Interval 3 - New Old World

-Kingdom of the Night, Year 4190-

What happened?

"Wake up…"

I had a weird dream.

"Wake up…"

A dragon and a giant fell from the sky.

"Wake up…"

I found myself in an abandoned city soon after.

"Wake up…"

I met an angry white-haired girl and killed a monster.

"WAKE UP!"

"OUCH!"

A kick to the ribs woke me up. I got up quickly and grabbed my sore side. Who kicked me? Looking around, I realized I was in a shabby cabin and a white-haired girl stared at me annoyed.

It wasn't a dream, was it? My vision darkened again, and I think I will faint.

"Don't even think about it!" Novi yelled, slapping my face.

"I will throw you for the SHADES to steal your body if you will pass out every second!"

"Thanks, I needed that." I muttered, rubbing my sore cheek.

"You're welcome." Novi replied, sitting down on her chair. I picked up the chair I sat previously, put it back in place, and sat down on it.

I did not say anything, I just stared at the table, thinking about the information Novi gave me, a mysterious disease, monsters called SHADES, and year 4190.

This is too much, 2187 years have passed! My family... My friends... They are all dead! I... I... I do not know what to do... I have nowhere to go...

"Hey! Are you okay?" Novi asked worriedly.

I laughed at the absurdity of the situation and felt something running down my face. Was I crying? Yes, I was.

"HAHAHA! No, I am not okay, too much time has passed, my friends and family are dead, and I have nowhere to go. What will happen now? Where should I go? Should I try to go back to what remained of where my family used to live? I don't know what to do!" I said, holding my head in despair.

Novi put a comforting hand on my shoulder and looked into my eyes.

"Listen, I know how you feel; I also lost my friends, family, and home, some to the SHADES and others to the disease. This may sound cliché, but you cannot despair. The world is no longer relatively peaceful as it once was. The animals grew to absurd sizes; hordes of SHADES lurk in the city. Moreover, some people do not age. You have to survive, if you give up you die."

"Thanks, can you teach me? To survive in this world, I mean." I asked, raising my head and wiping my tears.

"Yes, I can. You are the first person I have seen in a long time. I do not want you to die so soon. Let's rest for today, tomorrow I will teach you how to survive in this world."

"Thank you very much." I replied, bowing my head.

Novi nodded and walked toward her bed, lying down on it.

"Where am I going to sleep?" I asked confused, searching for another bed, sofa, or something like that.

"There." Novi said, pointing to a dusty corner of the room.

Well, she let me live here, I think asking for a bed would be too much. I went to the corner, put my backpack on the floor to serve as a pillow, and lay my head on it.

"Hey." Novi called me.

"Yes?" I asked, looking at her.

"I'll throw you out if you try to do something to me while I'm sleeping. You'll have to deal with the SHADES alone." Novi smiled sadistically.

"Ok, I understand, you do not have to say it twice!" I replied, sweating nervously.

"All right, goodnight!" Novi said innocently as if nothing happened and fell asleep like a rock.

"Goodnight!" I replied but received snores as answers. Holly shit, she is scary!

That night, I dreamed of a red sky, and the giant and her children devouring the world.

-XXXXXX-

Novi and I walked through the streets; I had my backpack and machete while she had a leather bag slung over her shoulder, a holstered belt with her revolver, and full ammunition holders.

We stopped in front of a building covered in vegetation after some time walking.

"Can you cut the plants?" Novi asked me.

"Leave it to me."

Using my machete, I cut the leaves and vines that covered the front door of the building. The interior was in better condition than the outside.

"People lived in this city years ago and settled inside these big buildings, but the last of these people died a few weeks before you arrived. According to my parents, people known as the ancients build these buildings."

"The skyscrapers, you mean?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What?" Novi asked confused.

"The skyscrapers, the big buildings scattered all over the city."

"You mean they're called skyscrapers? It is good to know." Novi smiled.

What is wrong with the people who live here? They do not know cell phones, computers, and now skyscrapers. We are in the future but the technology has regressed!

"Let's start your survival class. First lesson, there is no one to grow the food for you now that everyone is dead, so you will have to learn to do it yourself. Luckily, the person who owned this shop had a large stock of seeds."

Looking around, I realized that this place sold agricultural products like tools, shovels, plows, watering cans, boots, gloves, fertilizer, and seeds, mostly seeds.

"Let's get some materials, there's an empty lot at the back of my house, we can use it to make a vegetable garden. I thought of making one before the seeds here spoiled, we'll be able to do it faster with your help and have a reliable food source."

Novi then gathered the tools to make the vegetable garden, but it was a lot for us to carry in our backpacks and hands.

