Countdown to the Apocalypse: 11 Days Remaining

I sat in my chair hoping for the best. Thing hasn't been going my way ever since the news on the coming apocalypse. 11 days. As the deadline comes ever so closer, excitement overwhelms. I want it to come, yet part of me wants it to just stay; never approaching. But alas, times moves forward.

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The night before, I felt my heart sinking way below my gut. Morning came and I thought that the horrid feeling down below remained. However I woke up with a sense of hope. Something deep within me said that it will turn out alright. Just the day before, I had to deal with freaking asshats. That totally broke my concentration and basically my patience.

I headed to HQ as usual. Today was the day that 6A will be having their final mark-up inspection. I felt confident, even if my report was only half complete. Half complete, but not half-assed. It was something to be proud of. Unlike them newbies who only cared about nothing; they get things done just for the sake of getting it done. Not someone I'd want on my team. After all, I don't think they'll even survive the initial blow if they were caught right smack in the middle of the chaos 11 days later.

By noon, Lab 6A was almost cleared out. About an hour later, the count dropped to just 7 people. The tension between colleagues became a lot more intense as the days drew closer. Still, we struggle to keep ourselves sane. So far, everything's going smoothly...but for how long? I've decided to take a two day break. For health reasons. Working my ass off will get me killed long before the dawn of the apocalypse.

I left the lab not long after the sun had set. It was clear that someone (or something) either wanted me out of the picture or worse, dead. My car was rigged. I was then left stranded for hours, off-course just because I decided to take a detour. I knew something was bound to happen when I started receiving cold stares behind my back. I swear that sometimes, I could bloody feel them breathing down my neck. Watching my every move quietly in hiding, wishing that some misfortune befall me. My research proved that I was unto something. Something that someone else doesn't want me to solve or reveal to the others.

Nevertheless, I reached home countless hours later; myself still in one piece fortunately. I've decided to lay low for the time being. Continuing my research and investigation via my own underground networks of "informants" and sources. Whoever who rigged my car must still be out there looking for me. I can't fake my own death. Many who know me knows where they'd be able to find me. I just have to play it safe. Just another hour to midnight. I bolted my room door and windows. "10 days to the Apocalypse," I muttered. "The fun begins now," I smiled sarcastically to myself and tucked myself to bed.

Countdown to the Apocalypse: 12 Days Remaining

I sat in my chair hoping for the best. Thing hasn't been going my way ever since the news on the coming apocalypse. 12 days. As the deadline comes ever so closer, excitement overwhelms. I want it to come, yet part of me wants it to just stay; never approaching. But alas, times moves forward.

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Once again I woke up to the scorching noon sun. Dull and hot. Not to my liking. Just before I could lay my head back down, my communicator started buzzing. "Damn, duty calls..." I muttered and made my way out of my room. HQ was back to it's gloomy and quiet self. Lab 6A however, was filled with new unfamiliar faces. "Ah crap, fucking new recruits," I sighed as I headed to my designated workstation. Them retards think they know a whole load of crap but in reality, only their ego are as big as that big mouth of theirs. It's what an old friend would call all talk, no action, and what I would call bullshitting retards with seriously no respect.

The day progresses slowly. Furthermore, them new recruits ain't helping brighten up my already stressful week. I overheard them talking about a new discovery. Some sort of new technology. "Wonderful. Some jackass just unearthed something that could very well annihilate the entire planet and they don't even have a clue what that thing is," I spoke out in sarcasm. The entire lab shifted their gaze towards me. I gave the newbies a cold piercing stare. Regardless, they continued their rambling. On and on and on. What I would do to seriously have my SK-4B Tesla Rifle ready and built right about then. The words I once said to my ex-guildmates years back replayed in the back of my mind: "Respect is not bought but earned." I then decided to leave them newbies be.

Eventually their shift was over and they left. Music to my ears. Many of my other colleagues would gladly agree with me. Research has been progressing a little better ever since the newbies left the lab. I decided to not work in late today and packed up the minute I saw the sunset. No less than half a mile after leaving HQ, they sky decided to let loose on me. It started to drizzle and soon it was pouring. The weather's been bonkers since last week. My theory would be that these are signs of the coming apocalypse.

