'...Clut leader, huh?' I wanted to learn more about it, however the task at hand-looting, came first.
I moved to another unit 1401 in the 14th floor. And a similar state of messy, dishelved home greeted me.
''...Is there really a shelter?"
There was only one reason to leave so well-prepared—a secure destination. A shelter, managed and guarded, maybe by the government.
"This isn't going to be a short disaster, is it?"
The term "apocalypse" had always sounded extreme when applied to zombies. How could a bunch of slow, uncoordinated undead ever outlast humanity?
How would they get past trained soldiers, military vehicles, and high-caliber weaponry?
In a real showdown, zombies wouldn't stand a chance.
"This feels… wrong."
My ambition of creating a paradise and becomiing a leader would also be destroyed if the society is still intact. A zombie apocalypse should mean chaos, destruction, and survival against all odds.
I felt that unsettling chill, a hint that reality was going to shatter my daydream.
"I can see it now. In a week, zombies will be treated like pests."
Ding.
As if in response, the system projected a video before me.
Footage of society collapsing, overrun by the undead.
The video opened on a crowded subway from 3 days ago, the very morning I went to sleep. Passengers, packed shoulder to shoulder, scrolling through phones or dozing.
A woman in the center of the car suddenly collapsed, and murmurs broke out around her.
"…Huh?"
"Are you okay?"
People gathered around her, and one man kneeled beside her, checking for a pulse. "Excuse me! The woman over there! Yes, you! Can you call 911?"
"Oh, yes!" She reached for her phone, but before she could dial, it buzzed in her hand, vibrating with a loud emergency alert.
Emergency Alert - Subway Outbreak
[Emergency Disaster Alert. As of 7:30 a.m. on the 4th. National emergency warning. Anyone showing signs of sudden fainting or aggression must be isolated immediately. All citizens are to return home and follow safety instructions via TV and radio from a safe indoor location.]
"…What?"
Beeeep—
Every smartphone in the subway blared a shrill alarm, echoing through the train. An intercom announcement followed.
[Attention passengers. This train will stop at the next station. Following government instructions, this train will not continue beyond the next stop. All passengers, please prepare to…]
"Aaaah!"
A scream yanked my attention upward. The woman who'd collapsed a moment ago was now spurting blood from a deep wound in her neck, splattering the ceiling of the subway car.
"Graaaaagh!"
Her body twisted, and in an instant, she lunged—sinking her teeth into the arm of the man who'd tried to help her.
"Wh-What the hell?!"
Chaos erupted.
Shouts and cries filled the air as passengers recoiled, trapped in the close quarters of the car. The woman tore into the man's flesh, gnashing and ripping as if in a frenzy.
"Open the doors! Get us out!"
Panic surged. People hammered against the doors, trying desperately to break out.
Crash!
"Aagh! My eye!"
A man with an emergency hammer shattered a window, only to cry out, clutching his bleeding face. Others frantically tried to dial emergency services, but their hands shook too much to even hold their phones.
In the midst of it all, the short-haired woman who had been asked to call 911 staggered back. She turned to the next car, her face frozen in shock.
And then she saw it.
A mass of bodies—writhing, bloodied, relentless—slammed against the door to the last car. Dozens of bloodied hands, blank eyes, and slack jaws pounded on the glass, pushing forward with a strength that seemed inhuman.
"Wh-What… is that…?"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The crowd surged, their hands slamming against the doors, bodies piling against the glass with every thud.
"What the hell… are those?"
Rabies, a mass overdose? Her mind reached for any explanation, no matter how absurd. But the eyes of those creatures held nothing but hollow, chilling hunger. It was as if they saw through the world itself.
"Please! Get her off me—Help!"
Behind her, the zombie woman had finished her "meal" and latched onto another victim. The man tried to push her away, but her grip held with a terrifying strength, sinking her teeth deep into his arm.
"Aaaaaargh!"
His scream echoed, and a man wielding a fire extinguisher swung it at her head.
Thunk—
The woman's head snapped sideways, her skull caving slightly, but she barely flinched, turning her blood-soaked face toward her new attacker.
And worst of all…
The first victim, the man who'd attempted CPR, twitched. His body jerked, twisted, and in grotesque, unnatural movements, he rose. His empty eyes found the nearest passenger, and with a snarl, he lunged.
"Aaaah! Stop—It hurts! Help!"
Within minutes, the subway car had turned into a slaughterhouse.
Blood coated the walls, pooling under the feet of panicked passengers as they shrank back, their only escape blocked by the relentless horde beyond the glass.
Ding.
The train's announcement tone played cheerfully as the car began to slow, the station drawing closer.
Two people were left—the bob-haired woman and a man standing beside her.
[The screen doors are now opening.]
The voice sounded almost mocking as the train doors slid open. They looked at each other, desperation shared in a single glance.
This was their only chance.
The man moved first, pushing past the woman.
"I… I'm sorry!"
The woman stumbled, landing hard on the blood-slicked floor.
"Why did you push me?!" she screamed, clawing her way up, but the man didn't look back, muttering under his breath, "I have to survive… I have to live."
He bolted toward the door, heart pounding—until a hand snatched his ankle.
"Gurrrgh…"
It was the bob-haired woman, her face now bloodied, eyes wide with rage—and betrayal.
"L-Let go!"
He thrashed, but her fingers only tightened, her grip like iron even as blood spilled down her face.
"Just… let go already!"
Behind him, the creatures had finished their "meal." They turned toward him, eyes void of any human recognition, drawn by the scent of fresh blood.
"Let go! Please—!"
His heel came down, stomping on her hand, again and again, as the creatures closed in.
"You… witch! Just let go!"
"…Graaaagh."
Her grip only tightened, a guttural sound rasping from her throat as she held him, even in the throes of death.
Crash—
The glass door splintered, the creatures bursting into the car.
Every muscle in his body froze, terror locking his gaze forward as one of the creatures—a woman with a dislocated arm, dragging her leg—staggered toward him, teeth bared in a blood-choked snarl.
"GRAAAAAAH!"
"…M-Mom…"
It was over.
The train had reached its destination, but none who were truly human would leave.
[The doors are closing. ♩~ ♪~ ♬ The doors are closing.]