2023-02-25 11:31:22Wind breezed past from the half opened window of Amy’s second-hand car. Wade’s smoke dispersed right away, leaving no air pollution in the back seat. Seth’s entire body was rigid with dreaded expectation.
[Welcome to the end of the world.]
Still appeared on his screen. Typed in simple font with futuristic blue background. The clock ticked, but nothing extraordinary happened.
Seth didn’t know how to feel about this. Amy’s anticipation of an epic mad story to tell could be dwindling any second now. However, trepidation soon washed over him as police sirens sounded from the road ahead, casting red and blue lights amongst the bottleneck of cars.
Dong!
[Failed to send Love is Everything! Survival Kit due to unexpected increase of activity in the System's database.]
[The System will try again within 48 hours with a bonus package.]
Huffing in displeasure, Seth pocketed his phone again.
Wade turned to face him, scrutinising his pale face and bloody clothes. “Dude, you’re the runaway killer, aren’t you?”
He should at least change. “Give me your hoodie.”
The chainsmoker scoffed. “My hoodie isn’t gonna change your face.” And he smiled. “But, this will do.”
“Argh!”
A punch landed on his nose. Again, not even twenty four hours since the one from his ex, Sarah, last afternoon.
“The fuck you do!”
“For your own good, man.” Wade shrugged. “Unless, this is what you want to tell me? Is this it?”
Amy looked at her cousin. “Just wait and see.”
Twenty minutes of hellish queue later, two police came up and knocked on Amy’s window. The one with a heavy beard asked, “Where are you heading, miss?”
The sandy blonde answered in a bubbly tone. “Cold Spring. Just visiting our grandma, camping a little on the weekend.” She said without any discussion.
The other police, one with far too much muscle mass for his height, inquired after. “Who are you going with?”
“My cousins.”
“Name?”
“Amy Palmer,” the sandy blonde pointed with manicured fingers. “This is Wade, Howard, and the little one, Marnie.”
At least, she didn’t call out Seth’s first name. He closed his eyes, then buried himself in Marnie’s furry, pink blanket to cover his bloody clothes. Feigning asleep, he closed his eyes against the police’s torch.
“What’s wrong with his face?” The bearded uni gestured to Seth’s bruised nose, now stuffed up with tissue.
“The kid got into a fight in school with her bully. Holden doesn’t like it, so he went to the bully’s home and started a fight with her father. You know how it goes.” The police officers probably didn’t believe that, so she added, “You should see the other guy.”
The muscled police pulled up his phone, showing a picture taken a few hours ago. “Have you seen this guy?”
“No,” Amy lightly replied. “What’s with him?”
“Seth Holden is a suspect for the Heatz café accident.”
Oh, he’s a suspect now? Seth obviously did not mind being called a suspect. But they surely did not treat him as such.
“Too bad, we don’t know him.”
The police nodded, about to move out to the car behind them. However, the bearded one stalled. “What’s the kid’s name again?”
“Marnie.” Amy said, meeting the police’s gaze with ease. She didn’t expect his next question.
“You mean Marnie Witherspoon?”
“I don’t–“
“Aaaaaargh!”
“Help!”
“Get away from him!”
Commotion broke from the car behind them. The police hurried to reach there, leaving Seth and the others free from their scrutiny.
“What’s that?” Amy peered from her seat, turning her back to get a clear look of what happened behind.
Seth pulled off the blanket, catching someone running from a cab with a gash on her forehead. Tailing on her heels was a man with a strange expression. Mouth wide opened and hands flailed by his side, he scrambled like a drunken man on a sprint.
“Help!”
The woman threw herself to the police. The muscled uni took out his gun, pointing it at the stumbling weird man. “Stop right there and put your hands up!”
Dong!
Seth took his phone at the notification tone, seeing what was displayed on the screen.
[1infectore in 30 feet radius detected.]
“Infectore?” Seth narrowed his eyes. Could it be the term for that stumbling, drunk man who mindlessly chased after the woman?
Things instantly escalated when the drunk man refused to cease his movement and bit the muscled police.
“Shit, man! Did you see that?” Wade laughed as he watched the police try to get the drunk man’s teeth away from him.
[2 infectores in a 30 feet radius detected.]
