Chapter 1

The sun shined brightly through the windows. The stunning morning light filled every nook and cranny of small bedroom. There was a muffled groan that sounded throughout the apartment. Nick rolled over in his bed, folding a pillow over his eyes. Silence. It was now 7 am and Nick's alarm clock went off full blast. He peeked out from his pillow and glared at the stupid thing. His clock was vibrating and ringing so intensely it was slowly crawling its way to the edge of the bed side table. He took his pillow and threw it at the clock, smacking it against the wall.

Nick sighed as he threw the covers back and sat up. He ran is hand through his dark brown hair as he sighed again, not ready to start another boring day. After just sitting one the side of his bed for a couple minutes he forced himself to get up and ready himself for the day. He put on his olive-green baggy pants and changed into a clean white shirt. The toaster shot out two pieces of lightly burnt bread. Nick leisurely munched on his toaster, taking as much time as possible for the simple task. Another alarm clock went off soon after he finished his last sip of orange juice, signaling that the time was now 7:45. Nick tossed his plate and glass into the sink- planning to clean them when he got home- put on his black fingerless gloves and threw on his black skull jacket.

After locking his apartment door he walked down the hall passing all the other apartment doors and took the stairs like he did every morning. He pushed one of the building's double doors open and jumped down the couple steps to the street. His shoes made a soft clack as they hit the concrete sidewalk. He walked past all the other buildings, houses and businesses, taking his time again as he pasted them all. His destination was what he thought was a wasteland for preppy girls and dumb young men- Fredmart. It's also the same place, unfortunately, that he works at. From 8am -6pm every week day, Nick bags groceries and whatever else the costumers have the urge to buy.

As Nick approached the doors they slid open unleashing the rambling of the other workers already inside. His manager, Crystal, immediately came over to him, "Barely on time once again Nick. You've got quite the habit." Nick brushed her off as he headed for the employee locker room. But she followed him all the way there. She's a whole head shorter than Nick even though she's 2 years older. She also has long brown hair-always pulled back into the neatest bun possible- and a stunning figure (which unfortunately for her, always attracts the wrong kind of man). "If you keep this up Nick, we'll have to lay you off and then how will you pay off your rent? Believe it or not-" Everyday when Nick came to work, Crystal got like this. She would do the same ramble, going on and on about Fredmart's policy of 'service that starts sharp and has a beaming smile'. Nick repeated the trite ritual by rolling his eyes and letting out a deep sigh. "Nick! Are you listening?"

They had reached the door by that time and he turned to her. "No. As a matter of fact, I believe that since I've heard your spiel enough times that I have it memorized, there was not point in giving you even the time of day." He ended his explanation with a smirk that, as usual, got Crystal fuming-as well as turning a bit pink. Nick turned and enter the locker room leaving his manager to catch up to the current page.

Once inside, he let out another sigh of relief. 'Finally, I thought I'd never be alone again' he thought as he opened up his locker and took out his blue Fredmart employee shirt and the white/tan employee pants. As he placed his Fredmart 'Bagger' nametag onto his shirt he stared at the calendar. It was Monday January 28th, 2030. To most, the date is insignificant and unimportant. While some know that it's the 20 year anniversary of Kira's death- when the world went back to the rotting scene it was before Kira came to save the human race from disaster. The reason most people don't know, is that they have simply forgotten about Kira, just continuing on with their pitiful lives.

Everyone except Nick, always wondered why on the 28th of January, all the stores closed an hour early. Nick always was interested in Kira and what happened, how it happened, when and how it began and ended. He noticed years before that all the Kira supporters on 1/28 would come out into the open- on the internet- and pray for Kira's resurrection. Clogging up forums and bad mouthing anyone who disagreed with their prayers. Even in New York, people go as far as putting up signs and spray painting police buildings wanting Kira to return.

"Thank you for shopping at Fredmart. Have a nice day." Nick said as monotone as possible as he placed the bags into the costumers' cart, waving them off and waiting for the next bunch of crap wrapped in plastic to come his way. In the corner of his eye, he saw the costumer who just left his aisle talking to Crystal by the door. Both of them turned and looked directly as him, and the costumer even pointed. Nick looked back at the rather large pile that had accumulated in the short seconds he wasn't paying attention and started bagging them up. As he did so, he could hear the click noise Crystal's shoes made on the floor as she came closer. She stopped right beside him and just watched as he bagged the stuff and said his line monotone as usual.

There was a pause before Crystal spoke, most likely to make sure the costumer was out of earshot. "Nick." She said matter-of-factly. "Do you remember our motto?" Nick made no change to his speed or voice when 'thanking' the costumer or bagging. He didn't even make any sound to acknowledge Crystal's presence. She continued anyway. "Alright. But I'm sure you remember why you're in this job, instead of something a little more to your liking."

Nick didn't like to be reminded of that. It wasn't because he was embarrassed, instead he just thought of it as more like a mother nagging her child about all the choices they SHOULD have made in their life. "Yes."

