Dabrandon Davidson lived in a bustling city, a place that thrived on constant movement, ever-changing trends, and relentless growth. He was known by everyone as a friendly soul kind to all in path, a man who took life’s moments as something to cherish while everyone else stepped on each other for success. He didn't have many friends but the ones that he did have often teased him about his love of the quiet and boring life. “Dabrandon, you need to try harder to be successful and live a stress free life if you don’t keep up,” they would say, half-joking, and somewhat concerned. But he would simply smile and shrug and dismiss their concerns because he was content in his life.
One evening, after a particularly long day of work and endless meetings in his workplace, Dabrandon decided to escape the city’s frenzy and take a walk in a nearby wooded area he loved. It was a small forest, tucked away from the noise of the city, a place where he could hear the wind rustling through the trees and birds calling from the branches. He had always found peace there, feeling a connection with the stillness that the world around him seemed to lack.
As he walked further into the woods that was a second home to him, he stumbled upon an old man sitting on front of a pond, staring at the creatures that called it home.. The man wore clothes that seemed out of place vintage, worn, like he had stepped out of a different time. He looked up at Dabrandon, smiled, and without a word, handed him a flask. “Drink,” the man said, his voice soft but somehow compelling. Without thinking, Dabrandon took a sip. The drink was unlike anything he had tasted before, it was sweet but with a strange, heavy warmth that settled into his bones.
Suddenly, an overwhelming sense of drowsiness washed over him, and Dabrandon sat down beneath a large strange tree that radiated a ominous aura, thinking that he would only sleep for just for a moment. The sound of the forest and the rustle of the leaves on the ominous tree lulled him into a deep sleep longer than he would've ever imagined.
When Dabrandon finally awoke, the air felt different, it was cooler and quieter. He rubbed his eyes, blinking against the sunlight that seemed harsher than before. Groggily, he stood up and stretched, feeling oddly stiff, as though he hadn’t moved in days. The woods looked the same, but something felt off. The sounds were different, quieter, almost too still.
He started walking back toward the city, expecting to hear the familiar hum of traffic, the chatter of people, the distant sound of construction. But when he reached the edge of the woods, what he saw left him speechless. The city had changed.
Where there had once been modest buildings and shops, there now stood half collapsed skyscrapers, decayed and imposing. The streets were filled with strange vehicles that were destroyed and rusted that seemed to have strangely large claw marks and destroyed windows. He looked within the vehicles and only say skeletons that have looks of horror written all over their skulls. He continued to walk on the depilated road and eventually saw a newspaper half rotten on the road " Mutated Creatures Escaped China's Experimental facility, All citizens stay Home till Military Help Arrives"
Panic rising in his chest, Dabrandon pulled out his phone—except it power was off and died a long time ago. His heart raced as he rushed down the street, desperately trying to find something, anything familiar. He passed by the old diner where he used to get coffee, but it was deprecated beyond repair.
Frantically, he approached a stranger in a distance that was rummaging through trash. “What year is it?” he asked, his voice shaking.
The stranger gave him a curious look, as though Dabrandon were mad. “It’s 2075,” the man said before continuing to rummage through the trash, most likely looking for his next meal.
The year echoed in Dabrandon’s mind. He had fallen asleep for 51 years.
In disbelief, he looked at the city he once called home, his heart heavy with loss. Everything he once knew was gone, his friends were gone, his family no longer in the city. His job, his home, his very way of life had vanished, leaving him a relic in a world that had moved on without him. He felt a deep, aching loneliness, like a ghost haunting a place where no one remembered him.
But as the initial shock began to wear off, Dabrandon saw the sun starting to go down and a look a fear appearing on the stranger face near him. Before he could ask him what was wrong he heard a roar of a beast, once that clearly didn't belong to any catalogued by mankind, he could even feel a primal fear as all of the hair's on his body raised as if his very soul was urging him to flee. The stranger next to him already abandoned his activities, running in the opposite direction from the roar. He sat down on a panic behind the heap of trash, taking a deep breath as he looked around. The decayed trees still stood tall, the building long decayed offering him no comfort . And for a moment, he felt a sense of despair. The world may have moved on, but he realized that if he didn't want to meet the same fate as those skeletons he saw within the vehicles he would have to follow that strange man to whatever safe haven he had to survive the monster. He would save his questions for later, the only thing he had on his mind was "Survive".