"Give me a minute." I said to Novi.

"Where are you going?" Novi asked.

"I'll be right back." I replied, leaving the store.

-XXXXXX-

"What is this?" Novi asked me, pointing to what I brought.

"It is a shopping cart." I replied, pushing the cart inside the store.

"And what is a shopping cart?"

"It's something people used to carry their groceries in a supermarket."

"And what is a supermarket?"

Seriously, she does not know what a supermarket is.

"A supermarket is a place that sells diverse products like food, drinks, sweets, hygiene and cleaning products, placed on shelves and organized into different sections."

"I think I saw one of these, but I don't understand why the ancients kept their food in colorful containers." Novi nodded in confirmation.

If she does not know what a supermarket is, then I doubt she knows about companies, advertisements, and product packaging.

We filled the shopping cart with buckets, watering cans, shovels, plows, hoes, boots, and gloves, but we kept the seeds in my backpack and pockets so as not to mix them up.

Therefore, we returned to Novi's house, but we heard a strange noise along the way, it sounded like a pained moan. Then a SHADE came from a street further ahead, turning a corner to our left.

I reached for my machete, but Novi stopped me, grabbing my arm and pulling me into a bookstore. We hid behind a bookshelf and let the SHADE walk down the street.

We saw it through the glass of the bookstore; soon the SHADE disappeared in one of the alleys.

"Second lesson, fight only when necessary, a lone SHADE is not a problem, just avoid it. But if you have to fight, kill the SHADE quickly, and run away, the noise will attract more SHADES, they will come like a horde, and the only firearm I have is this one." Novi said, patting her revolver and I nodded in response.

Then, we left the bookstore and I returned to pushing the shopping cart.

"Hey!" Novi tapped my shoulder.

"Yes?" I replied, looking at her.

"What is that?" Novi said curiously, pointing to a car.

"It is a car." I answered, still bothered by her lack of 21st-century knowledge.

"And what is it for?"

"It is to drive around."

Novi thought for a while as we walked and asked another question.

"And where is the place in the car to tie the horses?"

I tripped and nearly fell thanks to that question.

"Cars don't use horses, but engines."

Novi thought again as we walked, her face in profound concentration.

"You mean steam engines?"

What?!? What happened to the technology of this world?!? Horses and steam engines, what is this, the 18th century?!?

"No, they ran on gasoline, which is a petroleum product."

"You seem to know a lot about how the ancients lived." Novi said, half-closing her eyes and staring at me intensely.

"I am one, from the looks of it." I shrugged, hiding my discomfort with that revelation.

"I still can't believe this story about you being from 2003!" Novi exclaimed, crossing her arms.

"You can believe what you want, any more questions?"

"Yeah, a lot!" Novi smiled from ear to ear.

Moreover, that is what happened the whole way; Novi asked me questions about the ancients and the world.

Imagine her surprise when I said that the SHADES did not exist and the world was not divided into permanent days and nights in the past. She was also surprised when I explained what phones, cell phones, computers, and airplanes were.

One thing that bothered me is how used she seemed to the SHADES. According to her, the SHADES have always existed and nobody knows where they came from, but people around the world fought them to survive.

What happened during all the years between the giant's arrival and the present time?

-XXXXXX-

Novi prepared pieces of beef on her wood stove, with the smoke leaving the house through a small metal chimney.

"Novi?" I called.

"Yes?" She replied, focusing on her task.

"What can you tell me about people who don't age?"

Novi suddenly stopped, tapping her fingers on the counter next to the stove. She then put the beef on two plates and put them on the table, so we sat down and ate.

Then Novi spoke in a serious voice.

"The people who don't age are as the name says, they don't age. No one suspected anything at first, these people worked as teachers, salespersons, guards, and mayors of cities or village leaders. However, attentive ones noticed that these people stayed the same as the years passed, their hair and nails did not grow, they never ate or drank, and not a single wrinkle formed on their skin. They were permanently young."

"And does anyone know why?"

Novi shook her head.

"Black marks would appear on the bodies of the sick when the disease spread, their strength would disappear and soon the person would die of weakness. The people who did not age never got sick, none of them, they all disappeared the next day when we confronted them about it. The teachers resigned, the guards abandoned their posts, the salesmen closed their stores, and those in leadership positions tried to calm the people down, but it didn't work."

"And what happened afterward?"

Novi laughed sadly.

"HAHAHA! In a total revolt, people took to the streets destroying everything in their path and demanding answers to what happened, but there was no one when they invaded the places where people who did not age lived. They were gone, documents were burned, papers were torn, and personal items were no longer there. The people who did not age packed their things and disappeared."

