The Apocalypse

[ PART 2/3 ]

It has been a week since the apocalypse started, or that's how I want to call it. I tried finding any sane human that's striving to live and escape this nightmare. Unfortunately, all that I can see are humans who already lost their senses. Those who succumb to their animalistic mindset--hitting, hurting and killing anyone that they come across with. Breaking then smashing everything that they see. And here I am, hiding inside the abandoned convenience store near our place.

And hell! This isn't even convenient as it seem because of the dark hall at the end of the shelves and the way the lights flicker almost every hour.

I heard a faint rustle coming from the fifth shelf, one shelf away from where I'm currently crouching. I stopped munching on the chocolate bar that I found from the piles here and carefully turned my head to where the noise came from. My heart started beating faster, my breathing becoming heavy and ragged and my eyes dilating as I continued to stare at the fifth shelf.

I could hear a small voice screaming from the back of my head, telling me to leave and hide from a different shelf. But I ignored it, involuntarily, my body stayed still. Even if my whole senses were agreeing to the small voice, my curiosity quickly seeped under my skin and hell, it's killing me.

I could feel the numbing coldness of the wind that's coming from the slightly opened entrance. And I swear, I could feel my heart dropping ten feet from the ground when I saw a shadow passing through the shelf. I unconsciously dropped the chocolate bar that I was holding when the shadow paused and the lights started flickering.

I struggled as I stand up from where I was seating and almost fell back down the ground when the shadow moved closer towards me.

"Fuck.. Fuck.. Please, no.." I mumbled to myself as beads of sweat were starting to form from my forehead.

I couldn't focus on the path that I was taking that I didn't notice the wall in front of me. A soft groan escaping my pale lips as my face hits the hard wall. It wasn't that painful yet I could feel an unpleasant ringing coming from the back of my head, one that could tear your braincells apart.

I gasped softly, feeling a little suffocated from the sudden nauseated feeling that's washing over my senses. My vision becoming blurry and my head feeling heavier. And the last thing I could remember before falling unconscious was a robotic-like voice calling my name.

"Deus.."

My body feels heavy, like something hard and heavy is being pressed against me. My stomach churns and rumbles as my head spins from the resonating heat that's engulfing my skin.

"Deus.."

I whimpered in pain, beads of sweats dripping from my forehead as my body trembled. I couldn't scream, I couldn't even hear my own voice. But the pain.. The pain that's hugging my whole being.. It felt too much. I don't know what it is but it felt hot, stingy and painful.. Like it's piercing through my skin.

"Deus.."

And in a blink of an eye, everything faded into the void, as if nothing happened. My eyes fluttering widely as I pant heavily. My eyebrows creasing together, not in annoyance, but in confusion.. Confusion as the words left my now empty mind.

"Deus.. Are you with us now?"

That voice again. I blinked a few more times, adjusting my vision. All I could see was blurry white and nothing else. It took me a couple of second before my vision adjusted properly and there, I finally saw that 'thing' who owns that voice. Yes, it wasn't human.

"I..." I mumbled softly, trailing off, my head still feeling light, unable to form any words.

The 'thing' in front of me moved, no.. Its hand moved closer to me then it pressed against my forehead, probably checking my temperature.

As I continue to examine the 'thing,' I noticed how inhuman its physique looked. Maybe the words runaway with the pain I felt earlier that I couldn't comprehend which words I should use to describe this 'thing.' But one thing's for sure, it's a robot that doesn't even have a proper robotic structure.

What do you call that? An AI?

"Deus Lee. Age 24. What do you feel?" It asked, its small head moving closer to check my eyes then my ear, making me move away. It didn't look scary but it looked unusual for a normal person like me. I mean, I'm still normal, right?

"Your human mind must be wondering about what is happening. To begin with, you are inside Raincoat Company's Laboratory and is being examined from your previous activity," it explained then his television-like body flashes on and a bunch of horrifying videos popped up.

They looked familiar, like I already saw them, but I couldn't help and curse out loud, covering my eyes as an image of a human eating human flesh flashes on the screen. I can even hear the way his teeth pieces on the raw meat that he's eating. I almost wanted to puke but to no avail, my stomach felt empty.

"That's one of the inhuman things that you witnessed inside the Apocalypse Simulation, correct?"

I looked up to see its face and frowned as I tried to recall what exactly happened. My frown only deepening as flashes of blank scenes popped in my head, then my head throbbed.

"If you cannot remember anything, then the Simulation might have worked correctly. Congratulations! You have won the Apocalypse Simulation!"

Tons of questions were starting to pop in my hazy mind then a bunch of robots that looked like him went inside the room. I looked around me, appalled at their sudden intrusion. My head started panicking once again when robotic-like voices were starting to chant "Congratulations" over and over and over and over again, wrecking my sanity.

Someone...save me.