(Monday 6th June 2050}
(Time: 17:31)
Marcus responded with confused glances. "Huh? Why are we moving already?"
"People are being converted the moment we speak!" Fabian said. "We have to get to Norfolk Town!" he continued, climbing out of the hovel. Fabian replied with an unconvinced nod, looking up.
"Which way?" asked Marcus.
"South"
Surprisingly, Marcus didn't question it. He held the need to put his trust in Fabian, the one who saved his life. He wondered why Fabian wasn't as sad about the rise of the Apocalypse as he was. "He deals with it much better than I do!" he thought with a sigh.
As they both stepped out and viewed the land, the truth sank in. The world was in utter chaos. They were only death and destruction all around. There was not a tree in sight. Dark swirls of smoke rose from the ground. Fabian saw pools of blood in large holes.
Dead bodies surrounded the premise, a few quiet cries could be heard within the collapsed buildings but the companions ignored them. Fabian walked towards a corpse of a dead girl. His gaze met hers.
The slash on her throat was cut deep, a miserable shade of green. She was bathed in blood, her sullen, lifeless eyes taunting him. Her arms and legs were bent in an awkward position. Fabian felt a strange appeal to the remains as he looked up and down her body. His mouth watered and he licked his lips. He saw the girl's hand twitch and froze.
*Sigh*
He looked away.
"We better keep moving" said Marcus with deep sigh, beckoning Fabian to walk.
[Daily Quest Completion: 16.29%]
*******
(Monday 6th June 2050}
(Time: 18:49)
They had been walking a few hours south. Fabian had no intention of getting to Norfolk Town. He smiled with pleasure when he saw the System update itself every few minutes.
[Daily Quest Completion: 31.68%]
"I'm still not sure what's up with this unique {control} stat" he thought, rubbing his chin.
As soon as Fabian looked up, a collection of small buildings and huts came into view. Fabian sighed in relief, looking down at his legs, torn with exhaustion.
"I see a village that still looks intact up ahead" shouted Marcus. Fabian saw the deep longing for food in his eyes. He hadn't eaten any proper food in days. Fabian was surprised he was still conscious let alone alive.
[Daily Quest Completion: 70.90%]
"A little bit more!" Fabian thought.
The Apocalypse had not yet arrived in the village. Large towns or cities with large population density were at most risk. Fabian didn't want to stop, but he knew they needed food and rest before they could continue their journey. 10km was a long way to walk.
The sky became grey as the companions made their way towards the village. The wind blew against their backs, pushing them along. As they neared the village, they saw two signs. One, Fabian assumed was the name of the village, which was illegible and smeared in blood. The other seemed to be carved quite recently.
"We're all dead..." Fabian muttered, reading the sign. He stepped into the village, looking at his surroundings cautiously. The village was tranquil, and yet Fabian felt uneasy as he took the first step in.
They explored each building, raiding the left over food, water and clothing. They did this until they reached the very end building. "Huh, who's there?" screamed Fabian, holding the stick with both hands. He raised it, parallel to his feet. He had a cautious expression on his face as he slowly looked back and forth.
His body trembled then froze. "Huh, what is this?" he muttered as he no longer felt his arms. As the seconds passed, more and more of his body was overwhelmed by pain. The wooden stick fell out of his hands. His whole body quaked. Pain spiked every inch of his body. His eyes began to move in circles without Fabian's control. He squeezed them shut, hoping the pain would go away.
Fabian saw Marcus staring at him through the edge of his vision. "Fabian? Are you okay?" Marcus asked, mystified. Fabian opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He soon realized that talking became a difficulty as he sank down to his knees.
"Fabian?" The words echoed in his ears, but it was drowned out by the constant murmuring of the zombies. He looked down and saw his green, a disgusting, pale green. "I'll be fine..." he spoke, gritting his teeth. He used every bit of willpower to get the words out.
"I'm sorry" he managed, his teeth chattering, before he lay on his side and curled into a ball, tightly holding onto his legs, pulled onto his chest...
[Hidden Notification: Transformation Stage 2 will commence shortly]
*******
"Get this to Norfolk Town immediately for further testing!" Lauren commanded, doing one last scan of the room before rushing out of the door. Behind her, a scientist put the band-aid inside a plastic seal.
Lauren took out a strange device from her pocket and placed it on her ears. "Yes, we found something!" she spoke. "We will be back shortly"
Moments later, a helicopter came flying towards them. The driver had a gas mask and was wearing similar clothing to the scientists.
The helicopter landed and the scientists rushed in, all with a serious expression on their faces. They flew up, returning to their headquarters in the highest point in the world, the philos. Before the Apocalypse, it was a tourist destination. An elite group of scientists were formed when the outbreak worsened and they became known as the Elite Apocalypse Scientists (EAS)
*******
"What information have we got so far?" asked Lauren, sitting across from one of her leading scientists. They're gaze finally met and she saw the woman gulp.
"Very little Madam" the woman replied nervously. "The blood seems to be mixed with... some other substance" she continued, followed by a deep sigh. She was about to leave when there was a violent knock on the door.
"I'll get it Madam"
*Silence*
As soon as the scientist opened the door, a male scientist ran into the office, a baffled expression on his face. "Madam, we found something important!" he cried, ignoring the other scientist in the room. He held up a report. He seemed too shocked to speak. His eyes were everywhere, beckoning Lauren to read it.
Lauren took it and looked down at the report...
A few seconds later, her expression slowly changed. "Impossible!" she muttered. She looked up from her desk.
"But how? The blood is from... a human?"