"And now you've been living alone in this town?"

"Yes, until you arrive, the supposed time traveler."

"Is it that hard to believe I'm not from this era?"

"Yes, I prefer to believe that you lived in some remote part of the town, and we happened to meet by coincidence."

I sighed, it was no use arguing, so we ate our food and went to sleep. People who did not age? Another mystery in this distant future.

-XXXXXX-

Done! I thought as I placed the hoe beside me.

A few days passed, and Novi and I were in the lot behind her house, preparing the ground for planting, and then we planted the seeds and irrigated it. Now we must wait and take care of the vegetable garden.

"Here!" Novi offered me a canteen full of water, so I accepted it and drank. Then we sat on a small wooden bench at the back of the house.

"Novi?" I called her, returning to the canteen.

"Yes?" Novi replied.

"Thank you!" I exclaimed, smiling at her.

"Thank you for what?" Novi asked surprised, raising an eyebrow.

"For teaching me how to live in this world, for teaching me how to survive and letting me stay here with you."

"You're welcome! I will not lie, it felt lonely here, I wondered how long it would take until a SHADE finished me off. Now, it's not that bad, after all, I have someone to talk to." Novi said, smiling too.

"Thanks."

"But don't think I will go easy on you, I have to teach you how to survive, and you will not manage to do it with those skinny arms of yours." Novi said, flexing her arm and smiling arrogantly.

I looked at Novi's arms and then at mine. Damn it! She has more muscles than I do.

"We will start your combat training tomorrow."

Why do I get the feeling that a lot of pain awaits me?

-XXXXXX-

"That's it?!? Keep running!" Novi yelled as we ran through town.

Sweat covered my body, my legs ached and my heart raced. That was Novi's training, push-ups, sit-ups, runs through the city, and much more. It does not look that bad, does it? Wrong! I spend most days training non-stop.

According to Novi, her parents trained her for years. I have never trained in my life, so I will have to take the intensive course.

"Did I say you could run slower?!? Keep running or you'll become SHADE's food!" Novi yelled again.

Suddenly, a horde of SHADES came out of an alley and chased us.

"FUCK! SHIT! RUN!" Novi cursed, running past me and becoming a small dot in the distance.

"WAIT! DON'T LEAVE ME HERE!" I yelled, running faster with the SHADES close behind.

What has my life become? I just want to go home!

-XXXXXX-

"Today we will begin your combat training, now punch me!" Novi said, positioning herself in front of me and assuming a fighting stance.

"Are you sure?" I asked hesitantly.

"Of course I am!" Novi replied, raising both hands.

"If you insist." I shrugged, assuming a fighting stance too.

I punched Novi, or at least I tried. I do not know what happened, something grabbed my wrist as I approached, my feet left the ground, and the world turned upside down.

Novi approached me and stared down at me with disdain, the moon shining behind her, lighting up her beautiful face.

"Pathetic!" Novi exclaimed.

Focus! Leave those thoughts behind! I got up and tried again, and the process repeated itself, Novi threw me to the ground repeatedly. I wonder if I will get better in the future.

-XXXXXX-

How long have I been here? I thought as I ate my stew.

Long enough to reap what I sowed. I said to myself.

The vegetable garden that Novi and I made finally paid off after a few months. We got beets, broccoli, lettuce, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, radishes, cabbages, spinach. If we are careful, we will not have to worry about food for a while.

Firewood for the stove was easy to get as the town became a forest, and we could get water from a river near Novi's house.

Novi sat in front of me, also eating her potato and carrot stew.

"Novi, what can you tell me about the SHADES?"

Novi stopped eating thought for a while.

"Nobody knows where SHADES came from; they've kind of always existed since before my grandparent's birth. They looked like creatures made of black smoke, but they took on a more solid form as time went on. Finally, the purpose of all SHADES is to steal people's bodies."

"Does anyone know why SHADES want other people's bodies?"

"No! Moreover, why would I know? SHADES are monsters; you do not try to understand them. What you have to do is put a bullet in their heads!"

"I understand."

She hates the SHADES, and I do not blame her. Novi has lost friends and family to the monsters. Nevertheless, I cannot shake the thought that there is something more. The SHADES want to steal bodies. However, why? There must be a reason.

"Tell me, what was it like fighting the SHADES?"

"It wasn't too hard, SHADES were clumsy and dumb, so we used what we had in hand, knives, shovels, axes, but when SHADES became solid, they got faster and smarter, so we forged swords, armor, and shields. Then, the SHADES used armor and strategies, attacking through the alleys, and sewers, or forming a horde. Not to mention, of course, the monstrous SHADES, several SHADES merged and formed a monster."

