Doomsday Pillars

"Relax, men. Carry on."

As Alex walked into the living room, he surprisingly found his wife, Devita, asleep on the sofa.

Alex approached his sleeping wife and carried her to their room. Alex gently laid her down and walked into the other room happy to find his two children fast asleep. Next, he slowly walked toward the hotel"s balcony; took something out from the storage ring, a cigarette box. He pulled a cigarette stick and lit it.

As he smoked and stared at the beach, the gentle cras.h.i.+ng of waves along with the breeze of the night wind made him think a lot. Tonight, he went out to just see the condition of zombies on the edge of the city of Bali not expecting the least that the yellow zone area would have a level three zombie. He needed to build countermeasures.

Suddenly, he heard Devita waking up. "Sorry, I woke you up." Alex then looked at Devita"s eyes filled with worry, sadness, and anger.

"Where have you been?! Do you know how worried I was? You fainted with wounds all over you after fighting and then after a few hours you suddenly disappeared!"

"Calm down Vi.  I"m fine, I just walked around to breathe in the fresh air. I could not sleep."

Devita paused after hearing Alex"s answer. She was full of anger, she wanted to scream and yell, but in the next second, tears began to drip from her eyes.

"You… who are you?"

"Vi, what do you mean? I"m your husband."

"Liar! You... you"re not Alex! The Alex I know is very different."

Devita"s hand approached Alex, seemingly wanting to touch his face, but took the cigarette from Alex"s mouth.

"Alex never smokes, he never liked it!"

"Vi, the world is in ruins. There"s no way we are going to fight just because of a cigarette."

"That"s not it. You… it"s you that is different! You walk, talk, sound the same, I can see your sincere affection. But I don"t seem to recognize you. Alex, please tell me what happened? Have I gone crazy?"

Alex understood what his wife meant. He certainly is different now. 10 years of struggling in the Day of Judgement. It was impossible to remain the same, in truth, even without the end of the world upon them, 10 years would naturally change someone. It wasn"t surprising that his wife, whom he shared his life with wouldn"t notice this difference. 

Before Alex only told her about he having an ability to foresee the future,  but now, Alex finally decided to tell his wife everything. About his reincarnation and the 10 years that pa.s.sed without his family. Everything sounded like a fantasy story. But for Devita,ever since the end of time started, seeing so many changes in this world. This fantasy may not seem as crazy as it might sound. It was enough to fill the questions in her heart and mind.

After listening to Alex"s story, Devita finally fell asleep in Alex"s tear damped arms. Seeing his wife sleeping soundly in his arms. It finally hit him, he has indeed changed. He was a sentimental person who could cry over simple things or easily laugh with others. But those feelings seemed to have disappeared from him. Even tonight, seeing his wife cry, he doesn"t really feel much...

Could he has forgotten what love is?

The new day had arrived; the morning sun had risen illuminating the hotel"s window. As usual, his wife was an extraordinary woman. Although sleep was one of her favorite hobbies, Devita still got up early to take care of the family no matter how tired or sleep-deprived she was.

"Tiffany! Tiarra! Breakfast is ready."

Alex woke up to the smell of the freshly baked bread.

The last time they had breakfast together was about two months ago before Alex left for Java. Alex walked to the dining table and approached his two daughters who were already sitting there sweetly. His wife still busy preparing food. Omelette and chocolate brownie bread with orange ice drink. A fairly normal food in the world. But not in the end times like now. Flour and chocolate for making brownies were still common-place. The milk used was UHT milk or milk powder. But the Fresh orange juice was a commodity that was a little hard to find, but since Alex was the leader on the island and his wife the head of the supply department, it was not difficult to get this fresh orange.

However, what particularly caught Alex"s attention was the omelette on the plate. Alex looked at it carefully and Devita realized what was on Alex"s mind and immediately said, "That is the result of the eggs from black chickens that we maintain."

In the beginning, when this headquarters was still being built, Alex told them to gather a type of chicken that would able to survive the end of time epidemic. This black chicken was one of the mutated animals that were not aggressive, so it was suitable to be reared inside the base. Alex wanted to ask further questions, but Devita continued by saying, 

"Let"s start eating, we"ll talk about work later during the meeting."

