The world didn't end with a bang.
It ended with sirens.
Alex Mercer woke up before his alarm clock rang.
At first he thought it was just another training habit. Years of discipline had made him a light sleeper. But as he opened his eyes, he immediately realized something was wrong.
The noise outside his apartment window wasn't normal.
Sirens.
Too many of them.
Police cars.
Ambulances.
Fire trucks.
All at once.
Alex sat up in bed, running a hand through his dark hair as he listened carefully. The city outside his apartment building sounded chaotic even though it was barely past six in the morning.
He stood up and walked toward the window.
Pulling the curtain aside slightly, he looked down at the street.
People were already gathering outside.
Several cars were parked at strange angles. A police cruiser blocked part of the road while two officers were shouting at someone lying on the pavement.
Alex narrowed his eyes.
His brain automatically began analyzing the situation.
Crowd behavior.
Emergency response patterns.
Civilian panic levels.
All things he had studied during his training.
Something about this situation felt wrong.
Very wrong.
The man lying on the pavement suddenly started shaking violently.
The nearest officer crouched down to help him.
Then the man lunged forward and bit the officer's arm.
Hard.
The officer screamed.
Alex's eyes sharpened instantly.
That wasn't normal human behavior.
The second officer grabbed his partner and tried pulling him away, but the bitten officer had already collapsed to the ground.
People in the street began shouting.
Phones were raised.
Someone yelled for an ambulance.
But Alex didn't look away.
Thirty seconds passed.
Then the officer on the ground began moving again.
Slowly.
His head twisted to the side at an unnatural angle.
Then he stood up.
And attacked the nearest civilian.
The street erupted into chaos.
People ran in every direction.
The second officer drew his gun.
Two gunshots echoed through the morning air.
BANG.
BANG.
The attacker dropped.
But the original man—the one who started everything—was already getting back up.
Alex's mind reached a conclusion.
Infection.
Highly aggressive.
Possibly neurological.
And spreading fast.
The officer fired again.
This time the bullet hit the attacker directly in the head.
The body collapsed.
And didn't move again.
Alex noticed that detail immediately.
Head trauma stopped them.
Interesting.
Another scream echoed from further down the street.
Then another.
Within minutes, the entire neighborhood descended into panic.
Alex stepped away from the window.
If society was collapsing, staying unprepared was the fastest way to die.
He opened his closet and pulled out a large black backpack.
Inside were supplies most teenagers wouldn't normally own.
A combat knife.
Flashlights.
Medical bandages.
Energy bars.
Water bottles.
A portable radio.
Emergency gear.
Alex had been preparing for disasters long before this one began.
He clipped the knife to his belt and walked toward the apartment door.
As soon as he stepped into the hallway, he heard screaming from downstairs.
Residents were running toward the stairs.
Someone shouted that people were attacking each other.
Someone else yelled that the police were shooting civilians.
Alex ignored the chaos.
Panic made people stupid.
Instead he moved calmly down the stairwell.
When he reached the first floor, the building doors burst open.
A man stumbled inside.
Blood covered his shirt.
His eyes looked empty.
And his movements…
Were wrong.
The infected man lunged at the nearest resident.
People screamed and scattered.
Alex stepped forward.
The man turned toward him instantly.
And charged.
Alex moved before the attacker even reached him.
Years of training took over.
He sidestepped the attack, grabbed the man's shoulder, and drove the combat knife straight into the side of his skull.
The body collapsed instantly.
Silence filled the hallway.
Then something appeared in front of Alex's eyes.
A glowing blue interface.
SURVIVAL RESOURCE SYSTEM ACTIVATED
User Identified:
Alex Mercer
First Walker Eliminated
Reward:
+10 Supply Points
New Mission Available
Mission:
Survive the First Day
Reward:
Weapon Supply Box
Alex stared at the floating screen for several seconds.
A system.
Inside the apocalypse.
Behind him, terrified residents whispered among themselves.
But Alex's attention was entirely on the blue interface hovering in front of his vision.
Whatever this system was…
It had just changed the rules of survival.