I swallowed hard upon thinking about the monstrous SHADES; the normal ones are scary enough, but I am afraid to find one of the bigger ones.

"We realized there were too many SHADES for us to fight at close range, it would be certain death, so we used that." Novi said, pointing at the revolver on top of her bed.

"We made revolvers, rifles, and carbines, we made barricades to funnel the SHADES, we put them where we wanted and made them eat lead. After all, there is no sunlight here for the SHADES to burn."

"Do SHADES burn in sunlight?"

"Yes, the smaller ones burn immediately, the larger ones can live in the sunlight for a while, but the monstrous ones don't burn in the sunlight. You know, my grandfather once traveled on a steamer to the other side of the world. In addition, guess what? There was sunlight there! People still used swords and shields on the other side of the world!"

It makes sense, necessity breeds innovation. People on the other side of the world had sunlight, so they probably should not have to worry about a horde of SHADES knocking at their doors, which is why they still used medieval weapons.

There was no need for anything new, and the people in the Realm of the Night had to change their tactics to survive.

"Thanks for answering my questions. I am amazed at how different the world has become with each passing day."

"You're welcome! Know what? Since you are here, tomorrow we will get you a gun, not just one, but several. I know a place full of guns and ammo, and an extra pair of hands would be welcome."

"Okay, thanks for helping me!" I smiled.

"You're welcome!" Novi smiled back.

Therefore, we ate our stew. Life in the distant future is not that bad.

-XXXXXX-

"Is this the place?" I asked Novi.

"Yes." Novi replied.

Novi and I were on the fifth floor of an office building, overlooking a warehouse across the street.

"Then why don't we go in there and get the guns?"

"I think it's a good time to tell you that this warehouse is a SHADES's nest." Novi said hesitantly, looking away ashamed.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?!?" I asked, pointing at the warehouse.

"I thought you'd refuse if you knew what was in there."

I did not reply, I just breathed deeply and crossed my arms, staring at Novi while tapping my feet on the floor.

"Listen, I'm running out of ammo, and I'd rather not have to fight SHADES using my bare hands. That warehouse is full of guns and ammo, I've never risked going in there before because it wasn't worth it, but with you here, we can take it all and run away." Novi said pointing at the various bags and backpacks we brought.

Damn it! I am not going to lie, I am terrified of the SHADES, but guns would be useful here since some SHADES appear like a horde of zombies.

"What do you tell me?" Novi said, offering a handshake.

"I want you to teach me how to use a gun when we get out of here," I replied, accepting the handshake.

"Leave it to me, it's a deal." Novi smiled.

I could not help but smile back.

-XXXXXX-

We were in front of the warehouse. It was the typical industrial warehouse with fences around it, but the gate was open, so we simply walked in, stopping in front of a normal door next to a roll-up gate.

The door was locked, so I put a little more strength on the handle as Novi pushed the door. Then, the extremely rusty lock gave away and we stepped into the warehouse.

What I saw inside the warehouse almost made me scream, there were SHADES everywhere, sleeping on the floor and the catwalks above us!

Novi covered my mouth and placed the index finger in front of her lips, and then she pointed to a door on the other side of the warehouse.

I understood what she meant, so Novi uncovered my mouth and we tiptoed to the other side of the warehouse, walking around the SHADES sleeping on the floor.

I put my left foot between the legs of a SHADE while Novi stepped beside the head of another SHADE. I would step forward, but the SHADE just ahead rolled over in its sleep, blocking my path.

Therefore, I stepped into the space between the right arm and torso of another SHADE, while Novi tripped and almost fell on top of a SHADE on her right side, but she regained her balance in time.

We continued the excruciating process until we reached the door on the other side of the warehouse. Novi turned the handle slowly and pushed the door, opening it with a long creak.

NHEC!

We looked back scared, seeing one of the SHADES getting up. Novi pulled me behind one of the boxes in the warehouse and we looked at SHADE from the corner of the box.

The SHADE got up and looked around, seeing nothing strange, the SHADE yawned and went back to sleep.

Seeing this, Novi and I got up and ran into the room.

-XXXXXX-

I am in the Western movie heaven! I thought as I looked around the room full of guns and ammo.

I expected to find modern weapons like the M4, AK-47, and M1911, but no, this place was a Wild West gun collector's dream.

Revolvers, rifles, and carbines were neatly placed on racks on the walls and divided into groups, revolvers next to revolvers, and rifles next to rifles. Boxes and boxes of ammo were on the other side of the room, enough to blast a city block, come back here for more ammo, and blast another one.

