Evolution Day: An American Apocalypse Chapter 5

"Holy crap! My parrot can hold a conversation now. It got way smarter!"

"Why did all the animals and plants suddenly get huge? Is this the end of the world?"

"Is there rescue? Is there rescue? My house is surrounded by sparrows the size of basketballs—hundreds of them! I'm terrified!"

"Did everyone just wake up?"

...

The more I scrolled, the more my heart sank.

The situation was worse than I'd thought.

After last night's meteor shower, fog engulfed the globe.

All plant and animal life—even insects—evolved. They grew larger, stronger, or smarter.

Evolution took two paths: some became intelligent enough to communicate with humans; others lost all reason, driven purely by instinct.

Only humans seemed forgotten by evolution, remaining unchanged, all falling into deep sleep during the meteor event.

This situation was only marginally better than scenarios where everyone died immediately.

There was no telling when rescue would arrive. We couldn't exactly nuke ourselves into oblivion.

I managed a bitter thought.

Other weapons wouldn't be much use in this global fog when you couldn't even see your target.

Self-rescue was the priority now.

After closing the curtains, I looked at Duke and Cooper behind me, tails wagging excitedly. Just as Duke was about to pounce on me, Cooper delivered a flurry of cat punches, driving him back.

Cooper stood protectively in front of me, fur bristling, yowling angrily at Duke.

"Meow meow meow!" (You'll crush Sarah!)

Duke cowered in the corner, whimpering.

"Woof woof woof." (Sarah got smaller.)

"Meow meow meow!" (Stupid dog, we got bigger!)

Cooper punctuated this with more swats to Duke's head.

I watched them communicate in sounds I couldn't understand. Just as I was about to interrupt, my phone rang.

Unknown number.

After hesitating, I answered.

"Hello, is this Ms. Sarah Mitchell?"

After some background noise, a gruff male voice spoke.

"Yes."

"We met a week ago. Do you remember?"

I recalled—probably one of the security guards.

"We're checking on surviving residents. If you need anything, you can contact us."

"May I ask you—"

Before he could finish, I hung up.

I turned to my two giant pets watching me intently. Knowing they could now understand me, I spoke seriously.

"We've been noticed."

That night, instead of going to bed, I sat before the security monitors, watching outside.

If my guess was correct, they'd make their move tonight.

The reason: all those supplies delivered to my villa.

Most residents had some food stored—enough for a couple weeks, maybe.

But security guards? They worked rotating shifts. The guard station wouldn't have much food. Once their supplies ran out and the roads were blocked by mutant plants, those guards who'd seen my deliveries would definitely try their luck here.

Sure enough, at 11 PM, three furtive figures appeared on the monitors.