The Start of the End
"168 hours…"
Kai had one week before he died. Well, only if he did not find a girl to have intimate relations with. But there were bigger problems coming his way.
He looked around his room, searching for his cellphone, which was right under his pillow. Kai browsed through his contact lists and found Li Shi calling him.
It took twenty seconds for his friend to pick up.
"Kai, what's up?"
"Li Shi, there's a zombie apocalypse coming; you need to come back," Kai said, yelling through the phone.
"What? I can't hear you. Let me leave. Wait a second."
Li Shi was in the middle of a party with lots of students. That would turn into chaos in no time with all the drunken people and the zombies.
"I am outside. What did you say? I only heard the word zombie."
"A zombie apocalypse is starting in twenty minutes. You need to leave, bro."
"Good jokes, Kai," Li Shi said, laughing. "What do you want? I need to get back to the party."
Kai could understand his friend not believing in him. News like that would make anyone skeptical, but he had to listen!
"Bro, this is not a joke. I am telling you, a fucking zombie apocalypse is coming. You can choose to ignore your good friend and die. That's up to you. You know very well I would not lie to the only friend I have in this shit place," Kai said from the bottom of his heart.
Li Shi, who was smiling through the phone, became more serious after hearing what Kai said. More like after hearing Kai's tone about the situation.
"Are you sure?" Li Shi asked.
"Yes, I am. I don't know if you can get back to our room in time, so you might have to find other ways to get supplies. If we split, how can we find each other again?" Kai asked.
The party Li Shi was at was on the other side of the campus, so it would be impossible for him to get back to his room in time. They could not use cars on campus. Even if Li Shi ran with everything he had, he would not make it in time.
That was the sad reality. They might have to split.
"Remember that cabin my family owns? We can meet there. It's in the middle of the woods, so no one will find it, and there's fire guns there!" Li Shi suggested.
Kai and Li Shi were friends for a long time, and when they were younger, they both went to this cabin in the middle of the woods during the summer.
Li Shi's grandfather was a hunter and the owner of that cabin. He lived alone there. Unfortunately, his grandfather passed, and when that happened, they did not return to the cabin anymore, but Kai knew very well how to get there.
"It's pretty far; don't you think it's better to meet somewhere else first? I still think we need to go there because of the supplies," Kai said.
"Hm, maybe meet up at the drive-thru? The one just outside the city."
"Okay, fine. Bro, don't die."
"You too."
After the call ended, Kai did everything he could to prepare for the apocalypse. He grabbed his bag—the one he used for studies—and grabbed everything useful in his room.
"A few snacks and a baseball bat. Not great, but not that bad either," murmured Kai.
There weren't that many things in his room. Most of the time, he ate in the university's facilities, so there was no reason to store lots of food. He also did not have the space for it, even if he wanted.
But the baseball bat was a good addition to his items. With it, he wouldn't be defenseless against the undead. Kai looked at the clock, realizing he still had ten minutes.
He grabbed the phone again, and he called his family. Kai's family consisted of only one person: his stepsister.
Kai's parents had adopted a girl four years ago, a teenager, and the two grew up together to become adults. But their parents died, so the only one left was his stepsister.
"Hi, Kai! Are you calling to see if I am ready to start my classes tomorrow? I cannot wait to go to university with you!" A melodic voice came from the other side of the call.
"Chunhua, we don't have much time. I know this might sound strange, but a zombie apocalypse is happening, and you must survive. You must grab supplies and find a safe place." Kai said.
"What? What are you saying? You are scaring me!"
"We should be scared," Kai said, his heart beating faster with each second. "Do you remember that cabin we went to once? Me, you, our parents, and Li Shi."
"Yeah, I do. Why?"
"Can you meet us there? That's our final meeting point."
Kai then tried to explain and convince her that a zombie apocalypse was truly happening, and in the end, Chunhua believed in him.
She saw no reason why her brother would lie to her about something so serious, and she was scared. Kai wanted to find his sister and protect her, but she was in another city.
The thoughts about losing her crossed his mind, and Kai could not even think about living with the pain. He had lost his parents and barely had any friends. His stepsister was everything he had.
But Kai had to clear his mind and focus on surviving, or else he would never find his sister again!
"I think I can grab more things in the convenience store downstairs."
Kai was about to leave his room when he heard a scream coming outside. It was not outside, like in his hallway, but outside on the streets. He went to his window and looked down.
When he saw what was happening on the street, he wanted to throw up. A woman was eating the organs of a man in the middle of the street.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck. Doesn't this mean the apocalypse started sooner?"
There were still around 5 to 6 minutes left before the apocalypse started for good, but there were already zombies roaming the streets.
He had no idea if the Goddess of Lust had lied to him or if it did not go according to her plans.
All of Kai's plans changed, and he had to work fast. Without thinking, he dashed out of his room, not even closing the door.
Five floors down in just one minute. Kai was dashing through the stairs like a maniac.
"Watch out, you crazy fucker!" a student yelled.
Most people had yet to realize what was happening, and Kai had no reason to lose his precious time to warn them. He went straight to the convenience store and grabbed lots of stuff, stuffing his backpack.
"You know you have to pay for all of that, right?" The cashier said.
Kai looked at him, feeling a little pitiful. The store would be the first place people raided when the apocalypse started, and that man was in real danger.
"Look, a zombie apocalypse is happening. You can check for yourself just by looking at the streets. Grab things while you can and leave this place, or they will kill you," Kai said.
Then, without thinking, he opened the convenience store doors and ran away, not bothering with the payment. His survival was at stake.