Seth frowned at the update. Looking out behind the sandy blonde’s car, he was startled that the woman with gashed forehead was behaving similarly to the drunken man. She stumbled on her feet and bit the bearded police officer's arm.
“Let go of my–“
“Gggrraaaah!”
“Jesus! What’s wrong with you two?”
“This is an assault on a police officer. We can charge you for felo– stop!“
Chaos ensued.
And seconds later, another notification sounded from his phone.
Dong!
[4 infectores in a 30 feet radius detected.]
Seth’s eyes widened. Now he was sure of it. “Fuck me sideways. Don’t tell me they're goddamn zombies.”
“Shit, I don’t believe this is happening to me!” Amy commented from the driving seat. Without any more words, she stepped on the gas pedal and left the premises. Better be safe than waiting out for their curiosity to subside.
“Slow down, Am! I lost my roll because of you,” Wade chided from her right, looking back from his open window with longing.
“Not the time for your roll, Wade! You can ask Seth for it later.”
Seth, given a stern and somehow pleading stare by Wade, shook his head adamantly. “I don’t have any.”
“Don’t expect any help from me before you give one to me.”
He shook his head at the nonsensical chain smoker. There could be something frighteningly similar to zombies and Wade demanded a cigarette from him.
“Watch out!”
Someone was standing still right in the middle of the road. Amy stomped on the brake. Seth almost planted his face on the driver’s seat. Alas, he wasn’t the best brother in the world. Marnie’s sleeping form lurched from the seat, causing her to fall down and hit her head.
“Owie …” She cried. Bullet tears rolled down her cheeks as she clutched her head, but Seth had bigger priority in mind.
Instead of moving out of the way, the man leaped at the car’s hood, clawing at the windshield. His mouth was wide open, excreting copious amounts of greenish droll and showing his murky yellow teeth. A crazed look in his eyes. “Ggrrraaaah! Ghhooorrggh!”
Dong!
[1 infectore in 30 feet radius detected.]
It’s a fucking zombie.
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100 Systems Invasion 8. Eliminated
In one minute, Seth could make a precise paper crane, or a miniature simple dragon. A good pastime when he skipped class to laze on the school’s rooftop, while having his phone confiscated by his teacher. In one minute, Seth could inhale a bowl of instant noodles. Given he had nothing to eat since morning, and this was the spiceless, discounted cup noodle from the asian store around the block. In one minute, Seth could die if they did nothing but scream around in panic while an honest-to-God zombie tried to break the windshield of the car they were in. A crack and several claw marks soon appeared, leaving the passengers frantically trying to get away from it. An impossible task, in his opinion, considering Amy was too stricken in horror to reverse the car – or just drive really fast forward to throw the zombie off balance. Meanwhile, Wade was no better. He tried to open the door, but it wouldn’t budge. The safety lock was in, getting out of the car was not an option. Unless Amy cou
100 Systems Invasion 9. Some Hero Wanna-be
Inside a speeding second-hand car with a faded blue paint job, there were four – three humans and one infectore-wannabe, to be precise."Fuck!" Wade cursed as he read the words displayed on Seth's phone. "I don't want to be a fucking zombie!"The chain smoker's frustrated scream was mirrored by Marnie's wailing cries. Seth gritted his teeth, knuckles turning white from the too-tight grip on the steering wheel. H dreaded the hardship of staying alive for the next three months with burdens like this."Is there a way to cure him?" Amy asked from the back seat as if his phone was Siri or something. She expected an answer, her knitted brows gave it away. But Seth was pretty sure the System in his phone was as advanced as the Explorer. "Hey, can you make the kid shut up?"Seth sent an irritated look through the rearview mirror. "Do you really have to ask me?""She's your sister.""She's not.""She is–""Just toss her out then."Amy gapped at him. Wade pulled the same expression, and Seth sc
