The sun beat down hard on the city while cars shone intensely, reflecting the sunlight because it was so intense.
The streets burned like hot skillets ready to fry something.
But this time it was only tires or barefoot people.
“Today the sun woke up really based,” Zak commented as he went down the stairs of his building.
Walking through the streets, he noticed how at an ice cream stand the machine had broken down due to the high temperatures radiating from the sun.
How could he not?
This time Zak even had to change clothes: thin shorts, a fresh t-shirt and beach sandals.
It was undoubtedly the perfect day to go to the beach, if it weren’t for the descent or if there was still a sea, since with this intense sun even the sea seemed to fall short.
Zak asked himself mentally: if the sun was strong here, what would it be like for those who lived in the desert or were visiting?
He definitely didn’t want to imagine the suffering.
He continued on his way while noticing how most people wore thin clothes because of the sun.
Surprisingly, even the homeless man on the corner had changed clothes and had splurged on a bottle of water, something he rarely bought because money was tight.
How were things going?
The day pointed to it being a day for iced milkshakes, a rich and refreshing relief for days like this.
Zak walked toward his favorite milkshake shop, where he visited every end of the month to treat himself to something cold.
Although what Zak still didn’t understand was how two days ago it was snowing heavily and now there was a sun that would even melt your soul.
It was something inexplicable that Zak decided not to think about much and simply continued on his way.
In a base far from the city, in one of the many rooms, a kind of interrogation could be heard.
“Where is the card?” asked a man in dark military clothing.
“Eh… it got lost…” replied the general while remaining rigid with guilt and the situation.
“How the hell are you going to misplace the card!” shouted the man angrily, who seemed to be everyone’s superior.
“Are you an idiot, general?” he added with more fury, hitting the table.
The general got slightly agitated while watching how the superior drew his gun.
“Superior, st…” Before the general could say anything, his head was blown off by a shot from the man, who had drawn his weapon in a second.
“Take him out!” ordered the man while two soldiers arrived and removed the lifeless body of the general.
“Any progress on the project?” asked the man.
One of the scientists who was typing at a console approached and showed him a tablet that said “77% interrupted.” “Without the card we can’t do much,” explained the gray-haired scientist with slightly tired eyes, while wearing a black lab coat.
“Shit… is there any way to open it without the card?” asked the man.
The scientist typed something on the tablet screen.
“We can still open the portal, but it won’t be at the location we want,” added the scientist seriously.
“Conclusion?” demanded the man while rubbing his eyes with his fingertips, a clear sign of annoyance.
“We can open the portal, but it will have to be at noon and in the central plaza.
We’ll have the chance for it to stabilize correctly and we can access it before it closes, in a time of… ten seconds,” explained the scientist.
If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it’s taken without the author’s consent.
Report it.
“Shit, the central plaza…” the man thought.
“Sir… do you want me to make the preparations?” The man sighed.
“Yes.
Have them ready in less than a week, for this Sunday if possible.” The scientist turned around and left the room, leaving the man deep in thought.
The sound of a bell rang at the entrance of the malt shop called Navuks, a simple but curious name.
Zak approached the counter where a girl greeted him: “Hi!
Welcome to Navuks.
What would you like to order today, Zak?” “I want a frozen chocolate malted shake” Zak pointed to a kid with a malted shake sitting at a table.
The girl started entering the order on the touchscreen computer and then turned back to Zak: “Alright.
Your order will be ready in five minutes.
You can sit down if you want.” “Alright, thanks” said Zak while turning around and heading to a table where he sat down.
Five minutes passed and the girl approached Zak’s table, where she left his malted shake.
“Here you go.
Enjoy your meal” said the girl with a smile before walking away.
Zak started eating his malted shake with the little spoon the girl had brought him.
Finally, the cold and refreshing taste flooded his throat and brain, comforting him on such a sunny day.
After a while, Zak finished his malted shake, paid for it, and left the malt shop.
But before leaving, the girl who had served him approached and told him something important: “By the way, they already announced that another descent is starting in the south.
It’s only a matter of time before it reaches here, so be careful.” “Alright, thanks.” On his way home, Zak noticed how people were closing their shops because of the warning they had already announced.
You could see one or two soldiers moving around the areas.
Luckily for Zak, he had already enjoyed his malted shake and could ride out the descent in his apartment, something rare because they usually caught one off guard.
Going up the stairs he saw how his neighbors were closing their windows and doors.
