Driving to work, you could see the manufacturer worker Vicente Freeman with a big smile. Contrary to other days, today was his last day before his two-week force vacation. The company he worked for closed yearly for two weeks because of inventory. He loves this time of the year. Even if they didn't pay for those days, he didn't care at all, and after working 84 hours a week for the last year, he could take a whole month.

Vicente Freeman is a 25-year-old, 5ft10 male mixed race with little to no family except an older sister. He barely had any communication. She was from his mom's first marriage. She didn't see him as a brother, his parents died in a car accident when he was 16 years old, and neither side of his family ever cared for him or even asked how he was doing. His father's side was a conservative white family. They hated his mother for being a single mom and Mexican, or at least that is what his mom used to say. His mother's side hated his father for supposedly breaking her first marriage and for mistreating his sister, so he was all by himself.

Living alone was tough at first, but he managed with the bit of money his parents left him and with the help of his father's best friend. Dropping out of school at 16, he soon found a job at his dad's old job, and he hasn't stopped since. Even though it was lonely at times, he liked not having anyone to care about other than himself. He had no serious relationships, school debt, loans, or anything. His House and car were paid, so he was doing great besides some bills.

He was planning to buy some land, retire and move away from the desert, probably to colorado or somewhere with a lot of trees. The big smile wasn't only because of the two weeks off. He and his coworkers were planning to go camping for a whole week. Getting off his truck, he made sure he didn't forget anything. "unnecessary camping gear I probably won't use, check. Enough food I won't finish, check. Guns and bullets, I won't need; check. Laptop, solar panels, and generator check. Guess I am ready for the apocalypse." Vicente laughed. It was a lot of stuff he didn't need. As he turned around, he heard the revving engine of a 2022 ford ranger hitching a trailer. "hey mike, I can tell you're ready. And Here I thought I was bringing a lot of unnecessary shit." he says, shaking his head. "man, listen, I know you're new at this, but a lot is never too much; besides, we're going to have fun. That's why I brought the dirt bike, the two quads, and enough bullets to star war world 3. That's what I call fun." mike says, laughing. Mike Evans had been working for the company for three years. He was a 49-year-old widower with no kids, a free soul he calls himself. As they go inside the building to clock in, they meet Francisca, the lead man for packaging and assembly. "hey, how are you guys doing? Ready for vacation?." she asks.

"yes, mam, as soon as we finish here, we're leaving for camping. A whole week." Vicente says.

"yeah, Chuy was telling me about it. Make sure to take good care of him. He is not outdoorsy. Anyways good luck, guys," Francisca says as she walks away. Francisca was Chuys aunt. He was the other guy that worked with him and mike.

"bye, Francisca. Damn, man, she wants you. The way she was looking at you. When are you asking her out?" Vicente asks Mike jokingly.

"man, shut the fuck up. She's like 90, not interested in anything prehistorical. Nothing passed 37 for me. It anyways looks like Chuy is going to be late again; boss, you better give him a warning." he says, laughing.

Vicente had been recently promoted to supervisor. With a two-dollar raise and no change in the amount of work he was already doing, he couldn't complain. The night shift was excellent. He had never had a problem with anyone, maybe because most of them were older and other than him, Chuy and the two temps were in their twenties.

As the hours passed, a big storm started brewing in the sky. Everyone could hear thunder and lighting. The most significant storms ever seen. Walking outside, Vicente thought, didn't monsoon season pass like two months ago? I hope flagstaff is not the same.

As he walks back inside, Chuy runs up to him. "hey Vicent, are we still going? I don't want all my stuff to get wet. I brought all kinds of shit, man, my drones, laptop, and portable solar panels. I want to take some excellent videos and pictures, and I don't think my tent is waterproof. " Chuy says with a worried expression. as he takes a peek outside, the storm seems to be getting more substantial. Boom! Boom!

"Well, I hope it gets better, I checked the weather before coming in, and it was okay. I hope the electricity doesn't go out" as soon as Vicente finishes saying that. Puff! Puff! Everything goes dark. "fuck, I jinx it. Get Mike and meet me in the lunch room. I'll get Francisca and her crew and bring a flashlight if you can," Vicente says as he walks toward the packaging department. While walking, a weird feeling comes through his body. Goosebumps like he had never felt before, to the point where he had to stop walking to control himself. Vicente thought to himself, man, what the fuck is going on? I hope I don't get sick, but this weird feeling is not normal. Suddenly he hears a voice behind him. "Vicente, are you okay? I already told everyone to go to the lunch room. Let's go." it was Francisca.

"I'm good. I don't have my phone, and I can't see. Let's go. Mike and Chuy should be there already." Vicente tells her. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Booooom! as they entered the lunch room, the storm seemed to get bigger. "okay, I'm going to start doing the count, so if you hear your name, please let me know you are here." Vicente says to everyone as he's finishing the count. He noticed that he was missing two people. Hung a guy from packaging and Charles, one of the temps.

"Hey, Vicente Mai is asking if she can go home. she is saying she had to leave his sons by themself." hai says. He was one of the guys that helped him translate. Most of Francisca's crew were Vietnamese except for her Javier and the two temps. "tell her to wait. I'm going to look for Hung and Charles. Then anyone that wants to leave can go-" his words were cut short as The whole building shook. "Rumble," and then he felt the worst headache ever.

It seemed like his head was being split open, and his eyes squeezed out of his head. Lungs burned every time he breathed, and then White lighting engulfed everything. The last thing he saw was his coworkers convulsing on the floor as the blinding light covered his vision.