On his last dregs of rations, Dominic felt starved and weak. He was all alone. Damn. His entire family fell victim on the first day of the apocalypse, leaving him to fend for himself. He had to watch- no, listen, as they slowly transformed into the mindless zombies that plagued this planet in probably, the billions. Radio silence was very real in his city. Deep remorse and sadness engulfed his heart as he thought about the plight of his younger brother, his mother and his father. Their terrified screams still resounded in his ears to this day. Their limbs transmuting into extensions of tentacles, their heads bursting to make way for three and their ribcage piercing through their delicate flesh to create the core for the parasite created by the virus.
He sobbed into his hands when he recalled the moment he turned his back on his very own family. He had to, right? To live. Those were their last words before their throat was ripped out by the parasites and their bodies taken over relentlessly. He couldn't look into their eyes. That's how they spread.
There was no real purpose to his existence. Living day to day on stolen rations, food scraps from the rogues who roamed and the overall hopeless atmosphere didn't help with happiness. Barbed fences lay torn and unrepaired around the city. Dominic felt his desire to leave this world grow with each passing day. He recalled the past, when things began.
As per normal, Dominic began his work at a nearby pizzeria. He greeted his colleagues with a cheery expression, with a heavy heart. He knew his financial situation was tough, but he had to keep on smiling through the pain, to get his younger brother through school and his family afloat. Dominic and his father worked very hard, but he believed his father worked even harder. After his work at construction sites, his father would often return with injuries on his arms, legs and heavily dirtied clothes. Despite this grueling work, his father continued everyday to provide a living for his family. As migrants, even a day of leave could be devastating to them. Leaving everything to their father made Dominic sad and it rended his heart to see him like that. Thus, he juggled high school and worked part time to alleviate his family's financial burdens.
Dominic kept a careful eye on the television, before it flashed an global emergency warning regarding the emergence of a newly discovered virus in Africa. He rolled his eyes, diverting his attention to making a pizza and focusing on his work. It was too far from where he was to remotely affect him, he thought. He felt a weird atmosphere after the recording of the virus played. He didn't look at the television, but those who watched it were rooted to the ground where they stood. Strangely, he felt a great attraction to watch the recording. Dominic shook his colleague, who was in the midst of washing the utensils.
"Hey, watch out. You're spilling washing fluid everywhere. People are going to slip and fall." Still, no response from him. Then, his eyes moved to lock stares with him. The same sickening feeling of attraction engulfed his mind. Fear entered his heart like an arrow. What was this? His colleague's eyes grew bloodshot and his pupils turned into a deep blood-rose red.
"...the virus appears to transmit through any line of sight. For now, we have no clue how- JIM, NO! TURN OFF THE RECORDING! WE NEED TO CONTROL THE SPREAD OF THE-" With an abrupt static sound, the broadcast shut off.
Shit. It was lucky he did not watch the recording. Dominic backed away carefully, tipping his pizza cap downward to block the line of sight between his colleagues and him. The remaining uninfected personnel and customers stared tensely at the infected as they shook and convulsed. Tendrils of worry wrapped around his mind as he walked slowly from the counter and sprinted for the front door. Was his family alright? People along the street seemed to be fine, but confused by his panicked state. Dominic screamed, "RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! DO NOT LOOK INTO THEIR EYES!"
Laughter erupted among those who heard, but quickly turned into mania as the first infected tore open the pizzeria door to stare at them.
Dominic had to run home. Quickly. His mother would be watching the television for news soon. He didn't want to just live. His family was all he had. Reaching the doorstep of his house, he panted while opening the door, to see his mother holding the television remote. No, no, no!
He tore the remote out of his mother's hand and in a panicked tone, explained everything. He had to fetch his brother, get his father from the nearby construction site- his mother seemed off. In the same unsettling fashion, her neck twisted at an unnatural angle to stare deep into his eyes. No familiar "My son" and "My baby" came out of her lips. Like her vocal cords tearing to make way for something, a visceral, blood-curling scream emerged from her throat. Saliva splattered all over his face, but at this point Dominic couldn't care less.
Tears poured from his eyes, as he shook his mother's shoulders. "Please Mom, don't go like this. Come back! Fight the virus! Fight it!" For a brief moment, the blood retracted from her eyes and sanity returned. All she could muster were a few words in a quaking, weak voice: "I am sorry, Dom." His eyes widened.
With tears in his eyes, he pushed her backwards into a nearby coffee table and caused her to fall. His hands trembled when he chained the door with the steel lock. Pounding on the other side could be heard clearly, with inhumane sounds accompanying it, then moments of human voice uncannily resembling his mother's comforting voice burst forth.
Dominic punched the door with sadness and rage, emotions running high. He couldn't believe his mother was really gone in such a terrible way. He breathed in calmly, and reminded himself that his father and brother were still around. He checked his phone, careful not to click on any social media apps. An unread message from his father.
"Come to my workplace. I have your brother here too."
When Dominic arrived, he noticed his brother's terrified expression and his father's calm expression as they sat in a sheltered pavilion, hiding beneath the seats, careful to avoid the curious gaze of the monsters about. The setting sun darkened some of the shadows. Their elated expressions were evident, but soon disappeared when his mother was not by his side. Dominic shook his head, avoiding their sorrowful gaze.
"I couldn't save her. I'm sorry. She was watching the recording on another channel and.."
"Save your words. I don't think it's your fault." His father emotionlessly replied, like he'd expected such a result. His brother silently wept at the demise of their mother. His father's baritone voice suddenly spoke, this time, a message of great alarm.