Crystal clapped her hands together. "I'm glad we're at least somewhat on the same page. But Nick..." Crystal suddenly lowered her voice and stepped closer. "I know you're a smart guy. I bet you're smart than most of the employees and costumers here combined. But, that's not what counts in getting a job. We look at grades and scores people have gotten in school. And we both know how you did in high school."

"Yeah. I got bored of all the work and quit going in my 4th year. You don't have to remind me. Now can you please just let me do this pathetic job so I can get back home?" Nick snapped, ready to explode. He started bagging the supplies more violently and almost throwing the bags into the costumer's carts.

Crystal swallowed hard and returned to her manager tone. "All I'm saying is that you should appreciate this job more, if it wasn't for me you wouldn't have even gotten the opportunity to work here!" She said pointing her finger up at him. Nick just rolled his eyes and whispered an 'oh please' under his breathe.

-The store will be closing in 10 minutes. Anyone still shopping please bring your items to the registers to check out. Thank you-

The voice sounded loud and clear over the intercom. Nick glanced excitedly at his watch 4:50pm. 'So god damn close...' he thought with a disappointed sigh. The last 10 minutes always were the longest for him. Quite a few times the 10 minutes would be up, and right as he was about to leave his bagging post another costumer would appear, as if they were lost in the store.

He couldn't wait to get back home and check the web. By now, the Kira supporters would be ragging around, and all the Kira sites would be up and fully running, signals bouncing through many countries- forcing law enforcement agencies to spend several hours tracking each one's location to shut them down one by one. The thought of reading the information on Kira after work got him into a pretty decent mood. Nick started to bag at a more pleasant pace and sounded a little more sincere when he thanked the last costumer of the night. Crystal noticed his change and strolled over to him.

"I see you're in a better mood. Did I finally get through to you?" She asked as Nick started to tidy up his work space. She beamed up at him with an innocent smile all he could do was laugh. Nick headed for the locker room again without saying a thing. "Well...?" Crystal continued, expecting a little more of a response.

"Like that would ever happen. But nice try." Nick replied chuckling a bit as he spoke. He put his hand on her head, and ruffled her hair around a bit before he entered the locker room- but not before noticing a slight pink tint in Crystal's features.

As Nick opened his locker and retrieved his clothes he heard a voice so soft it was barely noticeable. "Nick. You're birthday in the 22nd of March right?" She asked from right outside the door.

Nick pulled his shirt down and stuffed his uniform into his locker. "Yeah so?" He called out. There was nothing but the sound of Nick getting his things together. For a moment he thought she had left and might not have heard his response. When he left the locker room, Crystal was still standing there.

"You're... going to be 25 right?" She asked, fiddling with her figures.

"What of it?" Nick returned. "It's not even February why are you asking this now?"

She didn't say anything. It was like she was just a very timid teenage girl, instead of the confident manager she was only moments ago. Nick shook his head and started walking to the door. Crystal ran to catch up to him. "I-I just want to make sure I have the correct date and plenty of time..."

They were at the front door when he turned around and stared at her. "As far as I'm concerned we're just coworkers. You're just my manager and the person who helped me find a job in this busy, overpopulated city. Don't bother." Nick said coldly. When she didn't respond, he left the store, leaving her to lock up.

As Nick walked through the streets back to his apartment building he looked around at all that was happening around him. On almost all 4-ways there was a group of at least 50 people with signs that read 'Kira! Our savoir!' and 'Down w/L! Up w/Kira!' even 'L took away our chances at a peaceful life! Bring Kira back!' Nick just shook his head, 'what ludicrous people' he thought harshly as he passed a group being broken up by one of the local police agencies.

He walked through a construction area with graffiti on all the walls; 'L U ASSHOLE! WAY 2 BRING CRIMES UP!' or 'KIRA WE LUV U! COME BAC! WE NEED U MORE THEN EVER!' For some reason, Nick made sure to read as many as he could without being too obvious. It gave him an idea of how the people felt and how much they appreciated what Kira did 20 years ago. Unfortunately, as he got closer to his apartment building, more of them were being scrubbed off so as not to be seen by the general public.

He stepped up to the door and pushed them open. Walked up the stairs through the hall, unlocked his apartment door and finally was home. He slowly closed the door behind him, once he heard the -click- sound he turned the door knob lock, enabled the chain lock, as well as his own personally installed bolt lock. Nick dropped his bags on one of the kitchen chairs and hurried right by the dishes from the morning.

In one swing of his arm he turned on his computer and the lamp on his desk. The monitor slowly lit up the dark room as it came on. Nick opened up an internet window, ready to read as many Kira sites through as possible before they were forced to be taken down.

