August drank up the last bottle of beer. He fixed his long hair and tied it up with a string. But there were still some tiny hairs going through his face. He shook his head trying to fix his vision. He didn't know how many bottles he had drunk. But the owner didn't want to give him anymore.
“Get out of here, you bastard! Next time, bring more money! You didn't even pay half of it!” the old woman nagged.
August winced and covered his ears. He was laughing as he was walking out of the small restaurant.
“Crazy bastard!”
August didn't mind what she said. He tried walking straight but he was really drunk. He even hit a man he was encountering.
“Fix yourself, loser!” said the man. He glared at him.
August raised his hands and nodded. He continued walking on the side street. It had been a week since he drowned himself in alcohol. That was the only thing he could do to ease the pain he was feeling. His wife had just divorced him because he couldn't provide for her. She left her with some old man who was much richer than him. Luckily, they don't have any children yet. But August loved his ex-wife so much. He even begged her not to leave him. But she was firm in her decision. Now he was alone. Unemployed, drunk, and alone. He doesn't know where he will go now. He wanted to eat but he didn't have any money left.
August stopped walking when he heard a scream. He looked around and saw that he was already near the park. Since his ex-wife left him, this had been his home. He had a small bag with him and all his stuff was there.
August looked at the tree just at the entrance of the park. That was where the scream was coming from.
“H-Help!”
August flinched. For a second, he thought he didn't want to interfere with whatever was going on. He continued walking to the entrance.
“Grr…”
August looked at the tree as he walked carefully. He felt that he was suddenly sober because of the scream he was hearing. He looked around and there were no other people. Even the people he slept with in the park were gone. Each homeless person had a place inside the park. He managed to get the bench as his bed.
“Weird,” he said. Mostly the park should still have people. Some partners like to stay in the park at night too. August usually sees couples making out in the dark. It was a free porn viewing for him.
August suddenly felt nervous when the screaming stopped. His curiosity rose as he heard some growling and munching sounds. It was like someone was eating loudly but not a person because it was growling. Like a dog who doesn't want to share its food.
August gulped and stared at the tree. He slowly approached it. He became aware and he felt his senses become clear. He could hear his heartbeat throbbing as he took every step. Then he stopped and finally saw what he was hearing.
“F-Fuck…” he whispered.
It was a man devouring a woman. The blood was all over. August felt his stomach go upside down. He touched his mouth to stop himself. But because he was also drunk, he couldn't help but to vomit. The man was eating the woman's flesh! He felt he vomited all the alcohol and food he ate that day. He couldn't help but to make a sound too. And because of what he did, the man, or whatever was eating, the woman looked at him.
“Grr…”
August's breathing became hard. He stopped and looked at the man. His eyes widened when he saw its face. The eyes were white. The skin was pale and almost dead. There was blood all over its face and body. August's knees became soft and he trembled. He fell to the ground.
“System activated. Host awakens.”
August looked around when he heard a voice. It was the voice of a woman but was more like a robot. But his attention was diverted again to the creature in front of him. It was already standing while staring at him deadly.
“W-What…”
“Welcome, Augustus Clarke. Please take the weapon beside you to kill the zombie.”
“Huh?” August frowned. He looked at his side and saw a knife just lying on the ground. “W-Who are you? Z-Zombie? What zombie? Where did this knife come from?!”
“Please take the weapon and prepare yourself for the fight.”
“Grrr!”
August gulped again. He felt he was completely sober because of what he was hearing and seeing. It was a zombie. There was a real zombie in front of him! August thought that he could only see this from movies.
He immediately grabbed the knife and forced himself to stand up. The zombie was approaching him slowly. He blinked and saw something come out from its side.
Name: Zombie
level: 1
Agility: 1
Strength: 1
Vitality: 1
Intelligence: 0
Weakness: The brain should be damaged
August frowned. “Am I still drunk?” He blinked again but the words were still not gone.
“Danger! Danger! Kill the zombie! Don't let it bite you!” the voice said again.