Upon entering the sanctuary of my own room, I noticed my workstation giving off a strange beep following with a few light flashes. I turned on the screen. "1 INCOMING MESSAGE" was what's being displayed on the screen. It was my female colleague. Apparently, she was having trouble with some technical stuff. Much to me NOT being a technician, my advice can only help her get as far as my personal experience. As our conversation ended, I decided to hit the sack a little early. As of tomorrow, it will be 11 days to the Apocalypse.

Countdown to the Apocalypse: 13 Days Remaining

I sat in my chair hoping for the best. Thing hasn't been going my way ever since the news on the coming apocalypse. 13 days. As the deadline comes ever so closer, excitement overwhelms. I want it to come, yet part of me wants it to just stay; never approaching. But alas, times moves forward.

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It was already way past midnight. Perhaps I'm the only one that is still up. My surroundings were quiet, like I was living in a ghost town. Despite that, I continued to work on the finishing touches of my research. By the time I was done, it was already 6 in the morning. Deadline in 4 hours. I decided to hit the sack.

I was awake a mere 2 hours later. My head was throbbing and my eyes felt like they were about to fall out from my sockets any second. I was that tired. But nonetheless, I woke up and pushed myself to freshen up in the bathroom. By the time I got to HQ's Lab 6A, it was already bustling with activity. Something you don't get to see anymore in this kind of time. Apparently, I wasn't the only one tasked with this. This mass research on anomalies popping out due to the coming apocalypse gave me an glimpse of the what's to come: from abandoned church grounds, to derelict underground mining shafts. What's more, there were even places that I even I didn't expect to be investigated: a ruined temple archive that was believed to be from another civilization with technology far greater than ours! Heck, it exists. I can't bring myself to believe that. Suddenly, the coming apocalypse only seemed to scare me even more. But somehow, deep inside me... There is anxiousness. Anxious of the arrival of this event that would change our very lives, forever...

I left HQ as soon as everything was over. I needed some immediate sleep. Pronto. The journey back seemed like an eternity. With the regular brainless moronic bastards rampaging the streets, it's even more life-threatening than ever to drive in my current state. Nevertheless, I made it back. Heck, I can't even remember what was the time I reached home. I instantly knocked out when I stepped foot into my own room. I woke up a lot later, but to just check on the time. The clock showed that it's way past midnight already. "12 days to the Apocalypse," I quietly exclaimed and went back to sleep.

Countdown to the Apocalypse: 14 Days Remaining

I sat in my chair hoping for the best. Thing hasn't been going my way ever since the news on the coming apocalypse. 14 days. As the deadline comes ever so closer, excitement overwhelms. I want it to come, yet part of me wants it to just stay; never approaching. But alas, times moves forward.

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I woke up to the buzzing sound coming from my communicator. Feeling that this was just a little too early to head off for work, I grabbed the communicator and threw it aside. Then came a knock on my door. I opened the room door only to see the guy from yesterday. I slammed the door to his face and went back to sleep. I dozed off only to wake up an hour later. To my surprise, that asshole was still standing in front of my door. "I need help with biotech research," the asshole said. Without a second thought, I let him in and booted up my workstation. "The data is in the primary core drive," I told him as I headed off to the bathroom to freshen up. Apparently, he wasn't just interested with the biotech research. He was also studying the cause and effects of the coming apocalypse. I told him that there'll be more to discuss back at HQ, and we left.

The usual morning at HQ's Lab 6A was like any other day. My mates were early as usual. True enough they're all deep into their soon-to-be-dued biotech research report. My female colleague on the other hand was tasked with something else. "New orders eh?" I asked. "Advanced weapon development," she replied. "Firearms?" I asked again. She nodded her head. I was then approached my another of my mates. "Brought the stuff?" he ask. "Mainframe core drive," I said while pointing to the direction of the mainframe device that I left on the frontdesk. The atmosphere in the lab was as tense as I could ever imagine. Maybe it was due to the fact that everyone was under pressure due to the fact that we have a slavedriver as our XO.

As evening came, the lab was as empty as ever. Only four of us remained aside from the other three technicians working at the back of the lab. I left soon after. The sky was dark and my surroundings were quiet. It'll be far less quieter than it is now in the days to come. As for me, I'd stay put and watch as how things will unfold. How will fate carry out its duties once the apocalypse hath cometh? I sat at my deskchair, thinking... "Come midnight, it will be 13 days to the Apocalypse..."

