'Why is it that all my life, I could calmly make the right decision, no matter how heartless... yet in this crucial moment, I continue to go against what I know is correct… only to do what I feel is right?'
----
On that night when Marcus was fired, Sylvia went home without a care.
Her life would be rearranged once again, as it always was in the harsh corporate environment.
People would be hired and fired, those around her would switch around, and she would continue doing as she needed to keep her own position.
She would quietly and calmly accept things as they were, and she wouldn't do anything to stand out.
She wouldn't allow herself to develop emotional connections to those who were around her, for they were nothing more than coworkers.
They were people who could be cut off in an instant.
And if she allowed herself to become attached to them, she would only be disappointed.
It was this exact lack of personal attachment that allowed her to progress herself in this world.
Sylvia took every effort to avoid scandals.
No matter what happened, she ensured that she avoided any and all politics within the corporations she worked for.
If someone wanted a position, she would let them have it.
If someone was jealous of her, she would step aside and ensure that there was nothing to be jealous of.
Therefore, she was stuck in a position of mediocrity.
She remained below others, just high enough to survive and pay her bills.
And that was perfectly fine.
'If I were to try and stand out... if I were to try and gain recognition for everything that I do... then that would only be a pain.'
Jealousy was far too prominent in this world for Sylvia to pursue unhindered success.
Therefore, rather than become successful and deal with the annoyances of success, she instead remained where she was.
However, on that night as she headed home, Sylvia felt something.
A pain in her chest.
'Why is it... that I feel so wrong about this?'
Clutching her purse, the woman continued walking to her car, filled with an emotion which she typically avoided showing.
Uncertainty.
'Am I... concerned? For who? Myself? The team? Or that man?'
Sylvia did not know herself.
As she drove home in the night, the eerie silence only amplified these worries, however the woman did not say a word.
For who would she speak to?
'I shouldn't think about these things. They are unnecessary. My first priority is myself.'
Putting on an expression that was completely professional and devoid of even the slightest emotion, Sylvia continued her drive home.
That night she made it to her home without the slightest mishap.
Sylvia lived in a relatively modern high rise apartment complex in the city.
Given her income, she was able to afford it, and it was in close proximity to her work, therefore it was convenient.
Furthermore, security in this apartment was tight. With facial recognition and fingerprint systems, only residents and their guests were able to enter.
Breaking in would be a fool's errand. If one had the time to do so, it would be better spent elsewhere where security was less advanced.
Therefore despite living alone, Sylvia was relatively safe.
"Ah, good evening Mr. Johnson."
"Ah, if it isn't Sylvia... the weather certainly isn't looking good tonight, is it?"
Walking into an elevator with an older man who was hunched over onto his cane, Sylvia merely looked at him with confusion.
"What do you mean by that? There wasn't a cloud in the sky."
"Ho ho... I wasn't talking about the clouds. The static. I can feel electricity in the air. It's gonna be a real monster tonight."
Sylvia gave the man a skeptical glare, holding back the desire to roll her eyes at the man's delusions.
Ding!
Stepping out without so much as saying goodbye, nor looking back and waving, the woman kept her completely serious demeanor throughout the entire conversation, not so much as batting an eye to become friendly with anyone.
"Ah, have a good night."
Even as the man said such words, the woman merely stopped for a moment, lightly nodded, then continued on her way.
----
"Another day has passed. With this change in management, the project will fall behind significantly. It will require quite a bit of time for the team to readjust to the new conditions - time in which we could have spent getting work done. However... I suppose it doesn't matter in the end, so long as I do my own part."
Turning around in her bed, Sylvia was now in her pajamas - a plain nightgown.
Her black hair, which had previously been in a bun, had been let down, and it rolled around her in excessive manner as she curled into herself, looking towards the window.
As she sat in her bed on that night, the feeling of uncertainty refused to leave her.
Instead, it grew with the silence as time passed, only weighing on her more and more.
'Why... is it so quiet?'
'It's always so quiet...'