100 Systems Invasion 10. Not A Glory Hole!
Seth almost missed a turn as he stared in surprise at the strange happening near him. “Where did this space vagina come from?!”“Your phone did it,” Amy reeled away from it, clutching it in her knuckle-white hands. “Please tell me there won’t be aliens coming from the other side to lay eggs in me. Oh God, oh God, I’m sorry for reading porn and becoming addicted to strange sexual fanta–”“I really don’t need to hear about that on my last day of breathing.” Wade grumbled, already in the fifth stage of grief, accepting his near demise.But Amy was the most optimistic among them. At least when it concerned Wade. “You’ll live.”That could also be because she had already bought three more hours for her cousin. It completely escaped her mind that she practically cost Seth almost all of his balance. It wasn’t like he’d make a fuss about it.Right?[Please withdraw your 2 bottles of Ethazal Prevection now.][The Goury Hole will disappear at the thirty seconds mark.]Reading that, Amy gingerly
100 Systems Invasion 11. Monster in the Trunk
Seth’s phone in his hand lit up in a familiar futuristic blue.Dong![1 infectore detected within 30 feet radius.]It was typed in a simple font. Nothing fancy about it. However, the news it brought could have been more useful.Seth looked up, turning his head to the one on the passenger seat. The chain smoker was still drooling, staring at him with uncoordinated eyes. His hands folded awkwardly, trying to free himself from the seatbelt with clumsy fingers. Wade was no more.Curling his fist, Seth prepared himself to punch the hell out of the newly-turned infectore.“Help him!” Amy yelled in his ear, stopping his good intention of bravely fighting a zombie-like man.It was a good thing that he already pulled over on the side of the road, stopping the car for the time being. Of course, they needed to get out of the city as fast as they could, but they couldn’t do shit if they were dead from collidi
100 Systems Invasion 12. What Trap?
Seth tightened his long fingers around the steering wheel of Amy’s second-hand car and breathed deeply through his nose.Baby Shark, doo-doo, doo-doo-doo-dooBaby Shark, doo-doo, doo-doo-doo-dooBaby Shark, doo-doo, doo-doo-doo-dooBaby SharkHe would have closed his eyes and banged his head against the wheel just to make the song end, but that would mean he had to sport a bump on his handsome forehead. Not that anyone agreed to it, but he was particularly confident that he was, at least, handsome enough to get a girlfriend.Ex, now. Sarah Dickson was nothing but a former lover. Hopefully, she was turned into an infectore, so he had a reason to kill – maim her. He wanted to get payback for that punch.There was no traffic, but the road was full of turns and hills. He had never visited Cold Spring, but he figured depending on the one and only maps he found in his phone was good enough. Hopefully, they didn’t go in the
100 Systems Invasion 13. Cheat Sheet
A vase of blue and purple flowers was on the table, complementing the pink tablecloth of the kitchen they were in. Besides that, only a little decoration was in sight.Unless, of course, Seth didn’t count the whiteboard displayed there.“Ah, that’s the mind map for my WIPs.” The Asian girl, who introduced herself as Izuka, said after noticing Seth’s odd look towards her prized possession. “I should have hide it first.”Seth looked critically, “Yes, maybe you should.” The sales girl kicked his shin under the table. “What? It looks like a murder plot to me.”Amy sent an apologetic face to Izuka, “I’m sorry. He’s very rude when he’s hungry.”“Understandable,” the Asian girl motioned towards the eggs and bacon she just brought from the pan. “I’m an aspiring author writing a fantasy sci-fi novel, you see. Being called freak is nothing
100 Systems Invasion 14. The Looming Death
Seth didn’t always spend time watching TV; he was more of an outdoor boy. He liked to play, pretending to be a hunter in the wild, flaunting his slingshot at everyone he passed.His late father had made it for him, saying he had to train with it first before he’d take Seth on a real hunt when he was in high school. Sadly, he passed away before that.After that, Seth spent his day lazying about. Sleeping late and waking up at noon. Then he plays a puzzle game on his phone or watches cat videos online.So, when Amy said, “It’s like we’re in a game where participants are given big money to spend on a limited time,” Seth didn’t know what she meant.All he knew was that the infection was spreading and the infectore could be anywhere close. They had to get their supplies and move fast.“Shit, what do you want? Fanta or Sprite?”Seth halted dumbfoundedly on his step. “Serious
100 Systems Invasion 15. Feeding Zombie-likes
Amy was back to driving her second-hand car, leaving Seth slumped on his passenger seat, looking out the window where green trees passed by. After hours of driving, they finally arrived at Cold Spring. They just have to find someplace to stay. It would be better if they found an empty building for themselves. “What was that?” He knew what the blonde meant, but nothing came to mind, so he merely shrugged his shoulders in answer. “She called you Jet Lynx,” she said again, repeating in case he needed clearance. “I know. I heard her.” Seth exhaled noisily, tapping the window glass with the back of his forefinger. “It just doesn’t make sense.” “Why don’t you ask your dear System?” Huffing again, Seth picked up his phone. It was uncharacteristically silent. However, given their remote location from the big cities, he figured this piece was only because there was no infectore in sight. Well, except for the one locked inside the trunk.
