I hope Normal Days don't End (NZ)

[A/N: There are already more than 100 people who have saved this novel, I really appreciate that they continue reading, and I hope that the rest of the story can make them stay until the end.

I would like to thank Damian_Gold for adding a rating to this novel, and all the people who continue to respond and comment on the chapters. And for those of you who haven't, please comment.]

In the truck, in the afternoon.

I was driving back from the private villa that had stirred a deep fear in me. At times, my concentration wavered, so I decided to drive cautiously to avoid any accidents.

The idea of not having to return to the company and face my pitiful state gave me some relief. I didn't want them to worry about my health; in reality, what I feared was losing my job.

When I got home, I turned up the music again at a considerable volume, without disturbing the neighbors, just enough so that each note and each shrill sound would relax my body and mind.

Determined not to let myself be dragged down by the situation, I calmly began to prepare dinner. Each step, each ingredient I touched, became a way to push away my worries.

However, I must admit that I was eager to discover the truth. I know that wishing for the end of the world is not something a sensible person would do, but the thought that I could be the only one aware of something so amazing is fascinating.

I finished dinner a few minutes later. After cleaning and tidying everything up, I went straight to bed. That feeling reminded me of my childhood, when I looked forward to the next day with excitement for some special activity or trip. Unlike then, though, the anxiety I feel now is mixed with deep fear: the fear that time will run out and this comfort will crumble from one moment to the next.

I stared at the ceiling for what seemed like eternal minutes; anxiety had stolen my sleep. After what felt like a full hour, I finally felt Morpheus coming to help me fall asleep.

"I just hope I'm wrong", I thought as consciousness faded.

The next day.

When I woke up, I saw a familiar ceiling. I was back in the world of dreams and hoped that this time I could clear up some of the concerns that had plagued me before I fell asleep.

I2 was deep in thought, staring dejectedly at the ceiling. However, I noticed one detail that I had previously overlooked: I had the feeling that I could only perceive what I2 saw. The other senses seemed unreachable, but if I focused on one of them, I could connect and not miss the details of what was happening in the dream.

Now that I think about it, it's not that I didn't pick up on anything in my previous dreams; rather, at some point I thought my mind was filling in the background sounds. Sounds like the wind, trees swaying at will, and the distant echo of some animals.

The days in these dreams were surprisingly quiet, leading me to believe that I couldn't hear anything. However, when I focused on it, I could feel and hear I2's breathing.

A few minutes later, he got up to do the usual exercises and stretches. Then, he went back to eating the same old thing and thank goodness that if I don't focus on savoring the food, I don't get to experience it, because eating the same thing day after day can get really monotonous. This situation is one of the reasons I long to lose my sanity, so that this whole routine becomes more real.

"Maybe that's why I've been so drawn to fast food these past few days", I mused as I remembered how much I longed to enjoy that kind of food. Maybe I subconsciously had memories of bland meals, which fueled my desire for something tastier.

Today I thought I2 would return to its routine of inspecting houses and collecting supplies, but it seems there was a change of plans. He headed to a house that made my blood run cold, went up to the second floor, and took bedding from the other rooms. He entered the main room and began arranging the bedding on the sides of the bed, forming a sort of sack.

Apparently, his intention was to take care of the bodies. I guess, with the weather and the time they had been exposed, they must have smelled pretty bad. I didn't bother to focus on the smell and add something else to my list of traumas and discomforts.

He threw the bodies into the makeshift sacks and tied them with strips of cloth from clothes he found around him, then began to carry them down the stairs. Once outside, he found a shovel and a wheelbarrow, placed the bodies in the latter, also taking his homemade spear, and began to walk away from the already secured houses.

While he looked for a place to bury the bodies, he tried to make as little noise as possible and, from time to time, he stopped to check his surroundings. He walked to the edge of the village, close to the wall that surrounded it.

To my surprise and resignation, the wall in front of me looked very similar to the one in the private villa I had visited in real life the day before. Although a little neglected, it bores a remarkable similarity. I must admit that this type of wall is quite common in these villas, suggesting that it could be a generic private villa.

While I was trying to find arguments to convince myself that this was all just dreams and that my paranoia was misplaced, I saw I2 begin to dig a hole for the bodies. Everything seemed to indicate that it would be a fairly normal morning, at least according to his particular routine.

3 hours later.

I2 was sitting next to a slight pile of dirt that didn't stand out much. He was breathing heavily from all the excessive exercise he did, surely, he was not used to digging in the dirt. Although I have never done it either.