Standing up, the woman groggily made her way over to the window, looking out it.
Below her were the city streets.
Vehicles filled the roads, people seemed to be heading here and there even in the midst of the night, and the shops below her seemed to be bustling with activity.
Yet despite this chaos, Sylvia found herself alone in her room, about to go to sleep so that she could wake up early the next morning to work once more.
Resting her chin on her elbow, the woman let out a heavy sigh.
She looked down to see a family of four walking happily together along a sidewalk.
A child seemed to be rushing ahead, pointing at a restaurant, at which the mother grabbed him and began to scold him.
As Sylvia saw this, she frowned ever so slightly.
"A family... eh?"
However it was the next moment that it happened.
Lightbulbs within the light posts seemed to explode in a rain of sparks.
Electricity seemed to spread throughout the entire world, connecting from one place to another.
As if the entire city was just one massive grid, the lightning seemed to connect throughout the world, connecting to the minds of each and every person, as well as every fixture, vehicle, and metal component in the city.
'Wha-'
Before she could so much as do or say anything, the lightning had made it's way up her building, spreading throughout the wiring inside her home, and shooting out her lightbulb, connecting to her own mind as well.
However rather than feel an electric shock, Sylvia felt something else.
She felt tired.
She looked out the window, barely able to hold herself up as she slowly fell to her knees, grabbing the windowsill in her exhausted effort to remain awake.
'What... is happening?'
It was as she was grasping on for dear life that she saw it.
The cars on the street below her began to swerve in all directions.
Chaos had enveloped the landscape.
And right before she fell asleep, Sylvia witnessed something horrible.
She watched as a car smashed right into the four family members, hitting them all head on in a rain of blood and guts.
With eyes going wide and an expression of horror overtaking her, Sylvia felt an emotion in her heart which far surpassed the uncertainty which nipped at her.
Shock and horror.
Yet even this lasted only a moment.
For despite the gory scene which played out in front of her eyes, despite the insanity which overtook the streets before her, Sylvia's eyelids became heavier and heavier.
And then, she dropped to the floor.
Her eyelids slowly closed, and darkness enveloped her sight.
The apocalypse had begun.
----
When Sylvia woke, her body wouldn't move.
She opened her eyes to see that the ever so familiar ceiling was now crumbling.
However when she tried to turn her head, she realized that she could not.
'Hm.... that's... strange. My head... it won't... turn.'
It then hit her.
'Have I... no, that shouldn't be possible for humans, right? There's no way that could be true... but... given the state of the ceiling...'
Numerous thoughts rushed through the mind of Sylvia as she tried to remain calm, analyzing the situation.
'That's the only thing I can think of... that somehow... even though time has passed.... my body has entered a state of hibernation. And because of that, I am currently in a state of sleep paralysis.'
Again, the sense of uncertainty corrupted the heart of Sylvia, seeping into her soul in the form of worry.
'What if I cannot get up from this?'
'How long will I be in this state?'
'Will I ever be able to move again?'
'Is this even sleep paralysis?'
'Isn't there the possibility that... I am just paralyzed?'
Uncertainty.
'What would I do if that were the case?'
'Well, obviously not move.'
'But what could I even do? I cannot speak. I cannot move. I cannot do anything.'
It was then that a certain thought overcame Sylvia's mind.
'If I have to live such a life... then is this life even worth living?'
[Such depressing thoughts for a human.]
It came from somewhere, reverberated in her ears- It was a crackling voice of a woman, one who sounded to be between a child and a young adult.
However despite hearing this voice, Sylvia's first thoughts were not 'who is there'.
Rather, she thought to herself.
'Where did that voice come from?'
For there didn't appear to be any direction to the voice.
If there was a person in this room, then how could it have originated from inside her mind?
[Man... you sure are analytical, aren't you, woman? But I guess that's a good thing. You'll make a decent host. Ah, I'm kinda tired so I'mma go to sleep for now. I'll probably wake up to watch you die. Good luck surviving. Hehe...]
