Chapter 3

• I was halfway through reinforcing the front door with a chair when the first siren hit.
• I froze, chair in hand, the sound vibrating in my room.
• The second siren joined it a heartbeat later.
• Then the screaming started.
• It was not far off, maybe two streets over.
• The system’s voice echoed into my head:
• > Mission Update: Preparations Begin — conditions escalating.
• New Objective: Reach safehouse location before 6:00 p.m.
• Reward: +100 SP.
• Failure: -10 Endurance (Temporary, 14 days).
• “Too soon,” I muttered, but my hands were already moving. I stuffed the rest of my supplies into my pack, slung it over my shoulder, and grabbed the bat.
• From the window, I could see people running. Cars swerved, honked, smashed into each other.
• It had begun.
• I bolted down the stairs, skipping steps. Outside, chaos was spreading. People shouted to each other, shoving, and sprinting.
• Then I saw him. The old man from the corner store.
• He was stumbling into the middle of the street, coughing a wet cough, but now his skin was pale almost gray, veins bulging black under the surface. His eyes darted around like he didn’t recognize anything. He was infected.
• A woman rushed to him. “Sir, are you—”
• He lunged at her.
• The sound of teeth sinking into her neck was wet and sharp. She screamed once before the blood poured down her shirt.
• My grip on the bat tightened.
• The infected old man whipped his head toward me, mouth slick with red, and charged.
• Immediately, I swung.
• The crack of wood against bone vibrated through my arms. He hit the ground, twitching, but it wasn’t enough. I swung again, and again, until the twitching stopped.
• The street had gone still. People stared…not just at the body, but at me.
• A man yelled, “He just killed him!”
• I wanted to scream back, No, I saved you, you idiots! but there was no time.
• The woman he’d bitten was on her knees, shaking, blood soaking her shirt.
• She looked up at me, eyes wide and glassy. “Help me.”
• I knew the truth. In a few hours, maybe less, she’d be gone… and then she’d be just like him.
• Her son, who couldn’t have been older than six, was clinging to her arm, crying so hard he could barely breathe.
• “Mom, please…”
• It was like looking at a ghost. I remembered Yara’s voice, her scream, her hand slipping from mine in the swarm.
• I couldn’t let it happen again.
• I dropped to my knees, grabbing the kid’s shoulder. “Come with me.”
• The woman’s grip on him tightened. “No..
• I’m not leaving him…”
• “You’re not going to make it,” I said, and the words burned in my throat. “If you love him, you’ll let me get him out of here.”
• The boy clung to her harder. “No!”
• The system chimed:
• > New Mission: Protect the woman and child until you reach the safehouse.
• Reward: +200 SP, +3 MP.
• Failure: Permanent loss of mission targets.
• I cursed under my breath.
• Two people: one wounded, and one kid. This was how people died early in the outbreak. They slowed down, made noise, and drew attention.
• But I couldn’t walk away since the system had given me a new mission.
• I slid my bat under one arm, and hooked the woman’s free arm over my shoulder. “We move now.”
• She tried to protest, but the sound behind us cut her short.
• Moans. There were lots of them.
• The street filled with shapes, stumbling, limping, dragging themselves forward. Some ran, others crawled and their eyes glowed faintly in the dim light.
• I pulled the woman and boy into a narrow alley, pushing them behind a dumpster. “Stay here. Don’t make a sound.”
• The system flashed in my vision again:
• > Build Trap Barrier.
• >Reward: 5SP
• I scanned the alley. There was a stack of broken pallets, some loose nails, and an empty glass bottle.
• Perfect.
• It took less than a minute to rig a tripwire. If anything came down this alley, the bottle would clink and I’d have time to swing first.
• I crouched beside them. The boy was trembling so hard I could hear his teeth chatter.
• “What’s your name, kid?” I whispered.
• He looked at me. “…Eli.”
• “Okay, Eli. I’m Jaze. You’re gonna be fine. You hear me?”
• He nodded.
• The woman’s voice was shaky. “Why are you helping us?”
• “Because someone helped me once,” I said, though in my head I added, and I failed them anyway.
• The tripwire clinked.
• I was on my feet before the sound finished.
• Three of the zombies rounded the corner. Fresh infected, their skin still had some color.
• I didn’t wait for them to get closer. The first swing took the leader in the temple. The second caved in another’s face. The third got close enough to grab my jacket before I smashed its jaw sideways.
• The alley stank of blood and rot.
• The woman stared at me like I was something she couldn’t decide to fear or trust.
• “We can’t stay here,” I said. “Safehouse is six blocks. We move, now.”
• She nodded weakly.
• I kept Eli between us, one hand gripping his shoulder, the other on the bat.
• Every street was worse than the last. Cars crashed into poles. People ran, screamed, fell. Sometimes they got up again. Sometimes they didn’t.
• By the time the safehouse came into view… an old fire station with reinforced doors and narrow windows, my arms were shaking from swinging the bat so many times.
• The station’s heavy front door opened just enough for a figure to step out.
• He was tall, lean, crossbow slung over one shoulder.
• “Need help?” he asked, voice calm like the chaos around him was nothing.
• “Who are you?”
• “Name’s Ash. Why are you here?”
• I looked at the woman and kid. “They won’t make it. I need help.”
• The moans behind us grew louder and I could still see his hesitation.
• “Fine,” he said. “But no screw-ups.”
• We pushed forward together.
• When the safehouse door slammed shut behind us, I exhaled with relief.
• Eli buried his face in his mother’s shirt and she cried quietly into his hair.
• The system’s voice slid in, almost smug:
• > Mission Complete: Protect the woman and child.
• Reward: +200 SP, +3 MP.