2022-09-12 04:10:30On midnight of June 1, 2024, news channels in all parts of the world went wild. Numerous reports from various countries about the sighting of a strange celestial phenomenon streamed in one after the other.
Overnight, without warning or reason, the moon turned crimson, and the scattered stars in the black canvas of sky seemed to fall like sprinkles of rain.
They descended on earth in a shower of crimson and gold radiance. Leaving flame and destruction in their wake, they swept through the four directions in a giant mushroom cloud.
Buildings fell, roads crumbled, and as the numerous wires controlling the city's power lines combusted, a blanket of darkness fell over Aurora City.
A giant black rock, ignited in flames, sailed through the sky and thunderously crashed into the Epien Forest.
Boom!
Violent shock waves traveled through the ground, and a giant crimson mushroom bloomed above the remaining trees. The earth fractured and split apart like dry pieces of twigs.
Ella's heart pounded in her chest, half from the excitement of encountering the first wave of radiation, and half, for the end of the world she knew.
After tonight, Aurora City, Cyprus and the rest of the world would no longer be the same.
As the blood moon in the sky cloaked the land in a crimson glow, the flames from the combusting meteor added an eerie fiery radiance to the night.
Ella took a deep shuddering breath.
It was now or never.
She decisively removed her clothes and shoes, and naked as the day she was born, took a determined step forward.
The end of the world was already set in stone. Her sadness or reluctance wouldn't change the flow of events. To survive what was to come, she needed sufficient strength and power to protect herself.
When she arrived a meter within the flaming rock, a wave of crimson-gold heat blasted in her face. She felt a mystical force, elusive and obscure, prickle her skin and enter her body through her pores.
Unbearable heat suffused her lungs and heart, and white spots filled her vision.
This was a good sign.
According to the apocalyptic scientists, the first wave of crimson-gold radiation would stimulate the human body's abilities and strengthen it so it could resist the tough environment of the apocalyptic world.
The first sign of this transformation began in the strengthening of the hearts and lungs. The heart rates of the infected individuals would rise and experience symptoms similar to lung and heart disease. They would cough, their eyes would leak tears of blood, and they would find it difficult to breathe.
Once their hearts dropped to the lowest extreme, the change would be complete.
As long as an ordinary human's heart didn't completely stop at this point, they would successfully be reborn. After reaching this step, it could be said they overcame the zombie virus, and would be guaranteed to awaken a special ability.
Ella's mind grew sluggish as the heavy feeling in her heart and lungs intensified. Lowering herself to the ground, she wrapped her arms around her legs in a fetal position and slowly closed her eyes.
In a matter of one night, the temperature in Cyprus rose dramatically. Reaching as high as two thousand degrees Celsius, plants were reduced to ash, while animals with hides combusted in flames. Some, who got in contact with the first wave of radiation, evolved and changed into monstrous creatures.
Urban infrastructure became paralyzed, and with the sudden power outage, communication got cut off.
Terror and panic spread through the cities. The government officials couldn't be reached, and with the second wave of heat radiation, people began to fall sick.
By early morning, public hospitals and emergency centers were overwhelmed. Under the blazing heat, the sick lay on stretchers and blankets outside the hospital facilities with their family members as their only caretakers.
By mid-morning, the first wave of the zombie apocalypse began.
It started from inside the hospital building, from the first group of admitted patients.
A doctor and nurse restrained a man with an almost crazed glaze in his eyes. Strapped to the bed from the arms, waist, and ankles, the man thrashed wildly, with an inhumane strength. Medical trolleys went spinning, as the tools on top of them crashed to the ground.
The moment the man's heart stopped, his violent movements vanished. He went as still as a frozen block of ice.
"Doctor, he's not convulsing anymore! His heart stopped!"
"Perform CPR! We must do our best to resuscitate him!"
The doctor and nurse frantically used mCPR to resuscitate the patient. They checked his vital signs and administered heart recovery emergency aid. However, the man remained still and didn't respond to any of their efforts.
