"Let's do it, Devin!" A girl with attractive brown almond eyes sparkled with forced confidence. Wearing a black leather jacket and jeans, she extended her gloved hand confidently toward the young man beside her.
In the distance, a sharp horn blared from the train junction. Understanding the next sequence, Devin let out a shaky last breath, and his blue eyes locked directly to hers. He gave a sharp, single confirmation nod and wrapped his long fingers around hers.
Now, both simultaneously stepped out of the train stairs and onto the platform.
When their feet touched the floor, the polished cement floor vanished into a space. Reality disappeared: the train, the horn sound, everything disappeared. Suddenly, they were floating in the blue, clear sky and facing straight down toward the earth landmark.
Around them, some other participants' screams also mingled through the air and fell under pressure.
"Ahhhhh!!!!"
"Help me!!!"
"No!"
Due to the immeasurable pressure of the air, August couldn't maintain her balance as she left Devin's hand, spun away, struggling against the strong gusts.
"Watch out, Devin!" she screamed, trying to warn him as other falling players dangerously close to them.
Now, everyone could see the landscape. "What the hell!!!" They screamed in fear.
"We are all going to die!"
"No!!!! We're going to smash like a tomato!"
August squeezed her eyes shut not to watch the impact.
Instead of a bone-shattering crash, they hit a soft landing, a soft blue light emanating, which slowed their motion and landed everyone gently without a single crack or injury.
Devin was the first to find his footing. Then he took another step, a relief expressed between his brows. Realizing the safety, he walked towards August, "Hey, you're fine!" he murmured gently, who was still curled in a ball, hands clamped over her ears and shivering in fear.
"August!"
"Am I alive?" she thought when she heard her name as she came back to reality. Then she slowly fluttered her eyes open and stood up from the half-sit and looked around. The world around them looked similar to the real world and a mix of highly advanced technology and a modern world.
Towering skyscrapers were covered on every side and secured with glowing digital lights and displaying Terms and Conditions banners, making the scene feel unreal. The road was vast and empty. Silence, papers, dust, and banners filled every street and building with a rotten smell slightly mingled with the air.
"What was this place?" August hissed, watching every direction around her.
"It doesn't feel like a real world," one of the players said.
Others were looking at it with the same confusion.
Before Devin could answer, the ground hummed like a boiling sand. In the blink of an eye, hundreds of minispider-shaped automatic robots were suddenly emitted from the ground and swarmed towards the players.
"What the hell?" Devin whispered to himself in a lower, husky tone.
Within a second, the miniature device captured everyone on the road and made its way directly to their wrists, and the spider-shaped robots automatically transformed into unbreakable, advanced, systematic watches. Next, a nano pin came out of the watch, inserted into the back of the spinal cord of their necks.
"What's happening right now?" everyone shouted, trying to run away from the mini robots.
One of the men in a black shirt tried to crush his spider, stomping on it with all his might, and rubbed his shoe on the road.
"Hehe," he laughed with a happy, wide,e proud smile, "I smashed one of them!!!" He shouted proudly as he lifted his shoe.
But there was nothing there.
Everyone's pupils enlarged in shock.
With the same confusion, he looked at his outsole. That miniature had shifted its shape as a shoe print in a liquid jelly form and again shifted into its original shape and swarmed to his wrist.
Meanwhile, the silence was shattered slowly by the sounds of a group of heavy steps at a distance, and raw, guttural shrieks, creating a chilling echo.
Devin paused his talking, "Shh!!" He hissed and placed his index finger above his lips. He tilted his head, pressed his left tragus ear, closed his eyes, and listened carefully to the gigantic sound from the south direction.
"I hear it too," August whispered, staring down the empty road.
As the eerie sound echoed along the road, it captured the attention of everyone nearby. "What was that noise?" people wondered.
The scream grew louder and more intense. Soon, everyone's focus shifted toward the south direction of the road.
"Is that more survivors?" a man in a red hat asked, stepping forward with a hopeful smile.
"Yeah! I can see them!" Another lady said, wearing a black formal office dress.
"Nothing seems right here," Devin's instinct warned him as his gaze locked, but his leg stepped back, noticing the crowd of people's behaviour from a distance.
They weren't just running; they were hunting. Their faces were full of aggression, blood, torn skin, cuts and wounds; their eyes were bulging out, and their mouths were covered with blood and flesh.
As the monsters reached the first group of players, they didn't ask for help. Instead, they grabbed the first human, biting through his throat, biting his cheeks and his hands and every part with famished intensity like a person who hadn't eaten anything for years.
Watching the horrific scene, other players were screaming, and their legs began to run from the zombies as much as they could to save their lives.
"RUN!"
"We need to hide!" Devin yelled. He grabbed August's hand, holding it tightly, and pulled her to sprint toward the north.
A unison notification popped up for every player, but no one dared to notice in that survival rush.
In the chaos, August's arm brushed the face of Devin's new watch. A holographic screen flickered into the air between them, moving as they ran:
[WELCOME TO THE ZOMBIE GAME WORLD]
Player ID: 666333
Name: Devin Rydeen
Level :0
Age: 25
Obtained Skills: -
SURVIVED DAYS: 0
Previous Occupation: Neurologist
Specialization: Science, Analytics, Problem-Solving
Current Objective: Secure Shelter
Current Task Reward: 1,000 Points
Total Balance: 0 Points
Examine History? [YES/ CANCEL]
Map Interface? [YES/ CANCEL]
Devin stopped running and stared at the floating data in disbelief. "What is this?" murmured to himself as he looked behind. A bunch of people were getting hit and bitten by zombies.
"Devin, Come on!!! We should hide in one of those buildings," August shouted in fear and dragged his hand, bringing him back to reality.
Devin approached the left side of the glass-tall building, grabbed an iron knob, and pulled out quickly in pure urgency, but the door remained locked.
He accidentally touched the sensor; an automatic AI system voice announced, "SCAN ME!"
August hands trembling and staring nervously at the approaching zombies at a few meters distance, "Scan it, quickly!" she yelled in pure nervouness.
Then he placed his wrist toward the scanner, and instantly, a blue 3D holographic letter appeared above.
"ENTRY POINTS: 50,000 POINTS "
"Are you willing to pay the points?" [ YES] [ CANCEL]
Your current points: 0000.
"Huh! Entry fee? Ah! Shit!" She hissed, swiped her hair back.
"They're getting closer!" Devin exclaimed as noticing the dead crowd closing in on them. Without another thought, he and August began to run quickly.
August and Devin's legs could feel the numbness as they slowed down their running and let out a shaky, burning breath, looking at the front road with blurred vision. There were two split roads in front of them. Which way?" she gasped, her leather jacket drenched in sweat.
"I don't know..." he whispered.
"Left or right?"
"Right! Go right!" Devin confirmed in urgency that both ran into the roadway.
After running for a few minutes, no zombies were following them. Both slowed their running speed and paused gradually, looking behind them in their direction.
They darted until their lungs cooled down, finally ducking into the messy ground floor of a small apartment complex. August leaned against the main glass door, her legs trembling from continuous running.
"I thought... I thought we were dead," she rasped, swallowed hard to wet her dry throat. "I-I need water."
While talking, suddenly, the door behind her hissed open. A hand shot out from the shadows, gripped her arm, and dragged her into the darkness without any warning.