the beginning of the end
"Worth it, bitches "those were the last words of a man, covered in glowing darkness, the only visible thing about him is his unhinged smirk and glowing red eyes. He started vanishing slowly, being reduced to atoms. His shadow scareming and tearing through the floor despite him accepting his fate, the shadow isn't ready to go yet,no. The shadows aren't ready to go yet.
"Not yet"a gentle voice said. A creature of light...
It all started years ago. When humanity stood helpless,facing extincion .to understand ,we must go back to the beginning of the story.
Chapter One: THE BEGINNING OF THE END
Luca, a 21-year-old guy, walked to college with his hands in his pockets. His gaze was empty, unreadable. Around him, people whispered—some in fear, some in anger and disgust, while others ignored everything, too focused on the news.
"Breaking news!" The reporter's voice was tense, laced with fear. "The United States of America is under attack. The attackers' identity remains unknown, but whoever they are, they seem to possess advanced technology. Reports from our te—"
Static. The signal was lost.
Luca didn't react. He just kept walking, uninterested, as a vivid, glitchy memory flickered in his mind.
"A twelve-year-old boy disappears after burning down his parents' house and going on a killing spree. No signs of the boy have been found yet. Please remain cautious."
The memory vanished just as he stepped into the building. The usual noise of students chatting filled the air, but the moment he entered, silence took over.
Why wouldn't it?
Luca was infamous. Known for his violent past, multiple arrests, and unpredictable nature. But in the last year, something had changed—he had stopped causing trouble.
He walked into the classroom.
"Fucking sociopath..." one of the students muttered under his breath, unheard by the others.
The teacher sighed. "Luca! You promised to come on time, bu—" She stopped herself and shook her head. "You know what? Just take your seat."
Her voice was gentle. Unlike the others, she saw something in him—something beyond the rumors and fear. A memory of a time when Luca had helped her through difficult moments flashed through her mind.
Luca slumped into his chair.
"Why do I even bother coming here? The money from last month's deal makes me a millionaire..." He stared blankly ahead. "Fuck it. I'm bored anyway."
After a while, Luca sighed and raised his hand. "Bathroom."
Strange. He usually just left without asking. The teacher, surprised but amused, nodded with a small smile.
In the bathroom, Luca leaned over the sink, cold water dripping from his face. He gripped the edges of the sink, staring at his own reflection—until a sharp pain tore through his side.
A knife.
His body lurched forward, but his face remained the same, emotionless. Without thinking, he slammed his head backward, the impact sending the attacker flying into a stall door. The boy groaned in pain, barely getting up before Luca turned to face him. He recognized the face but wasn't surprised. Before he could react further—
CRACK!
A baseball bat slammed into the side of his head. The world spun, his legs gave out, and darkness swallowed him whole.
---
A memory surfaced.
A boy sat curled up, hands in his hair, sobbing uncontrollably. "IT'S ALL MY FAULT!... I'm sorry—I'm just a helpless child..."
A blurry figure—a woman—knelt beside him, wrapping her arms around him. Her voice was gentle, comforting. "It's not your fault, kiddo. It's okay… let's get you out of he—"
The boy suddenly lunged forward, driving a blade into her stomach. Again. And again. Her shocked gasp turned into choking gurgles as blood spilled onto the floor. The boy's tears were gone, replaced by laughter—wild, uncontrollable, thrilled.
Luca, watching the scene unfold, barely reacted. His eyes drifted toward the child's hair, and he let out an unimpressed sigh.
Man… I really had a shitty haircut back then, huh?
And then, he woke up.
---
His body jerked upright.
The pain was gone.
Luca instinctively touched his side, but there was no wound. No blood. But the stain on his shirt and the puddle beneath him were still there. His fingers pressed against where the blade should have been, but… nothing.
Something was wrong.
Screams.
Luca's head snapped toward the hallway. People were crying, shrieking in pain. The distinct, wet sound of flesh being ripped apart sent a chill down his spine. Carefully, he snuck toward the door and peeked outside—
His body tensed.
Zombies.
Students were being devoured. Torn open like cheap paper, their blood painting the walls, intestines spilling onto the tile floors in thick, wet slaps. A girl's body twitched violently as a set of teeth sunk deep into her throat, silencing her screams. Another student crawled on the floor, dragging himself away, only for cold, rotting fingers to grab his ankle and yank him back into a swarm of gnashing teeth.
