"Help me! Oh my god, anyone inside?" The rap-tapping and a woman's desperate cry echoed through the hallway. Nathan Duke peeked through the peephole and saw a stunning blonde outside. Normally, he wouldn't think twice about opening the door for such a beauty. However, beauty was not the priority here. His scarce food storage wouldn't even allow him to share with anyone, even if it was the most gorgeous woman in the world. Nathan had to shut her out.
Clutching his pocket watch, he snapped, "Shut up, you idiot! You'll bring those damn zombies right to us!" Just yesterday, he was a regular office worker. One night's sleep later, he woke up in a post-apocalyptic nightmare, with only his family heirloom pocket watch for company.
After witnessing the zombies upstairs feasting on humans, he had no illusions left about this world.
In this apocalypse, zombies were terrifying, but human nature was the real danger!
"Help me, please! I live downstairs. I heard noises from here this morning. Please, give me some food! I'm a model. I can give you gold, all my savings, anything for a bite. Please, I'm starving." The woman's sobs were heart-wrenching. Seeing her determination, Nathan hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and opened the door. "Get in, quick!"
The woman's eyes lit up with hope as she scrambled to her feet. But it was too late! The zombies in the corridor had already heard the commotion and were closing in on Nathan's place.
"Damn it!" Nathan cursed, yanking the woman inside and slamming the door shut. From past experience, he knew that if they stayed quiet, the zombies would eventually wander off.
He glared at the woman. He didn't care about her model looks or long legs. If she made any noise, she was dead. Luckily, she seemed to know the deal. She mimicked zipping her mouth, stayed quiet, and sat in the corner, her eyes scanning the room for food. 'The only piece of bread left is in my pocket. You won't find anything else!' Nathan thought angrily. He wasn't a saint, but in this apocalypse, he didn't know when he'd eat again. No way was he trading food for a woman.
He started thinking about how to get out and find more food. In this terrifying new world, how was he going to survive?
Absentmindedly, he fiddled with the old pocket watch hanging from his neck. It was an antique bronze mechanical watch he used to wind up every day before work.
As he waited for the zombies to leave, he wound the watch out of habit.
"Give me something to eat, I'm starving! I'm a noble model! I have luxury cars and mansions! How could I possibly starve to death?" Suddenly, the beautiful woman in the corner started screaming like a maniac. Nathan glanced over and saw her face had gone pale, and there was a nasty scratch on her neck oozing black blood. "Damn it," he muttered, "she must've been scratched by a zombie on her way up here!"
Realizing she was turning into a zombie, he was racking his brain to figure out a way to tackle the coming trouble in front of him when he saw an axe on the ground and reached out. But just as his fingers left the winding crown of the pocket watch, everything froze!
The woman, mid-scream and mid-pounce, was stuck in place. The zombies outside, who had been trying to break down the door, also stopped dead in their tracks. Nathan picked up the axe, but seeing this bizarre scene, he paused, totally confused.
After a moment, he burst into laughter. Since the apocalypse hit, he hadn't laughed like this. He laughed so loudly!
"Stop time! This pocket watch can actually stop time!" He looked at the old watch in his hand, grinning from ear to ear.
Ignoring the woman who could've attacked him any second and the zombies outside still roaring, he even reached out and pinched her pale face. Feeling the stiff touch, he shook his head and said, "What a waste, such a beautiful model turning into a zombie."
With that, he aimed the axe at her neck and swung down hard. Because time was stopped, her body didn't spurt blood. He tossed her aside and sat on the sofa, starting to figure out the time-stopping function of the pocket watch. This could be his ticket to surviving and thriving in this post-apocalyptic world.
He closed the pocket watch, and in the next second, time resumed. The body in the corner sprayed blood everywhere, and the zombies outside continued clawing at the door. He opened the watch again, and as the hands started to move, the world froze once more.
Seeing this, Nathan finally understood. "Excellent. After winding it up, I just need to open the pocket watch to stop time. So, this means I have the whole world at my disposal! Fantastic. A wonderful day ahead. I could see myself driving a sports car with a slice of hot pizza and beer in my hands on the road already!"
Grabbing the pocket watch, Nathan got up excitedly and opened the door. He kicked the frozen zombies out of the way, looked at the tall buildings outside, and shouted, "Apocalypse world, here I come!" Then he turned back to the zombies who had almost killed him, holding the axe with a fierce smile. "Thanks for taking care of me these past few days. Before I leave, please allow me to present my farewell gift!"
Like a madman, he raised the axe and brought it down on a zombie's head. The cracking sound of bones breaking echoed as the axe severed the zombie's neck. The head, still attached by a bit of flesh, hung awkwardly in front of the zombie's chest. He shook his hand, ignoring the gory scene, and got ready to take out the rest of the zombies.