Waking up!

The morning light peeks through the horizon as its golden ray seeps inside the dirt-ridden dilapidated room. It seems that the room has not seen any human presence for a long time. But a figure lying on the bed though not moving is still present in the room.

As the bright rays slowly scanned through the blurry dust-covered windows, they gradually illuminated the room making the figure on the bed suddenly twitch his eyes. Moving his body, the figure opens his sights and blankly stares at the ceiling of the room.

"Ugh… My head… What… Why does my head feel so heavy? Ugh… I… I can't remember anything…" that figure muttered as dizziness and a heavy feeling assaulted his senses.

The man sluggishly crawled out of bed not even noticing his own surroundings. The only thing in his mind is to go to the bathroom. And so, with blurry vision, his body moved by habit, and was able to reach the bathroom albeit slowly and with great difficulty.

He then unconsciously reached out and opens the medicine cabinet and takes out a medicine bottle then pops 2 pills in his mouth. He felt his throat seems to be very dry, so he tried to turn on the faucet but no water came out.

A little bit of confusion can be seen in his still unfocused eyes. He did not bother with drinking any water and turned as he moved sluggishly towards the kitchen.

He opens the fridge and took out a water bottle and slowly gulps it down. The feeling of water quenching his thirst is electrifyingly satisfying. It almost made him moan in pleasure as he clearly feels the water streaming down his throat and into his stomach.

He thought that it energized every fiber of muscles in his body. This great feeling is too nourishing that instead of drinking slowly he quickly finished the bottle of water and then rushed to open another one. Almost in an instant, he already drank up and empty 5 bottles. This gradually made his mind clear and his vision a bit clearer.

"Ugh… That is the best water I've ever had." He muttered as he looks at the empty water bottles on the kitchen top.

After that nourishing feeling and contentment, he then slowly roams his eyes to his surroundings and noticed the dust-filled room. And his eyes immediately squinted in suspicion seeing the condition of the room.

"What… what happened?" he muttered, but then his body suddenly feels a bit cold and he unconsciously looks down.

He was dumbstruck after seeing his body naked. But his stupefaction didn't last long as tons of questions are entering his mind. He didn't move or do anything for a while but just stare at his surroundings still trying to figure out the situation.

Then his eyes caught the computer on the side and quickly rushed towards it not minding his nakedness anymore, as it's his apartment anyway. He then tried to turn the power on and discovers that there is no electricity. This situation seems to suddenly wake him from his trance.

Without further ado, he quickly rushed towards his bedroom and grabs some clothes from the closet.

Before completely putting them on, he suddenly saw himself in the mirror and was stunned. He is already aware that he is thin because, after he stopped doing hard labor outside and began to shift his work at home, he also stopped doing exercises and even eats less.

But right now his body doesn't compare to his previous thin body. Looking at the mirror, he could see that his body is more or less… just a bag of bones.

"What... What happened to me?" He muttered he tried to remember things that have happened before he slept.

The first thing that suddenly came to his mind is his name, Marc Lee.

Then Marc Lee's sight suddenly wanders to the bed. He was then shocked upon seeing the situation his jaw almost fell to the ground.

He didn't expect that the bed he was lying on a while ago is literally covered by something that looks like dried blood.

Although it has already dried, the very sight of it made his skull go numb. He then checked his body for wounds but found none… his skins are intact and didn't even have any scars not to mention any wounds on them.

Then, all of a sudden, as if struck by lightning his mind became clearer and suddenly memories came crashing in like a tidal wave. This made his brows furrow.

He suddenly recalled the hot and steamy night with the beautiful neighbor and his extraordinary but haunting first time. Subconsciously, Marc Lee extended his hand and touched his chest as if still feeling the excruciating pain from that night when he saw those sharp-pointed teeth.

"I clearly remember I was bitten by her, but… how come I have no wound? Is this all a dream?"

No matter how hard Marc Lee thinks about it he just can't find any concrete answer with regards to what really happened at that time.

"Why does it seems that everything is in my apartment is dirty? How long was I asleep?"

His eyes lit up and trace towards the table near the bed, and saw his phone. He quickly puts on his shirt and grabs the phone on the table. He faintly noticed the dried blood on the phone's screen making him feel a bit uncomfortable. But he just presses the power button in an attempt to turn the phone on, the phone is turned on for a while but then it just shuts down after entering the logo screen.

"Crap, I knew I should have bought a new phone. This is no good I don't even know what date is it today. How can I... Sigh, before anything else, I need to clean first and then think of what to do next." Marc Lee thought as he removed the blood-stained cover on the bed.

He then checked the lights and water but none worked. After this discovery, his mind began to wander as fear slowly crept inside his heart.

