Chapter 1: The Apocalypse
September 19th, 2025 — Sunrise High School, Class 3-A. Friday.
The weather was a bit dark and having some what gloomyness although it was morning.
The rain started small—just faint drizzles tapping against the windowpane.
Liam sat at his desk, chin resting on his hand, eyes heavy from another sleepless night. Outside, the clouds rolled in thick and gray, swallowing the morning sun. Inside, his classmates buzzed with chatter, laughter, and gossip. None of it mattered to him.
He only cared about one thing—the glowing screen of his phone.
The loading bar crawled to completion, followed by a soft chime.
"Z Cleaners: Dead Zone Protocol."
His lips twitched into a tired grin. The game had released only last night, and he had been hooked since the first mission—neglecting dinner, ignoring sleep, sinking deeper into that digital apocalypse. Z Pearls Industries had outdone themselves this time. The game wasn't just a shooter—it felt real.
In it, players could buy everything from pistols and rifles to mythical bloodlines: hybrids, zombies, dragons… even gods. Liam had already climbed to level 60 and unlocked his favorite—the Chaos Dragon God Bloodline. The name alone made his heart race.
He didn't mind that it cost him half his week's savings. In-game, he was untouchable. In real life, he was just a drowsy senior staring out the window.
A sudden roar echoed across the schoolyard.
He barely noticed it at first—probably a bunch of freshmen roughhousing during PE. But then came another sound. A scream. Not playful. Not human. It was sharp and guttural, the kind of sound that froze your blood before your brain could make sense of it.
Liam frowned and turned his head.
Outside, students were gathered near the track field. A few were on the ground. Something red spread beneath them—thick, dark, and glistening. Someone screamed again, and this time, it was from his own class. The noise snapped everyone's attention toward the window.
Liam stood, pushing through the crowd to see for himself.
What he saw made his stomach lurch.
Bodies lay strewn across the yard, twisted at odd angles. Their intestines glistened in the rain, dragging along the wet asphalt like coils of rope. A boy's arm was missing from the elbow down; another student's face was buried in someone's chest, tearing and gnawing.
For a long moment, nobody spoke.
Then someone whispered, "W-what the hell is that?"
A girl clamped a trembling hand over her mouth.
"They're… they're moving," another stammered.
Liam blinked. The ones who had fallen… were getting up.
Their bodies twitched, bones cracking, limbs jerking unnaturally. Their eyes were milky white. Their mouths hung open, dripping strings of blood and flesh.
"Maybe it's a prank," said a boy with a shaky laugh. "Like… a zombie cosplay or something."
"Cosplay?!" another girl snapped, tears welling in her eyes. "Do you see that?!"
Down below, one of the creatures grabbed a teacher's arm and bit down. A chunk of flesh tore away, blood spurting like a burst pipe. The man's screams echoed up the walls. The class broke into panic.
"Oh my God!"
"Call the police!"
"I can't get through! The line's dead!"
The Phones rang, but none connected. The network bars vanished one by one, showing no network.
Liam felt his pulse hammering in his ears. He turned back to the window just in time to see one of the things tilt its head up toward the third floor—toward them. Its jaw hung open, teeth black and broken, blood pouring from its chin as it let out a hollow, inhuman roar.
Students screamed and bolted for the door. Liam followed instinctively.
The hallway outside was chaos. Dozens of students from other classes shoved and stumbled over one another. Books, phones, and bags littered the floor. Someone fell and was trampled before anyone could help dieing instantly. The air was filled with crying, shouting, the metallic smell of blood and of fear.
Then the sound came—the pounding of footsteps and something wet dragging along the tiles.
The first zombie appeared at the end of the corridor, sprinting full speed.
Its movements were jerky, its mouth smeared with blood. It crashed into a student, sending both to the floor. Then came the sound of tearing flesh.
AAHHHH...
Screams filled every corner.
Blood sprayed across lockers, painting the walls in streaks of red.
"Back! Back! Everyone back inside!" someone yelled.
Liam, without waiting turned and ran with the rest. He saw classmates pulled down one by one, screaming as these horrible creatures teeth sank into their throats. A girl tripped near the stairs—her leg twisted—and before anyone could react, two figures lunged at her. Her shrieks turned to choking gurgles.
Liam's body moved on instinct. Run, don't stop if you do you will die.
He pushed past others, heart pounding so hard it hurt. A boy tried to shove past him, elbowing Liam into the wall. Pain flared in his shoulder.
"Damn it!" Liam shouted, shoving back. But the boy didn't stop—he didn't even look back as the hallway behind them erupted with roars.
The classroom door was just ahead—open. He sprinted for it, lungs burning and feeling like it was about to explode. He dove inside, slamming it shut behind him. His breaths came ragged and fast.
Huff.....huff....huff....
BANG BANG BANG BANG
Outside were Zombies, fists—or claws—hammered against the door. The wood groaned under the weight. Liam stumbled back, eyes wide.
Something glowed from the floor.
His phone had cracked, but still on—lay near the overturned chair. Across its shattered screen, faint text shimmered like embers:
"System Detected: Synchronizing with Bloodline—Weretiger."
He didn't even have time to process it. The banging grew louder. The hinges started to splinter.
Then—
BANG!
The door exploded inward, and something slammed into him. His head hit the corner of a desk with a sickening crack.
The world tilted sideways. His vision blurred. The last thing he saw was the shattered phone flickering beside a spreading pool of blood.
Then darkness swallowed him whole.
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To be continued