It was then that the voice disappeared.
'What.... is that voice? Why was it coming from inside my head? Host... tired... surviving?'
'Wait a minute, why did it say good luck surviving?'
'Ah.'
Looking up at the ceiling, the woman slowly sat up, her ability to move having returned.
'I'm probably late for work.'
----
Sylvia quickly got up and headed to her dresser to realize that all of her clothes had been completely ruined.
Not just her clothes, but everything around her.
The room, the flooring, the ceiling, it was as if the very essence of rot had overtaken the world.
'This is... very strange. Everything seems to have deteriorated. However this deterioration is unnatural. No matter how long I slept, this wouldn't happen like this under normal circumstances. There must have been some sort of chemical agent which assisted in it.'
The best thing which Sylvia could find was a pair of ripped jeans and a dirty t-shirt, however this was nowhere close to acceptable attire to attend work in.
Even so, Sylvia had come to realize that something majorly wrong had occurred.
'Those vehicles... the people in them... the electricity... all those things... I don't know what happened... but there is one thing that I'm sure of.'
Walking over to the window, the girl tied up her hair once again as she looked out it to see that the streets were filled with zombies.
Including that very family which she had watched die with her very eyes.
Large chunks of their bodies were missing, and some even had their heads split open, brain matter hanging out of the open skulls.
'I think I'm going to have to skip work today.'
Sylvia didn't know what that voice was, or if it was even real.
Was it a hallucination? An illusion? Or maybe someone was communicating to her through a method that she didn't understand.
'If I was just going crazy... then that would make a lot of sense... however... I don't feel like that would be correct to say.'
Grabbing a briefcase, Sylvia decided to exit her locked room, entering the living room of her apartment.
'Yet.'
----
Sylvia used a combination of the shower curtain pole, duct tape, and a knife to form a spear.
She couldn't believe herself that she was creating such a thing, however she had one single priority which had not changed from the moment she fell asleep.
Survive.
She would do this, and she would do anything necessary in order to do so.
'The world I have lived in up to this point has been one where making a single mistake would mean political death. And as for this new one...'
'A single mistake means literal death.'
As she thought this, a slight smile crept it's way up the mouth of Sylvia.
"Heh."
With a chuckle, she stood up, spear in one hand and briefcase in the other.
"All the food has gone bad, with the exception of nonperishable items. The entire kitchen has become a pool of filth. The water system has been contaminated, and there is a 110% chance that I would die within the next hour were I to attempt to drink the fluids that come from the tap. Furthermore, since my body was in a hibernating state, I'm very thirsty now. I estimate that I'll be dead in 2 days if I don't drink something."
Opening the door to the apartment, the girl entered the hallway.
"However... the fact that I am still alive means that I'm in a better position than most. Or perhaps this is a worse position?"
Sylvia did not know, but she was not about to let herself wonder such a thing.
Survive.
That was all she knew right now.
She walked through the fortunately empty hallway, slowly creeping her way through the building in silence.
'I don't know what the condition is for infection, but there is a high possibility that some of the people of this apartment complex were also infected, like those ones in the streets. Whether there are any other people alive in this hall... I don't know. And I have no intention to find out.'
It seemed, however, that the world did not want that for her.
"Agh!" A bloodcurdling scream came from somewhere.
"H-help!"
"No! Stop!"
"Get away from me!"
It was then that the girl overheard a number of footsteps.
Thinning her sharp eyes, she threw her briefcase to the side, holding her spear in both hands.
'Ah. People.'
Turning the corner of the hallway were a group of three people.
The first was a man who looked to be in his 50's. He was balding, and he wore a suit. This man was the first to turn the corner as he awkwardly stumbled forth, rushing with fear in his eyes.
Following behind this man were two young children - a small boy and a younger girl. They seemed to be crying in fear as they rushed around the corner in terror.
And then, soon after the three came a zombie, rushing forth at them.
