prologue

November, the year 2110

7:01a.m.

✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼

It was yet another typical Monday morning.

You had to go through the routine you've long have gotten used to; waking up late, running around panicked like a headless chicken, getting ready in less than five minutes then running downstairs and out of your house-- skipping breakfast like the stress riddled ass you are.

You sigh in annoyance as you zip up your bag in a haste, throwing a glance out of your window at the toxic thick gray clouds of pollution scattered upon the skies before scurrying out of your room, not noticing the very important gadgets you forgot on your desk-- your phone and tablet.

"...I agree! He was at his best last night... Honestly, is there any striker better than him?"

"I doubt so!"

You let out a short chuckle as you noticed that your father was once again going on about some sports match as your best friend who knew little to nothing about sports politely kept the chat going with him.

Your best friend was basically a part of your family... or at least you considered him as so. Literally every school day, he'd stop by at your house since his was only a few blocks away, and have a pleasant little morning chat with your parents and would keep Sunny, your golden retriever pet, company if he looked under the weather that morning.

Your best friend was adopted, but still parentless.

He hasn't seen his biological parents once, and his adoptive parents died before he got old enough to remember them. So now it's just him and his older brother who is also his only guardian.

The two of them lived together mostly, but these days his brother found a job that started early before dawn, meaning Mark was left alone to wake up and eat his breakfast all alone caged inside the four walls of his loveless home.

Mark wasn't a big fan of that kind of atmosphere, and you knew that, so you offered to let him drop by to have breakfast with you. But he just ended up having breakfast with your parents and Sunny instead because you kept waking up so damn late and Mark was too shy to go wake you up himself.

He once followed Sunny all the way up to your room and the second he entered your room he found a stray lace bra thrown on the floor and you can never possibly imagine the color of red Mark became after that little insignificant incident. He never dared go up to your room ever since.

"Good morning mom and dad!" you say with a puff after leaping down the last few steps, beaming as your golden retriever bounced around the bottom of the staircase waiting for you with his tail wagging, "and you, Sunny!! Good morning!" you coo.

Mark chuckles as he looks at you play around with your dog in what seemed like endearment before quickly shaking it off.

He pushed himself off the kitchen stool, "Took you long enough, lazy bum. It's six more minutes and the school gates close! We'll be late for school again." He says, checking his Neo-tech hand watch as your mom and dad chuckle at your little usual bicker.

You roll your eyes, "Stop blaming me! You know I'm a heavy sleeper... You should honestly be used to this by now, Mark."

You bid your mom, dad, and Sunny goodbye then head out of your house with Mark beside you.

The number of houses decreased and more skyscrapers towered above the further you two walked, going out of the neighborhood and into the city.

The world is way more advanced than it was a century ago.

Hover-cars operated by solar cells were finally a common thing, and in-spite of people trying to shift to an eco-friendly way of life, products, and gadgets too after realizing they were practically slowly killing themselves and future generations by just existing and consuming matter. But, regardless of humanity's very late efficient efforts to help improve the environment again, mother nature was still too scarred from all the pollution caused by prior generations.

You and Mark quickly stop by the bus stop, shuffling to take out your bus cards that had a line of neon-colored strip in a special shade for every individual in the city.

You puffed out a tired sigh as Mark glanced at you from the corner of his eye, "Ugh, we have too much schoolwork to do this week... do they not realise that we're humans and not on the same level of mental advancement those robots teaching us mathematical problems and talking non-stop about human history in a frustratingly monotonous tone for two whole hours?!"

Mark let out a soft chuckle, and you went on. "Plus, I've been kinda skipping school a little too much lately... I don't understand most of the recent lessons we got in all of our classes... finals are coming up too quick. Ah! I'm doomed! I'm not gonna pass, Mark!" You dramatically rant while hopping up the bus as Mark let you in before him.

The both of you swiped your cards casually and the neon red line all around the corners of the bus flashed a soft green, the doors shutting automatically with a soft cold whiff of sanitized air.

Mark's fingers nonchalantly ran through your hair, ruffling it before he rested it on your shoulder, "Don't sweat it, you walnut. I'm here, remember? We can stay a little after school and I'll teach you everything you missed."

A soft smile makes its way to your lips as you look at him in gratefulness.

"Thanks, Mark..."

Mark smiled back a bit, but his ears perk up to a sudden sound of squealing a little ways afar.

"Omg, look there... they must be a couple. Ugh, so cute! I want to get a boyfriend so bad~" a girl from some school not the same as yours said, her friend whining in agreement.

The tips of his ears burn a crimson red, and he lets out a tired sigh as he let his arm fall off your shoulder before flopping down on the chair next to you, gaze fidgety.