Luca didn't flinch. He pulled out his gun.
Screams erupted from the lower floor. He briefly considered going down but changed direction, slipping into the shadows instead. The hallways were chaos, but he moved quietly, stepping over the carnage without a second glance—until something caught his eye.
His teacher.
She was on the ground, her body being ripped apart, fingers weakly twitching as blood poured from her mouth. One of the creatures bit into her leg, another dug its hands into her stomach, pulling—tearing.
She met his gaze.
For five seconds, Luca just stood there. Expressionless. Watching.
Then, he walked away.
On the way to the exit, a zombie lunged at him from the side. Without hesitation, he grabbed its head and snapped its neck with a sickening crack before lowering it gently to the floor. No noise.
Then, without another thought, he jumped out the window.
---
On the other hand, the attackers were in full panic mode, scrambling into their car, hands shaking as they fumbled to start it. Blood smeared the seats, the wheel, their clothes. One of them had a bite mark on his arm, but none of them cared.
Then—
BANG!
A gunshot rang out, and the driver's head exploded like a popped melon, splattering the windshield with chunks of skull and brain matter. The other two flinched, horror freezing them in place.
Luca emerged from the shadows, gun still raised. He tilted his head slightly.
"A principal attacking students? Should I act surprised?"
Their faces barely had time to register fear before he pulled the trigger twice more. Blood sprayed across the pavement as their bodies slumped over.
Then he heard it.
The hungry, guttural growls of the undead.
Shit.
The gunshots had drawn them in. He sprinted toward the car, but the damn thing was useless—keys were missing, engine dead. Wasting no time, he bolted, jumping over fences, vaulting over barriers, and using every shortcut he could find. The zombies were fast, unnaturally so, but their bodies weren't built for agility. He took paths they couldn't reach, buying himself precious seconds.
His lungs burned, his legs ached, but he kept going.
Then, he looked up.
And his breath hitched.
The city.
Buildings were in flames, their skeletal remains barely standing as smoke choked the sky. Cars crashed into each other, bodies littering the streets—some half-eaten, some still twitching, others moaning in agony as they were slowly devoured alive. A woman clung to her child, sobbing, only for a swarm of zombies to rip them apart. A man dangled from a balcony, screaming for help, before a monstrous claw dragged him back inside, his cries cut off by the wet crunch of bones breaking.
Luca took it all in, his expression unreadable. Then, with a casual sigh, he muttered—
"…Fucking awesome."
He ran again, this time with a different strategy.
Using people as distractions.
A man sprinted past him, breathing heavily. Without hesitation, Luca shoved him backward, straight into the grasp of a zombie. The poor bastard barely had time to scream before teeth tore into his throat.
No empathy. No hesitation. Survival came first.
Then, he saw it.
A lizard-like creature—towering, hunched, with only two powerful legs, its elongated body slithering unnaturally as it moved. Its dark, slimy skin reflected the fire's glow, rows of jagged teeth twitching in its open maw.
"…Fuck me…."
Luca's heartbeat quickened as he observed it.
The creature ignored the panicked civilians running around. It didn't even glance at them.
Until—
BANG!
A gunshot echoed.
The monster's head snapped toward the source—a police officer desperately firing at the undead. The creature let out a deep, unnatural screech before lunging forward at inhuman speed.
The officer didn't even get a chance to react.
A sickening CRUNCH.
His entire upper body disappeared into the beast's jaws, blood spraying like a fountain as his legs twitched for a few seconds before going limp.
Luca froze. His mind raced.
It only attacks people with weapons…
Without a second thought, he reached into his pocket and flung his gun away. It clattered against the pavement, disappearing into the chaos.
The lizard didn't even look at him.
Instead, it fixated on a soldier taking cover behind an abandoned car. The second the soldier raised his rifle—
FWOOSH.
A stream of fire burst from the creature's mouth, engulfing the man in an inferno. His screams were gut-wrenching, skin melting away in seconds.
Luca didn't stick around. He ran, dodging the undead and relying only on his brass knuckles for self-defense. He had no intention of drawing that thing's attention.
The lizard continued its hunt, ignoring civilians completely. But their luck ran out fast—without protection, the zombies tore through them at horrifying speeds.
Luca had already slipped out of sight.
---
One hour later.
