The cuffs on Ezra's wrists dug into his skin.
He sat at the back of a military transport plane, chained to his seat. Other prisoners sat around him. Some stared at the floor. Others cursed under their breath. A few slept with their heads down.
Ezra just felt tired.
He hadn't had a hit in three days. His head throbbed. His skin itched. His muscles hurt. Withdrawal was worse than jail.
He leaned back and closed his eyes. He just wanted to rest.
Then it happened.
A man screamed. Then silence.
Ezra opened his eyes.
One of the guards was gone. His uniform, boots, and gun were on the floor. But the man was missing.
"What the hell?" one of the prisoners said.
Another guard ran down the aisle. His face was pale. "Stay in your seats! Don't move!"
He vanished too.
Ezra froze. People were disappearing, one by one. Guards. Prisoners. The pilots.
Then the plane dropped.
Alarms blared. The plane shook. Oxygen masks fell from the ceiling.
The engines roared. The plane fell fast.
People screamed. Ezra felt his body lift off the seat.
"No, no, no!" he said. He grabbed the armrests.
The last thing he saw was the desert rushing toward them.
---
He woke to fire.
Flames burned through the broken plane. The smell of smoke, fuel, and blood filled the air.
Ezra coughed. He pushed himself up.
His cuffs were broken. His seatbelt was ripped. His arms and legs hurt, but he was alive.
He looked around.
Bodies were everywhere. Burned. Broken. Still.
No one else moved.
He was the only one left.
---
Ezra walked through the forest.
His lips were dry. His feet dragged. Blood ran down his side.
He didn't know where he was. He had no water. No food.
He walked for hours.
His legs shook, but he kept going.
Then he found a cave.
He walked inside. It was cold. Quiet.
Ezra stood. The walls were soft. Wet.
Suddenly, his body gave out. He collapsed onto the hard ground, eyes barely open.
Then he saw something.
A lump of flesh.
His stomach growled.
It was the size of a fist. It had a piece of bone sticking out of it. Maybe it was an animal. Maybe it was human. He didn't care.
His stomach made the choice for him.
He dragged himself forward. Bit into the flesh. Chewed.
Then he blacked out.
When he opened his eyes, time had passed. He didn't know how long.
The cave was darker now. Cold air touched his skin.
He looked for the flesh he had eaten. It was gone. Only a bone was left behind. Its shape was messed up—hard to tell what it came from. He didn't care. He was still hungry, but not starving anymore.
He sat up.
His pain was gone.
He checked his body. No cuts. No bruises. No wounds. His skin looked clean. His arms were fine. His side didn't hurt anymore.
He didn't understand it, but he wasn't going to question it.
He stood and walked out of the cave. His legs felt steady. Stronger.
He moved through the forest and found a road. A sign told him there was a city nearby. It wasn't far.
By the time he got there, the streets were empty. Cars had crashed into each other. Stores were wide open. Some were burning. Some had alarms still ringing.
No people. No police. Just silence and mess.
He found a gas station with a TV still working. The news was playing on repeat.
"It is believed this was the Rapture. Millions of people have vanished across the globe."
Ezra stared at the screen. He didn't move.
The next day, the news got worse.
"Reports are coming in from other countries. The dead are rising. They are attacking the living. It is spreading fast."
The world was falling apart.
And Ezra had no idea what was happening to him.
Ezra woke with a sharp breath.
Cold air filled his lungs. His mouth tasted like blood and dirt.
His stomach turned. He rolled onto his side and gagged, but nothing came out.
The lump of flesh was gone. Only a bone sat near the cave wall, picked clean. He stared at it. It looked... wrong. Not animal. Not normal.
He pulled his eyes away.
His body didn't hurt.
He blinked. Looked down at himself.
The cuts were gone. No bruises. No blood. Just fresh, clean skin like nothing ever happened.
"What the hell...?" he muttered.
He pushed himself to his feet. His legs didn't shake. No limp. No pain.
Something was wrong.
Really wrong.
He stepped out of the cave. The wind hit him—cool and dry. The sky above looked too blue. Too quiet.
He walked. No plan. Just moved.
Hours passed. Maybe more. Eventually, a road.
Then signs. A city nearby. Familiar name.
He kept going.
The city wasn't right.
Cars were smashed into poles. Stores were empty, windows broken. Fires burned, no one to stop them. No sirens. No people. Just noise from things that should've been off.
He found a gas station. Door half open. Lights still on.
A TV buzzed from behind the counter.
He walked up to it like it might bite.
"Breaking news," a woman's voice said. "The Rapture—millions gone. All at once. No warning."
Ezra stared at the screen.
'Gone?'
'All those people?'
He stepped back. His chest tightened.
The next clip started.
"Now reports say the dead are rising. Violent. Aggressive. Some say it's a virus. Others say it's biblical."
He backed out of the gas station, stumbling.
He didn't understand what's happening.
As he continues to walk.
Ezra found a house near the edge of the city. Looked normal.
Door was unlocked. Food still in the fridge. Clothes in the closet.
Whoever lived here? Gone. Just like everyone else.
He showered. First time in days. Blood, dirt, and that rank prison sweat, gone. Didn't feel cleaner though.
He checked the mirror.
Same junkie eyes. Same face, brown eyes, medium length black hair. Same Ezra.
Only difference?
The world outside was dead, and somehow he wasn't.
He grabbed some clean clothes. Plain shirt, jeans, a half-decent jacket. Better than a prison jumpsuit. Better than chains. But not enough to feel human again.
He slept on the couch. Knife under the pillow. Beans for breakfast. Crackers for dinner.
Didn't trust the silence outside.
Didn't trust the quiet in his own head either.
—-----
The house had a phone. He charged it.
No signal. Of course.
Then, two bars. Just enough.
He called his mom.
No answer.
Tried again.
Nothing.
His dad. His sister. Voicemail.
He stared at the screen, waiting. Hoping.
Nothing.
Part of him wanted to go home. Just walk through the front door and see their faces.
But that other part, the one that remembered the cuffs and court dates and mugshots, whispered what if someone sees you?
A twenty one year old. Drug dealer. Escaped during a global disaster?
They'd lock him up again.
If there even was a jail left.
Still... he had to know if they were alive.
Suddenly the electricity shut..
—-----
Next day, the lights flickered on.
He turned on the tv.
A blonde anchor with dead eyes spoke like it was just another hurricane.
"The Revelation Phenomenon…" she said. "Reports are coming in of people awakening strange powers. Strength. Speed. Fire manipulation. Telekinesis."
Ezra blinked. Sat forward.
"Some are fighting the infected. Others… not so much."
Footage rolled.
Military outposts? Overrun. Guns useless. Soldiers torn apart. Civilians crushed.
The infected were fast.
Not movie-zombie fast. Faster.
They leapt, climbed, swarmed.
Ezra's hands clenched around the couch cushion.
'This wasn't just a virus. This was war.'
'And the government?'
'Gone to shit.'
Half the leaders vanished in the Rapture. No chain of command. No real response. Just chaos.
Then they showed this weird-looking scanner. Some handheld device. People lined up to get scanned like it was some sci-fi movie.
"Revelation Level: B-Class."
"Revelation Level: S-Class."
Ezra just sat there, heart pounding.
He didn't know what was happening to him.
But something had changed.
And he could feel it crawling under his skin, waiting.