A Bad Feeling

With that, a series of doors appeared on the left side of the hallway, each marked with a number from 01-20. Without thinking, John walked up to the black door and entered room 01. The moment he crossed the threshold, his vision was flooded with a spectrum of colourful options for furniture, wallpapers, flooring, and many more.

John grinned. His portable base had endless customisation options and unlimited potential.

...

After a long night of exploring the abandoned city and setting up his new base, John returned to Theodore's shelter. He had to take Stephanie, Julia and the others with him without Theodore knowing. Stephanie and Julia had agreed to go with him and help him build his base, and Dalia was also interested in joining him.

As he entered the shelter, he noticed that the atmosphere was different. The lights were off and the only light came from the moon shining through the windows. The place was empty, except for a few guards.

As he searched for Stephanie, he found himself alone in the darkness. The silence was deafening, and the lack of life in the shelter made him feel uneasy. He had never seen it this empty, and it was unnerving.

He had always thought that the shelter was safe, but now, he wasn't so sure. There was a sense of foreboding in the air, and he could feel his heart racing.

After searching for a while, he finally found Stephanie. She was huddled in a corner, her eyes red and her cheeks stained with tears.

"Stephanie, are you okay?" John asked, kneeling beside her.

She looked up at him, her eyes full of fear and despair. "John, please help me. Something is wrong here."

John's eyes darted around the room, searching for any sign of danger. "What do you mean?"

Stephanie grabbed his arm, pulling him close. "They're not human. Theodore and his men, they're not human."

"What do you mean? Who isn't human?"

She lowered her voice to a whisper. "I think they're monsters."

John shook his head. "That's impossible."

"You saw them," she said. "The way they move, the way they talk. They're not like us. They're not normal."

"I saw nothing, Stephanie. What are you talking about?."

"I'm not lying. You have to believe me. They're going to kill us all."

"Enough," John said, his voice growing stern. "You're talking nonsense."

Stephanie stared at him, her eyes wide and pleading. "They're monsters, John. And we need to get out of here before it's too late."

John sighed. "Where are Julia and Dalia?"

"I don't know. They were gone when I woke up."

"Fuck," John muttered under his breath.

"We have to find them. They could be in danger."

"Yeah," John replied.

"Maybe they went looking for supplies," Stephanie said.

"That's possible," John agreed.

They searched the shelter for any signs of the girls.

As they approached the exit, they saw something that made their blood run cold. Hundreds of bodies piled up in the streets, their faces twisted in agony and their chests riddled with bullet holes.

They were dead. All of them.

"Fuck," John whispered, his voice trembling with fear.

"We need to get out of here," Stephanie said, her eyes darting around nervously.

John sighed. "I'll take you to a safe place and I'll go look for them."

As they moved through the streets, they couldn't help but feel like they were being watched. The silence was deafening, and the only sound was the crunch of their boots on the broken pavement. 

John stole a glance at Stephanie, her face was pale and her eyes were wide with fear. He could tell she was terrified, and he didn't blame her. The whole world was in chaos and nothing was certain anymore.

John and Stephanie arrived at the former factory. Now, it was just walls. John's portable base had fed on the materials. It was useless by itself, but John had the ability to customise it.

John called for the system's holographic interface.

"Hello, John. Welcome to the Base System," the voice echoed in the vast and empty space.

"I need a bed."

"Would you like a standard bed or would you like to customise?"

"Customise."

"What colour would you like your bed to be?"

"Black."

"Would you like a mattress?"

"Yes."

"What type of mattress would you like? A memory foam mattress, a latex mattress, a featherbed, a waterbed, or a futon?"

"Memory foam."

"Would you like your mattress to be firm or soft?"

"Firm."

"Would you like your pillows to be firm or soft?"

"Medium."

"Would you like your sheets to be silk, satin, Egyptian cotton, polyester, or bamboo?"

"Egyptian cotton."

"Would you like a comforter or duvet?"

"Duvet."

"What colour would you like your duvet cover to be?"

"Just give me the damn bed, don't ask me any more questions."

"Okay."

John opened his eyes, and there was a brand new, king-size bed in the centre of the room. He was impressed. He looked around. It was a small, yet functional room.

John glanced at Stephanie, her face was devoid of expression, and her eyes were blank.

"What happened?" she asked.

"It's okay," John said. "You're safe now."

She nodded and looked around the room. "What is this place?"

"It's my new base," John replied.

"You built this? How?"

John shrugged. "I'm sure you have questions, and I'll do my best to answer them, but you should rest first."

"But..." Stephanie trailed off, unable to articulate her thoughts.

"Sleep, you'll feel better in the morning."

"Okay."

John guided Stephanie towards the bed and she lay down, exhausted.

John left her in the bedroom and went out. He didn't have time to sleep, he needed to look for the girls.

He left the base and travelled to the place he had last seen Julia and Dalia.

It was dark and quiet.

He looked around. There were no signs of anyone.

As he continued to search the area, he heard a faint noise coming from the distance.

John followed the sound and found a large metal container. It was closed, but there was a small hole on the side.

He peered inside.

"Is anyone in there?"

There was no answer.

John looked around, but he couldn't find anyone.

"Dalia! Julia!"

Still no answer.

John felt a tingling sensation on the back of his neck. He turned around and saw the biggest monster he had ever seen. It towered over him like a mountain, its massive body rippling with muscles and spikes. Its head was a horror of twisted flesh and bone, with two glowing yellow eyes that pierced his soul. Its mouth was wide open, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth that dripped with saliva.

"What the fuck is that?"