The End Begins
Chapter 1 : The End Begins
Jack stared at the cracked screen of his old phone, the hum of the office fading into the background. Emails, spreadsheets, meetings. He'd seen this cycle every day for the last three years. His hands moved on autopilot, replying to messages, closing tasks, but his mind was somewhere else. What was the point of it all? He sighed.
Outside the window, the city stretched out like an endless machine. Cars crawled through the streets below, their drivers trapped in the same monotony he was. The city's skyline was gray, with clouds rolling in, promising a storm. Jack hated storms.
"You okay, Jack?" a voice pulled him back to reality.
It was Kevin, his colleague from the next cubicle, peering over the divider with a concerned expression. Jack forced a smile.
"Yeah, just... tired, I guess."
Kevin gave him a knowing nod. "Aren't we all, man? Friday's coming though, hang in there." With that, Kevin retreated back to his own desk, the clacking of his keyboard resuming in the background.
Jack rubbed his eyes and returned his focus to the computer, trying to shake off the weird feeling that had been hanging over him for days. It felt like he was on the verge of something—something big. But what? Nothing in his life had ever been big. Everything was predictable, safe, and boring.
He finished his workday in silence, packed up his things, and made the familiar walk back to his small apartment. By the time he arrived, the storm had begun. The rain was coming down hard, pounding against the windows, but Jack barely noticed. He slipped out of his wet jacket and sank into the worn-out couch in front of the TV.
As the night wore on, Jack's eyes grew heavy. He drifted off into a restless sleep, the sound of the rain fading into the background.
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When Jack opened his eyes again, everything was different.
He was no longer in his apartment. The air was thick with an acrid smell, and the sky above him was a dark, swirling gray. He blinked, trying to shake the disorientation, but it didn't go away.
The world around him was... ruined.
What the hell? Jack thought, scrambling to his feet. He was standing in the middle of what looked like a city, but not the one he knew. The buildings were shattered, crumbling, with strange, dark vines crawling up their sides. The air felt oppressive, heavy with dust and... something else. Something foul.
"Where... am I?"
A sudden, sharp sound made Jack whip around. A transparent screen had appeared before his eyes, hovering in mid-air.
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SYSTEM INITIALIZING…
WELCOME, PLAYER.
NEW QUEST: SURVIVE THE FIRST 24 HOURS.
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Jack's heart pounded in his chest as he stared at the floating words. This wasn't a dream. He wasn't in his apartment. And something—something very wrong—was happening.
"What the... what is this?" he muttered, stepping back as if he could escape the screen. But it followed his movement, hovering just before his eyes.
Before he could make sense of it, a low, guttural growl came from behind him. Jack froze.
Slowly, he turned.
The figure stumbling toward him was barely human anymore. Its skin was peeling, with patches of rotting flesh exposed beneath torn clothes. Its eyes were cloudy, vacant, and its mouth hung open, a wet, rattling noise escaping its throat.
It was a zombie.
Jack's blood ran cold. He had no weapon, no idea what to do, and his heart was hammering in his chest.
The zombie lurched forward, faster than he expected. Instinct kicked in. Jack turned and ran.
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SYSTEM UPDATE:
HINT: COMPLETE QUESTS TO EARN REWARDS AND SURVIVE.
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Jack didn't care about the floating words or the system right now. All he knew was that he had to get away from that thing.
He sprinted through the broken streets, weaving between debris, his lungs burning with every breath. The buildings around him were in ruins, their windows shattered, the doors hanging off hinges. Whatever had happened here had left the city in complete disarray.
After what felt like hours of running, Jack ducked into an alleyway and collapsed against a wall, gasping for air. His heart was still racing, but at least he had lost the zombie—at least for now.
He stared up at the sky, trying to make sense of it all. The system, the quest, the zombie... it was like something out of a nightmare. But it wasn't a dream. His aching muscles, the cold rain on his skin, the foul stench of decay—it was all too real.
"What the hell is going on?" Jack muttered to himself. But there was no answer, just the sound of distant moans and the eerie silence of the dead city.
The system screen flickered back into view.
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SYSTEM NOTICE:
REWARD FOR COMPLETING QUEST: BEGINNER PACK (WEAPON, WATER, RATIONS).
NEW QUEST: FIND SHELTER BEFORE NIGHTFALL.
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Jack stared at the words. Shelter? Right. He needed to find somewhere safe before night came. Whatever was happening, the system seemed to be his only guide. And if there were more of those things out there, he needed to follow it.
He pushed himself up, his legs shaking beneath him. There had to be a place to hide, somewhere out of the open. The system had given him a beginner pack, but how was he supposed to use it? He looked around, trying to think clearly. For now, survival was all that mattered.
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