The First King of Beasts

"Ah, shit. Is this the afterlife?" Dustin asked, as he opened his eyes slowly.

He slowly sat up and became scanning his surrounding, but there was no one. Normally, there would be at least one or two people around, but at that moment, it was just him and the wind. Even with this, Dusting noticed nothing wrong, he just thought that it happened to be like that.

He was sure and thought it was just a coincidence until he found that he still had the money he won from gambling in his side bag. It was then he knew that something was very wrong.

How is it possible to lie in the streets for so long and nobody stole the money? Even when you are awake and walking, there are still people who are willing to chase you for a couple of little bills.

After seeing that, he turned and looked at his legs that had been crushed, with bones popping out of them. Dustin saw his legs were back to normal, without even as much as a scratch.

At first he almost thought that maybe what he saw before was just his imagination, but his torn clothes beg to differ.

​ He picked himself up, and there was also a surprise install for him. His entire body and physical condition was good, easily at the best it has ever been, as he felt so light and refreshed. Dustin felt like he could outrun a mad dog at that moment, even if he had stolen one of its children.

'What is all this? What is happening?'

"Was all that a dream?" Dustin questioned his mind in disbelieve. "No."

He couldn't discredit all that has happened and think of it as a dream, there were just too many evidences. The torn clothes, the dried blood on the ground, on his clothes and on him. All he could do now was wonder just what happened to him while he was unconscious.

Dustin looked around and scanned the area once more, and then he left for home.

It was already 10:00pm, and if he didn't hurry, the medicine shop would close. After all it closed by 12.

The street he was on had only one working street light, and it was the one close to where we laid. As he walked further, he gradually disappeared into the darkness under the moonless sky.

After about an hour of jogging and passing through countless short-cuts, Dustin arrived at his destination. The small shop hung a sign outside that shone clearly, *Rx PHARMACY*. As Dustin got to the shop's entrance, he noticed that it had been closed. "Already? Just what is the problem today?" Dustin asked himself.

On his way to the pharmacy, he saw from afar countless vehicles and people on the main roads. It was as if they were going crazy or something. When he first saw it, he had to ask himself some questions, but he didn't remember there being any carnival or large group marches, not that there had ever been a carnival in that town to begin with.

"This won't do. The medicine is too important."

Seeing that the pharmacy was closed, Dustin immediately left there and headed home. The thing was, he was not going to his home.

After some minutes of jogging, he stopped in front of a house, and then approached the front door. Just as he was about to knock on the door, it opened by itself.

"Dust? Someone from inside said as they swung open the door fully. "Come in." The little girl said as she let Dustin into the house.

"Little Rose, where's your father?"

"He's in the kitchen. He'll soon be out." The little girl responded, just before returning to the couch where she sat comfortably and carried on her cartoon.

Just then, a middle-aged man walked into the room with two plates of food in his hand. He placed the plates on the dining table, and called little Rose to go eat.

"Dustin?"

"Hey Mr. Raff." He responded warmly with a little smile.

"What brings you here so late... Oh yeah, it's the medicine, right?"

"Yes Yes. I went by the pharmacy and saw it was closed, so I ran here next."

"Yes, today is the day you normally come to get the medications, so I thought you'll definitely come by, so I brought it with me, the entire pack." Mr. Raff said as he walked over to his bedroom. Some seconds later, he returned with a with a leather bag in his hands.

"Here, everything's inside. Take it." He dropped it on the table.

"Oh, yeah."

Dustin took out the money from his side bag, and counted exactly $1250, and placed it on the table.

"I finally got the money I owe. The money for today's own is also there. Count it, it's exactly $1250." Dustin said with a smile.

Mr. Raff looked at the money for some moments, and even Dustin wondered if he was going to take it or not. He finally picked up the money for a moment, then dropped it.

"What's the use of money in times like this?" Mr. Raff said.

Dustin looked closely at him, and couldn't tell the reason for his strange behaviour. This was not the usual man he knew.

"Is something the matter, Mr. Raff?" Dustin asked sincerely. Mr. Raff was someone who cared for him always, and would even give him ridiculous discounts, just so he could purchase the medicine he needed. Of course he would care for his state of mind.

"What do you mean 'is something wrong?' Everything is wrong. With the sudden news of the end of the world, you know? That voice everyone heard..."

As Mr. Raff continued talking, that was when Dustin remembered. He was about to tease Mr. Raff for behaving like some jobless youth, thinking about the end of the world, but he then remembered that he heard a certain voice saying something just before he passed out.

"What voice?" Dustin asked with curiosity written all over his face.

"What are you saying? You mean you didn't hear that announcement? But everyone heard it, it's a global thing."

"I must have been asleep during that time, so I don't know much about what this voice is."

On hearing this, Mr. Raff looked pretty surprised himself. He then went on to explain everything that had happened since the voice incident, and how the country was handling it. Dustin couldn't believe what he was hearing, and wondered whether he was being pranked or something. After all, this wouldn't be the first time.

Even though he wanted to doubt, he also couldn't. The strange scenes he had being seeing across town as he ran to the pharmacy, the weirdly quiet neighborhoods, it was clear that Mr. Raff wasn't joking. Even then, it sounded too weird.

"Wait. Sil. I have to go check up on Sil. I left the house since morning, what if something bad has happened?" Dustin said, as he became suddenly agitated.

He said goodbye to Mr. Raff and thanked him once again for everything. Then he bolted.

"I hope Sil is ok. I have to hurry."