“Are you sure about this?” My father asked, clearly concerned. “You won't have much time for anything else if you decide to go through with this.”

“Relax dad,” I said nonchalantly, “I’m sure he’s just blowing steam about the commitment thing. Besides, even if he goes crazy about it I can just leave the gym,” I sighed, “it’s not like I’m doing anything else at the moment anyway.”I sighed once more. Since the societal focus had shifted towards hunters and academic geniuses it was incredibly difficult for normal folks like me to get a job. My parents were okay though because they had a good amount of tenure where they worked and were well respected there.

“Alright. Just don’t half-ass it. You know how I feel about people that don’t see things through til the end.” He paused, “You never know, you might actually enjoy it.” He smirked.

I had never enjoyed cardio so I guess it was a dig at my chubbiness. But I wanted to at least get a bit more into shape so I would definitely take it seriously for a while at least.

“Fat chance dad.” I chuckled. I imagined this would be something I would hate but have to grit my teeth and bear it for a while.

“Well I’m working tomorrow so I wont be able to make sure you don’t skip,” he teased.

“You’re just happy you don’t have to come here instead,” I argued defensively. I got my general laziness from my dad.

We continued to banter as we continued towards the metro station.

As we were passing through the less populated areas of the city, the wind started to pick up and the area descended into silence. The shadows extended much faster than usual and seemed to block out all light. It appeared somewhat unnatural but I couldn’t process what was happening at the time, all I knew was that my father had suddenly pushed me behind a building and lay down on top of me. My mind was blank and it was struggling to catch up. What just happened?

Then the screaming began. Tens, maybe hundreds of people around us started screaming at the top of their lungs as if possessed by demons. I couldn’t turn my head to look because it was firmly pressed to the ground by my fathers strong arms. I could feel him shaking. I could feel his uneven breaths on the back of my neck. I could hear his muffled whimpers of pain and it terrified me. I had never seen him like this. My father was one of the smartest and experienced people I knew but right now he was whimpering like a child. I shut my eyes tightly and begs for this to end.

It only lasted ten seconds but to me it felt like an hour. The blanket of darkness was suffocating and making the air hard to breathe. When it faded it just disappeared like it was never there and all the screaming people were also gone. I felt the weight on my back lift and I turned back in time to see my father also disappearing bit by bit as a single tear ran down his cheek. “Tell your mother I love her,” he managed to choke out as his existence dissolved into a gentle breeze before vanishing.

I was dumbstruck and lay on the ground where my father had left me for what must've been an hour before my mind caught up with the pain I felt. It was unbearable. The world began spinning faster and tilting on its side, then it faded to black.

I woke up in a white room to a gentle but mechanical beeping sound. High above me was a white popcorn grid ceiling. In an attempt to understand where I was my vision crept slowly down as I rolled my head on the soft white pillow. I was able to see a metal curtain rack with light blue curtains attached to it. Following it with my eyes I realized that it covered my entire bed at a distance of about one meter. As I came to the opposite end of curtain I could see an IV drip about half full of a transparent liquid. I was able to put the pieces together as I traced the tube coming out of the bottom of the bag and ended in a needle which was inserted into my arm which was covered in white bandages. I was in the hospital.

I tried to call out but my voice was hoarse and didn’t come out how I wanted it to. Instead it sounded like someone else was trying to talk as an unintelligible moaning sound was produced. When I heard it I started to panic. My heart started beating wildly and my thoughts spun round and round in my head. What had they done to me? What had happened? I flailed like a crazy person as the mechanical beeping lost its gentle touch and went into overdrive. The last thing I saw was a group of three nurses flocking towards me. Two of them firmly held me down while the last stuck something in my arm and I slowly faded back into unconsciousness. My dreams were pleasant and vivid. They had hit me with some good shit.

The next time I woke, the hospital staff were better prepared as they had a nurse keeping an eye on me. I felt privileged because she was quite pretty. Her strawberry blonde hair fell in waves down either side of her rather thin face and her green eyes seemed to light the room. She walked to the foot of my bed and took a look at a chart that was hanging there.

She then proceeded to my bedside and sat down in the standard issue hospital chair. “Mr. Anderson, it’s best you don’t move too much. You’ve suffered some very severe burns.” She stated seriously, giving me a sympathetic look.

“What happened?” I strained my throat and barely managed to covey my question. Once again, what I heard didn’t match with my memory of my own voice.

She quickly prepared a plastic cup filled with water and brought it to my lips carefully pouring it’s contents down my parched throat. “The burns seem to have affected your throat too,” she quickly explained in a gentle voice. I could tell she was trying to avoid another panic attack but I could feel my heart rate accelerating anyway.

“What about my father? Where is he?” I managed to eek out.

The pretty blonde nurse’s face became confused as she replied, “Father? No one else was with you. Do you want me to call him for you?”

When I heard what she said I stiffened as the memories of our day trip to the city flooded back into my mind. The shadow, the screams, the single tear that ran down his cheek.

I must’ve given the nurse quite a surprise as a tear spilled from my eye and I passed out for the third time that day.