Rain dances in the dark streets outside making me wish I was at home sleeping. Instead I’m working the night shift at the main office for my city's gas utilities. As an unarmed security guard who is desperate to pay rent I don’t have much say in what shifts I work, but at least night shift pays better.

I absentmindedly watch a transient person root through the dumpster of a restaurant across the street, letting the hours pass away. The monitors before me show the oppressive mood of the world outside. Heavy clouds hide what little moonlight there would be. And showers of heavy rain further to darken the streets by obscuring the street lamps. The clock sitting on my desk beeps indicating the turn of the hour.

With a sigh I stand from my chair and grab my jacket from a coat rack next to the security guard's desk. I take a walkie talkie, even though it connects me to no one, and start my patrol outside of the building.

Taking up half of a city block, the base of the building is still impressive to me. Hugging the walls to stay out of the rain I check to make sure that the three doors leading into the building are still locked. Then I make sure no one is sleeping in the alcove leading to the garage gate before making my way back into the building, scanning a badge to unlock the door.

The entrance of the building is an open room with elevators set off against the far wall and a door to my immediate left. The door to the left leads to a kitchen that’s used for company events. Walking further into the lobby shows two more doors to my left and a small hallway to my right. One that leads to the fire command room and the other leads to a stairwell.

The hallway leads to the bike room and one of the stairwells in the building. Through the bike room is one of the three exits of the building. Next to the bike room is a closet that the security guards use.

I return to the security desk and make my note that everything is fine outside before sitting down and logging back into the computers before me. The clock reads “12:06” sending my hopes for a quick night sinking. Only three hours into my shift and I’m already bored out of my mind.

I’m jolted from my spiraling thoughts as everything starts to shake. The rolly chair I’m sitting on slides around and I’m thrown to the ground as the trembles grow and grow. A siren blares and the lights flicker. I crawl underneath the desk hoping to ride this out. Everything grows dark.

“Dear child, what is your desire?” A deep voice resonates throughout the darkness.

Silence follows the question. Leaving the oppressive inky black to press in on me. The weight of the environment spurring my mind to grasp onto the only stimulus introduced.

“Who's there? Where am I? What’s going on?” I try to ask. My voice seemingly being swallowed by the darkness around me.

Fear and helplessness creep into my mind as I try to look around. The usual sensation of knowing where my body parts and how they’re moving are no longer present. The darkness consuming all sensations, only feeding into my worries of imminent danger.

A sudden pressure grips my heart. My blood and body run ice cold as my lungs struggle to breathe. The sensation pushes my worries into full blown panic as I fight for every breath I take.

“I asked what you desire, child.” The deep voice states.

His words seem to come from everywhere and nowhere. Born in the darkness and left inside of me. There was a quality to the voice I can’t place. Innately, either through instinct or because the voice wanted it to be understood, I understood that the voice belonged to nothing even remotely human or mortal.

The pressure on my heart increases. The sensation akin to someone’s hands squeezing it with all their might. I struggle harder to breathe as fear and panic builds in me.

“I don’t know?” I stammer out. The question barely registering as I fight against the darkness pressing in on me.

“TELL ME CHILD, WHAT IS IT THAT YOU DESIRE?” The darkness spits out.

The darkness invades my mind and I feel my grasp on life slipping. Every thought is a fight to have. Every breath is a battle to be had. Every beat of my heart is a war to be won. Without realizing what I’m doing an answer bubbles up.

“Strength.” I gasp out

All of a sudden the darkness slinks out of me leaving a cold alien feeling inside of me. The pressure squeezing my heart dissipates and my lungs flair open without struggle. The fog growing in my head disperses and I’m left feeling dazed but alive.

“Your world is about to change. Fighting the change will only lead to death. Embrace the change and let it change you too. There you will find your strength.” The darkness speaks.

The void around me shifts as I feel the being speaking to me leave. My body feels heavy as the darkness moves around me. I feel as if I’m falling but I don’t know if that’s me or the void around me.

Transmogrification Complete!

Mana Saturation: 100%

Cost: 1.5 Billion

System Granted: Kushims’ Insight

Just as lighting illuminates the night sky for a brief instant, a blue light illuminates my consciousness. I understand the meaning of the individual words written in the blue light, yet their combined meaning leaves me confused.

Just as quickly as it came into being, it vanishes leaving me in the fading darkness once again.

