Chapter 3

Ready!

I stepped out into the cold, crisp, air. A breeze caught my hair almost immediately. I remember I had to squint to make out the details of the land around me; apparently my eyes weren't quite adjusted yet. It was another moment or two before I was able to make out the horrors of the world that lay before me.

Keep in mind that not everything had changed; there were buildings, skyscrapers, and the like. It was just that, the city was devoid of almost all life. On first impression you wouldn't believe it to be earth at all. More like a planet made entirely made of concrete, and I was in the midst of the ever widening valley. Every step I took made a very distinct sound, that of rubber against any hard surface.

Step after step, that resonating echo reminded me just how alone I was. Or how alone I thought I was. Then, behind me I heard the sound like rapid foot steps, not unlike a human's. I turn around, yet there is no one to be found. "Hello," I call out; "is anyone there?" There is no reply from the so called footsteps. I turn back in my initial direction suspecting the sound was nothing more than a piece of paper, or some other debris. Then there was that sound, scuttling, but this time there was an accompanying sound to it. Sounded soft at first then it grew louder, the only way I could describe it, dear reader, is to call it by exactly what it was laughter. Not just laughter but perhaps the most maniacal evil laughter I had heard yet.

I turn around again, and to my displeasure there was something this time. It was almost human in appearance, yet there was something very odd about it. I can now say with the utmost certainty that it was the hunched over stance, this made it appear much smaller than it actually was, hut this was nothing in comparison to the discoloration. The figure's skin was a very unhealthy shade of yellow, not quite as bright as my suit, yet a little more prominent than a mere case of jaundice.

The creature charged at me, laughing its laugh, my first instinct is to run from it, but no I take a battle stance and prepare to fight. The training we had undergone for the initial invasion had left me with a few mixed martial arts skills, but with my body in the newly awakened state that it was it was anyone's guess what was to come. Feral, the creature tries to claw at my eyes but I have it held at arms length. I take it with both hands and I flip it and throw it to the ground.

What happened then was perhaps the most interesting. The creature did not merely die as any other would have, oh no, it dissolved into the air, leaving a small glowing orb of yellow light where it had once been. Then this newly appeared orb floats towards me and into my mouth, giving one the impression that I was eating it in a way. It had no flavor nor did it have and adverse side effects on me, in fact I felt rejuvenated and energized in a way I hadn't felt since…

No, not now…

Now is not the time, everything was going so well too…