Glek. Dukh. Lucien fell to the ground immediately. His lips reflexively parted in disbelief. He knew Zuko wasn't a liar, let alone a fantasist! But, was he ready for the continuation of the story?
"Blood and human body parts scattered everywhere along the road I witnessed, Lucien."
Glukh. He swallowed hard, trying to reconcile his racing thoughts with a semblance of sanity upon hearing something like that.
"I never thought that what I've only seen in games or movies could be so horrifying if it happened in the real world. I felt like I was going to die from fear," the teenage boy said, gripping both temples.
Lucien's whole body shuddered in response. He didn't dare to look towards the door even for a moment. "I can't contact anyone with my phone. What should we do next?" he asked, trying to appear brave. It seemed Zuko still needed time to regain his confidence. He must not collapse!
"I don't know why, but I can't get any signal at all. Neither for calling nor for using the internet," Zuko replied, pointing to his cheap phone screen.
"So, for now, we can only be trapped here in an uncertain and incomprehensible situation," Lucien commented, tilting his head upwards. He hoped the light from the shop's lamp could brighten his darkened soul.
"Did you ask the man to pick you up later?" Zuko asked.
Lucien glanced at his watch. "Yeah, but I'm not sure if he'll come seeing the situation out there like this. Hopefully, he'll think I'm not dead yet."
Zuko folded his legs further and placed both hands on his knees. Lucien's attitude was correct. Dwelling in vague fear like earlier was better than thinking about a way out. And he straightened his body.
"What do you want to do?" Lucien asked.
"We can't just sit still like this," Zuko replied.
Cklik cklik cklik. Klik.
"Eh?"
"Ah?"
All the lights in the grocery store suddenly went out. Not only that, but the air conditioner also shut down. Shuu. Assessing the situation had become even more unfriendly. Without waiting any longer, the two teenagers decided to walk while feeling their way along the walls to reach the back door. But...
GREP. Something gripped Lucien's ankle as he stepped forward. "Zuko, please don't make the atmosphere even more tense! I promise you I'll buy and demolish this grocery store later if you're joking around at such an inappropriate time," the wealthy kid threatened.
Zuko retorted, "Hey, what did I do?" His voice came from in front of Lucien. "I don't know why suddenly I'm more afraid of your threat than what I just witnessed," he said sarcastically.
"HYAAAAAAAAAAAKKHH!!!" shouted Lucien, immediately running as fast as he could. Braak! Bruuk! Braak! Bumping into everything was not a concern. He quickly grabbed Zuko's wrist. He pulled him as fast as possible towards the back door.
Cklek. The lock opened. Braak. Breaking through for an unforeseen future.
Siiiing. Silence greeted them. Not a single person was seen around. All the noise and terror they had witnessed through the crack of the door seemed like a lie. Zuko glanced briefly towards the darkened shop whose door hadn't been closed. A? Or was it? A creature, dark in color resembling a species of deep-sea squid from the Pacific Ocean with folded lips and human-like teeth called promachoteuthis sulcus, was seen inside the shop. With tentacles ending in human-like hand palms.
He immediately said to Lucien, "Don't look back!"
The wealthy kid was now the one shedding tears silently. Duk. He replied, "I don't want to either. I'm very scared."
"Motorcycles, cars, and public transportation were abandoned just like that. Many building doors were left open. Where did everyone actually go?" Zuko asked, trying to observe the increasingly tense situation around them. They seemed to be thrown into an apocalyptic horror movie world like "I Am Legend" starring the famous black actor Will Smith from a few years ago.
However, the horror didn't end there.
"Lucien! Lucien! Lucien!" Zuko called out repeatedly as he saw his friend hunching over, clutching his own neck.
"Haaaakkhh… aaaakkhh… aaaaaaakkh… aaaaaakkkkhhhh… aaaaaaaaaaaarrgghh!!!"
His cries intensified. Bruukh. His body fell onto the asphalt surface. He now lay helpless, choking himself. Lucien's eyes rolled upward as if he were in the throes of death. In an instant, his entire teenage body turned blue.
"Hold on, Lucien! Please hold on! I'll find help right away," pleaded Zuko in a panic. But as he looked around again... where could he find help and from whom? There was no one around.
In the increasingly critical moment, Zuko saw the giant squid-like creature, promachoteuthis sulcus, slithering from the narrow alley where the back door of the grocery store was located. Just seeing such a creature was enough to make Zuko shiver with endless fear. But there was Lucien whom he had to save immediately.
"Hup!" He lifted the teenager onto his back. He intended to run as far as possible. However, an unexpected problem arose again...
"HIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKKKKHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" Lucien screamed loudly as his leg began to turn black and gradually disappear like dust blown by the wind.
"Oh God, what's happening to you, Lucien? You can't die! You're my only friend in this world!" cried the teenager, tears streaming down his face like a child who had lost his toys.
HOSH HOSH HOSH!!! Zuko did his best to flee from the terrifying monster. But Lucien, who continued to struggle behind him, could not be controlled. Bruuukh. They both fell onto the asphalt. Dust, dirt, blood, all of it...
"Please, I beg you, Zuko. Don't leave me," pleaded Lucien as his body, which continued to turn into chalk, almost reached half of his torso. All that remained of him was his right arm. His right leg, now only half. Torso and head are no longer complete.
"LUCIEN! LUCIEN! LUCIEN!" called out Zuko in desperation. He couldn't imagine what his friend was going through. But no matter what, life had to go on. With his emotions in turmoil, the teenager tried to stand up and run again. Greph. But... something gripped his ankle from behind. Bruukh. His body fell forward. Zreeeekk. "HEEEEEEELP!!!!!!!"
And Lucien, Zuko, even the monster... vanished. Leaving the now desolate city even emptier.
Siiing.
There was no sound at all, as if the hope for the future had vanished completely.