original

Apocalyptic Era of Floods

นักเขียน: sealys_van

บท 1: Flood

Simon was awakened by the 7:40 alarm on his phone.

Still groggy from sleep, his head throbbing faintly, he reached out to the bedside table to silence the alarm. Feeling a pressing need, he got up from bed.

"I really shouldn't have drunk so much last night," he muttered.

Simon felt parched, his throat as dry as if it were on fire.

Last night, he had entertained an important client, pulling out all the stops to secure a deal: dinner, KTV, late-night snacks, and three rounds of drinks. Despite his tolerance, he couldn't hold out forever.

He would discreetly go to the restroom to clear his throat and vomit, only to return and continue drinking. This cycle of drinking and vomiting continued until he was completely wasted, unable to recall how he had gotten home.

"Sigh, I blacked out again," Simon muttered, feeling dizzy and heavy-headed. Deep down, he sighed at the hardships of life, especially the challenges of being alone in a foreign place.

As he sat up in bed and slipped on his slippers, he noticed they were damp.

"Hmm? Why is the floor so damp?" Simon suddenly became half awake and quickly stood up.

Could it be that he had gotten so drunk last night that he forgot to turn off a tap, causing water to overflow and flood the floor?

Seeing the widespread dampness on the floor, Simon hurriedly checked the kitchen and bathroom, confirming that there were no leaks.

"Strange, I don't see any leaks anywhere. Why is the floor so damp, as if it has been flooded? Could it be a burst pipe somewhere?"

"However, I'm already on the top floor, so it can't possibly be water leaking from above. Oh well, I'll deal with it when I come back after work."

Simon shook his head, feeling a bit overwhelmed. He was someone who dreaded trouble.

This was the apartment he rented, situated on the top floor of a thirty-story building.

Glancing at the time, it was nearly ten to eight. He had to be at work by eight-thirty, a twenty-minute bus ride from here to his office.

He couldn't afford to delay any further, hastily brushing his teeth and washing his face.

Due to staying up late last night, his eyes were still slightly swollen. While washing his face, he instinctively covered his eyes with a towel for about ten seconds before removing it, feeling much relief in his eyes and a slight return of vigor.

Removing the towel, he turned his head to notice the small gap in the bathroom window covered with opaque glass film. He reached over and pushed the window open fully.

As he glanced outside through the window, Simon's eyelids suddenly twitched.

"This... this is..."

Simon's pupils dilated as he leaned out, looking outside the window, taking in a sharp breath of cold air.

Looking out from the window, all he could see was a shimmering expanse of water. There was no sign of tall buildings, roads, or vehicles, just water everywhere.

"How is this possible?"

Simon couldn't help but cry out in disbelief, his heart pounding wildly in his chest. He immediately closed his eyes, trembling slightly all over.

"I must have had an illusion from covering my eyes with the towel for too long," Simon thought to himself silently, rubbing his eyes again. Then, he opened his eyes once more.

Outside the window, the scene remained the same—a vast expanse of water. He even noticed a blue plastic slipper floating not far away on the water's surface.

"Bang!" This time, Simon slammed the window shut with force, a chill running down his spine. He rushed out of the bathroom, but in his haste, his toe hit the door frame, causing him to sweat coldly on his forehead from the pain.

Ignoring the possible injury to his toe, Simon limped to the balcony. He pulled open the balcony curtains and stood there like a statue, stiff and trembling uncontrollably, his heart pounding intensely.

Through the row of windows on the balcony, Simon finally saw the truth.

The city before his eyes was completely submerged in water, transformed into an endless expanse of water.

On the water's surface, he could only see sporadic buildings protruding. All of these structures above water were taller than thirty floors; anything below thirty floors was submerged.

The building where Simon lived happened to be thirty stories tall, with only his top-floor apartment visible above the water. Below the twenty-ninth floor, everything was underwater.

"This is simply impossible... I must be dreaming!"

Though Simon was already twenty-seven years old and had weathered two years of harsh realities in society, his mind was still filled with fear at this moment. He could not accept everything his eyes were seeing. He fiercely pinched his left arm.

His grip was tight, leaving a large bruise on his arm immediately, causing him to gasp in pain.

The intense pain and the undeniable reality before his eyes made him realize that what he was seeing was definitely not a dream, nor could it be a hallucination.

His bewildered mind slowly calmed down a bit, and he looked down at the damp ground.

Could this be the true reason for the dampness on the ground?

Did this city really get suddenly flooded after he drunkenly fell asleep last night?

But if there was such a massive flood, why was there no commotion at all? Could it be that he slept so deeply due to intoxication that he didn't hear anything?

Soon, Simon thought of something and opened the door, stepping into the corridor, urgently knocking on the door of the neighboring unit.

Apart from him, there were two other households in this unit. Simon wasn't familiar with them, except for knowing that the neighbor next door was a stylish young woman who had moved in recently, about two or three months ago.

Their schedules for leaving and returning from work were similar, so they had crossed paths quite a few times, though they had never spoken.

Most of the time, he saw her coming and going alone, occasionally with a man. He had seen her bring different men home three times, each time with a different one.

"Hello, is anyone home?"

Simon, disregarding politeness, pounded on the door loudly, but received no response.

Seeing no reaction, Simon hurried down the corridor to another unit's door.

He remembered a young couple lived here, who owned a noisy Chihuahua.

About to knock, he suddenly noticed the door was not fully closed but slightly ajar.

"Is anyone home?" Simon paused for a few seconds, and seeing no answer, he pushed the door open.

As the door swung open, he saw a messy living room, with two pairs of shoes by the shoe cabinet near the entrance.

One pair was men's leather shoes, and the other was women's high heels. One of the leather shoes was turned over, its sole facing upwards.

A trash can lay overturned on the floor, spilling its contents.

On the dining table inside, there were two commonly used circular plastic takeout containers. One container had half a bowl of soup inside, while the other had spilled onto the table, with the soup now solidified.