Chapter 1: A Nightmare

A Nightmare

Cold and hard.

That was the first thing Jayden noticed when he opened his eyes. His vision was a bit blurred and the world sounded muffled but besides an aching body he was okay.

‘Am I on the ground? What happened?’ Jayden thought. Pushing off against the asphalt Jayden could feel a rumbling beneath the earth. Shaking his head Jayden tried to place everything into perspective. As Jayden did, a smell wafted near his nose.

Smoke. No. Not just smoke—something heavier, biting deeper into the air.

The rumbling hadn’t stopped. It continued underneath his feet. Subtle but like a constant, low intensity earthquake.

“What… is going on?” His voice was rough.

Flashes of faces in his head: Marquis. Julianne.  The name Janus. Then—nothing. It felt like there were holes where his memories had been.  Jayden remembered his name but some things are off.

Pain flared behind his temple and strange dots appeared in his field of vision along with a backdrop of static, translucent and shimmering over everything. It crawled over his skin, wrapped his hands, bled into the sky. These “dots” flickered in and out of existence, vanishing as soon as Jayden focused on them.

‘What the hell? Where am I?’ Jayden’s vision was still blurry, but Jayden could tell he was in town. Just not his town. Where the heck was the office? And what happened to Marquis and Julianne. Looking up at the street signs Jayden realized that Jayden could read the words on the sign. Jayden didn’t have perfect vision but the words were unreadable and hazy in front of a green signpost.

It wasn’t just his sight that was off. Jayden could feel it—like the static was flowing through him, not just around him. It was terrifying… and strangely comforting. A stabbing pain radiated behind his eyes. It was a bit hard to ignore it.

Then the sound of rumbling that had racked his muscles began to fade as his ears adjusted to the flood of screams and roars that drowned out the confusion.

One scream. Then dozens. Surrounding me. Piercing, blood-curdling, echoing like surround sound in a horror film.

Walls crumbled. People ran, clutching bags, children, anything they could hold.

Jayden staggered up, only to be knocked aside by a rushing crowd. The ground cracked open beneath them. Violet light spilled out, geysers of static blasting into the sky- torrents of awe-inspiring energy, silent but violent. 

The blue sky above appeared fake, almost painted on. The air pressed heavy on his chest. Black and white dots popped in and out of his vision no matter how much Jayden blinked. Closing his eyes only brought darkness full of static.

This is wrong. All of this.

The ground bled red where it had split. Steam hissed from the cracks. Then more screams and the smell of blood.

“Hey! Excuse me!” Jayden called to a woman rushing past. She didn’t even look at him.

Jayden tried again, grabbing for an older man pulling a child by the hand. “Sir! Please, what’s happening?”

He tore away, shouting at the boy: “Move, Gerald! Don’t stop!” Seeing them run. Jayden took off down the street racing forward to nowhere in particular.

Jayden could see looters smashing through storefronts. Cars sitting abandoned, engines dead and then a thought occurred. Jayden suddenly remembered his phone in his pocket and pulled it out. Jayden placed his finger against the sensor, but his phone refused to turn on—no signal, no power, not even a flicker.

Bodies lay strewn across the pavement, twitching in agony. Other bodies convulsed, writhing as static wrapped around them. Their skin flushed with unnatural light.

Jayden stumbled back. lungs beginning to burn, vision darting from body to body. Wake up. Please wake up.

But the nightmare pressed on.

An older man lay nearby, his body shaking violently. His skin glowed with translucent red heat, his hair sprouting wildly, nails hardening into claws. Bones cracked. Muscles tore and reformed.

His eyes snapped open. Bloodshot. Animalistic.

And then he screamed—a feral, piercing howl that cut straight through me.

He wasn’t alone.

All around, more people were changing. Some convulsed until they collapsed, bodies still. Others twisted in agony as their features warped—elongated jaws, thickened limbs, skin splitting to reveal something monstrous underneath.

Panic swallowed the streets.

Jayden turned—only to meet his eyes. The old man was no longer old. His body was gnarled, hunched, and furred. His face stretched into something between human and wolf. A predator’s snarl twisted his mouth.

And it was fixed on Jayden who couldn’t tell if he had frozen in disbelief or fear.  The wolf-man slowly reached out at first but then swiped rapidly at his stomach and a second time at Jayden’s leg.  The trance over him was broken. Turning to run Jayden darted in whatever direction his legs carried him. Right into an open manhole. This must be a nightmare.