Prologue

April 26 of 2007 was a crisis for the citizens of San Francisco. An armed cult named The New Dawn attacked the city, killing on sight, kidnapping, and even publicly executing civilians in large groups. It was a horrifying event for everyone. Their reasoning was that they had to cull out the weak so that they may create a more successful society. But it was the most terrifying for a college student named Jonah.

Chapter 1
As Jonah rose up from his bed he let out an exhausted yawn. The night before had not been kind to him. He tossed and turned throughout the entire night with sharp pains rushing to his head. The pain was still affecting him from the night before so he decided to stay home for the day. He slid to the side of the bed and climbed out slowly. Supporting himself on the nightstand beside him he glides his hand over it. He grabs for his glasses and slips them on. His vision clears and the room opens up to him. He does everything he needs to do in the morning. Walking into the bathroom he brushes his teeth and takes a shower. After that he walks to the kitchen to get some cereal. As he walks down the hallway to his kitchen he feels his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulls it out and reads the caller ID. It was Jonah’s best friend Ryan.
“Whats up Jonah”,Ryan said.
“Nothing much just about to get some cereal. What's up with you”?
“Driving to the campus you coming”, Ryan asked.
“But we don't have any classes today”, Joseph explains.
“Doesn’t mean we can't hang out on campus”, Ryan replies
“I guess you're right”. There was a pause in between their conversation as Jonah grabs the box of cereal from the cabinet.
“So are you still coming”. Jonah assumed that Ryan would keep asking him so he made an excuse. 
“I would but i got a headache. Plus i'm not ready to head out yet”, Jonah said.
“Alright call me when you can come down though. We might still be able to hangout”, Ryan responded.
“Alright call you later”, Jonah said.
“Ok, Bye”.
Jonah hangs up the phone and drops it back into his pocket. He finishes making the cereal and then walks toward the living room. Putting the bowl on the table he lays down on the couch and reaches behind himself to grab the TV remote on the table. He points it in front of him and presses the power button bringing the TV to life. As he flips through the stations he looks around the room. Everything was just where he had left it yesterday. He stops on the news station and he grabs his cereal.
“Today will be a fantastic day temperature wise”. The meteorologist takes an awkward pause and stares off at the side of the camera. Slowly her face changed from her calm state to a more frightened expression. Confusion crossed Jonah’s mind as he notices the meteorologist tries to keep her composure.
“The high for today will be a steady 65 degrees while the low will be 54 degrees. I hope all of you have a great Wednesday morning”. She rushes off camera and for a moment and Jonah could hear a quiet cry in the background. Something bad must have happened to her but still Jonah couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Before they could switch to the next reporter, Jonah switched the station to cartoons. Nothing else was on anyway.  He pulled the phone from out of his pocket and placed it on the table beside him. Turning on his side Jonah slowly descends into a deep sleep not realizing what was awaiting him when he awoke.

Chapter 2
The first thing that Jonah heard as he woke up was the sound of an explosion. He jerked up quickly as the room shook violently. Jonah stumbles up from the couch and he quickly runs to the window to see what’s going on. He pulled open the curtain and what Jonah saw horrified him more than anything he had ever seen. People running down the street in fear were being gunned down brutally. The sun was trapped behind the clouds as if it were about to rain. The burning cars in the street lit up the roads with a vibrant orange glow. The next thing that caught Jonah’s eye was the group's attackers that had done the act. In a split second gunshots were fired off again down the street at the group that was running. Jonah quickly closed the blinds and rushed to the window beside him. This time he peered through them to not draw attention to himself. More of the group separated as most of them fell to the ground. One woman however turned around. She collapsed to the ground and started to burst with tears as she lifted the body of an older woman. Jonah could tell by the body language that she was swelling up with anger. The attackers slowly move toward her ignoring the group scattering down the different alleys and streets. Jonah got a good look at the group of attackers and noticed some very strange things about them. There was a strange symbol on either their face or their clothes. It was a star with a dagger going through the center, with a snake curving around the blade. Suddenly the woman starts to shout
“How could you do this to her?”, she yells.
“They were all too weak”. One of the attackers stepped forward from the crowd getting uncomfortably close to the woman. “We need to make sure that we separate the weak from the strong or we’ll never progress as a species. We all did this for the New Dawn”! In an instant he grabbed her by the neck. He lifted her up with ease wrapping his hands around her neck tighter. In an instant he slammed her to the ground. Instantly she went unconscious. He grabs her body and lifts her over his shoulder carrying her into the crowd of New Dawn members.
“Check out the buildings.  There are probably non-believers hiding inside.” The group disbands and they start trying to get inside the buildings. Jonah backs away from the window and runs to his front door.  He cuts through the living room, into the hallway and stops at the door. He twists the lock and pulls the deadbolt into place. On the floor below Jonah, he heard a loud banging sound accompanied by a loud scream and cracking wood. The New Dawn had gotten inside.

