Rehan was lying on the sofa in his room, fast asleep. The room was filled with a light chill, and the curtains hanging by the window were gently swaying with the fan’s breeze. The silence was so deep that even the sound of a pin drop could be heard. Lost between dream and reality, Rehan was still half asleep when suddenly the phone on the table rang loudly.

The sound was so sharp that Rehan jumped up in shock and, in panic, slipped off the sofa onto the floor. The cold, hard surface sent a jolt up his spine. His heart started racing, and his breathing became heavy.

“What is this trouble now…” he muttered, picking up the phone with trembling hands. The screen showed 8 o’clock.

“Oh no… I am so late today!” he slapped his forehead after looking at the clock.

He quickly washed his face and went to the kitchen. As soon as he entered, he placed the frying pan on the stove. Thoughts of his university lectures kept running through his mind. He immediately called out to his younger brother, Rayan, so he would not get late for school. He was still beating the eggs when Rayan walked in, rubbing his sleepy eyes.

“Brother… today is Sunday… why did you wake me up?” Rayan asked in a sleepy voice.

Rehan looked at the calendar on the wall in surprise. It really was Sunday. For a moment he smiled awkwardly, then said softly,

“Sorry little one… go back to sleep, there’s no hurry today.”

Rayan, still half asleep, slowly walked back to his room. After finishing breakfast, Rehan sent a message to his mother:

“Ammi, I am awake and I have had my breakfast.”

A few moments later, his mother called. The moment he picked up, her gentle voice came through:

“Wow, my son is up on time today. Usually mornings are your biggest enemy.”

Rehan laughed lightly.

“Ammi… sometimes miracles do happen.”

His mother spoke with love,

“My sons are my support. I pray that both of you stay safe.”

Rehan stayed quiet for a moment and then said,

“Ammi… you are handling everything alone. After Abbu passed away, all the responsibility fell on your shoulders. The house, the job… I don’t know how you do it. I don’t even understand what I should do.”

He could hear her soft sigh on the phone, carrying both exhaustion and pride. She replied gently,

“Rehan… don’t say that. Yes, managing as a manager is not easy, but I can do anything for you both. And you too are standing by my side. After university, you even work two jobs to share the burden. Seeing you handle so much makes me feel I am not alone.”

A voice rose from Rehan’s heart,

“Ammi… I promise I will never let you down.”

Her voice trembled slightly with emotion but was filled with love,

“I will always be proud of my son.”

Rehan replied quietly,

“Just keep me in your prayers, Ammi.”

The call ended. Rehan placed the phone on the table, and a strange peace settled in his heart. A faint smile appeared on his face, as if a wave of comfort had passed through him. After washing the breakfast dishes, he sat on the sofa and began reading a book. Everything seemed completely normal, like any other day.

But… in the very next moment, everything changed.

The window glass shook violently. A loud explosion echoed outside. It felt as if the ground itself had trembled. The book slipped from his hands. His heart started pounding hard. Rehan rushed to the window. Pulling the curtain aside, his eyes met a scene of pure chaos.

Smoke was filling the street, car horns blared nonstop. Explosions and the sound of breaking glass filled the air. But the most terrifying of all… were the screams. Those screams that cut deep into the heart.

Rayan came running in, clinging to his brother’s arm in fear.

“Brother… what is happening? Did you light firecrackers?” he asked in a trembling voice.

Rehan could only manage to say one sentence:

“I don’t know… maybe an attack… or something else.”

He immediately grabbed a knife from the kitchen. Kneeling down in front of Rayan, he looked into his eyes. His voice was unusually serious.

“Listen, until I come back, do not open the door. Only open it if I knock three times loudly. Do you understand?”

Rayan nodded with teary eyes.

Rehan quietly unlocked the door. He did not have the courage to open it fully. He just peeked through the crack in the broken glass. The corridor was dark. The bulb was flickering, and a strange silence filled the air. In that silence, even the sound of his own heartbeat could be heard.

When he felt it was clear, he opened the door slightly and stepped outside.