One evening, after a particularly long day of work and endless meetings in his workplace, Dabrandon decided to escape the city’s frenzy and take a walk in a nearby wooded area he loved. It was a small forest, tucked away from the noise of the city, a place where he could hear the wind rustling through the trees and birds calling from the branches. He had always found peace there, feeling a connection with the stillness that the world around him seemed to lack.
As he walked further into the woods that was a second home to him, he stumbled upon an old man sitting on front of a pond, staring at the creatures that called it home.. The man wore clothes that seemed out of place vintage, worn, like he had stepped out of a different time. He looked up at Dabrandon, smiled, and without a word, handed him a flask. “Drink,” the man said, his voice soft but somehow compelling. Without thinking, Dabrandon took a sip. The drink was unlike anything he had tasted before, it was sweet but with a strange, heavy warmth that settled into his bones.
Suddenly, an overwhelming sense of drowsiness washed over him, and Dabrandon sat down beneath a large strange tree that radiated a ominous aura, thinking that he would only sleep for just for a moment. The sound of the forest and the rustle of the leaves on the ominous tree lulled him into a deep sleep longer than he would've ever imagined.
When Dabrandon finally awoke, the air felt different, it was cooler and quieter. He rubbed his eyes, blinking against the sunlight that seemed harsher than before. Groggily, he stood up and stretched, feeling oddly stiff, as though he hadn’t moved in days. The woods looked the same, but something felt off. The sounds were different, quieter, almost too still.
He started walking back toward the city, expecting to hear the familiar hum of traffic, the chatter of people, the distant sound of construction. But when he reached the edge of the woods, what he saw left him speechless. The city had changed.
Where there had once been modest buildings and shops, there now stood half collapsed skyscrapers, decayed and imposing. The streets were filled with strange vehicles that were destroyed and rusted that seemed to have strangely large claw marks and destroyed windows. He looked within the vehicles and only say skeletons that have looks of horror written all over their skulls. He continued to walk on the depilated road and eventually saw a newspaper half rotten on the road " Mutated Creatures Escaped China's Experimental facility, All citizens stay Home till Military Help Arrives"
Panic rising in his chest, Dabrandon pulled out his phone—except it power was off and died a long time ago. His heart raced as he rushed down the street, desperately trying to find something, anything familiar. He passed by the old diner where he used to get coffee, but it was deprecated beyond repair.
Frantically, he approached a stranger in a distance that was rummaging through trash. “What year is it?” he asked, his voice shaking.
The stranger gave him a curious look, as though Dabrandon were mad. “It’s 2075,” the man said before continuing to rummage through the trash, most likely looking for his next meal.
The year echoed in Dabrandon’s mind. He had fallen asleep for 51 years.
In disbelief, he looked at the city he once called home, his heart heavy with loss. Everything he once knew was gone, his friends were gone, his family no longer in the city. His job, his home, his very way of life had vanished, leaving him a relic in a world that had moved on without him. He felt a deep, aching loneliness, like a ghost haunting a place where no one remembered him.
But as the initial shock began to wear off, Dabrandon saw the sun starting to go down and a look a fear appearing on the stranger face near him. Before he could ask him what was wrong he heard a roar of a beast, once that clearly didn't belong to any catalogued by mankind, he could even feel a primal fear as all of the hair's on his body raised as if his very soul was urging him to flee. The stranger next to him already abandoned his activities, running in the opposite direction from the roar. He sat down on a panic behind the heap of trash, taking a deep breath as he looked around. The decayed trees still stood tall, the building long decayed offering him no comfort . And for a moment, he felt a sense of despair. The world may have moved on, but he realized that if he didn't want to meet the same fate as those skeletons he saw within the vehicles he would have to follow that strange man to whatever safe haven he had to survive the monster. He would save his questions for later, the only thing he had on his mind was "Survive".
