"You really need to get a job you know. It's been over a year already that you live off your father's money and you are already 28 years old. You even moved in with your girlfriend in a new house. How are you going to support that without having a steady income?" A worried voice sounded through the phone's speaker.
"Mum, I already told you I got a job at Pizza Express," Alex replied. "God damn it, I died again."
"ALEX DAWSON, ARE YOU PLAYING VIDEO GAMES AGAIN?" his mother raged. "At least stop that thing when you are talking to me. You play video games all day long, I'm surprised Anna hasn't broken up with you already."
"Yeah, thanks, mum. I'm hanging up now. Say hi to dad and sis from me." Alex said before hanging up the phone. "Jesus, isn't she tired of nagging after all these years?"
"Who's nagging?" A sweet female voice sounded behind him.
"Oh, hi babe you back? How was work?" Alex stood up and kissed her.
"It was the same as every day, she keeps on giving me jobs that have nothing to do with my position in the company," Anna replied while throwing her bag on the couch. "Alex, you were home all day, couldn't you at least clean up the table? It's not like I am asking you to clean the whole house. Just put the dishes in the sink or start the dishwasher. Since you moved in, the house became a mess."
"I can leave if you don't want me here." Alex moved behind Anna and hugged her playfully.
"Stop that, you know I don't want you to leave. I just want you to help me since you have tons of free time.
Instead of just playing video games or reading these Chinese books you can also help here a bit. I am getting back from work every day and I want to relax but you don't even give me the chance." Anna replied frustrated while pushing his hands away.
"First of all, they are not only Chinese, and seriously what is going on with all of you today. First my mum and then you. I cleaned up yesterday and I didn't even use the table today. Can't you just come home one day and be happy and relaxed? Why does it always has to be, Alex that or Alex this? I even found a job because you couldn't stop whining about me staying in the house all day while you were out working." Alex shouted before grabbing the car keys.
"Where are you going?" Anna asked.
"To get some air," Alex said and stormed out of the house.
As soon as he closed the door behind him he leaned on it and sighed. He could still hear Anna murmuring inside.
"I can't believe I fell in love with him. He is so lazy. He is just wasting his life."
Alex gritted his teeth when he heard that but still moved on and took the elevator down to the garage. He got in his car and drove away.
His house was on the 4th floor of a new built 20-floor building. Thankfully it was not that expensive since it was based in the suburbs of a small sized town.
He drove for nearly half an hour before he arrived at the beach. He parked the car and got out heading to a kiosk to buy something to drink. His choice was a cheap bottle of red wine. That was all he could afford. He then walked on the beach for a while before sitting down. It was late in the afternoon so the sun was about set. Alex opened the bottle and started drinking while gazing at the sea.
"I am fucking useless," he muttered.
'Every fucking day feels the same. I don't even have ambitions any more. When did I stop trying? I remember being competitive when I was a kid. I couldn't stand being number 2 in anything and I was only satisfied being number 1. Yet now all I want is for this boredom to end.'
Alex kept drinking until night came.
'When did I stop dreaming about doing stuff with my life. No, that's not right, I'm still dreaming for a damn apocalypse. I want this world to end.' Alex continued thinking while slowly sipping his wine.
'Did I turn into a bad person? I know full well that in case of an apocalypse there is a huge possibility for my family to die and yet here I am, selfishly thinking about me being an MC in a novel rather than being happy having them.' He lifted the bottle to drink but then realised it was already empty.
'God damn it,' He stood up and threw the bottle at the sea. Alex then started walking toward his car.
"Hey asshole, don't litter." Someone shouted at him. It was late Spring and even though it was night there were still people at the beach.
"Fuck you dude," Alex replied.
"What did you just say?" The man argued.
"John, ignore him, he is clearly drunk. Let's not ruin our night because of him." The woman next to him said.
"Scum." The man called John looked once more to Alex's direction with contempt.
Alex ignored him and kept walking. He soon arrived and sat down in his car. His head dropped on the wheel and he slowly started crying.
