THE APOCALYPTIC RISE OF ADAM

Adam Smith thought his day was already bad enough as he walked home dejectedly. His ears were still ringing with the slaps and the stinging insults that his boss’s wife had hurled at him, right before she had her husband sacked him. The injustice of being sacked from the job he had laboured so hard to keep weighed on his mind, but nothing was as damning to him at that moment as the look of disappointment that he was sure to get from his girlfriend, Anastasia. Gone were the days when those eyes were filled with love as they gazed into his. Lately, Ana’s temper was always short with him, and she had even banned him from sleeping on the bed with her since she started paying for their apartment six months ago. “Since you are no longer man enough to take proper care of me, and I even have to pay for our rent now, you don’t deserve to touch me!” She yelled at him when he tried to talk about her coldness since things had worsened for him at his workplace. Adam sighed long and hard as he

Relief flooded Adam’s heart as his mother picked up the call.“Adam? Adam, is that you?” She asked hesitantly, then her voice strengthened with hope.“Yes, mummy. It is me!” Adam whispered with happiness as he cupped his hand against the phone.The street was still deserted, and all he could hear were shouts from afar, but he didn’t dare speak out loud. “Are you okay, mom?” he asked urgently.Instead of answering, he heard his mother shout. “He is alive! Caleb, he is alive! My son is alive!”“Shh, don’t exert yourself, Marriane,” Adam heard his father say as he came closer.Tears rolled down Adam’s eyes unexpectedly at the joy of hearing his mother’s voice out loud.She had become sickly lately and had been bedridden on and off for months even before this happened.Sometimes, her voice would be so weak that Adam would barely hear her.Yet, they had always encouraged him to not worry so much about them and to try to make a life for himself.“I will take care of my wife. You take care o

Adam soon realised that the Jeep he took wasn’t just any car but a modified one with amazing capabilities.As he had predicted; as he drove the jeep through the deserted streets of Joville; the sound attracted zombies from street corners, doorways, and houses.Although most zombies couldn’t keep up with him, a few with immense speed still came after him.He fired the engines to the utmost as he ran down many zombies who tried to block his path.Like moths to flame, they were drawn by the sound of the heavy-duty Rebel jeep and he didn’t hesitate to clear them off the road as well.Until he came across a fallen lorry right in the middle of the road.The driver must have lost control when they attacked him.Just as he was wondering what to do, Adam saw from his side mirror that one zombie had clung to the edge of the jeep’s bed.Adam made sure that all the windows were tightly shut, yet he knew that he would be like a goose for them to pick off if he did not do something fast.More zombi

With a strength borne out of sheer desperation, Adam rolled away from the infected hands reaching for him.“Don’t get scratched. Don’t get scratched!” he repeated to himself as an involuntary groan escaped his throat when his roll affected his bruised shin.Adam was not sure but his bone seemed broken. Blood was still seeping into the tight, black jean but his attention was more on the zombies, who were snarling more loudly now when they missed their target. They changed their direction and started ambling towards him again. This set of zombies was the slowest he had seen so far, but Adam knew they were dangerous nonetheless. scratch, and he would be doomed anyway.He believed he had gotten lucky the first time and he was not about to risk that luck again. He could have outrun them if he was in good shape but when he tried to run. Pain shot through him and his legs buckled as more blood flowed out of his left leg. The jean was soaked from the chin down to the edge now.One of the zo

“You must be a fool to think you will go scot-free after all you have done.” Adam had not realised that he was slowly drifting off until that voice made him jerk upright. For a moment, he looked in confusion at the hateful eyes shooting him deadly glares. “Ah, little Seth,” he thought to himself. He ignored the arrogant brat and looked toward the window. All he could see were shifting clouds that looked like soft white candy when he would have hoped to see a sign of civilisation. He wished he could go to the cockpit to meet the pilot but as much as he wanted to get home fast to his parents, he knew they wouldn’t forgive him if he killed himself in the process. Adam leaned back against the chair, trying to force his taut body to relax. His anxiety was getting the better of him and as his parents’ faces flashed through his mind’s eyes, he deliberately closed his eyes and tried to think of something else. The sight of the cotton-candy sky came to his mind’s eyes and his stomach aut