I checked on line each of the game installed on my StaViCon. After a long research, I chose Zombie Apocalypse.
I was a little worried though. Zombie Apocalypse was not for the fainthearted. At fifteen, I barely qualify to play the game. The game had a 99% of realism. The pain was dulled to 60%. Control panel were non existent. Your Stats window was unavailable. Even the skill window couldn't be accessed. Inside the game, it was like you were in real life. You had to fight without support. There were no numerical numbers to help you know how strong or how healthy you were. Basically, you could log in, log out and that's it.
If it wasn't the easiest game to level in, I would give it a pass. I noticed that the biggest problem I had was my low level. If I was stronger, I could have saved the pup from my classmates and the people in the Soul wouldn't take me for a doormat.
Despite all of its drawbacks, Zombie Apocalypse was the best to achieve my goal in the shortest time possible. I was determined to change so that when I came back in Forgotten Soul, I could have the adventure I always dreamed of.
I put my headgear on.
The scan of you iris has determined that you are a registered user.
Which application do you wish to connect to?
“Zombie Apocalypse.” The main goal of this game was to kill as many zombies as you could. They were slow, their movements were basic. Basically, they were the best for grinding.
Welcome to Zombie Apocalypse. Do you wish to create a new avatar or use the default StaViCon avatar?
“The default avatar.”
Your default avatar has been chosen.
Please select 2 weapons you wish to fight with.
In front of me, hundreds of weapons appeared. Guns, swords, daggers, bows, there were even hand grenades and bazookas. My hands twitched when I saw those. I really wanted to play with them all.
From what I read, I should choose two of the same weapons as each durability would make them less effective as time went on. As soon as one lose effectiveness, you could switch to the other without missing a beat.
“I want a katana and hand grenades.” The katana was the safest to choose as it had the most durability. However, the hand grenades were just for me to have fun with.
Your weapons have been chosen.
Please watch the video message left behind by the world leader.
Three hand grenades appeared on my belt and a katana in my hand as a video played in front of me.
A man in a white lab coat put a sample under the microscope.
“No, no, no.”, he repeated as he checked the results all over again. “It can't be.”
He ran out of the room in a panic. He stopped in front of a white haired gentleman wearing a lab coat.
“Professor Hail! The vaccine! It mutated.”
“What are you talking about?”, the aging professor asked bewildered at his assistant.
“The new vaccine against rabies! One of the human subjects had a worrying reaction. He came back to be examined so I ran a blood test. The vaccine has mutated inside his body.”
“Calm down. You're exaggerating.”
“No, I'm not. Please, come and see for yourself.”
The professor let himself be dragged into the lab. There, he dutifully examined the sample under the microscope.
“Who saw this?”
“No one yet. We have to inform the company.”
“No, we don't. The vaccine will be on sale in a week. We can't postpone it, it will cost millions of dollars.”
“But professor-”
“No, only one of the test subjects is showing symptoms, right?”
“Yes, but-”
“No, for all we know, it's just an isolated incident. There is nothing to say on the matter.”
“But-”
“Are you willing to put your job and your reputation on the line for this?” His assistant stayed silent. “That's what I thought.”
Professor Hail left the lab. The nameless assistant stayed behind and guiltily stared at the microscope.
****
Professor Hail stood in front of a glass panel that let him see inside a room in which men and women were lying cuffed on hospital beds. They had bloodshot eyes. They screamed in pain and rage. They foamed at the mouth. Their lips were retracted showing small wounds on their bleeding gums.
“All the test subjects contracted a more vicious form of rabies. Incubation differs from the individual. The shortest lasted 3 week and the longest 8 weeks. All symptoms of rabies are present. The first stage includes general weakness and discomfort, anxiety, cerebral dysfunction, confusion, agitation and muscle spasms. The patients experience delirium, abnormal behavior, hallucination and insomnia. In the final stage, the symptoms progress even further into aggressiveness, insensitivity to pain and degeneration of mental capacity. Where it differs from the general case of rabies is that the patient doesn't die from the disease, he doesn't lose much muscle function and he craves raw meat. ”, a woman in a bio-hazard suit explained as she looked at him through the glass panel. He knew all this before but having it confirmed, his shoulders slumped in defeat.
He left the room and went into his office. Sitting behind his desk, he made a video call.
“What do you want?” Dr Cedars, the CEO of the pharmaceutical company employing him asked annoyed.
“All the test subjects fell ill. I recommend a recall of all the vaccine that had been sold.”
“Are you stupid? It will ruin us.”
“Dr Cedars, it's either we recall them ourselves or we wait for people to make the connection between the new vaccine and the new form of rabies.”
“What treatment do you recommend for the infected?”
“We tried everything. Nothing has an effect for the time being.” Dr Cedars let out a disheartened sigh and disconnected the call.
****
“Breaking News! Cedars international, the first pharmaceutical company in the world; sent out a massive recall of the rabies vaccine they put on the market last month.”, the male announcer said as soon as he appeared on TV. “Alexandra, what are the reasons of this recall?” He turned to his co-host.
“Well, Alan. We contacted Cedars International and they answered. The reason for the recall is an error of impression on the medication notice.”
Alan Burke nodded with approval. “So people, don't let the conspiracy theories get the better of you. There aren't any problem with the vaccine in itself.”
“
In other news, a man believed to be on drugs attacked passers-by at the Waterfront mall in Celine City. On site, our correspondent James Calahan with one of the victims? James?”
