Doomsday Awakening

1. The Nightmare

Luca Edgar ran with the group of people to the warehouse and slammed the big door. A gigantic monster chased behind them like a hungry beast.

 

 The one who looked the stronger of them all called the group leader, held down the barn door, and shouted commandingly, “Go hide and find a suitable place to surround the zombies!”

 

 Everyone ran in all directions, following the group leader’s instructions and preparing to carry out the attack together.

 

 Only Luca, who didn’t know what to do, carried his helpless body to a corner of the shed. Crouch like a chicken. He didn’t know what was going on, nor did he have the ability to help deal with those monsters called zombies. His face was pale as if it had no blood and cold sweat was seeping down his back, his hands were trembling and his legs were limp.

 

 “What happened? What happened? What happened?” he muttered frantically in a low voice, his eyes blurred, and his brain working hard to come up with an answer.

 

 The monster from outside hit the door and was unable to hold it in any longer. It slowly shattered and opened with a loud crashing sound. Screams were heard with the last struggle, the last bit of strength, and the hope of winning. Luca looked at the sight in confusion and trembled all over.

 

 The people were torn to pieces, blood spurted everywhere, and screams slowly died down, followed by chewing sounds.

 

 Luca’s eyeballs widened, accidentally looking at the large zombie who was enjoying his food. Just as the zombie’s dark eyes watched him, their gazes met. Luca could see that. Terrifying!

 

 

 ....

 

 

 Luca loudly exclaimed, “Ah!”

 

 He suddenly sat up, breathing unsteadily, causing his chest to rumble and rise and fall rapidly, sweat dripping down his forehead. He glanced around and found a familiar place. This is the room!

 

 Luca wiped the sweat off his forehead, leaned against the head of the bed, and started sorting through his memories. He’s been dreaming about doomsday, many humans who turn into zombies, some endowed with superpowers.

 

 Every dream seems to have a different deadline. At first, he dreamed of a blood-red sun, rising and setting in reverse. Then, slowly, the thick clouds covered the sky, making the difference between day and night unclear.

 

 Gradually, the dream becomes more intense and has a heavier portion. Last night, it was the first time Luca looked directly at the figure of a large zombie that ripped apart human bodies and devoured them with gusto.

 

 He felt nauseous just remembering it.

 

 After stabilizing himself, Luca got up from his bed, folded the blanket, and tidied up the place before entering the bathroom. Clean up and tidy up his appearance to go to work.

 

 Luca Edgar is an ordinary civil servant with a mediocre income. If he didn’t have a side business, he wouldn’t be able to buy a single apartment in downtown Chicago. His face is quite handsome. It’s just that the style of clothing is too monotonous. With a long-sleeved white shirt and black satin pants, sometimes he also wears a jacket that matches his pants. The brown hair is slightly longer and covers half of the eyes, looking like an otaku.

 

 However, Luca didn’t care how others judged him. If anyone likes it, it is good luck. If not, then he simply does not fit in with other people.

 

“Yo, bro!” his coworker, Dash, greeted him familiarly upon seeing him enter the workspace.

 

 Luca just nodded lightly and pulled back his chair, sitting down immediately as if he would run out of strength if he continued standing.

 

 Seeing Luca’s soulless appearance and the dark circles under his eyes that weren’t hidden by his bangs, Dash chuckled, then asked, “What happened to you? Did you stay up late playing games again or watching some irrelevant movie about zombies?”

 

Luca lifted his face slightly, glancing at Dash. He suddenly had the feeling that those dreams weren’t bullshit, but rather a bad feeling. Maybe it will come true.

 

 Taking a deep breath, Luca lowered his head.

 

 The behavior confused Dash. “Hey, what happened to you, buddy?”

 

 “Do you believe in prophecy? Like a dream that constantly haunts your nights, feels so real, and ... terrible?”

 

 Dash frowned, glancing at the other coworkers, who had also gathered to chat before work started. Neither one of them spoke and secretly glanced at each other with a hint of ridicule in their eyes.

 

 “What do you mean?” someone asked with the corners of their lips raised slightly.

 

 Luca looked up again, glancing at the co-worker. The lips opened for a moment before closing again. After hesitating for a few seconds, he spoke.

 

 “I had a dream about doomsday. The sun rises from the west and sets in the east. The color is like blood, then the sky is covered with thick clouds, and there are slight earthquakes every few hours that make people sick. So ....”

 

 “Ha ha ha!!!” A burst of laughter rang out before Luca finished his words. The people there paid no attention to the darkened look in Luca’s eyes.

 

 Dash got excited and said, “Hey, buddy, you told me what’s in the bible. Tell me that you are no longer playing games all night, but reading spiritual books. Oh, man, you are truly converted!”

 

 After those words, another burst of laughter resounded. Luca looked at their faces one by one before dropping his head on the table. Ignoring them all and silently promised himself that if what he said was true, he wouldn’t bother helping these people.

 

 Luca the Prophet. They have pinned the nickname on him since that day. His ridiculous words spread quickly in the company and became a joke that was laughed at by the crowd. As long as it was in a work environment, someone would call out and taunt it like that. The joke slowly made Luca doubt the bad feeling he was having. However, the dream never stops. He would repeat the same dream over and over again or sometimes dream of the hideous face of the monster he saw in the barn.

Dash, Luca’s closest friend, pays attention to his friend’s condition. Every day, Luca looks worse. His body lost weight and his youthful vitality was nowhere to be seen. That situation made Dash take a deep breath.

 

 One day, he deliberately invites Luca to take a lunch break on the rooftop. Dash took out her cigarette and offered it to Luca.

 

 Luca took it for granted and lit a cigarette until a red wick bloomed on the other side of the cigarette. He inhaled and exhaled gray smoke, then listened to Dash speak.

 

 “Don’t take the jokes of people in the office to heart.” Even though he looks indifferent, Dash cares for Luca. “You look thinner and don’t eat much.”

 

 Luca took another drag on his cigarette. Thinking how he could eat well if his brain kept replaying the disgusting scene where a large zombie eats human flesh. As for her losing weight, it was also mostly due to his bad sleeping hours, as well as nightmares from time to time.

 

 After a few moments of silence, Luca glanced briefly at his friend, then said calmly, “What I said about doomsday is true. I have dreams every night and feel that it is a bad premonition sent by God to warn me.”

 

 “Hey!” Dash laughed lightly. “Luca, stop spouting nonsense or I can’t help you if people bully you for it.”

 

 “Yeah, it’s up to you to believe it or not.” Luca didn’t want to care about him anymore.

 

 Dash paused, pressed the wick of his cigarette against the wall, then stood up.

 

 “Do you still want to just sit here and smoke?” he asked while patting his butt and ready to go.

 

 Luca nodded lightly without looking at Dash.

 

 “Then I’ll go first. Don’t be so excessive that you forget to continue working.” Dash took his steps away, opened the rooftop door, and disappeared from Luca’s sight.

 

 As soon as Dash left, Luca let out a long breath. Throwing away the rest of his cigarette and screamed in frustration while covering his eyes with both hands.

 

 “Why is it so hard to convince people? They don’t believe my words at all!”

 

There was the sound of something falling nearby, followed by a woman’s shrill voice.

 

 “Oops!”

 

 Luca withdrew his hand, looking around for the source of the sound. He rose to his feet and took heavy steps to the other side of the wall.

 

 A woman popped her head to peek at Luca with a big smile on her pretty face. She waved to Luca and said confidently, “I believe in you!”