"I left the paperwork on your desk."
"Okay."
"See you tomorrow, then."
"See you."
...
As John left work, the clock marked 8 p.m. He had stayed so late because he'd missed a few days—his mother had died, and he had an important case to work on. He was representing a major corporation, and his job depended on it.
Walking toward the subway, he glanced up at the sky, adjusting his glasses out of habit. Since it was mid-November, the sun had set hours ago. If it were summer, maybe he'd have still caught the tail end of the sunset. Because it was cold and he wasn't wearing a jacket, he gave a final glance at the full moon and rushed into the subway.
Catching the train with the name of his city on it, he found an empty seat and sat down. Checking his social media messages, he turned his phone off, disappointed.
"What was I expecting? Sigh."
He had every right to be disappointed. It was his birthday, after all—and no one had even bothered to write him a message. Trying to calm himself, he closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat.
"Fuck 'em all. Who cares if they wish me a happy birthday or not? I don't need anyone to be happy. I've landed myself a good job at a law firm, and..."
Cutting off his thoughts, a violent jolt nearly threw him out of his seat.
"What is going on? Is it an earthquake?"
As if to answer with a resounding no, a thunderous boom echoed in the distance, and the night sky turned a deep crimson red. With the full moon at its center, the scene looked like something out of a horror movie.
By then, the train had stopped, and the doors had opened. Some people were screaming; others murmured prayers to whichever god they believed in. Stepping off the train, John stood speechless. He was terrified, but he knew screaming wouldn't help. As for praying—he was never a believer, but now he was starting to question that.
Another tremor shook the earth, snapping him out of his thoughts. Out of nowhere, massive chunks of earth began to rise into the air. Some of these chunks had people standing on them. Panicked, some jumped off; others remained frozen in place. Those who jumped found no safety—within seconds, the floating chunks had already climbed more than 60 meters into the sky.
John just stood there. He wanted to run, but where would he go? The same thing was happening everywhere.
Then, everything stopped. The earth stopped shaking. The screaming stopped. The chunks stopped ascending and hovered motionless in the air. Despite the stillness, John felt more worried than before. It was like the calm before the storm.
Suddenly, the floating chunks smashed together, crushing anyone still on them, forming a single solid cuboid block. The moment was like a wake-up call—people began screaming again.
Then the block started to descend.
When it landed, it began to crumble, revealing a massive statue—a right hand, pointing toward the sky. With the crimson moon behind it, and despite the apocalypse unfolding around him, John felt like he could stare at it forever.
Amid the chaos and muffled screams, a gentle, almost soothing voice whispered in John's ears. He couldn't make out the words, but he felt that if he got just a little closer to the statue, he might understand what it was saying.
One step.
Two steps.
Three steps.
With each step, his pace quickened. Before John knew it, he was standing before the statue.