𝕯𝖊𝖆𝖉𝖘𝖍𝖔𝖙

Calm Before the Storm

Nathan sat on the rooftop, legs dangling over the edge as the wind blew through his hair. His fingers lazily scrolled through his phone while he watched the trains snake their way along the tracks below. The 7 train, Flushing-bound, was packed with students on their way home from school, their faces pressed against the windows, bathed in the golden hour light.

"Home, sweet home," Nathan thought to himself, a small smile tugging at his lips as he leaned back on his hands. He had always loved Woodside—the noise, the rush of people, the way the city hummed like it was alive. "I've been here my whole life. How could I not love it?"

But just as he was getting comfortable in his own nostalgia, his phone vibrated violently in his hand, cutting through the peaceful evening air. He furrowed his brow, feeling the sudden shift in the atmosphere as he glanced down at the screen. The smile dropped from his face as he read the words flashing across the alert.

This is not a drill. At approximately 6:33 PM, the moon will rise and turn red. Seek shelter immediately and avoid exposure to moonlight. If a dead person becomes hostile...

Nathan's heart stopped for a moment. His stomach flipped as he blinked at the word on the screen. "Hostile?" His mind reeled. This couldn't be real.

He kept reading, his pulse quickening.

If a dead person becomes hostile, RUN. All radio signals and communications will be suspended during this event. Good luck.

The finality of the words hit like a gut punch. Event? What kind of "event" could cause this? His first instinct was to laugh it off, convince himself that someone had hacked his phone. Some kind of sick prank, maybe. But his gut told him otherwise. The warning felt real—too real to ignore. Nathan wasn't one to fall for conspiracy theories, but something about the calm before the storm had him on edge.

He quickly opened his group chat, where the messages were already piling in.

choko (drake): "bruh did you guys see the alert or is my phone just tweeking tf out"
combo (lorenzo): "we did too bruh" "theres no way"
nem (kaylee): "WTF OMG OMG OMG"

Nathan's fingers hovered over the screen, trying to figure out what to say. Was it all a prank? Some kind of messed-up joke by the government? But before he could type, another message came through from Gian, all the way upstate.

On a crowded school bus headed home from a trip upstate, Gian looked down at his phone, brow furrowed. The same emergency alert had popped up on his screen. The noise of the other kids on the bus faded as the words sunk in.

"We need to tell the others," Gian muttered, showing the alert to Lorenzo who sat beside him. Lorenzo shot him a glance, eyes wide.

"Yeah, no kidding," Lorenzo replied, the humor in his voice doing little to mask the creeping fear that was settling in.

Gian swiped up, opening his messages, where a flurry of texts were waiting. Nathan, Haylee, and Kaylee were already buzzing about the alert, their messages filled with confusion and worry. They were all connected, and in moments like this, those connections felt like lifelines.

Addison, seated a few rows behind, leaned in, unimpressed. "You guys are seriously buying into this? They probably hacked our phones or something," she said, sighing.

Emma, who was sitting next to Addison, turned her head sharply, giving Addison a look that could kill. "Did you just say hacked? Addison, this is a global emergency alert."

Gian chuckled from the front, though his laughter was more of a nervous habit than actual humor. "I'm not brushing this off. You think they're messing with us? Government conspiracy or not, this looks serious."

Addison shrugged, unfazed. "You're all just paranoid. I bet the rest of the world is letting this slide like it's nothing." "Yeah, listen to her!" Amaan said from his seat.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" The three of them shot at him in unison.

Gian then turned back to Addison, shooting her a sharp glance. "Let's see you say that when the dead come knocking at yo' door." Russell, who was sitting next to Gian, gave him a similar look that Emma gave to Addison. "That's enough, dude."

The argument fizzled as the reality of the situation began to sink in. A collective silence settled over the bus. Gian looked down at his phone again, checking the time. It was almost 6:00 PM. The blood moon would rise soon.

"Alright," Gian said, breaking the silence. "We're heading to Nathan's. He said his neighbors left, so his apartment's basically empty. Safer than staying on this bus."

Emma nodded reluctantly. "I hate traveling to Queens, but I don't think we have a choice. If this is real... we need to be together. I might stay a bit to see if it's real."

Nathan stood at the window, watching the horizon shift into hues of red and orange as the sun began to set. He could feel the tension settling in his chest, each minute ticking by like a countdown. His phone buzzed in his hand again, this time a message from Drake.

choko (drake): "im omw i got my shit"

Nathan's eyebrow twitched at that. Drake was never dramatic, but his curiosity piqued when Drake walked in a few hours later, dragging two massive suitcases behind him.

"What the hell, man?" Nathan stared at the bags in disbelief. "You're not staying here for an entire month, it probably won't last that long. You know it won't, so WHY THE FUCK did you bring TWO suitcases!?"

Drake gave a nonchalant shrug, dropping one of the bags near the living room. "Preparedness, man. Food, clothes, allat' shit."

Nathan shook his head but couldn't help but smile slightly. "Alright, go claim a room. I'll get the rest of the stuff sorted."

Over the next few hours, the rest of the group trickled in. Lorenzo, Gian, Alessandra, Haylee, and Kaylee found their places in the apartment, each of them hauling whatever supplies they could carry—food, water, basic survival gear. The tension in the air grew heavier as the moon began its ascent.

The apartment bustled with the sound of hurried footsteps and whispered conversations, but there was an undercurrent of dread none of them could shake. They were all working together to secure the windows and doors, creating makeshift barricades from furniture and anything else they could find.

Nathan's mom watched the chaos unfold from the doorway, her arms crossed. "You're making a mess in the house, you know that?" she said, exasperation clear in her voice. "When the neighbors get back, they'll have a fit. So will the landlord."

"Mom," Nathan started, his voice tense as he shoved a stack of supplies into the corner, "we have to do this. It's not just paranoia. Something's coming. You heard the alert."

His mom sighed, shaking her head as she turned to leave. "Fine. Do what you want. But when this blows over, you're cleaning up the mess."

Nathan didn't argue. Instead, he moved back to the living room, where the others were finishing up the last of the preparations. The apartment was quieter now, the buzz of conversation fading as the reality of the situation settled in.

"We're locking the doors," Nathan called out to the group. "Just in case."

One by one, the lights were turned off, and the apartment fell into a tense silence. The barricades were secured, and the group retreated to their chosen rooms, exhaustion and fear weighing heavily on their minds.

As Nathan lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling, he couldn't shake the unease gnawing at him. They had done everything they could, but the thought of what might come next made his chest tighten.

Tomorrow felt like an eternity away.

Outside, the moon began to rise, its light slowly creeping across the city. The blood-red glow bathed everything in an eerie hue, transforming the familiar into something alien, something... dangerous.

Whatever was coming, Nathan knew it wasn't going to be like anything they'd ever faced before.