The Manaverse

Grandview Apartments

Granite City

"What the heck happened to your door?" Mrs. Barkley yelled at Kyle.

"Gunther broke it saving my life." Kyle shrugged, already done with this conversation.

Loretta Barkley was, in Kyle's opinion, what society had deemed long ago to be a "Karen". She was always in everyone's business, a gatekeeper of many things like fun and parties, and an overall bitch. If he would have been alright dealing with moving, he would have left for that reason alone. He stayed because the rent was cheap. That also meant that service was lacking and dealing with Mrs. Barkley's B.S. was mandatory.

"So you'll pay to replace the door and railing then?" Mrs. Barkley fired off.

"Like how you made me pay for someone else's door when you thought Gunther had peed on it? Hell no. If that little monster hadn't attacked, and had been on a leash like your rules say to be, it wouldn't have happened." Kyle said calmly.

He could see Mrs. Barkley's thoughts spinning as she tried to come up something she could use to argue back. The longer it took, the redder her face became. Finally, she conceded with a nod.

"Fine. But I need your help to check on the other tenants. Something strange is going on and I need to find out who's around."

Kyle shrugged and put on Gunther's leash before allowing him to follow them out the door. He didn't want Mrs. Barkley to use that against him and try to make him pay for the damaged property again.

Mrs. Barkley and Kyle went from door to door, knocking and inquiring after the other tenants. They started with Ms. Leavitt's place as her dog, presumably, was involved in the earlier incident and she lived next door to Kyle. Her door was ajar when they arrived which sent a chill down Kyle's spine.

The metallic scent of blood hung heavy in the air, mixing with an eerie silence. As they ventured deeper inside, the horrifying scene they discovered made Kyle throw up. Apparently, Ms. Leavitt's dog had attacked her before coming after him. Her body was torn to pieces and her entrails decorated the walls.

Kyle wiped his mouth and immediately tried to use his cell phone to call the police, but all he received was a busy signal.

"Let's continue checking on people." Mrs. Barkley said, looking queasy herself. She closed the door behind them on their way out.

They followed the walkway around before heading down the stairs and checking the rest of the inside apartments. Then they moved to the outside residences until they had stopped at every apartment. Half of the tenants were not in. Half of those that were had met a similar fate as Ms. Leavitt, having been torn up by a pet or animal. It was fortunate they didn't run into any of the culprits during their rounds.

The people who were home and were alive were either unaware of the happenings going on around them, or were hiding in their rooms. They all opted to remain in their apartments until help arrived.

One woman, another older tenant, kept shouting like a mad person. "The world ends in twenty-three hours and fifteen minutes! Nowhere is safe!"

It made Kyle suspicious because her ramblings matched what the countdown timer read that he could make appear and disappear from his vision. Maybe he wasn't going crazy after all. Or, maybe he was and the woman was part of his delusion? Either way, he wanted more information about what was going on.

"You said your cell phone wouldn't connect to the emergency line, right?" Mrs. Barkley asked, looking sick and scared.

Kyle nodded. "I'll try again." He did just that and hit the "call again" button. The phone actually rang, twice. Then Kyle heard a popping and sizzling sound. When he looked at the touch screen, it had turned off. No amount of prodding or holding the power button got a reaction from the device and he could smell burnt wires.

Kyle angrily shoved the phone into his pocket.

"It's alright, Mr. Jaxon. I will go try my landline."

Kyle crossed his fingers, hoping her phone would work and that they could call for help. He reevaluated the condescending thoughts he had about her having a landline when he first found out about it. She had the only residential landline phone in the city that he knew of. It may just come in handy after all.

Kyle went to his apartment and sat on his couch, letting the events flow through his mind again. The terror he felt and the horrifying sights he'd seen swirled around making his heart beat wildly.

A soft touch on his hand made him look at the couch. Lily, with her overweight body and tiny head, was purring and bumping Kyle's hand looking for some love. He smiled softly and obliged.

"We don't deserve the loyalty and trust pets give us, do we?" He asked Lily, rubbing her chin and behind her ears gently. The cat had closed her eyes and was leaning into the attention, purring loudly.

A weight on his knee caused the tight ball of tension in his chest to ease somewhat. Having a spare hand, Kyle rubbed Gunther's head, too. It was like they both understood he was emotionally struggling and wanted to help. He appreciated it immensely.

His two friends, the only two he spent time with everyday, sat with Kyle and he with them. Long minutes passed and it helped Kyle quite a bit. He was still scared and confused, but he was handling it better now. At least, for the moment.

He tried the remote and his television turned on. He flipped to the news broadcast station for the city.

Kirk Callahan, the usual news anchor, was sitting at his desk, explaining the picture behind him. His appearance was sharp as usual.

"Monsters have appeared all over the city. Sources say this phenomenon is happening all over the world."

The image was a picture of Main street. A pack of beasts, creatures that looked like bears mixed with lizards, were causing devastation.

"We have a reporter on the scene. Let's go to Jimmy on twenty-fifth and third."

The image changed to another man. This was a live projection. The reporter was crouched behind a car. The camera was pointing at him in a way that left what was on the other side of the car visible over his shoulder.

"Thanks Kirk. As you can see..."

The live feed cut out briefly before starting up again. Then his television did the same, blinking in and out.

"...are destroying the city. From what we can tell, all of the monsters that appeared after the Wave have red pupils, or something about their regular appearance is red, even if that species doesn't have any red, even rarely. People need to find shelter or stay in their..."