"Don't tell me… No, that's impossible. I can't be in another world." Marc Lee muttered as he slowly turns his head towards the window and looks outside.

His expression slowly changed as his eyes dilated. From the dirt-covered windows, he can see the buildings outside… some are already in ruin. Black smoke can also be seen from afar which means that some of the buildings are on fire.

Marc Lee tried to listen for helicopters, fire trucks, or anything with a siren but heard nothing. A sudden bad premonition enters his mind as his body shivers in fear.

"What is this? What is this situation?" Marc Lee began to feel panic as he rushed towards the window and look down the street.

Since his flat is located on the fifth floor, he is able to at least have quite a vantage point as he looks at the situation down below. And true to his conjecture, everything is in ruins.

He can see a lot of abandoned cars and public transport. He can even clearly see a vague figure of a man sitting inside the blood-splattered car window. After his gaze checked everything on the streets, panic began to seep inside his heart.

In his panic, his hand stretches forth in an attempt to open the window so that he could clearly check outside, and wanted to dispel the horror he is feeling. It was like if he opens the windows everything will turn normal.

But before he could open the window, Marc Lee noticed a figure of a person. It's actually a very fat figure of a person walking slowly towards the car where he saw the corpse of a person inside. As the fat figure comes into view, Marc Lee almost shouted in horror.

He was dazed into place and was unable to even have the strength to move his legs. Then the horrific scene didn't end there as that fat figure lifted his large hand and brought it down towards the windshield of the car.

In one strike the fat figure smashed the car's windshield into pieces.

Then that fat figure grabbed the roof with its powerful hand and tore it open. That fat figure now has open access to the car and quickly unfolds his huge mouth and devours the corpse inside in just a few seconds.

After the fat figure disappeared from his view was Marc Lee able to recover from his stupor. He then slumped to the floor as if his body is already void of strength. The horror of that scene he just saw made him feel truly terrified, but at the same time, disbelief disturbed his heart.

"Zo… zo… zombies! What the heck is this? I… I don't want this! I need to wake up from this nightmare! I need to…" Marc Lee began to panic as his breathing became unstable.

It took him a while before he could recover from his panicking state. His mind began churning as he tried to analyze and make clear the situation he is in.

But, no matter how hard he tries to think, he still could not believe nor accept the situation.

He tried to recall the scene he saw earlier, and slowly his heart began to turn cold, and did not have a choice but to accept that this is not the world that he once knew.

This is a world where horrific creatures exist, and the idea of being transported to another dimension or plane even enters his mind.

"No, I was not transported to another place. Everything is the same as before except the buildings around are all almost in ruins. Which means that I'm still on earth, but… is this the future?" Marc Lee thought.

"If this is my reality now then… What should I do? What do I need to prepare?..." He tried to harden his resolution as he clenched his fist hard.

Standing up from the floor, he found that the door of his flat is not locked and immediately his heart trembled. With all his remaining strength he rushed towards the door and quickly locked it.

Then he checked the things around him and tried to find something that he could use to barricade the door. After some time and some heavy lifting, he was able to cover the door with almost all of the appliances that he could carry with his weak body.

"Food! I need to check my stash!" He suddenly remembers the most crucial matter.

The thing about Marc Lee as a loner and being independent is that he is a bit paranoid about losing the money he earned and getting hungry. So he would always maintain a year of food supply which is sealed in a hidden compartment under his bed.

He quickly walks towards the footboard of the big bed and slowly drags it back. The compartment opens with a crisp sound which clearly means that it is sealed.

Then Marc Lee heaves a sigh of relief as he can see tons of canned goods, noodles, hardtacks, biscuits, water bottles, and more.

Seeing that he would not worry about food anymore, He heaves a sigh of relief, then he walks towards the kitchen and under the sink, he saw the butane burner and a lot of cans which he would always use in those days when he is still in destitute. He kept it in good condition to always remind him of his hard days.

Satisfied with his findings, confidence suddenly filled his heart. In his mind, he knows that living in this hellish world would now become a little comfortable. The only thing he needs to prepare is his body and how he can save himself from those undead creatures roaming in the streets if ever they come knocking at his door.

"If this is like in the stories or the movies, then being weak as I am right now is unacceptable. I would just be serving myself as the dessert of those things outside. My thin body would not even be enough to satisfy their hunger. I need to get stronger to survive this." Marc Lee said trying to motivate himself.

"Let's start with basic muscle exercises." He thought as he tried to remember the things he learned in high school.

Sometimes the prospect of death would push a person to change their ways and views on life, which would lead them to advance themselves to further heights and attainments.

This notion is very clear to Marc Lee as he had already experienced this throughout his whole life. And right now he would once again face another challenge but this time his very own life and survival are on the line.