Surprise, surprise...

Alex watched the security camera's live feed on the living room.

He sat crossed leg on the floor while circulating the breathing technique.

His left wrist still wrapped with bandages since the burns are still there.

His right wrist isn't hurt anymore and the special energy is currently being gathered and circulated around it for faster recovery.

"The area is clear. Aside from the initial ambush, no zombies are roaming around."

Alex stood up and stretched.

"Let's start looting again before zombies wander here. I just want to finish it all so I don't have to go out anymore."

Besides, there's a hidden danger that he just noticed after calming down.

With the long recovery time, he had enough time to experiment on what enhancements he could do and focus on what he can achieve with his special energy.

He was glad he did and found out it's amazing uses.

First, he can temporarily strengthen any of his five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.

The problem with better hearing is he could hear the muffled shuffling of footsteps on the other apartment.

He already expected it but as if to make things worse, there are two sets of them.

Now, what he wasn't sure is if there's only one originally and the other just woke up.

Assuming the dog died and reanimated, or they're both zombified since morning but just doesn't have the strength to escape the room.

Neither way, he would like to keep things the same way until he can figure out what to do, or find a method to fight zombies more effectively.

Alex left the room after seeing the perimeter empty and headed out downstairs to the couples apartment.

As soon as he reached the stairs, he saw the aftermath of his earlier battle.

A bunch of little potholes on a cement staircase.

His gaze landed on the body - or the place where a body was supposed to be - and couldn't find nothing except for a pile of dust slowly getting thinner as wind carried it away.

"That's fast! What happened here? Did the acid disintegrated the corpse?"

Alex shook his head.

"Never mind. Better get over the place and finish things fast. This place is not safe."

Now that he thinks about it, one of the blind spots of the security cameras was the stairs.

But since the cameras got the hallways covered and no movements were detected that meant the body really turned inti dust.

Alex noticed a small crystal stone as he walked closer.

"No way!"

He bent down and grabbed it.

It was warm, like the energy inside him.

He quickly put it on his pocket and got out of the stairs.

Alex stood in front of the couple's apartment door deciding whether to break the doorknob or clip it again.

He didn't want to do both, so he knocked on the door.

"Anybody there?"

Of course there's no one, they already died...

Alex turned the knob and to his surprise found it unlocked.

He entered the apartment and surveyed the place. There's a huge shelf near the tv where a bunch of medals and trophies were displayed.

The shelves beside the tv contained a bunch of pictures and a small trophy of when the man was in grade school.

There's a big table and a kitchen beside the window.

Alex ignored the kitchen and headed to the bedroom. He was looking forward to get some weapons on this loot run.

The ones he had before proved to be too useless in current light of events especially the knife that turned rugged after getting bathed with acid.

The bedroom was clean and nothing was out of place, so he immediately found a bin filled with baseball bats of varying designs and color.

He tested each one and took the wooden bat that fit perfectly on his hand and grabbed an aluminum bat as spare.

After taking the two, he rummaged the drawers and cabinets and found a another surprise - a small black revolver and a box of ammunition next to it.

"Whoa! Nice, this will be great when I get cornered in the future. Hope that doesn't come but better prepared than get caught with nothing."

While looting, he also found the manual and the permit for the revolver.

"I probably don't need a gun permit to use this now, right? I'll take the manual though. Always read documentation or you'll miss a key feature."

Alex placed the gun on his waist and the ammunition on his ecobag. He then went to the living room to check the other drawers.

There's a lot of useful things: batteries, first aid kit, cold and flu medicines, a pocket knife, flashlight, and a bottle of alcohol.

"Alcohol? He's sick but he's drinking alcohol?"

Alex opened the refrigerator and found a bunch of beers and soda.

"Great! Two sports nuts: one likes powder, the other loves beer. Just perfect. I won't become addicted to this flavors, right?"

Alex looked at the opened bottle again and noticed it has a different label.

"Bourbon? Huh, is this even a light drink? Let's see."

He took a gulp and swallowed.

"Urk! Mr. Bourbon, I'm saving you for special nights."

Alex spent three trips to loot both apartments downstairs. He looted every foodstuff he could find even the candies and snacks he found hidden on strange places.

When he finished looting everything, he returned to his apartment and locked the door.

He started sorting the foodstuffs on the pantry and a single glance told him he got enough food and drink for a week.

It's almost 8pm now.

"So, what am I gonna eat on this fine evening?"

Alex felt cheerful after all the events that happened.

He opened the freezer and found some frozen meat, an ice cream, and a bag of fishballs.

Frozen and fresh goods should be eaten first since they will have a short shelf life.

"Fishball sounds nice, but I want to celebrate my first night surviving with some real meat!"

He took the frozen beef and decided to make a stew.

He opened the fridge and found some carrots and potatoes.

"This should be good. A little spice, a little salt, a little meat, a little love, and you have a nice stew."

"Now, while waiting for it to finish cooking, let's call mom and dad."

He dialed his mom's number.

"Ring, ring."

No answer.

He dialed his dad's number.

"The number you dialed cannot be reached..."

Alex frowned.

"Did their phones run out of battery? Now that I think about it, mom usually brings her own charger in the clinic..."

Cannot be reached...

Ring, ring...

Alex's frown grew deeper as he kept getting the same message.

"What's going on?"

He tried his dad's number again, and then his mom.

Both didn't answer.

"Is the service down?"

He checked the connection and everything is working fine.

Alex ate the sumptuous dinner without being able to speak to his parents.