ARMAGEDDON

Chapter 3

“ I don't believe it,” Dan muttered, as realization dawned on him.

Now the dots began to connect.

“ That's old news by the way,” said the other guy, who was apparently Dan's future self. “This is 2026. February 13th to be precise. Life doesn't get any better,” he added without an ounce of emotion,“

“ You…you really are me. And this…this is the future. I'm in the future,” Dan said, awestruck, his voice barely above a whisper as he put his hands on his head as if trying to keep it from exploding into bits.

“ No, you are me, or…whatever. You might want to sit down, there's more. I might just know what the hell's going on here,” said future Dan, his voice still at its base and his face stolid.

For the next few minutes, future Dan could only try to bring his past self up to date with all that had happened in Seal city, but the guy could barely keep up. He had had too much going on for one day.

“ In a matter of months, this city and everyone in it will be destroyed. Including those you care about and there's nothing we can do about it,” said future Dan, “ Furlong and his army will rip through this city until they find the Omega core and destroy it along with the rest of the world.” He added.

“ Furnom. Omega… what's that ? I don't get it,” said Dan as he flipped through the pages of the newspaper in his hands, “ I mean you just gave up ? There's gotta be something we can do right ? Something I can do…” Dan asked, as if he was finally begining to grasp the situation.

“ Don't be foolish. Look around you. It's over ! We lose !” future Dan yelled. Something about his past self reminded him of something he wanted to forget.

He turned away, pressed his palms onto the table and bent his head down, exhaling heavily. He swept through his ruffled hair with his hand and placed it back on the table.

“ Don't make my mistake. Pushing them away to take the weight of the world on your shoulders is the worst mistake you'll ever make,” future Dan said, peering into the pictures on the table, “ You'll regret every moment you lost to be with them.”

Just then, a loud growl was heard coming from above them. The both Dans recognized that sound as an acute PTSD seized the original Dan Foster, sending shivers throughout his body.

“ That's not what I think it is, right? “ Asked the original Dan, who's heart rate was already begining to rise.

A loud and heavy thud shook the whole place. It seemed to be coming from the ceiling above them.

“ Maybe worse. They found me,” said future Dan as he looked at the trembling ceiling with the edge of his eyes.

The tremors became more frequent and dust soon filled the room. It had been ages since the place was last cleaned - a mere reflection of what future Dan's life had become after the disaster that hit the city, a disaster that had now come for him.

Cracks began to form on the ceiling as the rumblings continued. Something big, heavy and strong was desperately trying to break through and it was close. At the same time, the door began to shake, expanding like it was about to pop out of its hinges.

Future Dan put on his nose mask, burst into flames, looked over his shoulder and yelled to his past self, “ Stay close !”

The original Dan had his nose and mouth covered with the newspaper he was holding but he still had lungs full of dust and couldn't stop coughing.

“ What ?! Are you crazy ?!” He yelled back and coughed again, “ you're too hot!”

“ Just... whatever! Pick your poison! “ Future Dan yelled again.

The original Dan curled himself in a corner and barked in disgust, “Dammit !”

Just a few seconds later, a monstrous limb punctured a whole through the door. The original Dan began pointing at the door in terror from his corner with his mouth moving in speech patterns but not a word coming out.

But there, his future self stood, his gaze fixed on the door, waiting to give the creatures from hell a taste of home.

“ It should happen any minute now,” said future Dan, turning his attention to his past self, “ the day the aliens find the Omega core, the world as you know it will end ! Don't lose any moment with her, do you understand?! “ he barked.

“ What ?! “ Original Dan asked, having no intention of leaving that corner.

Blasting through the door came one of the aliens. It shook off the residual wooden pieces of the door and exchanged glances with both Dans.

“ Hey, “ future Dan called out to it, drawing its attention to himself, “ wanna dance ?”

The blazing man inhaled deeply as the alien growled loudly at him. The other Dan watched as his future self, after having filled his lungs with filtered air, let down his nose mask.

The alien launched itself against him and out of his mouth came a blast of fiery flames, which not only roasted the alien to nothing but set half of the room on fire.

“ Whoaaa !” The original Dan screamed at the top of his voice, filled with both excitement and terror.

If he was looking for an escape from his everyday life and the frustration he was dealing with, he definitely got it.

“ Hey ! “ He called out to his future self, “ how did you do that…” the words were still on his lips when the ceiling came crashing down.

In a blink, everything changed. From a small crumbling, dust - filled room to a smoky, faintly lit tunnel littered with pebbles and metallic shards.

Just a moment ago, Dan Foster was in the middle of an alien attack with his future self, who turned out to be a walking torch, but now he found himself standing in the midst of yet another chaotic scene.

“ No. Not again,“ Dan said, disheartened by the roller coaster of surprises life kept throwing at him in so little time.

He looked left and right, observing the chaos in his surroundings. He lifted his eyes and discovered a huge opening right above him. That was when he began connecting the pieces.

Judging by the nature of destruction he saw, it was clear that only an explosion could cause that kind of damage. An explosion, he thought. That was when he realized he was right back to the moment he left, or at least a few minutes after it.