People often have mistaken you for a couple. It was nothing new.

Mark should've been used to this too like he should've been with you waking up late every day.

But he couldn't.

Because --unlike you plainly waking up late-- in this particular situation he felt some kind of way towards you, but you didn't feel the same.

He was aware of that.

And it hurt.

Just the thought of you not imagining yourself with no one but him in the future like he does, facing the rest of your lives with a stupid grin like the two of you always have done... it tore him apart from the inside. He fought back chocked sobs alone in his dark room when it got seemingly too difficult and lonely, sometimes, too.

But he had to keep it all in, for the sake of this dear friendship. He, at the end of the day, still had only you as his friend. He couldn't afford to lose his only friend just because of some silly feelings that could possibly slowly fade away with time...

But he strongly doubted that.

Especially with you.

He had faith. And Mark was a man with a strong passion towards whatever enters his heart. And you, since long, have entered a safe haven that is Mark's heart without even knowing it.

He believes that people and their feelings change just like the changing seasons and he always with each passing season spent with you, had hoped your feelings towards him will somehow change and become mutual.

It was a dream of his.

The accustomed feeling of the bus slowly but surely lifting off the ground and starting to float its way through clean streets woke Mark up from his sudden daze, and your faint grumbling made its way to his ears again.

"Ah, shit... I forgot my tablet. And phone?! Oh, wonderful. Just fantastic." Mark chuckled as your buried your face in your hands with your bag on your lap.

"Good. Now you'll finally pay attention to literature class instead of watching that cheesy web drama of yours." He said, purposely reminding you of it just for his amusement.

You gasp, remembering the web drama. "Shit! It's Monday today! A new episode will be out today!! Ugh, oh god!" You groaned and Mark let out a hearty laugh, leaning his head against yours, enjoying your frustration.

Soon, the two of you hopped off the bus in front of your school's gates, Mark talking about random things as you sulked your way to class with him.

The school you and Mark attended, compared to other very advanced schools, was fairly commonly designed according to your generation. But if this common public school you went to was existing a century ago, it'd be considered as the epitome of future, a small sneak peak into a hundred years ahead.

This ordinary school was very advanced in both architecture and teaching system, but then again compared to other high-class schools it was nothing really. There was a huge campus with gardens and greenery spread afar, and the institute itself was pretty huge. There was a transparent hemisphere casing the entire campus, but it wasn't as cut-edge as other hemispheres used in more advanced schools around the world. The one used in your school only managed to block out any possible toxic gases just existing around the outside atmosphere. Students buzzed about, but soon the usual robotic voice reverberated throughout all of the campus by speakers, signaling the beginning of the school day.

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It was 8th period, Mark and you had the same class in your schedule--literature-- and sat beside each other as usual by the window. The classroom you sat in looked more like one of a grand academy than a normal public school's.

You heaved a sigh as you watched the seconds tick by on the digital holograph of the clock above the tech board.

It was hopeless.

The more you just sat there listening to the robot teacher programmed to blab on about stuff you already knew, the more you longed for your phone.

"Hmm, if you think about it... Today is the oldest you've ever been but also the youngest you'll ever be again..." Mark mumbled to himself out of the blue, arms crossed, eyes glazed with a spaced-out look.

You glare at him from the corner of your eye, "And your bitchass be tellin' me to pay attention in class."

His eyes flickered to you, "...huh?"

"Don't huh me. I'm not talking to you until you give me your damn phone so I can watch that episode." You said, crossing your arms also and looking away with a small pout.

Mark sighed, shrugging then looking back at the teacher.

You looked out of the windows stretched through the entire wall. The sky, howbeit deterioratingly polluted, has always been a view you've been fond of. It's just the thought of raising your head up from all the things life busies you with for an amount of time to ponder upon its limitless expanse that you enjoyed, otherwise the clouds looked gloomy and sad in a certain perspective.

Your eyebrows furrow in confusion as you spot an unknown object in the sky...

"M-Mark...?"

Mark looks at you when you nervously tug at his shirt. He looked at you, thinking that your soft little heart possibly forgave him for some reason and you wanted to talk to him again, but cocked his head in confusion when he noticed you were looking at the sky instead, eyes wide in confusion.

An unpleasant tingling sensation slowly wrapped around the pit of your stomach, a bad churning feeling of sorts, as if a monstrous fire got scorched to life beneath your stomach.

Mark, too, got shocked. His mouth slowly fell agape, focusing on the object. It was falling down from the sky, at a deadly speed...

The robot teacher stopped talking when she noticed all her student's attention was averted outside the windows now.

Your hands felt cold and you held onto Mark's shirt tighter, eyes still following the falling object. It surely can't be a meteor...

