SECOND WAVE

Drip. Drop. Drip. Drop.

The sound of water droplets woke her up from her slumber.

She has never been like this, if it was on normal days, even a shout and cry of a toddler can't make her woke up. So for her senses to be this heightened just because of something trivial, it is definitely unusual.

"Hmm..." Closing her eyes, she tried her best to fall back to sleep. But her attention kept on drifting back to the sound of the water droplets.

With her brows furrowed, she sat up and yawned. "The heck?" The very thing that this grumpy girl hates the most is being disturbed in her sleep.

Annoyed, she checked all the faucets in her apartment to look for the source of that annoying sound.

When she found it, she made sure to close it tightly then walked towards her kitchen to fetch a glass of water.

The eerie silence somehow ticks her off. Ariza looked at the clock.

10: 03 p.m.

Something is off. For the nth time, if this is just a normal night, the city would still be bustling at this hour.

And since her apartment is near the road, small sounds of cars and other noises will still be able to break through the sound proofing of her apartment.

But strangely, there's no noise. It's as if her ears have been sealed. The creepiest part is the fact that even the sound of air and her breathing can be heard because of the silence that enveloped her whole apartment.

Then, suddenly...

Bang!

The sound of an explosion reverberated, causing her to flinch in shock.

Hurriedly, Ariza went to her window and checked what is it, yet what welcomed her is only the view of smokes in one particular area. Aside from that, nothing else seems to be visible.

Curiosity ate her as she went back to her room to fetch her binoculars, then yet again, she looked out of her window and used the tool to see clearly.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Hurried knocks could be heard outside her apartment, startling her as she dropped her binoculars outside the window.

"Sh!t" Looking down, she saw it fall from where she was. It's good that her apartment is only on the second floor. There's still hope that her binoculars is intact.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Who the heck?" Her instinct is telling her that something is off. The silence, the explosion, and the hurried knocks in her apartment door.

It's like warning her of an impending danger. But curiosity got the best of her, and she walked towards her door to see who is behind it.

Holding the door knob in with her left hand, she was about to open the door when...

Plack! Groans.

The creepiest groan she had ever heard have now accompanied the hurried knocks.

"Argh! H-help!" Cries of a woman can be heard. The sound is familiar, it is the woman next door. Her neighbor who has been trying to befriend her since day one.

Chills run down through her spine. She decided to look through the peephole, and the most disgusting and terrifying thing that she have ever seen came into her view.

Karina, her neighbor, is being eaten alive by a man. And looking at its familiar figure, it is the woman's husband.

Shocked, Ariza took a step back with her eyes widened. "W-What the fvck was that?" She felt as if her eyes are betraying her. It must have been an illusion. There's no way it's real.

Then, the cries ceased. Gathering her courage, she stepped forward and once again looked through the peephole.

Bang!

"Fvck!" Not even having the chance to look through it, Ariza immediately stooped away from the door.

The monster is slamming her door aggressively, as if aware of her existence. Immediately, she approached the door and made sure that it's locked, before going back to her room to fetch the hidden gun in there.

"What the fvck is that? What's happening?" She looked out of the window, and this time, the quiet city can no longer be found.

Chaotic.

Monsters like the one outside her apartment can be seen running around. Fire broke out and cars have crashed. People are frantically running trying to escape. And...

People can be seen being eaten alive.

...----------------...

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

4:27 a.m.

Ariza doesn't know how the time passed. Seconds turned to minutes, minutes turned to hours, and now, the sun is about to shine.

It's been hours since the slamming in her door disappeared. But she stayed rooted in her room, laying on her bed and staring at the ceiling.

Her mind isn't processing what she had just saw. She didn't even dareT to once again look outside the window, terrified to see the same view that she saw. Killing her hope that everything is just her hallucinations.

Tick. Tock. Tick.

4:59 a.m.

...----------------...

Gasp!

As if being saved from drowning, Ariza woke up clutching her chest and gasping for air.

"What the?" As if it's the most natural thing to do, she ran towards her window and looked outside.

It was still the same as before she fell asleep. There neither monsters nor fire. Completely different from what she remembered the last time that she looked outside the same window.

With her face full of doubts, "It was a dream? No, am I just having a nightmare?" sighed.

She held her face in frustration, "What the? It was so vivid that I thought it was real." She murmurs.

It's just a nightmare, thank goodness!

Exhausted, she slumped down her bed and out her hands in her forehead. That nightmare drained her.

She was scared shit at the thought of living with those monsters waiting to pounce on her.

Her mouth dried at the mere thought, and she felt thirsty.

"Shitty nightmare." sighs

...----------------...

"A strange phenomenon occurred, news of an apocalypse broke out. Number of people who has yet to wake up from their slumber caused an uproar."

Chaos will break out. No one will be spared.

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