Prologue

<< The Year 2071, 7 Years After The Breakout >>

The soft sound of the alarm broke the silence in the air, and that was all it took to wake Torro up.

It was still dark out, the sound of tree leaves rustled as they brushed against one another. Autumn was ending and the winter was creeping in; he could feel it in the air, cold and soon to be unforgiving. It had been exactly two weeks since he moved to this town and rented out the old apartment.

As he got out of bed, he glanced at the worned out room with paint peeling of its walls, a single bed lined against the small window that hung old shutters, a desk and chair that looked like it could cave in at the slightest pressure.

Bone-wearied, he sighed, rubbing the sleep off of his face and walked to the toilet to shower. Dressed in a black hoody with navy jeans and a pair of old construction boots he'd found tossed out near the dumpster, he gathered his things from the room to prepare for the day. He peeked through the shutters and when he confirmed all was clear, he finally headed out. The wooden floorboard made it evident that the apartment was old, creaking with every step that he'd take down the narrow hall towards the kitchen. Grabbing a wheat bar he traded for prior, from the mini-fridge, he stuffed it into his bag and checked the time on his phone.

It was routine. Get up, get dressed and get everything he needed to be done before the day ended. Time wasn't something he could afford to lose.

He had about five minutes before he had to move towards his next destination; grabbing his backpack and keys, he locked his door and slipped a small paper at the hinge, a habit he picked up after the last incident. As he jogged down the stairs of the old apartment complex towards the pick-up point, he made sure his hood was up before he left the premise.

By the time the armored bus arrived, the sun had started to peak. As he tapped an old wrist tag he'd found a while back against the scanner, he glanced at the backseat near the window and a ghost of a smile graced his lips. It was his favourite spot, hidden in plain sight; a perfect vantage point. He was always the first on the empty bus, comforted by the fact that the driver never tried to strike a conversation with him.

The ride to the state library gave him somewhat a peace-of-mind. Being a two-hour ride; he finally had time to himself, time which didn't come easy. Not until he moved into this neighbourhood. He didn't enjoy talking to people much, they tend to ask too many questions but people-watching was one of his hobbies. It fascinated him that even a seemingly inconsequential change in the smallest aspect of one's daily life could create a domino effect and turn that decision into a catastrophic situation or be someone's silver lining.

It didn't make sense to others, but having this small luxury to observe gave Torro a sense of peace in his world of chaos, a sense of normalcy.

He didn't have that freedom though, his choices had to always be right, immaculate, otherwise... Shaking his head, he refocused on his journey and wandered his gaze out the window.

As time passed, the bus filled with people who like him had their routine jobs, and others were just passing by. It was difficult times, everyone looked haggard but they had to make do, ever since the first Vortex appeared, there was not a single living human being that had peace of mind.

"Next stop, Zone-4 State Library." A robotic voice announced from the speakers.

Torro scanned his wrist tag over the stop sign and a buzzer rang throughout the bus, having the driver slowed down its speed coming to a stop. He got up from his seat and headed over towards the exit but as he walked down the aisle, he bumped into a taller and more muscular man than his 5'6 lean stature.

"Excuse me, sorry." He murmured, with his head hanging low trying to maneuver past the passenger.

He didn't wait for a reply as he quickly exited the bus and jogged up the stairs towards the main entrance.

The library was extremely old, brick-built with red stones, instead of lithium steel, and was two stories high. Its architecture wasn't grandiose like the current buildings that were high and invested with the latest technology but it held its own charm, as any place that is humbled by wisdom and knowledge. The aged glass window pane that reached the ceiling of the main lobby allowed the mellow sun to give life to a seemingly cavernous room, allowing visitors to have a glimpse of its interior; giving a sense of comfort and warmth to those who frequent it. Its wooden door was like a protectant, and despite being old, you can see the latest defense border being rimmed around the entrance. Similar to the ones at the Association, except much more modest. With the purpose to protect those who are within its walls and keep danger out. Intricate designs sprawled and lined the arches of the door, making it obvious that the techsmen had taken their time on their work to give it strong protection for the entire building.

Torro lined up behind the queue that was scanning their wrist tag to enter, like every other state-building, you'd have to have the authorization to enter it, it was the only way to ensure safety and prevent...happenings. As he reached the entrance he scanned a paper tag instead without looking at the guard personnel and quickly headed to the backroom to place his things in the locker.

He had just started the job as an assistant librarian. What this meant was simple, labour but daily monetary payments for him. All he had to do was up-keep the vicinity and place the books back in order. In return, he'd get paid without being asked too much of his background. He'd just needed to provide his availability and they'd allow him minor access to the lower level libraries and a temporary ID. Just an extra pair of helping hands, which was fine by him despite the low rates.