August tightened his grip on the knife. He took a deep breath. He was a gamer back when he was still single. He knew what a zombie was. He just couldn't believe that he would see one in reality.
“Grrr!”
August held the zombie's neck to stop him from walking when it got near him. It was reaching his face and its mouth kept on biting. The smell was awful and was making him vomit again. But he stopped himself and stared at the zombie.
“I-I'm sorry, man,” he said. Then he pierced the knife on its head until it stopped moving. August let go of the zombie and stepped backward. He was gapping seeing that he had just killed a man– no. It was a zombie.
“Congratulations, Host! You killed your first zombie. You are now at level 2. Please check your items to see what weapons you could use.”
August blinked and saw a word in front of him. There was information about him. What level he was and what his skills were. He saw the word item.
“H-How do I see it? Do I click it?”
“Yes.”
August clicked in the air and the word item lightened. Then he had a knife and a pistol floating in the air. August smiled in excitement.
“This is sick! Why do I have this? And who are you? Where are you? Do I have something in my ear?”
August touched his ears but there was nothing.
“I am your guide. I will explain to you more. But you need to prepare for another battle again. Then find a safe place.”
“Huh?” August's eyes widened again when he saw that the woman was now moving. “H-How did I get the weapon?”
“Grab it.”
August was about to take the pistol. But he remembered that he didn't know how to use it. Plus, he was trembling in fear again. So, he took the knife. He was amazed again because it felt real to him.
“Danger! Danger! Kill the zombie! Don't let it bite you!”
August's eyes widened. His breathing became hard. He just killed the zombie woman that suddenly woke up. “W-What is happening? Am I crazy?!” he exclaimed. He was confused. Just earlier, he was wasted. And now, there were zombies and a voice inside his head!“Shit!” August blinked, and suddenly, words appeared in front of him. Location: Rizal ParkSupplies: Food. Water. Zombies: 100+Level: 1Then the map of the park came out. The supplies and zombies' location were pinned. August gasped when he saw a zombie just near him. He sat down on the ground and hid in the dark. “Warning! Danger ahead!”“Shut up! Who are you? What is going on?!” he whispered. He was sweating already. “Gather your weapon and go to a safe place.”“I won’t be going on anymore until it’s morning!” he exclaimed. Because of his voice, the zombie near him heard him. It snarled and looked in his direction. “Why are there zombies? Where does this come from?” he asked again. But the voice inside his head was not
August decided to pursue going out when he saw that the streets were crowded with zombies. Plus, he forgot that he was in Manila, which was miles away from Cavite. Where his family resides. He went back to his room. Planning his way back to Cavite. It was already bright outside when August woke up the next day. He blinked and saw new words. “Energy restored.”August sighed. He decided to eat the biscuit he saw and drink water for his breakfast. “System, map,” he said. He just thought that he could make a voice command and call it a system. Because it was what was in the first place. A system where he doesn’t know where it came from. The map of the city came out in front of him. August groaned when he saw that there were zombies again in the park. Something might have lured them inside. But he noticed something was odd at the building.“System, building details.” Location: AuditoriumSupplies: Food, water.Zombie: 0Survivor: 1“Human?” August stood up. That might be the reason why
“System, map.” Suddenly, the map of the park was shown in front of him. Location: Rizal ParkSupplies: Food. Water. Medical Supplies. Weapons.Zombies: 100+ and countingLevel: 1Survivors: 20August stopped moving. He looked around. He was already outside of the auditorium and saw some zombies walking mindlessly. Most of them were at level 1 only. But there were some that were higher. “Locate, Jude.”Then, a figure of a man walking near the fountain. Just outside of the auditorium. August sighed. “This will really make me die,” he said. “System, knifed.” A knife came out of August's hand. He killed the zombies near him one by one without making any sound. Some were looking in his direction every time a zombie fell down. He would take it out in no time. “Ahh! Help!” August stopped when he heard Jude’s voice. He looked in his direction and saw that he was on the ground.“Shit!” August ran toward him while stabbing the zombies in front of him. He saw that there was a zombie above
