"Oh no, no, no!"
AJ woke up from the erotic dream to find his roommate rampaging in their room, half-naked. He splattered drops of water all over the place.
"Bakayaro (idiot)," AJ mumbled, half-awake.
"You made me lose sleep over that stupid survival guide, jackass!"
"Not so loud, man," AJ mumbled as MRJ rambled on. "And my name's Aron, not jackass-"
Aron fell asleep and found himself dreaming once again. This time he found himself to be in a dark cave. The walls of the cavern pulsated. The cave shook violently, and a peal of thunder was heard. A thumping noise echoed throughout the cave.
"Is something coming after me?!" Aron thought to himself.
A streak of light poured in through the mouth of the cave. Aron gazed outside, but his eyes couldn't make out anything. The cave began to shake violently. The mouth of the cave closed following the tremors.
The air inside felt hot and heavy. Aron tore off his jacket and threw it against a jagged rock to his right. A glass tube fell out of one of its pockets. It appeared to be filled with green liquid. He picked it up and observed it. The ground moved beneath his feet again. He lost balance, and the tube slipped off his fingers. It broke upon impact with the ground. The liquid evaporated with a sizzling noise.
The thundering noises continued as the cave quaked. Before he could react, the entire cave lit up bright white. It faded into darkness just as quickly.
"Death, huh?" Aron murmured out loud.
A strange silence fell, followed by the darkness. He realized he was no longer in the cave or even on Earth, for that matter. The void around him formed colorful patterns, shifting and pulsating as he felt himself being pulled by a mysterious force.
"Wake up," a faint voice was heard.
He looked around in confusion, trying to find a source for the voice.
"Huh," another voice was heard. "Interesting."
"No," yet another voice spoke. "Not this one. He has been through enough for two lifetimes."
Aron was somehow able to differentiate the voices that belonged to the latter entities of the void.
"Wake up, Aron!" the former voice commanded.
Aron sat up on his bed in a cold sweat. He gathered himself slowly.
"Not so different from last time, huh?" he mumbled.
"2 o'clock?" he grabbed the phone he left on charging overnight.
"Now, where did that book go?" he looked around. "Yep, there you are,"
Aron found the book on the floor beside the bed. He sighed as he flipped through the pages of the guide.
"He was right," Aron yawned as he tossed the book onto the desk. "This is stupid."
He then brushed his teeth and fixed himself a cup of noodles.
"Man, what was I thinking?" Aron shook his head. "Cup noodles to survive an apocalypse? I need to think of a better excuse to convince Dad."
Aron thought about his roommate.
"Oh, did he make it to college on time? Shit, I hope he isn't mad at me. Oh well, no use crying over spilled ramen," he shrugged. "Seriously, how long is this break gonna be? It has been so long since I went to college; it's almost as if I'm a NEET. Maybe I should start studying?"
"Yes, that's it, no more stupid stuff," he nodded to himself. "I am gonna study from now on, no matter what…"
Aron took a look at his laptop.
"…as soon as I finish that episode," he sat down.
Aron could hear several cars skid across the road in front of their apartment. He checked the time. It was 4 PM. He switched to headphones when the noises grew louder.
"Can you stop with all that racket?! I am trying to watch something here! Oh, it was the last episode," Aron murmured. "Wait, don't tell me–no season two?! What the FU-"
Aron heard the front door slam hard. MRJ appeared in the doorway. He was gasping for air. His clothes seemed a complete mess.
"Whoa," Aron exclaimed. "You look like you fought a 'zombie'!"
Aron held the book in his hand as he made the joke.
"You," MRJ stomped toward Aron.
"Dude, I am sorry, I know I messed up!" Aron backed away a little. "You weren't late to college, were you?!"
"How. Did. You. Know?!" MRJ was shaking.
"Uh, you got up late?"
"Huh?"
"You slept past the clock. So, weren't you, like, late to college?"
"What? No," MRJ shook his head. "Not that. How did you know it would happen?"
"Uh, what would happen?" Aron looked puzzled.
"The apocalypse!" MRJ scowled. "The zombie apocalypse!"
"What do you mean?" Aron burst into laughter.
"People are turning into zombies! They are everywhere!"
"Oh!" Aron exclaimed.
MRJ stared at Aron like he demanded an explanation.
"What's making all that noise outside, anyway?" Aron asked.