《Kingdom of the Dead》Chapter 3
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Day 1, Year of the Catastrophe – Saturday, 2nd of May, 2020.
11:32 am – outside the Kings House –
Immediately after leaving the house Daniel encountered his worst enemy: sunlight. Oh, how he hated going outside, it was warm, he started to sweat immediately and the staring neighbors that hardly ever saw him did not make it any better. When he left for his mother’s grave on Sundays he usually did so at nightfall. It was much more comfortable then. But he knew there was no time to waste, so he got in his far too hot car, a grey Skoda Fabia, and started driving. He hadn’t done much of that, ever since his mother died, so it was a bit lackluster. But driving carefully was better anyway, especially since he didn’t know when the undead would finally appear in front of him.
By the time he arrived at one of the three local supermarkets his shirt showed quite a large sweat stain. But nevermind that, this was for survival! He hurried his way to the shopping carts, then hurried back to the car for the wallet and went for the market. It was less crowded than he had expected. Everyone was apparently still unaware. Should I tell them? Save them? The thought came up again and again while he was walking through the shop, greedily dropping all pasta products he could find into his cart. Rice, risotto and spices as well as countless packs of stock cubes were also taken. Be it noodle soup, spaghetti or pasta, we would not run out for quite some time.
With the cart full, he went to pay, all under suspicious gazes. Oh how much he hated drawing attention to himself. Daniel was much more comfortable in a corner, watching stuff. He also felt like they were judging him for the amount of food he was buying, since he was so fat. Sighing he hurriedly payed and left only to repeat the same process in the other markets of the city.
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The costs didn’t matter. Money was about to be worth the paper it was printed on, while food would be much more valuable. As he was loading the shopping cart into his car, he noticed something strange in the car next to him. A teenage girl, fifteen maybe sixteen years old, was breathing heavily while lying back in her seat. Her gaze was sorrowful, dark lines showed on her skin. Apparently she also had scratch marks on her left lower arm. Was she turning? Daniel paid close attention to his surroundings while shoving all the food he bought into his trunk.
Everything else seemed normal, a couple was flirting with each other, an old lady laughed with another woman in the parking lot, while some women were talking about some weirdo buying insane amounts of noodles in another store. It was peaceful, birds chirping, sun shining. A beautiful summer day. Only Daniel was sweating and panicking over the zombie that was slowly turning next to his car.
Then the car owner returned. He had a hurried expression, some antibiotics from the apothecary and water in his arms. The father? Daniel couldn’t just ignore this, right? He should tell the father that she was turning. If she bit him then… Wait. Was this really his problem? Why should he care about that guy? Millions of people were dying right this second. As the father opened the door Daniel knocked on the car roof and got his attention. God he hated to talk to strangers.
“Can I help you?”
“Uh… Ähm, yea. Sorry but I noticed your daughter. She is infected right?”
The face of the man went very dark. “You are also going to tell me to kill my own daughter? You piece of-“
Daniel shook his head and denied vehemently. “No! Of course not!” Even though he was just about to suggest just that. Apparently the guy was a lost cause, helping him would not work. “I just wanted to tell you that you get infected as well if someone bites you or scratches you deeply. All I am saying is that you should be careful, even if it’s your relative.”
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The man’s anger subsided. He seemed tired. “People were running around killing everyone that caught that disease, thinking they are zombies. How insane is that even?!?” He exclaimed hysterically.
Then he got into his car and handed his daughter water. The girl was barely able to hold the water bottle. She seemed weak.
“Good luck then.” Daniel sighed. He watched the car drive away, father as doomed as his daughter.
Then he got into his own car and started it. But when he did he noticed something at the other end of the parking lot. The flirting couple from before had now also grey veins and they were currently walking towards a group of elderly shoppers. It had started! They didn’t quiet look like the zombies in the video yet, but Daniel was sure that would come all too soon. Hurriedly he turned his car around and wanted to drive into the intersection, where a car suddenly drove up the walkway and into a streetlight. Inside a woman was apparently chewing on a man’s arm.
Oh fuck. Quickly Daniel stepped on the gas, ignored about six to ten driving rules and hurried home where he parked his car provisionally in front of his house door, mowing down a couple bushes while doing so. But it saved a lot of time unloading all the food and throwing it more or less into his hallway.
No way was he going to stay outside while everyone turned! Hell no. That seemed quite suicidal, no thank you. Then he locked the door properly, and went to check all the windows before he stored all his new food into the cellar and documented it on his list. Seems like the first day had gone pretty well. His stomach kind of rebelled though.
Daniel put on some music and hacked his cabbage to pieces. Adding some oil and vinegar and some hard bacon with some caraway he created some nice salad. He liked it with a lot of vinegar and sour. Just delicious!
He went upstairs and on his balcony and watched the neighborhood. It did not take very long before the quiet summer evening turned to one with screaming and a few police sirens in the distance were heard. When Daniel took out his phone to check for Discord messages, he noticed that the server was apparently down. Damn. Way too quickly. A sad moment for humanity. The fall of civilization in only a few days...