Countdown to the Apocalypse: 15 Days Remaining

I sat in my chair hoping for the best. Thing hasn't been going my way ever since the news on the coming apocalypse. 15 days. As the deadline comes ever so closer, excitement overwhelms. I want it to come, yet part of me wants it to just stay; never approaching. But alas, times moves forward.

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By the time I woke up it was half past noon. The sun was blazing through the tattered curtain holes covering my window. I picked up my communicator to check for messages. There was a list of names. Amongst them all, one stood out. I gave him a call. The conversation was a little hard to hear due to static. The call ended abruptly but I traced the source to an abandoned lightrail station up north by the highway. The area was littered with scraps and junk. Mostly debris from the station itself.

We headed to HQ to check in. The poor sob apparently had an urgent meeting with the higher-up and rushed on the minute I stopped the car. I slowly mad my way to the research labs to further on my already delayed abandoned powerplant research. The labs were as dark as usual when I stepped in. I pushed the metal door and walked into Lab 6A. Immediately I was embraced by the cold stale air that's been circulating in the room ever since the labs were open in morning. A female colleague told me that the rest of my team headed out for lunch. "Why the hell would anyone think about having lunch in a situation like this?" I told myself.

Ignoring the fact that my mates left me, I walked towards my workstation. I took a glimpse at my surroundings and I knew that some unauthorised personel was in the labs. "Some fucktard was at my place!" I shouted, much to the disapproval of my female friend. Soon, my mates were back. From what I can see, they're into something about biotechnology. Not that I care much about. Since my report was way overdue, I decided to ignore their petty chatter and concentrated on my reseach instead.

By the time I was done, the sun has already set and I decided to make my way home. The weather was finally a little more forgiving as it started to drizzle at about halfway through my journey. The days before was scorching hot. I reached home not long after and headed upstairs back into my room. Logging on to my personal workstation, I noticed that there was an incoming video transmission. "Oh, great... Biotech shit..." I grumbled to myself. Apparently that whole biotech research thing that was going on back at the lab was another team research project the higher-ups decided to force into my already tight schedule. The final words shown on screen at the end of the message was dreadful indeed: "DUE IN 2 DAYS."

Just great. First up was the research report on the abandoned powerplant I received months ago. Now this. Worst of all is that both are to be handed up on the same day, handed up to the same XO and seriously, I don't look like I have the time. Cramming all up would be a possible choice but I myself like to take things slow and steady. Call me a perfectionist of somesort. The clock already shows that it's 10 minutes to midnight. I've been staring the screen for more than an hour already thinking of a possible way out of this one.

"Midnight... 14 days to the Apocalypse," I said.

I turned off the monitor and headed into the shower...

Countdown to the Apocalypse: 16 Days Remaining

I sat in my chair hoping for the best. Thing hasn't been going my way ever since the news on the coming apocalypse. 16 days. As the deadline comes ever so closer, excitement overwhelms. I want it to come, yet part of me wants it to just stay; never approaching. But alas, times moves forward.

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The idea of a beautiful morning was cut short when there was a knock on the door. I was sleeping, yet I was awake. The last that I remembered was the white ceiling and the ever noisy fan spinning. Somehow, my body went to sleep long before my eyes. It was the fatigue from the day before. Never have I felt so exhausted in my life. The second knock brought me back to reality. I moved out of bed to turn the lights on. I flipped the switch once, then twice. Nothing. "Bloody bastards cut the power," I said to myself while walking to the bathroom.

I got back into my room soaking wet and cold. Even the damned heater broke down. "Just great," I muttered as I headed towards my workstation. It was attached to a backup generator and it kicked in as soon as the power died. I turned on the monitor and scrolled through my midnight activity logs. Scans showed that there were less attacks compared to the week before. I loaded up the security protocols and let the machine handled the rest. Grabbing my portable workstation and my communicator, I left my room.

I headed to the local hospital. Ever since the news of the coming apocalypse surfaced, that place has been on high alert. Paranoia runs rampant within those four walls. Entrance security was sloppy as usual. However, they were pretty tight on the upper levels. You needed proper identification to access the higher levels, even the cafeteria on the top-most floor. I was supposed to meet someone there, an informant. Apparently, that "someone" didn't show up. Perhaps trouble with security or maybe personal problems. I never did trusted anonymous tip-offs anyway. As I made my way back to the ground floor, my communicator buzzed. The text message stated that I was to head over to the entrance of the church next door.

