Dusk fell over Liberty City.
Inside the girls' restroom at Liberty Central Middle School, three tall boys loomed over a frail-looking student sprawled out on the cold tile floor.
"Don't play dead now. Keep screaming," one of them sneered. "You're in the girls' bathroom, dude. Even if we kill you here, you'd deserve it!"
The tallest of the three, dressed in a forest-green tracksuit, slammed his foot into the boy's stomach with sickening force.
The boy didn't make a sound. His body convulsed. Blood pooled from the corner of his mouth.
Another teen, nervous now, tugged at the green-clad one's sleeve.
"Dude, chill. That's enough for today. Let the freak stew in his own juice."
The one in green hesitated, clearly unsatisfied. He stepped forward and delivered two more kicks to the unmoving body before stalking off.
"Someone like him doesn't deserve to share a dorm with her. Just putting his name next to hers is an insult."
"Our boss is a genius though," another laughed. "Dragging him into the girls' restroom? Even if someone catches us, we're just stopping a pervert. Civilian heroes, baby!"
Their voices faded as their footsteps echoed down the hallway.
Silence reclaimed the tiled room.
The boy on the floor didn't move. His pale face was bruised and swelling. A deep gash on his forehead oozed blood.
He curled up like a wounded animal, arms instinctively shielding his stomach. His thoughts flickered like a dying lightbulb, breaths so faint they were nearly nonexistent.
The last sliver of sunlight slipped through the restroom window, and dusk finally swallowed everything.
No one knew how much time passed—
—until one bruised finger twitched.
I was the last zombie on Earth. The final creature alive… unless you count those damn cockroaches.
I lay on the cracked riverbed, a faintly glowing purple core pulsing deep inside my skull.
Its only use now? Helping me count the 1,274th fly that buzzed past today.
One day, mid-hunt, something strange happened—I became aware. In that moment, I was truly born.
The world was beautiful back then. Overflowing with prey. I ran wild with my kin, feasting on blood and flesh.
They obeyed my every command. They hunted for me, brought back meals, crushed rival skulls and offered their shimmering cores in tribute.
My body became indestructible. My mind could scan every inch of the planet.
I was ecstatic. Every. Single. Day.
Until, one day… I realized: there were only my kind left.
I could still summon them from across the globe. Still command prey to march into my waiting jaws.
But none ever came.
There was nothing left to eat.
I should've seen the food shortage coming. Should've started thinning our numbers earlier.
But we devoured everything.
Every last bite of fresh meat.
In the end, I ordered mass suicide. Absorbed every core. Grew even stronger.
But strength meant nothing without food. I withered. Day by day. Until all I had left was silence.
And then—nothing.
I blacked out. The world disappeared.
Until now.
Voices. Sweet voices. Food.
Was I dreaming again?
I used to hallucinate like this all the time during the long nights of starvation.
Pain pulsed through me, but who cared? That smell—fresh prey—was worth it.
I twitched a finger. Felt it scrape against smooth tile.
A thump echoed in my chest.
A heartbeat.
I pressed my palms to the floor. Pushed up. My body sprang like a coiled spring.
Mid-air, instinct kicked in. I tucked my legs and landed in a low crouch.
The space was small, surrounded by cold stone walls.
Straight ahead, reflected in a polished surface—I spotted a small, scrawny prey.
I couldn't hold back. My legs exploded into motion. I lunged.
BANG.
A crystalline scream tore through the air as the mirror shattered.
Glass rained down. The wall cracked and gave way. The "prey" broke with it—shards and all.
In the sparkling debris, I saw dozens of fragmented faces.
All of them… were mine.
I tilted my head.
The broken face tilted too.
Me. Frail. Human.
Not a predator anymore… but prey?
What kind of twisted afterlife was this?
Add this book now—before I get hungry again.