C.2 : Differences

Lyn looked up at the cloudy skies through their window, wondering what had happened in the span of time they had been indisposed. A quick search through their bag revealed their phone which was almost out of battery, but according to the time, Lyn realized it had been four days since they had fallen asleep.

A quick search online revealed a truth that shocked Lyn even though they had personally seen zombies and such. It wasn't just this city, or even this country, it was global. Zombies seemed to have suddenly appeared, and in little over a day, humankind had lost nearly a third of the populated areas to zombies.

Some cities managed to pull through, but Lyn's own city obviously wasn't one of them. The surviving cities all declared martial law, but that didn't mean the other cities were completely dead. Even the cities that had been hit the worst still had survivors, but whether they'd last until help arrived was a question.

Even if they had unlimited food and water, would they be able to avoid infighting and zombies? Lyn could vaguely see the reflection of their greenish purple irises from the phone's screen, but Lyn didn't feel half as broken up about being a zombie as they'd have thought.

"Zombies seem to have an endless appetite for flesh, human or otherwise. Some are faster than others, but even the slowest zombie wouldn't be able to be overpowered by a human by mere strength alone."

"Zombies can endure attacks that would incapacitate any human, and fatal wounds don't apply unless you can destroy it's brain. Oh? It can regenerate lost flesh when it consumes, but have they found someone like me yet?"

Lyn felt that it wouldn't be very good for humans to find them right now, or ever really since they would be at their mercy. What if they used Lyn as a lab rat or test subject? As selfish as it sounded, Lyn would rather be a zombie than be experimented on, even if it could potentially save humans.

"Zombies have different variations. Some rely on speed to hunt, others strength, and some are stealthy... which means they have some degree of intelligence. But not only humans, animals can also become zombies too."

Having read novels where zombies roamed and animals could carry that infection, Lyn wouldn't be too shocked if they saw mutated animals in the future. Lyn looked to the door as the saliva in their mouth trickled down their lips, and only then did they realize they were neither breathing or swallowing.

"I have to eat, but online seems to have no instances of zombies eating other zombies. Can I eat animals then?" Lyn felt bad thinking about eating a dog or cat, but that personally wouldn't be as bad as a human to them, even if that thought made their mouth water.

"Zombies don't attack other zombies, so I should be safe. Even if they have really keen senses, I do as well." Lyn walked to the closet and fished a coat and jeans out and stripped out of their clothes. Looking down, their skin was basically devoid of blood, and their body was thinner than before, even if it did now contain more muscle.

"Who knew being dead would be a remedy to being a bit overweight?" Lyn grew curious and peeked into their boxers and realized that 'that' hadn't changed. Pulling on the jeans and coat, they zipped it up and opened the door.

Aside from the dead zombie on the ground, Lyn didn't see any too close by, but Lyn could see some further down the hall and hear and smell them too. Some seemed to have caught a whiff of Lyn's scent, but aside from an occasional groan or growl, they didn't come over.

Stepping over the zombie on the ground, Lyn relied on their senses to search for food but decided it would probably be best to go to a market or store instead of snacking on someone's pet. The first time Lyn moved past a zombie, they were a bit nervous, but it faded by the time they reached the entrance.

Some rooms Lyn passed had sounds of people inside, but whether they were humans or zombies didn't really matter much to Lyn who only wanted to eat. Leaving the building, the air had so many scents intermingled it left Lyn a bit lost.

Inhaling deeply, Lyn headed to the nearest store, hoping that no one bothered to take the meat since it would spoil fairly quickly once power cut out. Some cities already lost power, some surviving cities as well, but this city was still running off of power.

Lyn felt the wind whipping at their coat, and on a whim, they accelerated. The wind seemed to intensify as Lyn's figure rushed out, moving past quite a few zombies and broken and eaten corpses on the ground which Lyn tried not to look at.

If one were to be this fast before this crisis, they'd probably be famous, but now Lyn could move this quickly and their body felt no energy drain. Even the impact of their feet touching the ground was light and silent, making Lyn wonder if they were a zombie that hunted via stealth.

A zombie stood in their way, and wanting to know how much their strength improved, Lyn grabbed the zombie that reacted relatively quickly with a low growl while extending it's bloody hands, but before it could grab Lyn, it was lifted and thrown back a couple feet into another one.

Lyn didn't stop moving as the two zombies fell, but the feeling of strength was addictive to someone who hadn't always been so strong. Lyn slowed their steps and came to a stop quietly outside a parking lot with a welcome sign.

Carts littered the parking lot, and a few zombies moved about randomly. Lyn used their speed to bypass them and stopped just outside the store, inspecting the entrance and smelling the air. Lyn was very hungry, and running into a human in this state wouldn't be very safe for either of them.

"Well, here goes nothing." Lyn's eyes warily observed the store as they entered, but aside from the faint smell of blood and people which seemed to be an older scent, Lyn seemed to be alone save for those mindless ones wandering about in the store.