The capital of the Federation. District of Seven Flowers, house 37.
In his room, staring at the ceiling, lay a young man, all wet, with overgrown black hair. His mind was busy trying to remember what had happened. My head was buzzing.
Despite the fact that it was bright outside, the room was dim and cool. Idan, that was the young man's name, was trying to figure out what day it was.
After lying down for a while, he sat up and tried to straighten his overgrown hair, but found that chewing gum was stuck to it. He tried to peel her off, but to no avail, and, sighing, left everything as it was.
Getting to his feet, he almost tripped over the bottles and trash that had accumulated around his bed over the past couple of months. Having difficulty finding his way among them, he went into the bathroom and, going to the sink, saw his reflection in the mirror.
Idan couldn't remember the last time he'd seen his reflection, but he didn't look his best right now. Although he had only recently turned 19, he felt quite pitiful at this moment.
After washing up quickly and wiping his face and damp hair with a towel, Idan decided to go downstairs.
"Exactly one week has passed since the world faced the first of the ten disasters predicted on "Blackout Day" a year ago."
Walking down the stairs, Idan stopped when he heard the loud sound of the TV.
"Ha, it's already happened, hasn't it?" he muttered and continued down the stairs.
Idan recalled the events of a year ago, when large-scale earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions occurred all over the world. Then he was sure that the end of the world had come, which clairvoyants and scientists had been talking about for a long time. However, no one expected it to come so suddenly and without warning.
A lot has changed in a year, the familiar world has collapsed, giving way to a new one.
The reporter's voice talking about the first disaster on TV reminded Idan of the day that happened exactly one month after the disaster began. A deafening noise was heard in the sky, which caused all the inhabitants of the world to lose consciousness. This day was later called "Blackout Day."
In house 37, located in the Seven Colors district of the Federation capital, Idan lived with his mother and older sister.
Initially, the family lived in another city, but a year ago their lives, like those of many other people, changed dramatically.
After going downstairs, Idan immediately noticed his mother, who was sitting in front of the TV and silently watching a report. She didn't even turn around to see her son, and Idan didn't find it strange.
A year ago, the family lost their father, their breadwinner and support. It was a heavy blow for everyone. Idan's mother could not recover from the grief of losing her beloved husband. The situation was aggravated by the death of her parents, and now she has only a daughter and a son left in this life.
Idan and his sister Irene were also deeply saddened by their father's death, especially Irene. Unlike Idan, Irene was very attached to her father, and her father, like her mother, appreciated her the most.
Idan sometimes found himself thinking that he seemed like a stranger in the family, especially when he compared his parents' attitude towards him and his older sister, Irene. Both her mother and father always admired Irene and celebrated her achievements, while they only nodded condescendingly at his successes.
For some reason, his parents constantly compared him to his sister, and Idan almost never managed to surpass Irene. It started from a very young age, and over time, Idan came to terms with it, distancing himself from his family a little.
Shaking his head, he headed to the dining room to make himself a coffee while listening to the report on TV.
Although the disaster occurred a year ago, and many countries and cities were destroyed, the capital of the Federation turned out to be almost the only city that survived to a greater extent. Within a year, the city was restored to its former state.
Even the televisions and the global network — everything was restored and working in this city. In the other surviving cities Idan visited before his family moved to the Federation capital, not everything was functioning properly.
Idan wondered how many countries were able to unite so quickly after the disaster and create a Federation, as well as how they managed to rebuild an entire city. He assumed that some governments were aware of the impending disaster and had prepared for it to some extent. But he, as an ordinary 19-year-old guy who lived his life, didn't really care about that. All he could think about after the disaster was how to survive and help his sister and mother overcome this difficult period.
Idan poured himself an ordinary instant coffee, added a little sugar and, mixing it thoroughly, took a sip.
At that time, his mother switched the channel to another program.
"Dr. Simon, what do you think of the awakening serum? It will soon be exactly one year since the first hundred Awakened Ones, the first Heroes of the Federation, were discovered," a young reporter asked a middle—aged man in a white coat and glasses on his nose.
Dr. Simon adjusted his glasses and replied:
"Yes, indeed, it will soon be one year since the first wave of serum administration, and the Federation is already actively preparing for the second. Those who are under the age of 20, but who are over 16, should be prepared for this event."