Gasps emit from all around the classroom as the dropping object suddenly blinked to life, creating fire after it as it hideously ripped through the weak hemisphere protecting your school.

Your blood ran cold.

It was a noxious bomb.

It made contact with the grounds of the garden and made a booming explosion, toxic smoke spreading faster than a wildfire through the garden and covering the windows with smoke.

Screams emit from the classrooms, echoing throughout the hallways as the ground began to shake violently in the aftermath, chandeliers and objects on tables fell off and crashed harshly against the floor as a thundering earthquake followed the explosion.

Red lights flashed all over the school, loud ringing sounds triggering your fright as the students evacuated with the help of the robot teachers.

"[Name]... [Name]!! Let's go!" Mark's shouts of panic as he held you tightly by your shoulders pulled you out of your haze, and you look into his terrified eyes.

He pulled you out of the classroom, squeezing through crowds of pushy students. Some were crying, some were screaming, but they all struggled to walk down the packed halls. You noticed some students fainting but quickly brushed it off once you saw medic robots coming to the rescue.

Your feet felt wobbly, your senses blurring out in an overload of one emotion that is fright as you started feeling as if you were running in slow motion. Adrenaline pumped through your veins, your heart beating hard against your chest as you struggled in heaving your breaths.

Your eyes widened when a student pushed you harshly, and you lost sight of Mark.

Suddenly everything went back to normal speed, which was fast.

"Mark!! Mark?!" you called out to him, fingers cold and shaking.

"[Name]?!" He looked around in panic once he couldn't feel you beside him anymore.

Mark pushed through students running the opposite way, gasping for air, his wide eyes glinting once he caught sight of you, and you caught sight of him.

"[Name]!!" He reached out and held you close in his arms before interlocking your hands securely.

"Don't ever let go of my hand!" He instructed before the two of you continued your way towards the staircase since the elevators got unplugged.

The stairs were overcrowded, but the two of you managed to go down a flight before stopping in the middle between the second and first flights when you suddenly heard the sound of terrified screaming increasing in a frightening way.

The screams came from the floor at the bottom of the staircase, and your eyes couldn't believe what they were witnessing.

One of the students, a guy, was limping his way from another hallway that was connected to the outside garden, leaning against the wall for support. His skin was sickly pale, and his eyes dull. He was twitching his neck very strangely, letting horrifying growls that rumbled from deep within his chest and to his throat.

"Help... me.. hel...p.... me... no.."

Everyone was making space, staring at the male student as he trembled harshly, his face in his hands, bangs covering his eyes.

When he snapped his neck up.

Screams once again emit as the guy student lunged and monsterously started biting another student on his neck.

Blood splurted and went down the student's neck as his voice trembled, realising the inhumane pain he was feeling. He pushed at the guy and stumbled back but fell on his shoelace.

Sweat covered his forehead as his wide eyes went around frantically, patting around his damp neck. His entire body rocked back and forth as he stared at his hands now thickly smeared with dark blood. He looked up again at the guy that bit him, and felt dizzy while trying to let the fact that the eyes of student in front of him went completely colorless; turing into a scary shade of very pale blue.

You stared in horror, mouth agape, and your heart skipped a beat when the guy lunged at the student again but gasped when you felt a hand securely hold onto your wrist, pulling you into a different direction suddenly.

You whip around and felt your heart calm down when you noticed it was Mark.

He quickly went down a couple of steps then jumped from the side of the stairs, away from the commotion, and didnt bother motioning for you to do the same knowing you'd follow him anyways.

You jumped with him, "Mark, wait!" You called out.

He looked back at you, cheeks glistening with sweat as he ran his fingers agressively through his hair, looking dishevled.

"[Name], there's no time for waiting we need to go--" He said in a trembling voice but you cut him off.

"I know but we have to wear anti-pollution masks you dumbass!! A toxic bomb just fucking exploded out there y'know. Damn..." You grumble, quickly crouching down behind the stairs where they stored emergency anti-pollution masks.

Mark rubbed his forehead at that, groaning at a coming migraine.

"Ugh, I hate those though. It gets too humid..." He complained but still put it on when you gave it to him anyways.

"No point in trying to survive out there without one of these." You mutter, hurriedly crouch-walking behind Mark after he opened the emergency exit door.

The outside was even worse.

The atmosphere was looking gloomier than ever; thick clouds of now toxic gas lurked above among the skies.

Clouds of lethal gas.

Clouds of a noxious bomb.

Clouds of a gas that if you breathed in would turn you into the horrifying infected monsters like the one you just saw inside in the hallway.

If what's up there wasn't fucked enough, what's on the ground was even worse.

It was just in that second have you realised life won't ever be the same again.