After 5 minutes, they finally declared him dead.
Silence settled over the family members of the patient.
Their eyes were vacant as they looked at the pale corpse. After a long period of stifling silence, the wife of the patient lifted her head and glared at the doctor and nurse.
"My husband was fine and healthy just yesterday. How could he die from a mere fever? You guys did something, didn't you? You made a mistake in treatment and killed him!"
Blind with sorrow and grief, the woman ran forward and held the collar of the doctor. She roughly shook him and beat him, crying and wailing as she commanded him to bring her husband back to life.
"He was fine yesterday! How could he die from a mere fever!?" She shrieked.
Finding reason in the woman's words, the old parents of the man rounded on the nurse. "My daughter-in-law is right. Mike was fine just a day ago. How could he die from a fever? Come clean and tell us what you did. Otherwise..." They held the nurse and doctor captive, refusing to let them go without an explanation.
As the family and physician argued back and forth, the dead corpse on the bed abruptly sat up. It's milky eyes slowly opened, and hunger filled their depth at the sight of the five entangled people.
With an inhumane growl, he lunged forward and viciously bit on his wife's neck.
Instantly, shrill cries resounded in the ward. As the loud crash of falling equipment and animalistic snarls passed the walls, the cacophonous clamor mixed with the numerous sounds transmitting from the other wards in the building.
Some infected individuals successfully overcame the virus. But detecting the strange aura in the hospital, they wisely leaped out of the windows and made a quick gateway through the back.
The humans turned zombies swept through the hospital building and flowed outside. They gained momentum as similar scenes of jumping and biting played out in the vicinity.
The patients laying on stretchers and blankets lunged on their families, and the families collapsed on the ground, wide-eyed with pain and horror. Piece by piece, they watched their beloved ones eat their flesh and drink their blood, until the virus transmitted to them and their heart stopped.
When they opened their eyes again, they were no longer the same.
Joining the group of undeads slowly sweeping through the cities, the horde of zombies, covered in blood and missing limbs, threw the country into an immediate state of emergency.
Three days later, the entire country was placed on lockdown.
"A horde of level 1 zombies are spotted in the bay areas. All residents of the bay areas are advised to lock their doors and stay inside until a military vehicle reaches their region."
"Level 2 zombies are spotted in the Emerald supermarket! Those with guns are advised to aim for the head. Do not approach. I repeat. Do not approach. Level 2 zombies have a stronger physical defense."
"All residents in urban cities are advised to remain inside or relocate to the nearest safe house in their region!"
Driving in her Rolls-Royce, Ella turned off the radio and crashed through the military gate.
Dressed in black ankle-length skirt and blouse, her mid-night hair swayed in the fiery wind as she slowly got off the car. A smile graced her lips, and her bright eyes swept over the rows of trucks.
"Miliary Facility, I am back. It is time to get my military truck."