Chapter 3
As slowly as he could Jonah crept across the floor trying not to make a sound. The screams from the other apartments below him masked the sound of his footsteps so he moved faster. A burst of gunfire stopped Jonah in his tracks. His fear took over him and he stumbled to the ground. The gunfire stopped and loud footsteps could be heard running up the staircase. Jonah picks himself up and sprints into his room. He slammed the door shut and locked it, backing away slowly. Quickly he turned around and scanned the room trying to find a place to hide. Instantly his eyes lock on his bed. Using up all of his courage, Jonah unlocks the door. The last step of his plan was to open the window to draw attention away from himself while he’s under the bed. As quietly as he could, he slid under the bed making sure that he didn’t hit any part of it. The footsteps suddenly stop and a gunshot could be heard in the other room over.
“I don’t think anyone’s in here”, a voice said.
“It doesn’t matter if you think anybody’s here, let's find out so we can leave,” another voice commands.
Jonah could hear them walking through his apartment knocking over all his things and going through his possessions. The door to Jonah’s room opens and Jonah’s heart skips a beat. The New Dawn cultist paces around the room and stops at the center. His feet were pointing out the window. The man mutters a curse under his breath and runs out the room leaving Jonah by himself. He lets out a sigh of relief and lays there. Suddenly someone walks back into the room. They start checking through Jonah’s things. He went from his dresser, to the closet and then stopped at the bed where Jonah was hiding. A metallic sound clicks and Jonah can see the man aim the pistol down at him.
“No”! Jonah’s vision goes black as the echo of the gunshot rings in his head.

Chapter 4
Jonah rose from his bed in a cold sweat. His head was spinning and the pain he felt was unbearable. He climbed out of his bed and tripped falling to the floor with a loud bang. He was breathing heavily and his hands were shaking. He had never had a dream like that before. Pushing himself up from off the ground he brushed himself off and continued to do everything he needed to do for the morning. Today Jonah wanted some fresh air so he decided to go out. He slips his glasses on, gets some clothes from the closet and walks into the bathroom. After he finishes he throws on his shirt, puts on some jeans and slips his jacket on. With a sigh of relief he heads out the door and starts walking down the steps.
“Good Morning Jonah”. Jonah turns around and he see’s his neighbor Mrs.Williams.
“Oh, good morning Mrs.Williams”, Jonah replies.
“You ok, you don't look to good”. Jonah suddenly realizes that he is sweating. “All you did was walk some the stairs. Do you need more exercise”?
“I don't think so”, Jonah laughed. “I’ll probably feel better when I go outside”.
“Well that's good to hear”, she says trying to hold back a grin. “Well have a good day”.
“You too”. Jonah continues to walk down the steps until he reaches the front door to the apartment complex. He steps out the door and the sunlight blinds him. It feels like it's been forever since Jonah’s been outside. Jonah’s first stop for today was to go to the local diner. Once he could see the diner in sight he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. The caller ID said Ryan.
“Whats up Jonah?”, Ryan said.
“Hey Ryan”, Jonah said while yawning. “I had the worst dream last night”.
“Oh that sucks, well have you gotten over it, or are you traumatized”.
“Shut up”, Jonah said.
“Hey I’m serious, I’ve heard that people have gotten irrational fears about things that happened in their dreams”.
“Well I’m fine”, Jonah says relaxing himself. “So what are you doing?”Jonah walks inside of the diner and the familiar song that plays relaxes him.
“Nothing much just driving to the campus you coming”? Jonah stopped walking and stared out the window in confusion. Slowly he walks over to an empty stool and sits while resting his head in his hands. “You still there Jonah”?
“Yeah, yeah I'm here, I'm just thinking”.
“Well are you coming or not, I can drive over to pick you up if you need me to”, Ryan said.
“Nah, I'm at the diner that we all usually go to”, Jonah responds. “Once I'm finished my food I’ll catch a bus there”.
“Alright man, see you then”.
Jonah hangs up and his heart starts to beat quickly. He looks out of the window and realizes how similar today was to his dream. The sun was bright in the morning, the phone call he got from Ryan, and even the headache that he had when he woke up. He looks up at the TV in the corner and the same news station from his dream was on. The same meteorologist was reporting the weather. She said the same weather forecast as in his dream.
“A high 65 degrees and a low 54 degrees”. Then to finish it off she walked off screen and let out a quiet cry. The few people in the diner who were watching the TV were confused at the event, just like how Jonah was in his dream. The waiter walks up to him with a smile on his face.
“Wow, that was pretty weird huh”, he said.
“Yeah, I guess so”.
“So what can I get you”?
“I’ll take a coffee”. The waiter pours some coffee into a mug and slides it over to Jonah. “Thanks”. Jonah hands the waiter the money and stares into the mug. Jonah already knew what would happen. He just had to wait.

To Be Continued