"By the way, it's really going to be a year soon," Idan muttered, and a spark of hope lit up in his eyes. "Maybe I'll be as lucky as my sister this time."
"The procedure for administering the awakening serum is quite simple. A couple of days before the appointed day, an alert will be sent to all young people, and they will have to come to the nearest point to receive the serum," Dr. Simon began, describing the injection process.
"Remember that after you receive the serum, you will need to wait ten minutes to find out if you have become awakened or not," Simon said with a serious expression on his face. "If you're lucky, you'll join the number..." Before he could finish his sentence, Idan's mother switched the channel again.
Idan, taking another sip of coffee, recalled his first experience with whey, which occurred almost a year ago. At that time, he, his sister and mother lived in another city, huddled in a small room in a large house where there were many refugees like them.
The situation was much worse then than it is now. There was only one incandescent lamp in their small room, which illuminated it only in the evenings at certain times.
Idan then worked as a handyman, helping to eliminate the consequences of the disaster. His sister found a part-time job as a nurse and helped doctors take care of the injured.
The mother, who had suffered greatly from the loss of her father and her parents, slowly came to her senses and also began to take on small jobs.
One day, when Idan was at work, the leader of their group approached him and asked,
"Idan, you're not 20 years old, are you?"
"I'm 18," Idan replied.
"Okay, then follow me," the leader of their group said, and along the way he found several more young people who were under 20 but over 16 years old.
They were all brought to a place that had been an open, clean area yesterday, but was now filled with military personnel and tents. The young people, including Idan, were a little scared.
That day, almost all the young people from the city were gathered in this place. There were so many of them that Idan couldn't even meet his older sister, Irene, who was also less than 20 years old.
As Dr. Simon said on the TV show, Idan was injected with the serum and asked to wait 10 minutes. After that, they checked him with some strange device and, shaking his head, sent him home.
Idan, like many other young people, did not yet know what was going on.
That evening, his older sister, Irene, did not return home.
Idan's mother was on the verge of breaking down with anxiety and was about to go in search when there was a knock on the door of their small room.
Idan, already agitated, quickly opened the door. A young man in a military uniform stood in front of him. He greeted Idan and asked for his name and his mother's name. After hearing the answers, the soldier handed him an envelope with a letter and said:
— Congratulations! Your sister has been elected, and from now on she will be transferred to the capital of the United Federation as a valuable asset!
That day, Idan and his mother were left alone in this small room, full of confusion and perplexity.
The envelope that the military man brought contained a letter written by Idan's sister for him and their mother. In the letter, she asked not to worry about her and asked Idan to take care of their mother. She promised that she would come back soon after completing her studies and help them.
"Over the past year, electricity and communication between them have been restored in almost all cities. Some of them already have a global network and television. And now our program is being watched not only in the capital of the Federation, but also in other cities," another reporter on another channel said enthusiastically.
"At the moment, we are in one of the cities of the Federation, located far from the capital. As you can see, we are broadcasting live," the reporter continued, pointing at the restored city behind her.
Idan immediately noticed the huge building in the center of the city. On the roof of this majestic structure there were three screens in the shape of a triangle, arranged so that they could be seen from any corner of the city.
At that moment, a countdown was running on the screens, showing that there were less than nine years left before the deadline.
At one time, Idan witnessed how three huge screens were installed in one of the largest buildings in the city, where he lived with his mother after his sister's departure.
"Have you noticed the huge building behind me?" — the reporter addressed the audience. After a short pause, she continued:
"There are such buildings in almost all cities, and all three screens display the same countdown. As you can see, there are less than nine years left now." When she said the last word, her voice became serious.
"Yes, you all should already be aware that a month after the disaster, the world experienced the so—called "Blackout Day", the day when we all lost consciousness," Idan heard about the "Blackout Day" for the second time in a few minutes, but from another reporter.
"That day, several people received a revelation. They learned about the ten disasters, the awakening serum, and the end of the world that awaits our world during the tenth disaster, exactly ten years from now."
Idan perfectly remembered the day when he was working at his job, a siren sounded throughout the city where he lived then, which alerted all residents.
This day became the day when these screens, installed on the roof of the largest building, shone with white light and started working.
And it happened not only in the city where Idan lived then, but in all the cities of mankind.
It was the day when it was announced to all mankind that the end of the world was less than 10 years away.