Ace Crown stepped on the gas, speeding his way out of the city. He pursed his lips, focusing his gaze on the road ahead. His mind was filled with thoughts about Hannah, his girlfriend, and soon-to-be fiance.Earlier that day, Ace went to pick up the engagement ring he had ordered to propose to his girlfriend, but suddenly, a huge explosion broke the bustling rhythm, sending shockwaves throughout the city. A blinding light flashed for a minute before it was replaced with thick and dark smoke.Buildings crumbled one after another like sandcastles, and a thick dark smoke spread through the air, turning the day into night with the darkened sky. People reacted by instinct, running through different directions to escape, terror and confusion painted on their faces.It didn’t take another minute for everything to fall into ruins. Debris and abandoned vehicles were scattered on the once-lively street. Amidst the madness, screams for help and death throes could be heard. Nobody was prepared for

“Dan, he’s probably not around here. Look at his clueless face. He must have thought he could get supplies from this supermarket,” the shortest guy among the three said, he took out his knife and licked it while looking at Ace.“I want to rip off that annoying face. I dislike good-looking rats,” he added and glared.Another guy with a tiger tattoo on his arm patted the shorty’s head. “Calm down, Simon. Once we get rid of him, I’ll carve out his face and make a mask out of it. You can have the mask if you want,” he told Simon and grinned.“They’re out of their minds,” Ace whispered, holding the strap of his backpack tightly. He examined the tattoo on the guy’s arm, trying to remember where he saw it.“Enough. You’re making me lose my appetite with that poor imagination of yours, Greg. His build isn’t that bad. We could use him as our errand boy. The boss will be happy to have a useful slave,” Dan, the biggest among the three, said.Ace pressed his lips when the men gave him a nasty look

“Hey! Where are you going?”Ace didn’t reply after dragging the teens out of the car. He wondered how they’d react when they found out that he was going to leave them for real.“You should start praying that your phone still has a battery and signal to contact your family before the zombies come to get you,” Ace said and went back to the driver’s seat.The girls placed their hands on their waists, screaming profanities in different languages.“I suggest you save that energy to call for help instead of yelling at me,” he told them before driving, only to step on the break when the boys blocked the road with their arms spread.“Damn it! Do you want to die so badly?” Ace screamed through the window. “Get out of my way or I’ll bump you for real,” he threatened, but none of the boys seemed to take his words seriously.They even laughed together, thinking that Ace wouldn’t do it.“Let us in and we’ll forgive you for trying to abandon us,” one of the boys said and the others agreed. “My fathe

“A child?” Ace blinked twice when he heard a child’s voice. He thought it was a zombie but the zombies he encountered weren’t talking at all.He stopped the car and watched as the figure ran in his direction. “How come there’s a child in the field with zombies? I should have noticed him earlier when we were taking a break and waiting for the helicopter,” Ace mumbled and sighed.He got out of the car to check what it truly was. He started to sweat coldly when he thought of what he was going to do if the child was indeed a zombie.“Hey! What’s your name?” Ace asked as he slowly approached the small figure that stumbled on the ground. He couldn’t help but frown when he heard a soft groan from the child.Ace didn’t waste any time and helped the child get up. He could just kill him if it was a zombie, but if it was a human child, he’d be swallowed by guilt if he didn’t do anything but watch him roll on the ground.“Hungry…” the child mumbled when Ace held him up.“Are you hurt?” he asked th

“I didn’t know you'd bring me a grandkid when you returned. I’m glad to live until today to see that beautiful child.”Ace groaned. “Mom, Nicola isn’t my child. She’s a girl I found on my way here,” he said, wiping the gun his father gave him. “She’s the only survivor of their town. I’m not sure if others survived aside from her but I saw the town burning earlier,” Ace explained.“What is going on? We felt an earthquake in the morning. It was too strong then a few hours later, those things appeared,” Jonas, Ace’s father said. He felt better after Nicola’s ability healed his wound.Ace stopped what he was doing. “I’m not sure. But after that huge explosion, the world has suddenly become like this. The situation here is better than in the city. I was there when everything was ruined,” he mumbled, clenching his jaw.Eula, Ace’s mother, rubbed his back. “I’m glad you made it home safely, Ace. We wouldn’t know what to do if something happened to you,” she said, hugging her son.Ace gently p