The screen disappeared and the world unfroze. Time started flowing again.
Alex remained frozen, but not due to a divine force. He was in absolute shock.
Huh? What? No… what the fuck? I must have been dreaming. ‘Humans of the world?’ Did God appear to everyone?

After being lost in his thoughts for more than half a minute, a text message brought him back.

Ding.

Group msg: D&D BRAWL Party Leader: Go get your loved ones. We meet at Ricky's in 24 hrs tops. Be careful.

Alex’s brain finally started working again.

He unlocked his phone and wrote to Ellie, his girlfriend: Stay where you are, it might get dangerous outside. I'll come get you.

{Notification popping up}

Group D&D Brawl Party Leader: If anyone has radios or walkie-talkies, bring them. LOCs might collapse.

[Ellie is typing] ... ... ...

"Is something wrong? Are the lines already collapsing? Better get going."

Alex had the urge to check the news and his IM app, but every second pedaling would mean getting faster to Ellie and back home.
It was a pretty direct way to Ellie's office. After getting out, he hopped on his bike, took a right turn for a block, and then left at the avenue. To his shock, everything seemed normal.

He didn’t imagine it. The D&D group chat confirmed it. Maybe he should check once more to be sure. While pedaling alongside traffic at full speed, he checked his phone. The messages were there.

Fuck! Why would this happen at this time of day? Maybe it’s a terrorist attack… some sort of new weapon.

While thinking and going with the transit, he had already covered more than a mile. He was now seeing more cars and people hurriedly walking and running in the street. At “The Chinese Supermarket” a 50-year-old Asian woman (probably Chinese) was sitting on a step at her store entrance, looking at her phone with a hand on her forehead. She was in complete shock. 

He was stopped at a red light one block before he had to turn. While waiting, he checked his phone again. No new messages. ‘What are the news saying?’ While he waited for the slow connection to load a local news site, a car that was at the front tried to cut the red light and was hit on the back side by an incoming car. Alex looked, and despite the force of the crash, they were both fine. ‘It’s already starting.’ 

Alex decided this was a good chance to turn right and not wait anymore. Besides, a smaller street should be safer. He pedaled as fast as he could. The road was slightly uphill, but even while stopping a couple of times at intersections, he covered another mile in five minutes.