Luca sat in his hideout, shirt off, patching up his wounds. His fingers grazed over a massive pile of cash beside him, stacks upon stacks of money from his last deal. Next to it, a collection of weapons. Guns. Blades. Things that once made him powerful.
Now?
"Fucking awesome…" he muttered sarcastically, exhaling through his nose. He leaned back, staring at the ceiling. "...Now this shit is toilet paper. And guns are a goddamn death sentence."
He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "What the fuck is going on?"
Then—
Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt.
The TV flickered to life. A news anchor appeared, her face pale, voice frantic.
"THE UNITED STATES HAS BEEN DESTROYED! I REPEAT! THE INVADERS USED NUKES AND COMPLETELY WIPED OUT THE ENTIRE COUNTRY! A NEW VIRUS, BELIEVED TO BE WEAPONIZED, IS SPREADING LIKE WILDFIRE ALONGSIDE—"
Static.
The connection was lost.
Luca sat there. Silent. Processing.
Then, he let out a single laugh.
"...Hah. I should've accepted the dinner offer…seriously,God? You ain't funny,dawg. You seriously waited until the week of my ultimate freedom before unleashing whatever the fuck that is… gotta admit it's kinda funny"
The world was ending. And he was still here.
---
A week passed.
Luca had noticed something strange.
At the start, the city had been crawling with different types of monsters—things like that lizard from before. But now? Barely any. The usual zombies still lingered, but the more terrifying creatures had vanished.
And something else…
Planes.
He'd seen them flying overhead, moving like nothing was wrong. No distress signals, no bombings, no military strikes. Just normal air traffic.
It didn't add up.
But he didn't dwell on it. His plan was simple—stock up, leave the city, find an abandoned place. The fewer people, the fewer zombies.
"At least no one will hear me scream like a girl there," he muttered, voice deadpan.
Then he saw it.
A car.
Not just any car.
A sleek, jet-black Aston Martin DBS Superleggera, parked like a goddamn trophy on the ruined street. The body was pristine, untouched. The red leather seats practically inviting. The tires? High-performance, low-profile perfection.
"…Big Dawg, I take back every bad thing I said about you," he murmured, approaching the vehicle.
Then his gaze drifted.
To the side, a few buildings stood in various states of decay. One, in particular, caught his attention—a four-story complex with shattered windows. Behind the broken glass, dozens of zombies were packed together, clawing and slamming against the walls, their grotesque faces twisted in endless hunger.
But Luca wasn't looking at them.
His eyes locked onto something on the fourth floor.
His expression remained unreadable.
Then, without another word, he climbed into the car, started the engine, and peeled off down the road.
As he drove, he glanced up at the sky, voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Apology accepted, Big Dawg. You really do love me, huh? Maybe I should've prayed more."
Despite his deadpan delivery, he genuinely liked the car. The smooth steering, the perfect purr of the engine—it was clean. Probably belonged to some rich asshole who got eaten. Sucks for them.
He reached his hideout, pulling up with a satisfied nod.
Then, he popped the trunk to store his supplies.
And froze.
Inside lay a girl.
A young one—20 at most.
She was beautiful, in a haunting way. Starved, her skin pale and almost sickly, yet her features held an eerie elegance. Her short, neck-length hair was slightly disheveled, framing her delicate face. Dark makeup smudged around her closed eyes, giving her a ghostly appearance.
She wore a wedding dress.
The white fabric was dirty, torn, and stained with dried blood. Her chest, neck, and mouth were covered in it.
And her hands—
Tied up. Ropes digging into her thin wrists.
Luca stared for a second.
Then, without hesitation, he grabbed her by the dress and tossed her out of the trunk like a discarded package.
"Human trafficking is still a thing?" he mused, stretching his arms. "Or maybe she was forced into marriage? Delivery companies' premium subscription be like."
He turned to leave.
Paused.
Then sighed heavily and ran a hand down his face.
"…Fucking hell."
He walked back to the girl, crouched, and pressed two fingers to her neck.
A pulse.
She's alive.
Luca grumbled under his breath and picked her up, carrying her inside. He tossed her onto an old mattress, untied her wrists, and leaned back against the wall, waiting.
His eyes drifted to his stomach.
The wound from before—the one that should've killed him—was gone.
Like it never even happened.
He stared.
Deep in thought.
Something wasn't right.
And he needed answers.
---