A World in Ruins

A groan is all that escapes my throat. My head pounds like a truck has run over me. The sky looms above, ashy grey, pierced by distant screams. Something is wrong. Coughing, I push myself to sit up and survey my surroundings. I'm covered with dust and debris, smothered in the aftermath of the chaos. The structures around me aren't just damaged - they're destroyed. But how?

My head is starting to spin once again. I can feel this strange pit in my stomach, something cold. The shivers soon run through me, the hairs on my arms standing up. It has to be a dream—a bad joke.

How can a person wake up with the world just being destroyed?

No. Just no. It's a joke—a scam. If I close my eyes and count to ten, I'll stop hearing the screams. No more smoke or flames. No more bodies. Nothing.

It's all just a terrible dream.

Ten.

Nine.

Eight.

Seven.

Another scream fills my ears. It's a lie—just a nightmare.

Six.

Five.

Four.

Thre-

Before I can even finish my counting, the earth shakes. A large rumble and loud crashes come from a few blocks away. I can feel it vibrating my entire body. When I look at my hand, it's trembling, covered in tiny scratches and blood. The rest of my clothes also seem to be either torn or bloody.

I finally take a breath—something I hadn't done. I forgot. Breathing. Living. Existing. Things that should be normal seem like the hardest things to do right now. In. Out. Breathing. I can do it. I hope.

With trembling hands, I push myself up from the ground, quickly patting myself down. It's hard, but I can do it. Time to leave. To get out of this building.

I don't even know where I am.

What I am

When I am.

Who I am.

Well, okay, no, that's a joke. I am Elias. Elias Strayhorn. Last I remember, I was twenty-nine, an omega, male, and my world was not destroyed. It was a perfect Tuesday. I remember being at home, doing the laundry and cooking.

And then I was here.

Alone.

Liam.

Oh, shit, no. Where is he? Instinctively I grab the back of my neck, reaching for the bitemark that connects us both. It's still there. It's not gone. I can't help but exhale as I almost collapse back to my knees. They feel weak. Where is he?

Where is my fate?

I snap my head back to the door. Go. I just need to go home. He has to be there. Our home. Our nest. That's where he will be. Liam. My Alpha.

Shit, shit, shit.

I'm already out the door before I can even think and focus. My legs are moving on their own, taking me toward our house.

I can't help but run past the fires, the smoke. All the fallen and destroyed buildings. The rubble and ruins. So many people are screaming and yelling. It seems like the disaster hasn't happened that long ago.

How long was I even out?

No. I can't think of that. Liam. I need to get to him. He has to be okay. I shudder at the thought of something having happened.

No, he's okay. He's going to be healthy and waiting for me at the house. Nothing happened. My love is waiting for me.

Yet why do I feel so strange? Something is screaming at me in the back of my head. But I can't place it. It's just this weird, uneasy feeling.

And as soon as I walk past a building, I know why. I can see myself in the glass, and for a moment, I pause. I stand still in the middle of the road to stare at myself. There is no way that I could've continued like this. It's weird. I feel sad and confused. The world is burning, and I don't know if my lover is alive. My fated bond. My alpha.

So why am I smiling?

Why do my eyes look like that?

It probably has something to do with why I feel so uneasy. And yet I still smile—a smirk plastered on my face. When I reach to touch my cheeks, I can feel it. I'm smiling. In the face of absolute chaos and disaster. Am I a monster?

No, it has to be the shock. My brain is trying to cope. That's it. The world is dying, after all.

Liam.

After deep breathing and slapping my cheeks, I start moving again. My legs continue. My body is heavy and sore. It's hard to keep going. I can barely feel my feet, and my head is pounding again. But I have to reach home. I have to go there.

Limping through what used to be my block, I finally reach the street I'm looking for. It's still there—my house. The closer I get, the more I feel it. I know it.

I can smell it.

Liam is here. He's inside. His pheromones are practically clinging to my skin. My love. My dear. I can't help but chuckle as I feel my heart skip a beat. Thank god.

I take another deep breath before I head in. I am trying to stay somewhat calm in this shitstorm of a situation.

"Liam?"

I call out his name and look around the entrance. Most of our possessions have fallen to the ground. A bookshelf in the corner toppled over. The house I had left so perfectly looked like a tornado had come through it.

There was also a weird smell. Metallic? And it wasn't the blood on my shirt. It was mine because of my many cuts and bruises; I'd been smelling it the entire time.

So what was it?

"Liam? Are you here?"

I moved further along, following the scent of his pheromones. There was no denying that he had to be here.

And then I saw.

The source of the metallic smell.

A scene from a horror movie. Hell.

The entire bedroom was mixed with the two scents. Both his. The light sheets are covered in splatters of crimson, even going up the walls. Puddles were starting to form.

Before I can look any further, I can feel the burning in my throat. A sudden wave of emotions and realization hit me. And I let it go. Adding another puddle to the fucked up floor.

Why?

The tears burn like the acid in my throat.

Why?

I look once more and can see your short red hair. Your typically fierce expression is now one forever stuck in terror. Your strong body is broken and shattered.

Your pretty face bashed in and bleeding.

Why?

Lia-

I blink.

And there I am. In the grass. A park.

Where the fuck am I?

No wait. I know. It's the park near the university! Liam spoke about it.

See. A dream. A nightmare.

The world is peaceful. The sun is shining. The buildings are in one piece.

It was just a bad dream.