The beginning

The alarm blared in Richard Gonzales' ears, rousing him from his slumber. He groggily reached for his phone on the nightstand and squinted at the glaring screen.

"Oh, no!" Richard gasped as he saw the time. He was already late for his morning class.

Jumping out of bed, he hastily donned his school uniform, his mind racing with thoughts of the reprimand he would receive from his stern professor. But as he wore his I.D and prepared to dash out the door, the entire condominium building shook violently, as if an earthquake was tearing through the city.

Confused and curious, Richard rushed to the window to see what was causing the tremors. What he saw froze him in terror. Chaos had consumed the once-busy streets of Makati City. People were pouncing on one another, their teeth sinking into flesh with grotesque ferocity. It was like something out of a nightmare.

His heart pounding, Richard witnessed the unthinkable – people turning on their fellow humans, devouring them like ravenous animals. He saw blood-soaked streets, cars colliding in a cacophony of metal and glass, and nearby explosions sending shockwaves through the city.

Fear gripped him like a vice, and he stumbled backward, his mind struggling to comprehend the horror unfolding before his eyes. This couldn't be real; it must be some kind of sick prank or a movie set gone horribly wrong. But the screams and the madness outside were all too real.

Richard's trembling fingers fumbled with his phone, desperately trying to establish a connection to the outside world. He opened his Twitter and Facebook feeds, hoping for some rational explanation for this madness. But instead, his worst fears were confirmed – videos flooded his timeline showing the same horrifying scenes he had witnessed outside his window.

As Richard scrolled through the news articles and social media updates, he was horrified to learn that the zombie outbreak was not confined to Makati City alone. Reports poured in from every major city in the Philippines – Quezon City, Manila, Taguig – all facing the same situation. The infection was spreading like wildfire, turning ordinary citizens into bloodthirsty monsters.But the horror did not stop at the Philippine borders. International news outlets were also reporting the outbreak in major cities worldwide. Seoul, Tokyo, New York, Beijing, Berlin, Paris, Moscow, Rio de Janeiro, Delhi, – no place seemed to be spared from the outbreak.

Fear and despair threatened to overwhelm Richard as he realized the magnitude of the catastrophe. This was not a localized incident or a passing nightmare; it was a global crisis. The world as he knew it was crumbling before his eyes.

He then checked his messenger to see a flood of messages from his school group chat. The messages were frantic and filled with panic, each reporting the same horrifying events unfolding in their respective locations. Friends and classmates were sending desperate pleas for help, urging each other to stay safe and avoid going outside.

"Guys, what the hell is happening? Are you seeing this?" Richard typed, his fingers trembling with every letter.

The responses came in swiftly from one of his classmates. A message read, "I can't believe what I'm seeing outside my window!" along with a photo of the school grounds in chaos.

"It's like a scene from a zombie movie!" another exclaimed.

"Shit…" Richard muttered a curse under his breath. "There is a zombie apocalypse happening right now."

Amidst the chaos, Richard received a notification that he had ten missed calls from his mother. His heart sank as he realized the urgency of her attempts to reach him. He dialed her number, hoping against hope that she was safe.

"Mom? Mom, are you okay?" Richard's voice cracked as he waited for her to answer.

The line was filled with silence for a moment before his mother's trembling voice finally came through.

"Richard, thank God you're okay! Are you safe? Have you seen what's happening outside?"

Tears welled up in his eyes as he reassured his mother that he was fine."I'm okay, Mom, but I don't know what's happening. It's like... like the world has gone crazy. Are you safe? Is everyone safe?"

His mother's voice trembled as she replied, "We're huddled in the house right now. Your father and brothers are barricading the door. Richard...where is your sister?" his mother's voice quivered with concern and a knot formed in Richard's stomach. He had completely forgotten about his younger sister, Lisa, who was studying at the same university as him. They were living together in the condominium to save money on transportation, and currently, at this time, she was supposed to be in school.

"I think she is in school… Mom," Richard stammered dreadly.

