It didn’t take long for Patricia to start hearing the “new” sounds of the night. Even inside the closed church room, the distant echoes of screams and the crash of things falling reached her ears. The sound reverberated off the walls as if the very structure was crying out in agony. She couldn’t make out any words, but it was clear that the screams were human, mixed with sounds of destruction—a blend of despair and chaos that seemed to rise from the earth itself.

Every creak, every shout seemed to tell a story of panic and struggle, and Patricia felt a chill down her spine as she imagined what was happening outside. Adrenaline surged through her, and her mind began to paint horrifying scenes: people running, ravenous creatures, the total chaos of a collapsing world. What had once been a distant shadow now felt like a palpable, threatening reality, closing in fast.

The atmosphere in the room grew heavier as if the very air was thick with tension. Patricia tried to focus, searching for something to distract her from the images of destruction, but the feeling of helplessness was overwhelming. She wondered if there was still hope, if anyone out there was still fighting, or if everyone was doomed to succumb to the darkness that now enveloped them.

She looked over at Paulo, who was still sleeping peacefully on the bench, oblivious to the horrors unfolding beyond the door. The idea of leaving him there, vulnerable, gave her a pang in her chest. “How the hell can he sleep through this?” she thought, almost envious of the calm he seemed to possess, even in such a critical moment.

“If only I could feel a little bit of that calm,” she muttered to herself, clenching her fists. She had to do something. As the screams grew louder, Patricia decided that she couldn’t just sit there, watching everything unfold like a spectator.

The plan was simple: stay there until dawn, hoping the bells would keep ringing, marking both the hours and the existence of other survivors. There was just one small problem: Paulo needed to stop snoring so damn loudly. With the volume he was putting out, one of those creatures that killed the teenagers could easily find them and break through the door, even with the benches piled up to block it. Patricia had no doubt about that.

With a sigh, she walked over to Paulo and gave him a gentle nudge in the ribs. Just enough to make him roll onto his side and silence the “chainsaw” he’d become. With the quiet restored, she finally managed to relax a bit.

“Now that I can hear my own thoughts, maybe I can figure out why the hell all of this is happening.” But she barely had time to dive into her conspiracy theories before she started seeing red spots in her vision. Instinctively, she rubbed her eyes, thinking some dirt or soot had gotten into them.

“With all the smoke and fire out there, it’s likely,” she thought, grabbing one of the water bottles to wash her face. But the spots didn’t disappear. And to make matters worse, a throbbing headache began to pulse in her temple, the worst she had ever felt.

She stumbled back to where Paulo was, still snoring like a scene out of Mad Max. The pain became so intense that she could barely call out to him. She collapsed on top of him, fainting, with one final thought: “Please let those creatures stay far away from here, for the love of God.”

Paulo woke up with a start, feeling the weight of Patricia collapsing on him. Still half-groggy from a dream that was just starting to get interesting, he opened his eyes thinking the dream was about to turn into reality—only to be greeted by a crushing headache and red spots dancing in his vision. It felt like waking up from the worst hangover ever, one that not even a night of heavy wine drinking could explain.

He tried to move, but Patricia’s body was sprawled over him, her hair getting into his mouth and nose, triggering a cough. “Damn it!” He barely managed to shift his friend off before passing out again, his body simply shutting down.

A few hours later, they both began to wake up, still disoriented. Patricia was the first to notice that, luckily, the door was still closed. But something had clearly tried to get in: the benches blocking the entrance were crooked, the doorknob had fallen off, and one of the giant hinges was hanging by a thread.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Paulo took a deep breath, still coughing from the strands of hair that had gotten tangled in his beard, and looked at Patricia, who was also starting to get her bearings.

“What the hell happened? I woke up with you passed out on top of me and a killer headache,” he said, rubbing his eyes.

Patricia grimaced. “I don’t know either. You had barely fallen asleep when I started hearing screams and sounds of things breaking. Then my vision got weird, with these red spots, and that insane headache hit me. I was going to wake you up, but I blacked out before I could.”

Paulo squinted. “Red spots? I saw that too. And now that you mention it, this isn’t the first time. Before I found you at the gym, I saw red spots too, but I thought it was just dirt in my eyes. But last night, I saw them again… much stronger this time.”

“What the hell is going on? As if the apocalypse outside with those damned creatures wasn’t enough, now there’s something wrong with us too? This can’t be a coincidence,” Patricia replied, her voice trembling slightly.

“I don’t know, but what’s more important right now is... how long were we out? I’m starving, so it’s got to have been hours. And, you know what’s weird? I’m not hearing any screams outside.” Paulo frowned, noticing the sudden silence.

