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Glass of Wine, End of Time

Eli_Gray_3392
14
chs / week
The average realized release rate over the past 30 days is 14 chs / week.
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Synopsis
Damn just when I finally find the love of my life, the world decides to end. What’s wrong with you, life? Fuck you're serious, aren’t you? You’re sending us freaks that look like zombies but are as handsome as vampires. You’re acting like a woman but, sorry, women are still easier to handle than life.
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Chapter 1 - First day :

I love you. I never imagined myself saying that this feels weird. Those human emotions are silly but true; they're the echo of something intangible.Picture me at home, sprawled on my fancy sofa while the air-conditioner thrums, swirling a glass of wine pricey enough to cost an arm and a leg, watching my favorite show on the biggest screen like a fucking king in the Middle Ages. Except the king I studied was powerful in his time his empire mighty; he dodged assassins and betrayal but who remembers him now? Even drenched in wealth, he was nobody. Damn money can't buy loyal people; it only buys fake ones.

Suddenly civil-defense sirens wail outside. Gunfire rattles like a video game. I stand and peer through the window, but the world is pitch-black, like midnight except it's only eleven. Shock slams into me. Am I dreaming? I flick on the TV. The anchor announces the end of the world: the sun has vanished, occluded by an unexpected planet. It'll take a year for things to return to normal. Fiction, right? They'll all die but not me. I have money. I can buy warmth when the temperature plummets below –120 °C. Half the world will freeze except the rich.

Then a warning flashes on-screen: Never look them in the eye. Who are they? Zombies? Vampires? Werewolves? Aliens? People who look like us, sliding in from a warped dimension to seize the planet? Maybe, I think darkly, it's a bunch of people who want to enslave us, flipping the cycle we forced on them.

The lights cut out. Damn I forgot to check on Mom. I grab my phone and call."Hello, Mom are you okay? Where are you?""Alex, son, everything's fine. I'm at your " Click. The line drops. I redial, but her phone's dead.My ringtone keens like a starving baby. I answer."Hello?""Honey, where are you? Are you okay?""Sweetie-pie, I'm home. Everything's fine. Wait there till Mom gets back; then I'll come for you, okay?""Okay. I'm waiting. Take care."

I hang up, switch on my phone's flash, and head to the backyard. The door golden as heaven's gate opens onto hellfire. The sky is empty: no moon, no stars, only pure darkness. The yard feels ripped from a horror movie, exuding that you-know-something-awful-is-coming vibe. A ghost could pop out, or a serial killer.

No girl likes a coward, I tell myself. I've got to be strong as a knight, handsome like a '90s movie star, and own a country in my name that's the standard. I feel like a two-hundred-year-old vampire walking through this lovely, gloomy world.

My phone rings again. Panic sucker-punches me. I answer."Hello, bro heaven or hell?"I sprint inside, slam the door, and pant into the receiver. "Hell. Satan sends regards ,he's saved you a seat.""Ha. Tell him thanks. Seriously, did you see what happened?""Yeah. The world's sliding into beautiful doom.""Man, I'm only twenty I've got a life to live.""You're okay. Twenty's the sweet spot; after that, life starts throwing haymakers.""Damn, you sound like Grandpa.""Grandpa's a legend he killed Nazis and scrubbed evil off the map.""True. I'm coming four hours out.""Good. Stay safe."

A gunshot cracks in the backyard. Someone slams into my front door. I rise. Time to find out whether my training is worth a damn. 

I headed for the door, my whole body shaking even though I was sure I could take the intruder down, surprises happen. I snagged a knife on the way and planted myself in front of the door. Then the pounding stopped. I pressed my ear to the wood to be sure the source of the noise had vanished, but another burst of gunfire rattled me to the core. Imagine dying like that terrified. Some people fall in wars, some in unbelievable ways, and me? Shot dead because I spooked at random gunfire? No. If I'm going out, it's going to be in an honorable way, something worth talking about.

Footsteps scraped just outside. I held my breath, braced the knife against the frame, flung the door open and froze. Standing there was a woman who looked like a Disney princess: fiery red hair, porcelain skin, crimson eyes, slim waist, delicate nose, wide gaze, soft red lips, maybe average height in an elegant, retro-'90s dress. Mesmerized, I let the knife slip from my hand; I'd never seen anyone like her. Maybe God sent this woman because I'm a good man, I thought. She stepped forward and spoke:

"Sorry to bother you, sir, but I need help. May I come in?" Her innocent face made it impossible to refuse.