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“Hello, Alan, Alexandra. I'm here at the Waterfront Mall with Elisabeth Davis, a witness of the incident.” He turned away from the camera and faced a small woman in a blue dress. “Mrs Davis, can you tell us what happened?”
“I was sitting on a bench with my friend Darla when this man came inside the mall. He looked homeless. He was dirty, his clothes were ragged. He was foaming at the mouth. He walked weirdly like his limbs weren't sure in which direction they wanted to go. He screamed like a madman. He had blood on his face and his right arm was broken. His bone was sticking out. To describe him simply he looked like a zombie. He threw himself at a man who entered at the same time as he did and bit him to the bone. The mall guards came really fast and tried to subdue him. It didn't work, he attacked them like an enraged animal. We were watching on the side. When he heard us gasp, he charged at us. It was a miracle none of us were severely hurt.”
****
The TV was disconnected.
“What is the situation?” Dr Cedars asked the man in a dark suit sitting in front of his desk.
“All infected have been put on quarantine. Only one person hasn't been found yet but it's just a matter of time.”
****
“I am Dorian Stark the President of the Gray federation. I declares the state of emergency. An unknown virus is spreading through our country. It has all the symptoms of rabies except for the death of the infected. It is transmitted by the same means: a bite. We asked people to be careful and to immediately, inform the police if you think someone is infected.”, a well-dressed man said standing at a reading desk in front of journalists.
****
On the street, cries of fear rang out. People ran away. Men and women covered in blood and ragged clothes staggered behind them. They screamed angrily with foam coming out of their mouth.
Police cars rushed to stop their advance. The policemen stepped out of their car.
“Stop! Stay where you are!” they shouted, their guns drawn pointed at the infected moving down the street.
No response came as they kept moving. The policemen with no other choice shot at them. They staggered violently against the onslaught of shots. One man fell down and didn't get up but the others kept advancing despite the blood oozing from their wounds.
Around the country, same scenes were happening. The population was fearful. They holed up in their house, only getting out when they had no other choice.
The disease little by little spread among them. The situation was chaotic. Their fears could be summed up in one word: ZOMBIES. That was the name the media gave to the infected.
****
A man was sitting on a chair. He was the President of the Gray federation. He was different from before. His hair was disheveled. His suit was rumpled. The proud and charismatic man that he had been was nowhere to be seen. His eyes didn't stay still. He was sweating heavily.
Suddenly, he seemed to regain his sanity.
“You who comes from other worlds please save us. Kill the infected, save the world.” His moment of sanity passed. He screamed, foam coming out of his mouth as he tore his hair out.
The video only lasted three minutes. When it ended, a glowing door appeared in front of me. I went through it. The other side was a bathroom. I rolled my eyes as the random spawn location was in full effect.
Zombie Apocalypse was the kind of game where nothing was safe and sure. One minute a place was safe and the next, filled with zombies. You couldn't choose your starting location nor your respawn points. They were all randomized to be a ten-minute-only safe zone. Parties couldn't be formed beforehand as players wouldn't appear at the same place even if they logged in at the same time.
Even knowing this, it wasn't my luck to appear in a bathroom. I fell on the ground under the weight of my weapons. I activated my true form and rose from the filthy floor. The two weapons became easier to carry.
I had to walk now as my mana wasn't infinite like before. My weapon wouldn't go though the door. They were invisible like me but they were still corporeal. I had to open the door to get them out. I found myself in a dimly lit corridor.
When I checked both sides, my gaze caught on the little woman drawn on the door. An urge to shout came over me. Of all places around the world where I could start in, it had to be in the women's bathroom. I shook my head in disbelief.
On the right side, the corridor stopped a few meters away in a dead-end. On the left side, there were many doors and the corridor led to a larger room. I went left through the first door. It was a small office with a desk and a phone that didn't work. The electricity didn't work here. The only illumination the place had was from a window that filter the light of the day.
During the day, zombies were less frequent than at night. It was due to their eyes having low tolerance to light. I didn't know if I should feel grateful or not. There were less zombies during the day but they were relatively stronger than the ones who came at night who were weaker but numerous.
I was on the second floor of the building. Through the window, I went down the fire escape. I ended up in an alley that led into a two way street. I went that way with no concern. I was invisible and I didn't think anyone had the skills to see me wander around.
The street was deserted and my imagination was going on hyperactive. I expected a tumbleweed to roll down the street like they did in movies with a forlorn music piece in the background made by a famous composer.
As I moved forward, I saw movements in the shops lining the street. I rushed at the first building I saw people moved in and opened the door with a bang. Two zombies walked towards me.
They were disgusting. They had foam at the mouth and they were dirty. One of them had lost his eye. From where I looked, I could see that pus and blood were oozing from the wound. I thanked all that was holy that in my spirit form, I couldn't smell anything.
I tightened my grip on the katana and cut their heads one after the other. It was easy, too easy. I didn't feel any excitement nor motivation to kill them but to grow stronger, I needed to do it. I went through all the rooms, there were no one else.
I went back out and inside another building. There, five zombies were eating the corpse of a fellow zombie. I decided to train my skills on them.
“Twisted temptation!” I shouted but nothing happened. “Twisted temptation.” I tried again.
“It's not the way it should be done.” I jumped in fright at the feminine voice that whispered in my ear.
“Maron!” I screamed in disbelief.
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A.N: Chapter 16 and 17 will be out later today. I'm currently working on chapter 18. If I finished it today, I will post it immediately. Otherwise, you'll have to wait for next Thursday. Fingers crossed.