Many ordinary things were happening on this ordinary Tuesday.
A commuter train rolled along its track, delivering groggy riders to their offices. In a small cafe on the corner of 5th and Maple, a barista called out the latest order for a caramel latte, no foam, as another customer checked their phone and sighed at the time. A gray-haired man watered his ferns on a third-floor balcony, squinting at the sky as he adjusted his hat. And across town, in a modest apartment building, residents settled into routines as predictable as the ticking of their clocks.
In Apartment 2B, Helen Sanders sat by her window, embroidering a daisy onto a blue handkerchief, humming along to a tune on the radio. In 3C, Marcus, a middle-aged accountant, stirred his coffee while scrolling through emails, his mind already drifting to the weekend. Over in 5A, two kids bickered over the last slice of toast while their mom rushed out the door, grabbing her keys and mumbling about how she was going to be late again. It was all routine. All mundane.
Except…something very out of the ordinary was about to happen.
A sudden pause rippled through the building, through the town, as if the world itself was holding its breath. Conversations stopped mid-sentence, music halted, and an eerie silence filled the air. Then, out of nowhere, a voice—deep, resonant, and echoing from everywhere and nowhere at once—spoke:
"A gracious gift I give to thee to use as such a will would please, but in 1 year there shall be 10 and one among crowned King of Men."
It echoed in their minds, a strange blend of awe and alarm hanging in the air as each word sank in. For one intense moment, it felt like the city held its breath, every resident frozen in place, trying to process the impossible voice they'd just heard.
On the seventh floor, Jake leaned forward in his beanbag chair, controller in hand, his gaze locked on the TV screen as his character dodged and weaved in the final level of their favorite game. Across from him, his best friend Alex lowered his own controller, eyebrows raised.
"Did you…hear that?" Alex asked, his voice soft, tinged with a mix of confusion and wonder.
Jake shrugged, his focus on the screen. "Hear what? I'm about to hit the final boss—"
But before he could finish, a thunderous boom erupted from below, shaking the walls and sending Jake's controller flying out of his hands. The entire building rattled as if struck by a massive force, and they both lurched in their seats, grabbing onto whatever they could as the floor seemed to sway beneath them.
"What the hell was that?" Jake shouted, eyes wide, pulse racing.
Alex scrambled to his feet, glancing toward the window as more booms sounded from below, echoing through the building and sending a ripple of cracks across the ceiling. The walls creaked, dust raining down around them, and the faint sounds of people screaming rose up from the floors below.
Jake's mind was racing. "Was that…an earthquake?" he asked, though he knew it didn't feel like one. This was something else.
Alex shook his head, his face pale. "I don't know, but that voice…Jake, what if that had something to do with this?"
Before either of them could say another word, they heard a heavy pounding at their door, followed by a frantic voice shouting, "Get out! Everyone's evacuating!"
Jake and Alex exchanged a wide-eyed look, a shared feeling of dread sinking in. The ordinary Tuesday they'd known was over, and something far stranger had just begun.