"School?!" Richard's mom repeated, her voice shaking with fear. "Richard...your school is already flooded with...zo—zombies! Oh my God...your poor little sister!"

"I'll try and call her, Mom. I'm safe in my room. I'll contact you once I reach out to her," Richard said, trying to reassure his mother.

"Okay, be careful, Richard. Lock the doors, don't let anyone in. Do you understand?"

"I do Mom."

He immediately dialed Lisa's number, praying that she would answer. But there was no response, just the trilling of the phone. Panic started to rise within him, and he tried calling again, and again, but still, there was no answer.

Seeing that his call wouldn't go through, he tried sending a message to her, telling her to call him the moment she saw his message. After that, he tapped the icon of the group message with his classmates. There, he typed a message, asking about the situation of the senior high school building.

Seconds later, there was a reply.

[The senior high school building is on fire! A lot of senior high students turned! I'll send you a picture Richard…]As Richard read the message from his classmate, his heart plummeted. The situation was far worse than he had anticipated.

"Shit…" Richard's lower lips quivered as he tried to hold back tears and fear. The reality of the situation hit him like a ton of bricks. Lisa, his little sister, was in grave danger. He needed to reach her, to ensure her safety, but the thought of facing those monstrous creatures terrified him to the core.

"What should I do…" Richard whispered to himself, trying to think rationally. He knew he couldn't just sit there and do nothing. Lisa needed him, and he had to find a way to get to her, even if it meant putting his own life on the line.

He inched towards the window wall, fear gripping his heart as he peered down. There, in the midst of the chaos, loomed a horrifying sight – a gargantuan creature, its grotesque form moving with inhuman speed on all fours. With every leap, it soared to towering heights, only to descend with a bone-chilling force, its massive arm swinging down like a deadly scythe, effortlessly cleaving through vehicles and people alike, splattering blood and debris in the air.

"What the…" Richard couldn't believe what he was seeing. This is not an ordinary zombie apocalypse with zombies chasing humans, there are mutated zombies with superhuman abilities.

And then, another figure caught his eye, and a shudder ran down his spine. Above the city, soaring through the air like a monstrous hybrid of bat and humanoid, was an even more horrifying sight. Its pinkish flesh was visible beneath scraggly feathers that hung like a curtain on both sides of its gnarled, skull-like face. Massive bat-like wings, spanning approximately two meters, flapped menacingly.

Its piercing red eyes gleamed with a malevolent hunger as it scanned the streets below. With a blood-curdling screech, the monster swooped down, talons outstretched, snatching civilians from the ground and carrying them away to god knows where.

"There's no way I can get out," Richard muttered, his heart pounding in his chest.

He pulled away from the window, his mind racing for a plan. He needed to find a safe way out of the condominium, a way to avoid those monstrous creatures. But as he looked around his room, he realized that he was ill-prepared for such a catastrophe. No weapons, no gears, just his phone and a sinking feeling of helplessness.

Just then, his phone buzzed. Thinking that it was a call from Lisa or his mother, he promptly checked the notification. To his dismay, it was not a message of hope or reassurance but an advertisement for a mobile game.

[Are you ready to defend against the zombie hordes? Build your fortress and survive the apocalypse! Download now and conquer the new world!] the ad blared on his screen.

Richard cursed under his breath. This was not the time for a stupid game advertisement. He was facing a real-life apocalypse, and his loved ones were in danger. He swiped the notification away but it won't go away.

[Please don't swipe! I'm literally giving you a chance to defend yourself and be powerful in the zombie apocalypse] the message read.

"What the heck…" Richard muttered, thoroughly bewildered by the bizarre turn of events. He stared at the persistent message on his phone, unsure of what to make of it. Was this some kind of sick joke? How could a game advertisement be appearing at a time like this?

As he frustratingly tried to get the ad out of his screen, he accidentally tapped the download icon.

[Thank you for downloading the game. For being the first person that downloaded our game, we are going to give you a special reward. Please wait as we boot up your system.]

"Fuuuuck!" Richard bellowed—and suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

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