章 2: Apartment complex

I woke up to the sound of Ginger's heart pounding like a drum. It was only two minutes since she had regained consciousness, but the panic in her eyes was palpable. Before she could fully process what was happening, her gaze fell on her wristwatch. 12:01.

"Nick..! Yeah, what about him...."

Her eyes widened even more as she stood up, her feet trembling. She looked around, trying to figure out what to do. The entrance was blocked by a Ferrari.

"Oh; and what about Eric...ERIC! ARE YOU..."

She ran and leaned over the crumbling table. To my relief, I hadn't disappeared, but my condition wasn't good either. My head was bleeding, and I was stuck under the rubble. But I was conscious. My eyes were open and unblinking, my attention focused on the screams and cries coming from outside.

This strange phenomenon was happening all around, not just in the bar. Owen had disappeared. The pain in my body told me I wasn't dreaming. The tutorial was supposed to begin in two hours. If it was what I was thinking it was...

I suppressed a gasp. Ginger tried to pull the table off me with all her strength. She looked worried for me.

I suppressed a smile this time.

"Ginger." I said, but she didn't listen due to her panic. "GINGER! Get in that car and reverse it. This oak table isn't supposed to be this heavy."

Ginger blinked a few times and looked at the Ferrari. Its wheel was pressing on the edge of the table. She hurriedly got in and entered the car, reversing it slowly.

Following that, I pushed the table off easily and walked out of the mess, my body covered in glass pieces, alcohol, and blood. I looked around.

Ginger came out of the car and ran to me.

"Eric... Owen disappeared. I don't know what's happening. A strange voice came and it was talking about scanning and tutorial or something. What, what do we do... My brother is alone at home. I..."

Her body was shaking in terror as she began to babble on. I looked at her face for a while before taking her by the arms and leading her towards the Ferrari.

"Let's hurry. I don't know what is happening. But the voice said that the tutorial will start in two hours. It's best if we find your brother before that... if he survived that is..."

"C-can you really drive this thing?" Ginger asked, her voice still shaking. I responded just by pressing her grip on her arm tighter to reassure her. Of course, I could drive. I had spent hours playing racing games.

As we sat in the Ferrari and drove it out of the bar, the engine roaring to life, we took a moment to absorb the surreal scene unfolding before us. The streets were a tableau of chaos—cars abandoned at haphazard angles, some still running with doors flung open, and others crumpled into twisted heaps of metal from collisions. Shattered glass littered the asphalt, reflecting the eerie glow of streetlights and the occasional flickering flame from a wreck.

I gripped the steering wheel tightly, my knuckles white as I navigated the obstacle course of debris and deserted vehicles. The usually bustling city streets were now eerily quiet, save for the distant echoes of screams and the occasional, frantic shout. The few people we saw were either running in blind panic or frozen in place, their faces contorted in terror and confusion. However, I couldn't help but feel a pang of thrill. Of excitement that came to me. My eyes were dilated as I struggled to drive in this mess.

Ginger huddled in the passenger seat, her eyes wide with shock as she took in the devastation. "Eric, what's happening?" she whispered, her voice barely audible over the hum of the Ferrari's engine. "Where is everyone disappearing. Owen... my little brother... Do you think it happened to him as well?"

I shook my head, my gaze fixed on the road ahead. "I don't know. But if it didn't, we need to get to your brother. If this... whatever this is... is happening everywhere, we have to make sure he's safe."

As we drove, the scene outside grew more desperate. A woman stood on the sidewalk, clutching a small child to her chest, her eyes wild as she screamed for help. A man stumbled out of a nearby building, his body flickering like a bad television signal before he vanished entirely, leaving behind only a shimmering cloud of dust.

Ginger gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. "Eric... did you see that?"

I nodded grimly. "Yeah. It's like what happened in the bar. People are just... disappearing."

We turned onto a main thoroughfare, usually packed with traffic at this time of night, but now eerily deserted. A few cars sped past us, weaving recklessly around obstacles, their drivers' faces etched with panic. I swerved to avoid a crashed motorcycle, its rider nowhere to be seen.

Ginger's breath hitched as she pointed towards a nearby park. "Look!"

A group of people huddled together, their forms flickering like candles in the wind. One by one, they began to vanish, their screams echoing through the empty streets until there was nothing left but the eerie silence.

I pressed the accelerator, urging the Ferrari faster. "We have to hurry. If this is happening everywhere, we don't have much time."

As we approached Ginger's apartment complex, the scene grew even more chaotic. A fire hydrant spewed water into the street, the geyser reflecting the orange glow of a nearby car fire. A handful of people ran towards us, their faces streaked with tears and soot, shouting incoherent warnings.

I rolled down the window as a man stumbled towards the car. "What's happening?" I shouted.

The man's eyes were wild, his breath coming in ragged gasps. "They're disappearing! Everyone's disappearing! You have to get out of here!"

Before I could respond, the man's form began to flicker. He looked down at his hands, his eyes wide with horror as they turned to shimmering dust. "No!" he screamed, his voice echoing as his body vanished entirely.

Ginger's face paled. "Eric... we have to find Nick. Now."