Oh, nevermind. Apparently not the server was the issue, but the network in his area. No reception either. Bad moment for that to happen. Daniel sighed.
He was really going to miss the internet.
Then he continued chewing on his salad, while keeping watch for the undead that would surely roam his streets eventually….
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Macabre Mim
*Note: This story is on hiatus. I intend to pick it up again, but the mood of my life has shifted for the time being and I'm going to be working on a side project for a bit.* What would you give to live the life of your dreams? What kind of deal would you make? And when you were there, forced to stare your dreams in the eye and live them every day, how long would it be... before they broke you? Author's note: This is my first excursion outside the realm of villain fan fiction and I welcome feedback. The thing I've loved most about RRL so far is the potential for writing to be an interactive experience with excited readers. That said, also, the primary genre this is intended for is the blossoming realm of LitRPG. Namely, a slice of life tale in the manner of Grimgar or Re:Zero. So, likewise, I don't expect there will ever be a clear beginning-middle-and-end type of pattern to this story. It will likewise always be a bit more of a reactionary, exploratory novel into realms unknown - much like the 1800 travel-novel theme used by Jules Verne. Or, at least, that is my ambition.
8 184The Veiled Worlds
The various races of the land of Onterrath have always struggled for supremacy. These wars caused the annihilation and extinction of many races. The battles for hegemony lasted until the day when greed and desire led to the creation of a portal to the Rift. The Rift sent forth hordes of creatures to destroy Onterrath. No one was prepared for the invasion, and this brought about the demise of nearly every living being on the continent. The survivors picked themselves up and fought back. They rebuilt the world while strengthening themselves for the eventual Rift wars. Follow Liam's journey after he returns from the Rift and becomes the savior of Onterrath. ******* The release schedule will be a five chapters per week. Apart from Thursday and Friday, there'll be a chapter on the other days.
8 75Dynasty's Ghost
A sheltered princess and an arrogant swordsman must escape the unraveling of an empire. This story is complete. *** If you enjoy this book, consider reviewing or reading my Twitter microfiction @ThisStoryNow.
8 207Madness | 광기 [Completed]
Park Jimin is an angelic, yet slightly sadistic, psychiatrist. Jeon Jungkook is a psychotic sadist, known internationally as one of the most dangerous gangsters in the world. He enjoys inflicting pain on other people, he has had mental issues since he was a child. Jimin gets assigned to be his psyche doctor. He is kinda nervous since every doctor that was sent to Jungkook has been driven away and made mentally ill.What will happen to these two? Why don't you find out?
8 213Serenity's Children
Mothership Serenity The most beautiful vessel to ever grace the Milky Way. At 310 kilometers in diameter, the sheer metal moon was Humanity's greatest endeavor. A near-eternal symbol of peace, of togetherness and forgiveness. The day of her maiden voyage would be the end of a long and bloody history of constant conflict and strife. Such were the feelings infused into the miniature planet fitted with every luxury and facility imaginable, from giant casinos to expansive natural reserves and multi-purpose factories. However, the stars had a far different fate for the vessel, her escort ships, and the six hundred thousand souls aboard them all. Bitter rivalries between interstellar nations, personal hatreds, vendettas, righteous fury, and horrors that lurk in the lightless empty - one can only ask, what else could be awaiting them? All we know is that a select few souls will lie at the center of it all. They who will eventually be called; Serenity’s Children. (New chapters will be posted once a week, around Friday or Saturday 8:00 PM. They might also be posted on Tuesdays depending on the backlog I have built up, to allow for substantive editing just in case.)
8 203My Life As A Superhero Slash Supervillain
James Jude Jamison is experiencing something a bit odd. He was sitting quietly at his computer desk, playing some kind of RPG, he couldn't which one, although the fate of the universe rests on him remembering which (Oh well, it had to end sometime). So, anyway, suddenly, out of nowhere, he got a bit of a headachne, his nose started to bleed, he then proceeded to make a mess in the family room at the computer room. His mom shouted at him, then he died. Then he woke up. He was reborn. Only he had a UI screen suddenly at the edge of his vision. What the hell. He was meant to have some cool powers, like lazers that shot out of his nipples, maybe some mad dancing skills. He would finally be able to speak to girls without laughing in their faces. Sigh. So this is his story, of how he couldn't decide which career prospect appealed to him more. So he decides to give both being a hero and a villain a go. What could go wrong? *** Edit: 2017.06.18 - 03:08 am EST - JJ seems to have buggered off somewhere without telling me where he went. So I am going to have to piece together this story back from the start with the fragments that he gave me. I will leave the original chapters up, but I will be renaming them so they are obvious if new readers don't want to read them. I am currently trying to write chapter one anew. It will feature new reasons of why JJ starts with the villainous lifestyle first, and the reasons of why he is granted the power he was given. If JJ does come back, I will inform you thusly. Then it will be decision of writing from where he left off or telling him to go choke on his own c**k. If I do decide to take the story up, then it will be a decision of to split the stories in two, and if to keep my version alive and concurrent. Thanks.
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