The screen exploded.
Notifications flooded the display faster than Excel could read them, new messages shoving older ones upward as names and profile pictures flashed by in a chaotic blur. For a moment, he simply stared. Then he laughed—a short, genuine laugh.
"Humanity really doesn't change."
Anna glanced at him.
"What?"
"The world ends and everyone's first instinct is still social media."
Despite himself, Excel felt relieved. The messages were messy, panicked, contradictory. But they were human, and that alone made him feel less alone.
He leaned closer and began scrolling. People from different countries, different ages, different backgrounds—all telling the same story. They had gone to sleep. Then they woke up. No one remembered anything between those two moments. No one knew how long they had been unconscious. No one knew why the world looked the way it did. No one knew anything.
The uncertainty hung over every message like a dark cloud.
A notification popped up.
Apex:
"Everyone, take a breath. Panicking won't solve anything. At least now we know there are other survivors. That's a start."
Excel raised an eyebrow. Confident. Simple. Straight to the point.
The response count climbed rapidly.
A few seconds later, another user replied.
Yuhma:
"I agree with Apex. Right now, we need cooperation and immediate adaptation. Information is our greatest resource."
Excel nodded. "Smart."
Anna folded her arms."They sound like teachers."
"No." Excel smirked. "They sound like people trying not to die."
That was different. Teachers wanted answers. These people wanted survival. The distinction mattered.
More replies poured in. Some agreed. Some didn't.
Then came the inevitable.
Awesomedaddy69:
"How are we supposed to stay calm? You're telling me to adapt while my wife and kids are missing?"
The chat slowed. For the first time, nobody immediately responded.
Excel's smile faded.
Because that wasn't a stupid question.
It was the question, every survivor was probably wondering the same thing. Family. Friends. Parents. Children. The people they had gone to sleep expecting to see again.
The silence lasted nearly thirty seconds.
Then Apex answered.
Apex:
"No. Nobody is telling you to forget them."
"But panic won't bring them back."
"If they're alive, the best thing we can do is survive long enough to find them."
Excel blinked.
That was good. Really good.
Not because it was comforting, but because it was practical.
The message didn't deny reality. It acknowledged it.
The reactions immediately increased. Some people thanked Apex. Others cursed him. A few called him heartless.
Excel found himself strangely entertained. It reminded him of watching a debate where nobody knew the actual topic. Everyone was arguing. Nobody had answers. Yet everyone desperately wanted to be right.
Anna suddenly lAwesomedaddy69
A message had appeared.
Awesomedaddy69:
"This is obviously a government operation."
Excel groaned.
"There it is."
The replies came instantly.
Awesomedaddy69:
"Think about it."
"Overpopulation. Climate crisis. Resource shortages."
"Governments have been talking about these problems for decades."
"Now suddenly everyone wakes up in some jungle apocalypse?"
"You people really think that's a coincidence?"
Excel rubbed his forehead. He couldn't tell whether the man was serious. Unfortunately, several others seemed convinced.
More users joined the argument.
Mr. Moore:
"Actually, he's got a point."
Blessed020:
"No, he doesn't."
Mr. Moore:
"Then explain this."
Blessed020:
"Explain how every government on Earth secretly aged the entire planet?"
Mr. Moore:
"Technology exists."
Blessed020:
"Not one that erases people's perception of time."
"I don't know about you, but for a lot of us, it's like the whole world went through a f**king apocalypse and we woke up at the end of it."
Excel burst out laughing.
Anna stared.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"The world is a mess and we're having internet arguments."
"You're enjoying this."
"A little."
He was.
Because the arguments revealed something interesting. People weren't discussing facts. They were revealing themselves. Fear stripped away masks, and what remained underneath was fascinating.
Some sought comfort.
Some sought control.
Some sought enemies.
And some... simply didn't know where they stood, so they blamed anything they could for what had happened to them.
Humans hated uncertainty. If reality refused to provide answers, they would manufacture their own.
A new message appeared.
This one came from Yuhma.
Yuhma:
"Whether it's a government conspiracy, divine punishment, alien intervention, or cosmic nonsense doesn't matter right now."
"We need information on how many of us are left. We need to rally somehow, because this is no longer a one-man problem."
The chat went cold immediately.
Excel decided to step out of spectator mode.
"We need a census."
Apex chimed in almost instantly.
