The World That Ended Overnight
The world didn't end in a single morning.
It began with strange rumors about a mysterious disease.
Young men suddenly collapsed, starting with the young ones. Hospitals were paralyzed in an instant, and the broadcasts only repeated "investigating the cause."
Then, the number of men on the streets noticeably decreased. The ratio of men among the people lining up in front of the hospitals was abnormally low. Some called it a virus, some a biochemical terror, and some God's punishment. The exact name never came out. People started simply calling it 'The Collapse.'
I was a normal office worker at the time. Twenty-five years old. Just an ordinary man with no special skills.
When The Collapse began to spread in earnest, I was going down to the underground parking lot to take out my car. Screams could be heard from the upper floors. The sound of people running around, something breaking. The door was locked.
When I went out through the emergency exit, the street was already a hell on earth. Men were lying on the ground. People who weren't breathing. Women were crying, screaming, or just standing blankly. I ran. I didn't know where I was going, I just ran.
After that, I don't remember how the days passed. I wandered between ruined buildings, searched for food, and passed by dead people. There were an unusually large number of male corpses. Although I thought it was strange, at the time I just thought it was "bad luck."
The broadcasts were cut off. Electricity was cut off. Water became scarce, and food became even more scarce.
At some point, I was alone. I was wary of everyone I met. Especially, there were women who reacted strangely to men. Eyes full of surprise, eyes full of caution, eyes full of greed. I couldn't figure out why. I just thought the world had gone mad.
I kept moving. It was dangerous to stay in one place for long. There was no safe place. I just wandered looking for places that were less dangerous.
One day, when I woke up, the sky was visible instead of the ceiling. I was thirty-two years old. And everything started again.