It was just another ordinary day for a corporate slave.
The office was packed with other slaves just like me, all hammering away at their keyboards.
The sound of keys getting smashed was resonating through the entire room, yet nobody spoke a word.
At exactly 9:00 p.m., the manager stepped out of his office as he prepared to get back home.
One after another, half-zombified people followed after him like a swarm, eager to enjoy their well-earned weekends.
For most people, weekends were a normal occurence.
But for us fully-zombified people, it was a luxury.
Three hours ago, several retiring seniors dumped their work on me, adding to the pile.
So I stayed until late at night.
Again.
This time, I finished before sunrise, so I packed up to get home.
When I stepped outside, the streets were awfully silent.
Not a single car, not a single passerby, not a single cat.
There was no sound, not even from the wind.
It was 3:20 in the morning, but the sky felt like midnight.
For a morning in summer, you would expect the sun to start becoming visible.
And yet, barely a few stars looked at me as I dragged myself home.
Even the streetlights were off.
Everything felt awkwardly silent, almost intentionally so.
Maybe the world was trying to tell me something.
Maybe death was finally coming for me.
But that would have to wait after a good night of sleep.
It was the only thing I wanted, the least that life could grant me after all my work.
After a few more minutes of walking, I finally arrived at my apartment building.
As I approached the entrance, I noticed a young man standing in the lobby.
It was a face I couldn't recognize.
Probably a newcomer who had just moved in.
He looked far too composed for someone awake at that hour. His dark attire was immaculate, and a faint smile lingered on his lips, as though he knew something everyone else didn't.
His verdant green hair contrasted with his all-black attire, yet somehow it suited him.
As he walked past me, I couldn't shake off a sense of discomfort.
There was nothing visibly wrong with him, yet his presence felt strangely out of place.
Like a crow standing among pigeons.
I quickly dismissed his presence and entered my apartment.
I collapsed as soon as I reached my bed, exhaustion seeping into my body.
Taking a shower or changing clothes?
I didn't bother.
There had been periods where I practically lived at the office.
Sometimes I spent days there without even washing my face.
This time had been particularly bad, totaling 17 days.
Coming home felt heavenly, and I was planning on taking a good rest.
When I crashed on my bed, a surge of exhaustion coursed through my body.
As I closed my eyes, every muscle in my body screamed in relief.
I wasn't particularly muscular, but years of carrying heavy equipment at the company served me well.
That, and the fact that I occasionally went to the gym for my light workouts.
Still, the dark circles under my eyes showed the exhaustion I had accumulated all these years.
Six years of staring at screens had turned my eyes bloodshot.
Maybe due to the drowsiness, I started remembering my first days at work.
Back then, two women greeted me as I came to the counter.
My mind went to the clouds.
A workplace full of young female employees?
To my younger self, it sounded like paradise.
I had imagined the lunches together, the after-work drinks, maybe even a relationship.
But the dream crumbled quickly.
The company had other plans for me.
It was work for the sake of working.
Every task became two, and every deadline became three.
I watched myself becoming more of a zombie as the day passed on, the bright-eyed newcomer disappeared slowly.
Looking back, I sometimes wondered why I never quit.
Wouldn't that have solved everything?
Maybe.
I didn't know anymore.
I was too tired to think.
For now, sleep was all I needed.
***
I woke up the day after.
It was Saturday morning, so I didn't bother setting up an alarm.
Outside, birds were singing their morning chant on a tree.
Leaving my peaceful slumber, I scratched my eyes and yawned without any care in my mind.
Maybe because I just woke up, but the sky felt unnaturally bright, to the point of hurting my eyes.
Strangely, it wasn't completely unpleasant.
Just... different.
I turned towards the window right beside my bed, admiring the beauty of the landscape.
It was refreshing.
I finally felt alive.
It was a complete contrast to the dark and lonely night of the day before.
Just in case, I looked around me to check if I was still in the world I knew.
The empty cup of coffee on my desk.
The documents scattered everywhere.
The shattered mirror hanging on the wall.
Everything was still the same as usual. Even the clothes and shoes remained on me.
Nothing had changed.
I jumped out of my bed and rushed to the balcony to take a wider view.
It was the same Tokyo that I knew of, with tall and colorful buildings reaching the top of the sky.
Lots of people were walking casually in the streets, wearing all sorts of clothes and accessories.
I reached for my phone to check my notifications. The screen showed 11:00 in the morning.
I had slept for 7 hours.
It seems the long night of sleep was much needed.
Suddenly, my stomach growled loudly. I hadn't eaten since yesterday noon.
I went to take my breakfast in the kitchen and opened my fridge, but it was completely empty.
The inside was shining, as if the light bounced everywhere inside in search of food too.
"Maybe I should go out to eat today," I thought out loud.
But first, I took a much-needed shower. I couldn't go out smelling like a monkey after all.
I picked up the classiest clothes I had.
Unfortunately, they were a bit tight on me, but they had to do. There was nothing else usable in the wardrobe anyway, only old clothes.
I headed to the door, checking if I had everything on me.
Phone, wallet, keys. All were there.
I reached out for the door handle after checking everything.
BZZZT–
A violent electric current shot through my entire arm.
"AAAAAAAARGH!"
Pain exploded throughout my entire body as I desperately tried to pull away from the handle.
But I couldn't.
My muscles locked instantly under the shock. My whole body was convulsing.
It felt like my ears exploded. After that, I couldn't hear anything anyome.
My mind was drifting away.
Thud-
Was I falling?
It felt like the world was spinning. I could feel something warm on my head.
"Fuck..."
I knew what it was.
Blood.
My vision dimmed.
"No wonder...it was so sunny...today"
These last thoughts escaped my mind as I drowned into darkness.
I could feel something pulling me into the abyss.
Confusion, Pain, Fear, Regret.
I wondered what this feeling was.
***
At first, I felt nothing.
My body felt hollow, unalive.
Then, it happened.
Like a hammer beating my heart to life, every breath sent fire to my lungs.
My heart pulsed anew.
I could feel the blood flowing into my veins, especially in my left arm. It was painful.
Without warning, light came burning my retina. I was blinded by the sheer brightness of it.
My eyes were already opened, but nothing felt normal around me. It was just a blur of shapes and colors.
As my vision adjusted, fragments of memories surfaced.
The door handle.
The electric shock.
The blood.
The darkness.
'Ah...'
The realization hit.
'I died...'
A sharp pain invaded my head from the aftermath.
'Or... did I?'
Doubt invaded my mind. I still felt tingles in my left arm.
I looked around me terrified, but I quickly realized that I wasn't in my apartment anymore.
Around me were walls made out of bricks and wood.
The furniture felt crude, primitive. It wasn't wood cut from an industrial sawblade, but rough planks carved by hands.
I was lying on an unfamiliar bed, or should I call it a torture device?
I couldn't see an ounce of modern technology. The room was just plain.
It was a medieval looking house like the ones you can see in Novels and Animes.
Adrenaline surged through my body.
I checked my pockets.
Nothing. Not even my phone.
Had I been kidnapped? The thought crossed my mind.
Thankfully, I couldn't see anyone around.
I started organizing my thoughts.
I needed to find a weapon, a phone, anything. I needed a way to escape.
But I wasn't allowed to think more.
Suddenly, I heard a voice in my head announcing,