Blaze was running in a cold alleyway. His small feet were no match for the grown men chasing him, but still, he kept running. Soon the footsteps got louder, and so did the voices of those chasing behind him.
"Find the brat or the boss will kill us!"
"Fuck! What do you think I'm doing?"
This shitty memory again?
Blaze asked as a memory of his childhood played before his eyes. He still remembered the day as it was yesterday. He was seven back then and had accompanied his father to France for a research presentation or something like that. He didn't remember clearly.
However, he remembered being separated from his father, and then a few people kidnapped him. The only reason he remembered this scene was because it was the first and only time he had been afraid in the true sense of the word.
Blaze watched his young self making mistake after mistake to the point he didn't believe they were one and the same.
And… now she'd appear.
Suddenly, two arms poked out of a broken wall and pulled him inside. The place was dark and, as many times before, Blaze couldn't see the face of the woman covering his mouth.
"Shh… don't make any noise," she said in a hushed voice.
The woman held him close, mumbling sweet words into his ears to calm him down. Then the men appeared, looking for him, but couldn't find him anywhere.
In the end, they ran to the other alley. Only then did the woman let him go.
"Are you okay, little one?" she asked, patting his head.
Baby Blaze nodded, while the grown-up Blaze tried to get a glimpse of the woman. Just as he was about to lean in, his eyes widened in disbelief.
"Get away from her!" he yelled at his young self, but it was too late.
The woman revealed her blood-stained teeth and tore into the young boy's body. The young Blaze tried to scream, but the woman snapped his neck before enjoying the feast.
***
Groan…
A sudden groaning noise interrupted Blaze's sleep. The sun was up again, bleeding just like he remembered.
I'm alive?
Blaze wanted to speak. Instead, a groan came out of his mouth.
What the hell?
"Grr…"
No matter how much he tried to speak, he only heard a groan.
What's going on—
Blaze froze up when he looked down. His intestines… they were hanging outside his stomach, half-eaten and rotting. Not only that, chunks of his flesh were missing from all over his body.
His shoulder blade was sticking out on the right side. His left leg was bent in a way not naturally possible. He should have been in pain, but… he wasn't.
Suddenly, it hit him.
He wasn't alive.
He was like those zombies that were chasing after him last night.
Last night… that bitch Neha!
Blaze still couldn't believe she fed him to the zombies. Though he had no right to be upset, considering he wanted to do the same to her.
She said she could read minds. That must be a chosen's power.
He was a chosen too, but he didn't have a gift like she did. That's why his plan, to let someone get bitten by those undead and watch their transformation, failed.
He didn't think humans would get superpowers out of nowhere. As a result, he was the one who was turned into a zombie.
Maybe… my mind is still intact because I was chosen? It's that, or all the zombies keep their intelligence after death... which doesn't make sense.
Blaze wanted to sigh, but even that wasn't possible anymore. Frustrated, he tried to move, but couldn't even bend his joints. Every single bone in his body had gotten stiff since he had died a while back.
What the hell? I can't even move?
The situation kept getting absurd. Last night he saw the zombies running and climbing the stairs with ease, but now that he had turned into one, he couldn't even move his limbs.
If this was his power as a chosen, then he was better off not being chosen by whoever kept writing those words in the air.
With nothing to do, Blaze looked around and noticed he was lying on the football field, far away from the building where he had died. The undead must have dragged him to the field, but he did not know why.
Despite being a zombie, he knew next to nothing about them.
Fuck this shit!
"ROAR!"
He yelled in his mind, but a roar escaped his lips. Just then, he noticed something floating before him.
[System initiation: Successful]
[Undead Chosen has been found.]
[Proceeding with content mapping.]
—x—
Subject: Blaze Darwin (Subject Code: J#117)
Race: Undead
Status: Reanimated
Class: Walker
[Attributes:]
— Strength: Walker-Class (Critically low)
— Agility: N/A (Repairs needed)
— Durability: Walker-Class (Critically low)
— Intelligence: Alpha-Class (Extremely high)
[Evolution potential: Detected (0%)]
[Hunger Level: 34%] (Note: Reaching 100% will trigger Frenzy.)
[Repair required:]
— Broken bones: shoulder, ankles, stiff joints (Priority to fix: High)
— Damaged Organ: intestines, missing liver, missing vocal cords. (No hindrance detected. Priority to fix: Low.)
[Regeneration rate: Low]
[Decay Rate: Halted]
[Mutation: None] (1 slot available)
Special traits:
— Sentient Rot: Subject retains complete brain function and control. Immune to mental/psychic attacks.
— Necrolink: Subject can sense, understand, and influence lesser undead nearby (within 11 yards).
—x—
Blaze scoffed, looking at the information displayed before him. It was real life, not a game or a novel where he would miraculously get such broken powers to use as he pleased.
Still, his eyes locked on two things.
First, regeneration, and second, necrolink.
If someone was playing with him, then it was easy to prove it.
11 yards, right? This should be doable.
With great effort, Blaze turned his stiff neck around and saw one undead crawling on the ground. He focused on calling it.
Hey you!
"Grr… roar!"
The zombie stopped moving and turned towards him.
It works!
Seeing that Blaze didn't say anything, the zombie turned, continuing to crawl away.
Don't you dare walk away!
The zombie stopped again.
Get something heavy and come here.
The zombie kept staring at Blaze like it didn't understand what he wanted.
They don't look intelligent to me.
Blaze rolled his eyes before nodding towards the broken cement boulder lying next to the zombie. The boulder had blood smeared over it, making Blaze wonder if the zombie had died after getting their head hurt.
Get that stone here.
"Gr… Grr…"
The zombie saw the boulder and hesitated before grabbing the rebar sticking out of it. Then, slowly, it crawled towards Blaze.
Good, now hit my arm with it.
His plan was simple. Since his joints refused to work, Blaze would break them apart and hope his low regeneration would heal them.
This time, the zombie didn't hesitate and smashed the boulder right on the elbow. Blaze flinched, expecting some pain, only to realize his guts were hanging out already. Why would he feel pain anymore?
Sure enough, the bone splintered open, allowing Blaze to move it a bit. He held the arm in place for five minutes and watched as the fracture mended itself. His elbow was free!
Hit the other arm.
The zombie obediently raised the boulder-hammer thing, but instead of Blaze's other arm, the zombie swung the weapon towards his head!
What the hell are you doing!?
"Roar!?"