Heir of Anubis: Survive the God's Deadly Game

Chapter 1. The Day the World Broke

It was just a typical day for everyone, a workday where people were busy chasing after trains, or maybe even cursing to themselves while sprinting to the office because they woke up late.

The clock showed eight in the morning, the time when office workers were settled in their high-rise towers. They looked at the coffee, held in their paper cups, and watched as the liquid began to ripple.

“What the heck,” one of the workers muttered, talking to his colleague in front of the window on the twenty-fifth floor, facing a view of glittering glass buildings caught by the morning sun.

“Probably just a truck passing by. The vibration travels, bro,” his colleague answered, shrugging it off.

Before the first worker could argue, a larger tremor hit. It made everything inside the office, the entire building, sway violently. The shaking grew, sending everyone into a panic, screaming, and scrambling to protect themselves.

“Earthquake! Earthquake!”

“Oh my God…”

But the tremor kept getting bigger, and it lasted longer than any normal earthquake. Things crashed everywhere. Buildings began to crumble, taking the people inside with them. 

Cars stopped dead on the streets as the smooth asphalt cracked and jutted out in different directions. People were running in panic, racing towards open spaces, desperate to get away from anything that could fall on them.

On the edge of the city, an old scavenger gaped. He watched as the city limit seemed to split in two. The part of the city where he stood was lifting up, like someone was reaching down and scooping up a handful of dirt in their palm, pulling it upward.

A woman, sitting in the middle of the road after being knocked down by the panicking crowd, stared open mouthed. The city before her now felt like it was flying upward fast. The ground where the city had once been was now empty, like a giant, freshly formed crater.

Cars and people who hadn't made it into the city scrambled out of their vehicles. They watched, terrified and stunned, as the city disappeared quickly, flying off into the distance.

*******

Devon ran with all his strength, as fast as he could, going back toward his rented single room house. He had only been walking for about five minutes when the long, massive earthquake started.

“Raline!” he yelled, panic sharp in his voice as he called for his younger sister.

“Devon!” A voice answered from inside the small house.

Devon frantically fumbled the key into the lock and twisted it open. The moment the door flew inward, he tumbled to the floor, the shaking too intense.

“Damn it!” he cursed, looking up at Raline. She stared back, her eyes wide with fear and worry.

“I’m scared, Dev…” she whispered.

Devon struggled to stand, but the ground was still rocking violently. He had to crawl toward Raline, who was sitting on the bed. His sister was frail and was lying sick with a fever that day.

After a desperate struggle, he managed to grab Raline’s hand and pull her into a hug, right as the ground seemed to fall from a great height. Both of them floated for a brief, dizzying moment above the mattress.

“Aaaaaaaaaaa!!!” 

They both screamed as gravity slammed them back down onto the bed, thankfully, with a sickening thud.

Devon took the worst of it. He was underneath, with his sister’s weight on top of him. His chest felt like it was being squeezed hard, and for a few moments, he couldn't breathe. 

'Fuck, that hurt.'

After the world seemed to have been slammed back into place, the shaking stopped. The world went silent, save for the faint, wailing sound of car alarms in the distance.

“Devon…” Raline called slowly, gently rising from his chest. “I think the quake stopped…”

“Yeah, I guess,” Devon replied, wincing as he clutched his chest. He sat up, and they both sat close together for several silent minutes, waiting for another tremor.

But the world was still. Finally, Devon stood up. 

“It stopped,” he said, looking around. Their simple small cabinets were toppled over, their contents scattered and mixed with things from the kitchen.

Fortunately, the tiny house had held up. Only a few parts of the roof had collapsed, and some cracks ran across the walls.

“Thank goodness…” Raline said, trying to get up too, intending to tidy up. But Devon placed a hand on her shoulder, urging her to stay put.

“Leave it. I’ll do it. You’re still sick, just lie down,” he said, picking up the blanket lying on the floor.

“But…”

“No buts. You’re sick, sis.” Devon wrapped the blanket around her. Raline finally obeyed, lying down on the bed, only watching her brother busy sweeping up the fallen roof debris in one corner of the house.

She picked up her phone and tried to find news about the earthquake. But the internet was dead, and there was no signal at all. She shook the phone, but it was no use. Still no signal. 

“Why is there no signal…”

“Probably the quake. It’s normal, it’ll be back in half an hour,” Devon mumbled, still sweeping the roof rubble.

“Oh.” Raline gave up and placed the phone beside her, lying still and staring at the ceiling. Then, she heard screaming in the distance. That sounds… bad.

“Bro... Someone’s screaming like they’re terrified…”

Devon stopped sweeping and listened. Sure enough, the screams were getting louder, more numerous, and closer.

His gut twisted with a bad feeling. “Stay here,” he ordered, and he walked out of the house. He then climbed the electric pole not far from their house, nearly reaching the top.

When he saw the source of the screams, he froze. Several groups of people were running in scattered panic, trying to escape from figures Devon couldn't quite make out clearly.

They look like people, but super skinny, naked. All white from head to toe… carrying swords… and shields…

He thought for a moment, trying to process what kind of creatures they were. Then, a chilling clarity hit him.

Skeletons. All the figures were just skeletons, chasing everyone in their path. They leapt nimbly, stabbing their swords into the people who failed to get away. *Skeletons? Like in a bad horror movie?*

“You gotta be kidding me.”

Then, several gunshots echoed, aimed at the skeletons. A few police officers appeared, firing their pistols.

But the skeletons only stumbled back a bit, then immediately resumed chasing the people, including the cops.

Devon went pale. He knew they had to get away from those things. He scrambled down the electric pole, rushed into the house, grabbed his backpack, and stuffed a few crucial items inside—some clothes, Raline’s medicine, and the remaining instant noodles.

Raline looked at him, bewildered. “What is it…?”

“We have to leave now,” he muttered, not looking at her.

“But… what’s going on? Why is everyone screaming?” Raline tried to get an answer.

Devon remained silent. Instead, he grabbed Raline's hand. “You have to run, sis. Just trust me.”

Without waiting for a reply, Devon ran, pulling his sister's arm, causing her to stumble.

After a quick look left and right outside the door, finding no skeletons nearby, he pulled her to run down the street, away from the direction he had seen the skeletons coming from. She struggled to keep up with her older brother's long strides.

“Devon! Slow down! What is it?!”

“Skeletons. Live friggin' skeletons are killing people near the city square…”

Raline's eyes went wide, then narrowed as she stared at the back of her brother. If anyone else had said it, she wouldn't believe them. But it was her brother, and she knew he wouldn't lie, especially when her safety was on the line. 

Okay, fine. Living skeletons. Let's go with that.