for sure but it also looked unreal.

"This thing looks ridiculous to the point where it's almost comical. How would this thing even biologically live? With the size of its body and its legs, wouldn't it collapse?

Looks like it is a promo for a new game. I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case, game developers have to do some insane marketing with the high competition in the field after all."

His curiosity was satisfied, and he got up for a break.

Eve opened up his bag and got his homemade lunch then left the room.

He sped through the hallway as people rushed to get to the cafeteria.

Preparing his own lunch was another habit taught by Jonathan. It saves money, helps him learn how to cook and it lets him decide what to eat depending on his mood.

He walked up to a metal door and opened it up, causing fresh wind to blow on his face.

Eve took a deep breath and appreciated the view of the 53rd floor.

'Find a place comfortable for you and have your lunch in peace, right? 

Truly, the balcony is the most peaceful place there is.'

He leaned on the parapet and saw humans swarming like ants down on the ground. 

Eve took a bite out of his sandwich and observed the pattern the pedestrians made as they walked.

For a moment, everything was peaceful. Eve favored his hand-cooked lunch and the people minded their business.

However, it was not meant to last any longer.

A few helicopters flew over the building Eve was in and the peaceful state was shattered with a bang behind him.

A huge explosion took place in the building, causing him to fall off the building.

Disorientated by the sudden fall, he reached out with his hands frantically and grabbed a hold of the ledge where the parapet used to be.

His back ached and his ears rang but that did not stop him from realizing the severity of the situation.

'An explosion! A terrorist attack? The outlanders made a move?'

With all of his strength, he held his body weight as the building rumbled and shook.

If not for his passion for fighting, he would have spent all of his free time gaming and as such, his body would be much weaker.

With a grunt, he pulled his head up and saw through the broken door.

Something big, something terrifying.

Something unnatural.

His eyes widened and his pulse quickened.

'Isn't that-'