-Chapter 2-
-POV MC-
I stared at the gun shop in front of me, caught in a long internal debate between the two sides of my new personality, trying to decide if I was really going to do what I came here to do.
'I don't have a choice anyway. Either I keep going, or I give up and let myself die,' I thought, knowing I wouldn't get very far without a weapon.
I closed my eyes, then opened them again, ready to do what had to be done.
I grabbed the gun from my glove compartment and pulled back the slide to chamber the first round.
Once that was done, I ejected the magazine and reloaded it.
Even though I hadn't known shit about guns in my first life, Calvin had done these motions so many times that they felt almost natural.
'This is insane... Just a little while ago, I would've frozen at the sight of a gun, and now I'm playing with a Colt 1911 like it's a damn toy,' I thought, frowning.
Then I stopped cold, realizing I didn't even know how time worked between this world and my old one.
'Maybe it's been millions of years since I died... maybe my entire universe doesn't even exist anymore,' I thought, suddenly overwhelmed by a deep, unexplained fear, as if I was nothing but a speck of meaningless dust.
I placed a hand over my heart, which was pounding hard.
I took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly, gradually regaining my composure.
'Calvin's memories and personality are changing me… No, more accurately, they already changed me, way more than I thought,' I reflected while locking the magazine back in, then added to myself:
'But these existential panic attacks? That's new.'
'7+1… With one already chambered, that gives me an extra round, just in case,' I thought, taking a deep breath.
'Alright, let's do this,' I thought, looking at the closed store as night began to fall.
I got out of the car, trying not to look suspicious, but still scanning the area to make sure no wannabe vigilante would try to stop me.
I was carrying two duffel bags to make hauling the loot easier.
Once I reached the storefront, I took a deep breath… then smashed the window.
The shop was closed today because of the numerous riots breaking out all over the city.
I expected an alarm to go off the second I forced entry… but nothing.
I crawled through the hole I'd made, unlocked the door from the inside, set the bags down, and started exploring the place—a treasure trove whose true value few people could really grasp.
'Oh, not bad... Guns, grenades, mags…'
After a few minutes checking out what the store had to offer, I stroked my chin, wondering:
'Mhmm… What should I take? There's even body armor... I gotta make sure everything fits in the bags.'
CRACK
Suddenly I heard a noise—and found myself face-to-face with a middle-aged white man pointing a shotgun at me.
I ducked behind the counter just as a shot rang out.
BANG
Shit… Shit… Shit…
The blast tore a chunk out of the counter, but luckily I'd ducked in time and avoided the worst of it.
I yelled out:
"Mister, I'm sorry! I just came to protect myself! There are things out there!"
That shout had two goals.
First, I really was scared. Second, I needed time—to make him think I was just some dumbass kid trying his luck.
Unfortunately, the man with the shotgun—probably the manager or owner—didn't seem convinced… or interested in talking.
The only answer I got was the sound of him pumping his weapon.
'Fucking asshole, I'm trying to solve this peacefully…' I thought, though honestly, I had only myself to blame. I'd wasted too much time picking out what to steal.
The guy stayed silent, but I could hear his footsteps.
So I crawled behind the counter as quietly as possible.
By following his steps, I figured he was coming around to flank me from the right.
'Thank you, video games.'
I waited silently for a few seconds, then slipped around the counter to catch him from behind.
I dropped to the floor and fired three times at his legs.
BANG BANG BANG
I missed a couple shots… but not all of them.
The man dropped to his knees.
And before he could even process what had happened, I emptied the rest of the mag into his back.
BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG
Instinctively, I dove for cover as his body twitched.
But when I saw the blood pouring out of him like a tapped wine barrel, I was hit with a wave of dizziness.
'I just killed a man.'
'No, no, no… I just… No, this can't be real…' I thought, my stomach churning as I dropped to my knees. I barely managed not to throw up.
Instinctively, I was afraid of leaving DNA on the floor.