'Why am I like this? I used to be happy...'
*Ring ring*
He lifted his head and checked the caller in his phone that he had left in the car. He then picked it up.
"Hey, Anna."
"Alex are you alright? What happened to you? I called you four times!!" Anna's anxious voice sounded on the phone.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm on the car and coming back now." Alex replied.
"Why are you doing this? If you have a problem we can solve it. You do not have to rush out and disappear. You can just talk to me."
"I know, I'll come back and we will talk."
"Ok, I'll cook some rice and beef and we can talk over dinner," Anna said lovingly.
"Sure, I'd like that," Alex replied and hang up the phone. However, as soon as he did that he felt an urge to call her back again.
"Alex?" Anna picked up.
"Hey babe, I know I'm not myself lately but I want you to know that I love you."
"I love you too, Alex" Anna replied and hang up once again.
On the way home, he stopped in a flower shop and picked up Anna's favourite flower, a black dahlia, with the last of his money. The road was pretty empty after that so it wasn't long until Alex arrived. As usual, he parked the car in the garage and took the elevator to the 4th floor. When he arrived at the door he found it slightly opened.
"Hey babe, you left the door open," Alex shouted as he got in. He threw the keys on the small table and walked to the kitchen.
"Mmm, it smells gr-" His next words were blocked in his throat. Anna was lying on the floor next to a pool of blood. "What the... ANNA??? " Alex kneeled down and picked her in his arms. "Anna! Oh please god, Anna wake up! Please wake up!" His vision already started blurring as tears started rolling.
'I need to call an ambulance!' Alex thought and slowly put her down again and took out his phone.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," A voice sounded.
Alex slowly lifted his gaze up and saw two people, a male and a female, standing at the kitchen door.
"Who are you guys? Why did you do this? " Alex questioned while tears were flowing non-stop.
"Well, I am Mike and she is Jane. People nowadays are calling us the Hemsworth couple," the woman replied while laughing.
Alex instantly thought back to a piece of news that headlined the last few weeks. There was a couple in the city that was wanted by the police after they found numerous corpses buried in their back yard.
"You guys are the couple wanted by the police. The ones charged with over 20 murders aren't you?"
"Bingo! See baby? We are famous now!" The man laughed hysterically. He then slowly lifted a gun and pointed it at Alex. "You see, there is no need to call an ambulance because she is already dead. But you don't have to worry, you will meet her soon." he finished his sentence and shot at Alex.
The gun had a silencer on it so there was no sound. Alex only felt a sudden surge of pain coming from his chest. He looked at the hole the bullet made next to his heart in disbelief and then looked at the man who shot at him. Alex had stopped crying. Rage and refusal were the dominant emotions. He tried to say something but blood had already filled his mouth.
"I don't like this guy honey! I like when they are begging for their lives but look at his eyes, he is just angry." The woman called Jane said teasingly.
"It doesn't matter. When a sheep goes for slaughter the end result is always the same. No matter what it feels." Mike laughed.
While Alex was still looking at the couple's faces seemingly trying to commit them to memory, everything froze.
**Countdown for the teleportation begins now.**
**5,4,3,2,1.**
**Teleporting Planet's Earth trial takers immediately.**
A sudden flash of light blinded Alex's eyes. He shouted from the pain and started rubbing his eyes. As soon as he focused a bit he noticed that he could hear a lot of people around him shouting as well.
"What is this?"
"Where is this?"
"What happened??? I was in an important meeting!*
Alex noticed he was still kneeling so he stood up. Strangely, it was very easy to stand up. He looked down at his chest and there was no wound from the gunshot anymore.
Looking around he noticed that there were thousands of people that he didn't even know. Meanwhile, he kept hearing a buzzing sound from somewhere above him. He lifted his eyes and saw a huge sized drone in the shape of a ball floating in the air.
**Please be quiet Earthlings. An introduction is going to start before proceeding to the Tutorial.**
Alex's eyes widened while staring at the voice coming from the drone.