After taking a few minutes to rest, I take the wheelbarrow, the shovel, and the ever-present homemade spear, and I begin to walk slowly and cautiously along the same route back. I kept looking around from time to time to make sure there was nothing.

"By the way, what is it that is waiting to appear?" I asked myself. I hadn't noticed a big detail, I didn't know what threats I2 was facing. They could be humans who were in conflict, a war zone perhaps. Or perhaps Elon Musk's fearsome robots and the artificial intelligence controlling them. Giant bugs with superhuman or extraterrestrial intelligence that come to colonize this planet.

Lastly, one of the options that seems the most accurate to me would be the famous and overrated zombies. Well, only assuming that they are zombies like those in the TWD universe, since there are movies that portray zombies as superhuman, with physical abilities far superior to an average person, and in some cases with few weak points.

If they are just TWD type zombies, I feel like people greatly overestimate that type of zombie. First, they have reduced physical capabilities, as it should be for a decaying body and without a system of obtaining energy through the nutrients obtained. So, dealing with them directly should not be difficult.

While in a group they are almost unstoppable, there are other types of ways to control or get rid of them. For example, we could treat them as wild animals, of which we have knowledge of their abilities and weaknesses, an animal that is not the wildest thing that humanity has faced, so, with a little ingenuity, it should not be very complicated to deal with them.

[A/N: Do you think dealing with zombies is easy? Or not?

I truly believe, like GoldenZega606, that the worst problem we face in a zombie apocalypse is ourselves. In times of crisis we tend to think about ourselves, we leave reason aside, and we let ourselves be carried away by our feelings. And in the worst cases, people who repress those dark emotions release them and the moral boundaries that contained them cease to be important.]

Even if this type of idea were to be advanced when dealing with zombies, they could be used as cheap labor when moving things. I imagine perhaps a zombie-drawn cart, it could be convenient if there is no fuel for transportation with motorized vehicles.

On the other hand, after having seen so many zombie movies and series, there is a very easy conclusion about why everything goes to shit when these kinds of things happen. First, the people who are put in charge in these kinds of situations follow orders from important people, or they are the important people giving orders, and without lying, these kinds of people could not run a country, a city or a town well, when things were good, much less are they going to run things in the best way during a catastrophe.

The other thing is that many times people are carried away by feelings and are not rational, which is what the situation would merit. So, they make mistakes, whether actions or errors of judgment. Also, on the other side of the coin of feelings, there are people who let out all their bad thoughts and commit endless atrocities. Along with this are people who are not evil but are too cowardly to face them.

I am perhaps a mix of everything. For example, I wouldn't have the courage to kill a child who had been bitten recently, even knowing that he could turn into a zombie and be a danger to everyone. Another thing I would do would be not to confront such evil people, but not because of a lack of courage, but rather because my rationality tells me that I will have a better chance of finishing them off with a plan and with enough force, whether it be companions or weapons, to end the problem at its root. Which would make me, perhaps, an evil person like them in the eyes of many. That's why I am a mix of those types of people.

"We're there", I thought, as I realized that my problem of getting lost in my thoughts also carried over into dreams.

I2 began to prepare a quick lunch and ate it without taking long. Apparently, he had plans for the afternoon as well.

After tidying up everything at the base, he set off for what appeared to be the back entrance of the private villa. The path presented no problems, and he stopped from time to time, as usual, to check the surroundings.

Everything was going well until, suddenly, I2 stopped staring at the guardhouse. I concentrated on what I was looking at, to find the reason why he suddenly stopped. I looked for signs of danger, but there didn't seem to be anything that showed anything unusual. The only thing I noticed was the half-open door of the guardhouse and a pair of shoes that were moving.

"Wait a minute. It's someone else", I thought while I was glad to be able to see someone else in my dreams.

I2 moved slowly, approached the guardhouse and looked around without losing caution. He opened the door completely but avoided making any noise. Inside the guardhouse was a woman of about 25 years old, in very bad shape, she seemed tired and perhaps sick. I thought he would help her without hesitation, but I2 kept looking at her without moving. At least she still seemed conscious.

She was looking at me, I mean, she was looking at I2 with fear.

"Did they bite you?" I2 ask her in a dry tone.

[A/N: We finally know that the apocalyptic future that awaits our protagonist is one with zombies. Although the title already made it obvious, hahaha.

Can you imagine finding a person bitten by zombies? What would you do with that person? Would you kill that person? Or would you just leave him to his fate?

Comment on what you would do in that situation.

I have a question. When I publish the novel, I see a selection of options, something like: M/M, F/F, F/M.

Are these the relationships between the characters, or not? Help me.]