As the hours passed into the day, people trickled in and out of the library giving it more life and warmth. Despite having the sun at the zenith, the pollution in the air gave the district a bleak outlook, just a lighter shade of grey. He took a break from work and headed out to grab his valuables, he'd had a habit of always preparing for the worst, never knowing when he'd have to be on the move again.

Circling around the building he jogged across the street to a mini deli that he thought served the best sandwich he'd ever tasted. Well, maybe it was the fact that he's not had a proper meal in months, but they seem to sell genuine food, which was hard to come by. Walking into the deli, he ordered his regular serving of buttered toast egg sandwich and paid in cash.

The deli was dainty, it looked old but was clean. A couple of booths lined against the wall from the entrance and there few stools that lined along the counter. The deli could probably hold a maximum of ten people but other than that it would've been too cramped. Luckily for Torro, the area wasn't an majot district and people came and went pretty quickly.

Taking a seat at the stool nearest to the entrance, he quickly had his meal, it didn't feel safe to be out in public too long.

That was when something felt off, instantly alarmed, the feeling intensified when the bell at the door of the deli dinged.

His spine stiffened but willed himself to relax his aura. Chew, swallow, drink and repeat. It was a man that had entered the deli and had given his order a few feet away from Torro. At this time, the new diner took a seat right beside him and Torro could feel that his nerves were starting to waver. The deli was almost empty and there were plenty of seats to choose from so it was quite clear to him something was wrong.

He could feel the parchedness in his throat and mouth, licking his lips, with a steady hand he flipped a tip onto the table and cleared his table.

His mind at this point was churning for an exit strategy.

After moments that felt infinite-like, Torro got up from his seat with calm strides, walking out the deli without turning his head back. He made sure to walk through a well-lit area before breaking into a deserted alleyway hiding from plain sight. After ensuring no one was following him, he circled around the library and entered through the backdoor for employees but it mostly unused as it was further away from the locker rooms for staff.

Just as he was about to reach for the door handle, he felt an inexplicable sense of danger from behind him.

"You shouldn't have taken this route Torro, it left you open." A man in a hooded cloak said leisurely to him.

Torro first stiffened, then sighed silently as he lowered his head in exhaustion at the situation.

"My client has their instructions and I have my mission, it's really not a choice of mine." The hooded man smirked.

A flash of annoyance was in Torro's eyes as he raised his head still facing the door.

"Enough with your games Torro, if you paid your debt timely I wouldn't have to follow you all this while," He snarled, sheathing a dagger from his waist.

"I'll get you the money Idris, you know that this was never my debt to hold, just give me 24 hours." Torro's eyes were full of fear, but he steeled his hands, he couldn't take it if he was trembling like a poor fool.

"You know I can't do that and you know that you don't have the capacity which is why you're running away" He sighed, bored of this conversation.

But before Idris could take another step, the ground trembled and started shaking violently, people started running out of the buildings, and sirens were blaring from the public announcement speakers.

"Warning! Warning! A Vortex has been detected. Immediately vacate the area and find the nearest bunker." A mechanical voice echoed through the streets.

Chaos soon ensued and everyone starting exiting from all sides, in confusion, Torro looked around only to find Idris was no longer on the premises and sighed in relief. He entered the backdoor of the library and quickly went to collect his stuff when he realised the backdoor was locked shut as he tried to get out.

Panicking, he quickly ran out to the commonroom only to find it deserted with papers and books flying towards what looked to be like a black hole.

Blood drained out from his face as he realised the very Vortex they were referring to had appeared in the library and that was the reason why the door was locked. It was to keep whatever that was going to come out of it, in the building.

Torro took cover in the cemented counter that was in the middle of the common room, peeking at the Vortex as it to get stronger and stronger. Tables and chairs started to be dragged across the floor, while books were being absorbed into the Vortex. Fear consumed him, believing that he would die soon, he said a quick prayer and hid quietly underneath the counter. As he closed his eyes and ears, he waited and hoped that his end wouldn't hurt.

The ground shook more and more violently and as Torro could feel the shelves being dragged across the room, the Vortex came to an abrupt halt with the chairs and tables that were about to be sucked into the vortex came crashing down onto the floor. A moment later, he heard a thud on the floor followed by the sound of an object rolling.

His face pale and his hands trembling as he climbed out of the counter to take a look at the scene, to his surprise he found an onyx orb laying in the middle of the common room. Curious, he sneaked closer to the object but as he looked around the room, he was shocked to see all books that were in the library were no longer present.

Not noticing his steps, he accidentally tripped on one of the disarrayed chairs and falling straight next to the orb, but before he could even react, the orb started to hum as if it sensed life near it. Just as Torro was about to scatter away from the orb, he heard a strange sound.

[System re-initializing]

"Wha-?" but before he could complete his sentence, everything turned black.

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