Chapter 6

HASTE 

This! This can't be possible! What's wrong? Is the timeline speeding up? Because of me and my actions? I thought that was just some sci-fi nonsense.

Eli looked at me, I could tell from his gaze that he had guessed the same thing. I sighed and looked at Jason, my gaze as serious as possible.

“What's going on? Who are you and how do you know the world is about to end?” Jason asked. I could tell from his voice that there was a seed of belief within him which was a good sign.

“I can't tell you how I know, you'll just have to take my word for it.” I began. I stood up and began to walk around, arranging my thoughts.

“It was supposed to begin a month from now, exactly thirty days. The humidity of earth will suddenly increase, the temperature skyrocketing. The space research centers confirmed that the ozone layer had mutated, filtering in UV rays that have evolved and causing serious damage to earth. This was the first sign.”

“But we found the changes first!” Jason said absentmindedly. I could tell that he still had doubts but he was interested in hearing my story.

“Just because you found something first doesn't mean that thing is the origin. The UV rays are what is causing everything else to go haywire and it wasn't until it was too late anyone found out. The damage has already begun, all what your company found is just the effect.”

“This…. If this is true, our follow up research has been pointing us in the wrong direction all this while! I have to tell them!”

“You can't, it's too late.” I said and Eli and Jason looked at me with furrowed brows,

“What do you mean? There is still time.”

“It's an illusion, in truth, earth has been condemned since the UV rays began filtering in. The changes in climate and geography are the first effects, the next, is the death and reanimation of humans. This is what truly signified the beginning of the end.”

Eli and Jason stared at me with wide eyes. Eli knew nothing of this, hence the reaction.

“By reanimation of the dead, do you mean…”

“Yes, zombies. But we called them shamblers, because whenever they moved, they left everything in their wake in shambles.”

“This,...this is a joke right? This can't be serious. How do you even know this?” Jason asked, but although his words said one thing, from the droplets in his forehead and the slight increase in breathing pace, I could tell he wasn't taking my words for granted.

“It gets worse.”

“Is that even possible?” Eli asked and I looked at him with a sad smile.

“Unfortunately it is. In the following months, earth deteriorated exponentially until it became a total death planet. From natural resources to nature itself, they all mutated to become things that are the very bane of living existence. It was like that was their sole aim.”

“There was one good thing though, or at least it should have been a good thing if not for the fact that it was given to humans.”

“The anomalies?” Eli asked, I knew he had pieced a few things together himself from the little he knew and what I've said now. I smiled at him,

“Yes. Anomalies. The mutated virus that caused the death of almost eighty percent of humanity became a blessing to those that survived. The general masses among them gained cell resilience, making them better than humans before the apocalypse. And a few among them transcended, evolving into what we called anomalies.”

“Anomalies?” Jason asked,

“Yes. Humans that were as fast as high speed trains, or as strong as ten men out together. Some were even better, wielding the elements like they were in a fantasy world. And some were even greater than that, these ones were called special anomalies and their powers were on a different level.”

“Wow, if this is true, then we gave a fighting chance, all hope is not lost after all.” Jason's change in emotions and expressions made it seem like he was watching a soap opera, one moment he was optimistic and the next he was down. And now, when he thought this would end on a good note, I douse his hopes.

“No, these abilities only made us last a bit longer. Because after battling with nature for resources, humanity began to fight each other for what was left. They fought until no one was left.”

The room became silent and I waited for Jason to process his thoughts. This was a lot for anyone and I was surprised he listened this long.

“Jason, the world is about to end, if you come with me, I can guarantee your survival.” I urged, reaching out towards Jason and for a moment, I could see his hesitation. I could tell that he was seriously considering it.

Suddenly, the phone rang and Jason picked it up. He spoke into the phone for a bit before hanging up. He paused for a bit before sighing,

“Mr…”

“Johanne, just Johanne.” I said. “This is my younger brother, Elias.” I gestured towards Eli.

“Mr Johanne, I'm sure you have good intentions, but I can't just leave everything behind based on… a stranger coming to my office to tell me about the future. I'm a man of science.”

“But…” Eli tried to speak but Jason cut him short,

“Sorry, that was my boss just now. I have somewhere else to be, so if you don't mind, I'll see you to the door.”

I gestured for Eli not to say anything. Instead, I reached into my pocket and through there, into my dimensional storage. I pulled out a communication device, one that was currently an antique but will become popular later in the apocalypse when electricity and communications get cut off.

“Take this,” I gave the device to Jason, “you will be asked to do a deep dive into the earth. When you are in trouble, speak your coordinates into this device. That will be your only chance to live.”

“What do you mean?” Jason asked as he took the device but I ignored him. I walked out of the office with Eli. The moment I closed the door, I grabbed Eli and traveled out of there.

“Things are moving faster than I thought,” I said to Eli as he wretched out his guts. “We need to hasten up, there's one more person we need to acquire.”

“Who?” Eli asked,

“This one is quite popular. Her name is Laramie Delway, I called her Lara in the future but currently, she is the only daughter of the governor.”