Chapter 2 - Learning the system, and survivng this world

Garret was in shock, but he used his training to take stock of the situation and understand a few things.

1. Zombie apocalypse. Sure that's a thing now.

2. He has a system, no levels but he can make do with his stats and what ever training he can do to make them grow.

3. The store system he has is apparently limited in daily stock. If it runs out he has to wait 24 hours for it to restock. And his points currently can barely get him another ammo clip for his gun. Ammo was already at 15 points for his pistol!

4. He can stock points and buy higher tiered items. Like apparently magic gems he can crush to absorb magic into his body and increase his stats... Okay sure.

Garret sighs and rubs his face as he sees his target currently in the store.

Building reinforcement kit - 1,000 Points

In stock: 5

Str +1 gem -100 points

In stock: 10

Ammo clip for 9mm glock - 15 points

In stock: 999

Garret sighs as all +1 stat gems were the same. 10 of them and each were 100 points. He had his goal set though. Earn some gems, get some ammo, and find a place to hunker down and survive in.

The shop didn't have much left but he found some canned food such as vegetables, meats, and even some fruit. He found a first aid kit, and a camping back back that had decent space for everything. he even found some spare jeans, some underwear and socks in his size, and managed to make sure he didn't leave anything useful behind.

Taking some tools like screwdrivers and a crowbar with him, he went out into the street to see devastation and destruction everywhere he went.

He saw burned cars, broken store fronts, ruined street signs, evidence of other people having died from blood stains, limbs, and some piles of burnt corpses. He looked carefully for other zombies and survivors as he moved down the street. He was in one of those Medium towns, he began to look around for where he could have ended up. He noticed a sign saying, Redmon town center. And knew he was in Washington. This was bizarre as he clearly started in New York. In street clothes.

He needed answers. He looked around and found power still worked from the cities private generators. But not much else was going on. He went to the mall. Entering the basic area he saw quite a bit of battle damage alongside police cars, APC, and a Swat team van. Looks like they tried to make it a haven. But it failed as he saw a line of cars fro a road block and the beginnings of a fortification as he saw boards, boxes, crates, and even some metal sheets welded and nailed together behind the cars. But bodies were littered everywhere in front of the barricade and behind it.

He checked the squad cars first. No shotguns, no spare guns, but he managed to find a spare glock clip that was full. It looked like it had fallen behind the seat. He quickly put that into his vest and continued his search for gear. He also took a spare radio clip that an officer left behind. It was dead but finding batteries for it shouldn't be too difficult. Especially with how so many stores are now free looting.

Entering the swat van next, he saw all ammo gone, all armor gone, and only one piece of equipment remained, a stun baton. Hey one more blunt weapon certainly doesn't hurt at this point. He goes on to check the APC. This one he has more luck in. He has his military boots, Kevlar vest, and his fatigues, but that's all. He finds a black swat helmet, some elbow armor, and a good pair of knee armor. Alongside another clip for the glock.

He is disappointed he can't seem to find any survivors, but he hopes that means the remaining ones moved on and found a safer location. Checking the APC mission logs he finds the next retreat and bunker joint was at Redmon town hall. A few miles on foot but he could manage it. He felt pretty good for walking a solid mile already while he had his gear.

He must have been healthier than he thought at his age.

He went to a store front where clothing was sold trying to find a spare shirt for either gauze, or for changing when needed. And found an intact mirror.

He looked and paused hard at who he saw looking back at him. It was him... but Garret hadn't looked that young in a decade. He was looking at his past 25 year old self, when he was in prime training and prime fitness, and before he took a bullet to the arm that threw his aim off ever so slightly. Now he knew why he could shoot so straight and take down zombies so quickly. He had gotten younger! His black hair and eyes were sleek and not frazzled from stress and age, his skin had smoothed out and didn't look so weathered, his eyes looked clearer and were the rich brown he knew them to be before he was almost blinded from many fire fights and a flash bang to the face during a mission. And his biggest scar that went down diagonally from left eyebrow, across his nose, to the top of his right cheek was missing. He had a black stubble growing but that was to be expected from not shaving fro three days. However everything about this youthful transformation was throwing him off.

"Okay... This either means I died in a drunk accident, am on an acid trip from that green pill I definitely don't remember owning, or I am in some coma induced nightmare and just gotta survive until I wake up. Any of these options are bad news for my career. Oh well at least my military savings from only taking holidays off will support me in the hospital if that is the case, and my family for my siblings needs for their families. Heaven knows I never got married."

He looks around and continues a sweep. He finds the odd shirt or pair of jeans that fit him in three clothing stores and now he has enough gear for a week on the road. He goes to check the mall proper again for the food stores when he hears an echoing groan.

He whips his glock to a ready position and keeps his head on a swivel. He looks around rapidly and finds a Zombie exiting a store nearby. It had fresh blood in its teeth, meaning either they cannibalize each other or there was a survivor there who died. And he was just a few minutes too late to help.

Garret gnashed his teeth at the thought and leveled his gun at the zombie. He let off a shot to see how much is needed to kill them. The bullet entered the frontal lobe and blew out the back. The zombie stumbled but managed to continue stumbling, albeit much slower than before. Garret adjusted his aim and shot the left side of the head behind the eye. It splattered way more gore out and the zombie fell, let out a death rattle, then gurgled and didn't move again.

Waiting 10 seconds Garret got out the baton and nudged the zombie. It didn't make any further movements except one final gurgle and 10 points were awarded to him.

He sighed as yes that was still real.

He stops as he hears crunching of glass and turns to see another zombie, but this time a trio. He sees them barely 20 ft from his position so he readies his glock and unleashes a pair of bullets into each head, hitting the left and right side brains to destroy any remaining gray matter.

He checks his glock ammo clip to see 3 shots left. He grunts as he keeps that in mind as his shots echo off the Redmond town centers round construction. He hears even more groans as out of every store comes at least 1 Zombie. He sees the notification about earning 30 more points, but has no time to pay attention.

He glances all over to try and find an avenue of escape, he then hears off in the distance the sounds of gun fire. He makes a decision, checking around he sees a mangled cops corpse and checks his pockets as the undead horde of at least 50 zombies approach his position. He searches frantically until he finds the cops keys, using the alarm button he rings it and the cop car lets out a wail. He sees the zombies take notice and begin to approach the car at the end of the mall. While he high tails it out of there in the opposite direction.

He leaps over the make shift barricade and runs to the sounds of gun fire while the zombies crowd around and begin to destroy the cop car making the noise with clawing, biting, and even smacking with their arms and legs. Looks like these zombies were more robust or even just had a bit more intelligence than the average walking dead biter he grew up knowing. He grits his teeth at that info and checks his store as he gets behind a dumpster near by to grab more ammo.

He sees his points are at 50 and he grabs 3 more ammo clips. Unloading the nearly empty one he loads up one of the fresh ones and takes count. He has 5 full clips including the one in his gun, now with 3 shots, and his baton and knife. He also has some proper armor on now. But he needs to either find a shotgun, or more armor so he can punch those zombies out. Kicking them might work but he would need to make sure he has the str for it.

"I can't believe I am already adjusting to having stats available to me. I know I was a big gamer in high school and middle school... but c'mon! I can't accept this so easily!" Yet even as Garret said that he immediately got over his small out burst and resumed heading over to where he heard some more gun fire. If others were alive he would find them. And he would do his best to work with them to survive this whole ordeal. Even if this was reality now he would make the most of surviving this new world.

As he thought that he missed an update from the store saying, Owner has accepted system fully, updating contents.

Garret Grimsborne had just started his survival but he wasn't going to take it lying down.