2025-03-07 00:34:51Dan immediately grabbed Lauren's wrist and pulled her along with him as they tried to evade the beast, but it was fast - too fast.
In a moment of time, this creature was right behind them, launching one of its blade-like limbs through the air. A sharp gasp met witth Dan's ears, cutting his heart in two, as he lost his grip on her. He turned around to find Lauren, the love of his life caught up with what looked like a long knife protruding from out of her belly. There, the woman he loved stood, caught between life and death. Time paused. Both their lips parted in shock, their eyes locked on to each other's. With his hand stretched out to Lauren, Dan yelled, “ Nooo ! “ Dan watched as the alien pulled out it's weapon from Lauren's gut, leaving her to crumble to the ground. His eyes slowly rose from her body to the monster, which was still fuming and snarling at him. The thing launched itself against Dan again, and knocked him off his feet, sending him rolling several feet from his initial position. Dan quickly cast his gaze in Lauren's direction and found her lying still, her life slowly fading away. He brought her here and now he had failed to protect her. Guilt pierced his heart and his bones rattled in pain as he slowly tried to make it back to his feet, grunting. As Dan rose, he starred a hole through this creature, a rage like he had never known before began to well up within him. Wrath and fury coursed through his veins, stirring up a strange power within him. When it came to the people he loved, Dan was as protective as a wolf guarding it's pack. Dan's breathing got faster and heavier. He looked like a bomb about to explode, his fists and jaw clenched, and his bloodshot eyes locked on to the alien creature. As he fumed, his body began to feel different. An overwhelming heat surged through him, like molten fire coursing through his veins, growing hotter with every breath. The heat swirled through his body, rising to his chest, then his arms. His entire frame radiated with power he didn’t understand. The bloodthirsty alien charged straight at him again, it's blade like limbs slicing through the air. Instead of running for his life, Dan stood still, trembling under the influence of the great power welling up inside him, as a faint glow began to emanate from his skin. The creature closed in on Dan, it's weapon raised to strike, but before it could make contact, Dan burst into flames with a, ‘ boom !’ and the surge of heat violently forced the creature back several feet away. Wrapped up in flames, Dan marveled at himself. He was on fire but his clothes weren't burning up, nor was his skin. He smirked faintly, realizing what had happened to him. However, the smirk disappeared almost immediately when he remembered what he saw in the future. Could this be it ? Could this be the beginning of the end ? He wondered. He turned his attention back to the alien while it gnarled and screeched at him and made a beeline for it with rage and tenacity in every step. As far as he was concerned, that thing wasn't going to live to see another day. Before Dan's for could make any more moves, he stretched his hands towards it and let himself lose. A wave of fire shot out from his hands, scorching and blackening it's skin as it writhed loudly in pain. The alien swiftly dived out of Dan's line of attack, beyond the flames’ reach and leapt into the trees, its charred body disappearing into the darkness. Dan collapsed to his knees, his flames flickering and fading. His chest heaved as he tried to catch his breath. The ground around him was scorched, and the air smelled of smoke and ash. He crawled toward Lauren, his hands trembling as the fire finally extinguished. Her face was pale and her breaths shallow. She had lost a lot of blood. “Lauren,” he whispered, his voice breaking and his eyes teary. He cradled her head in his lap as he took out his phone and dialed a number. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Lauren's eyelids fluttered weakly, as she looked up at him with a faint smile and muttered, “Dan... you...” “Don’t talk,” he said, his voice trembling. “I’m going to get help. You’re going to be okay. Just hang on.” A voice spoke from his phone, “ 911, what's your emergency ?” – – – A black car hastily swerved into the parking lot of the Fremont hospital and came to a screeching halt. The two front doors were snappily opened and out came Doctor Sanders and his wife. The distress in their faces showed how panic stricken they were. They hurried into the hospital building as their heart's raced within them - hearts soon to be broken. They had just received some terrible news about their daughter so nothing else mattered at the time except making sure she was alright. After a while of questioning every doctor they could lay their hands on, they finally found the ward where their daughter, Lauren was being attended to. Much to their fright, it was an ICU. They both wouldn't stay calm until someone explained to them what in the world happened to their daughter. No one could really ascertain Lauren's current state or what the degree of her injury was but the moment the Sanders were told who exactly it was that brought