Chapter One: The Silence Before the Scream
The world didn't end with a bang—it ended with a bite. In the span of a single terrifying night, everything familiar shattered. Cities crumbled under the weight of chaos. The dead, once silent and still, began to rise with a hunger that knew no bounds. And where once there was comfort, now silence itself became a weapon, deadly and suffocating.
In the midst of this nightmare, there was a family—a happy family—once untouched by the horrors creeping through the world outside. Five of them, parents and children, sharing moments of peace amid the storm. On this particular evening, they sat together near the window, their small living room filled with the quiet concentration of a chess game. The boys laughed softly, making moves across the board, their joyful voices mingling with the distant sounds of children playing outside.
But then, the noise abruptly stopped. The lively chatter faded into an eerie stillness that pressed down on the house like a heavy fog. The family felt it immediately—an unnatural hush, a pause that seemed to hold its breath, waiting. Yet, determined not to let fear take hold, they returned to their game, moving the chess pieces with forced calm.
Suddenly, the silence shattered. A cacophony erupted outside—shouts, screams, and the sharp crack of gunfire slicing through the air. The younger boy froze, his heart pounding, and rushed to the window. Peering out, his eyes widened in horror. "Those shots... they must be the colony guards," he whispered, voice trembling.
Their home was part of a small colony—a cluster of nine buildings arranged around a central courtyard, all enclosed behind a heavy gate manned by vigilant guards. But now, the boy saw something no one was prepared for: the dead were rising.
From the shadows of the streets, bodies that should have been lifeless now moved with terrifying purpose. Grotesque and relentless, the undead surged forward, tearing into the living with savage bites. The boy's breath caught as he recognized the truth: those bitten didn't just die—they transformed, becoming monsters themselves.
His gaze caught movement near the gate. A boy about fifteen years old—his best friend—came out of nowhere, sprinting toward their building. Panic and hope collided in the younger boy's chest. Without thinking, he rushed to open the door, ready to let his friend inside. But his family's voices rose in protest, fear gripping their hearts as they urged him to keep the door shut.
"I have to let him in," the boy insisted, his voice firm despite the dread in his eyes. "Either he's with us inside, or I'll leave with him."
Reluctantly, they waited, tense and silent, for what felt like an eternity. Then—footsteps. The friend's hurried steps climbed the stairs, echoing through the building. But behind those steps came something darker, more sinister—the guttural growls of the undead drawing nearer.
The boy listened with mounting terror. Zombies were converging not only on the stairs but also from the terrace and upper floors. Their moans reverberated through the air, a chilling soundtrack to the nightmare unfolding around them.
The friend ran desperately up the stairs, his breath ragged, eyes wild with fear. He was just two steps from the safety of their door on the second floor when suddenly, a horrifying figure lunged down from above—a zombie, its claws outstretched, aiming to claim him before he could reach sanctuary.
Trapped between the living and the dead, caught in a moment that would decide everything—would he survive, or become one of them?