Everything changed with a single boom.
In this rotten world, only those with power and money rule over trash like us.
And me?
I'm the worst kind of trash. The lowest scum in this pile of human garbage.
But you know what it takes to change everything?
Just one big boom… and a bang.
-------
Ren lay on a narrow apartment bed, the mattress sinking slightly under his lean frame.
He was twenty-one. Naturally athletic, but not bulky. The kind of body that used to care once.
Messy black hair fell over his forehead. Dark brown eyes — calm most of the time, soft even — but lately distant. Empty.
His youthful face and clean jawline made him look harmless. Like an ordinary college guy.
Right now, he wore a plain charcoal long-sleeve shirt, slightly fitted. A lightweight black jacket tossed aside. Dark jeans. Black sneakers near the bed.
Nothing about him screamed danger.
The room was small, suffocating, filled with scattered trash — empty bottles, instant noodle cups, unpaid bills crumpled in corners.
From the other side of the wall came shameless noises.
"Harder… harder!"
A woman's breathless voice. The sharp sound of skin hitting skin.
Ren stared at the ceiling with dead eyes.
"Just die… die… die…"
He repeated it like a broken machine.
Suddenly—
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Someone pounded violently on his apartment door.
"Get out of my building, you useless runt! Three months of unpaid rent! THREE!"
He didn't respond.
"Die… die… die…"
He rolled onto his side, facing the flickering television.
The news channel was in chaos.
[BREAKING NEWS]
"A mysterious virus is spreading at an alarming rate—people are attacking civilians—authorities are calling it—ghk—!"
The reporter screamed as the camera shook violently. A bloodied figure lunged into view before the broadcast cut to static.
Ren stared at the screen.
Then he laughed softly.
"What a joke…"
His lips curled.
"If that's real… maybe it's better than this fucking reality."
And then—
Outside, something exploded.
Outside, he heard many noises — glass breaking, blasts, people screaming and shouting for help.
Ren got up and opened the window to see what was going on. It was total chaos.
People were being attacked by a horde of zombies, who, in turn, were infecting others. The victims were turning into mindless creatures themselves.
A sudden twisted smile appeared on his face. One hand on his cheek, he whispered, almost happily, "Is this for real?"
He closed the window quickly, rushed to pack some food, items, and other stuff, then looked around and grabbed a crowbar. "This will do."
The landowner was still shouting at him outside. Ren opened the door and quickly rushed toward the rooftop, pushing the landowner aside.
"How dare you, scu—" the man shouted.
"Don't worry, I'm leaving, old bastard," Ren said, running.
He was almost at the rooftop door, but something caught his attention. He quickly grabbed it. "Oh, this will come in handy."
He arrived on the rooftop and muttered, reading the scene like a manga he'd studied for years: "After reading so many books and manga about surviving a zombie apocalypse, this is going to be a piece of cake."
He shut the door tight and looked around.
The city had already become a swamp of zombies. "It's accelerating faster than anyone could think."
People from other apartment buildings were shouting for help.
Ren smirked faintly. "Are they really eager to die?"
Zombies started gathering around that building, invading it. It was only a matter of time before the rooms were turned into a bloodbath.
He smiled faintly. "Don't they even know the basics?"
Rule number one: if you make any sound, zombies will come running.
He looked around a bit more, a twisted smile growing wider. "Oh, look at that one."
A person was among the zombies, pretending to be one.
"Woah woah… we got an actor here," Ren muttered.
The zombies were tearing into another person. The actor started vomiting after seeing that.
"Looks like he busted," Ren said. "What a fool."
The zombies noticed the actor pretending to be one and devoured him, tearing flesh and blood while he screamed.
"Did he really think he was safe?" Ren said, almost proud. "If you pretend to be a zombie, a small mistake can be fatal. Game over."
Rule number two: never pretend to be a zombie. Extremely risky. Not worth it.
He opened his bag. "Got rations for three days… but after that, it's going to be a pain in the ass."
---
Next day
Ren gulped some water from his bottle, looking down.
"Oh, looks like they started attacking this building too. What a pain in the ass."
A frantic voice rang out from a lower floor of the building:
"Hey! Up there! What the hell are you doing?! Don't just stand there!"
Ren glanced down, a twisted grin creeping across his face.