I nodded, my jaw set with determination. I floored the accelerator, the Ferrari's engine roaring as we sped towards the apartment complex. The building loomed ahead, its windows dark and ominous. As we screeched to a halt in front of the entrance, I turned to Ginger.

"Stay close to me," I said, my voice steady despite the fear in my eyes. "We'll find Nick. I promise."

We rushed into the apartment complex, the usual hum of activity replaced by an eerie silence, punctuated only by the distant echoes of chaos outside. The lobby was deserted, the front desk unmanned, and the elevators stood open and empty, their lights flickering ominously.

"The power's out," I murmured, trying one of the elevator buttons to no avail. "We'll have to take the stairs."

Ginger nodded, her face pale but determined. We pushed open the door to the stairwell and began to climb, our footsteps echoing in the empty shaft. As we ascended, we passed floors where apartment doors stood open, revealing glimpses of lives interrupted—meals left half-eaten, televisions flickering with static, and no sign of the inhabitants.

"Nick!" Ginger called out, her voice echoing through the stairwell. "Nick, where are you?"

There was no response, only the sound of our own hurried footsteps. We reached Ginger's floor, and she rushed to her apartment, me close behind her. The door was unlocked, and we burst inside, hoping to find Nick waiting for us.

But the apartment was empty. Nick's toys were scattered across the living room floor, and his backpack lay abandoned by the door, but there was no sign of the boy himself. Ginger's breath hitched as she looked around, her eyes filling with tears.

"He's not here, Eric," she said, her voice trembling. "Where could he be?"

I closed my eyes, there was a high chance that Ginger's brother had also disappeared. However, it was strange that in this whole complex, we didn't find a single person. An apartment complex of this size could easily be housing hundreds of people.

"Maybe the survivors went to a safe place to hide," I suggested. Hiding from such an event was not practical as people were disappearing no matter where they were, however, common people can't be expected to be so practical. However, if they are to evacuate, there aren't many places to go. It's either the basement or the roof.

I took her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "We'll find him. Let's check the roof. Maybe survivors are hiding there." Ginger nodded eagerly, her hope rising.

We made our way back to the stairwell and continued our climb, our hearts pounding with exertion and fear. As we reached the top floor, we found the door to the roof propped open, and the sound of voices filtered down from above.

The roof was a chaotic refuge, a fragile island of humanity perched above the ruins of the city. Twenty-four people huddled together in loose groups, their faces pale under the dim glow of the moon. Their ages spanned from children barely into their teens to adults in their prime, all united by fear and confusion. The air was thick with the murmur of worried voices, some crying softly, others speaking in hushed tones as if the very sound of their voices might summon disaster.

"Nick!" Ginger cried, spotting a familiar figure near the edge of the roof. She sprinted toward him, her steps uneven on the cracked concrete.

The boy turned, his face streaked with grime and his eyes wide with relief. "Ginger!" he called back, rushing into her arms. She knelt and hugged him fiercely, tears streaming down her face as she whispered reassurances he didn't seem to believe.

I let out a slow breath, tension easing slightly as I watched the siblings reunite. I turned my attention to the city below. From this height, the devastation was laid bare. Fires dotted the skyline, their smoke curling into the night like specters. Streets were clogged with abandoned vehicles, their headlights casting eerie beams through the haze. Entire blocks were dark, while others flickered with sporadic power. Here and there, faint screams still carried through the night, but they were fewer now, as if even chaos itself had grown weary.

I pulled out my phone, a grim kind of hope bubbling as I tapped the screen. Signal: None. The calls refused to connect, the app spinning endlessly. But the internet was still working, as if mocking the collapse around us.

My thumbs moved quickly, navigating to Google. The trending searches made my pulse quicken:

"The Game Has Begun."

"Rules of Survival 1:45 AM."

"Why Are People Disappearing?"

A chill crept up my spine, chased by something darker, something visceral—thrill. Awe. This wasn't a random catastrophe. It wasn't an attack or an accident. It was something bigger, something orchestrated. My gaze flicked to the time in the corner of my screen: 1:45 AM.

The countdown was almost over.

I slid the phone into my pocket and turned to Ginger and Nick. "We need to stay calm," I said, my voice low and steady. "Something's coming, and we need to be ready for it."

Ginger frowned. "What do you mean? What did you find?"

I hesitated, glancing at the others scattered across the rooftop. They were frantic, clutching at each other or staring into space as if the answers might materialize in the darkness. I motioned for Ginger and Nick to follow me, guiding them to a corner of the terrace away from the others.

Once we were alone, I leaned in, my voice barely above a whisper. "The disappearances? The chaos? It's all part of something bigger. A game. And it's about to start."

Ginger's eyes widened. "A game? What are you talking about, Eric?"

I glanced at the boy, my expression softening for a moment before hardening again. "I don't know yet. But if we're going to survive, we have to keep our heads. Stick together, stay sharp. We don't know the rules, but I guarantee they're not in our favor."

Above us, the stars seemed dimmer, their light swallowed by the encroaching smoke. Below, the city whispered of its own death. And around us, the rooftop survivors clung to fragile hope, oblivious to the storm about to descend.

I leaned back against the wall, my gaze drifting to the distant horizon. The air felt heavy, charged, as if the world itself was holding its breath.

"Any moment now."

// Tutorial Has Commenced//

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