The wind howling outside as a convoy moved through the city's ruins. Four cars and two buses, all heading nowhere fast.
As the convoy rumbled through the desolate ruins of what was once a magnificent city, the atmosphere inside the truck was heavy with silence.
Rows of weary faces stared blankly ahead, resigned to their fate.
"Could my luck be any worse?" I muttered bitterly.
I gazed listlessly out the window, taking in the bleak landscape passing by.
"Other people who transmigrate at least get a chance to start anew," he continued with bitterness in his tone.
"But I ended up as a fucking convict sentenced for life."
I shook my head in frustration,
"What can a 12-year-old even do to get a life sentence?"
"This new world is against me from the start."
Yes, he's not from this world.
His name is Yohan. He was a college student with no future, goal or hope ahead of him.
Its not like life was difficult for him but he disregarded everything even himself because of a feeling called boredom.
I wasn't exactly living the dream. College life? Just a boring routine. No goals, no excitement, nothing. I spent most of my time buried in books, trying to escape the dullness of reality. Crime thrillers, fantasies, you name it—I read them all.
In those stories, I found a way to live vicariously through the characters. But deep down, I knew it was just a temporary escape. I wanted more, but life seemed determined to keep me stuck in a rut.
That's why I was just waiting, you know, for this dull life to be over.
Just like that, I closed my eyes one night and bam! I opened my eyes in completely new surrounding, I blinked and understood that something changed.
I glanced at my hands, feeling a bit surprised by their smaller size, not what I was used to as a guy in his twenties. Then, I reached up and touched my face, realizing it felt completely different from what I'd known for the past twenty years.
I was very excited at first but when I understood the situation I was in all that excitement turned into frustration.
"Haa, I thought I finally got a new chance, a chance to live a different and more exciting life.
"But it ended before it even started. Should I just die again? Maybe I'll get a new chance," Yohan pondered to himself.
Suddenly the bus stopped with a jerk.
Outside, silence enveloped the surroundings, even the other convicts who were silent the whole journey began to look uneasy, fear creeping into their eyes.
"What's happening?"
I asked the person sitting opposite me, the only one who responded to me during this journey.
"Shh, don't make any sound," he cautioned, interrupting my question.
Before I could inquire further, there was a deafening bang, followed by the sound of gunshots from outside.
"Roarrrrr!!!"
A loud roar sounded and numerous screams echoed, sending shivers down everyone's spines as they hugged themselves in fear.
"'Maintain the circle! Protect the cargo! Protect the cargo!' People were shouting,
Otherworldly roars kept echoing.
'What's happening? What are these roars?' I asked.
The man opposite me gave me an odd look and said,
'Beasts. Don't you know what lives outside the city?'
I gave him a confused look.
What beast? What is he talking about?
What kind of beast can make this kind of sound and have this much strength?
Is he talking about aliens? Did aliens destroy this city?
Then, our bus started to shake, and with a loud sound, it turned over. I hit my head and felt a little dizzy.
The other convicts started banging on the door and started shouting,
'Let us out! Let us out!'
But no one opened the door. I could only see some shadows moving around the bus through the window.
'Shut up and stay still inside, don't make noise!' Suddenly, someone shouted from outside.
Then everyone stopped shouting and tried to sit down, still cowering in fear.
After some time, the sounds finally stopped. We waited for some time, not sure if everything was alright outside.
Finally with a metallic click, the door of the bus swung open.
A soldier stood there, and he said,
'Come out one by one'
Everyone started coming out one by one.
As I stepped out of the bus and scanned my surroundings, it send shivers down my spine.
The scene outside was chaotic. The overturned bus lay nearby.
Soldiers were pulling prisoners from the overturned bus, some barely conscious, others motionless.
Medics hurried to treat the wounded, while grim-faced soldiers gathered fallen comrades.
But what caught my attention the most were the massive creatures standing beside the soldiers, their presence ominous and unsettling.
"What, never seen a contracted beast?" the man behind me said.
I shook my head, perplexed.
"Which hole did you crawl out from?"
"Stop talking and get going fast," a soldier barked, cutting off any further conversation.
We followed the soldiers to a nearby building. As we entered, I tried to recall any mention of beasts in my memory, but there was nothing.
All I could remember was a vague image of a classroom, with other children beside me and someone teaching us how to read and write.
"Sit here and don't mess around," the soldier ordered.
Everyone found their spot and began murmuring among themselves.
I settled near the window and glanced outside. That's when I finally caught sight of what had attacked us:
Wolves. They were massive wolves, at least fifteen to twenty of them, all lying lifeless.
The contracted beasts, as I assumed, were dragging them and gathering their bodies together.
"You shouldn't be so close to the window; it can be dangerous,"
a voice behind me said, pulling my attention away from the view outside.
I turned to see a man standing there, with a friendly smile on his face.
"Hello, my name is Brian," he said, extending his hand.
I hesitated for a moment before shaking it.
"I'm Yohan," I replied quietly.
Brian's smile faltered slightly as he observed me.
"Well, you looked quite shocked and confused seeing all of this. Looking at your age, you should have learned about this in school right.
How old are you?" he asked.
"12, maybe," I mumbled.
"12, and you're in for life? What did you do, betray humanity or something?" Brian's tone was casual, and the answer to his question I wanted to know too.
I looked down, without saying anything.
"Well, not that I care, but you should get away from the window and get some rest. The sun is setting, and it will be more dangerous at night," Brian advised.
I nodded silently, grateful for the advice. As Brian walked away, I couldn't help but feel a sense of unease settle over me.