Side Story 1: The Changed World

Hello, my name is John Variel. I’m just an average nineteen year old male who is trying to survive in this harsh world. I wouldn’t consider my life blessed, but I wouldn’t consider it cursed either. I’m just trying to make do with what I have. Unlike some people I knew, I at least had a job, albeit a sucky one. Fast food jobs don’t pay that much, but they pay enough. I need the money to pay rent which is probably the only reason I’m still working at that shitty place. Right now I’m relaxing on my couch waiting for the pizza I ordered to come. This had been my first day off that I’d gotten in a while so I was making the most of it.

As I was waiting on my couch, my phone began ringing. With a groan I pushed myself up and reached for the device. Who was calling me? Looking at the string of numbers on my phone I soon realized who it was. My fast food job. Shit, I did not want to answer it. It was my day off after all. Hmm, should I or shouldn’t I? After a few seconds of debating I decided to answer my phone. If they found out that I ignored the call when I could’ve just picked it up, they wouldn’t be pleased. What was the worst that could happen?

With an angry shout I tossed my phone at the wall. Fuck! Why couldn’t they get someone else to come in today? This was my day off! Shaking my head in anger, I took a couple of deep breaths. Getting angry wouldn’t help me. Once I was cooled down I walked across my room in order to reach my phone. Hopefully it didn’t crack when I tossed it against the wall. If it did I would be screwed. I did not have enough money for another phone.

After examining my phone closely, I allowed a small smile to creep on my face. I couldn’t see any cracks on my phone so I was safe. Placing my phone on the counter I took a quick shower and put on my work clothes. As I was putting on my shirt I glanced in the mirror. What met my eyes was a white male with brown hair and grey eyes. I didn’t think I looked too bad but neither did I think I looked too good either. But to be honest I wasn’t really concerned with my looks. I had bigger things to worry about.

Once I my clothes were on I took a seat on my couch and glanced at my clock. From the looks of it, I would have enough time to eat my pizza when it came, but not much else. Man, if only I could get a better job. A job where I could decide my own hours and got better pay. However life wasn’t fair so I would probably be stuck with this sucky job for a couple more years.

The next few minutes went by in silence. I wasn’t really doing anything since I didn’t want to miss the pizza delivery. After all, the pizza coming in would probably be the best aspect of my day. I was interrupted from my musings when I heard my doorbell ring. Opening my apartment door quickly, I began to pay the pizza guy. My stomach growled as I pulled out my wallet. Man, that pizza smelled delicious. But before I could hand over my money I was distracted by the sudden appearance of a blue box.

Welcome!

Because you humans have decided to squander your lives, the powers above have decided that you shouldn't control it! Therefore they are combining your world with another one in order to make things more interesting. How and why can they do this? Well….You don’t need to know! But don't worry, if you live, you will be stronger because of it. So go out there and survive!5:00 minutes remaining until the opening of rifts

With a look of confusion on my face I tried swiping the box away. Sadly it didn’t work. My hand had actually gone through the box when I had tried to touch it. I turned toward the pizza guy only to notice him staring at something also. There was nothing in front of him however so I didn’t know what to think. Maybe he was lost in thought. Or maybe he was he seeing the same thing I was?

“Hey, do you see a blue box in front of you or is it just me?”

With a silent nod from the pizza guy my question was answered. Huh, I guess he was too shocked to speak. I mean I could hardly believe it myself. Combining worlds and such sounded like something I would read in a novel. And why the hell did it only give us five minutes? That wasn’t enough time to do anything.

I stared at the blue box as the timer counted down. What would happen once the timer reached zero, an apocalypse? That was ridiculous…right? Shrugging my shoulders I proceeded to pay the pizza guy his money. Apocalypse or not I was about to eat me some good cheese pizza. Once everything was paid for I pulled out a soda and began eating. I would worry about the blue box once my stomach was filled.

The next few minutes were spent with me devouring my pizza. Man, it was as good as it smelled. The tasted was somewhat ruined however by the blue box in my vision. I couldn’t seem to figure out how to move it so I just ignored it. Or I tried at least.

As I was reaching for the last pizza slice I was distracted by a deafening boom. What the hell? Spitting out my soda in shock I looked for the source of the noise. I was forced to stop my investigation however when another blue box appeared in my vision.

Times up! I hope you all are all ready and prepared for this because I know I sure am. Let the apocalypse begin!

……Fuck. I had jinxed myself. Why did I have to mention the word apocalypse? Vacating my position from the couch I took a glance outside. The moment I stuck my head out of the door I knew something was wrong. It was way darker than it should be. The sky was usually bright this early in the morning. Walking outside of my apartment I turned my head upwards. But when I looked up, my mouth was forced to open in shock.

For some reason the sky now took a dark crimson hue instead of the normal blue it usually had. What was going on? As I was looking at the sky, I soon noticed that something was odd. Was that a hole in the sky? After taking a closer look I soon realized that I had guessed correctly. Not only that, there actually seemed to be stuff flying out of it. I couldn’t really tell what the things were thanks to how far away it was. But for some reason the things that were falling seemed….alive.

