CHAPTER 5 — MY EX BECAME A ZOMBIE

The heavy three-inch steel vault door of my underground bunker sat nestled into the granite hillside, surrounded by thick pine trees. Outside, the sky had turned a sickly, bruised shade of orange, and the distant sounds of sirens, crashing cars, and echoing gunshots rattled across the valley.

I was standing in the reinforced entryway, holding a high-powered LED tactical flashlight and adjusting the strap of my crossbow, when my [Passive Biological Scan] suddenly flared blue behind my eyelids.

Warning! Two human lifeforms approaching rapidly.

Warning! Viral contamination detected on target 01 (Viral Load: 88% — Rapid Mutation Imminent).

"Mia! Open up! MIA, OPEN THE DAMN DOOR!"

A desperate pounding rattled the heavy steel hatch from the outside.

I flipped on the exterior CCTV monitor mounted on the concrete wall.

Jason was leaning heavily against the reinforced door, his face completely pale, sweat dripping off his forehead. The hoodie he wore was soaked in dark, blackish-red blood around his neck, and his eyes were bloodshot and wild.

Beside him stood Sabrina, holding a heavily stuffed Louis Vuitton duffel bag, her pink coat torn and dirty, looking frantically over her shoulder toward the tree line.

I pressed the intercom button, leaning against the steel wall with my arms crossed. "Well, well. Look who found my secret address. Did you two run out of caramel macchiatos already?"

"Mia! Let us in! It's hell out there!" Jason screamed into the camera, his voice cracking hysterically. "There are monsters in the street! They're biting people! They tore a guy's arm off right in front of my SUV!"

"Mia, please!" Sabrina wept, banging her fists against the camera lens. "We saw your truck turn up the mountain road! We know you have food and generators inside! Let us in! I'm your sister!"

"Stepsister," I corrected cheerfully through the speaker. "And last time I checked, I was a 'cold, heartless monster' who was going to be the laughing stock of the city. Why would you want to stay in my tin-foil hat bunker?"

"I was wrong! I was wrong, okay?!" Jason sobbed, clutching his neck. "My neck hurts so bad, Mia! I think... I think some guy scratched me while we were fleeing the parking lot! I need medicine! You bought all those surgical kits today!"

I zoomed the CCTV camera in on Jason's neck. Beneath his torn collar, thick black veins were bulging and spreading like spiderwebs across his throat, crawling up toward his jaw.

"Jason, that wasn't a scratch," I said calmly. "You're infected. You have about ninety seconds before your brain turns into gray mush."

"What?!" Sabrina shrieked, instantly leaping three feet away from Jason into the dirt. "Infected?! Jason, you said it was just a scratch from the car door!"

"It WAS a scratch!" Jason yelled, turning on Sabrina with bloodshot, bulging eyes. "I took the blow for you when that crazy guy lunged at the window! I saved your life, you ungrateful bitch!"

"Get away from me!" Sabrina screamed, clutching her duffel bag to her chest. "Mia, open the door just for me! Leave him outside! He's turning into one of those things!"

"Sabrina?!" Jason gasped, staring at her in utter disbelief, his jaw trembling. "You're... you're abandoning me?! After everything I did for you?! I stole Mia's money for you! I bought you that diamond bracelet!"

"You bought it because I let you sleep in my bed!" Sabrina spat, backing away toward my SUV parked ten yards away. "You're useless now! Look at your eyes!"

"You filthy snake!" Jason roared, taking a staggering step toward her.

ROAR!

Suddenly, a low, guttural snarl echoed from the dark woods behind the driveway. A blood-soaked man with his throat torn open burst through the bushes, lunging straight at Jason!

"AAAGH!" Jason screamed, throwing his arms up.

Sabrina didn't even look back. She sprinted straight for my parked SUV, yanked the driver's door open—I had intentionally left the keys on the dash—stowed her duffel bag, slammed the gas pedal, and peeled out down the dirt road in a cloud of dust and gravel.

"SABRINA! YOU BITCH! COME BACK!" Jason howled as the SUV disappeared down the hill.

The rabid corpse tackled Jason to the ground, its jaws snapping inches from his face. But before the corpse could bite his throat, Jason’s entire body violently convulsed.

His eyes completely turned milky white. The black veins on his neck burst through his skin, oozing dark sludge. He let out a sickening, bone-rattling screech—not of pain, but of sheer, inhuman rage.

With terrifying strength, the newly mutated Jason grabbed the zombie on top of him by its skull and snapped its neck with a loud CRACK, tossing the body aside like a ragdoll.

Jason slowly stood up, turning his pale, milky eyes directly toward the CCTV camera mounted above my vault door. His jaw hung open, black bile dripping onto his chest.

Ding!

[Passive Biological Scan Alert:]

[Target 01 Transformation Complete.]

[Entity Classified: Level 1 Evolved Zombie (Personal Enemy: Jason Reed).]

[First Combat Objective Issued: Eliminate Personal Enemy.]

I stared at the monitor, my chest tightening—not with fear, but with a fierce, burning thrill.

I unlatched the heavy steel deadbolts, pulled the lever down, and swung the vault hatch open three inches.

"Jason," I called out, my voice ringing clear through the cool night air.

The mutated Jason whipped his head toward the crack in the door, letting out an ear-splitting howl as he lunged forward at terrifying speed, his blood-stained claws reaching for the opening!

I didn't flinch.

I stepped smoothly into the frame, raised my heavy tactical crossbow, lined up the red laser sight directly between his milky, dead eyes, and pulled the trigger.

THWACK!

The reinforced steel bolt shattered his skull, passing clean through the back of his head.

Jason’s momentum collapsed instantly. He hit the concrete ramp with a heavy THUD, sliding to a dead stop right at the threshold of my boots.

[Personal Enemy Eliminated: Jason Reed.]

[First Blood Bonus Achieved!]

[Combat Ability Unlocked: Beginner Physical Enhancement (Strength & Agility +50%).]

[System Storage Expansion Triggered!]

[100 Cubic Meters ➔ 200 Cubic Meters!]

A wave of warm, surging energy rushed through my limbs, clearing every trace of fatigue from my body. At the same time, my mind expanded into a vast, cavernous storage realm—now the size of a multi-story warehouse capable of holding entire shipping containers.

I looked down at Jason’s lifeless, mutated corpse lying in the dirt.

"Thanks for the upgrade, ex," I said flatly.

I kicked his body off the concrete ramp, stepped back inside the vault, and pulled the heavy steel hatch shut.

CLANG!

The four steel locking bars slid into place with a heavy, satisfying thud, sealing me inside thirty feet of solid granite.

I turned on the main bunker lights. The warm fluorescent bulbs illuminated rows of heavy steel shelving, shimmering water barrels, diesel generators, and mountains of sealed food supplies.

Down the valley, the city lights flickered twice and went completely black as the power grid failed.

I sat down in my comfortable leather armchair, unclasped my crossbow, and opened a cold can of peach slices.

One down. Sabrina to go.