This time Jimmy cut out and did not reappear. Kirk was fiddling with papers on his desk while tech support was trying to reestablish the connection.

A small pop sounded and the screen of Kyle's television went black. Smoke billowed out of the back for a short moment and Kyle couldn't get the device to turn on again. He cursed up a storm inspecting it.

"Now what?" Kyle looked around. Both of his pets perked up their ears at him. "You two stay here. I'll go see if Mrs. Barkley spoke to the police."

Lily laid down immediately as if she wasn't listening but planned on laying there all along. Gunther whined softly but didn't move.

"Good boy, Gun. I'll be right back." Kyle said, grabbing his bat.

Kyle left and went to the courtyard. Mrs. Barkley was there, chatting with another tenant Kyle hadn't seen during their rounds. He only knew her first name, which was Betty. She was only a few years older than he was and was constantly seen with her father and three children.

"Kyle. Bad news. I couldn't get through." Mrs. Barkley said in a rush as Kyle approached.

"I watched a bit of the news before my television went out. It was not good news either. Monsters like that dog are everywhere." He said, feeling the panic well up in him once more.

"My family hasn't returned yet. They went to the park after lunch." Betty had begun to panic as well, her voice pitched high with worry. She hesitated, shook her head once and continued. "Mr. Jaxon, please help me find them." She stepped closer to him, pleading.

"I- I..." Kyle froze in momentary terror, recalling the lizard bears.

"No. We need to barricade this place off to stop more beasts from getting in first. Kyle, you should help me move cars into the entryways."

Kyle's fingers began to tremble and he stuttered in fear. "I-I really don't think that will help." He pointed to the roof on the south side. A huge cat had climbed on top of the building and began watching the three of them, it's tail swishing in anticipation. Its fur was a deep blue, almost black.

Both women saw the creature and screamed. They turned in different directions and fled. Kyle clumsily reaffirmed his grip on the bat, watching the cat creature.

For a long, tense moment, the monster and Kyle stared each other down. Kyle’s heart pounded in his chest, sweat dripping down his face. Every instinct screamed at him to run, but his legs felt like lead. His fight or flight instincts were warring within him.

A soft growl emanated from Kyle's right and the cat disappeared off the other side of the building. Kyle looked down to see Gunther hunched up next to him. The dog looked up at him, his canine features smoothed out and he wagged his little nub.

"Thanks boy." Kyle said softly, patting his friend's head gently.

Not sure what to do or where to go, Kyle froze in place again. He was not normally one to be struck by panic attacks like that, but everything around him was insane. Monsters? Electronic devices not working? A doomsday counter? What the hell?

When Kyle was overwhelmed, his brain would often latch onto something—anything—to ground him. It was a coping mechanism he had developed over time, and this time it was the sight of the courtyard that captured his attention.He had to be standing inches from where the dog monster that was Ms. Leavitt's Chihuahua had fallen. The corpse was gone. This would have driven Kyle's mind back into the swirling mess of fear if it wasn't for a glint that caught his eye.

Amongst the blades of bent turf was a shining piece of rock. Kyle bent over and picked it up, noticing a dull one almost identical in shape laying next to it. He picked that one up too. Each was smooth to the touch and the size of a dime. They each resembled a six sided coin. Not knowing why, he slipped both items into his pocket.

"Okay. We're leaving." Kyle said to Gunther, who followed him back up to his apartment. Their steps quickened when they heard a scream. It sounded like Mrs. Barkley, but it could have just as easily been Betty.

Once in his apartment, Kyle made a frantic dash around, gathering things he might need. He couldn't stay here. His door could not close properly and he would not put it past the creatures to smash through a window like they did in many of the other units in the complex. He took some clothes, knives from the kitchen, packaged food, and his tablet. After securing everything in a duffel he kept under his bed, Kyle grabbed the bat again.

He put both of his animals on a leash, Lily grunting in annoyance, slung his pack over his shoulder, scooped up the cat and lead Gunther outside. Kyle crept down the stairs, anxiously looking both ways. Gunther looked around, his ears pulled back. The dog must have understood something of what was going on because he too crept along quietly.

Kyle led Gunther to his car and unlocked it using the key instead of the electronic keypad. He didn't want the beep the vehicle made to draw any creature's attention. He set Lily in the back, Gunther hopping up too, and sat behind the wheel. With a deep breath and mental count to three, Kyle stuck the key into the ignition and turned it.

The car started to turn over before he heard a loud pop and the engine cut out. Panicking, Kyle turned the key multiple times and it never made a sound again.

In fact, the first sound he heard besides his own labored breathing was that of a loud thump when something landed on the hood of his car. Looking into the windshield was the cat monster, it's red pupils like a beacon of death come to swallow him whole. Kyle screamed and jumped in reaction, then looked back at the beast.

Once again, the pair stared each other down. This time, the cat's gaze felt as if it was saying "you're next." The dripping gore falling from it's jaws made it seem like a demon.

A loud scream came from behind the vehicle. Both Kyle and the cat looked in that direction. The cat's weight lifted from the car loudly as the monster pounced. The man Kyle saw managed to dodge just in time but he tripped and scrambled to keep running. The monster gave chase.

Kyle kicked the door open, grabbed his stuff and the two leashes, then began to run as fast as he could. Lily didn't hesitate or fight the lead this time, following closely behind him.