her in, they went completely irate. They turned around and there, Dan stood still looking at them, his eyes full of fear and terror. Beside him was Felix, who was wearing a white sweater and a concerned look in his eyes. “ You bastard !” Doctor Sanders yelled, his gruffly voice ripping through the air. “ What did you do to my daughter?! “ “ I…I can explain…there was a..” Dan stuttered. “ Oh shut up, you fool ! You've brought nothing but embarrassment to this family ever since Lauren knew you, and now this ?” Mrs Sanders fired. “ I'll never understand what my daughter sees in you “ Dan opened his mouth to speak but the words simply wouldn't come out “ Mrs Sanders, I can assure you none of this was his fault,” Felix tried to intercede. “ This is none of your business so stay out of it,” doctor Sanders sneered. “ And you. You better hope for your sake she comes out of this in one piece, or I'll make your life a living hell, I promise you!” he thundered. One of the female nurses witnessing the scene quickly walked over to Dan said to him calmly, “ Mr. Foster, I suggest you leave so we can get things under control.” Dan was still in shock of what he had seen and what his life had been like over the past few days and now this ? He took a few steps backward, preparing to leave when a doctor approached them. “ Are you the parents of the lady…Lauren Sanders?” He asked peering into his paper to be sure he got it right. “ Yes doctor, how is she, how is my daughter ?” Mrs Sanders asked eagerly, her eyes and everybody's fix on the doctor with earnest expectation. “ Well,” the doctor said, heaving a sigh, “ we've been able to stabilize her for the meantime but…we don't know how long that will last,” he explained, paused, then continued , “ the blade did a lot of damage, and from the looks of the situation, she might not make it.” Time seemed to stop, and Dan's world felt like it was crashing down - a feeling he was becoming aquatinted with. If looks could kill, the hateful looks the Sanders shot at Dan would have sent him to his early grave before any alien could. Felix tugged him gently, signalling for them to leave so he slowly withdrew himself from the scene.
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ARMAGEDDON Chapter 6
Dan's apartment.Felix paced back and forth in Dan’s small apartment, the place felt eerily quiet, save for the faint hum of the refrigerator and the occasional creak of the floorboards beneath his steps.“Dan,” Felix said, breaking the silence. “You have to talk to me. You're saying you just set something on fire with your hands. Your hands, dude! How is that not the first thing we’re freaking out about?”Dan sat slouched on the couch, his elbows resting on his knees, his fingers laced together tightly. He wasn’t looking at Felix; his eyes were glued to the floor. Inside, his mind was a whirlwind of fear, guilt, and confusion.“I don’t know, Felix,” Dan finally muttered.“ All that matters now is that Lauren is dying…and I couldn't save her,” he said looking up at him with a grim expression.Felix blinked, caught off guard. The frustration in his face melted into something softer, almost apologetic. He sat down on the armrest of a nearby chair, his face lined with worry.“ Come on man
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The rhythmic tapping of rain against the kitchen window was oddly soothing as Ben Carter rinsed the last plate from his dinner. Life had been strange since the train explosion—a disaster he still couldn’t fully wrap his head around. How he survived such a ghastly accident still didn't make sense to him. A miracle, one would say, but that ' miracle' had come with consequences - more weird things he could not understand. His hearing had become unnaturally sharp. Sometimes, if he focused too hard, he’d hear strange vibrations in the air, almost like a pulse only he could feel.Ben set the plate on the drying rack and leaned against the counter, wiping his damp hands on a dish towel. The rain outside intensified, thunder rumbling faintly in the distance. He reached for his coffee mug when something caught his attention—a faint noise from upstairs.It wasn’t the normal creaks of an aging house settling. No, this sound was deliberate, almost rhythmic. Like footsteps.He froze, the mug ha
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Dan wiped the sweat from his forehead as he stepped back from his makeshift targets. His breathing was heavy, his shirt damp from hours of exertion. He had just finished his third part-time job for the day—unloading shipments at a dingy warehouse—and had come straight to this abandoned lot. The sun had long since gone down , leaving the place covered in dim orange from a nearby streetlamp.He looked down at his trembling hands. Ever since the accident, he had not been the same - who would after witnessing such a chaotic train of events in a short space of time. A subtly warm sensation lingered just under his skin, invisible, but constant, like an engine running at low power.Dan sighed and squared his shoulders. He had to focus. He couldn’t let his powers stay raw and untamed, not after what happened with Lauren.A few feet away, he had set up trash cans and broken wooden pallets he’d found scattered around the lot. They weren’t great targets, but they’d do. Dan clenched his fists, le
