Dark Awakening

Chapter 2

Zhang Zhe had turned into a shadowed nightmare.

In an instant, he threw himself upon Yang Xiu, knocking the knife from Yang's grasp.

Zhang’s transformation was grotesque. His eye sockets had sunken into hollow caverns, and his pitch-black pupils radiated a demonic darkness, as if straight from the depths of hell. His veins bulged like dark streams coursing beneath his skin, unnervingly surreal. His gaping mouth, leaking a foul black liquid, stretched wide as he lunged to tear into Yang Xiu.

"Roar!"

Yang Xiu's heart pounded in terror, his pupils shrinking with horror.

A zombie—there was really a zombie!

Reacting swiftly, Yang Xiu locked his hands around Zhang’s throat, pressing his foot against Zhang’s neck. The hold barely kept him safe, as Zhang’s long arms strained to reach him, his towering frame of over six feet towering dangerously close.

“Help!!” Yang Xiu’s voice cracked in desperation, instinctively crying for help.

On the floor, the chubby man, Li Ruiming, sprang up with sudden agility, sprinting like an Olympic sprinter.

He had no intention of rescuing Yang Xiu. Instead, he bolted into the bedroom, slamming the door behind him with a heavy thud. Sounds of shuffling furniture confirmed he was barricading the door with a dresser.

Bound tightly, Ma Yuan desperately squirmed toward the other bedroom, her scant clothing tearing away with each struggle, but in the midst of the terror, no one spared a glance at her exposed beauty. Everyone was too consumed with survival.

Zhang Zhe’s corpse-like strength was beyond anything Yang Xiu could withstand. In less than a minute, his arms began to tremble, weakening, as Zhang’s hideous mouth drew closer and closer to his face.

“Snap out of it, man! I didn’t steal your wife! Go after the fat guy!” Yang Xiu shouted, clinging to hope that some fragment of Zhang’s humanity might awaken.

But it was futile. Zhang’s strength only increased, his vile black drool dribbling closer, anticipating its macabre feast.

“Damn you and your wife! If I make it out of here alive, I’ll make you regret this!” Yang Xiu cursed as Zhang’s teeth sunk into his arm with a sickening crunch. Blood spurted from the wound, staining his arm a vivid crimson as Zhang ripped a chunk of flesh from his arm.

A wave of terror gripped Yang’s heart. He had always thought himself unafraid of death, but with death’s dark hand reaching for him, fear consumed him.

Summoning his last reserves of strength, he bent his knees, his athletic reflexes springing to life. With a forceful kick, he sent Zhang, who was still gnawing on his flesh, sprawling backward.

Yang Xiu scrambled for his knife, preparing to resume the fight, but Zhang was nowhere to be seen.

The kick had sent him crashing through the nearby window.

Shaken, Yang Xiu looked down at his arm, pale and soaked in sweat, blood dripping down his wrist. His mind raced.

"I can’t die. I won’t turn into a zombie. My parents are waiting for me; they haven't even seen my sister get married yet..."

One thought burned in his mind: he couldn’t become one of them.

Desperately, he sprinted toward the bedroom where Ma Yuan had sought shelter. Just as she was about to slam the door, Yang lunged forward, kicking it open.

Life was unpredictable. Moments ago, he had been ready to die with her; now, he clung to life with everything he had.

The room was filled with mechanical equipment.

Yang Xiu slashed through the binds on Ma Yuan with his knife, then held the blade against her neck, roaring, “Do exactly what I say if you want to live! If I turn into a zombie, I’ll kill you first! Do you understand?”

Eyes streaming with tears, Ma Yuan nodded frantically, paralyzed by fear, her beautiful eyes wide with terror.

"Start the machine! Now!" Yang Xiu sat down by a large machine, positioning his injured arm on the device and wedging a steel rod against his left elbow. He shouted at Ma Yuan.

A professor of kinetic engineering, Ma Yuan was no stranger to the equipment in this makeshift lab.

Yang Xiu had worked for her here, often unpaid, despite there supposedly being funding for his work.

She quickly ran to the machine's control panel, glancing at Yang’s wounded forearm with dread as she pressed the power button.

The grinding of metal filled the room as the machine roared to life. Under immense pressure, the steel rod tightened around Yang Xiu’s left arm, constricting his flesh.

“Argh!” A tortured scream burst from Yang Xiu’s mouth, sweat streaming down his face as his arm darkened, purple bruising against his pale skin. He clutched it until the pressure neared the bone.

“Stop! Stop it!” he shouted.

Ma Yuan instinctively pressed the pause button, then picked up an electric saw, trembling as she pointed it at the nearly unconscious Yang Xiu. “Get... get out now! Or I’ll... I’ll cut you down myself...”

She understood what Yang was attempting: he was trapping the virus within his forearm, halting its spread. But who knew if the virus had already reached his brain?

Weakly opening his eyes, Yang Xiu glanced down at his arm, twisted and purple beneath the steel. Shaking his head with a pained smile, he forced himself to his feet, staggering out of the lab as Ma Yuan slammed the door shut behind him.

No longer caring about engine designs or blueprints, he slumped against the wall, taking out his phone. All he wanted now was to hear his parents' voices and reach out to his sister in the military. This might be his last chance to say goodbye.

Upon opening his phone, he saw several voicemails from his father.

A chilling unease crept into his heart. Trembling, he pressed play, and his father’s urgent voice broke through the silence.

“Xiao Xiu, hide! Some kind of zombie virus is spreading... Our neighbor Lao Zhang turned into one of those creatures! Don’t get infected!”

Yang Xiu played the second message.

“Xiao Xiu, there’s something I need to tell you… Your mother and I drank unboiled water… We’re starting to feel... changes... cough, cough...”

It felt as if a massive weight had struck his heart, and tears slid down his cheeks.

“We just transferred all our savings to your account… cough… Stay safe down south… don't go out… There’s a secret… your mother will tell you...” His father’s voice grew weaker.

Then came his mother’s voice, choked with emotion. “Xiao Xiu, we didn’t want you to find out like this... We kept this secret to protect you... We’ve always loved you... We’re sorry for hiding it, but... you’re adopted…”

Tears of regret spilled over as Yang Xiu gripped his phone, his cries filling the empty hall, his heart breaking.

“Xiao Xiao always knew... That’s why she told you those things back then… It’s why you ran south to escape her… She’ll be fine, she’s strong in the army... Please, take care of yourself… We love you…”

The voicemail ended with a blood-curdling scream, haunting him as he struggled to breathe.

“Dad! Mom!”

Yang Xiu lifted his face to the sky, crying out.

For as long as one’s parents live, the world is their playground; but with their passing, there’s only the journey home.