I jolt awake under the desk. My eyes snapping open as I grab for my heart. Breathing heavily I recover from the sensation of falling that broke me from the spell of sleep.

Was it even sleep?

The dream, if you can even call it that, is still prominent in my mind. The voice and darkness leaves me with a sense of foreboding. The world is changing and fighting it will only lead to death?

Part of me wonders if I’m going crazy or if I got some kind of brain damage. Did I hit my head during the earthquake? I’m broken from my thoughts as a blue light shines in my face.

Personal Stats:

Attributes:

Value

Name:

Joel Dylan

STR:

6

Level:

0

DEX:

5

To Next Level

0/10

AGI:

5

Sex:

Male

END:

7

Age:

19

INT:

9

Class:

N/A

WIS:

7

LUC:

4

HP

100/100

CHA:

5

N/A

N/A

PER:

8

WIL:

4

Free Attribute points:

0

My eyes dance across the floating screen inaitly understanding that it is detailing information about me. I must have hit my head and given myself a concussion or something. This is some hallucination brought on by brain damage, right?

A repetitive screeching brings my attention away from the floating screen. I had either been ignoring it previously or it just turned on but the fire alarm rings out like some banshee. Foretelling of possible danger and a need to get to safety.

Looking away from the floating blue screen causes it to vanish back into the either that had spawned it. Leaving me alone underneath my desk while the emergency lights flash in the lobby and the fire alarm screams.

Even if I do have some kind of brain damage I have a job to do. If the building is compromised in some way the people inside are technically my responsibility. With a sigh I get out from under the desk.

Standing from behind the desk I make my way towards the entrance. On the wall with the door to the kitchen is a fire panel. It lists off the cause of the alarm and if you have the right key you can even silence the alarm.

I reach the panel and read the scrolling text on it. “Earthquake alarm triggered”. I reach into my pocket to retrieve the master key that will let me into the panel. While doing so I look out the glass wall making the entrance into the lobby and see figures making their way towards me. A strange blue light floating over the heads of the closest.

Zombie

Level: 1

HP: 10/10

The closest figure shambles forwards enough that with the light of the lobby I can make out their appearance. It’s skin glows a nasty pale with black veins criss-crossing their body. The white of its eyes is a blood red with the iris being a pale blue. It’s jaw opens revealing yellowed nasty looking teeth that snap open and closed.

Yup, I have brain damage. Zombies don’t exist and they definitely wouldn’t have some kind of blue light telling me what they are.

I scoff and go back to fishing in my pocket for the master key. I pull it out and line it up with the key hole when a loud bang sounds next to me

I jump back, seeing the “zombie” beating it’s head against the window. More figures are close enough to trigger blue lights to float above them. More drag themselves into the glass wall between me and the outside. All beating themselves against it as they try to get at me.

The window shakes with each strike they place against it. Their whole might goes into each blow. Blood spurts across the clear pane as one zombie fiercely hits its head against the window.

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!

Just then a scream rings out from the street and I watch as a man falls out from a car, blood gushing from his neck. A figure, with a blue light hovering above it, wriggles out after him. He crawls back away from the car, absolute horror permeating his voice. The blood from his neck painting the sidewalk.

More of the zombies from the street shamble after him. As they do, the zombie in the car falls out, its arms reaching for the man instead of catching it’s fall. A sickening thud sounds out and I see the blue hologram change above it’s head.

Zombie

Level: 1

HP: 9/10

Blood spills from the zombie's skull as it picks itself up and continues it’s crawl towards the man. Other zombies in the street finally make their way to the man lunging at him. He tries to fight back as much as he can but is no match.

The group preys on him, blood spurting everywhere. I’m stunned watching a man being devoured only a dozen feet from me. His screams dying off as flesh is torn from muscle, muscle from bone. My throat burns as bile threatens to spew forth.

A loud crack and thud breaks me from the blood curdling scene. A zombie falls through the open doors. Blood leaks from it’s skull covering the white of the floor. It recovers looking over at me.

Its eyes lock onto me, hunger burning deep behind them. It’s focus causes the hair on the back of my neck to stand. I understand as it starts crawling towards me, I’m the prey and it’s the predator.

The window next to me receives more fervent attacks as the zombies behind it try to break through. Their hungry determined eyes locked onto me. Understanding dawns on me, brought forth by the realness of the panic in my mind.

This isn’t some hallucination, this is the zombie apocalypse.