Chapter 8: Mutations Begin
I woke up on August 16th to the sound of screaming.
Not human screaming ,something worse. High-pitched, animalistic, furious.
I rolled off the couch where I'd been sleeping and grabbed my knife. Maya was already at the window, binoculars raised.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Look."
I joined her at the window. Below, in the parking lot, a dog was attacking a zombie. But it wasn't a normal dog anymore. It was bigger, maybe twice its original size ,with patchy fur and exposed muscle tissue. Its eyes glowed faintly red, and when it snarled, its teeth were too large, too sharp.
"First mutation," I said quietly. "Right on schedule. Day two, animals start changing."
As we watched, the mutated dog tore the zombie apart with frightening efficiency, then bounded away, disappearing into an alley.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[EVENT: FIRST MUTATION WAVE DETECTED]
[WARNING: Animals and plants will begin mutating. Threat level increasing.]
[ADVICE: Avoid all wildlife. Consume only System-verified food and water.]
"Great," Maya muttered. "As if zombies weren't enough."
Lisa stirred in the corner, waking up. Her eyes were red from crying, but she looked more alert than yesterday. "What's happening?"
"The apocalypse is evolving," I said. "Animals are mutating. We need to be even more careful now."
I pulled out my notebook and added notes:
• Day 2: First mutations appear
• Animals becoming larger, more aggressive, glowing eyes
• Avoid all wildlife, even small animals are threats
"We need more supplies," Maya said. "Food especially. We have maybe a week's worth if we ration."
"There's a convenience store two blocks west," Lisa spoke up. Everyone turned to look at her. "I used to shop there. The owner kept a lot of stock in the back room. If it hasn't been looted yet..."
"You up for a supply run?" Maya asked me.
I checked my System interface. Still level 1, but with my new skills, I felt more confident. "Yeah. But we should take Lisa too. She knows the store layout."
Lisa's eyes widened. "I don't know if I can—"
"You can stay here alone, or you can come with us and learn how to survive," Maya said bluntly. "Your choice."
Lisa stood up, trembling but determined. "I'll come."
We geared up: weapons, backpacks, a plan. The convenience store was close, but in the apocalypse, close didn't mean safe.
"Stay together," I said. "Make noise only if absolutely necessary. Headshots only. If things go bad, we run back here immediately."
We descended the stairs quietly. The building was still our Safe Zone, but beyond those doors, everything was a threat.
The street was worse than yesterday. More bodies,some zombie, some human. Burned-out cars. Broken windows everywhere. The smell was awful: rot, smoke, chemicals.
We moved in a tight formation: Maya in front with her bat, me in the middle, Lisa in back holding a kitchen knife she'd brought from her apartment.
Two blocks had never felt so long.
We encountered three zombies on the way. The first one was easy, a lone shuffler that Maya took down with one swing. The second and third were together, a couple still holding hands even in death. Lisa made a choking sound when she saw them, but she held it together while we dealt with them.
[ZOMBIES KILLED: 3]
[POINTS EARNED: 30]
The convenience store's front window was smashed, but the interior looked relatively untouched. Most looters had probably gone for larger stores first.
"Lisa, show us the back room," Maya whispered.
Lisa led us through the aisles, eerily quiet without the usual fluorescent hum, to a door marked "EMPLOYEES ONLY." Inside, shelves were stocked with supplies: canned goods, bottled water, first aid supplies, batteries.
"Jackpot," I breathed.
We loaded our backpacks quickly, taking as much as we could carry. Canned soup, vegetables, beans. Water bottles. Medical tape. Batteries for flashlights.
That's when we heard voices outside.
Male voices. Aggressive. Getting closer.
Maya held up a hand: *Stay quiet*.
Through the broken window, we saw them: four men, armed with baseball bats and a pistol, checking the storefronts. They looked rough, clothes already dirty, faces hard.
"—told you there'd be supplies in this area," one was saying. "Rich neighborhood, people evacuated fast. Plenty to grab."
"What about survivors?" another asked.
"We take what they have. They don't cooperate, we make 'em cooperate." The leader, the one with the pistol, laughed. "Apocalypse rules, boys. Strong survive, weak feed us."
My blood ran cold. The dark side of humanity was showing already.
Maya caught my eye and pointed toward the back door. We could slip out while they were distracted.
But then Lisa shifted her weight, and a can fell from her backpack.
*CLANG.*
The voices outside stopped.
"What was that?"
"Someone's in the store."
Footsteps approached.
We were out of time.
Maya grabbed Lisa and pulled her toward the back door. I followed, heart pounding. We burst out into the alley behind the store just as the men entered the front.
"Hey! Stop!"
We ran.
Behind us, shouting. Footsteps. Someone fired the pistol, a shot that went wide but scared me so badly I nearly tripped.
"Split up!" Maya yelled. "Meet back at the apartment!"
She yanked Lisa left, toward a different street. I went right, sprinting down the alley with my backpack bouncing.
More shots. Angry cursing. But I was fast, and they were carrying weapons that slowed them down. I turned a corner, then another, until I'd lost them in the maze of streets.
Ten minutes later, breathing hard, I made it back to Cascade View. Climbed the stairs. Opened our apartment door.
Maya and Lisa were already there, panting but alive.
"Everyone okay?" I asked.
"Fine," Maya gasped. "Lost them after three blocks."
"They're going to be a problem," I said. "Hostile survivors with guns. They're not going to stop looting."
"Then we avoid them," Maya said. "And we get stronger faster than they do."
We unloaded our supplies, success, despite the close call. Our pantry was now stocked for at least two weeks.
But the encounter had made something clear: zombies weren't the only threat.
Humans were going to be just as dangerous.
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*Author's Note: The apocalypse has officially started! The System is active, our duo has their base, and the real survival begins. Next chapters will cover the first week—mutations, other survivors, and the discovery of what Reader's Privilege really means. Thank you for all the support!*
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