ARMAGEDDON Chapter 1
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ARMAGEDDON Chapter 2
“ Wake up wake up wake up, ow,” Dan said, pinching and slapping himself. He figured this had to be a dream from one of the many zombie movies he had been watching lately.All Dan wanted right now was to just wake up from whatever nightmare this was but nothing seemed to be working.“ Hey ! Hello ?! Anybody?! “ He yelled, his voice echoing into a distance without a response, “ well that's a bummer,” he said, his tone falling.While Dan stood, hands akimbo in the middle of the street wondering what next to do, the sound of something like a growl reached his ears. “ Easy there,” he said , touching his stomach and realizing he didn't have breakfast before leaving the house.He heard the sound again, this time deeper and louder. His heart skipped a beat when it became obvious that those sounds weren't coming from the hungry worms in his stomach.He slowly turned around to see who his new company was - or what.To his utter shock, standing behind him was the most hideous creature he had ev
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“ I don't believe it,” Dan muttered, as realization dawned on him. Now the dots began to connect.“ That's old news by the way,” said the other guy, who was apparently Dan's future self. “This is 2026. February 13th to be precise. Life doesn't get any better,” he added without an ounce of emotion,““ You…you really are me. And this…this is the future. I'm in the future,” Dan said, awestruck, his voice barely above a whisper as he put his hands on his head as if trying to keep it from exploding into bits.“ No, you are me, or…whatever. You might want to sit down, there's more. I might just know what the hell's going on here,” said future Dan, his voice still at its base and his face stolid.For the next few minutes, future Dan could only try to bring his past self up to date with all that had happened in Seal city, but the guy could barely keep up. He had had too much going on for one day. “ In a matter of months, this city and everyone in it will be destroyed. Including those you ca
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Dan had been raptured from his timeline just before the train accident, transported to the future and now returned to the present a few minutes after the party was over. Some way to cheat death. If there was a hand behind all of this, he didn't know whether to be thankful or sad. Regardless, he thought it was good to be back to the present, where everyone was alive and the world was in one piece. Speaking of everyone, it suddenly occurred to him that for an accident like this, everyone would most likely be dead. His heart melted in sorrow as the faces of the other passengers he had seen or met in the train began to flash through his mind. All those innocent lives… , he thought. Those many men, women and children, all gone within the blink of an eye. While he pondered on the reality of life's cruelty, he knew all this, as bad as it was was nothing compared to the future he had just come from. It was the scariest thing he had ever seen.Just then, coughs, sighs and groanings were he
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Chapter 9
Dan wiped the sweat from his forehead as he stepped back from his makeshift targets. His breathing was heavy, his shirt damp from hours of exertion. He had just finished his third part-time job for the day—unloading shipments at a dingy warehouse—and had come straight to this abandoned lot. The sun had long since gone down , leaving the place covered in dim orange from a nearby streetlamp.He looked down at his trembling hands. Ever since the accident, he had not been the same - who would after witnessing such a chaotic train of events in a short space of time. A subtly warm sensation lingered just under his skin, invisible, but constant, like an engine running at low power.Dan sighed and squared his shoulders. He had to focus. He couldn’t let his powers stay raw and untamed, not after what happened with Lauren.A few feet away, he had set up trash cans and broken wooden pallets he’d found scattered around the lot. They weren’t great targets, but they’d do. Dan clenched his fists, le
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Dan's apartment.Felix paced back and forth in Dan’s small apartment, the place felt eerily quiet, save for the faint hum of the refrigerator and the occasional creak of the floorboards beneath his steps.“Dan,” Felix said, breaking the silence. “You have to talk to me. You're saying you just set something on fire with your hands. Your hands, dude! How is that not the first thing we’re freaking out about?”Dan sat slouched on the couch, his elbows resting on his knees, his fingers laced together tightly. He wasn’t looking at Felix; his eyes were glued to the floor. Inside, his mind was a whirlwind of fear, guilt, and confusion.“I don’t know, Felix,” Dan finally muttered.“ All that matters now is that Lauren is dying…and I couldn't save her,” he said looking up at him with a grim expression.Felix blinked, caught off guard. The frustration in his face melted into something softer, almost apologetic. He sat down on the armrest of a nearby chair, his face lined with worry.“ Come on man