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79. Table Turned
The raid was a bust.The lieutenant didn't even wait until they were in the privacy of his office before chewing him like useless gum. He demanded, "What is this, Monroe?"Mark bit back the urge to say, 'What did I tell you about raiding it yesterday, Sir?' He waited quietly and avoided any eye contact from the many people in bulletproof vests with bold 'PPD' on their back, strapping their gun back into safety and rounding up their failed attempt. "Why did I spend three hours of driving to the middle of nowhere with a full squad to take down a drug lab and slavery den while there's nothing here?"Again, instead of pointing out that the raid should have been done as quickly as he had suggested, Mark waited."Tell me, Monroe, why are you even screwing up this bad after the rookie slip up with that fake journalist in the warehouse?"'This is not my fault,' he thought. "We are too late, Sir," he said."Too late? Are you saying I'm too slow to act?" Madsen retorted angrily. "Do you even k
78. Make a Move
"You're so annoying, do I have to remind you every hour?" Rhea grumbled from the passenger seat, watching the dark-haired man behind the steering wheel as the car drove itself to the hill house. "Old news," Lucian commented and then glared at her. "But I already said not to let him into this again."Of course. "Mikhal's right. You do sounds like a jealous secret boyfriend.""Ha. Ha." There was no humor behind that. "First, I am not your boyfriend, I'm your fiance. Second, you're the one keeping this a secret, not me."Rhea grinned, "You didn't deny the first one? Are you jealous?""So what?" She frowned but didn't say anything else. She still couldn't figure out why he was jealous of that tall coworker of hers. No matter how many times she asked him, Lucian wouldn't tell.'Or you just never believe his answer,' a small voice at the back of her head supplied helpfully. She brushed it off because it was total drivel. There was no way Lucian actually felt jealous just because he liked
77. Running for Life
She was not as reckless as Lucian sometimes said to her. But she was still new in this espionage thing, and Mikhal suddenly pushed her down to the ground. Her heart raced, pounding noisily along with the blood in her ears. Mikhal's tall figure was equally low by her side. Confidence may fool many people, but she had none of it right now. Especially not after a burly man in a tank top suddenly pointed his long firearm in her direction, right before she took another shot of the drug lab with her phone. Breathing quietly, they waited in suspenseful silence until the man turned his weapon away from their direction. Another man came out of the drug lab's door, probably exchanging words before both of them went inside again. Rhea exhaled in relief, shoulders slumping down as both Mikhal and her shared a look. They moved closer, trying to get more proof from the small window at the side of the building now known as the drug lab. Not only from the chemical glasses with some colored liquid
76. Into Hidden View
After four days of work, Rhea finally got her day off again. Mikhal texted her, 'Meet you at East Station in twenty.' Smiling to herself, Rhea texted back an affirmation. "So…" Liz glanced at her from behind the steering wheel, "If I may ask, where are you going, Miss Rhea?""Out," she merely said."Any specific place in mind?"Rhea locked her phone, "Not really."The bespectacled girl looked uncomfortable for a second before she asked again. "Do you have any companions?""Yes.""Oh. Who is that?"Rhea narrowed her eyes, not liking where the bespectacled girl was going with this. "Is this an interrogation?""No, of course, not." Liz hastily said, topping it with an awkward laugh that she tried to make it sound natural. "I'm sorry if it came out like that, Miss Rhea. I didn't mean to."She sighed, turning to the sturdy houses that came into view as they finally reached the town's area. "It's fine. Lucian ordered you to do that, right?" Liz stayed silent, so she'd take that as a yes.