Dominic couldn't remember anything else, except for his father's great sacrifice to save him and his brother. An infected appeared behind them, and his father had locked eyes with the infected already. Upon noticing his father's alarmed expression, Dominic lunged forward to blindfold his brother with his towel and tip his own cap downward.
"Take care of your brother, won't you?"
He tackled the infected to the ground, as tendrils of flesh sprouted from his limbs and his ribcage pierced through his flesh. Dominic scooped his brother up and ran. Screams of agony erupted from him, and could be heard as they ran.
"Don't look back at him." Pain wracked his flat voice as Dominic warned his younger brother. First, his mother. Now, the gods had taken his father. The world was unfair. Nightfall soon approached, whilst Dominic searched for shelter.
They arrived at an alleyway. His brother's expression was grim in the scarce moonlight when Dominic set him down near the large dumps. He couldn't blame him. Dominic had to be the big brother and be strong though.
"Listen, I know you're sad. Mom and Dad are gone. But, you still have your big brother, right?" Dominic tried to keep a cheerful expression, but all that came out as a feeble smile and evident sadness in his gaze. He felt his brother's small arms wrap around his body for an embrace, for his comforting touch. "There, there." He patted his head, humming the same lullaby his mother sang when he acted up in his younger years. Eventually, his brother fell asleep in his arms. Dominic wiped his brother's tear stricken cheeks with his towel and set him down near the wall. He must have been truly exhausted. Setting down a small barrier with discarded furniture and garbage, Dominic dragged his body that felt heavy as lead next to his brother, and fell into the terrible slumber that would hopefully wash away the exhaustion that accumulated.
Nightmares of his mother's final words and his father's brave sacrifice plagued his sleep. He woke up, his shirt drenched in warm sweat. His brother was sleeping fitfully too, where he mumbled something about saving the world. The sun was up now, the crack of dawn lighting up the dark streets of the city. Dominic wished he could save the world too.
As if on cue, his brother woke up from his sleep and rubbed his eyes. His brother turned to him and stared blankly, before an expression of sadness swept over his face. Dominic gazed sorrowfully at his brother. He knew too well the feelings of his brother. Both their bellies rumbled and they both shared a moment of laughter.
"Stay right here, all right? Don't venture outside of this barrier." Without another moment wasted, Dominic hopped out of the alleyway in search of nearby food places. After an hour of cautious searching, he came up with a lot of food. Carrying it all in a haversack he found in a desolate department store, he happily walked back to base. With each step, he heard the sounds of scratching and flesh tearing growing closer and closer. His heart pounded as he imagined his brother succumbing to the virus and turning into a zombie.
Please don't take my brother. He feverishly repeated this phrase in his head, praying that his prayers did not fall on deaf ears.
As he climbed over the barrier, he saw his brother curled up in a fetal position, silent and motionless. Surely, he was fine. Right? He climbed down the barrier carefully, leaving the haversack on top of the barrier. Fear enveloped his heart when he inched closer towards the curled up body. A faint whisper. A visceral tone. Then, he saw it. The corpse of an infected person hiding in the shadows.
"Live. Dominic."
Then, he began to convulse. His world seemed to freeze right before him. His heart sped up. Why was this world so cruel? They took everything he had. Dominic hung his head, pulling down his cap and tying a blindfold around his eyes. He had to put his brother to rest. He held the crowbar firmly in his hand and swung it hard onto what remained of his brother, smashing the ovules of the virus and crushing the ribs that protected the core. At last, the virus fully took over. But it was too late. With a final swing of his crowbar towards the viral core, it exploded with a splaat, rendering the body motionless. His brother's eyes fell closed. Dominic caught the motionless corpse of his brother in his arms, the familiar warmth radiating off of his back. The worn blue shirt he always wore. The messy long hair he always had. Those kind eyes that always forgave him regardless of what he did. Tears dripped from his eyes and his nose ran with snot.
With no one left to witness his sorrow, he let it all out, sobbing sorrowfully as he fell on his knees carrying his brother's corpse.
Digging a small shallow grave with the crow bar in the nearby park, Dominic kept on, despite his arms burning with fatigue and his forehead coated in sweat. This was the least he could do, as his brother. He carried the corpse into the grave and covered it with dirt. Dominic stared long and hard at the grave.
"Farewell, brother," Rage filled Dominic's voice. "I'll slaughter all the parasites and take back this planet. I swear it on my life."
He ventured off to the next town, careful to avoid all the infected's gaze. They were deaf and had poor eyesight. Dangerous, as when their ribcages fully extended to protect the core, it was nearly impossible to kill them without specialized weapons.
Returning from his dream, Dominic shook his head. Ugh, he was so hungry. He looked around for food, but all he saw were disgusting rotting corpses and empty food containers. Suddenly, his stomach hurt. He bent over in great agony, over the railing of the apartment he was in. Saliva dripped from his mouth as he clutched his abdomen. The pain was unlike he'd ever experienced. It was like a mixture of having lava and sharp knives inside of his guts. It spread to the rest of his senses, his arms, his legs, his head!
He lay on the ground, petrified and rooted to the floor. Shit, did he make any eye contact with infected? Then, he fell unconscious.
He woke up, his body feeling strange. His body felt light and strong. Now, he recalled. The strange parasite that he found in the scraps. It was purple and gooey, but tasted strangely delicious. He thought, did I gain any abilities?
He took a mirror and looked into it. He was no longer himself.