Underneath

Part 1

Smitherin shenanigans shone onto my sad shambles.

SMOOSH!

Then,

Silence…

As if I wasn’t already depressed enough…

DING DING DING!

The siren began ringing like crazy as the earthquake came to an end. Yells were followed by footsteps, then came a barrage of distress calls and impatient commands. Then came a knock on my door. Even though I anticipated the knock, it still sent chills down my useless overworked spine.

Time to get back to work again… sigh.

In a laid-back manner, I flicked on the lights even though the scene was already blindingly bright in red. With my eyes still half open, I pulled the shiny neon jacket off the hanger and put it on. I then shuffled my fingers along the doorknob, trying to stall every bit of my insignificant time, before I decided to twist it open, crowding into a busy corridor filled with a blur of the same faces and the same hurried footsteps.

I initially wanted to be a businessman, becoming all wealthy, comfortable, and untouchable. I wouldn’t mind becoming a manga artist either. I used to draw and I adore manga. But I ain’t smart enough to think, and the last time I was all buff and all tough and said I wanted to draw manga, their cruel laughter killed my spirit, and all I felt was hollow.

“Newton, hurry up!” Tim yelled at me from across the corridor as if I wasn’t already walking for Goodness sake. I actually don’t mean it like that, my boy Tim was a good comrade. He bounced on his toes, his bright eyes sparkling with an eagerness that felt foreign to my weary heart. But it would help if he weren’t so spirited all the time. I’m just a lame guy who wanted to be done with this drudgery job and peacefully retire as early as I could. The last thing I needed was an over-enthusiastic homey to overdo things and made me feel like a sloth in the sprint.

We got onto jeeps and drove through the sandy plains of Dubai. In the background stood the Burj Khalifa, a standing masterpiece that I could only view from the outside.

As you could see, there I was, stuck in this rescue job all because of my build. I needed a break and some relief from getting involved in life-and-death situations at least once every hour. I wonder if that day will ever come…

“Newton, focus,” Tim urged, lowering his voice to avoid embarrassing me in front of my squad. I know that I should be paying the utmost attention, being the captain of this team, but I am trying my best here. It was like two in the morning with the sky still black and the sun still asleep.

I was nearly asleep again before something stunned my dumb mind. Ahead, a giant abyss of darkness cracked through the ground, spanning as wide as 500 metres across the desert. The sight was a spectacle that I had never witnessed before in my 10-year rescue career.

In a rather messy fashion, we scrambled out of the vehicle. While my crew just instinctively ran to rescue trapped and injured civilians, my usually dumb brain for once decided to act up. My eyes widened as I stared at the monstrous hole stretching deep UNDERNEATH the earth. It was pitch black. What was I expecting? The clouds were covering the stars in this nighttime setting, so of course, the hole would also be dark. I flicked on my torchlight and shone a ray of light into the crack. And of course, it

was just a never-ending spiral of dissatisfaction.

What was I doing? Disappointed and depressed, I turned and began to walk back as more personnel began scurrying all over the scene, even managing to crank up a tent while I was staring down.

As I continued to walk, a lump of weight fell onto my left foot, dragging me and shuffling me away from my target. Wait, what the hell?

In a split motion, I rerouted my torchlight to view my heavy left foot, and on it, was—

SHI#SHI#SHI# What the!!!!!?!?!??!!??!

My energy skyrocketed, and my eyes were now wide open as my shoe was dripped with disgusting goo. It was a horrendously ugly being that’s a menace and defiance to reality. I kicked it off, but it began to crawl straight after me like some imposter.

My flashlight flickered erratically, illuminating the monstrous creature and the chaos surrounding it. As if one wasn’t enough to scare me out of my melancholy, a growing horde of creatures began accelerating at an unprecedented rate. Noticing the dire situation, I fled.

Yup, I fled right past the tent like an absolute crazy maniac with no aura. But right now, I didn’t care about anything, my life was my priority, and my reputation as a captain was already the stinkiest trash.

“Newton!” Tim came running over to me from the other side. With my muscles, I grabbed and urged him to run, but his curiosity kept growing.

“Run!”

“What? Newton, people are dying here. I need help!” Tim unconsciously shoved me back to the tent, his gaze fixated on my helpless face. His motion forced me to peek over his shoulder, only to make my throat burn. There, the people were turning into beings from another realm—empty, soulless, hungry beings.

ZOMBIES.

“Come on RUN!” I pushed ahead, my strength overpowering Tim. However, Tim was stubborn, surprisingly stubborn.

At this point, I had had enough. My life was at stake, and I would do anything to survive. So I ran away, leaving Tim’s confused look behind as I skidded and ducked UNDERNEATH a fallen building. Peering through the broken window, I saw Tim still staring at me, as if I was some sort of a psychopath. CRUNCH.

A zombie leapt in from behind him, before another, and soon enough, all that was left visible was red and green and his faded plea.

As I watched Tim get shredded in blood and his eyes twitched and his neck snapped as he was crumbled on by the undead horde, a wave of guilt showered on my already wet skin. Tim was a good guy, and his story didn’t deserve to end like this.

But like, I already tried my best and urged him to run, it was his fault for not trusting me, right?

Before long, the horde was gone. I stood up and stretched my stiff limbs, trying to regain feeling after crouching in that awkward position for so long.

BOOM!

An explosion erupted behind me, and my gaze instinctively shifted towards it, revealing an unsettling sight. Normal? I had no frame of reference for this. I just stood there, mouth agape, as the world around me spiralled into madness.

“Oh well,” I said with a shrug. My eyes were unintentionally sharpening, cunning like a rat.

“Guess that’s early retirement,” I added, not realising a grin curving beneath my gaze.

“FOREVER.”