I enjoyed the days like these. It was a spontaneous meetup but I was just glad I had my best friends with me. Especially with what was coming. Although, one of them was currently ignoring me because he knew he was doing something that I didn't like. Even that couldn't really bring my mood down, though it was down, it was like my friends kept me from sinking. With them here, I'd get through it.

"I'm warning you, Zych. Eat my stuff again and I'll sick him on you." I pointed viciously at Horace. Ace, as we'd come to know him.

Zych's hazel eyes bulged, pausing in the act of munching on a leftover burrito. "Anything but that. Here, you can eat it. You know what? I'll even buy a whole new burrito! And you know how much money means to me!" The man looked ready to throw the burrito at Ace as if he was some kind of feral dog.

"Uh huh." I responded dully, pulling my favorite green lime specialty soda from the fridge. "Plead your case, " I paused for dramatic rhyming flair. "To Ace." I gestured to my taller friend.

"Come one, Zych. You know how far we live from that mexican place. Jake especially." Ace said crossing his arms, his points were usually valid.

"Point." Zych sighed, putting the burrito back in the fridge after wrapping it back in its tinfoil. "Could've said it a little later, eh? Might've got another two bites."

"Or sooner. Might've got two less." I rolled my eyes. "Seeing as my very pointed eye contact did nothing but slide off your guilty shoulders."

Zych shrugged, grinning. I would strangle any other man.

Almost as one, in a manner that was almost ritualistic, we fell heavily into worn beanbags. The resulting thin clouds of dust that erupted from each was akin to a gong which signaled a discussion much more serious. Usually, this would be what to do for the night, or even what to not do. Today, however, I doubted we would lapse into those age-old questions.

It was only a manner of who would broach the topic.

My basement was our usual den. The ceiling of which was ground level outside, allowing us a window to see the feet of the passerby. Truly a shame it did nothing but face my alley. Pipes ran across the ceiling and since it necessitated our continued occupation, these were kept perfectly sturdy and in repair. As a result, broken pipes whether by leaks or rust were pushed up against one corner of the room. A few metal cabinets kept them company which housed any number of tools.

A dartboard, a pool table, and television. Game consoles lined the wall. Wires where there were no pipes. Perhaps any younger man's dream, was the isolation, the fact there was only one entrance and one exit. Oh and my computer setup, along with the security system I could monitor from here.

"You think it's true?" Ace spoke up, he stared out the small window. Normally a taller man might be uncomfortable in the relatively small beanbag chair but, while worn, these were top of the line - the highest quality. Not to mention the Ace sized indent in its center.

Zych guffawed, waving his hand. "You're really buying into that?" He looked at us both before nodding. "Alright cool, you can't call me the crazy one then." 

One of the monitors lit up as it always did when a car came up the street. My eyes slid to the clock beside it. Come one hour it would be midnight. The next day. And the start of a new year. January 1st.

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"I believe it." I finally responded, letting out a sigh. "Didn't want you guys to think I was crazy but yeah, I believe it." I stood up and walked over to one of the metal cabinets, pulling it open.

Zych shot up in his chair. "Jake, shit." He looked at me. "You've actually gone insane." He commended me, patting my shoulder even as his eyes took in the contents.

Ace leaned against the pool table and whistled. "All this and no guns?" 

"Couldn't get my hands on them no. Besides, buying guns in bulk would probably put me on some watch list. Then they'd just see me buying all this crap too." I waved at the cabinet.

Zych pulled a compound bow and its ammunition from the weapon locker. "Holy shit. You really do think it's gonna happen huh? Hey, I'm keeping this even if it does happen." He waved the bow around, nocked arrow and all.

I ducked. "Keep that out of my face, Zych. Fuck!" I yelled. "Treat the damn thing like a weapon, it's loaded, don't point at anything you don't want dead."

"I wasn't gonna pull it or anything."

Ace was in looking through the cabinet now. "Sword, shield, bat, crowbar. Kevlar vests?" He looked back at me and shook his head. "How'd you even manage to amass this? I mean I did some preparing myself, I couldn't just cross out the possibility, but hell Jake."

"No kidding? Well, it's not much help if you left it at home." I didn't see anything on him.

"See?" He pulled out an honest-to-god mini pepper spray gun from his pocket. "Pepper spray g-"

Zych and I just about died laughing. What the heck was that supposed to do for you? It just looked so small in his hand. I laughed, tearing up but catching myself on the pool table. When I finally had the capacity to look at him he was only frowning, as if a disappointed parent. That was Ace for you.

"It might be useful." He said defensively.

"I'll give you that." I conceded, snickering only barely. I cooled off after a moment, seriously thinking. "Keep it on you, in any case."

"I was already gonna do that, Jake." He said pointedly.

"Right."

"You think your dartboard could handle an arrow from this thing?" Zych asked, almost background noise to my shuffling through the locker.

I answered immediately without even turning, most of my voice caught in the locker. "No, Zych. Do not shoot the dartboard." I fished out the vests. "Put these on." Both of my friends caught them and began strapping them on.

Grabbing a sword and shield, I gave those to Ace who accepted them with, points to him, only a moderate amount of doubt on his face. I took two long daggers, nearly short swords, and strapped them to my legs. I put on my vest as well.

"What if I want the bat?" He asked me.

"Then grab it." I said back, he did so. I turned to Zych. "You sure you can use that thing?"

He was looking down its sights. "It can't be that different from regular archery right? Besides, I can pull it. That should be enough." He seemed confident, though that was a shot in the dark when judging Zych. He might very well suck ass.

"Fair enough."

"You sure you can use those." He pointed his bow to my legs.

"Sure as I love mexican food." I responded.

"Very sure then." Zych said back. He did not seem remorseful.

Time passed as we loitered. The restrapping of velcro was a common sound, given the amount of stuff we were wearing that needed to be adjusted. Ace was sitting in the beanbag again shield and bat in his lap. Zych was pretending to shoot me and Ace. I was simply watching the clock.

My mind must've drifted because Ace was the first one to speak. "It's midnight."

Zych, who had been somehow entertaining himself, looked up. I followed his gaze. Ace was right.

Nothing happened.

Genesis Begins

In thirty seconds, your world will shatter. Earth as you know it will quadruple in size. Cities, continents, countries, towns, states, powers, will all splinter. Your Earth has reached critical mass. New forces will be introduced and your lives will forever be changed. Landmasses will shift, oceans may rise or fall, natural disasters will befall you. But after the chaos, the suffering, humanity will be born anew. Stronger. Better.

You will need this Genesis. If not, you will fail against the creatures that assail you, the horrors that seek your planet. This is your introductory period, Humans. You are a Genesis Welcomed Race now. See its power, know it, harness it. You will need it.

We begin the Culling.

We all blinked. And then everything went to hell.