Chereads / The Nightfall, the prelude of Fear / Chapter 3 - The start of the night

Chapter 3 - The start of the night

Leon woke up in his bedroom. Nothing changed since the last time he was here. His room had blue walls. Filled with posters of bands and cars. Through his bedroom window came the first rays of sunshine.

He was feeling very strange. Even though he was awake in that strange world. He woke up not feeling tired at all. As if he had slept his usual 6 hours.

'It must have been a nighmare'

Leon got up and put on a set of clothes and went downstairs to meet his parents. They would almost always be up before him to prepare breakfast. While walking into the kitchen the TV was showing their usual morning news that the family was used to seeing while having their breakfast. On the TV the spokesperson was talking about a strange fenomen that happened last night.

"This last night of the 31 of July the state declared a state of emergency. Everyone, this is not a drill. Everyone is to direct themselves to the nearest shelters created by the military. Travel light with only your essential belongings. The military set up camps all across the country to accommodate everyone. Remain calm and follow their instructions. Again, this is not a drill. The country has officially entered martial law! "

"Holy shit, c'mon guys pack up. Don't waste time. We don't know what is happening but it will all be okay. Leon go up and help your sister pack her bag. Go, go, go!"

"What the fuck dad? What is going on?"

"Honey, come on, we have to go. Go pack your things. We are only going to be taking our backpacks. Don't take things you don't need."

Outside there was chaos. The streets were filled with traffic. People walking along the roads. Accidents filled the streets. And of course, fear. Fear of the unknown. No one knew what was happening. And not knowing, well, that just increased the fear level to maximum.

Inside the presidential office, the 10 most important people of the country of Arvandor were gathered to discuss the situation.

"Can someone tell me anything about what happened tonight?" Alexandria Martin, the current president of Arvandor initiated the discussion.

"Sir, tonight, the 31 of July, the… the impossible happened. People died in their sleep. We don't know what happened to them but after they died a gravitational disturbance was recorded at their exact place of death." Jason Steel, one of the Council of ten,he is the head of Security and Defense of the country said.

"I don't have enough information to talk about the occurrence but I think initiating martial law was the right decision until we have more information on this."

"Okay, Thomas, give me something. Do you have any more information regarding this?"

Thomas Eddison, one of the brightest minds of his generation. The head of the Eddison family and one of the Council of Ten is a researcher and scientist devoted to his inventions.

"Sir, our recordings show a massive disturbance in the gravitational field around the deceased. Something like this has never happened before. We are going to need more time to research this fenomen. I can tell you this, we are not the only ones suffering from this. From the information we have gathered I can say 100% that this is a world wide fenomen. With that said, I agree with Steel, we should protect the citizens at all costs. Something like this… we don't know the consequences, it could be harmless, but until proven so, i suggest to treat it as it is, a threat to us."

"How are the military camps Steel ?"

"Mr. President, they are going well. Our soldiers are trained for any situation, but most of all they are trained to adapt. The citizens are being moved away from the gravitational disturbances into a surrounding area. No one gets out without us knowing."

"Okay, everyone you know your jobs, keep doing it. We will find out what this is and deal with it. People are already frightened. I am to give a speech at 15h to inform the public of our decisions so far."

While the 11 most important people were making their decisions on how to continue, the Luz family had just made it to their nearest military camp. It wasn't hard to find it. There were soldiers on every street to direct the masses in the right direction.

Genie had it the hardest, she was crying the whole way to the camp. But she was now asleep after all that energy spent. The Luz family got comfortable in a gigantic warehouse in which thousands of people were resting after the chaotic trip. When the time came, 15. Several screens were brought into the warehouse to give everyone the chance to see the president's speech.

The president's speech wasn't longer than 5 minutes. He gave the public a very generous view on the facts that they gathered. Promising that this would be temporary and that the military and the government officials were working their hardest to make everyone return to their usual lifes.

Unfortunately this was one promise the president wouldn't be able to keep. Because from now on, the time that would be known as "The Nightfall" had begun...