THE APOCALYPSE CHEF AWAKENED THE PREDATOR'S KITCHEN SYSTEM

3 - SQUEAL

The gruff man takes a cautious step through the swinging wooden doors with his heavy metal pipe raised in defense, and he scans the dark shadows of the kitchen to locate the person who just spoke to him.

Bastian tightens his sweaty grip on his bloody chef's knife while remaining crouched behind the stainless steel prep counter, because he still does not know if he can trust these desperate strangers.

"We are not here to rob you or cause any trouble, so please just let us hide in your back room until the monsters leave the streets," the younger survivor pleads as he peeks over the gruff man's broad shoulder.

Bastian slowly stands up from his hiding spot to reveal himself to the two frightened men, and he lowers his sharp blade slightly to show them that he is willing to have a peaceful conversation.

He opens his mouth to offer them a safe place to sit near the basement pantry, but a deafening and horrific squeal suddenly echoes from the ruined dining room right behind the two survivors.

The terrifying noise vibrates through the wooden floorboards beneath their boots, and the harsh sound makes all three men freeze in place out of pure fear.

The gruff man looks back over his shoulder toward the shattered front windows, and his tough expression immediately shifts into a mask of absolute panic.

"Oh my god, it followed us inside the building!" the younger man screams at the top of his lungs, and he drops his heavy backpack onto the floor to lighten his physical load.

Both men turn around and sprint into the kitchen without asking for permission, and they push right past Bastian while running toward the heavy metal exit door at the back of the building.

Bastian stumbles backward against the stovetop as the fleeing men shove him out of the way, and he watches in confusion as they unlatch the back door and run out into the dirty alleyway.

He wants to yell at them to close the door behind them, but the loud sound of heavy hooves crashing against the dining room tables forces him to turn his attention back to the front of the restaurant.

A mutated Razor-Boar charges through the dining area and knocks over the heavy oak tables with its massive body, and the beast lets out another furious squeal as it spots Bastian standing near the stoves.

The monster possesses a massive body that takes up the same physical space as a heavy motorcycle, and its thick gray skin is covered in sharp, bony spikes that scrape against the furniture.

Two jagged tusks protrude from the creature's lower jaw, and thick ropes of saliva drip from its mouth to stain the checkered floor tiles.

The boar lowers its heavy head and charges straight toward the swinging wooden doors to reach its new human prey, and Bastian raises his knife while bracing himself for a brutal impact.

The creature slams into the kitchen entrance with incredible force, but its massive spiked shoulders catch on the reinforced metal frame of the doorway.

The sudden impact splinters the wooden swinging doors into sharp pieces, and the heavy metal frame bends under the pressure as the boar tries to push forward.

The beast realizes it is stuck and begins to thrash wildly from side to side, and the violent movements tear chunks of drywall and wood from the surrounding wall structure.

Bastian realizes the monster cannot move forward to attack him or move backward to escape the tight trap, and a sudden wave of dark determination washes over his racing mind.

He remembers the red system warning from a few minutes ago that told him he needed to purify raw meat to survive in this new world.

"I cannot feed myself with that toxic dog meat, so I guess pork is on the menu for dinner tonight," Bastian mutters to himself while stepping away from the stuck creature.

He knows his standard chef's knife will never pierce the thick gray hide or the bony armor plates covering the mutant boar's head, so he sets the bloody blade down on the counter.

He turns around to search his cooking stations for a better weapon, and his eyes lock onto a massive cast-iron skillet resting near the back sink.

The heavy black pan weighs over fifteen pounds and possesses a thick metal handle that provides a perfect grip for swinging.

Bastian grabs the handle of the cast-iron skillet with both hands, and he lifts the heavy cooking tool over his shoulder as he slowly creeps toward the trapped monster.

The Razor-Boar squeals in fury and snaps its jagged tusks at him, but the beast cannot reach far enough to bite his legs.

"Shit, shit, shit, I really hope this works on the first try," Bastian whispers under his breath while measuring the distance between his boots and the monster's thrashing head.

