Chapter 3

The night before the apocalypse was so calm it felt suffocating.

I stood in front of the bunker's observation window made from bulletproof glass and watched dark red rain pour down outside. It was unusually thick with the metallic smell of blood.

The news kept cutting in with one grim emergency report after another. "Unexplained mutated rabies attacks have broken out across multiple parts of the city. Residents are advised to stay home and keep all doors and windows closed..."

The reporter's voice shook despite his effort to hide it, and faint, piercing screams came from somewhere behind him.

I turned to the screen on the wall that was connected to the security cameras back in the penthouse. Julian and Jessica had no idea what was happening outside. They were soaking in the oversized bathtub, rose petals floating on the water, drinking my prized Romanee-Conti and feeding each other peeled grapes.

"Looks like it's raining. Why is the sky so red?" Jessica glanced at the tall window and asked with little interest.

Julian lowered his head and kissed her neck, his hand moving under the water. "Who cares what kind of rain it is? No one can bother us now."

I watched coldly as I smiled mockingly. 'Enjoy it while you can. This is the last hot bath you will ever have in your life.'

Through the cameras outside the bunker, I saw the people drenched in blood rain begin to convulse. Their skin quickly turned gray, their bloodshot eyes bulged, and animal-like growls tore from their throats.

A man in a suit who had been sheltering from the rain suddenly lunged at the person beside him and bit through his neck. Blood sprayed across the storefront window like a fountain.

The street fell into chaos. Cars crashed into one another and burst into flames. Screams, sirens, and the sound of tearing flesh mixed together. Within just a few short hours, the city had completely collapsed.

Early the next morning, Julian was woken by the endless screams and the sounds of car alarms below. He rubbed his sleepy eyes as he walked to the tall window, cursing under his breath. Then he pulled the curtains open. "Why is it so loud this early..."

His voice was cut off.

On the screen back in the bunker, Julian's pupils widened. He froze as if someone had cast a curse on him.

The once-bustling downtown streets had become a hellscape.

Burning vehicle wrecks were everywhere. Torn flesh and innards littered the ground, and hundreds, maybe thousands, of bloodstained zombies staggered through the streets.

One zombie lay sprawled on the hood of a sedan, greedily gnawing on a human leg.

"Ah!" Julian's legs gave out as he screamed and he fell to the floor, scrambling backward in panic.

"Julian? What's going on?" Jessica woke up with a start and came out in a robe. When she followed Julian's gaze and looked out the window, she let out an even sharper scream.

Then something even worse happened.

As the city's power grid and water system collapsed, the lights in the penthouse flickered a few times before going out.

"Why is the power out?" Jessica ran to the kitchen in a panic and turned on the faucet.

A strange gurgling sound came from the pipe and a few drops of murky yellow water trickled out, then nothing.

No water, no power, and surrounded by zombies.

On the first morning of the zombie apocalypse, that two-million-dollar penthouse had become an inescapable steel prison.

I sat in the bunker's spacious, brightly lit dining room. The ventilation system sent in air that had been filtered several times, and the temperature held steady at a comfortable 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

I brought a sizzling premium steak to the table and poured a glass of wine I had let breathe. I looked up at the screen and watched Julian and Jessica stumble around in the dark like headless chicken, so frightened they could only huddle together and tremble.

I raised my glass and toasted at the screen from afar. "Good morning, Julian. Hell's free trial has only just begun!"