Rarely did the descent start in the south and give us the chance to prepare before it began.
Zak arrived at the entrance to his apartment, took out his keys and right when he opened the door a loudspeaker sounded through the streets: “[Attention, citizens!
Get ready, because Horde One has just begun!]” As soon as he said that, gunshots and breaking glass started to be heard.
Zak sighed and entered his apartment.
“Just in time…” “Good morning, general.” “Good day, general.” The soldiers said while the general made his way through greeting with his hand.
After a moment he arrived at a room, entered and positioned himself at a table where they were studying something.
“Hmm…
did you already investigate what it is?” The soldier sighed, defeated.
“Unfortunately no, general.
It seems like an artifact of unrecognized technology.” “I understand.” The general withdrew from the room where they were conducting the investigation of the strange artifact that the anti-military had dropped on them during the chase.
The general walked around thinking for a good while and grunted slightly: “Damn, what stupidity will they come at me with now?” Two days later, a Thursday afternoon..
The descents normally used to occur once a day and at most four per week.
The days were the same as always, but lately there had been reports of a lot of strange activity both in the descents and outside of them: hooded types or strange people who wandered around for some reason inside the central square.
The military and local authorities had already set out to find out the reason for these strange sightings.
Following that a click of a remote control was heard, signaling that the television was turned off.
Zak could now see himself through the reflection of the television as he stood up.
“Strange sightings?” He adjusted his heart-shaped medallion and sighed while turning on his cellphone.
New message: “Hi son, good afternoon.
Would you mind visiting me someday?” It was a message from his mother.
Zak smiled slightly and replied: “Of course mom!
Give me until Sunday when I’m free.” Somehow, Zak had a web job that he dedicated mostly to fulfilling in the mornings and finished in the afternoon, earning enough to live one more week.
His mother was the only thing Zak had now… after what happened with his father.
Without a doubt, since that day Zak was left shattered and destined to fulfill his father’s promise: “Take care of your mom, champ, and if you can change something, do it… I love you, son”.
Every time Zak remembered those words he began to cry.
He still struggled to get over his father’s death.
It all began in a horde about seven years ago, when he was thirteen.
Everything pointed to it being just another day, until in one of those moments when they, unlike ever before, decided to go out to the park, a descent occurred.
Most shops and stores had already closed their shutters.
In the distance you could see how people had already started looting and killing civilians.
His father, in a frantic attempt to save him and his mother, ran toward a building that already had its shutters closed at the main entrance.
Taking advantage of his height, he lifted him onto his shoulder and pushed him up to the second-floor balcony, where the people who saw it immediately came out of their apartments and helped him up.
Then they did the same with his mother.
Unfortunately, his father was very big and heavy, and didn’t have a good base from which to push off.
He ran toward a nearby dumpster and hid.
His mother and he were worried, but right away the neighbors pulled them away from the balcony and hid them in an old lady’s apartment.
Gunshots were heard, screams and more things he no longer remembered well.
Finally, after a while the military arrived.
Even though his father had hidden among the trash cans, five bullets managed to hit him.
A normal person, upon seeing that he was wounded, would have run out screaming and would have ended up dead.
His father didn’t: despite the pain, he held on until the military arrived.
After that he was taken to the hospital right away, where he was treated as a magnitude five patient.
The bullets hit his lungs… Three days and three nights passed in the hospital while the doctors worked nonstop and many bags of blood were lost.
He finally couldn’t hold on.
Before he died, despite the situation, he was smiling and staying strong until the end.
It destroyed him to see how his iconic smile finally disappeared while he said: “Take care of your mom, champ, and if you can change something, do it… I love you, son.” From that night on he kept carrying the weight of seeing his father die in front of his eyes.
It was totally shattering, but unfortunately there was nothing he could do anymore.
The dead… the dead are dead.
Zak thought as he left a bouquet of flowers on top of a tombstone that said “Fid Midle Son”.
The wind was blowing, moving the leaves in the cemetery while Zak stood there looking at the tomb.
In the distance, a vaguely familiar figure came closer and lightly touched his shoulder.
“Hey!” “Huh?” When Zak turned around, he saw him.
It was the guard from that time.
“Hi kid, how’s it going?” “Oh, hi.” This time the guard was dressed differently and seemed to have his whole abdomen bandaged.
The guard sighed as he opened his mouth again: “Do you have a moment to talk?
It’s something important…”