Thomas and Bryan check every floor from fourteen down to the ground level, not once but twice, to make sure the building is empty. What they fail to check is the fifteenth-floor cafeteria. They do not expect anyone to be there on a day when the company is giving free lunch outside.
Now, someone is standing at the counter.
Thomas steps closer and reads the name tag on her chef uniform. Iris. He does not know her name until now, but he knows her. She is the one who cooked the dish that first triggered his bangungot. His end of the world vision.
Thomas's bangungot cannot be triggered willfully. It only happens after he eats something really good. But not every good dish triggers it. He has tried to figure it out for years, from his younger years until now. Even when he eats the same food again on another day, nothing happens. He still does not know the pattern.
"Why are you still here? Do you not know there is a company lunch?" Thomas asks, voice tight.
"I… I…" Iris looks down, searching for words.
Thomas gives Bryan a quick look. He grips the pushcart handle, and they move straight to the supply area.
In Thomas's dream, the supply room causes the second big explosion in the cafeteria, so they start there.
Iris steps forward like she wants to stop them, but she sees the key in Thomas's hand and freezes.
Thomas unlocks the door, and they move fast. They sweep the shelves for flammable cleaning chemicals and drop the bottles into heavy garbage bags, then haul the bags onto the cart. Under a low shelf they find small propane tanks and set them on the lower rack, and they grab the cooking sprays and clear every corner. Thomas scans the top shelves while Bryan checks the floor and the back wall, and when nothing flammable is left, Thomas locks the door again.
"Go," Thomas says, and Bryan pushes the cart.
Thomas heads for the kitchen, then doubles back, frowning like he is missing a step. "Where is the main gas valve?" he asks Iris.
"In the kitchen, next to the wall pipe," she says, and she walks with him and points at a lever handle painted red.
The building uses city gas, so Thomas cannot just pull a hose and hope for the best. He closes the red valve and listens, and when he hears no hiss, he unhooks the stove hose and sets it aside.
Thomas steps out of the kitchen and Iris follows him to the counter. "You should not be staying here," he says, motioning toward the exit.
He remembers the ceiling collapsing on her. In his dream, beams and panels pin her to the floor, eyes closed and dust in the air. He does not plan to let that scene happen here.
Phones buzz at the same time. Thomas, Bryan, and Iris check their screens.
Emergency Alert
Possible meteor fall detected near your area.
Impact Zone: Valor City, District 4
Estimated time: 45 minutes
Stay indoors. Avoid windows. Await official updates.
Dial 911 only for critical help.
- NDMA
"We have no more time. Let's go," Thomas says, voice tight.
Iris does not argue. She falls in behind them.
They step out of the cafeteria and the fire alarm hits her ears hard. She flinches and covers one ear. With the alert on her phone, the alarm, and the way these two are moving, she understands now that something big is happening.
"Where should we put this?" Bryan asks, still dragging the cart.
"In that the corner. As long as it is outside the cafeteria, it should be fine," Thomas says. They park the cart tight against the wall and set the wheels.
"We are going to the ground floor, right? Should we use the elevator now?" Bryan asks.
"No. Let us use the stairs," Thomas answers after a beat.
He remembers the dream. Someone is on the stairs going up. If that security guard is still here, he might follow the same pattern.
Thomas grips the door handle. He looks at Bryan, then at Iris. "Stay close," he says, and pulls the door open.
They go down the stairs, fourteenth, thirteenth, twelfth. Footsteps echo in the empty shaft.
At the seventh floor they slow. A guard is on the stairs, coming up toward them.
Nevin, the name tag says.
"Have you checked each floor going up here?" Thomas asks.
"Yes, sir. All floors are empty," Nevin says.
He straightens when he sees them. Young, eyes bright, radio on his vest. He studies Thomas for a second and clearly recognizes him. Nevin remembers the company-wide email about the free lunch, even to security and cleaning staff, and Thomas's face passed around in their group chats with notes that he is the grandson of a major shareholder. Nevin is new, still on training, and eager to make a good impression.
"Good. Let's go down. There is no one upstairs. We came from the fifteenth floor," Thomas says.
Nevin nods. He was told to check only up to fifteen because the top five floors are for executives. Most are out on trips today, and the two who remained, along with the department heads, are at the restaurant, so those floors are empty.