75. Coping Mechanism
The cafeteria was full of cola and burgers. "Free dinner for everyone!" one of the senior staff called out as they entered it. Rhea grinned – almost jumped in excitement – as her favorite food was served in front of her for free. Emi, on the other hand, chimed in a loud voice, "We don't pay to eat here!"She stuffed her face with the burger. She sat surrounded by a white shirt and blue vest-wearing staff, finally having a nice break out of the craziness of the afternoon shift. "I can't believe I was so excited about it before."Emi smiled broadly, munching on her mouthful bite of burger. She looked funny. "Didn't I tell you that it's crazy?""Yes, but you carefully left out the fact that it is precisely like that oddball group all over again, except, it happens continuously. Marching in a group in the lobby, then shoving each other to get in the elevator. Why do we only have four elevators, anyway?""But it only happens in the afternoon. After that, it's pretty slow, isn't it?"Rhea h
74. Unwritten Law
Lucian had been at the scene of serious diplomacy once, ages ago as he was still ten, where his father was showing him how to negotiate with a foreign mafia boss from another country. Earl would sign an agreement of letting said mafia boss move into Livingard and give him a little territory on the border to set up whatever operation they had planned. Earl would get back his prized butler slash right-hand man safely in one piece in exchange. He was fond of that man, his favorite butler. A middle-aged friendly guy who had a penchant for cutting apples into beautiful figures and dragging Lucian out of bed before dawn for a morning run. So, hearing that his favorite butler would be back after missing – he was captivated by the foreign mafia after accidentally crashing his motorbike to the mafia's daughter on the road – for three days, Lucian was eager when his father wanted him to tag along. It was supposed to be a valuable learning experience for him.One of the foreign mafia subordinat
73. At Least We Try
'Let him be, don't talk to him, whatever, just ignore him.'She didn't even want to see him. But bottling her overflowing emotions? It was a ridiculous idea.Then a notification chimed in, breaking into her bubble of thought, pulling her from the suffocating underwater feeling. 'How's' your girl's day out with Emi?' Mikhal texted her, oblivious to the chaos she made herself. 'She was great.' She texted back.'Cool. No more outings today?' His reply came seconds later, followed by three dots, signifying he was typing now. 'Imma starts the afternoon shift today. Dunno what to expect.''Expect the worst.''Never know u'r such a pessimist.'She wasn't. Fine, maybe she was. Just at the moment, though. Rhea responded with a laughing emoticon. Followed by a string of crying yellow faces.'What was that?' She bit her bottom lip, 'I want to go out.' Her thumb sent it before she even read the line. She considered deleting it. No use, Mikhal already typed again.'I'm free, if you were asking
72. The Walk Down
Sprinting to the beach, Rhea suddenly stopped before her sneakers touched the wet sand. Quickly taking them off, Rhea looked around for a place to put them without getting worried that the wave would sweep on them or someone take them away. Not that she was suspicious of some people enjoying the beach there, or that her shoes were extremely pricey – they were, not that Rhea knew about that, because it was Lucian who paid – but Rhea didn't want to lose her only pair of sneakers.She looked back to Lucian's parked car on the edge of the beach, where the dry ground met with green patches of grass. Squinting her blue eyes, Rhea calculated how much force she needed to get her shoes to the car's side. The light brown-haired girl got into a stance as if she would throw a slider with her sneaker as the ball. Then, Rhea let go of one of her sneakers in a powerful side swing. It flew in a bent trajectory and landed safely on the dry sand, though still a little far away from the car."Ah, I need
71. Wolf in the Flesh
It was the first time Rhea saw a wolf in real life.The wolf looked like how a wolf would in a book or movie. Nothing special, unlike the jet-black wild wolf she saw in a show. Or the majestic white wolf in legends. The animal in front of her looked just like the usual wolf. Short, triangular ears. Broad snout. A long tail. Looking slender yet seems powerful in its built. Its back was grey, so was its upper head. While the rest of its fur was light brown, and the underside was white.Rhea could not believe it."Should we continue?" Jo asked, stepping slowly on the gas pedal.As Jo drove the car past the watchful gaze of the wolf, Rhea felt a shudder run through her body. Either it was a creepy coincidence, or Lucian somehow controlled the wolf to appear there and failed Rhea's escape. Which sounded impossible. Both of them.It was some minutes later that Jo stopped the car. They were near the first building in the outskirt of Stradfield's little town. "Are you sure you want to get off