“Whoa! Whoa! Take it easy!” August exclaimed. Both of them raised their hands and stood up. Two women and three men were standing in front of them. One woman was holding a pistol and pointing at them. She was wearing a police uniform, and there was blood on it. “Who are you and why are you here?!” asked the woman. “W-We’re just looking for a safe place!” Jude answered. “We will go after that.” “You drew them here!” “Carla, calm down,” said the man near the woman. Carla glared at August and Jude. They heard them knocking earlier. But they couldn’t risk opening the door because of the zombies. “Stop! They are coming!” a voice from outside said. Then the door opened, and five more people entered. August blinked and saw that there were no other survivors outside. The zombies managed to enter the building too. He cursed in his mind and looked outside. More zombies were entering from the entrance. There were also no zombies beneath them. “Stop moving!” said Carla. She went to Augu
They waited until Joseph could get out of the room. When August saw that he was already okay, their companions went down one by one. Carla, Leo, and he went out of the room.“Let’s be quiet as much as we can,” Carla instructed.The two of them nodded. They walked slowly. August saw the zombies scattered on the first floor. The first floor was big enough, but because the zombies were crawling inside, it wouldn’t fit them. Some went to the rooms. There were a few that were already going to the second floor. Carla and Leo were at the back, while August pursued, using knives against the zombies nearing them.“Now!” Carla shouted.The zombies looked at them. They growled and started to walk toward them. August immediately stabbed the zombie in front of him, while Carla and Leo were now shooting the zombies. The place was filled with growling, and zombies wanted to eat them.“It’s happening! We need to move faster!” said the woman again.Because of her scream, some zombies heard them and st
“What was that?” August asked.“No one moves,” said Carla.“They are going out,” August whispered. They looked at him but he continued blinking. And when he opened his eyes again, he saw that there were only a few zombies inside the building. Suddenly, a loud explosion was heard again. They heard gunshots too.“Something is happening.” Carla went to the window and looked outside. Some zombies were going to the garden. “They are going after the sound. This could be our chance!”“No!” August stopped her.“What do you mean no? They are leaving us alone. Now is our chance!”August when near the door. He blinked and the system came out in front of him. He clicked the map. There he saw the red figures that were the zombies going to the garden. But there were also white figures entering the park.Location: Rizal ParkSupplies: Food. Water.Zombies: ???Survivors: 50August frowned. The survivors suddenly become a lot. “Let’s go out,” he said. He started removing the table. They helped him an
[Initiating…] [System resetting…] [10%…] [25%…] [40%…] [80%...] [100%...] [Completed!] [System had rebooted.] [New missions added.] [New features added.] “Mission number 1. Get out of the Coliseum. Save Jude.” August gasped as his consciousness came back. His breathing became hard as he filled his lungs for air. He looked around and he was still at the coliseum. Days had passed already and the chairs were almost filled with more survivors. “What the fuck was that?” he said. August blinked and saw more words were already in front of him. He clicked his profile and saw that he was still at level 2. His weapons were still the same. But he saw that there were other supplies added. He saw that he could cook his own meal already. “What? How is this possible?” he asked himself. But he stopped realizing that the system itself was impossible. But it saved them once when they were in the park. August sighed and looked at Jude. He was not in his seat and that was why he stood up.
In just a second, the patient was devoured by the zombie. The soldier couldn’t kill it because everyone had panicked already. The survivors run to a different side of the room. August was pushed at the door because he was very shocked by what happened.“Open this door! Let us go!”“Zombies! They are coming!”“Open up!”The survivors kept on banging on the door. August tried to push the man in front of him. He used force until he reached the side and he fell down on the ground. He took a deep breath and stood up again. He blinked and saw his companions were still above the court. They were all scattered inside. He decided to walk to the hallway connecting to the other side of the Coliseum. There were survivors running from that direction. But he didn’t let them push him again.August saw that Carla and Nicka were nearing him when he was about to go to court again.“Carla!” he shouted.“August? Where are you?!” Carla shouted back.August tried looking at the wave of people. He saw her o