Tora wasn't seen out in public after the day the protagonists were condemned. Despite, a few visits from those that she deemed as close, no one was allowed in the new house that was built on Earth.
She had everything she needed, food, money, and entertainment in the comfort of her own home. Spending her time leisurely as she bantered back and forth with Asier.
She read the updates and emails that Liam constantly sent her every day.
I haven't seen him in months...
I suppose the newly elected leader is busy with his job.
'Are you getting old or something? You are too sentimental.'
You are the one that's old. Fuck you.
While cursing Asier as usual, Tora felt herself drifting into a deep slumber. When she awoke, her body felt sore and achy.
The broken glass that covered her legs like dust was alarming. She found herself stumped over as something held her tightly in place.
What's this...? A car crash?
Alarmed, Tora reached to undo the buckle and quickly stumbled out of the car.
"Nora!" A voice rang in her ears. "We have to hurry! They're almost here!" The high-pitched voice was sweet and caring, the opposite of the rough tug and the sharp nails dug into Tora's arms.
"..." Tora winced slightly at the pain, stumbling along as they continued running.
Her eyes scanned the surroundings, taking note of the desolate and disgusting putrid smell of the neighborhood.
Her face felt wet and something was continuously streaming down her face. Her breath was labored and shallow, signifying the weak constitution of her own body.
"Oh my god! Look!" The high-pitched voice pointed to a street over. A group of people climbed into their cars through the empty yards of those houses. "Hey! Please! Take us with you!"
They glanced over after hearing her voice, seeming to be contemplating their choices.
"Julie, you have to keep running!" Tora had just noticed that running behind them was a young man. His face flushed as he began to push them both to run faster.
"Go to the next street over! We'll drive there and pick you up! Through the houses so you lose the ones that are following!" One of the guys from the group shouted through the open window. his hands pointing towards the other road parallel to ours.
"Tha—thank you!" Julie tugged even harder as she started running towards the houses on their right.
"I'll go ahead to open the door!" The young man dashed past them and checked to see which house had an unlocked door. "Over here!"
They must be stupid or something to take "through the houses" literally. I'm sure they just meant to run through the lawns to confuse whatever is chasing them.
They all ran into the house, making their way through the living room and out the back door. The young man got out first, spotting the car, and quickly ran over there, passing another home's lawn.
The sounds of groans and moans echoed loudly in the house.
As long as we close the door after we leave, this should give us more time...
Before Tora could reach the door frame, the person gripping her arm suddenly shoved her. Catching her off-guard, Tora stumbled and fell, crashing into a piano that stood behind her.
The sweet and lovely voice whispered, "Your job as my older sister is to protect me. Please, die so that I can live." The hateful look she gave stunned Tora silly.
The door shut closed, leaving Tora fumbling to get up alone in the house. Her arm was grasped by a cold pair of hands. Tora felt pairs of teeth sink into her forearm, ripping off a chunk of meat.
"Fuck!" She cursed and kicked the thing that bit into her, causing it to tumble back, colliding with the others that followed after it.
She quickly ran around to the kitchen, pulling out a large knife. The back door was no longer an option for her to escape. The beings crowded that area, following after her into the kitchen. A few were quick, while most were slow.
Damn you, Asier! At least give me a heads-up before throwing me into the apocalypse!
The knife was an inadequate object to use against a crowd. Tora saw the frying pan hanging on the wall. Seeing as this was a better object to swing around with, she quickly snatched it.
Her ears faintly picked up the sound of a car driving away.
Those fuckers are really going to just leave like that.
With the pan in her left hand and the knife in her right. Tora swung it hard, knocking one of them into the fridge. This gave her enough time to plunge the knife deep into its throat. She grabbed the body and shoved it towards the things that were chasing her from the back door.
The entrance from the kitchen to the living room was semi-open, a few slow ones trudging their way towards her. With a few swings, she managed to knock them off balance, sprinting towards the front door and kicking it shut.
Her destination was, of course, the door leading to the garage near it. In the corner of her eyes was a key bowl. She decided to place her bets on it and quickly snatched the bowl up. Her hands struggled to turn the doorknob, barely managing to open and shut it in time as one of them approached her from behind.
The door shook as the things collided with it, echoing in the large garage, like thunder roaring.
I have to hurry.
She looked around the garage, seeing no cars except for a beautiful large bike parked in the corner.
"Well fuck! I don't even know how to ride one." She felt even more resentment towards Asier. Not only was she already bitten, she now had to figure out how to ride a motorbike. "What rotten luck I have!"
Her hands fumbled around in the key bowl, trying to find something that matched the bike. "Unlike Hallie, this Nora person has such a weak body."
Asier, you asshole. You didn't bring me into this moment so that I would die from an infected bite, would you?
Even if she were to die, Tora wanted to at least die peacefully, alone in a room somewhere. She didn't fancy the idea of being eaten alive.
She struggled to find where the key would fit to match the key to the bike. Other than a few other keys, this black block was peculiar. "Curse my non-explorative life. Don't tell me this shit is the key?" She turned the block around, checking to see if there was a button for the key to pop out. "Is it like those push-to-start cars?"
Shoving the block into her pocket, she swung the key bowl away and rechecked the bike, trying to find a button to press. "I should probably be on it first." She barely had any strength left, her hands struggled to balance the bike between her legs. "Okay, the button."
