ARMAGEDDON

Chapter 4

Dan had been raptured from his timeline just before the train accident, transported to the future and now returned to the present a few minutes after the party was over. Some way to cheat death. If there was a hand behind all of this, he didn't know whether to be thankful or sad.

Regardless, he thought it was good to be back to the present, where everyone was alive and the world was in one piece. Speaking of everyone, it suddenly occurred to him that for an accident like this, everyone would most likely be dead.

His heart melted in sorrow as the faces of the other passengers he had seen or met in the train began to flash through his mind.

All those innocent lives… , he thought.

Those many men, women and children, all gone within the blink of an eye. While he pondered on the reality of life's cruelty, he knew all this, as bad as it was was nothing compared to the future he had just come from. It was the scariest thing he had ever seen.

Just then, coughs, sighs and groanings were heard coming from a distance, a sign of survivors. Quickly, Dan waltzed through the wreckage, waving off the dust and smoke that filled the place with the paper in his hand and trying to make do with what little light that was coming into the tunnel, all in a bid to rescue whatever survivors he could find.

“ Wait a sec,” he said, freezing on the spot, and talking to no one in particular.

He slowly held up the paper in his left hand and muttered the words, “ no way,” in absolute shock.

Somehow, he had returned to the present with a newspaper from the future. The same newspaper his future self handed to him and called, ‘old news’. Well, it definitely wasn't old news now.

Dan took a deep breath, staring into thin air. Just in case he thought his unplanned trip to the future was just some crazy dream or mental experience, the document in his hand was enough proof that it wasn't. He knew that meant his life would never be the same again, and that everything he loved and held dear was now at stake.

The world as he knew it would soon be annihilated. If only there was something he could do.

Soon, a rescue team arrived on the scene and everyone who was still alive received medical attention and transported to a nearby medical facility, including Dan.

The doctors and other medical personnels didn't know which was more astonishing. The fact that there were any survivors at all after such a ghastly accident or that most of the said survivors sustained little to zero injuries.

In less than two days, Dan was back at his rented apartment in Seal city, and so was his best friend Felix, who was still having a hard time believing everything Dan had just described to him, not to even mention understanding it.

“ But that's just not possible,” Felix muttered to himself, his brows furrowed as he wondered at the newspaper in his hands.

Dan had kept the piece of literature hidden within his jacket until he came back and now it was the amazement of Felix. Even if Dan was only hallucinating or drunk as Felix had alleged, he wondered how a hallucination could become a real physical material - something he could touch.

Besides there was no other logical explanation for how Dan or anyone else would survive such an accident without a scratch.

“ He had superpowers, man. Superpowers. Like some kind of dragon or something,” Dan said, gently pacing about the room with his left hand in his pocket and gesturing with the other.

“ But you don't have superpowers, do you ?” Felix questioned.

“ Well, no. No I don't. But what if…” Dan said, his eyes searching as if looking for the words, “ what if somehow, in the future, I actually become him ?” He asked, not exactly expecting an answer.

“ That's not even a question. If any of this is true, then it is bound to happen,” said Felix, taking off his glasses, “ Do you realize what that means ? Our lives…the whole world will never be the same,” he added.

Dan stopped moving when his eyes fell on a picture standing on his table. He looked like he had just been shot by an arrow. It was Lauren's picture.

He narrowed his eyes, nodded gently, and muttered to himself, “Ofcourse.”

Felix just sat there gazing into the paper, lost in his thoughts, wondering what to make of everything.

“ You're right. I gotta go,” said Dan as he took a black jacket and put it on.

“ Where are you going?” Felix asked as Dan opened the door.

“ Well if we barely have a few months left to live, we might as well make every moment count, isn't it ?” Dan asked rhetorically before he walked out and closed the door behind him.

— — —

Dan waited by the stream, kicking a small rock into the water. The sun was setting, and the cool evening air was settling in. He looked up when he heard footsteps.

Lauren walked into the clearing, her face lit with a faint smile. “I hope you haven’t been waiting long,” she said, brushing her hair out of her face.

“Not too long,” Dan replied, stepping closer to her. “Thanks for coming.”

She crossed her arms. “You sounded serious. What’s going on?”

Dan hesitated, searching for the right words. “I wanted to talk about us. About our future.”

Lauren raised an eyebrow. “Our future?”

“Yes.” Dan said, taking her hands in his. “Lauren, I don’t want to keep hiding like this. I love you, and I know you love me too. So why should we let anyone keep us apart?”

“You know why,” Lauren said quietly, looking down. “My parents would never allow it. They’ve made it clear how they feel about you.”

Dan shook his head. “I don’t care what they think. What matters is how we feel. Life is short, Lauren. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring. Why waste it being miserable? Let’s take a chance. Let’s leave.”

She blinked, looking startled. “Leave? You mean run away?”

“Yes. Let’s elope. We could get married and start fresh somewhere far away. A place where no one can judge us or tell us what to do.”

Lauren pulled her hands back, pacing a few steps. “Dan, that’s... that’s huge. How would we even do that? We don’t have the money. And my parents would never forgive me.”

“They don’t need to forgive you,” Dan said firmly. “They’re trying to control your life. You deserve to be happy, and I know I can make you happy. Just trust me.”

She stopped pacing and turned to him, her face full of doubt and longing. “Dan, I love you. But what if we’re making a mistake? What if it doesn’t work out?”

“It will work out,” Dan said, his voice filled with determination. “As long as we’re together, we can handle anything.”

Lauren bit her lip, staring at the ground. Dan could tell she was torn, and his heart ached to see her struggling.

Then, suddenly, she froze. Her eyes widened, and her breath caught in her throat.

“Dan,” she whispered, pointing past him.

He turned quickly. He could feel his stomach twist when he saw what she was looking at.

A tall, thin creature stepped out from the shadows. Its body was grayish-green, its limbs unnaturally long, and its glowing yellow eyes locked onto them.

“What is that?” Lauren asked, her voice shaking.

Dan’s chest tightened. He knew exactly what it was, even though he couldn’t explain how it was here.

“Stay behind me,” he said quietly, stepping in front of her.

The creature tilted its head, studying them like a predator watching its prey. Then it hissed, a sharp, chilling sound, and started moving toward them with jerky, spider-like steps.

Dan's mind raced, wondering what to do. This wasn't the future, there was no badass future self to fight off this alien monster now, there was, apparently, no way out. Why this was happening at this time, he couldn't explain but this was not the time to ask those questions.

“Lauren,” he said, without looking back. “Run.”

Frozen by fear, Lauren's legs could barely carry her.The creature lunged forward, coming right at them, and everything else faded away.

“What is that?” Lauren asked, her voice shaking.

Dan’s chest tightened. He knew exactly what it was, even though he couldn’t explain how it was here.

“Stay behind me,” he said quietly, stepping in front of her.

The creature tilted its head, studying them like a predator watching its prey. Then it hissed, a sharp, chilling sound, and started moving toward them with jerky, spider-like steps.

Dan's mind raced, wondering what to do. This wasn't the future, there was no badass future self to fight off this alien monster now, there was, apparently, no way out. Why this was happening at this time, he couldn't explain but this was not the time to ask those questions.s

“Lauren,” he said, without looking back. “Run.”

Frozen by fear, Lauren's legs could barely carry her.The creature lunged forward, coming right at them, and everything else faded away