As their tradition, they opened the breakfast with a prayer. Tiarra presented herself with the spirit to lead. "Thank you G.o.d for the food and drink. Amen."

Tiffany and Tiara ravenously enjoyed the breakfast.

Alex was a little surprised to see a ladybug the size of a tennis ball resting on Tiffany"s shoulder. Alex heard about the insect from his wife; how it functioned as a pair of eyes for Tiffany and her most beloved pet.

At first, Alex didn"t pay much attention to it but after thinking more deeply about his previous life, not many insects made it through the end-time plague. He recalled certain types of insects and those were generally high-level mutations. For Tiffany to be able to bond with it through her power, it truly was a fortune. Alex tried hard to recall more memories from his previous life, but he never seemed to have this kind of insect. Curiosity filled his mind and asked, "Tiffany, where did you find the insect?"

"What do you mean, Daddy? Oh did you mean Cerri?"

Cerri was the name Tiffany chose for the insect because of its roundness and the red dots on its body that reminded her of sweet cherries.

"Yes, Cerri, where did you find it?"

"Cerri found me, Daddy. She just suddenly appeared on the window at home and from that moment, she always accompanied me."

Alex looked back at the mutant insect on his daughter"s shoulder carefully but nothing seemed too special.

Devita suddenly interrupted again and said, "We"re gonna be late, finish breakfast first and talk again."

After enjoying the eggs, Devita divided the chocolate brownies and distributed them. The middle par, filled with chocolate, was given to Tiffany and Tiara. But as for Alex, he got the corners of the brownies, which was the hardest part of the brownies and no chocolate.

A memory almost forgotten resurfaced. Alex thought about his wife"s words last night. Ever since he was reincarnated, it seemed that he really was not paying too much attention to his family. A moment like this morning was something that was very valuable in these end times. This was the real reason Alex struggled and faced all the challenges of Doomsday. If Alex couldn"t protect his family again, then he didn"t deserve to even try and save this world. 

This was the reason he fought. To protect his family and their future.

After breakfast, Alex hugged and kissed his two daughters.. And his wife of course...

"Thank you for the breakfast."

Now, Alex needed to get ready for an important meeting this morning. A meeting with the seven division heads who were taking care of this headquarters. Devita is one of the division leaders. She also got ready and followed him from behind.

With the outburst of his wife last night, he was glad that they were still able to walk together closely this morning.

"I have to pay more attention to my wife," thought Alex.

But just as Alex opened the door, a beautiful woman was already waiting right in front of the door. "Oh, good morning, Aria."

Alex graciously welcomed Aria, but Aria greeted him with a very serious face. Aria also did not hesitate to follow behind closely toward the meeting room. What"s wrong with Aria this morning? She looks upset. Alex couldn"t help but feel very awkward.

Devita trying to break the ice asked, "Aria, your performance yesterday was so great."

As usual, Aria answered coldly. "Yes, thank you."

"Where did you learn your martial arts from?"

"Deathsquad special forces"

"..."

Devita did not give up looking for a suitable conversation topic. "Thank you, Aria, you are always ready to guard my husband."

"Yes, but it looks like your husband doesn"t need me!"

"!!!"

Alex was surprised to hear this response as well. Devita wanted to ask, but Aria continued, "Last night he went out fighting level three zombies by himself."

"..."

Devita had read reports about the level three black zombie. As it turns out, last night, her husband did something dangerous again and kept it a secret! Devita immediately glanced at Alex, visibly annoyed. "Couldn"t sleep and looked for fresh air? Huh! Smart..."

This seemed to be the reason why Aria was upset. Aria was supposed to be Alex"s personal bodyguard, it was her duty and responsibility to guard Alex against danger. But for Alex to sneak out alone at night and fight dangerous monsters without her, of course, she would definitely be upset."

Traveling from the hotel using a jeep to the meeting place usually would take less than thirty minutes, but this time, it felt like hours to Alex when accompanied by these two women grumbling about him.

"..."

Finally, they arrived. The venue for this meeting was none other than the Starbase itself.