"Yeah," Grey agreed. "It's a freaking zombie apocalypse."
As soon as Grey said that, a mechanical voice rang in his head:
[Initializing...]
[Grey White detected suitable to be Players]
[Integrating System...]
[System Integration Successful]"
[System Activated!]"
[Stat Window now available to be viewed]
[Basic Weapon Now Available To Be Used]
"What... What the hell does this mean?" Grey said, filled with shock and confusion.
"Grey, can you see this?" Jace asked.
"Yeah," Grey replied. It seemed like he wasn't the only one seeing this strange digitalized screen.
[You have been given the basic weapon 'steel bat']
[Think or mouth the word 'summon' to get it]
[Good luck]
Grey took in what he read with bated breath.
Despite finding it absurd, he knew he would be wrong to doubt it, not when a real monster was standing right in front of him.
Grace growled as she eerily twitched her head, her face a gruesome mask of gore, like a scene right out of a horror movie.
"What the hell, Grey? The videos were real. She's a zombie," Jace said, trembling. But Grey watched Grace closely with a calm expression on his face.
Grace let out an eerie growl and began to walk towards them, blood oozing from her mangled lips, which were damaged by Grey's attack.
Grey's heart was thudding like crazy.
Was it fear or excitement? He didn't know, but what he knew was that he had to take action.
"Summon steel bat," Grey said, and the basic weapon materialized out of thin air and fell into his hand.
Armed, Grey charged at Grace and swung the steel bat.
It rammed into her face, sending her to the ground.
Grey watched as she lay on the ground looking pitiful and helpless.
It looked like she was in torture, and Grey thought it was probably a good idea to follow up with his attack and finish it, but he hesitated, his mind questioning whether it was the right choice
What if there was a human behind the monstrous face? What if there was a way to reverse her condition? Could he live with himself knowing that he had killed a human that could be cured?
As Grey battled with his morality, Grace stood once again and attempted another charge.
Grey looked right into her eyes, hoping to find any trace of life, and saw nothing but blackness.
This forced Grey to make a decision.
She was dead, and it was best to accept that so there wouldn't be hesitation in his fights with other zombies.
Grey stepped backward, and with a powerful slam, the steel bat met her face.
Her skull audibly crunching beneath the impact, and her lifeless body crumpled to the floor.
Grey panted heavily as he watched her body.
Despite the crack in the skull, she was still twitching; only a few seconds later did she stop moving.
"Is she dead?" Jace asked, hiding behind Grey, in terror as to what he'd just seen.
"Not her, it," Grey corrected
He truly firmly believed that Grace had become a zombie, a soulless creature, and he chose to remain steadfast in this belief.
The sound of zombies' shambling footsteps interrupted his thoughts.
More of them had been bitten and turned into zombies, and now they were all approaching both Grey and Jace.
They were the only two who hadn't succumbed to whatever was turning humans into zombies.
Jace trembled at the sight of the zombies slowly approaching.
The people he had greeted as he walked in a few minutes ago were now zombies. It was too much for his brain to process.
Grey suddenly gripped his shoulder, startling him.
"Jace, we have to move! We'll have to fight our way out. Summon the basic weapon and arm yourself."
"Huh, fight? basic weapon? summon... How do I do that?"
"Just think 'summon weapon' and it'll appear."
"Summon weapon?" Jace asked, still confused, but the system interpreted his words as a command, and the steel bat appeared.
It fell into Jace's arm and he awkwardly caught it.
Grey remembered he had been rewarded with a strength shard, and though he didn't know what it was, he sure needed a boost in strength.
The moment he had that thought, a shard materialized out of thin air before him, and Grey snatched it up.
"What the hell was that?" Jace asked.
"A strength shard," Grey said slowly and grasped it.
[Strength Shard: Swallow to boost your strength]
Grey hesitated for a moment, as he read the instruction on how to use it.
'Swallow?'
It seemed reckless to consume such a weird item, and there was no telling what the effect it'd have on him. But his guts urged him it was the right decision to make, and most of the time instinct was often his guide.
"Here goes nothing," Grey murmured, tossing the shard into his mouth.
He focused intently on the sensation that followed. The shard dissolved into a warm, viscous liquid as it went down his stomach.
He braced himself, anticipating its effect, and suddenly, a surge of energy coursed through him.
It was a fleeting sensation that left his muscles tingling.
And Grey didn't know whether it worked or not.
But one thing was certain:
He had to fight his way out of here.
Grey clasped the steel bat firmly ready to face the zombies.
One of the zombies lunged towards him, but Grey acted swiftly, swinging his steel bat, which sent the creature tumbling over a cubicle.
Without missing a beat, he kicked another advancing zombie, sending it slamming into the one behind.
A zombie moved towards Jace, who screamed, swinging the steel bat wildly as he backed away.
Grey, seeing this, intervened, hitting the zombie with a shoulder slam that sent the undead flying.
"Are you alright?" Grey asked, but before Jace could reply, an agile zombie came from the side, slamming Grey into the wall.
They both fell, and the zombie climbed atop him...