'As if that even matters now. In a few days, this whole city will be napalmed,' I thought, trying to distract myself and fight the nausea.
[Ding. User detected… unlocking Omniversal Evolution Prism… calculating total energy for system activation… energy insufficient… vital energy located… Omniversal Evolution Prism reboot successful.]
[EVOLUTION] [SURVIVAL] [INVENTORY]
'What the fuck is this?' I thought, staring at the three options that had just popped up in front of me.
I clicked on Evolution, and a profile appeared.
[Calvin William Jasper]
{Attributes}
[Strength: Locked]
[Speed: Locked]
[Endurance: Locked]
[Perception: Locked]
[Reflex: Locked]
[Dexterity: Locked]
[Agility: Locked]
[Vitality: Locked]
[Constitution: Locked]
[Intelligence: Locked]
[Mind: Locked]
[Wisdom: Locked]
{Skills: Locked}
'Looks like that thing Jose loved… The Gamer or whatever,' I thought, before remembering I was still at a damn crime scene.
I quickly grabbed everything I thought might help, stuffed it into my bags, and bolted.
I wasn't about to get caught by the cops before the real shit even started.
'Might as well shoot myself right now.'
---
-POV William Jasper-
Like every evening, I was watching the news.
But unlike the rest of the year, I was deeply concerned by the stories running on a loop.
All the recent violence, plus the government's response… None of it was a good sign.
'These public shootings aren't good. If people start fighting back, we're gonna have a goddamn civil war,' I thought, turning just in time to see my wife's worried frown.
"Don't worry, things won't spiral out of control," I said, placing a reassuring hand on hers—even though I didn't believe it for a second.
"I'm not so sure. I spoke with some of my old colleagues, and they think this might be due to some kind of virus… something that makes people so violent they kill and eat others," said Maria, clearly anxious.
If a pandemic like that broke out, the world might just collapse.
'A virus that turns people into animals? That's way too far-fetched,' I thought, not really buying it.
But Maria—normally calm, both as a doctor and a mother—was visibly nervous.
That meant whoever gave her the info must've known what they were talking about.
I frowned, lost in thought.
Just as I was about to respond, I heard my son's car screech to a stop outside.
'What the hell is going on?' I wondered, hearing the tires and brakes squeal.
Didn't take long to find out. Calvin burst through the door and said urgently:
"We need to pack our things. We've gotta get out of the city right now."
"Why?" I asked, frowning—for two reasons.
First, because of his tone—he was giving orders.
Second, because we had nowhere to go.
'Running into the desert, in the middle of a civil war, with no food or shelter? That's the dumbest fucking plan ever.'
Still wound up, Calvin tried to say something, but sighed, took a deep breath, and said:
"There's a virus that's making people violent… kind of like… zombies."
"Zombies?" I repeated, not hiding my disbelief. I might be old enough to be his dad, but not too old to know what that meant.
"Your mother already mentioned the possibility of a virus making people more aggressive, but zombies?" I said, raising an eyebrow.
I hadn't even believed Maria's version, so a virus that turned people into zombies?
Calvin fired back immediately:
"Exactly. They have no will, no intelligence—they act purely on instinct. To feed."
"To feed?" I asked, already dreading the answer.
"On human flesh. They become nearly immortal cannibals—zombies, basically," said Calvin, completely sure of himself.
"That's impossible," whispered Maria, terrified by the idea of meeting one… or worse, becoming one.
I looked at Cal for a few seconds, trying to spot a lie. But he didn't look like he was lying.
'And he's oddly confident…'
So I said:
"If what you're saying is true, we can't stay here. Even if there's just a shred of truth, we need to leave now. But we need supplies."
"I've already taken care of that. But first, we have to pick up the Clarks. I promised Nick I wouldn't abandon him," my son said, locking eyes with me.
'When the hell did he become a man?' I wondered, proud of him.
'Even if we disagreed about serving the country, he's still a good kid,' I thought, nodding.