I landed on a windshield that cracked, and my back immediately hurt from the impact. Where did this car even come from? As I slowly got up, I saw broken down vehicles.

Many of the surrounding buildings were torn up, as if fireballs hit them. When I tried to make energy appear, it worked. This did seem like a different reality. “Lory?” There was no answer.

“Abby?” Moreover, no answer. I sighed, “Square?” I looked at the broken street. Not a lot of it was left, “Alice!?”

“Yes?”

“Oh, you are here, where are you, I can’t find you.” I saw a hole, as if someone fell through the street. I looked inside, “Are you alive down there?”

“What do you think, idiot?”

“Would I be talking otherwise?”

“Jeez, you are grumpy for someone who just got saved. You can try to show me some gratitude.”

I stretched my hand, and she took it, I pulled her out of the hole. “We are back home.”

Alice looked around, “What happened to our home?”

“The white slime blew it up.”

Alice blinked a couple of times, “What?”

“I went through that portal, to see my birthplace.”

Alice nodded, “The one in the guild halls? What did you see?”

“A fleshy cave, and there was this white slimy. He would not tell me anything, but he did not like my attitude. Thus, he blew up this reality.”

Alice sighed, “I see.”

“Where are the others?”

“I have no clue, How is your energy level?”

Alice shrugged, “Not good, I am going to recover, do you have any clue where we are?”

I looked around us, “We are near the bakery. We need to find Lory and Abby.”

Alice nodded, “And Square.”

I put my hand on my chin, “We should go to the bakery.”

Alice sighed, “Fine, I am going to follow you for now.”

“Yeah, you better, you’ll take us back once we have found everyone.”

As we started walking, it became clear how the white slimy has utterly destroyed this place. Bodies were littered all over the street, body limbs were scattered all over the place. Not to mention all the blood. I heard someone whimpering. I held up my hand, “Do you hear that, Alice?”

She looked around. “It is coming from that alleyway on the left.”

Slowly, I walked over to the alleyway, “Watch my back.”

She sighed, “This is a bad idea, Steve.”

“Look, if there is someone in danger, then I am going to save them.”

I walked into the alleyway and saw a lady hunched over. “Hello there, my name is Steve. Can you tell me who you are?” She just kept crying. “Don’t get spooked now, I’ll come closer and slowly turn you around to see if you are injured.”

I put my hand on her shoulder, “Look at me.” She slowly turned around, she started screaming, it hurt my ears and I fell down backwards. She jumped on top of me and I saw her horribly mutilated face with an unhinged jaw. This woman had long nails, and she managed to bite down on my neck. I screamed in pain, “Goddammit, get off me!” By using my legs, I pushed her off and she tried to scratch me with her long nails.

One of her claws went over my right arm and blood splattered all over the alleyway. While struggling to get free, I spawned my dark blade in my left hand and stabbed it through her chin. It went through her brain and she fell dead on top of me, after vomiting all over my face.

I heard footsteps and someone pushed her away, Alice looked at me, “Are you alright?”

While holding my hand on the wound I had on my neck, I nodded, “I think so.” Alice ripped a piece from her shirt and used it to patch up my wound. “This will keep some pressure on your wound.” She helped me get up. “I told you it was a bad idea.”

“Not the moment, Alice, how could I have known it was a zombie? Why are there even zombies in our reality?”

We walked out of the alleyway, and we saw the bodies getting up. “Oh fuck, that scream must have woken them up.” I almost fell forward, “I am not feeling too good.”

Alice caught me and I leaned on her, she put her hand on my forehead, “You are suddenly burning up. Something is up with you, maybe it was that bite.”

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I looked at her, “No, no, no, I am not turning into a zombie!”

Alice looked around, “There is no time for fucking around, Steve.” Alice helped me walk, and we made our way to the bakery. I saw Alice draw a normal sword, she swung her sword at one of the zombies that came close. “There are too many of them, Steve, you need to help me.”

She gave me the sword, my vision got blurry, “I am uncertain if I can help you.”

Alice grunted as she kicked a zombie aside, Alice looked up, “The bakery is just over there, there are too many zombies there.” I saw Alice looking around, “We are not going to make it.” She dropped me and I fell to the ground. I felt a sudden breeze of wind and then the sensation of getting picked up, we charged ahead and into the bakery. While I got thrown on the floor, I saw Alice setting up a barricade, but she had wings.

After blacking out and waking up again, I felt a wet cloth on my forehead. Alice sat on a chair looking at me with a sword in her hand. I coughed, “What is going on?”

She sighed, “We made it to the bakery, barely.”

“Did you grow wings?”

Alice chuckled, “Me, wings?” “No, it must have been a hallucination because you are this feverish.”

I coughed and felt the wound on my neck. It appears that Alice had stitched it up. “Why are you looking at me like that, Alice.”

“Oh, I am just waiting for the moment that you turn into a zombie.”

“Is that why you have that sword?”

“Yes, I am not sure what is going on with you,” we heard bonking on the door.

“Are we safe here?” Alice nodded, “As long as you are not going to try to eat me.”

“Do we know what causes the infection?”

Alice looked around, “I think, when you cut down that zombie in the alleyway, and when I killed some zombies on our way here. I saw parasites fall out of their corpses. You know, these little tiny things full of blood.”

“What? Do you mean like brain or organ leeches?”

Alice shrugged, “It would explain why they are acting like zombies, their host is most likely dead. These parasites re-animate the dead and attack the living to spread. Or to feed. This is all conjecture, since I am not sure about any of this.”

I coughed up blood, Alice walked over, “Are you going to be alright?”

“What do you think?” “If you are right, I have fucking parasites in me, kill them, burn them!”

Alice sighed, “I have no clue how this works. Or if they can take over magical beings, but they probably can. You are sweating a lot. Oh, and your eyes are swelling up.”

“Yeah, I noticed Alice, I am not feeling too well. If this infection is going to kill me. I need you to do two things for me.”

Alice nodded, “I expect you to live another day, but I did not expect you to end up this badly.”

I coughed up more blood, and Alice stepped back and fired a red energy beam at my pool of blood. I looked at her, “What is your problem?”

She pointed at dead parasites, I let out an awkward chuckle, “That is what tickled me, I am coughing a few of them up to spread the infection? It must be how it passed through humankind quickly. The hospitals would have fallen in no time.”

Alice nodded, “Indeed, the doctors and nurses working in the hospital would be infected in no time, as these parasites seem to work double time to convert a living being.”

I sighed as I felt my vision getting blurry. “Please, you need to find Lorraine for me. I want to see her. I don’t want her to see zombie me, but I would like to speak with her one last time. If this thing kills me. And if this thing indeed makes me a zombie, I need you to kill me.”

Alice nodded, “I am sure you will be fine. Just keep fighting the infection while I get your stupid adorable wolf woman.”

I coughed up more blood, “I don’t have the energy for a witty remark. Just find her, please.”

Alice sighed, she gave me a gun, “If push comes to shove, and you have the strength to do it yourself. Otherwise, I will kill you.”

I nodded, “Thank you, Alice.”

She smiled at me, “Please don’t turn into a zombie while I am gone. I am going to take the back exit.”

I nodded, “Good luck, Alice. While you do that, I will conserve some energy.”

As she left, I heard the voice talk in my head, “Man, you screwed up the pooch big time, give me one reason why I should not let you die?”

I coughed, “Just, help me, I'm at your mercy.”

“Oh fuck yeah you are, fine Sonny, I will help you, just lay down and let me take care of you.”

I laid down and wondered if I had gone insane, or if there truly is something I can talk to within my head.