Dead By Dawn

1 - Deja Vu

You awoke to rumbling in the distance. You were quick to get up to see what was going on as the grumbles grew louder and louder. Stepping over to your window, you pushed the curtain to the side. You hadn’t checked the time in your rush, so you were a little surprised to see that the sun was just about to crest over the mountains in the distance.

Three enormous helicopters flew in formation over your neighborhood. You watched as they headed towards a plume of dark smoke, close to where the big city lies. You held your breath. What happened, you wondered.

You heard a knock on your bedroom door before it flung open. Hoseok stood in your doorway, gripping the wood trim. Panic was written on his face. His disheveled hair told you he also woke up minutes—or possibly even seconds—before.

“What’s going on?” His gruff voice threatened to cut out as he spoke.

Still watching the events fold out your window, you shrugged.

“Not sure. But there is a lotta smoke over by the city.”

You were able to hear Hoseok pad over to where you were standing. He pushed the other half of your curtain to the end of the rod.

The helicopters were still in sight. They hovered over the city's edge. None of them moved closer to the tall silhouette buildings. You still faintly heard the buzzing of the choppers’ blades. It took a couple of minutes before the center one dipped down behind some buildings. The other two followed not much longer after.

You stepped away from the window, letting your curtain fall back to where it hung before. You took a big breath before you spoke.

“Well, I’m sure we’ll hear about it in the news.” You paused as Hoseok reversed his previous actions. “Want breakfast?”

Hoseok humed and followed you to the kitchen.
***
Days went by before you heard anything about the incident. Many people talked about it on social media. You saw many complaints about what the government officials ruled it as. An accident. There had been a major accident, or so they said. This confused you. If it had been an accident, why were there large helicopters? Both you and Hoseok recognized them to be military helicopters, so it didn’t make any sense.

You sat on your couch, a small 2-seater you obtained from a garage sale a couple of years ago. It might look like it should have been thrown away rather than salvaged, but once you found out how soft the cushions were, you bought it on the spot. Now it sat in front of the TV in your home.

The day was long for you. You had submitted a couple of initial sketches to a few of the authors that you were working with. Only one out of the three you sent them to liked your imagery. You ended up spending double as much time as you usually took to get the right 'look' for the story. After almost twelve hours of sitting at your desk, hunched over your tablet, you finally gave up and decided to find a new show to watch on Netflix.

You hadn't realized what time it was when Hoseok shut the front door behind him.

"You're up late. Didn't you get my text?"

You turned your head to look at him. He noticed your bloodshot eyes and droopy face.

"Guess not," he sighed. "Well, it got pretty bad at the hospital. Apparently there's something going around. I have to take some longer shifts for at least the next couple of days. Anyways, let's get you to bed. You look as tired as I feel."

Slowly, you dragged your body off the couch at his words. Your bones popped and crackled as you got out of the position you had been in while watching TV. You reached for the remote. As you paused your show, you caught a glimpse of what episode you were on. Your eyes widened as you were quick to pull out your phone and check the time.

2:16 AM.

You heard Hoseok chuckle as you groaned. You had been watching TV for seven hours straight. Slowly, you turned off the TV, sat the remote down, and turned to Hoseok with a pout. Hoseok motioned for you to follow with a small, tired smile on his face.

You weren't able to get much sleep that night. Your mind focused on the loud boom that sounded outside rather than trying to get comfortable in bed. Dogs could have been heard barking miles away because of it.

"What now?" You said exasperatedly.

You tossed your comforter off your body. You swung your legs off the side of your bed and pushed yourself up to stand. You rubbed at your eyes, trying to wipe your sleepiness away.

Like Deja Vu, Hoseok barged into your room. Panic settled on his face and his hair stuck up all over his head.

"What's going on?"

"I'm not sure."

Hoseok walked to your side. You both pushed your curtains open to answer your questions. You noticed your neighbors' lights were on and some even stood out in their yards. You looked up above your neighborhood.

"What the hell?"

Smoke. Fire. It was too dark to see much else, but that's what stuck out like a sore thumb.

"What's going on? Are we being attacked?" Hoseok asked.

Helicopters were quick to fly to the scene. This time, there were at least five military choppers that rushed over your neighborhood. The amount of helicopters had you concerned. Are you really being attacked? Or rather, is the big city?

A notification sounded on your phone near you. You were able to hear Hoseok’s phone go off from across the hall. Glancing over, you caught what the notification is from before the screen turned dark again.

“A government notif?” Your brows furrowed.

Reaching for your phone, it sounded again.

Emergency Alert:

DO NOT ENTER DOWNTOWN GWANGJU. ANY ENTRANCE TO THE AREA FOR ANY REASON IS PROHIBITED. THIS IS NOT A TEST. TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION.

“Hobi, look at this.”

Hoseok turned away from staring out to the main city. He stepped closer to you, leaning against your back to read over your shoulder.

“An emergency alert? Are we really being attacked?”

For the third and final time, your phone told you of a new message. This time, it was from one of your friends who lives closer to the city. The message she sent you horrified you. You faintly heard Hoseok curse under his breath. Nothing else mattered more in the moment than the information that was shown on the bright screen in your palm.

‘Don’t get near the city, its bad. Theres a lot of deaths and I think some of them aren’t completely dead…’

“Hey Hoseok,” you whispered, “I don’t think this is just a movie anymore.”

Hoseok didn't have to ask you what you meant. The conversation you had a few days earlier came back to his mind.

“The apocalypse is here.”