NOVEL WEB Chapter 5: The Apocalypse (IV)
"Damned car, start up!" Simon muttered under his breath as he slammed his fist against the steering wheel.
The car sat there in the parking lot, not too far from the building where all hell had broken loose.
His mind raced as he stared at the dashboard. He wasn't sure where the zombies were, but he couldn't afford to wait around and find out.
The woman in the back seat had grown worse — her breathing more shallow with every passing second.
He had to get them out of here, away from whatever nightmare was unfolding around them.
He twisted the key in the ignition again, desperately hoping for the engine to roar to life. The car sputtered but didn't start.
His fingers gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white as he tried not to panic.
A bead of sweat trickled down his temple, though the chill of the dark should've made him feel cooler.
It wasn't the cold that made his skin crawl — it was the dread that had settled deep in his chest.
With a frustrated growl, he slammed his fist against the wheel once more.
"Come on! Please, just start," he pleaded quietly.
The engine jerked to life, sputtering like it had a mind of its own.
Simon's breath caught in his throat as he heard the familiar hum of the engine. The car was working. At least for now.
He quickly glanced at the back seat, where the woman sat, slumped against the leather upholstery.
Her face was ghostly pale, even more so than before, and her shallow breathing only heightened his growing sense of unease.
She was growing weaker by the second, and he had no idea why. He wasn't a doctor — he couldn't help her in any meaningful way. All he could do was get them both out of here.
Simon took a deep breath, hands shaking as he put the car in gear. His foot pressed down on the pedal, and the car lurched forward, slowly rolling out of the parking lot.
The road stretched ahead of him, empty and eerily quiet. The chaos of the building was a distant memory now, but the silence only made it feel worse.
As he drove, his mind raced, trying to make sense of what had happened. The woman — who was she? What had caused this sudden outbreak of… the Apocalypse...
Suddenly, a voice cut through the silence of the car.
[The First Phase of the Apocalypse: The Zombie Infestation has begun! In this phase, you must survive the infestation of zombies around the world. Try not to get infected, or you'll be removed from the World Rankings.]
Simon's hands tightened around the steering wheel. The voice was joyous, almost too calm given the situation.
The words didn't make sense. What World Rankings?
"World rankings?" Simon muttered under his breath, his mind spinning. "What the hell is this?"
Before he could wrap his head around it, something strange happened.
A screen, glowing softly, materialized in front of him, hovering just above the dashboard. His heart skipped a beat as he stared at the display.
[World Ranking]
[Name: Simon Blackthorn]
[Age: 20]
[Ranking: 3,444,298,000]
Simon's eyes widened as he looked at the numbers. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but the screen in front of him was unsettling, and his ranking was — well, it was ridiculously low.
He felt a strange pang of embarrassment. How could his ranking be so low when the apocalypse had just begun?
He glanced away from the screen, trying to focus on the road, but the image lingered in his mind. The words, the rankings — it didn't make sense.
'How many people are there in these rankings?' he wondered, almost instinctively reaching out to touch the interface that had appeared. His fingers brushed the screen, and it responded instantly.
Scrolling through it, he saw a list of numbers and names, too many to count. It wasn't just a small group of survivors — it was an entire system, ranking people across the world.
And then, he saw it.
The human population.
[World Population: 4,000,000,000]
It hit him like a punch to the gut. The world had been halved. And he had no idea what that meant for him, for anyone.
"The earth's population is totally halved…" Simon muttered under his breath, his voice barely a whisper. He gripped the wheel tighter, the sensation of dread growing heavier in his chest.
His eyes flicked back to the road, trying to push aside the questions that were rapidly piling up. But the road was no longer empty.
He saw something ahead — a figure standing motionless in the middle of the road.
Simon's pulse quickened as he saw it more clearly. It was a zombie. The figure was wearing tattered clothes, its skin a sickly, mottled green.
Its eyes were wide and blank, staring straight at him. The zombie didn't move, it didn't flinch — it just stood there, like it was waiting for him.
Simon's foot hovered over the brake, but he didn't slow down. The moment he did, the zombie would rush forward. He had no intention of giving it that chance.
With a curse, Simon slammed his foot down on the gas pedal. The car surged forward with speed, the tires screeching as the engine roared.
He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, each beat a reminder of how little time they had. The zombie remained in his path, not budging an inch.
"Fuck!" Simon shouted, his voice laced with panic.
The car barreled toward the creature. He couldn't turn, couldn't slow down. There was nowhere to go.
At the last possible moment, the zombie lunged forward, arms outstretched. Simon's eyes widened, his hands gripping the wheel so hard his knuckles turned white.
With a final screech of the tires, he swerved, narrowly missing the zombie as it reached for the front of his car.
His breath was ragged as he straightened out, the car now speeding down the road with the sound of his heartbeat thundering in his ears.
The woman in the back seat stirred slightly, her breath still shallow, but Simon didn't have time to check on her.