It's mouth had been halfway destroyed, the left side of it's jaw ripped completely off. Even so, it ran forth, chasing the three in it's hunger.
It growled, grotesque teeth showing. "Grgh!"
"Agh!!"
Stumbling to the ground, the boy fell, grabbing onto the leg of the man.
The zombie snarled, louder this time. "Graghhh!"
Taking note of the commotion, the zombie seemed to increase in speed, rushing forth at the three.
"You little... L-let go of me! Let go right n-now!"
Sobbing. "I- I don't want to die.." The girl had stopped, crying in fear as she watched the scene while standing there, and the man began to kick away at the boy, who refused to let go of him.
"Don't... don't leave me!!", he shouted.
However, these shouts were only met with more furious kicking as the zombie was now only a few meters from the group.
"Enough! Get away fr-"
It was at that moment, as the balding man started to shout, that a spear flew right by his head.
Straight into the brain of the zombie.
The spear shot straight through the monster, creating a hole in it and then landing in the wall with the splatter of brain matter.
The zombie seemed to remain standing for a moment before it fell to the limp, dead on the spot with a gaping hole in it's head as it was pinned to the wall by the spear.
The man and the two children merely looked back to Sylvia, who had just performed a maneuver like a professional javelin thrower.
The woman huffed, out of breath, perhaps from anxiety or physical extortion.
'Why did I do that? Instinct? What if I missed? I just got rid of my weapon. I need to get it back. Now.'
Walking forth without even acknowledging the three, Sylvia went over to retrieve her weapon.
"Um... t-thank you-"
The child tried to thank Sylvia, however she walked right past the boy without so much as acknowledging his existence.
The older man merely dropped his jaw, unsure what to even say.
"Ah, please let go of my leg, will you boy? Grappling to me like that... my knees are getting weaker, you know. You should treat me with more respect."
The boy let go of the man's leg, however he fell back to the ground in shock.
He was exhausted.
He was terrified, and he panted with fear as the moment sunk in.
Looking over to Sylvia, who grabbed her spear from the wall, the boy shouted out to her.
"Thank you, miss!"
Sylvia flicked the spear to remove the brain matter, looking back to the three with confusion.
"What are you talking about? That creature would have likely attacked me next. I should thank you for acting as bait.", she said as she wiped the tip of the spear off with her shirt.
However, the little girl approached the woman, standing in front of her with a timid expression.
Then, tears came to her eyes.
"Miss! Please stay with us!"
The girl grabbed hold of Sylvia, hugging her like a lost child who had just found her mother.
"You're getting snot on my shirt."
"Please!" The girl pleaded.
"You're being loud, and your cries will likely attract more zombies. Staying with you three would decrease my chances of survival."
Placing her hand on the girl's head, Sylvia was about to rip the girl off from her, however the girl then looked up to her with a tearful expression.
She was terrified.
"Don't.... leave us....", she whimpered.
Looking down, Sylvia felt something in her heart.
Something which she normally should have ignored.
She felt that feeling which she had always put behind her.
Empathy.
"If you were to stay with us... then we would have a much greater chance of survival working together. More people would mean more fighting ability, and-"
As the man folded his hands together and attempted to convince Sylvia, she gave him a glare which shut him up on the spot.
"Do you believe that any of you have any fighting power to contribute?"
However, the boy then rushed over, clinging to the woman in a manner similar to the young girl.
"Please, miss! We'll do anything! We'll do everything you say... we'll be good! We won't disobey you!" Despite his fear, the boy gritted his teeth in determination.
Two children were now clinging to her, and Sylvia looked down to them with indecision.
She wanted to throw them off just as the man had done and rush out of there at that moment.
She knew that staying with these people would do nothing more than hinder her chances at living.
However, she couldn't.
No matter what her brain told her body, it didn't move.
'Why... can't I just leave these people?'
"Very well."
With a sigh, Sylvia looked around her, trying to take in the surroundings.
"I'll accompany you all. However if you all prove to be dead weight.... then I will not hesitate to use you as bait."
----