As he walked down the stairs, his steps slowed on their own, as if the ground itself was warning him. On the second floor, people suddenly appeared, rushing upward in panic. Their faces were drenched in sweat and fear. They pushed each other, desperate to escape.

Rehan called out,

“What happened? What’s going on downstairs?”

But no one stopped. Everyone kept running upward, as if death itself was waiting below.

With a rising fear in his chest, he continued downward. And then… the moment came that changed everything.

Horrifying screams rose from below. When he leaned over the railing to see, his eyes froze in shock.

People were covered in blood. Their faces had turned red, their eyes pitch black. They didn’t look human anymore. They were tearing into others, biting and clawing at them. Blood was everywhere.

Rehan’s throat went dry. His breathing quickened. Before he could react, one of those creatures looked up at him and let out a scream. The sound was like grinding metal—chilling and unbearable. Then it rushed straight toward him.

Rehan stumbled back and fell on the stairs. His heart was about to burst from his chest. The creature was only a few steps away, its mouth dripping with blood, its eyes burning with madness.

His hands trembled. With shaking fingers, he pulled out the knife and struck wildly at its head. Each blow sank the blade into flesh and clashed against bone. Blood splattered onto his face. At last, the creature collapsed.

Blood streamed across the stairs like a river. Gasping for breath, Rehan dropped the knife from his hand. His eyes stared at his blood-covered hands. With a trembling voice, he cried out,

“W-what have I done… I killed a human…”

But this was not the time to think. Looking ahead, he saw many more of those creatures climbing toward him. Their footsteps echoed up the stairwell.

Rehan’s body froze. Fear gripped his very soul.

And then, from behind him, a loud but human voice roared,

“Hey boy! What are you doing? Run upstairs!”

Rehan looked up the stairs and saw a middle-aged man standing there, gasping for breath. Sweat was dripping down his forehead, and with trembling hands he was signaling Rehan to run up quickly.

A sudden shock went through Rehan’s heart. He turned his head and saw dozens of creatures climbing the stairs, making terrifying noises. The heavy thump of their feet, the growls rising from their throats, and the sharp tick-tick of their nails made his heart tremble.

His legs started running on their own. His breath was heavy, but his steps didn’t stop. When he reached the fourth floor corridor, the sight in front of him froze him in place. The corridor was crowded with people. Some women were crying loudly, holding their children close. A few men were trying, and failing, to comfort each other.

But as soon as everyone heard the monsters’ sounds coming closer, the whole crowd drowned in terror.

“They’re coming! Look, they’re coming up!” a young man screamed in a shaking voice.

Someone pointed with a trembling hand at an apartment door.

“Quick! This door is open, everyone get inside!”

The moment they heard this, people started shoving and rushing in. The corridor shook with noise, screams, and the pounding of footsteps. In the middle of this chaos, Rehan’s eyes caught a faint green light on the wall — EXIT. He knew it was the fire exit. He had thought many times before that maybe one day this way would save him. Today felt like that day.

Still, he followed the crowd inside. The door shut behind them, and the room sank into darkness, filled only with the sound of heavy breathing.

Rehan’s heart was beating wildly. His mind kept repeating a single thought:

Rayan… Rayan is alone upstairs. What must he be going through? He’s brave… no… no, he’s just a six-year-old child.

His voice shook as he spoke,

“Please, let me go… my brother is upstairs, he’s all alone!”

A man from the crowd snapped in anger,

“Are you crazy? If you go, those things will come straight here! We’ll all die. Sit down and stay put!”

Rehan shouted,

“But he’s alone! What if something happens to him?”

Another man said coldly,

“All of our lives are at risk, and you only care about your brother? Look at our terrified faces! Just listen and sit quietly. Maybe he’s already dead.”

Hearing that, Rehan’s breath caught in his chest. Tears welled in his eyes. He grabbed the man’s collar in rage.

“Who are you to say that? I don’t care about the others, but I swear I’ll kill you!”

“Help! Somebody stop him, this guy’s insane!” the man screamed.

People pulled Rehan away and held him aside. His eyes were burning red with anger. Just then, the terrifying sounds of the creatures echoed from outside the door. Claws scraping on the walls, growling, and the occasional bone-chilling scream. The room fell silent, as if everyone’s breath had been stolen.