She looked and looked, but nothing resembling a button was there. There was, however, a lone knob staring at her, asking to be twisted.
I see, twist and it should start the engine.
A vibrating rumble greeted her. "I'm going to die because I can't drive this fucking thing."
Tora steadied herself, "Think electric bicycles, Tora. You got this."
BANG!
A large object struck the garage doors.
Damn it, I can't leave through that.
She decided to quickly familiarize herself with the bike by trying to drive it in circles a few times. She knew her time was up. More and more had begun slamming itself against the large garage entrance, shaking it to the point that it was about to crash.
"I'll just wing it."
She positioned the bike facing the small door leading out to the open backyard, got off, and quickly swung the door open.
Tora felt herself in luck. None of the infected had made their way to the backyard yet. This gave her enough time to mount the bike and drive it out of the tiny door.
She struggled to balance the bike a few times, nearly crashing.
Just a bit more and it will be a road instead of grass.
She sped off, not knowing where to go, only knowing that she had successfully escaped. The wind continuously assaulted her face. Tora wasn't sure if her face felt numb from it or if it was numbing because of the bite. All that she knew at that moment, was the loud pounding of her excited heart gradually calming at an alarming pace.
At every passing building, her fingers began to stiffen. She felt feverish and light-headed. Her eyes continuously scanned the passing buildings, trying to find the best one.
A Museum...?
The large building was beautiful, quiet, and the most unlikely place anyone would want to be in during an apocalypse. This was the best choice Tora had. She parked the bike, prying her stiff fingers off the handles, and stumbled her way in.
She could feel her eyes becoming cloudy. The muscles in her body began to cramp and stiffen, making it difficult to walk. She shuffled into the bathroom, locked the door, and fell to the floor.
Before losing consciousness, a familiar note appeared.
'Read the story when you wake up.'
.
.
.
[Status: Awakened]
[Class: Zombie]
[Tier: F]
[Abilities: NA]
[Duration before the upgrade: 20 days]
A loud and monotonous sound echoed in her ear as she slowly came to. She attempted to sit up, but her body barely moved. It was clear that her dead body was experiencing rigor mortis.
I'm going to rip you open, Asier!
She tried talking, wanting to curse Asier out loud. What she only managed was some grunts and groans. She had no control over her tongue and her jaw was clamped close.
After struggling for an hour, Tora managed to sit up. Her jaw slowly opened and closed. the stiff joints cracked with every movement. Although she didn't feel any pain, Tora felt frustrated at the pace of her actions.
'Interesting world, isn't it?'
Interesting my ass.
'You look funny.'
Shut it!
She could barely see anything. The fog that covered her pupils remained, blinding her from her surroundings.
How am I supposed to read the novel like this?
'You can see this message just fine because it's me. Should I read it to you?'
Ew. No.
'Lol.'
Tora was able to keep track of the date with the countdown that appeared.
[Duration before the upgrade: 2 days]
It had been 18 days since she woke up in this world. Her sight was slowly recovering and the speed of her movements increased by a tiny amount. Her sense of smell had yet to return and her body continued to feel nothing.
It was an odd experience that she couldn't fully comprehend. The only comfort she had in these excruciatingly long boring times was the fact that there was someone she could talk to.
She hated to admit it, but Asier had become a normal part of her routine. It was normal for her to be able to talk to him, normal for her to be angry and annoyed with him, and normal for her to feel some sort of comfort knowing he was around.
Wait...he? Was Asier a he?
She caught her own thoughts off-guard.
'Your mind is full of wonders'
Shut it.
One thing she found out for sure was that Asier couldn't see all of her thoughts, only the inner voices of her mind when she talked to herself.
She had long picked the book up. Holding it tightly, afraid that she might accidentally lose it somewhere. Her eyes could now see blurry things but small letterings were still a challenge.
Fascinating. So this is what it's like to have cataracts.
She looked hard, staring for a while before she could make out what it said. She had, so far, read the first chapter of the novel.
Julie Jensen found herself being dragged away by the council. The Kings had decided that she was a burden to their colony, deeming her worthless and trash, unlike her older sister, Nora Jensen.
Nora was the only person on base that had a tri-ability. As a healer, water, and fire wielder, she was deemed a valuable asset to the newfound colony of survivors.
"Julie! Please, let her go!" But the perfect girl had a flaw, she was weak-hearted and never fully developed her fire or water powers for combat. A pushover to be exact.
"Nora! Help me, Nora! Let me go!" Julie screamed and struggled. She was a simple plant user. A person who was considered a liability.
The two were pulled apart, one person towards the Kings and the other towards the rags. The elder sister lived in riches, served the finest of foods and materials, and was revered and loved by everyone around her.
The younger sister, however, lived life in agony. Her body was constantly abused and used by dirty, disgusting, and violent men. She was stuck in a makeshift brothel, forced to be a toy to those who came back with a successful mission. With no room to grow her powers and level up, the girl was too weak to resist. The only thing that grew in her heart was resentment.
As her body grew weaker and her breath became shallow, her resentment towards the sister who had left her here.
She had died. All alone in a disgusting place.
"God must have taken pity on me..."
She had regressed in time, to the day before the outbreak.
"HAHAHAHA! My sister! My dear sister!"
It was now her turn to live a better life.