Without warning, his computer screen went blank- right when he opened the window the screen turned black. He checked the power and noticed the symbol was still glowing bright blue. "What the hell?" Nick mumbled, as he stared, confused at the completely jet-black screen. He spun around in his chair and faced towards his bed, debating whether or not he should bother getting frustrated. 'I knew I should have started saving for a new one.' He thought angrily as he massaged his temples.

Then, he heard a tapping sound.

Nick spun back around and looked at the screen. There was now a question, right in the middle, as well as two boxes underneath. One read 'Yes' the other 'No'. Nick tried moving his mouse, and found it still worked. He clicked around the boxes in the blank space, but nothing happened. 'Have I been hacked?'

Minutes passed by one by one as he continued staring at the computer screen. The question didn't change, move or disappear. He had never seen any thing in any of the internet forums of this kind of thing. He even disregarded the thought of it being a virus or someone hacking his computer, 'it's not like there is anything to take on this piece of junk'.

Nick glanced at the digital clock beside his lamp 7:38pm. He then turned his attention back to the screen. Are you alone? stayed there. "What kind of creepy question is that?" He debated just unplugging the computer but instead he let his curiosity get the better of him- and checked off the 'yes' box.

The question was then replaced with another. Do you think you can handle this quiz? Nick huffed- it was a stupid internet quiz after all- as he bring his cursor over the 'no' box, he reread the question. Do you think you can handle this quiz? for some reason, the way the question was phrased brought out Nick's competitive side and he quickly swiped his mouse over and clicked on the 'yes' box. And as if it was mocking him, the next question was Are you sure?. He clicked 'yes' almost immediately, fuming. This time, instead of two boxes there was a text box. He clicked inside and saw his cursor. He was supposed to type any response to the 'question' Good luck that he wanted. "I won't need it."

Nick answered question after question. Clicking either 'yes' or 'no' in no particular order or fashion. Each question was different than the last, the only exception to that was the 'chain questions', questions that popped up related to the last but with a different spin. Some of them occasionally was requiring a typed response of an unlimited character limit. He started to notice that they were in one of three categories; critical thinking, planning and problem solving.

As each question was answered, it seemed another would come up. It got to the point where Nick was tempted to unplug the computer again, sick of answering them all, wondering if the quiz would EVER end. But the first set of questions popped into his head. 'I CAN handle this stupid thing!'

The clock now read midnight, on the dot. '"I've been doing this quiz for 5 hours and 22 minutes? You've got to be kidding! I have work tomorrow!" Nick leaned back in his chair and thought about whether he should quit or not. "I've already done so much on this damn thing... I might as well finish." As if on cue, a notice popped up on the screen.

-Congratulations. You only have 2 questions left-

Underneath there was an 'OK' button, Nick clicked it. Another notice appeared after the screen changed to a 9x9 chart that had numbers 1-9 going diagonal on the left half and then went backwards from 9-1 on the other half. On the top left of the screen was looked like a timer, next to it was another box labeled 'Score: 0', and finally next to that one was one more box labeled 'Turns: 0'. The notice read;

-Get from the box labeled 1 on the top left side, all the way to the other box label 1 on the bottom right side. You must complete this chart in exactly 16 turns and a score of 50. You have 10 minutes. Good luck-

Nick laughed. "Oh please! This doesn't look hard at all! What a joke!" His cursor was already on the box with the 1 one it, his score changed to 1. He clicked diagonally to the 3, his score was now 4. Nick laughed again at so easy this 'question' was. He clicked the 4, but his score went up to 10. The laughing stopped. "Perhaps I underestimated this?" He took a moment to look over the chart before he clicked anything else. He clicked the 5 his score; 17, the time; 9 minutes and 23 seconds. Nick placed his hand on his forehead and stared at the screen, trying not to get too annoyed, "I'm only on my 4th turn, and my score is already too high to get to 50 exactly..."

He continued to click the boxes, each time he looked closely at his score as well as the number of turns done so far. 'It seemed as though the value of the numbers change- not randomly through...' He clicked 8, 8, 7, 5, 5, and then went to the 4 right underneath and selected it. His score was now; 44, turns taken; 12, time; 2 minutes and 7 seconds. "So the numbers have their respected value once again, huh?" But his gut told him not to go straight for the goal. He clicked the 4, 3 and glanced at his score again; 51. "Damn!" Nick looked at the timer; 46 seconds left. Nick sighed heavily, "I still have two turns to waste since I failed..." He clicked the 2 and his score went down to 49. Nick froze for a moment, but then noticed the timer turn red... 8...7...6...5...4...3- quickly he clicked the box labeled 1 and then...

Do you believe in gods?

"Ugh!" Nick slouched in his chair. Truthfully, he didn't, but for some reason he clicked 'yes' anyway.

What about gods of death?

"Sure! Why the hell not?" He said sarcastically.

What do you think gods of death eat?

"There gods, why do they need food?" Nick truly had no idea. This question had a text box. He looked around his apartment and spotted a basket of red apples sitting in the middle of his kitchen table. "Whatever..." he said as he typed in his answer.