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 could snap out of it, or someone broke the window.

That is, if the zombie didn’t break the windshield first.

Through it all, Seth could only grit his teeth and shout some curse words, mirroring the cousins in front. On the other hand, Marnie broke into a wailing toddler and the accumulation of it aggravated the infectore even more than before.

“Gghhuuaaargh!”

True to his prediction. The zombie finally managed to make a fist-sized hole in the windshield. From it, he tried to claw at Wade’s face, causing the chain smoker to swat the ashen pale hand away.

“Get away from me! Get it away! Fuck!” The zombie managed to snatch Wade’s shoulder-length hair, jerking him forward. “Not my hair! Not my hair, you disgusting piece of–“

“Ghraaaarhh!”

In heroic mode, Seth grabbed Marnie’s backpack and launched a measly attack from his awkward position leaning towards the front. It was heavy, and made a loud thud as the bright pink Hello Kitty backpack connected against the zombie’s clawing hand. He tried to get the hand away from the windshield’s hole, and yelled to Amy, “Drive the car!”

The sandy blonde did as told even as she was still screaming right at Seth’s ear. “It won’t go!”

“Faster!”

The car sped up, accelerating further that even Wade started to fear and shrieked that they would collide with a truck or something.

But once Seth managed to push the clawing hand out, he said, “Stop the car!”

“What?!”

Amy closed her eyes and stepped on the brake. The three of them almost get their face planted on the windshield, but the zombie no longer perches on the hood, trying to claw his way to them.

In the back seat, Marnie continued to cry, looking for her parents. “Mommy! Daddy!”

“Shut up, kid,” Seth snapped, adrenalin still pumping high in his bloodstream. He asked Amy, “Can you drive?”

“Do you really need to ask?” Tremor in her voice, but also more apparent in her hands. She was shaking like a leaf, staring in horror at the fallen body a few feet in front of the car.

The zombie started to wiggle, getting up from the road with his twisted arms. The uncomfortable angle of his neck made his head turn almost completely backwards. But they didn’t need to see his wretched expression to know that a zombie was going for their head.

Dong!

Seth didn’t have time to look at the newest notification the System sent.

Dong!

Amy was losing her shit, unable to drive the car as she was too busy screaming her lungs. Wade was no better, but he was probably yelling in ecstasy for how much his ordinary night turned into epic proportions in one single hour. And the kid?

Marnie was wailing, with tears and snot and who knows what else was on her folded, ugly face.

Seth had to do something quick or he was going crazy.

Dong!

“Scoot over!” He grabbed Amy’s shoulder and pushed her to the side that her face landed on Wade’s thigh. He forced his way until he could sit on the front, with the sandy blond stuck in the middle. He only needed to reach the gas pedal.

The car blazed forward, running over the barely standing zombie until he was thrown from the impact, landed and rolled over with loud crunches from his bones. He stopped the car after a few yards. Looking back from the rear view mirror, it was clear that the zombie was no longer capable of moving.

Dong!

[You can receive rewards from an infectore.]

Another notification. Seth casted a glance at his phone, despite the cousins’ incessant urge for him to just drive away, and Marnie’s ear splitting cry.

So, he reversed the car and drove backwards, stopping just before the bumper hit the mangled zombie’s body. He got out, taking the thermal tumbler from Marnie’s backpack’s side pocket.

“The hell are you doing?” Amy said after him, following suit.

Once Seth was standing overlooking the groaning, mangled mass, he lifted the thermal tumbler and busted the head like a watermelon in a beach party. One, two, three. No more uncoordinated movement of the zombie. Only a still body, rotting slowly with a split-opened skull.

“Yucks!” Seth threw the tumbler away.

Dong!

[1 infectore eliminated.]

[5 exp + 2 cells + 1 core.]

Then, a mere second after it.

Dong!

[View assessment result.]

[Status]

[This personal Information will be hidden from other Systemists.]

[Full Name: Seth Holden

Date of Birth: 15-02-2001

Living Blood Relatives: 3 people]

___

[Nickname: Jet Lynx

Level: 1

Exp: 35

HP: 300 / 300

Regeneration: 0

Strength: 0

Speed: 0

Resistance: 0

Technique: 0

Skill: None

Gift: None

Core: 1

Balance: 1.232 cells]

[Do you want to distribute the core now?]

There were two simple choices presented in his phone.

[Yes.] / [No.]

With a touch of his thumb, Seth was greeted with his own editable status. He chose [Technique], but [Technique will be available after you have a skill], making him go to something else.

[Strength + 0.1]

The information was only available in his phone, but he could feel something invisible washed over his entire being. Seth got a chance to test it right away when his phone uselessly chimed.

Dong!

[1 infectore in a 30 feet radius detected.]

Seth looked around, finding no stumbling, mindless body of a zombie near him.

“Watch out!”

Amy shouted, pointing out with a haste at the direction behind his back. He turned around and saw a zombie – infectore – jogging towards him.

Seth took a stance and fisted a hand. When the infectore’s outstretched hands almost reached him, he struck its jaw. His punch shouldn’t have thrown the infectore’s off balance and landed on its rotten ass. But it did, showing how significant that 0.1 strength was.

While the infectore was still on the ground, Seth sent several kicks to its head, cracking the skull with his new found strength.

[1 infectore eliminated.]

[5 exp + 2 cells + 1 core.]

[Status Update]

[Exp: 40

Balance: 1.234 cells

Core: 1]

Seth distributed the core right away.

[Strength: 0.2]

Now, entirely believing about this whole System thing, Seth would easily survive in–

“It’s the fucking zombie apocalypse, man.” Getting out of the car, Wade pulled up another roll of cigarette and dollar bills from his shredded jeans’ pocket. He gave it to his cousin, fulfilling their bet for ‘Most Strangest Day of My Life’ story.

Snatching the rolled dollar bills, Amy jumped up and down. Seth didn’t know if money would still be relevant after this. Hopefully not, as he didn’t have much in his bank account. Better yet, there wouldn’t be any student loan he needed to pay after graduation.

Dong!

As Amy played with her dollar haul, and Wade stared dreamily at it, Seth looked at his phone. His eyes widened instantly. “We have to get out of here.”

“Yeah, to Cold Spring, as I said earlier. But why rush? You can beat the zombie to a pulp!”

“A zombie, yes. Not a dozen!”

“How do you know–“

Amy’s sentence was cut off by the disturbing sound they soon became familiar with.

“Ggrraaaaaarrgh!”

“Aaaarrhhh!”

“Gggaaaaaahhh!”

“That.” Seth started flat-faced at the horde of infectores.

[34 infectores in a 30 feet radius detected.]

The number of infectores that appeared was faster than what Seth had predicted. If the infection happened after a bite, then they were practically safe. However, if someone turns into an infectore after a scratch, then they have a problem in hand.

“You got a scratch in your head,” Amy said to Wade in horror. Expecting the worst.

Dong!

[1 infected human in a 10 feet radius detected.]

[Be warned! 15 minutes until infection fully spreads.]