2022 December 41st, 10 pm. Terra's power shutdown, resulting in complete chaos and panic.

2022 December 31st, 10 pm, Earth descended into darkness.

This haunting information was part of his newly received memory.

Stumbling towards the faint moonlight seeping through the balcony curtains, John collided into a table.

"This doesn't make sense." He muttered, rubbing the bump on his hips as he continued to stagger forward.

Planet Terra has an orbital period of 554 days and a rotational period of 36 hours, meaning that it has 554 days in a year and 36 hours in a day.

Since the 18-hour clock divides the 36-hour day into two periods, 10 hours into the night on Terra is equivalent to 6 hours 40 minutes pm on Earth, whereby 10 pm on Earth, should have been 15 pm on Terra.

According to his calculations, the night should have still been young!

Reaching his balcony, overwhelming horror enveloped John.

Frozen in fear, he witnessed darkness engulfing the once illuminated city. Spreading like wildfire, the city lights dissipated at an exponential rate.

Soon, everything in John's vision turned gloom.

High above, the two moons veiled the city in a mellow yet eerie hue.

****

Hallmark Residences, Unit 8, Floor 8

The infuriating sound of alarm blared at full volume as an arm, imprinted with sleep marks, reached towards it.

Struggling to press on the 'snooze' button, the clumsy fingers unleashed a barrage of taps. After several misses, they successfully pressed onto the snooze button, ceasing the unpleasant blares.

9:55 pm, the phone displayed.

Notifications popped up.

2 missed calls.

3 unread messages.

Calendar: December 31st.

Mom's Birthday

Lying on a bed with an arm draped over his head, the teenager forced himself up to a sitting position while letting out a long yawn. He dreamt about himself, floating within an ethereal ocean, mellow and secure… It would have been such a pleasant morning if it weren't for that recurring argument lingering on and on in his brain.

"Why did I even bother…" The teen rolled his eyes, murmuring. "Just some dumb dispute over college applications and future career paths. Being a doctor isn't the only path to success, mom."

He contemplated his actions for a short while before pausing his thoughts to rub his sleepy eyes. That was when he noticed the darkness looming outside his window.

'The sun hasn't risen? I must have taken a quick nap.' The teenager thought while stretching his arms.

Just as his stretch hit a sweet spot, he felt a twitch in his brain as a blaze of light detonated within his mind.

Memories came rushing in.

The Earth. Its people. His past life.

His appearance remained the same. But he was no longer Ethan on Earth. He is now PQ from Planet Terra.

Concurrently, the swaying fan beside his bed halted its movement, as if an invisible force has cut off its power.

Sensing something, he glanced back, peering out his window pane.

Outside, a breathtaking phenomenon occurred.

For a split second, it felt as if time stopped.

'Is this what they call…. Aurora?'

Beautiful displays of lights permeated the skyline, perpetually effusing a grand aura… an aura so lovely… so sensational… so hypnotizing… it nearly caused him to overlook the disasters accompanying beauty.

Reflected on his Iris, fiery asteroids penetrate the planet's atmosphere, tearing through the clouds as they continue splitting into shooting stars.

A cacophony of colours shrouded the meteors as they pummeled towards the planet's surface.

PQ trembled uncontrollably at the mere sight of the crashing meteors. It created such an intense ambience, taking away PQ's ability to breathe normally.

He felt pathetically vulnerable, like a hopeless ant waiting to be crushed by a mighty god.

Fortunately, the tremor stopped just as his lungs ran out of air. With a boom that fluttered the land, cracks formed across the burning meteors. Smaller meteorites began detaching from the incoming masses like swarms of bees leaving their hive, covering a vaster ground.

Amongst the meteorite shower, two of them were heading straight in his direction.

He wanted to scream, "mom!", yet it only made him recall the argument he had with his mother the same morning, one that was intense and unpleasant, but still insignificant as compared to the incoming threat.

Outside, the meteorites parted ways, one striking the inner city while the other pummeled into the neighbouring city.

Weirdly, the ground did not quake when the meteorites struck.

How can an indestructible force not create mass destruction?

PQ woke up from his dumbstruck state.

Before he could further contemplate, he heard a commotion outside, and his curious nature forced him to take a peek through the window.

Through the faint moonlight, he saw Chuck, the plump neighbourhood security guard, hobbling weirdly. Encountering a family of 4, he twitched uncontrollably as he pounced toward them like a wild beast.

3 of the family members reacted to the attacker, each dodging to the side with looks of shock. Unable to react in time, the woman, who seemed to be the mother of the family, was brutally tackled to the ground.

Pinning her frail body with his weight, Chuck the security guard bashed her with his jaw, tearing off pieces of flesh from her exposed neck.

Eyes wide open with fear, the woman tried to scream for help, but it was to no avail. All that came out was the gargling of blood and helpless cries.

The father of the family shrieked at the sight of his injured wife, launching his fist at the security guard's face.

The impact of the punch knocked the security guard off the mother, but he immediately jerked his body back up, baring his fangs and pouncing on the father in revenge.

Following this attack, relentless screams of agony and pain arose from every direction.

Near the pool, an old man in his seventies lunged his teeth into his unsuspecting grandchild's arm. Flailing in pain, blood gushed out of the child's wound, dying the clear water blood red.

On the west side of the neighbourhood, a young woman cried aloud. The tiny chihuahua she was taking for a walk sank its fangs into her ankle, its eyes enlarged and bloodshot.

"Zombie Apocalypse!"

PQ gasped, backing away from the window. He felt his stomach churning from anxiety as beads of sweat trickled down his forehead.

Wiping off his sweat, his first instinct was to run towards the kitchen to grab a weapon.

Although he knew he was safe at home because his parents had just left for a business trip, probably on a flight right now, he still yearned for a form of protection.

His apartment was pitch black, the only source of light being the mellow moonlight seeping through the windows.

"Weird. The lights aren't working. Is the power out?" Failing to switch open the lights, PQ's face turned pale as he realized what it could mean.

He ran to the balcony, only to witness every apartment complex completely submerged in darkness.

If it was truly a worldwide blackout according to his memory, then his parents might be on a plane without power… which means…

"Nooo…"

Words strangled PQ's throat. His head ached from distress and the world around him spun rapidly.

With a kitchen knife in his hands, he stumbled back into his room. He needed to check if there were any messages from his parents. He needed them to be alive.

'Hi, P!'

'Our flight is finally on time! We will be arriving at about 9:30. Take care of your little brother while we're gone."

PQ saw three messages, two of them sent at 6:28 pm.

Praying for a miracle, PQ scrolled down to the last unread message, latching onto a thread of hope.

'PQ. Don't forget about the food in the fridge. We'll call you soon. Love you with all my heart!'

It was sent at 9:40 pm.

A heavy sigh of relief escaped his lungs. The threatening needle that hovered over his heart dissipated, allowing PQ to finally breathe again.

As long as they did not perish in a plane crash, there was still a chance of them being alive.

Holding onto this tiny speck of hope, tears pooled across the surface of his eyes as he clenched the knife tightly, whimpering in joy and solace.

Despite knowing the internet is down, PQ picked up his phone, and carefully constructed a message, not forgetting to proofread the sentence twice before delivering the message to his mom.

"Thanks, mom, I will definitely enjoy the food. Just, please. Please stay safe."