The letter read as follows:
13-13-13
Extremely Urgent: Read Immediately
My name is Damon F. Regal, and my social security is 987-90-3456. Today is January 13, 2014. Something very strange is happening on Earth. I don't know what is going on, but I figure I should write down my entire day's experience just in case I don't make it.
CHAPTER ONE
8:11 am to 12:11 pm
It was a typical day - my neighbor went off to work, his wife drove their children to school, and I shared a joint with their teenage daughter. But then my mother asked me to accompany her to visit my uncle's apartment. We arrived at 9:30 am on the thirteenth floor and settled into his living room. While my mom and uncle chatted, I watched the news on TV. The segment was discussing reports of strange behavior from people all around the world. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see the whole story because my mom had to leave. We said our goodbyes and headed for the elevator. As we descended, it suddenly stopped at the eleventh floor and an elderly couple got in. The old man fumbled for a key in his pocket and used it to open a small door on one of the walls inside the elevator. Behind it was a fence, but he couldn't seem to find another key needed to open it. He turned to his wife who rummaged through her bag until she found the key and unlocked the fence.
The elderly woman's face was kind and wrinkled, her voice raspy with age. She beckoned to go inside, promising a treasure trove of toys for children. I hesitated, but my mother eagerly accepted on my behalf. As we entered the apartment building, I couldn't help but notice a door inside the elevator. It seemed out of place, but before I could even question it, my uncle stepped inside and started talking to my mom in hushed tones. They seemed worried about something, but I was too distracted by the mysterious door to listen. Suddenly, I remembered the strange behavior I had seen on the news earlier and tried to tell my mom about it, but she brushed me off, focused on her conversation with my uncle about some potential attack.
As we descended to the first floor, I noticed a sense of panic in the air. People were frantically grabbing supplies from a grocery store inside the building, preparing for an emergency. My mind raced with possibilities - could it be related to what I saw on the news? Was it getting worse? Lost in thought, I absentmindedly made my way to the smoking balcony beside the store to light a cigarette. But as I took a drag and looked up at the sky, I was surprised to see that it was already dark outside. Glancing at my watch, I realized it was already 6:00 p.m., despite feeling like only minutes had passed since I was in the elevator at 1:00 p.m. Confused and disoriented, I tried to retrace my steps, but nothing made sense. As I stood there pondering, all of the lights suddenly flickered off in every direction, leaving me in complete darkness on the balcony.
Amidst the chaos, there was a strange stillness. The cars had all come to a halt, their engines silent, and the only sounds were the distant cries of people and the eerie silence of the abandoned vehicles. Suddenly, a deafening roar filled the air as a burning plane hurtled towards the earth, crashing just a few miles away from where I stood. Panic overtook the crowd as everyone began to scream and run in different directions. In the midst of it all, I made my way to the store, searching for safety and some familiar face in this chaotic scene.
As I entered the store, I spotted my uncle among the frantic shoppers. Just as I reached him, the ground began to tremble violently. Screams grew louder and more intense as people realized what was happening - an earthquake was shaking everything in its wake. When it finally subsided, my uncle's voice broke through the commotion, telling me to grab whatever I could carry and get ready to leave.
In that moment of panic and confusion, I couldn't help but let greed take over as I frantically grabbed items off the shelves and stuffed them into a backpack I found nearby. As I went to grab a pack of cigarettes, I saw my uncle outside and ran to him.
As we waited for my mom to join us, relief washed over me when the lights suddenly flickered on. But even then, our journey was far from over. My uncle informed me that my mom had gone to help an elderly couple and he needed to go bring her back quickly. He told me to wait for him by the elevators because we needed to leave immediately.
Confused about why we needed to use the elevator when we were already on the ground floor, my eyes fell upon the number 11 displayed between two elevator doors. Fear suddenly gripped me as I realized we were not on the first floor but much higher up. Before I could voice my concerns, the elevator door opened and a beautiful girl stood inside. In that moment, all thoughts of confusion and fear were replaced by her mesmerizing presence.
I asked her if she could wait for a few minutes for my family to join us and she smiled warmly, replying, "Of course". It was the first moment of calm I had experienced all day, thanks to this kind stranger.
She explained that her family lived far away, and she didn't know what to do. I wanted to ask her why she was taking the elevator instead of the stairs, but something told me not to. In that moment, I fell in love with her. But before fully succumbing to my emotions, I had to make sure she was aware of the chaos happening around us. She confirmed my suspicions - people all over the world were acting strangely due to some kind of infection that was spreading rapidly.
Panic set in as I realized I must also be infected. With all the bizarre events I had witnessed, it seemed like the only logical explanation. Just as I was about to ask for her name, my mother's voice cut through the chaos, urging me to leave immediately. But before I could even catch a glimpse of her, the mysterious girl pulled me into the elevator.
Frustration bubbled inside me as I lit a cigarette in the confined space, not caring about the potential danger of smoking while potentially infected. The girl scolded me, warning that cigarettes would lead to my demise. But I ignored her, fixated on telling her how beautiful she was and how much she meant to me.
Before I could confess my feelings, the lights suddenly went off and we were left in darkness. The elevator came to a halt and the girl instinctively hugged me for comfort. As we stood there in silence, a loud clang echoed through the shaft followed by violent shaking of the ground beneath us. Fear consumed us both as we realized this was only the beginning of a catastrophic event that would change our lives forever.
The elevator was swinging side by side, the metallic cables screeching and groaning under the strain. She began to scream and cry as she clung to the walls, her heart pounding in her chest. We heard the loud sound for a second time, like a gunshot echoing through the confined space, and the elevator began to drop. As it descended rapidly, I felt weightless, like I was flying, before everything went black.