THE APOCALYPSE CHEF AWAKENED THE PREDATOR'S KITCHEN SYSTEM

4 - GOLDEN

Bastian ignores the ridiculous question and launches himself across the slippery floor as the exposed electrical wire swings back toward the massive gas leak.

"Close the damn door and stay back!" Bastian roars while sliding on his knees toward the red shutoff valve near the damaged baseboards.

He grabs the round handle with both hands and twists it hard to the right just as another bright blue spark jumps from the swinging copper wire.

The loud hissing sound cuts off instantly, and the spark fizzles out against the damp tiles instead of turning the restaurant into a massive crater.

Bastian collapses onto his back and stares up at the cracked ceiling while his chest heaves from the sudden rush of pure adrenaline.

His chef uniform is soaked in a mixture of his own sweat and the dark blood of the monsters he just killed, and his arms tremble from extreme exhaustion.

"What the hell is going on in here?" the gruff man asks as he steps cautiously back into the kitchen with his heavy pipe raised high in defense.

The younger guy follows close behind him and lets out a strangled gasp when he spots the massive boar carcass wedged inside the ruined doorframe.

"Did you kill that giant pig all by yourself?" the young man stammers while pointing a shaking finger at the bloody mess on the floor.

"I hit it with a cast-iron pan until it stopped moving," Bastian replies through heavy breaths as he slowly pushes himself up into a sitting position.

"That is the craziest thing I have ever heard, especially since bullets barely seem to scratch those things," the gruff man says while lowering his weapon and offering Bastian a hand up.

Bastian ignores the offered hand and uses the edge of the counter to pull himself upright because his legs still feel like wet noodles.

"My name is Marcus, and this terrified kid next to me is Leo," the older man explains while keeping a wary eye on the dead beast.

"Bastian," he answers shortly before turning away to inspect the ruined state of his once spotless culinary workspace.

Shattered plates cover the floor near the dish pit, and long streaks of dark blood paint a gruesome picture across his favorite prep stations.

He steps over a ruined pile of fresh vegetables that spilled from the broken refrigerator during the initial earthquake, mourning the sudden loss of good ingredients.

The power is still out across the entire city block, leaving the kitchen bathed in the dim and eerie light filtering through the cracked front windows.

"Listen, Bastian, we really appreciate you letting us hide out in here, but we need to figure out what to do next," Marcus says while brushing dust off his jacket.

"I am not running a shelter, so you two can leave as soon as the street is clear of whatever is hunting out there," Bastian mutters as he opens a cabinet to search for his camping gear.

"Are you seriously kicking us out while there are flying nightmares tearing people apart in broad daylight?" Leo asks with a frantic edge to his voice.

"I watched a winged demon rip a man out of a taxi cab just a few minutes ago, so I know exactly how bad it is," Bastian shoots back while rummaging through a bottom drawer.

"I barely survived a skinless dog and a giant pig in the last ten minutes, so I really cannot babysit you two right now," he continues while pulling out a small portable stove.

"Did you get one of those floating blue screens too?" Marcus asks suddenly, and his blunt question makes Bastian freeze in place.

"What makes you say that?" Bastian deflects the question while setting his portable stove down on a clean section of the prep counter.

"Because a weird screen popped up and told me I unlocked a basic brawling skill when I hit a monster with my pipe earlier," Marcus reveals with a tired shrug.

"Mine told me I had a running skill, which is why I was able to outrun that ugly boar when it chased us down the block," Leo chimes in while glancing nervously at the front of the restaurant.

Bastian realizes that the strange system is not just playing tricks on his mind, but he decides to keep the specific details of his cooking powers to himself.

"Go block the back exit with those heavy flour sacks and do not make a sound," Bastian orders instead of answering their questions about his own screen.

"We can help you barricade the windows and watch the doors to keep this place secure," Marcus offers quickly in a desperate bid to stay inside the fortified building.

"Just do what I said if you want to stay in my kitchen for the next hour," Bastian warns them without looking back at their nervous faces.

Marcus shifts his weight uncomfortably and tightens his grip on the heavy pipe, clearly anxious about the constant sounds of destruction echoing from the street.

Leo wipes a streak of dirt from his pale cheek, his wide eyes darting back and forth as though he expects another monster to burst through the walls at any moment.

Bastian takes a deep breath to steady his nerves, forcing himself to focus on the immediate tasks of survival rather than the overwhelming chaos of the apocalypse.

He checks the small propane canister attached to the back of his camp stove, and he nods in satisfaction when he feels the heavy weight of the fuel inside.

The main utility lines are shut down for good, so this little burner is the only way he can boil water or cook anything until the world goes back to normal.

His stomach lets out a loud rumble that echoes in the quiet kitchen, and the hollow sound reminds him he hasn't eaten anything since early this morning.

The digital system demands a harvest, and his body desperately demands calories, so he grabs a clean knife from the wall rack and walks over to the dead boar.

He crouches beside the beast and studies the strange anatomy of the creature, noting how the thick muscles wrap unnaturally around the extended bone structure.

He carefully slices away a thick slab of meat from the upper shoulder without puncturing any of the strange glowing veins hidden deep inside the carcass.

The raw pork smells absolutely disgusting, radiating a foul chemical odor that makes his eyes water and causes his throat to itch uncomfortably.

He carries the strange meat back to his makeshift station and drops it onto a clean cutting board to prepare for the next vital step.

"What is that awful smell?" Leo whines from the back hallway while struggling to push a heavy bag of flour against the exit door.