As I thought, my "informant" was having a little security trouble back at the hospital and couldn't even make it past the first floor. His information was regarding an earlier assignment of mine: a thorough investigation of a nearby abandoned power plant. With this info, I will be finally be able to continue on my investigation. I took the data disc he had and headed home to further analyze it.

I was hoping that the power was already restored once I got home. But then again, I was hoping too much. My backup generator died only moments after I popped the disc into the drive to be analyzed. Without having much choice, I laid down and I dozed off. I woke up to the sound of raindrops hitting hard on the sidewalk. But there was more. The creaking sound of the turning fan was music to my ears. "Power's back," I smiled as I began to analyze the contents of the disc.

The amount of data my informant managed to find out was massive. "This could keep me awake all night," I told myself. I worked nonstop trying to figure out the mess that was created and sorting out a majority of errors. Soon, the clocked showed midnight. Another 15 days to the Apocalypse.

Countdown to the Apocalypse: 17 Days Remaining

I sat in my chair hoping for the best. Thing hasn't been going my way ever since the news on the coming apocalypse. 17 days. As the deadline comes ever so closer, excitement overwhelms. I want it to come, yet part of me wants it to just stay; never approaching. But alas, times moves forward.

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The morning started out with a deafening ringing to my ear. It was a call from a friend. A wake up call. There was supposed to be a briefing that was gonna happen in M-23 at around 10am. I ended the call as I slowly made my way to the bathroom. Signs of fatigue clearly showed as I looked at myself in the mirror. I sluggishly walked back to my room, got changed and headed downstairs.

I headed downstairs, grabbed a few bites and got into my car and left. "Quiet morning," I thought to myself. As luck would have had it, the ever deserted road became infested with loads of brainless morons in a blink of an eye. Ignoring the chaos I pressed on. Leaving the chaos behind, I checked the clock. It clearly showed 10am. "Late," I said to myself. Making matters worse, I was barely even halfway.

I reached my destination around 15 minutes later, parked my car and got out. My surroundings were quiet. Subtle sounds of rustling leaves being blown by the wind can be heard into the distance. I carefully walked across the stone lot, eyes looking around for anything suspicious. After minutes of walking, I found myself staring at a door with the sign M-23. I opened the door and walked into the cold room.

There were five people (not including myself) in the room, sitting and minding their own business.There was a lone female sitting at the front of the room. I knew who she was, a colleague of mine for a good two and the half years. I took my seat behind her. The guy who called me in the morning was seated to my right, also a colleague of a good two and the half years. Thankfully, the briefing hasn't started as there were a few "unforeseen problems" which delayed the briefing a good 30 minutes.

It was noon when the briefing ended. The skies were dark that morning when I left home. But it looked a little brighter. My friends called for a meeting over lunch. Without anything else to do, I agreed. My bowl of noodles was the best thing I had since... Well, I can't remember. Glad too. By the time this is over, I'll be happy to forget the hell I've been through.

The weather was unkind. I took a slow drive home under the hot blazing sun. My fatigue kicked in. Thought of my previous near death experiences flashed past my sight. Pulling myself together, I tried to fight off the fatigue that was slowly consuming my body. I reached home in one piece, thankfully.

I walked up to my room and turned up the air-conditioning. I fell face first on my bed and dozed off to sleep. By the time I had awaken, it was already dark outside. God knows how long I've been out. An hour? Maybe a day? What about a week? I turned on the lights and squinted at the small corner of my PC monitor. It was still the same day. I walked out of my room and into the hallway. Pitch black and pin drop silence. I fumbled in the darkness looking for the light switch.

Time passes by ever so quickly. Soon, it was an hour before midnight. Just as I thought I can turn in for the night, the annoying beep coming from my room told me that there was an incoming message. It was from my female friend and the guy that woke me up in the morning. Apparently they're both having weapon troubles. I told them that firearms just ain't my thing but I'd help them in anyway possible. An hour has passed without any progress. To make matters worse, my line got cut off. Everything was silent once again. I closed my eyes and took a few deep breathes. "They should be fine on their own," I assured myself. However, doubt lingers in my heart. I don't think anyone will be okay. The situation will only change from bad to worse.

I took a look at the clock. It was 10 minutes to 1am. The chilling night air prompted me to go for a hot shower. Again I made my way to the bathroom. I turned on the shower. The hot water had a stinging sensation to my back. I sighed and softly said "16 days to the Apocalypse."