Survival I – Hide

Damian immediately realized what the one-eyed creature meant by that.

[Happy killing each other!!!]

The one-eyed creature vanished.

There was a moment of silence among everyone, then suddenly.

Bang!

The second police officer shot someone.

Bang!

Nearly immediately, Mark, the officer that spoke up before, shot the second police officer in the head.

"Ahhhh!!!"

The place became a disaster. People ran while some tried to kill each other by choking, beating, or some tool they had.

Damian wouldn't hesitate to accept inevitable death but he definitely wouldn't walk himself to his death.

He dodged people that wanted to try to kill him as he made his way back into the apartment building.

He went back to get his phone since that is the only proof or evidence that he caused the apocalypse.

He bolted up the stairs after avoiding the free-for-all that was taking place on the first floor.

The door to come out of the stairs on the fourth floor was jammed.

Damian pushed and pushed but the door didn't budge.

He moved back a little then ran and kicked the doorknob, causing it to break and open.

Damian still struggled to push the door because it felt like something was stopping it from opening.

He managed to open it, but what his eyes met wished he never did.

A man's body was what was waging the door and several bodies and body parts scattered the hallway. Blood filled the ground and some parts of the wall.

Damian kept the door open in case he had to run back out at full speed.

He entered a defensive stance and walked forward slowly and quietly.

There was no sound or noise anywhere.

There were six doors on both sides of the hallway, which means there are six rooms on each side.

Damian's room was on the left side and was the third room from the door of the stairs.

He crossed several bodies before he got to his apartment.

He quietly entered and soon after got his phone, which was still in perfect condition.

He left his apartment to make his way down to the first floor back, but then he heard a sound coming from the sixth room on the opposite side.

He didn't want to go check but that room was the room of the married couple that always invited him over to celebrate holidays. They also had a son.

The sound that was being made was like that of a ferocious beast tearing the flesh of its victim with its teeth.

He calmly moved then soon after got to the door, which was partly opened.

From the partly opened, a small boy with brown hair was folding his legs to his chest and was shaking out of fear.

...What happened here traumatized him.

Damian relaxed and opened the door completely then entered. Only the TV's light lit up the room.

Damian walked to the boy then bent down.

"What happened here, Arthur?"

The boy just raised his hand and pointed forward.

"Raaaar!!"

A female-looking creature was munching on something. Damian was

startled so he mistakenly hit a beer bottle that was lying on the floor.

The sound of the beer bottle alerted the creature. It turned around slowly as its bones sounded like they were breaking and rearranging.

When it faced Damian it stood on all fours.

...Wait. Is that Mrs. Winfield?

Damian carried the beer bottle then stood up.

"I don't want to hurt you so come back to your senses."

The creature just screamed then ran to the window then broke through.

Damian was relieved that at least he didn't need to fight it.

[Oh! Sorry, not sorry. I forgot to tell you guys that if you have less than ten rings and a demon bites you you'll become possessed then slowly become an actual mindless demon. Kieck! kieck! kieck!]

Damian heard the ball creature talk but it wasn't there. He looked at Arthur and it seemed he also heard it.

The TV was showing something related to the apocalypse so Damian reached out for the remote and increased the volume.

"There seem to be large circles almost everywhere in the sky and they are what could be called 'portals' because winged creatures with horns are coming out of them.

"And along with the message everyone heard this is not an attack from an enemy country, this can be said to be the end of the world.

"Government authorities are keeping shut about this issue and the protectors of the country all seem unreachable at the moment. This is Dina Lisa reporting the latest news on channel ten and we will be bringing you live updates on this. Till then, stay tuned."

Damian kept his usual apathetic look and calm composure.

...So we're left on our own.

Damian got a knife from the kitchen of the apartment before leaving with Arthur.

Arthur walked slowly and had a blank look on his face with his eyes staring blankly into the air.

Damian followed the stairs once again, to get to the first floor.

By the time he got there, half of the people that were there before remained. The black officer was shooting people mercilessly.

Damian quickly realized he wouldn't be able to get out and he would have to use his car, which would draw the attention of people.

He decided to wait until the first phase was over, hoping he would get time to escape.

He and Arthur went back to their floor and stayed in Damian's apartment.

Damian scavenged the other apartments for food and snacks that would help them last for days.

Arthur was just looking out the window, seeing the horror and chaos that was taking place.

Damian was quite good with sharp objects, most especially knives since he was a surgeon.

He packed all the necessary things they would need including medical kits. He adapted and was fully prepared.

It could even be said Damian was enjoying what was happening, but he was not that type of monster.

Damian and Arthur didn't talk much but as the day got dark and after

Damian just made noodles for dinner and they sat in the dining room.

"Damian. Why is this happening? I'm dreaming right?" Arthur didn't touch his food. He still had that blank look as he stared into the air in front of him.

Damian wanted to feel sympathy for the kid. He wanted to make the kid feel that he wasn't feeling the pain alone. But Damian knew very well that he didn't feel a shred of sympathy or guilt.

"We'll get through this Arthur." Damian tried to console Arthur even though he didn't mean it but how can someone that can't feel the pain others feel console? It isn't possible.

They went to bed after they finished their dinner. Although Arthur refused to eat, Damian didn't force him.

* * *

Damian woke up in the middle of the night to take a leak.

After he was done, he was about to get back to sleep but he heard his apartment door open. He grabbed Arthur and covered his mouth then rolled under the bed.

He heard footsteps but they came to an abrupt stop. The door of his bedroom slowly opened and he could see the leg of the person that entered his room.

The person wore corporate shoes and blue trousers. Damian pushed his head out of the bed slightly to get a better view of the person.

It was the officer, Mark Jordan. He had two small black horns protruding from his head and black featherless wings with full black eyes.

Mark scanned the room then proceeded to check the bathroom.

Damian noticed that Mark had a number on the back of his hand and the number read '210'.

...Is that the number of rings he has gotten? And what is up with his form?

Damian didn't want an answer then because his situation didn't prove favorable.

Arthur still had that blank look. He wasn't frightened at all and was probably holding onto the hope that all that was happening was only a dream.

Mark left the apartment and searched the other apartments before leaving the floor.

"Sigh, we're lucky." Damian laid on his bed to resume his sleep. He locked his apartment door this time.

Not long after he closed his eyes to sleep he felt a heavy breath on his face.

...What the?

Damian opened his eyes only to meet the face of a black horned man with black eyes.

Without thinking twice, he used his head to hit Mark's head, although it hurt him more since Mark had horns.

Damian reached for the knife he kept at the bedside but Mark regained himself and held Damian's neck.

...How can he be so strong?

That was the only thing Damian thought as he tried his best to reach for the knife and as his consciousness slowly faded away.

'Accept it.'

Damian heard a voice in his head but didn't ponder on it because he finally got the knife.

Damian stabbed the rib of the officer but it didn't move or shake but instead, it intensified the power of strangling.

Damian was barely able to stay conscious. He held Mark's hands that were strangling him.

Then suddenly, Mark's eyes returned to normal, the wings withered and the horns retracted.

"What am I doing?"

Damian didn't want to miss this chance, so he punched Mark who released his grip and fell on the ground with the knife still stabbed in his side.

"Aaargh!" Mark groaned as he removed the knife.

Damian just looked at him, he did nothing because he was trying to decide whether to kill him or not.

Mark removed his shirt and performed a quick first-aid on the injury.

"Who are you? And why did you stab me when I just wanted to avenge that woman he shot?"

Damian was perplexed. What nonsense was Mark spouting?

Mark looked around the room then said, "Where am I?"