100 Systems Invasion

6. Say, Three! Two! One!

Knock! Knock! Knock!

The sound travelled through the night, creating a crescendo in the otherwise peaceful setting.

But Seth was anxious.

Dong!

[Fifteen minutes before the first wave invasion begin.]

The System flashed on his screen, illuminating his face in shades of blue. The flickering light above him died after his seventh knock on his mother’s new home.

“They are sleeping,” Amy said from where she was leaning against the car’s hood, crossing her arms in displayed impatience.

“Or,” a male voice added after the sandy blonde, “Your mom and her new toy are fucking each other senseless.” It was Wade Moore, Amy’s cousin whom she had a bet going on with. For someone who appeared like a thug coming straight out of a bar, he really spoke like one.

“Thanks, Wade. I don’t need that particular image in my mind.”

“No problem, dude.” The sarcams flew right through his head.

Seth turned away from them, and lifted his hand again. But, before he could knock for the eleventh time, the door opened.

“Seth.”

“Withershpoon.”

Eric rubbed his eyes to brush the sleep away. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m taking your spawn with me tonight.”

“What?”

“Who is it, honey?” Seth heard his mother. Olive slipped right beside Eric, blocking the door. “You’re here? What– I thought you left since hours ago? You really want to babysit Marnie for a few days for us?”

“Not on my will and certainly not for you,” he grumbled, then continued, “But, yes, I’ll do it.”

“What?”

“The quicker you bring her here, the quicker I will be out of your hair.” He tried to peer behind them. Marnie’s bedroom door was closed. Of course, it was almost midnight. She was probably sound asleep.

“What changed your mind?”

“I don’t think you really want to know.”

Seth caught the way a small smile crossed her mother’s lips. She was just happy that he agreed to babysit her child. Nothing more. He’d bet a cat’s life that her mother didn’t actually care about his reason.

“Just get her already. I don’t have much time.”

Eric frowned. “We mean you’re the one who got to stay here with Marnie. Not the other way around.”

“Well, can’t do that.”

“But–“

Seth grew impatient. “It’s a one time thing, you know. I won’t offer again.”

Olive shared a look with her husband. Without another word spoken, they nodded. Eric retreated to pick up their six years old daughter, while she lingered on the door.

He felt conscious of his appearance as his mother scrutiny with critical eyes.

“I hope it’s ketchup on your shirt, and not some blood, Seth.”

Shrugging, he tried to brush it away. Perhaps, his mother would let it slide if he didn’t mind it much.

“And  who are they?” She motioned to the siblings waiting on her drive way.

Amy boredly looking at the sky, still leaning on the hood like a model from car tabloid. On the other hand, Wade was flicking a light on his cigarette in the front passanger seat. His shotgun position had been taken over by the chain smoker.

“No one you should be concerned with.”

“You will bring Marnie around them.” Olive’s voice was laced with disdain.

“But you don’t really have a choice, do you?” Seth fired back. “That’s why you called me today. No one else can babysit her. What, did your child traumatized her usual babysitter that much?”

“No. Her babysitter fell sick since yesterday.”

“Why you don’t cancel your things and not force your son to babysit your spawn instead?”

“If you don’t want to help, don’t bother coming here.” Her mother stepped back, almost closing the door to his face.

Seth quickly held the door open. “I said I’ll do it.”

Victor said Marnie was important. And a few extra exp and cells would benefit him anyway.

Then, Eric came with sleeping Marnie on his arms. He gave the purple suitcase and bright pink Hello Kitty backpack to Seth. He eyed as if it will drastically bring down his nonexistance ‘charm level’ to zero. At least, it was a cat. No matter how heavily rendered it was from the original feline.

Once the dinosaurs-themed pyjama-wearing child was safely laid in the back seat, Olive approached him. “I left instruction and some money in her backpack. She doesn’t have any allergy but please don’t feed her any junk food.”

“I don’t promise anything,” Seth said, reaching for the door handle. But he halted, looking back at his step-father. In one long step, he pulled his fist and launch a heavy punch right to Eric’s face.

“Argh!”

“Seth! Are you out of your mind?!”

Seth merely smirked. “That’s for what you did to me. At least, you owe me that much.”

Then, he settled beside Marnie’s sleeping form, slamming the car’s door shut. He must have earned 10 exp and 10 cells from the System immediately after he completed one of the bonus missions.

“You don’t want to say something to your mother?” Amy voiced from behind the wheel.

“Why?”

“Dude, you said something big is about to happen. What if your mother died?”

Seth shrugged again. “Not my problem.”

Amy looked at Wade, trying to get him to agree. But the chainsmoker was too busy making shapes with his smoke to notice her. She turned back to him. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you, but regret always comes at the end.”

“Yeah, because if it comes at the beginning, it’d be called registration.”

Wade snickered, his ignorance earlier was just an act. “Let’s just go. You said you don’t want to be in the city when whatever it is happened.”

As Amy’s second-hand car revved to live, Seth pulled out his phone and straighaway opened the ‘User Interface’ donut icon.

Dong!

[Count down begin.]

“Wait–“

His eyes flicked to the digital number on the top side of his screen.

[Ten.]

23.59, no more time.

[Nine.]

Seth didn’t know what will happen.

[Eight.]

Wide-eyed, he caught the siblings in front peered at him through the rear view mirror.

[Seven.]

“You looks like you’re seeing ghost,” Wade stated, puffing out smoke from his dark lips.

[Six.]

“It’s happening,” he said in a breath.

[Five.]

Amy hummed. “What’s happening?”

[Four.]

Seth gulped, looking out the window.

[Three.]

The lights on the road side flickered. The moon hang on the sky, illuminating the world in soft haze.

[Two.]

Nothing out of ordinary, but the screen on his phone said otherwise.

[One.]

“Seth?”

[The first wave invasion begin.]

[Welcome to the end of the world.]