He plants his feet firmly on the slippery tile floor, and he brings the heavy iron skillet down with all his might directly onto the center of the boar's skull.

A loud crack echoes through the kitchen as the thick metal impacts the bone, and the force of the blow sends a harsh vibration up Bastian's arms.

The Razor-Boar lets out a dizzy and pained grunt, but the creature does not die from the initial strike and instead begins to thrash even harder against the metal doorframe.

Bastian refuses to back away or give the monster a chance to break free, so he raises the heavy pan and brings it down a second time with even more force.

He strikes the beast again and again in a desperate and messy struggle, and dark blood splashes across the white tiles and covers the front of his chef's apron.

He pants heavily with every downward swing, and his muscles burn from the intense physical exertion required to wield the heavy cast-iron skillet.

The boar squeals in pain and tries to bite his knees, but Bastian steps to the side and brings the skillet down onto the creature's snout.

The heavy iron smashes the jagged tusks and breaks the bone, and the monster finally begins to slow down as its strength fades away.

"Just die already and let me cook in peace!" Bastian yells through clenched teeth as he delivers a final and crushing blow to the mutated animal's head.

The massive Razor-Boar finally stops moving and slumps downward, and its heavy body remains tightly wedged inside the ruined doorframe.

Bastian drops the bloody skillet onto the floor and falls backward onto his hands, and he gasps for air while trying to steady his racing heartbeat.

He stares at the dead creature and wonders how his boring life changed into this violent nightmare in less than an hour.

The glowing blue digital screen flashes into his vision once again, and the bright light illuminates the dark kitchen space.

Bastian squints his eyes to read the new text hovering in the air, and he hopes the system will give him something useful this time.

[BASIC PURIFICATION FIRE UNLOCKED,] the system announces in bold white letters, and a sudden wave of strange warmth spreads through Bastian's tired hands.

He looks down at his palms and notices a faint blue glow radiating from his skin, and the magical energy feels comforting instead of dangerous.

The digital screen shifts to display a second message right below the first one, and Bastian reads the new information with a mix of curiosity and exhaustion.

[RECIPE ACQUIRED: STAMINA BOAR STEAK,] the prompt reads, and a detailed list of cooking instructions downloads directly into Bastian's memory without asking for his permission.

"So you want me to butcher this ugly pig and cook it with magic fire, and then you want me to eat it so I can gain extra stamina," Bastian says out loud to summarize the bizarre situation.

The system screen fades away without offering any verbal answers, and Bastian is left alone in the quiet kitchen with two dead monsters and a lot of questions.

He forces himself to stand up so he can begin the disgusting process of harvesting the boar meat, but a strange hissing sound catches his attention.

He tilts his head to listen to the faint noise, and a very familiar and dangerous smell fills his nostrils.

The heavy thrashing of the Razor-Boar caused the metal doorframe to buckle, and the shifting structure ruptured the main gas pipe running along the bottom of the kitchen wall.

Bastian traces the hissing sound to a large crack in the iron pipe, and he can smell the highly flammable natural gas pouring out into the enclosed room.

"This is really bad, because one small spark will blow this building into the sky," he mutters while looking around for the main shutoff valve.

He spots the red valve handle located a few feet away from the leak, and he takes a step forward to turn off the gas before it fills the whole restaurant.

His boot steps on a piece of broken wood from the swinging doors, and he looks up to see a severed electrical wire dangling from the damaged ceiling.

The damaged wire sways back and forth right above the leaking gas pipe, and Bastian's eyes widen in horror as he realizes the imminent danger.

"Please do not do this to me right now," Bastian begs the empty room as the exposed copper wire swings closer to the hissing gas.

A bright blue spark jumps from the frayed end of the wire, and the electrical current illuminates the dark kitchen for a brief second.

The spark fades away without igniting the gas, but the wire swings back to prepare for another deadly electrical discharge.

Bastian knows he does not have enough time to run out the back door, and he definitely cannot reach the shutoff valve without getting caught in the massive explosion.

"Hey buddy, are you dead in there, or is it safe for us to come back inside?" the younger survivor yells from the alleyway while slowly pushing the heavy metal back door open.