After a while, when the noise outside faded, Rehan checked his pocket __ empty. He remembered his knife had fallen downstairs. His heartbeat went out of control. He looked around the room like a madman until his eyes landed on the kitchen.

Moving quietly, he slipped inside. His hands shook as he pulled open drawers, until finally he found a large kitchen knife. He gripped it tightly, and for the first time, a little courage returned to his chest.

Meanwhile, people were whispering and arguing near the window, some peeking outside. Rehan saw his chance. Slowly, step by step, he went toward the door. Then, gathering all his strength, he flung it open and dashed out.

The others froze at the sight. None of them tried to stop him instead, they shut the door quickly, almost relieved to be rid of him.

The corridor was empty and silent, only the faint echo of monsters in the distance. Rehan’s legs carried him forward in a sprint. He ran straight to the fire exit and pulled at the chain. The rusty door creaked loudly as it opened.

He climbed the stairs as fast as he could, his heart and mind repeating only one name Rayan… Rayan.

At last, breathless and trembling, he reached the tenth floor. He banged three times on his apartment door. Silence. Then, slowly, the door opened.

Rayan stood there. His small body was shaking, his eyes full of tears, lips quivering.

“Brother… why did you leave me alone? I… I was so scared. Someone kept whispering, telling me to open the door… but I didn’t. Please, brother, don’t ever leave me alone again.”

Hearing this shattered Rehan inside. He knelt down and pulled Rayan into his arms.

Rayan clutched his shirt tightly, as if it was his last hope.

Rehan closed the door and dragged a heavy table in front of it. Then he took Rayan to the bedroom, laid him on the bed, wiped his tears, and slowly patted him until he fell asleep, sobbing. Rehan sat there for a moment, just watching his little brother.

Later, he pulled a chair by the window and dialed his mother’s number again and again, but the phone was always off. A hollow emptiness spread inside him.

He picked up a pen and paper from the table. Closing his eyes for a moment, he took a deep breath, and then his pen started to move.

“In two or three days the electricity will be gone…”

That thought struck him like lightning, and he kept writing:

“First, I need to set up the solar balance. If I can’t store the sun’s power, the nights will drown in darkness.”

Then he noted:

“Canned food… water bottles…”

His mind flashed to the empty store shelves, and he knew time was running out.

Another thought hit him:

“Walkie-talkies…” He knew loneliness was the deadliest poison. A radio, walkie-talkie, or pager could be the only thread between life and death.

The pen danced quickly across the page:

“Hard drives… USBs…”

Rehan wrote down every shadow of fear crowding his mind.

“As long as the internet is alive, I must download everything — survival techniques, machine secrets, weapon crafting, fighting styles… everything that might save me tomorrow, no matter how useless it looks today.”

The room was silent except for the faint hum of the fan and the scratch of the pen. But Rehan’s heart pounded fast.

It felt as if he was writing a contract with the future,

that he would not give up,

that he would not let the light go out.

He organized the food by days of supply, then tried calling again, but there was only silence. His heart sank, but he refused to stop.

The whole day passed like this. That night, Rehan stayed awake. Rayan would cry in his sleep, clutching his brother until he dozed off again. Rehan’s eyes did not close once.

At dawn, Rehan made his decision. He sat beside Rayan and said:

“Listen, Rayan. You must stay home. Don’t go outside. I’m going to get supplies.”

Tears filled Rayan’s eyes. He grabbed his brother’s hand and cried,

“No, brother… you’re leaving me again. I’m scared.”

Rehan stroked his hair gently.

“I’ll be back soon. Just stay here, and don’t open the door.”

Rayan cried and begged, but Rehan’s mind was set. He packed a small bag with a water bottle and half a loaf of bread, and gripped the big kitchen knife he had found on the fourth floor.

The corridor reeked of death. Flies buzzed over bodies on the stairs.

Instead of the main gate, Rehan chose the fire exit. He rushed down to the ground floor and pushed open the old rusty door. It groaned as it moved.

The moment Rehan stepped outside… his eyes widened in fear and shock.