Death chaos and dreams

Noah Grey's POV:

Whoeim!

The train roared to life, compartment slowly rose from the ground, outside view went down.

[All systems analyzed.] Intercom's robotic voice informed.

Outside, it was an infinite artificial landscape of solar panels and plastic sheeting. All dead and abandoned to the dust and wind.

Slowly, the train pulled out of the station; sceneries rushed by and then blurred into a haze.

Bzzt! Bzzt!

Startled, I reached for my pocket; grip met the cold metal. Retrieving the phone I checked the notification. It was a message from..

'Mother…'

[Acacia¹: Text me when you reach the old man. And best of luck Noah, I hope everything goes well this time. Wish you a new life. Ly ♡].

'A new life, huh?' Before I even realized it, a silly smile bloomed on my face.

"Today, sector D-27 experienced gravityZero. 889 casualties detec—"CHEWB! Turning off the rear headrest's hologram, I slipped the phone back into pocket, my head rested against the window.

We were passing over a Nutrient Synthesis Farm. Fields of green and gold stretched as far as I could see. They looked like clusters of golden honeycombs — rows of bioreactors lined with golden, algae-infused glass tubes. These bioreactors housed algae and genetically modified plants, grown not for beauty but for high-calorie.

The vista was complemented by the orange sky.

Somehow... it looked beautiful.

The news of pockets with gravity vanishing still lingered freshly in my mind.

The world was dying. How long before the inevitable? This apocalypse began twenty-four years ago. Tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, typhoons, tornadoes…there was no end to the corruption.

Scientists investigated, but no apparent cause could be found.

Time passed, the disasters became more frequent. Oxygen levels in the atmosphere rose, tiny insectoids mutated to the size of cars, pockets with no gravity popped across the globe — dangerous places marked as the 'black zones.' Safe havens were established as the white zones.

The terrifying threat was eventually christened as 'The Great Cataclysms.'

Not sure what was so great about all these.

Despite the world crumbling around, people tried to continue with everyday lives. Society adapted to the chaos.

But.

At the rate in which things had escalated in these past few months...Sigh!

Living in such a world it's only natural to ask, 'Am I gonna make it out alive?'

The answer was quite obvious.

No.

I was basically a dead man at this point —counting my last days.

With my rare blood condition, death seemed like a 'regardless'.

Luckily, there was a tiny hope.

I was on my way to grandfather's — a scientist; last time he said he was working on something for me.

Sinking into the plush seat, goddess of sleep soon embraced me.

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***

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I stood before the curtain wall, spiderweb crack at the center, light was dim. Dots or flecks...specks, really—specks of white wove across the glass surface before colliding and scattering, a ballet of photons.

I glanced at the floor over my shoulder; the wet concrete floor reflected a blurry image of myself.

I was at my father's office building.

I didn't know who my father was, but I knew that this was my father's office building. Grey Industries' private area.

Everything I saw was vaguely vivid. One moment clear, the next a lapse of memory.

The usually clean and spacious building was now deserted and rusted. Falling apart. Even the ceiling revealed glimpses of the sky.

And, for whatever reason, I decided to walk into one of the rooms. A computer chamber, specifically.

The moment I entered the room, I realized that it was destroyed.

The ceiling was almost gone, broken computers lay scattered, some in their place but rusted.

Awe, fear, or confusion, whatever it was—it rooted me in place. I just stood.

It was then that I heard something. Subtle.

Exactly then, someone grabbed my arm; my vision blurred, and I found myself thrown at a wall. The pain... was not there, strange.

Finally when my vision cleared, I saw the culprit. An it.

Yes, not a he or a she, but an 'It'.

'It' was tall and skinny with the purest shade of midnight black. Its eyes were undyed, white. Its hands were unnaturally long. Its nails were white, sharp like daggers.

I was petrified, and my legs refused to obey.

'What is this?' The thought crossed my mind.

Probably wasn't the brightest thought, but given the circumstance, that was the only thought.

I had no time to think, as It hoisted me up before violently throwing me to the ground.

I couldn't get up; my body didn't move anymore.

And then I watched.

Sprawled and paralyzed, I watched helplessly. To my horror, the 'It' brought its long sharp claw near my sternum, right at the belly button and forcefully pushed its hand into my stomach.

It donuted me.

Bzzt! Bzzt!

***

Bzzt! Bzzt!

"Hunkh!" I muffled an exhale as awareness returned.

My consciousness slowly adjusted itself only for me to realise that it was just a dream.

It was the sound of my smartphone which woke me up.

Dudump! Budump! Budump!

My heart was beating in my chest like a smith's hammer.

Slowly, my heart's pace calmed down.

I reached for my pocket and felt something damp and cold on my back.

I was sweating profusely.

"It's the fourth time I've had this dream. What the hell?"

Forget it...

Taking out my phone, I unlocked it.

The flash stung my bleary eyes, and the first thing that caught my attention was a notification from Pencord—an update about my novel.

Sigh!

Yes,'my novel'.

I was a novelist, with a silent failed.

While growing up, I developed the hobby of writing.

Currently I was working on 'Inhumane Mystery'; a composite novel with monsters, demons, and magic, nothing unique, but it was a good hobby for time pass.

Scrolling through the comments, one soon caught my attention, and not for a good reason.

"TheyAsuke" commented- "The story, while not terrible in the theme they are trying to portray, is a bit dry. The narrative is really monotone. I fell asleep reading the one short story, and almost did it again reading the next one.

Not necessarily boring but writing is such that sufficient energy is needed to decipher what's going on. Energy and time I don't have. Life is too short to read crappy books.

Time wasted on this could be better spent watching grass grow.

Not really all that disappointed, because I wasn't expecting all that much in the first place."

I was used to critical reviews...but, it just..., I never got used to it.

'Huh, nice readers I get...'

Clearing my mind, I checked my sonata. I didn't want to be late for my appointment.

──────────────

Year→ 2393

Time→ 10:15 AM

Date Nov.3

──────────────

Ding! [Destination reached.]

The robotic voice announced, prompting me to rise from my seat.

"Alright," I messaged mother: ["I've reached."]

Inhaling deeply, I cleared my mind of unnecessary thoughts.

"Let's get this over with..."