Extinction

Reborn

"Wake up, Steven." the girl said.

He open his eyes and stare to the girl sitting in the foot of the bed. She stands up and leave the room when she saw that he's finally awaken. Steven, a freshmen in Castell State University, stands up and walks around the room. He open the window and looked outside. There's a children running at the side of the road. A couple walks past them, holding hands. A woman running fast while her mouth was biting a bread.

"What is happening?" he whisper to himself. He closed the window and cover it with the curtains. He walks to the closet and stands to the mirror.

His hair is long that it can reach his shoulders. A moon shaped eyes and smooth face like a baby's skin. He touch it with his hands and pinch his cheek. He can feel the sting in his cheek. This is not a dream. It's real.

"What are you doing?" the girl in the door asked. "Let's eat breakfast and go to school. I don't want to be late again."

Steven didn't respond. He just left the room and opens the front door of the house.

"Hey, what's your name?" he asked but not looking at her. Instead, he's looking at the cars driving in the road passing the house he's staying.

"Is this your new kind of a joke? It's very corny." the girl replied.

He finally closed the door and grabs the sandwich in the table. He finished it in just four bites like this is his first time eating after a long time.

"Tell me," he said and drinks the water in the bottle. "What kind of relationship do we have?"

"Will you just shut up and move faster. We're are going to be late again if you don't stop spouting nonsense." the girl said in slightly high voice. She's being irritated now.

"Okay" he said cheerfully.

----------

They arrived at the campus at 9:36. They still have 24 minutes before their class so they decided to burn their time in the activity center. Steven picks a bench where no one was sitting so he can talk with the girl without anyone hearing.

"Hey, I know this will going to sound ridiculous but please believe me." he said to the girl in his low voice.

"You've been acting weird since this morning." she replied.

"I'm sorry but I'm not Steven."

"Yeah, I know. You're hiding your identity because you're afraid that someone might kill you. Isn't that right, Batman?" she said and laughs hysterically.

Steven didn't find the joke funny. He grabs her shoulders and leans his face near to hers like he's trying to kiss her. "I'm serious. My name is Gary Salazar, I'm 30 years old. I used to be an architect in Manila before those beast attacks the world."

She's closing her lips tightly. Preventing her laugh to comes out of her mouth.

"What year is it today? Please answer this seriously" he asked.

"It's 2020. The year when you and I became 18." she replied, not laughing anymore.

"Listen to me," he said, lowering his voice again. "In the middle of January 2050, those beast will come and kill all of us. I don't know where they're from but they just appeared out nowhere and hunts every human that they can found."

She looks confused now and didn't talk back.

"I'm saying this to you because I'm going to find them before they arrived here. I will not allow those beast to kill me for the second time." he said and let go of her shoulders. "This is going to be a goodbye."

She grabs his hand when he tried to leave her. "Steven, why don't you go to Mrs. Velasco. Talk to her. I think you really need it before you become insane."

He looks at her and said, "Is she a psychiatrist or something? I don't really need one but because you said it, I will---"

"Oh my god!" she said shockingly. "Who are you?"

----------

It's 1:00 pm. Normally, Steven is in the English class at this time. But right now he is standing to the grave and reading the tombstone.

Maggie C. Velasco

Born: April 3, 1971

Died: December 19, 2015

"Is this Steven's mother? What happened to her?" he asked the girl who's standing next to him.

"Lung cancer." she replied.

"I'm sorry."

She didn't respond so Steven look at her. There's a tears coming out of her eyes. He pull out his handkerchief in his back pocket and offered it to her. She accept it and wipe her eyes.

"So, what happened to Steven?" the girl ask after she returned the handkerchief. "Where is he?"

"I don't know. I don't even know why I'm here. Stuck to body of a teenager that I don't even know." he said then looks at both of his hands. "All I know is I'm supposed to be dead."

"Why?"

"Those beast got me."

"Beast?"

"Can you name some animals that went extinct?" Steven asked the girl.

"Dinosaurs. And... Uh... I'm sorry but that's the only one I could think of."

"All kinds of dinosaurs. Giant sharks. Giant snakes. Giant centipedes. Every animals that went extinct comes back to life with one goal. To kill every human in the world."

"It's sounds absurd." she said and smiled a little.

"Yeah. I'd manage to live at least 3 months before those pack of Smilodon chase me. I was screaming 'Help me' while running, hoping someone will comes to rescue me.

"But then again, it's impossible. All I see while running were the bloody corpses of the humans that died before me. Instead of humans arriving to help you, those beast will hear you screaming and helps their fellow beast to chase you."