"Amazing isn't it?" Novi said, smiling beside me.

"Yes, it is eye candy." I replied amazed.

Novi walked towards the guns, turned to me, opened her arms, and said.

"Welcome to the armory, this is where we kept our guns when we weren't fighting the SHADES. We had sentries that saw the SHADES coming and warned the people, so we prepared barricades while capable men and women came here, and took up arms to defend their people."

"Impressive, this city certainly has a history of struggles."

"Yes, I miss the times of relative peace." Novi replied, smiling sadly.

We approached the guns, opened our backpacks, and filled them. I opened my backpack and put a Winchester Model 1894, and a Colt Lightning Carbine inside it.

I filled the backpack with ammo, when I say filled; I mean I filled every inch of the backpack with ammunition, my pants pockets, and my coat too. I also stashed the smaller weapons and ammo in the bag to my left

Looking to the side, I saw Novi also stuffing her backpack with rifles and carbines like a Burnside Carbine, a Henry Rifle, and ammo. In her bag, Novi kept a Colt 1878, and ammunition, of course.

My eyes widened with a gun I found, a Colt Single Action Army with .45 ammo beside it. Looking around, I found a holstered belt for the revolver, so I put the belt on and then put the revolver in the holster.

Now I feel like a cowboy from the Wild West movies. However, I still need to take this seriously, guns are not toys, let us take all this to Novi's home, and there I learn how to shoot.

Nevertheless, there was still an empty bag. What should I keep in it, more ammo?

"Here, keep this in your bag." Novi handed me something.

I took it without paying attention, but I saw that I held a red cylindrical object with a fuse on top when I looked at it.

"DYNAMITE!" I screamed.

"SSSHHH!" Novi replied with her finger in front of her lips.

"Yeah, it is dynamite, and we will need it if we have to deal with a horde or the big SHADES so fill the bag up."

Novi walked towards a box full of dynamite and filled her bag and I did the same. Soon, we had our bags, backpacks, and pockets full of guns, ammunition, and explosives.

"Are you ready to go?" Novi asked me.

"Yes." I replied.

We opened the armory door and stepped outside, but I stepped on something soft on the way. Looking down, I saw that I stepped on the leg of a child-sized SHADE. Soon the SHADE woke up and cried in pain.

"WWWHHHAAA!"

The cries echoed throughout the warehouse, waking up the larger SHADES.

"What the fuck!" Novi yelled.

"I'm sorry!" I replied.

Novi kicked away the SHADE I stepped on, took out some dynamite from her bag, and shot the fuse with her revolver, lighting it up. Then she threw the dynamite into the armory.

"RUN!" Novi yelled.

She did not have to say it twice. We ran through the warehouse with SHADES getting up and trying to slash us with their claws. I ducked, dodging a blow aimed at my head, Novi jumped over a SHADE that tried to grab her legs.

Finally, we reached the door we entered.

"RRROOOAAARRR!"

We heard a roar behind us; one of the larger SHADES wearing armor threw an ax towards us. We quickly went through the door and closed it; the ax blade came out the other side of the door right after.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING THERE?!? KEEP RUNNING!" Novi yelled, already running away from the warehouse.

She is right! What am I doing standing here? I need to run! The strength returned to my legs and I ran away too, getting to Novi's side.

Then, when we were some distance away…

BOOM!

The warehouse exploded while the coming shockwave threw us to the ground. My ears rang, and I saw Novi with her hand stretched out to me, I took her hand and stood up.

Then, Novi stared at me in silence.

"Listen…" I tried to explain myself.

SLAP!

However, a slap to the face greeted me.

"I'll leave you to die next time you do something stupid like that! You got it?!?" Novi yelled.

"Yes ma'am!" I replied, massaging my sore cheek.

"Excellent! Now…"

BOOM!

A second explosion interrupted Novi; we both stared at each other in silence before we laughed.

"HAHAHAHA!" We both laughed as the warehouse caught fire, so together we ran back to Novi's house.

-XXXXXX-

A SHADE came out of the warehouse's rubble, looking around and seeing that its house and companions had become ashes.

Amid the flames, the SHADE found another of its companions, a smaller one that survived the explosion. Approaching it, the larger SHADE placed the smaller SHADE's hand on its chest; soon the larger SHADE absorbed the smaller one.

The larger SHADE increased in size, and then walked through the city, reaching a staircase that led into a subway.

The larger SHADE entered another SHADES's nest. There, one of the smaller SHADES approached the larger one; the larger SHADE then grabbed the smaller one by the head and absorbed it.

The other smaller SHADES could only watch in fear as the larger SHADE approached them.

END OF CHAPTER