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Re: Trash in the Apocalypse

Jun opened his eyes back to where everything first started. Back to the past when the world hasn't changed. In a post-apocalyptic world overrun by the undead, Jun, a young survivor haunted by fragmented memories of his past lives, finds himself thrust into a desperate struggle for survival. Will he find answers to his questions, or will he die and start over again? If... he can start over one more time. [World Loading...]

Arba · Urban
Zu wenig Bewertungen
10 Chs

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Jun felt his body floating downwards like a void inside him was pulling him inside out, followed by a sensation of weightlessness that enveloped him, like drifting through an endless expanse of emptiness. There's a distant echo of a heartbeat pounding in his ears, a rhythmic reminder of existence in the void.

Colors swirl in the surroundings, blending, and morphing into indiscernible shapes. White and black alternated and when he reached out, his hands found nothing to grasp.

With each passing moment, the feeling intensified, pulling his mind further into its embrace. It's as if gravity has lost its hold on you, freeing you from the constraints of the earthly realm just like a lost soul.

Jun tried moving, talking, and looking around, but there was nothing.

Aside from being able to think, there was nothing but darkness and silence.

'What's happening? Am I trapped somewhere?'

Not knowing how much time passed by, Jun started to gasp for air, a silent scream caught in his throat as he descended into the unknown. Time stretches and distorts, elongating each second into an eternity of uncertainty.

Then, just as suddenly as it began, the sensation halts. Small cracks appeared and light slowly seeped in and illuminated the darkness quickly followed by his bodily sensation rushing from all over his body.

A painful one.

"Arghh!!!"

Jun trashed around clutching his bleeding right eye. A light trace of numbing electricity escaped his eye socket and lingered around the eye helping him calm down.

Unfortunately, things didn't end there. He started retching and puking dark blood before he could gain stable footing.

Jun tried his best to look around and survey the surroundings with his intact left eye. Not knowing where he is can easily get him killed if gets surrounded by zombies.

He tried to search for his memories for answers but his mind remained blank.

As Jun searched for a weapon, a sense of familiarity washed over him. The surrounding area felt strangely nostalgic, like a distant memory resurfacing from the depths of his mind.

The chaotic street, the closed supermarket, the nearby bank.

With a jolt, realization dawns upon him.

He returned to the past!

As he stands weakly in the middle of the road, a series of text appears on his right eye.

[Note: Do not trust the system. Follow your notes! Trust yourself!]

***

Before he could understand anything, Jun heard a cry for help on the side.

"Help! Please someone help me!"

A civilian car crashed into an electric pole causing it to slightly lean forward. In the middle of the bumper and the pole was a lady slumped on the car's hood.

The cry for help came from the driver stuck in his seat.

"Hey, you! Come and help me! I'll give you some cash and sign some autographs. Who knows, right? When I become a famous hitter in the future, you'll be proud you met me. You can become my number one fan!"

Strength slowly returned to his body, so Jun went over to clear some doubts he had inside him.

The face of a young man barely having any facial hairs appeared before him. The same unfamiliar face of a man he casually killed before.

"What's with the face, man? First time seeing an accident? Are you gonna help me or what?"

Jun glanced at him in disbelief, then looked at the legs trapped in the dent.

Noticing Jun's furrowed brows, the man nervously chuckled.

"It's nothing that serious man. Just got my thigh a bit stuck and nothing a few pulls can't help with. The name's Jake though, how about you?"

Actually, Jun wasn't frowning because of the difficulty of the problem.

Nor because of the youthful vigor he saw on his face in the mirror.

Jun frowned because of the note floating on his blind side suddenly updating and giving him several options listing possible actions he could take.

[Note: 1. Save Jake - Has 50% chance to save Jake if you're careful in pulling him out. It will take time and more zombies will become aware of your presence. As long as you keep a tight leash and make him understand you are the boss, he will follow you and become loyal to you. Good at socializing and gathering crowds. 

2. Leave Jake - Gain more time to prepare and build fortifications at the bank, allowing more people to be prepared to fight the initial rush of zombies.]

Jun gulped. Did I make these notes myself? How?

As he tried to search his memories for answers, he found bits and pieces of memory of him writing these notes into the system.

He winced and clutched his head from the short influx of memory.

[Stop looking! He'll find you!] 

Jun barely stopped himself from going down memory lane after seeing the ominous words.

'Someone's looking for me? Who will- no, no, stop,' he shook his head. 'I should stop wasting time. I need to start taking action.'

Jun opened the car door to help pull Jake out but the note suddenly updated.

[Note: I'm the Boss - Take the car key and arm yourself with the baseball bat on the car's trunk. Kill the woman on the hood who will turn anytime soon. If Jake thinks he can crawl over you, there's a high chance he will betray you in the future.]

"Tsk," Jun leaned forward and snatched the car keys from the steering wheel. 

"Hey, what are you doing?! That's mine!" Jake acted defensively as he weakly tried stopping Jun.

"Look in front of you and shut your mouth."

Jake scowled not liking what he was hearing one bit, but as he looked forward, let a surprised squeal out.

"Holy shit, lady! You're still alive! Thank God, please don't try to move, just stay where you are, and don't flail too much."

The trunk door opened and seconds later, Jake watched as Jun mercilessly clubbed the woman's head into the hood. The severely dented hood trickled with red blood leaving several witnesses in the area with dropped jaws.

Jake stammered as he watched Jun dig inside the head and fetch a small crystal.

[Note: Essence Shard - Don't absorb the shards even as a last resort! You can use them as an energy source instead. Best to gather and combine to become essence stones for a much more powerful energy source.]

"Th- that thing. What's that little thing?"

"Stop asking stupid questions. We need to get you out of there right now or we won't have enough time at all."

"What do you mean? You just bashed someone to death!"

Jake didn't have to wait for his reply as the man finally noticed a few strange activities happening in the area.

Slow subtle movements and painful cries echoed in the vicinity if you focused on what you wanted to hear.

"Get me out!" Jake paled from the unknown. Not knowing what was coming was much scarier than if you knew. "Please get me out now!"

Jun eyed him down. "But I don't need to do that? I don't even know you."

"No, please! I'll do whatever you want. I- I'll become your lackey! Whatever you want me to do, I'll do it for you, no questions asked!"

Jake's eyes reddened as he slowly nudged his leg off the dent. He waited anxiously while Jun glanced at his [notes].

This is my Entry for WSA 2024. I really wanted to finish this book the way I see it, so I'll do my best and focus on this new start. I will work full time as a writer. Please support me, friends.

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