"I died in the future.
And I remember the day I died clearly."
My throat was burning.
Karel instinctively grabbed his neck. Something warm flowed between his fingers. When he pulled his hand back, his palm was covered in blood. The bite was deep; the skin was torn, the flesh shredded.
"Damn it…"
The surroundings weren't silent.
But there were no human voices.
Only monster sounds—zombie noises.
Echoing between the ruined buildings were growls, the scraping of bones, and the hollow moans of hunger. The city was empty. Not a single trace of life remained.
There were two corpses in front of him.
No…
Two monsters.
Riven and Boran.
The two friends he once fought beside, laughed with, and swore to survive together… now stood there with hollow eyes, blood-soaked mouths, and twisted bodies—turned into zombies.
Karel clenched his teeth.
"Ah, you bastards…"
His voice trembled, but it was filled with rage.
"How did you lose to something this simple, huh?"
The zombified bodies took a step toward him.
"As the last member of this team…" Karel said, taking a deep breath,
"…I no longer have a purpose."
He raised his weapon.
His vision darkened.
"I don't want to see you like this."
He whispered before pulling the trigger.
"Let me end your pain."
Two gunshots echoed through the decayed corpse of the city.
Riven fell.
Boran fell.
Karel's knees trembled.
Zombies were coming from everywhere. Streets, buildings, dark corners… all of them were moving. Hundreds of them.
"I was going to turn anyway…" he laughed bitterly.
"Then I might as well use my last strength."
He fought.
Until his breath ran out, until his arms went numb, until his bullets were gone.
The last bullet.
The gun trembled in his hand.
The trigger dropped.
And silence.
The gun hit the ground.
Karel staggered back, leaned against a chunk of rock, and slid down to the ground. He looked up; even the gray sky was hopeless.
"So this is how my life ends, huh…"
A painful laugh escaped his throat.
"I thought I was finally happy."
He paused for a moment.
"A zombie apocalypse… I always wanted one, actually."
The irony in his voice sharpened.
"I got what I wanted, but… am I really going to die without doing anything?"
His eyes filled up.
With rage.
"I refuse."
He clenched his teeth.
"I wish… I had one more chance."
The zombies lunged at him.
The world went dark.
And right at that moment—
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
That sound… a phone alarm.
Karel jolted awake in bed.
His breathing was rapid. His forehead was soaked with sweat.
He looked to his right. Then to his left.
The room… was intact.
"I…"
He grabbed his face.
"Wasn't I dead?"
His heart was pounding wildly.
"Wait."
Suddenly, he froze.
"No way…"
A white light appeared before his eyes. In an instant, everything vanished. Karel found himself in a pure white, endless void.
"This…"
His eyes widened.
"This is the ability from the novel I read…"
He started laughing.
A quiet, insane laugh.
"So I died and came back…"
"And I gained an ability."
He returned from the void.
Grabbed his phone.
Checked the date.
January 12, 2026.
"Four months…"
His voice turned serious.
"Four months until the zombie apocalypse."
He jumped to his feet.
"I don't have time."