The girl didn't talk. She didn't want to believe that ridiculous story. But the fact that Steven was not actually himself, makes it hard for her to tell if he is lying or not.

----------

"Lorraine, that is my name" she tells him while they are eating at the fast food restaurant.

"Well, Lorraine, what exactly is your relationship with Steven?" he asked after he takes a bite of hamburger.

She look away from him. Not wanting to look to his face. "Steven is my boyfriend."

"Listen, do you believe everything that I said?" he ask.

"I don't know."

"Okay. But one thing is for sure. I'm going to leave and find those filthy beasts. I need to stop them before they can kill us once again."

"Do you know where they're from?"

"No." he replied then takes a sip of Coca Cola. "But I have a guess to who are the ones that are responsible for the upcoming calamity."

"Who it might be?"

"Dylan Rivera. My friend".

----------

They arrived at their house at 7:28 pm. Steven immediately go to his closet and pack some clothes. He grabs the wallet and cellphone in the desk beside the table.

"Where are you going?" she ask.

"To Manila. That's where I met Dylan." he reply.

"Can I come with you?"

Steven had stopped whatever he's doing. He stand up and walk towards Lorraine. "Why? I don't think you really need to do that. I'm not your boyfriend anymore. We're complete strangers from now on."

"I know that." she said in slightly high voice. Steven can clearly see that her eyes are watering. "But I also have some things that I need to do."

"What is that?"

"Steven. I need to know where he is now."

He looked away from her. "But where are you going to find him?"

"You. Gary Salazar. We need to find your real body."

The words that came out of her mouth made him shocked. He grabs her shoulders and said. "You're right. Let's find them. Gary and Dylan."

----------

The buses in the station are not going to depart until 4:00 am in the morning. They booked a cheap hotel to stay while waiting for the time. Lorraine cook two instant noodles for them to eat. Steven had been sitting in the couch in the living room since they've arrived here.

He can't stop thinking why is this happening to him. He looks at his both arms and remember the things that had happened to him when he was still living in his real body. His left arm was bitten by the saber tooth tiger he's trying to outrun. Then after that there's a saber tooth tiger again in his right. The beast jump at him. He tried to stop it using his last remaining arm. But of course that didn't stop the beast. Instead, his arm got torn apart from him. And that's when he knew that it was over.

He stopped running away. Breathing hardly while the beasts are surrounding him. He accepted it. His fate. No one can stop them. They are now the ones who rule the world.

Lorraine sit beside him and put the two cup of instant noodles in the table in front of them.

"Where are we?" he ask to her.

"At the hotel." she answered.

"I mean," he stop and grabs the cup. "What's the name of this province."

"Bulacan."

"And you said that the year now is 2020, right?"

"Yeah." she said and sips the broth of the noodles. "Why."

"Then I'm still a baby in this time. I was born in June 21, 2020."

"Right now it's October 3."

He looked down and grabs the top of his head with his both hands. "What the hell is happening?"

"What about Dylan?" she ask. "What is his age when you meet him?"

He looked at her. Confused. "I don't know. By his looks, I can tell that he's the same age as me. Maybe even younger than me."

"You don't know his age? Why do you even become friends with him."

"I don't know either."

But a memory of the past came to him. In December 2049, one month before the catastrophe, is the time they meet each other. Gary was drinking in a bar when Dylan approached him. A good looking man, brown hair, wearing glasses, wearing suit and have a suitcase in his hands.

"Hello there." he said to Gary and sit next to him.

Gary looked at him. Not speaking. Just staring to his face. Trying to remember if he knows this man.

"Oh, I'm sorry. That was very rude of me." he said and offer his hand for Gary to shake. "My name's Dylan Rivera."

"What do you want from me?" Gary aksed. Not shaking his hand.

"None. I just want some companion while I drink. It's kind of lonely when you're drinking alone, right?"

"Not really." he said and drinks the shot of whiskey. "I enjoyed it."

"One shot of whiskey for both of us, please." Dylan said to the bartender. "So what's your name?" he asked Gary.

"Gary Salazar."

The bartender placed the shot glass in front of them. Gary grabs it and drunks immediately.

"So, Gary, can I ask what you do for a living?"

"Surviving. That's what I do to live." he said and turned to the bartender and order another two shots of whiskey. "Going to job for the money, to buy foods that I need to live. It's called surviving."

Dylan drunks his whiskey. "I think we're going to become a really good friends, Gary." he said and smiled.

"I don't know about that."

That's when the memories ends. They only met for one month and they've become friends.

----------

The bus leaves at 4:30 in the morning. Late but that's okay. They have so much time to waste to find Dylan. The two of them sat at the right back side of the bus. Gary is sitting near the window. The bus only have 10 passengers including them. It's a good thing for him because he can talk about his ridiculous story without anyone hearing.

