The First Wave

Sun, 21 Sep 2025 09:30:37 -0700

Arjes clutches his satchel to his chest, lungs burning as he bolts down the tiled corridor of the college. His shoes slap against the waxed floor, echoing like gunshots. Students wave, call his name, try to catch his attention — he doesn’t slow, doesn’t answer. No time. Not now. Not when the numbers are still screaming inside his head.

He bursts through the glass doors into the pale daylight, cutting across the street toward the cracked stone stairwell of his apartment building. His heart hammers against his ribs, but the fear that drives him is larger than exhaustion. It is dread. Cold, suffocating dread.

The key rattles in the lock as he shoves the door open.

“What’s all that for?” Tammy’s voice greets him from the kitchen, half-laughing, half-concerned — until she sees his face. He is pale, sweating, eyes wild, breath coming in uneven gasps. Her own voice sharpens, drops low. “Arjes. Talk to me. What’s wrong?”

Arjes doesn’t answer. He stands frozen at the window, staring at the sun where it hangs fat and distorted above the horizon, its glare bleeding strangely against the clouds. His fingers twitch at his side. Finally, he turns to her, his voice raw.

“We need to leave.”

Tammy sets the wooden spoon in her hand onto the counter, slowly, cautiously, as though he’s a spooked animal ready to bolt. “Leave? What are you talking about?”

“I told them this would happen,” he mutters, fumbling...Read More

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The First Wave