"I think it should be done locally. That way, people can identify who's nearby and gather together."
Excel scoffed.
"Smartass."
His attempt at showing off was immediately cut off by Apex's practicality.
Anna, sitting beside him, tried to hide her laughter but failed.
Social media was one of humanity's greatest inventions. As much as it had caused problems in the past, now it was proving to be an invaluable resource.
People immediately moved to their local channels to find others nearby. At first, it was chaotic, but eventually things settled down and became orgafailed
When everyone returned to the global server, nobody spoke.
Because the numbers were a nightmare.
The known population was now less than 0.01% of humanity's former population.
Excel decided to break the silence.
"I think we should hurry and gather locally. No one knows how long the internet is going to last."
Apex:
"I concur. Let's gather what we can and begin choosing safe locations. A forest has never been a good sign."
As if everyone had suddenly regained a little hope, the chat slowly came back to life. People began sharing stories and experiences.
Reports started appearing from around the world. Strange animals. Unusual behavior. Predators moving into urban environments. Plants growing at impossible rates.
Excel's expression gradually became serious.
A pattern was emerging, the world wasn't simply abandoned.
It had changed.
Adapted.
Evolved.
And humanity had missed the process.
A thought entered his mind, a dangerous thought.
What if Earth hadn't been waiting for humanity?
What if humanity had simply arrived late?
He scratched his head.
"That's unsettling."
"What is?" Anna asked.
"The possibility that we're the invasive species now."
Anna stared.
"...I hate that sentence."
"Me too."
Meanwhile, the chat continued growing. Thousands. Tens of thousands. Hundreds of thousands.
The number online climbed relentlessly.
Then Excel noticed something strange.
A different pattern.
While most people discussed survival, a few discussed something else.
Resources.
Weapons.
Locations.
Infrastructure.
One user asked where military bases were located. Another wanted maps of abandoned cities. A third repeatedly questioned whether electronic locks still functioned. A fourth asked about prisons.
That one made Excel pause.
Not because of the question.
Because of the enthusiasm.
The man seemed excited.
Far too excited.
Excel scrolled upward. More examples appeared. People asking about fuel reserves. Weapon caches. Gold vaults. Government buildings.
Nobody openly said anything suspicious.
Yet something felt wrong.
The tone.
The intent.
The hunger.
Most survivors wanted answers.
These people wanted opportunities.
Excel leaned back. The realization settled heavily in his chest.
The world had changed.
But humans hadn't.
No laws.
No police.
No governments.
No consequences.
Someone out there had already realized that. Someone out there was already planning.
Not survival.
Power.
His expression darkened.
Anna noticed.
"What happened?"
Excel pointed at the screen.
She read several messages.
Then frowned.
Neither spoke for a while because they both understood.
Monsters weren't always born.
Sometimes they adapted.
Just like everything else.
A new notification suddenly appeared. The sender's name was unfamiliar, yet the message immediately drew attention.
Atlas:
"Everyone keeps asking what happened."
"I think we're asking the wrong question."
The chat slowed again. Excel stopped scrolling. Something about the message intrigued him.
Atlas continued.
Atlas:
"The real question isn't what happened."
"It's why we woke up."
Silence.
Even the conspiracy theorists paused.
Atlas sent another message.
Atlas:
"If humanity disappeared and only some of us returned..."
"Then it means we're chosen for a greater purpose."
The atmosphere changed.
Under normal circumstances, people would have dismissed such a statement immediately. But with everything that was happening, nobody dared to leave. Not for any reason.
The messages began arriving again, faster than before. Arguments. Theories. Speculation. Questions. Thousands upon thousands of questions.
Excel stared at the endless flood.
The world's greatest minds.
The world's greatest idiots.
The brave.
The terrified.
The selfish.
The compassionate.
All trapped inside one enormous conversation, searching, guessing, fighting, and hoping for answers none of them possessed.
For the first time since waking up, Excel felt something strange—a feeling he couldn't quite process.
A sudden crash echoed from somewhere deep inside the hotel.
Both Excel and Anna froze.
The chat disappeared from their minds instantly.
Another crash.
Louder this time.
Coming from below.
Excel slowly stood. His hand found the machete.
Anna tightened her grip around her knife.
The silence returned.
Heavy.
Oppressive.
Then came footsteps.
Moving through the lower floors.
Excel's pulse quickened.
It was inside the building.