Richard's body racked with shivers despite pouring sweat underneath the blanket. He was a large man of a few inches over 6 feet and a frame that had most older women asking him he played football. But he hadn't. Richard was a normal guy that just liked things the easy way.
A "gentle giant" is how people who knew him tended to describe him as. He went to school like his parents wanted, and while his father had hoped for a sports playing son, even he couldn't complain about Richard. He got good grades had plenty of friends, graduated highschool, did well in college and even landed himself a decent job that managed to fit his balance of easiness and enough money to live comfortably on.
Richard never got sick and that's why he was receiving plenty of get well soon texts. However he just wished the messages would actually help him get better. His eyes weighed down with sleepiness and he decided to not fight it any longer, drifting off into a fitful sleep.
In and out of consciousness he found himself dreaming. No, dreaming wasn't quite right. For Richard it was more like a nightmare.
His eyes opened though the world appeared as a haze and cloudy. Thoughts muddled with fever and an ache that pulsed through his body but worse in his head.
"Rich, it's Sarah, wow you really are sick." He heard the voice of his long time friend Sarah. Her face was too blurry to make out, but he could see the golden blonde hair his fiery friend had had as long as he'd known her. He wasn't allowed to talk about the time she went red head once. Opening his lips he tried to laugh, but all that came out was a croaking cough.
"Damn you even sound bad. Just rest and let me get you some of this soup I brought. My mom made it as soon as she heard you were sick. I swear sometimes I think she likes you more than me." He missed most of what she said but he still found himself smiling despite the pain. Sarah and her mom were his first neighbors when he had to move for his job and they had welcomed him with open arms.
Richard didn't know when, but she had apparently left and came back and was now blowing off some hot soup and feeding him. Through the haze he was suddenly hit with a feeling of how good Sarah looked. It was odd because while she definitely was attractive, he had never been attracted to her in any way more than a dear friend.
But now he felt a hunger, pang deep in his core that had him struggling to contain himself through the fever. A gasp escaped his mouth and Sarah mistook it for pain.
"Oh sorry. Is the soup still too hot?" She asked worried. Richard tried to say that wasn't it, but only a groan escaped his lips and unconsciously grabbed her arm.
"What? Hu—!" She was confused and startled when Richard suddenly pulled her towards him, all she could do to toss the bowl away so it didn't spill on them.
"Rich! What has gotten into you?!" She yelled as she tried to push up but Richard's strong arms held her tight to where she could barely budge. The desire that welled up inside reached its breaking point and before he even realized what he was doing he sunk his teeth into her neck.
His mind was blank as soon as the warm blood landed on his tongue. His hand clawing and digging in as he continued to chew with unrestrained hunger. It was the best meal he had ever tasted and when he finished he was greeted with a message in his vision.
[Congratulations on your first kill!]
[Level up! 0->1!]
[You are the first infected of the apocalypse and turned your first victim!]
[Title: The Progenitor]
[Where would you like to put your level up points? Available: 5]
[Strength: 25/100]
[Agility: 10/100]
[Intelligence: 10/100]
[Toughness: 20/100]
[Body Control: 0% Raised by Intelligence]