"Of course," I said, stepping aside. The moment she crossed the threshold, a chill swept over me; an almost-evil smile flickered across her mouth. Still, I asked for her lantern the power was out and I needed to check the breaker. She handed it over, and I left her inside while I traced the gunfire outside. Something about her shoes clearly a man's size really unnerved me. I'd just let a stranger, possibly dangerous, into a house where the sun had vanished.

At the breaker I found blood on the ground, a trail leading to Mom's favorite tree. Hanging there was a mutilated body heart gone, mouth twisted around itself. Horror buckled my knees. A presence loomed behind me; I turned to see the princess morph into a killer. Her eyes glowed in the gloom, and before I could react she drove a fist into my gut.

Five minutes later I woke hanging beside the corpse except my body was intact. She stood watching.

I croaked, "Do you train boxing? What gym do you use? You float like a butterfly and hit like a bear!"

She sneered. "What's wrong with you, young man? Ever spoken to a lady? A real man uses words to enter a woman's heart that's his greatest weapon."

"Sorry," I managed. "Talking's not my strong suit." Blood pounded in my head as she came closer. She whispered, "It'll be quick don't panic. When I'm done, you'll be a gentleman." Then darkness.

I woke on the floor. She sat beside me, smoking, while I lay completely naked violated or not, I couldn't tell. Shame flared up.

"What did you do to me?" I demanded. "Did you use me?"

She exhaled smoke. "I decided not to kill you. Be grateful."

"No I'd rather be dead. Look what you've done. I betrayed my sweet-pea."

She laughed an elegant, musical sound. "Sweet-pea? now-days men are weird. Listen: what we're about to do is dangerous. Are you ready?"

Something bad was coming I could feel it. But sometimes, you have to break routine just to see what happens next.

"Who are you?" I said while looking at the girl.

"You don't need to know now," she replied, moving toward the door.

"Do you have a name, something I can actually call you, rather than shouting random voices?" I asked, following her to the doorway.

"You can call me Stella," she said after crossing the threshold.

"Stella, okay, beautiful name. But listen: before we do anything, I need to know where my mother is, and I need to understand exactly what we're about to do."

"Fine," she answered. "I'll look for your mother, and you'll come with me if you want to know why the sun disappeared, why it's vanished, how it happened, and what we can do next."

"How do you even know about that? Are you serious?" I shouted, stopping halfway across the yard. She heard me, ignored me, and kept going until she reached the car parked beside my house. I tried to pry out details, but she kept silent, such an arrogant lady.

We climbed into the car; the interior was blistering hot. I slammed my door, the heat smacking me in the chest. Before she could start the engine, I caught her wrist and locked eyes with her eyes sharp and restless, like an eagle's.

"Where's my mom? What do you know?"

Stella faced forward, turned the key, and finally spoke. "Give me a little of your blood."

"What? Why?"

"If you let me taste a little, I can track your mother. You share the same bloodline, perfect beacon."

"Are you a witch? Black‑magic sorceress stuff?"

"Something like that. Hurry if you want to see her." She slid a small knife from her sock and handed it to me.

I gripped it, rolled up my sleeve, ready to make a shallow cut when someone darted across the headlights. Stella braked hard. I jumped out to see who we'd struck. A man in plain clothes lay face down on the asphalt, just beyond the light. I couldn't even tell if he was bleeding.

Heart thundering, I rushed back, yanked open Stella's door, and blurted, "We hit someone!"

She looked almost bored. "End of the world, no cops. Killing isn't illegal anymore."

"Are you kidding me? That belongs in cheap movies, not real life!"

"Fine, let's look." She stepped out. We walked a few paces…but the body was gone.

"Shit back in the car, now," she hissed, suddenly tense.

"Why? Zombie?" I half‑joked.

"Worse. Just stay behind me."

My ego hated hiding behind a woman, but survival trumped pride. Something slammed into Stella, knocking her sideways. The man we'd hit emerged, shambling.

He leaned toward my ear. "Your heart looks tasty."

"What the fuck, man? That's the gayest thing I've ever heard," I muttered, face twisting.

"I'm not gay," he growled, eyes aflame.

Before he could lunge, Stella ripped a jagged shard of bone, yes, bone, out of her own forearm and rammed it into his chest. He writhed. She tore another shard from her thigh and stabbed his neck. His scream shredded the night. Tearing part of her dress, she nearly exposed herself, but modesty somehow survived. She yanked a rib‑bone free, then lashed him up like a goat ready for barbecue.

He tried to resist, but she pinned him, a feminine Terminator bathed in blood. Shock and relief warred inside me. I don't know what she is, but one thing's certain: the answers travel with her.

 

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