It was June 25, 2021, and just like any other day in Atlanta, it was hot. The sun was beaming over head in this early morning. To only be 10:00am the heat from the sun felt like mid-noon. I was just getting up after having a long night out with my boys, bar hopping in Buckhead all night. Looking at the sun peering into my room from my apartment window, I knew we did too much last night. My head was still pounding but nothing some breakfast couldn't fix.
As I got out of bed, took a long-needed shower, and brushed my teeth I started to feel refreshed. My apartment wasn't anything big, but it had all I needed to survive on my own. I had a decent size bedroom with a king size bed. No bed frame, just the mattress and box spring. My life was good just not that good. There was a chest of draws not far from my closet and a whole wall of my sneakers going six high and eight across. They were in clear shoe box cases for display and connivence for when I need to get to them. That was one thing I can say that I do love my J***** Sneakers. There was a bathroom attached to my bedroom for easy access. Coming out my room to my left leads to the living room and the kitchen and to right was another entrance to the bathroom.
Walking down the hall to my living room I saw my dog, Crystal, looking out the sliding door of the living room on to the porch where her water and food bowl were. As soon as she hears me, she looks up with a sad look in her eyes. "I know, I know I'll get your food ready in a sec." She was a beautiful all white husky with black fur on her four paws. When I saw her as a pup I fell in love with her color scheme. I walked over to the sliding glass door to open it while her tail that was wagging a mile a minute kept hitting my leg. I took her food and water bowl inside to refill them for her as she followed along behind me with an unimpeded gaze. I filled up her bowls and returned them to the porch to get my own breakfast started.
I went to the fridge to get the leftover food from last night's escapades. While it was in the microwave, I turned on my 65in TV, looking for some anime to catch up on. Sitting down with the eight-piece honey lemon pepper wings in front of me I began to eat as I watched my favorite anime One P****. It was during this time everything came to a standstill. All living creatures heard a voice claiming to be God in the minds of all life on the planet.
"Mortals, your progress has been stagnated as of recently, and we are running out of time. So, to speed things up, I will be releasing mana into your galaxy. Grow strong and grow fast so that you may one day fight for supremacy and rule by my side. To help you through the process of your new evolution, I will be implementing a System, something you all are familiar with. Live, fight, and survive as you grow stronger. The weak will be stepped on and the strong will be revered. Many will die and some will change but only the strong hearted will make it to the end. I have said all I need to say, make me proud as you creator and good luck."
The message stopped, and everything seemed to be moving again. I tried to take my cell phone out to call my buddy Joe to confirm if I was crazy or not. Before I knew it, I heard a loud clap and an enormous blast came from the sky and covered the whole planet, knocking me, and I assume everyone else, unconscious. I fell to the floor of my apartment, luckily on my Batman rug. Damn, I didn't even get to finish my wings.
As we were unconscious no one knew what was happening to the world and its inhabitants. Drastic changes were taking place because of the energy known as mana by the "God" who spoke seconds before. With everyone on the planet knocked out at this time, deaths were piling up by the tens of thousands. Because everyone was still in the middle of whatever action they were doing before it was lights out.
I regained my consciousness to the sound of car alarms wailing outside of my apartment. I barely opened my eyes tapping around me to find my find cell phone. I got up and headed towards my sliding glass door to see what all the commotion was about outside. I was astonished by what I saw. There are cars on fire, buildings burning, and destruction everywhere. People are running for their lives from what I can only call zombies straight out of a horror movie. The plants look like they have been growing for years with out attending. There were some buildings that were covered in plant vines with swaying flowers that looked like they were waiting for prey. I looked over at Crystal who was still lying on the floor with small sparks of blue electricity on her fur. It looked like she has grown bigger overnight and looks about the size of cheetah. I took small steps backwards as I close the sliding door behind.
Bang Bang Bang
"Was the sound coming from my front door?" I nervously walk towards my front door to see who it was. Before I go to the door, I stopped by my coat closet to take out my trusty katana, curtesy of Zoro from One P****.
Peeking through the peephole, I saw who or should I say what, was at my door. With skin falling off its face, bubbling pus running down its cheeks, dead soulless eyes that were so white that I didn't think they could see, and blood dripping out of its mouth as if it had just finished eating. I knew it was a zombie. It behaved in a similar way to the ones I witnessed from my porch. Banging on my door with its face against the door like it had trouble holding its self-up. To my horror, I recognize him as my neighbor to the apartment next door, Fred. The zombified Fred heard my gasp and slams the door with all its might busting it open.
As an avid anime fan, the only thought going through my mind was not to get bitten. Taking a quick jump backwards, I dodge the door as it swings open and slams against the stopper. Fred then lunges at me to grab me. At least one fact holds true and that is that zombies are relatively slow moving. Thrusting my katana forward, I aim for its brain, stabbing it in its head. I expected a little more resistance from the skull, but it went right through. I stumbled forward with the zombie not expecting to so easily pierce its head. It falls backwards and hits the floor with a hard thud. As I stand over the body looking at my handy work taking long deep breaths I hear a voice in my head. It sounded like a mix between a machine and a woman.
"Welcome to the Mana System, new user. As one of the first organism on the planet to kill a zombie with your own hands. You get the opportunity to pick the first element you want to use and a roll for an item of varying degrees." It said as a holographic screen appeared before my eyes with the list of available elements.