David did not wake to the gentle morning rays of light, with dust and grime-stained windows filtering them out. Instead, he startled awake, drawing his sword in a savage swirl as low and mighty, booming calls erupted sinisterly familiar to rhythm to the chirping melody of a bird.

  Panicked, he perched his ears but lowered his sword. He wondered who or what made those noises. Logically speaking, David knew that the Green Light had changed things; he was a testament to that fact, but what else had it done?

  David was not moving. Instead, he stood still, sword drawn, waiting for the call of monstrous birds to end. A calculating light entered his eyes.

  " Lazy. " The child-like inner voice that had become David's companion rang out.

  David ignored it as he walked to the window, wiping a sleeve across the glass. To his dismay, the grime didn't come off; instead, it enlarged a smudge, making it even harder to see through the window.

  With no information to gain, he sheathed his sword and walked away. As he exited the door, he couldn't help but turn around one last time.

  Bittersweet memories filled his mind, but instead of rooting him to the ground, trying to wrestle the memories back into the black abyss of his head, they gave him strength—the strength to carry on and prove himself.

  As he navigated pages of books, ripped to shreds under claw and teeth, David deftly stepped out of the remains of his home.

  A light feeling entered his heart akin to leaving behind a weight he hadn't known he carried. Something had changed within him. Even though he had accepted the perils of his past, he had tried the same before. But this felt different to him. He felt complete and whole.

  David arrived at the road. Without turning around, determined steps carried him far as a new journey began.

  A gnawing hunger and sense of thirst clawed at him, a relentless reminder that he needed to tackle the looming food crisis head-on. Maybe I could hunt for food outside, David mused, wondering at the true identity of the bird-like call outside. Or should he scavenge for food in houses along the way or find other survivors in this world?

  The rhythmic tapping of his solid brown leather boots echoed off the houses, largely unaffected since his absence.

  They had been ruins even before the green had appeared, and nothing seemed to have bothered to destroy them further since the day of green.

  David had arrived at the bad part of town. His eyes scanned every overturned man-hole cover and curbside grate. But no red beady eyes greeted him. He remained motionless for a time, letting the breeze cool his skin.

  A tense feeling settled over him, but he refused its embrace. Logically speaking, the potential risk and costs of being injured in a magically altered world were high, and seeking out prey that lurked in the shadows outweighed its energy expenditure.

  " See, lazy. "

  " I'm not lazy; I'm in energy savings mode. " David said.

  The child in his head seemed to roll its eyes but remained silent. David knew there was no time to waste, but the street filled him with nostalgia as he had often driven past this place.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  With a quick shake of his head, the moment was broken. He walked on with deft steps, carrying him ever closer to the middle of Ravensboro.

  David hadn't seen any dead bodies, so he assumed most people were still alive. This meant that food would be sparse, but there would always be a way of scavenging some scraps. Not to mention, whatever had ripped apart his supply most likely hadn't only targeted him specifically.

  He passed rows of houses and streets before chancing about something he had forgotten. Even though the neon lights were off and stained walls greeted him, a gas station entered his vision.

  David was suddenly inspired. With an absent mind, he stroked his chin, thinking about the dangers he could face in an enclosed space. Images of spiders the size of cats and roaches the size of dogs briefly entered his mind.

  David noticed the door was locked as he approached the filthy convenience store. A simple hook lock prevented him from sliding the two separate parts away.

  David had too much to gain from the store; he would not walk away, no matter the obstacles he faced. In-bred from the civil life he had led, or maybe even from all the police shows he had watched, he subconsciously took a glance about. No vaguely humanoid silhouettes entered his eyes.

  With the last bit of hesitation gone, David pulled out his sword and cut the arm of the lock apart.

  He had thought it prudent to leave the doors and glass untouched. From the outside, no one would be able to see inside, but shattered debris definitely screamed activity. David wouldn't take the risk of a scavenger trying his luck on him.

  David stepped through and closed the sliding doors behind him. Fridges stood to his left, and a cash register to his right. The refrigerators had a layer of black sludge at the bottom that he wouldn't dare investigate, and the register held no meaning to him.

  David pondered, where is the good stuff? A wave of fascination washed over him as he marveled at the unexpected delight coursing through his body while engaging in what had once seemed an utterly mundane task.

  He walked past the car cleaning supply and a row of car fresheners before finding what he was looking for. A blue and white box while a stylized yellow goodness crowned the image.

  " Twinkies, " David said as he began peeling away the plastic wrap. " There is nothing better than the apocalypse and Twinkies. "

  A melancholy whispered into his mind just before the yellow treat of delight entered his mouth. Would these be the last Twinkies he would ever eat? Or maybe even the last Twinkies Earth would forever produce?

  Absentmindedly, David shoved it in his mouth. Distracted by the spongy exterior and the delectable cream inside, he hadn't noticed his hands already tearing apart the next sealed package.

  Should he eat them all now or leave some for later, David's thoughts raced. Before he came to a conclusion, his hands met air.

  Stupefied, he looked in the now empty box, plastic film lying at his feet in a stack—David shrugged, unbothered by the previous crisis his mind had faced.

  " No use dwelling on things. "

  With his hunger satisfied, he confidently spotted packs of water stacked neatly in the corner of the store. He strode over with purpose and quickly poured three small bottles into his waiting mouth.

  After satisfying his hunger and thirst, he began to think about other concerns. Logistically, he wished he could drop everything into a bag or a dimensional pocket, but Brahan must have missed giving him one, David mused.

  He strode to the cash registers, looking for an easy solution to his problems. At first, he meant to grab some plastic bags to transport the stolen goods, but as he turned around the counter's edge, a backpack leaned against a wall.

  With a meaningful glance at the sky, his fingers curled into an "O" traveling from his forehead to the left shoulder, followed by the right; he completed the ritual.

  David had expected some feeling to be emitted from either his insides or the backpack itself, but nothing had happened. If he were honest with himself, he felt quite foolish at the action.

  " What was that? " The voice once more quipped up.

  Without a proper explanation prepared and not wanting to embarrass himself further, David was at a loss. The voice did appear child-like, even though its tone was ghastly, but it also lived in his head rent-free.

  " Well, buddy, " David began in a serious tone. " That was a waste of our time. "

  He could already hear the huffing in his head, but something interrupted the duo. A shrill and deafening scream bounced off the walls, vibrating the glass in waves, threatening to shatter its crystalline mass.

  " Left, " The voice stated, clearly in tune with David.

  As he emerged into the warm outside, a sight hard to comprehend filled his eyes from the left. Just ahead, a ring of rats surrounded a child, doubling the size of any mundane rat he had seen before.

  An icy coldness threatened to overcome his senses. He could not let a child suffer to some vermin, David vowed to himself.

  Around eight rats, covered in dark fur and with beady red eyes, surrounded the kid, growling, hissing, and poised to strike. David saw it in the child's eyes, keeping them at length with a kitchen knife. They would strike any second now.

  A power surged from within David, born from desperation. He dashed along the road, quickly bridging the gap before violently kicking the first rat away.

  Connecting his boot with the bloated body, a piercing yip threatened to shatter his eardrums. The smell of must and refuse entered his nose, but David would not back down. As one of the rats turned towards him, he had already stomped on another, painting the street in a grizzly display of art.

  Without drawing his sword, he kicked his way to the child, dispatching all the rats, leaving their broken bodies where they fell.

  " Are those things from New York or something? " David wondered out loud, and the child began to laugh.