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Ella swaggered into the facility. She used her identity as Mrs. Jabri Vaahid to gain access to a military vehicle. While the military officials checked her truck and made sure everything was in order, she slipped into the weapons section and sneakily swapped a row of guns, pistols, bullets, bullet-proof vests, and military boots. After getting everything she needed, she casually ambled out of the building and went to board her truck. "Officers, thank you for your assistance today. I'll let my husband know how much you've helped me in getting his vehicle." "Haha! Mrs. Jabri, no need to mention. We're just doing our duty. But with the state of things, I advise you not to go out in the nearby future. At the moment, people have still not come to terms with the current situation. But the moment they realize the severity of the circumstances, they'll lose their mind from terror and panic. It would no longer be safe for you to travel alone." He didn't mention the criminals that would roam
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Ella twirled her twin guns and shot the level 1 zombies straight between the eyes. The roaring creatures froze, then fell backward like a stack of dominoes. Without a change in expression, she hopped over their figures and strode into the supermarket. 'Sigh. Seems like I'll need to wait.' Ella had spotted her ex-best friend and ex-husband long before they noticed her. But considering the current state of things, she hoped the two would ignore her and continue on their merry way. After all, she had her own plans and interacting with a scumbag and a two-faced snake wasn't a part of it. Unsurprisingly, however, she expected too much... "Elladine!" Stacy's high-pitched voice pierced through the air and attracted the nearby zombies. Ella cursed under her breath and ignored her. Violently kicking open the gas station door, she strode to the back alley in search of a generator and fuel trucks. Attracted by the deafening bang, a few employees turned zombies ambled towards her. Ella sh
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"Ahhh!" Bang! Bang! "Maintain a six-foot distance. Aim for the center of the forehead. If you get bitten or touched by a drip of saliva, do everyone a favor and take your life!" Marcus pursed his lips and cast a glance to his right. He wanted to see the ignorant wench that dared to make such a bold command. Was it that easy for a person to take their own lives? A string of gunfires erupted all around. Lush black hair swayed under the crimson sky like threads of black silk on red canvas. A snow-white cheek and a spark of violet orb. And that was about it. Marcus's view of the female was blocked by the appearance of a large man before he could get a clear glimpse of her face. 'She sounded too naive to encounter this sort of disaster.' A pang of regret tugged at his heart. If it was any other time, such a girl would be adored and looked after by many men. However, now... Chuckling unsympathetically, Marcus shook the strange feeling away, heaved his MP5, and focused his sight bac
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The air turned static, the atmosphere seemed to freeze and, like a slow-motion picture, sound faded to the background. Ella's ink-black hair rose on a draft of wind, and as it floated above her head, it shone with a glossy sheen as if dusted with specks of shattered stars. Her command resonated in the region, carrying unnatural authority and power that compelled one to obey. Under the dumbfounded eyes of the humans and superhumans, a spiderweb of cracks spread through the ground, tendrils of crimson-gold flames crackled in the slit and licked the edges, before flaring upward with greedy tongues. The ice spears restraining the zombies fractured, fiercely vibrated, then violently exploded under their combined weight. The instant the undead surged forward, the numerous cracks on the ground split apart. Snarling and wheezing, the horde of zombies tumbled into the blazing fissure. Dozens upon dozens of undead fell in the sea of crimson-gold, swallowed and consumed in the belly of the
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Roaring thunder crackled and boomed, rippling across the crimson sky of Sapphire Island, bouncing from misty mountain to dense trees. "Radiance, fly faster!" Ella excitedly rubbed the crane's back. The murky clouds roiled as a flash of lighting seared the sky and painted her face in an eerie flare. "Kweee!" The white crane crooned and flapped her wings, kicking up gusts of wind blades and whirlpools of scarlet rain in the sudden downpour. This was the first rain after the descent of the meteor. Due to its blood-like hue and its mystical quality survivors of the zombie virus would later label it Armageddon Rain. As a manifestation of a union between a lighting ability superhuman and a level 4 zombie, the scarlet rain would raise all level 1 zombies to 2, and level 2 zombies to level 3. 'I don't know if it's Charlie, but even if it's not, it doesn't matter.' She only needed to find the location of the superhuman and level 4 zombie's union before anyone else. As a level 4 superhum
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She had been wandering the woods ever since she escaped, lurking and preying on the frail creatures to sate her thirst. The thirst. It was insatiable. Always there, scorching her heart and setting her throat on fire. The crimson liquid would douse it for a while. But only a short while, and that too, when she was feasting. Then the moment she ran out, it would return with greater fury. Her heart no longer beat, and she no longer felt tired. She would walk for days and hunt for nights without experiencing the slightest discomfort. All would've been fine and well if it wasn't for the nagging urge to eat, eat, and eat. She knew her name. Naomi Miller. She knew she had a brother. Kaiden Miller. He loved her and spoiled her, giving her whatever she wanted without hesitation. She knew he was probably worried. Maybe even shocked silly by her transformation. She should go to him and ease his worries. She knew she should, but for all that was flesh and blood, she couldn't bring hersel
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