Actio

Mattias didn't know what to think when he saw his neighbor in that state. His neighbor was a middle aged couple. The wife's mother was living with them as well. Without thinking about it much he turned away.

He then started looking around his house and listing his urgent needs. He shut the electricity and gas for the time being so he had no way to cook and preserve food. He also needed drinking water and a means to protect himself outdoors.

But as he looked outside once more, he realized that the sky was already colored red and the sun was descending. The world was entering its first night of terror.

"Looks like my plans to go out for resources will be pushed to tomorrow."

He closed the curtains for good measure and opened the gas to make a simple cup noodle for dinner. After preparing it, he once more shut the gas and opened the electricity to charge his phone and his 2 power banks. He refrained from lighting the house to prevent gathering attention.

"Let's see what's going on around the world."

There was still access to the internet. He put on one of his ear phones and opened the radio while surfing the web to see if this incident was worldwide or just limited to Japan. But he didn't find any channels broadcasting. His only source of information right now was images and videos that people posted online. And it depicted similar scenes around the world.

"I don't know what's happening but if it causes this much mess, then it is bad at best. This is just like a TV show! And if it really goes down like that, then internet and other information channels should last at most 3 or 4 days."

*rumble*

Rain clouds were still on the sky and it didn't look like it would disperse in a night.

"The weather is getting worse as well, I hope it becomes better by morning."

He made sure every window was closed and locked and every curtain pulled before returning his room. He then lit a candle for illumination and lay on his bed. As he fell in deep thoughts, he remembered something important from afternoon.

"There was that feeling, wasn't there?"

He contemplated about it and soon felt something different in his body flowing. He tried to focus on it but had a hard time.

"I wonder what this is. Is it something like 'Mana' from those fantasy novels?"

It didn't have any form to it. He tried to think about it moving and it twitched a little.

'So it looks like I can control it huh?'

He then tried imagining it moving towards his right arm but it didn't even budge. He tried a couple of times but he didn't get any results. Focusing on that was hard for him.

"I'm too tired for this right now. Maybe later."

Therefore Mattias decided to sleep. He woke up to a tapping sound. After coming to himself, Mattias jumped to his feet and picked up the pipe. He looked around frantically.

'Did something enter the house?! Maybe someone?'

But after listening for a while he realized that the sound was coming from his window. He carefully approached and peeked. He then sighed and opened the window to take the stick that was causing the sound.

"How did this got stuck up here?"

While thinking so he felt the wind on his cheeks and looked outside. The wind has picked up speed at night and the tree tops were swinging from left to right.

"Is a typhoon coming?"

The skies certainly looked like it was. He closed the window and washed his face.

"I should go out before it becomes impossible to do so. Next door would be good choice."

He picked up his duffel bag to put canned food in and his pipe and went downstairs. Before he opened the door, an idea popped up in his head.

'I need a better weapon.'

So he picked up a knife from the kitchen and took the stick of his broom and tied the knife around it to make a simple spear. He then picked up a duffel bag to put canned food in. He crossed the duffel bag and his trusty metal pipe on his back and picked his make-shift spear.

He then left the house and made his way towards his neighbor's house. He safely made his way and entered their yard. He made his way towards their backyard and slid the glass door open. He quietly entered the house and began looking around. His top priority was preservable food and clean water to drink. He saw the wife in their kitchen so he first looked around for something useful before making his way towards there.

But his expectations would be betrayed as when he started looking, he heard footsteps coming towards the living room where he was in. The wife came slowly with staggering steps. Her mouth was open and she made grumbling sounds. Her skin was grey and her eyes were all white. Unlike the owner of the dog from yesterday, this woman's body was in a better condition.

"So soon huh? Looks like I have to…"

Mattias brandished his make-shift spear and took a stabbing stance. He then thrust the spear towards her head. The knife easily went in and stabbed her from her left cheek. Her blood was black and immediately it spill, a putrid smell assaulted Mattias' nose.

"Dammit! It stinks!"

But this didn't stop his hands. He continuously stabbed and kept his distance from her. If these were the same zombies from those movies, then once the head was destroyed they would be dead as well. So he aimed at her head.

After fighting for about 5 minutes and revolving around the living room, Mattias was finally able to stab her enough to destroy the brain. She fell to the ground with a final bellow and ceased to move. Mattias was a bit tired but not too much to stop. He headed to the kitchen immediately and started looking around. He found some canned beans and tuna and put them in his bag. He also picked up what pasta and rice he found in his bag.

He then looked for bottled water that was still sealed and took them. He was satisfied with his harvest.

"As expected from a family house. They have a lot of things that I-"

But before he finished his sentence, he heard a thud. He picked up his spear and left the kitchen. He felt that this was coming. He wanted to avoid this situation but in the end, he couldn't escape. He clenched his hands and tightly gripped the spear. Then turned around and looked at the zombified old woman.

This old woman was the only people that he cared about. She cared for him not like a neighbor but a proper relative as she brought him food occasionally and always smiled at him. That's why when he saw her in this condition, his eyes teared up. He thought about this situation before coming here but living through it was harder. She was special and killing her would be very hard.

"Dammit granny! Huu. This is helping her Mattias! Help her leave this world peacefully!"

His hands were turning white with the force of his grip. He clenched his teeth and advanced. A similar scene happened to the fight with the wife. Mattias kited and kept his distance. Even though his eyes were teared, his aim was true every time. His perception of his surroundings became different. It was as if time slowed down, similar to the fight with the dog but this time it was less.

Granny's face was glowing white and Mattias didn't miss this. He kept on stabbing with the spear until she finally fell. His vision turned back and he finally let out his breath.

Mattias fell on his butt and leaned against the counter. He was panting and crying softly. He stayed like that for about 5 minutes as he tried to calm down. After finally calming, Mattias wiped the tears off his face and with a determined look, put his bag over his back with the pipe. Before leaving granny, he looked around and found an incense, lit it and prayed for her soul.

"I hope you rest well over there granny."

While he was leaving, he saw a picture of the family. He looked at it for a while and remembered something.

"Oh right, I knew he was familiar. He manages a nearby store. I can loot there next time. They had a car too if I remember correctly. A means of transportation is essential after all."

With a rough plan done, Mattias returned home and emptied his bag. He checked the condition of the knife and tightened the rope once more to make sure. After putting his bag over his shoulder with his pipe once more, he left for the store.