Before I could think on it anymore, I began to hear a whirling sound. With a look of confusion, I began glancing around for the source of the noise. It didn’t take long for me to find it. A few feet away from me stood a swirling blue rift/portal. As I stared at it I soon noticed the pizza guy doing the same exact thing as me. Except he was way closer to the portal. Was he not afraid that it would suck him up or something? As a matter of fact why was he still here? Shouldn’t he have driven away by now?

A few seconds went by before I finally came up with an answer. It was actually quite simple. The blue box. There was no way he could’ve driven with that thing in his way. As I thought about the pizza guy’s situation I began to hear a low droning sound. What was it now?

It turned out that the cause of the noise was the swirling rift. As it moved from left to right, it slowly began to change its shape. Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, it spat out some type of unknown creature. As the creature stretched its muscles I soon noticed that there was a blue box above its head.

Laughing Hyena - Lv.6

Hp: 30/30

Huh? Why could I see the name of the creature and its level? For some reason I felt as though this situation resembled a game. Strange right? I watched in horror as the pizza guy tried to slowly walk away. My face scrunched up in pain as I watched the hyena eye the pizza guy. There was no way that he was surviving this.

A cold chill ran throughout my body as the hyena began to laugh. The laugh was cold, filled with mirth, and for some reason sounded strangely human. A smile erupted from its face as it began to slowly trot toward the pizza guy. The pizza guy immediately began to ran, hoping to escape the deadly beast. Sadly he was too slow and from the look upon his face he knew it too. I was forced to put my hand over my mouth as the hyena tore into his flesh. What kind of shit was this?

I would like to say I jumped down valiantly and fought the hyena, but that would be a lie. What was I supposed to fight it with? My fist? Ridiculous, only someone insane would do that. Backing away as quietly as I could, I entered my apartment. Close my door slowly, I made sure it was locked. I did not want that thing coming in here.

Once I made sure I was safely inside, I thought about what I should do. Normally I would’ve looked for help but the hyena out there stopped me from doing that. Hmm, I could try calling 911. However when I tried calling them all I heard was silence. Huh? Confused I tried calling them again but nothing happened. What was going on? I was going to try typing the numbers in once more when I heard a scream come from my next door neighbor.

Shit.

As the screaming grew louder and louder, I ran towards my light switches. Turning off all of my lights, I crouched low to the ground. I had to make sure that the hyena thought I was gone. I did not feel like getting devoured today.

As I was crouching on the ground, I heard the laughter of the hyena once more. But this time it was getting closer. My heart started beating furiously against my chest as the laughing grew louder. What if it noticed me? My face grew pale as I heard the hyena pass my door. I was feeling faint just thinking about what would happen to me. The next few minutes went by in silence. It was almost as if my neighbors realized that the hyena was by their door. But it was too late.

With a loud crash the screams resumed once again. But this time the screams were filled with pain rather than fear. I didn’t know what was happening in there but all I could hear was crashes and screams. Man, how many people were in there? I was forced to jump when something large hit the side of my wall. The thing that hit it was going so fast that it made a dent in my wall. Would if it accidently broke through? Crawling silently towards my bedroom, I tried to calm my racing heart.

It didn’t work.

Once I made it inside my bedroom, I was covered in crimson light. Looking towards my right I realized that the light was coming from my window….That was it! I could use my window to escape. How had I forgotten that before? I was about to slide my window open when I realized something. I was virtually defenseless if I went out there now. Walking over to my desk quietly, I shuffled around the things in my desk until I found my pocket knife. It wasn’t that big, but it was better than my bare hands.

After I stuck my pocket knife in my pocket, I emptied out my book bag. I wouldn’t need the stuff in there anymore. I then used the next few minutes to pack a spare set of clothes, food, and some other supplies. Hopefully this little situation would blow over in a few days, but you never knew. Once everything was packed I looked for the police station on my GPS. It was probably the safest place to be since they had guns.

After finding the location on my phone, I grabbed my back pack and escape through my window. It was a good thing I lived on the second floor instead of the third or fourth. The fall was painful but manageable. Letting out a hiss of pain I surveyed my surroundings. The fall wasn’t that loud, but it still made some noise. After waiting a few more seconds I let out a sigh of relief. It seemed that the hyena hadn’t noticed me. But the moment I turned around, I was face to face with it.

No….

This couldn’t be happening. I watched in horror as a sickening grin appeared on the hyena’s face. Before it could move I reached into my pocket to pull out my pocket knife. But the moment my hand touched the weapon the hyena attacked. I screamed out in pain as its teeth tore through my skin. Fuck! Shaking it off I turned toward my left to flee. All my hope was lost when I saw what happened next.

Blocking my path was another laughing hyena. There was no where I could go! I tried the best I could to defend myself, but it was all for naught. After a particular painful bite to my throat, darkness filled my vision. Then…nothing.

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AN: Sorry for the delay. For some reason I didn't really like this chapter which is why it took so long to complete. You guys tell me what you think. The next chapter will be about our favorite main character, Colm. So be on the lookout for that. Thanks for reading!