They move together and reach the ground floor. Thomas leads them into the control room. Two men sit by the monitors and a third stands at the panel.
"Guys, you can have your lunch. The building needs to be evacuated," Thomas says, meeting each of their eyes.
They hesitate, eyes flicking from Iris to Thomas, but recognition settles it and chairs scrape back as they stand.
Before they can speak, Thomas slides a key into the panel, turns it, and presses the red button.
OOOOAAAHHH… OOOOAAAHHH…
A deeper alarm rolls through the building.
One of the men lifts the radio. "Attention security, code black. Leave the building. Repeat, code black."
Code black means everyone leaves, even security.
They look like they want to stay and escort the group, but Thomas points to Nevin. "We will be right behind you. He is with us."
"Copy," the man says, and they head out.
"We need to shut off the building," Thomas says.
"You mean the anti-theft system?" Nevin asks, leaning closer to the panel.
"Yes. You know how to trigger it?" Thomas replies.
"Yes… but…" Nevin trails off, still unsure what is going on, curiosity all over his face.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
The floor shakes under their feet. Sirens wail across the city, not just inside their building.
Thomas unlocks his phone and opens the news stream.
"Eagle Nation has launched a nuclear missile. It is heading directly toward the center of the meteor cluster."
The anchor presses a hand to her earpiece, eyes wide.
"I repeat, a nuclear missile has been launched by Eagle Nation. Officials are calling it the last resort, our final chance to stop the remaining meteors before impact."
Thomas stares at the screen and remembers the order in his vision. Before the nuclear strike, their country fires ICBMs and surface missiles at the falling meteors. The booms they hear now match that phase. And in the vision, the nuclear bomb does not work.
"Do it," Thomas says.
Nevin steps to the panel, enters the code, and triggers the building's anti-theft protocol.
The lights flicker once, then turn red. A low hum runs through the walls as the system comes online.
Steel shutters drop over the doors and windows with a heavy clang. Magnetic locks seal shut. The elevators freeze and go dark. Full lockdown.
They check the CCTV. The guards who were outside earlier are gone. The plaza shows people running and emergency lights flashing.
"I have the keys to the emergency exit," Thomas says. "If you want to get out, tell me."
Nevin and Iris do not move. Iris folds her arms and steps closer. Nevin nods once.
They have decided. Thomas and Bryan look like they know what they are doing, and it feels safer to stay with them than to step into the chaos outside.
"KABOOM!"
The sound rolls through the city a minute later. The floor trembles. Somewhere far off, a bright bloom fades into thick smoke on the news feed.
Thomas stares. He already knows what comes next. The nuclear strike will not stop the meteors.
"BLAGGGG!"
The building shakes harder. Iris grabs a chair. Nevin braces on the panel. Bryan grips the back of a chair until his knuckles turn white.
"This just in. Meteors are falling from the sky… many of these fragments are now falling toward populated areas."
The words land heavy. No one speaks for a heartbeat.
"What is happening?" Iris asks. They all watch the screen, but it still feels unreal.
"Are we hit? Did a meteor hit our building?" Bryan asks Thomas.
"Yes. The top floors are gone," Thomas says. His voice is flat. His eyes do not leave the screen.
"Authorities are urging everyone to seek immediate shelter," the anchor says.
The office keeps vibrating, a steady shiver in the walls, but the structure holds. Steel shutters stay locked. Red lights glow over the doors. The control room hums.
"After this is the cafeteria explosion," Thomas murmurs. He closes his eyes for a second, pulling up the order of events from his dream. "It should be now."
Minutes crawl by. The shaking eases. Nothing blows. No fire. No smoke.
Whatever they did earlier worked.
Hours pass. The sirens outside fade in and out. The news shifts from live strikes to aftermath. Maps. Impact zones. Fire crews. Broken streets.
Nevin clears his throat. "Are we going out now?" He looks to Thomas and waits. In his head, the choice is already made. He will follow this man. Thomas just saved him, and he cannot imagine what might have happened if he were outside in the chaos.
But he does not expect Thomas's answer. Iris doesn't either.
"No. We are staying. This will be our base," Thomas says.