Brian entered his parents’ bedroom and opened the closet.
There it was, a black box sitting exactly where his mother had said.
He wasn’t surprised, really.
He’d actually found it within days of waking up in this body.
Every guy had fantasized about holding a real gun at some point, and he was no exception.
He’d never even touched one in his past life.
So whenever he had free time after school, he’d been watching tutorials online, learning how to handle firearms.
He assembled the pistol with practiced ease.
Given America’s gun laws and the current outbreak situation, he knew he’d need it sooner or later.
Back in his room, the TV was still on, its glow illuminating the dark space.
The channel had switched to a news broadcast.
A female reporter stood outside a quarantine barrier, flames roaring behind her in a residential neighborhood.
“What we initially reported as a riot appears to be connected to the nationwide epidemic,” she said into the camera.
“Sources indicate that infected individuals are displaying increasingly violent tendencies…” Before she could continue, a SWAT officer ran up behind her and shouted to three other officers inside the barrier.
“Everyone get out of here now!
There’s a gas leak!” The reporter spun around, ready to relay this new development to her audience.
But the officer turned back, pointed at the camera, and sprinted toward her, yanking the barrier aside.
“Ma’am, you need to move, now!” BOOM!
The officer’s warning was cut short by a massive explosion.
White light flashed across the screen.
The feed went dead, replaced by static.
At that same instant, a deafening boom echoed from outside Brian’s window.
A column of crimson flame shot into the night sky, briefly illuminating the darkness.
“Holy shit!” Brian stared at the screen, then at the glow outside.
His mind raced.
This whole situation felt way too familiar.
It was like every zombie movie and survival game he’d ever seen.
He’d landed in some kind of nightmare world.
“Just my luck.” He didn’t waste another second.
He grabbed a backpack from his closet and rushed downstairs.
Outside, dogs were barking incessantly.
Police cars screamed past, their sirens wailing.
It felt like the apocalypse was starting right now.
Ignoring the chaos outside, Brian hurried to the kitchen and threw open the fridge.
Canned food, some vegetables.
He stuffed everything into his backpack without thinking twice.
Then he ran to the storage room.
On the wall hung a display case with a hunting knife inside.
His father’s prized collection piece, supposedly worth a fortune.
Brian grabbed a glass ashtray from the table and smashed the case without hesitation.
He pulled out the knife and examined it.
In an apocalypse, food and weapons were all that mattered.
Howl—!
The constant barking outside suddenly stopped.
A moment later, it turned into agonized yelps.
Brian’s blood ran cold.
The sound wasn’t far away.
“Sarah’s house!” He abandoned his scavenging on the spot.
Slinging the backpack over his shoulders, he grabbed a flashlight with his left hand and the pistol with his right.
He shoved open the sliding door and ran into the yard.
He hadn’t known Sarah long, but she was a friend.
He had to warn her.
“Cooper, stop!
Get back here!” “Damn it…
THUD!” As soon as he stepped into his own yard, Brian heard shouting from Sarah’s backyard next door.
Then a heavy impact, like something slamming into the ground.
“What the hell?” He didn’t know what was happening, but he knew something was wrong.
He planted one foot on the flower bed and vaulted over the low fence.
What he saw froze him in place.
Two wooden planks on the other side of the fence were broken.
Cooper, Sarah’s neighbor, was pinning Joel to the ground.
Cooper’s eyes were bloodshot, his mouth wide open, teeth bared as if trying to tear into the man beneath him.
Joel had his hands locked around Cooper’s throat, barely holding him back.
He’d been seconds from death.
Then he spotted Brian frozen at the fence line, and hope flickered in his eyes.
He shoved upward with all his strength and roared at the stunned boy.
“He’s lost his mind!
What are you standing there for?
Get him off me!” “Right…
okay…” Brian snapped out of it.
His hands were shaking.
He had a gun and a knife, but he’d never killed anyone.
He couldn’t bring himself to pull the trigger.
Instead, he grabbed a flower pot and smashed it over Cooper’s head.
CRASH!
Dirt and ceramic shards scattered everywhere.
The blow stunned Cooper.
His biting attack faltered, and he clutched his head in pain.
Joel seized the moment.
He grabbed a crowbar that had fallen beside him and swung upward with all his strength, sending Cooper crashing to the ground.
Then he was on his feet.
He planted a boot on Cooper’s chest and raised the crowbar.
One strike.
Two.
Three.
Blood splattered across Joel’s face and clothes.
He kept swinging like a man possessed, long after Cooper had stopped moving.
Finally, he lowered the crowbar, staring at the corpse in disbelief.
He couldn’t believe what he’d just done.
Bleck— The violence was too much for Brian.
He’d seen scenes like this in movies and games, but the real thing was a thousand times worse.
He staggered to the corner and vomited.
Aaahhh—!
Before Joel could react or Brian could recover, a mangled head pushed through the broken fence boards.
The thing was snarling, thrashing, trying to squeeze into the yard.
“Jimmy?” Both of them recognized the infected neighbor.
It was Cooper’s roommate, Jimmy.
“Move!
Get inside!” Joel was the first to react.
He shouted at Brian and bolted toward his house.
Brian didn’t need to be told twice.
He ran right behind Joel, stumbling through the sliding door.
“Dad?” “Brian?” Sarah stood a few feet away, looking lost and terrified.
Once everyone was inside, Joel slammed the glass door shut.
He rushed to a side table and pulled a box from the drawer, assembling another firearm with practiced speed.
“Get Sarah back from the door, now!” he shouted at Brian.
“Dad, you’re scaring me!
What’s happening?” Sarah had never seen her father like this.
Her voice shook.
“Sarah, we need to move.
I’ll explain later.” Brian could see how frightened she was.
He wanted to tell her everything, but he remembered Jimmy still stuck on the fence.
They didn’t have time.
He grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the front door.
“Why—” BANG!
She barely got the word out when something slammed into the glass door behind them.
BANG!
Another impact, this time from the front door.
Brian had expected Jimmy at the back.
The front door was a complete surprise.
Being caught between two sides was a nightmare.
Joel had his gun trained on the back door.
Brian took a deep breath, stepped in front of Sarah, and aimed his pistol at the front entrance.
Without a word, they’d placed themselves between the girl and the monsters on both sides.
“Steady.
Steady.” His hands were shaking.
He’d been a regular office worker in his past life.
He’d never lived through anything like this.
But he knew that fear meant death.
If he couldn’t find courage, he wouldn’t survive.
So he swallowed his terror and forced himself to stand firm.
Aaaaahhh—!
The glass door shattered behind them.
At the same moment, the front door burst open.
An infected figure stumbled into the room.
It let out a piercing shriek and lunged straight at them.
Brian stared at the snarling, bloodied face rushing toward him.
And then something strange happened.
The fear vanished.
A surge of energy flooded his body.
His pupils contracted.
His trembling limbs steadied.
He raised his pistol, the barrel aimed directly at the creature’s head, and roared with everything he had.
“JUST DIE!” BANG!