Chapter 5
Dan immediately grabbed Lauren's wrist and pulled her along with him as they tried to evade the beast, but it was fast - too fast. In a moment of time, this creature was right behind them, launching one of its blade-like limbs through the air. A sharp gasp met witth Dan's ears, cutting his heart in two, as he lost his grip on her. He turned around to find Lauren, the love of his life caught up with what looked like a long knife protruding from out of her belly. There, the woman he loved stood, caught between life and death. Time paused. Both their lips parted in shock, their eyes locked on to each other's.With his hand stretched out to Lauren, Dan yelled, “ Nooo ! “Dan watched as the alien pulled out it's weapon from Lauren's gut, leaving her to crumble to the ground. His eyes slowly rose from her body to the monster, which was still fuming and snarling at him.The thing launched itself against Dan again, and knocked him off his feet, sending him rolling several feet from his init
Chapter 4
Dan had been raptured from his timeline just before the train accident, transported to the future and now returned to the present a few minutes after the party was over. Some way to cheat death. If there was a hand behind all of this, he didn't know whether to be thankful or sad. Regardless, he thought it was good to be back to the present, where everyone was alive and the world was in one piece. Speaking of everyone, it suddenly occurred to him that for an accident like this, everyone would most likely be dead. His heart melted in sorrow as the faces of the other passengers he had seen or met in the train began to flash through his mind. All those innocent lives… , he thought. Those many men, women and children, all gone within the blink of an eye. While he pondered on the reality of life's cruelty, he knew all this, as bad as it was was nothing compared to the future he had just come from. It was the scariest thing he had ever seen.Just then, coughs, sighs and groanings were he
Chapter 3
“ I don't believe it,” Dan muttered, as realization dawned on him. Now the dots began to connect.“ That's old news by the way,” said the other guy, who was apparently Dan's future self. “This is 2026. February 13th to be precise. Life doesn't get any better,” he added without an ounce of emotion,““ You…you really are me. And this…this is the future. I'm in the future,” Dan said, awestruck, his voice barely above a whisper as he put his hands on his head as if trying to keep it from exploding into bits.“ No, you are me, or…whatever. You might want to sit down, there's more. I might just know what the hell's going on here,” said future Dan, his voice still at its base and his face stolid.For the next few minutes, future Dan could only try to bring his past self up to date with all that had happened in Seal city, but the guy could barely keep up. He had had too much going on for one day. “ In a matter of months, this city and everyone in it will be destroyed. Including those you ca
Chapter 2
“ Wake up wake up wake up, ow,” Dan said, pinching and slapping himself. He figured this had to be a dream from one of the many zombie movies he had been watching lately.All Dan wanted right now was to just wake up from whatever nightmare this was but nothing seemed to be working.“ Hey ! Hello ?! Anybody?! “ He yelled, his voice echoing into a distance without a response, “ well that's a bummer,” he said, his tone falling.While Dan stood, hands akimbo in the middle of the street wondering what next to do, the sound of something like a growl reached his ears. “ Easy there,” he said , touching his stomach and realizing he didn't have breakfast before leaving the house.He heard the sound again, this time deeper and louder. His heart skipped a beat when it became obvious that those sounds weren't coming from the hungry worms in his stomach.He slowly turned around to see who his new company was - or what.To his utter shock, standing behind him was the most hideous creature he had ev
Chapter 1
Dan was a man caught between frustration and resignation. His reflection stared back at him, hollow-eyed and tight-jawed, as he sat with his head leaning against the glass window, watching the blur of passengers filing into the train as their voices formed a distant hum in his ears. He’d spent the last year juggling nearly five part-time jobs, scraping together every bit of dignity and ambition he could muster to prove himself. All of it—every sleepless night, every penny saved—had been for her.But none of it had mattered.The memory of Lauren's parents was still fresh, like a bruise that wouldn’t fade. Just days ago, he’d stood awkwardly in their pristine living room, wearing the one decent shirt he owned, hoping this time would be different.But the polite smiles had quickly turned into thinly veiled contempt, and before he could even defend himself, her father’s words had cut deeper than any blade,"You’ll never be good enough for our daughter, Dan. Stay away from her."And then,