"Where are your parents, Lorraine?"

"I don't have one. They've both died in an accident while I was still in grade school."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Don't worry about it." she said. "My relatives are the ones whose paying for my tuition and giving me allowance."

He looked at her. Concerned. "Did they know that you're going to Manila? With me, a stranger in your boyfriend's body."

"Of course they know. But I didn't said a word about what happened to Steven or your ridiculous story." she said and laugh a little.

"I doubt that they'll believe that." he said and also laugh a little.

She looks around the bus. To check if someone might hear them. But everyone at the bus except for them and the driver are sleeping. "Tell me. What are your plans?"

"First we go to our house. To check if Steven is in my body. Then I'm going to find Dylan."

"But you said that you're still a baby in this time, right?"

"Yeah. But maybe we can find some clues to my real body. To what really happened to me and your boyfriend. That's the only thing we could do right now."

"I hope we can find him."

"Me too. But let's not forget Dylan. He's my priority. I need to stop his plan."

"If you know that he's really the one responsible for that event, then why didn't you stop him before he do it?" she asked.

He looked down the floor. "It's because." he paused for a second then continued. "He's my friend."

Then he remembered the the last time he'd have a conversation with Dylan. In the bar when they first met. They've finished a bottle of whiskey and there's still a half bottle left.

"Come on. Let's get drunk and enjoy our life." Gary said and takes the shot of whiskey.

Dylan also took a shot of whiskey and said. "Tell me Gary, will you support me to whatever I'm planning to do?"

"Do you even need to ask that? Of course. You're my friend. Friends always support each other." he said and laugh loudly. The other patron of the bar are looking at them.

"Good. I'm planning to recreate the world." he said in a low voice. "Where the weak won't be able to leave. Only the strongest will survive. Like you. I'm creating a world for the likes of you."

"Survival of the fittest? Hell yeah. That's what I'm doing since I was born."

Dylan pour both of their glass and they both drink it. "You are really the wonderful friend that I've ever had."

Gary didn't said anything but continued his laughing but in a lower voice.

"I think this is the last time that we will saw each other, Gary." he said.

Gary becomes suddenly serious. The smile on his face fade away when he heard those words. "What do you mean?"

"Because I'm not that strong as you. I won't be able to survive the world I'm creating."

"Don't worry, Dylan." he said. "I'm gonna protect you until my last breath. Because that's what's friend are supposed to do."

Dylan didn't say anything. He just look at him and smiled.

Then the memories are gone once again. He's back again in this teenager's body. Traveling so early of the morning, trying to find the people that exists in those memories.

"This is all my fault." he said to Lorraine. "If I take what he's saying seriously, I would've prevented it from happening."

"This is no ones fault." she said. "It's an unprevented tragedy that are bound to happen."

"I'm going to say something that will definitely piss you off." he paused and looked straight into her eyes. "Is that okay?"

"What is that?"

"I'm gonna say that I'm glad that I've been able to be reborn. It's unfortunate for you because you lost your love ones but it's fortunate for me because I can stop my friend's insane plan."

She didn't respond. She just look at him and he feels very nervous to what she's going to do. But nothing happened. She just smiled at him and said. "The first time you said that the world becomes a mess, I thought for a second what if I am in your situation, what should I do? Do I save the to the upcoming tragedy or do nothing but to accept that the death of me have already been scheduled.

"I know there's some reason why you came back to life. The world wants you to save it. That's why they grant you another life. To save us. The world and the people are need your help, Gary."

For the first time since he reborns, Gary smiled genuinely using this teenager's body. He feels that he becomes the hero that nobody wants right now but definitely needs in the years that aegge coming. He he grabs Lorraine's body and hugged her.

"Thank you so much for believing me." he said to her ear. "I'll promise that I'm going to save you, your boyfriend, all the people and the world."

"Yeah. Since my boyfriend isn't here right now, you're the one that needs to protect me." she said and laugh a little.

They decided to take a nap for this long trip. Preparing for the mission they need to do. Lorraine sleeps on his shoulder. He looked outside the window. The sun is slowly coming out. A peaceful world right now. Completely opposite of the world he had live before he died. He doesn't want it to happen again.

Bodies everywhere. Filthy beasts walking in the road. Not killing each other but hunting for the humans. Not eating them, just killing them. If Dylan is really the one who are responsible for this, then that's good because he can track him down. But what if it's not Dylan? What if it's a completely stranger with a psychotic mind that have a power to resurrect an extinct animals? How can he find that person.

Finally, after two hours of traveling, they've arrived at Manila.