When society finally collapses, the only thing that will change is the facade.
Julia knew this better than anyone…
She grabbed at her throat as the pain intensified. She couldn’t remember how long it had felt like this, but the sensations were overwhelming, almost dropping her to her knees.
She pressed forward, ducking into the crowd as she made her way to work. Through traffic, back alleys and crowded street corners, she eventually found her way to the subway entrance.
Something about it felt ominous.
It was as though she was seeing it for the first time… and the last.
The murk that swallows the tunnels below seemed to act as a void, consuming the light above the surface.
As she defends the staircase, her eyes struggle to adjust as her only guidance is a dim, flickering light further below.
The further down she descends, the more muffled and distorted everything seems to become. Only able to hear a faint humming and the sound of distant footsteps, she begins growing lightheaded.
As Julia reaches the final step, she clutches at her throat as the overwhelming pain courses through her.
Unable to stand the pain, she falls forward, outstretching her arms in the process to protect her from the fall.
Julia lays motionless for several moments, unaware of where she was going or how she got there.
Feeling a sense of impending danger approaching, she gets back to her feet and proceeds to the platform.
Subways have always held a sense of dread but something was different this morning.
This feeling intensified as the train arrived and the ringing in her ears was suddenly interrupted by a voice over the intercom.
She approached the platform as the lights within the train flickered out, leaving the train car in complete darkness.
She watched as passengers in front of her walked into the void without question or concern and immensely, her fear would grow.
Julia hesitated momentarily before the disturbing and looming presence within the station forced her into the car.
She sat down next to the door as the slamming of the automatic doors startled her and she began clutching for her throat once more.
It was as though someone was sawing through her trachea with toothless saw.
On edge, with only the flashing of tunnel lights outside to give brief respite from the darkness, only made the trip more unnerving. And after several minutes, Julia began to notice something even more unsettling.
No one had spoken since entering.
The few flash’s of light only illuminated the expressionless faces of those around her.
She continued to scan the compartment for others accompanying her on her journey. All blank or seemingly worried faces as though they all shared her discontent and horror.
Eventually her eyes met with another’s.
A man that seemed to be in his early 30’s, his face filled with anger and hatred. It felt as though it was directed at Julia.
She quickly turned away.
She couldn’t shake the intensity of his stare. It felt similar to the presence at the station.
Looking back to the passengers around her, their faces now twisted and distorted.
She began to panic as the train grew in velocity. Her eyes darted to the window behind her, noticing they weren’t underground anymore.
The trains speed made it impossible to scan for any landmarks. Looking ahead, she could only see a small, eerily disheveled wooden shack with a street light pitched directly beside it.
Only darkness ahead…
She turned to scream at the passengers around her, stopping in her tracks as the immense strain and burning in her throat dropped her to her knees.
Faces around her undisturbed by her wheezing and writhing in agony, their faces still contorted as the last light approached.
She looked up to see the passengers now approaching her as the last light passed by.
Julia attempted to scream, only choking her in the process as the train began slowing and a voice over the intercom proceeded to announce their location.
Before it can be announced, the voice distorts as it begins screeching in another language.
Muffled screams and arguing can be faintly heard in the background.
As the train comes to a stop, the doors open to more darkness and whispers can be heard all around Julia.
She continues to cry out with only more agony in the process.
She begins crawling to the exit, feeling the nightmarish presence growing closer behind her, she pulls herself off of the train.
Now gasping for air, she forces her eyes shut, unable to face what’s looming over her.
Suddenly, silence surrounds her and for a moment, she feels at peace. She begins to hear a muffled argument taking place somewhere beside her.
A humming sound can be heard along with screech that is quickly replaced by the sound of a saw.
The pain in her throat begins to dissipate and she decides to open her eyes.
She looks up to see the man from the train looming over her.
She is back where she started on her journey to work but something about the city is different.
The buildings are crumbling as the sky around them is dark and clouded. The streets are empty, save for the corpses lying in the street and the men standing over them.
The sound of sawing halts as another man kneeling next to Julia backs away.
After a brief moment a gust of wind picks up as she feel her head rolling. Landing precariously in eye shot of a body laying motionless.
It’s head all but there as the men begin removing its trachea as chanting and shouting can be heard faintly.
It’s at this moment, Julia remembered where she was going and how she got there…