Dawn of the 13th Era

The Plague(1)

While leaving his room, he wondered why the girl who saw him when he woke up, Mary, was still around because she clearly saw him suffer a wound to the skull and still walk around normally.

Anyone who saw that would've come back or reported it, right? He decided not to bother about it for the short time. Walking out of his gate, he saw a little boy living across the lodge in a bungalow with his parents, crying because he lost his dog.

A small crowd had gathered around the dog, and Orion approached out of curiosity, wondering if it was just a dog that had gathered such a huge crowd. Moving closer, he saw the dog laying flat on the ground like it was sleeping, but its body was collapsing in on itself. It looked like something was drilling into it and pulling its skin inside its body, and even though the dog was dead, the flesh was still moving.

Orion watched this with a shocked expression on his face while some people already had their phones out, taking videos and pictures, when suddenly the dog stopped moving altogether.

After that incident, Orion walked over to the bus stop, then hailed one and got on it, heading to campus for his lecture. He felt the atmosphere was somewhat strange. He looked at the people around him and started noticing faint tints on the bodies of some.

Remembering what happened the last time he met someone with a color aside from the normal blue and red,

"Are they all... mutating?" he wondered in shock.

His mind wandered to the dog earlier, and he realized he forgot to check the colors on its body before it died. Deciding to push it out of his mind, he rushed to the bus stop, took the bus, and after getting to campus, he hurried to the hall so he could meet Jerry and confirm something that had been on his mind all along.

Getting to the lecture hall, he found the class scanty. The lecturer was standing on the podium with a deadpan expression. He quietly sat down at the back row, as always, then started glancing around for Jerry.

The class was scheduled to last for two hours, and Orion was already late by 20 minutes. After sitting in the lecture for forty minutes, listening to the lecturer ramble on without paying attention to anything, the lecturer ended the class one hour ahead of time and then left the hall.

They were surprised the strict lecturer would end the lecture early, but Orion was glad regardless. He rushed toward the front seats, trying to find Jerry, but he couldn't find him anywhere, which was a very rare occurrence because Jerry rarely, if ever, missed classes. He was committed to a fault.

Picking up his bag, with a hood drawn over his face to avoid attention because of his scars, he left the lecture hall, then called Jerry, trying to find out what happened to him.

After a few beeps, he heard Jerry's voice.

"Orion, what's up?"

"I came to class and didn't see you there. Is anything wrong?" Orion asked with a concerned voice, listening to Jerry's low and weak tone over the line.

"I got fired by my boss yesterday, and I'm down with a serious fever. It started this morning," Jerry explained.

"Fired for what?" Orion asked.

"Well, I found Jessica now dating the boss, and he decided to fire me on a whim," Jerry sighed.

"Jessica broke up with you?" Orion asked.

"No, she didn't. I just saw the two of them dating, and when I found out, he fired me on the spot. So now my girlfriend is gone, my job is gone, and... I have a fever hitting me right now," Jerry sighed.

"Just give me a while. I'll be back in shape soon. I'll just look for another job, I guess."

"Hold on, I need to go somewhere real quick. I'll come over to your house by evening," Orion said, trying his best to comfort Jerry.

Dropping the phone, Orion looked up ahead.

"And here I was wondering how to get money. Looks like I found myself a victim. That guy always irritated me anyway," Orion said with a smirk on his face.

3:35 PM

Orion was walking down the streets with a hood over his head. It was a habit he had developed over time; it was better than having everyone stare at him while passing by.

His destination?

The restaurant a few streets away from Luminaries University, also Jerry's former workplace. It was a restaurant created by a young elite born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

Age-wise, he was the same age as Jerry and Orion—19 years old—but their statuses were worlds apart. Getting to the restaurant, he walked over to the service desk and requested a light meal with the last cash he had left on him.

"If this works, then I won't be lacking money again after this anyway," he thought to himself.

He stayed in the restaurant for a while, waiting for the owner to come out. He had already seen the green sedan outside, so he was sure Lucien would still be in the restaurant.

A few minutes later, he saw Lucien walk out from the back door with a girl beside him. Orion recognized her as Jerry's ex-girlfriend, Jessica.

The moment Orion saw them, he stood up and walked over.

"I hope this works, or I'll have to change plans," he thought with a faint smile on his face.