Chapter 1 - The Nightmare Begins

"I'm home..."

I muttered softly as I opened the rusted metal door of the apartment, announcing my return.

But no one replied.

Which is to be expected.

I, Tooru Saejima, was a high school student.

Both of my parents are overseas on business trips, so they're not here in the apartment.

I locked the door, set my bag down in the hallway, and let out a quiet sigh.

Today was just another ordinary day.

I quickly stripped off my clothes and tossed them into the washing machine before heading into the bathroom.

It’s winter, but I hadn’t filled the bathtub.

To save water, various other reasons, but mostly, it's just a hassle.

As warm water flowed from the showerhead, my body warmed up from the inside.

I squirted shampoo into my hand and lathered it up.

A faint citrus scent rose up and soon filled the entire room.

"Feels so good～."

After rinsing out the shampoo, I washed my body.

Once finished, I dried off thoroughly with a bath towel and slipped into fresh underwear.

Then I changed into my room clothes.

My room isn’t that big, but it’s spacious enough, and anime posters are tacked up all over the walls.

I placed my bag beside the desk without opening it, then flopped straight onto my bed.

"Ahhh... So cold, so cold..."

I wrapped myself up in the futon.

Homework? What’s that, something tasty?

I'll just do it early when I get to school.

...Wait, would that even count as homework?

As I drifted through such pointless thoughts, drowsiness quietly crept up on me.

"Yaaawn..."

With one big stretch and a single yawn, I gave in to the sleepiness without resistance and let go of consciousness.

Tooru didn’t notice the scream that echoed from somewhere soon after.

"Mm...?"

Sunlight was leaking in through the curtains.

There was some kind of commotion outside.

Was it a protest or a demonstration?

I glanced at the alarm clock next to my pillow. It already read 11:00.

That meant third period had already started.

"Am I gonna get yelled at by the teacher again...?"

Grumbling to myself, I sat up.

Thud... Thud... Thud...

"What the...?"

A dull, repetitive banging sound echoed from the front door.

It wasn’t a knock. It sounded like someone was just dropping their hands down with all their weight.

"Who the hell... Don’t tell me a teacher actually came all the way here to get me…?"

For now, I headed toward the entryway.

Thud... Thud...

The pounding hadn’t stopped.

"This is weird..."

I put on my shoes and looked through the peephole in the door.

And I locked eyes with the visitor on the other side.

"Aaaaah!"

No, “locked eyes” might not be the right phrase.

Because that person didn’t have eyes. Where eyes should’ve been, there was only darkness.

"W-what the hell...? Am I dreaming or something?"

I checked the peephole again. I hadn’t imagined it.

A blood-soaked man with no eyes was pounding on the door over and over.

"W-what do I do...? I’ve gotta call the police!"

Still wearing my shoes, I dragged over the table and chairs from the living room to barricade the door and dialed the police.

Ring... Ring...

"Hurry up... Come on, pick up already!"

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

The pounding grew more intense.

Click.

The call finally connected.

"Hello!? Is this the police!? There’s a suspicious person at my door—!"

“This is the Shimo'i Police Station. Our line is currently exceedingly busy. Please call back after some time. This is the…”

I hung up.

"You’ve gotta be kidding me...? The police lines are jammed? Does that actually happen!?"

I pulled open the curtains.

And what I saw completely shattered my understanding of reality.

"What the hell... is this?"

Flames and smoke rising across the town.

Police officers shooting at civilians, and those civilians taking bullets, shrugging them off, and charging at the officers.

Wriggling mobs of people. Screams echoing everywhere.

Cars crashing into one another.

"What the hell is this!? What’s going on!!"

It reminded me of that scene from an old movie, the one where Earth was being invaded by aliens.

The kind where the mothership attacks, buildings collapse, and everything goes to hell.

It still felt like I was in a dream. My feet didn’t feel like they were even touching the ground.

Maybe it was because what I was seeing was so far removed from anything real.

And the pounding on the door still hadn’t stopped.