Patricia shook her head. “You’re right. It’s quiet. We’d better wait for the bell to ring; that way, we’ll have an idea of the time. I just hope it rings…”

They exchanged a glance, and as if on cue, both began looking for something to eat. While rummaging through his backpack, Paulo made a discovery that left him speechless.

“Wait… hang on. My fillings! They’re gone. I used to feel them when I chewed, but now… nothing.” He ran his tongue over his teeth, incredulous. “And that chipped tooth? It’s whole.”

Patricia’s eyes widened. “No way…!” She pulled out her retainer. “My teeth… they’re perfect! I was supposed to wear this for another two years, at least. And now… nothing. Even the gap between my front teeth is gone.”

“Holy shit! And look at this… my hand scar… it’s gone!” Paulo showed his hand. “I’ve had this scar since I was a teenager, from when I cut myself on a box. Seriously, what the hell is happening to us?”

“Dude, there’s something else. How the hell are we seeing so well in here?” Patricia said, widening her eyes and quickly scanning the room. “I could see the loose hinge on the door while I was still on the floor, and it’s pretty damn dark in here. We only have that pathetic little light coming from the tiny stained glass up there, and yet, it feels like my vision has never been this sharp. When I was up in the water tower, I could barely see anything. But now... I can see everything with insane clarity.”

Paulo blinked, looking around and confirming what she said. “Damn, you’re right! It’s like… I’ve put on some next-gen glasses. And I didn’t even wear glasses!”

Both of them began examining themselves more closely, looking for other signs of change. The disappearance of scars, skin blemishes, and small imperfections quickly became evident.

“It’s like all our problems have been... reset,” Paulo said, a mix of joy and concern in his voice. "Scars, dental issues… all gone. If the same logic applies, any internal issues we had might’ve been fixed too."

Patricia chuckled, despite the strangeness of it all. “Well, let’s hope this solves your snoring problem, at least.”

Paulo turned slightly, squinting, feeling mildly offended. “Me? Snore? Of course not.”

“Oh, sure… and that noise you were making while you slept? It’d only be a snore if it was a little quieter. You’re lucky there are no working phones, or I’d have recorded it and you’d see. You sounded like Darth Vader trying out a new helmet.” She laughed harder as Paulo tried to defend himself.

But inside, both were uneasy. The changes to their bodies were far from normal, and the question of what else might have changed lingered in the air.

“And why are you so happy?” Paulo asked, still confused. “Even if I did snore—and that’s just a hypothetical, of course—it’s not enough reason for you to have that ‘just-won-the-lottery’ smile on your face.”

Patricia smiled, this time with a hint of genuine amusement. "I can't quite explain it. At first, I thought it was just about not having to wear the retainer anymore. Man, you have no idea how annoying that was! But it's more than that. It's like I’ve been asleep my whole life and only now have I truly woken up. Not that my life was bad before, far from it… but now I feel this lightness. Like I’ve had some invisible weight lifted off my shoulders. It’s bizarre."

Paulo stopped to reflect, and as he stood up to stretch his back, he realized something too. "Now that you mention it… yeah, I’m feeling better too. Hey, think about it: you shouldn’t have heard those screams outside last night, not from in here. Not with this door and the main one shut. If our hearing’s this sharp now, then the changes started before, not just after we passed out."

Patricia scratched her head, deep in thought. "Maybe that’s why we ended up at the wrong church. Our hearing was more sensitive and we misjudged the distance because we’re not used to hearing so well. Like one of those scenes in ‘X-Men’ when their powers start showing up and nobody knows how to control them."

Paulo laughed, shaking his head. “Oh, great, now I’m Wolverine? If that’s the case, all I need are the claws, because the healing factor seems to be working already.”

Before they could continue the conversation, the bells rang through the church. Nine chimes.

“That answers two things: someone’s still keeping the bell going, and it’s nine o’clock. How are they surviving out there and still have time to ring the bell?” Patricia asked, intrigued.

“We’ll find out soon enough,” Paulo replied. “Let’s wait another hour, then we’ll head out.”

As they prepared to leave, Patricia pulled on her shirt and adjusted her backpack, quickly checking to see if she had everything she’d need for the uncertain journey ahead. When they moved to take down the benches blocking the door, they were met with yet another surprise. The night before, they had struggled to lift the benches and brace the door. Now, though, they barely exerted any effort, and the benches slid away as if they were hollow, or made of some other material.

“One more thing to add to the list... extra strength. How much stronger are we?” Paulo remarked, his expression a mix of surprise and curiosity as he looked at Patricia.

“However much it is, I’m not complaining. With those creatures out there, any advantage is welcome,” she replied, tossing her hair back and smiling. “Besides, if we have to face those things, the stronger, the better.”

And with that, they opened the door, ready to face another day in the darkness, now with a new and unsettling power inside them, still in its infancy.