Blood of Doom

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As I watched the chaos unfolding on the streets and the distant crowds of people biting each other, I unconsciously took a few steps back. Heavy, raspy breaths and the sound of "cough, cough" echoed behind me, accompanied by dragging footsteps. I spun around abruptly to find a blood-soaked man standing just a meter away from me, blood still oozing from his neck, his eyes dangling from his face, mouth agape. I instinctively took a few steps back, only for the man to lunge at me. I bolted, but before I could take two steps, I stumbled over a speed bump!

The man drew closer, reaching out with both hands. I struggled to get up but couldn't. He charged towards me! In that moment, a speeding car careened towards us, sending the man flying several meters away. I watched as he struggled on the ground, his legs broken and neck twisted, yet he still managed to drag himself up! From the out-of-control car emerged a woman, ignoring her own forehead injury, running in the opposite direction of the rioting crowd. "Help! Help!" she cried out in panic, unwittingly attracting the attention of some zombies.

"Come back!" I shouted at her, knowing that her injury and the scent of blood would draw even more zombies, especially after her loud cries. But she continued running forward, followed by more and more zombies. Even the man who had just lunged at me began to move slowly in her direction. Blocked by the woman's car, I remained unseen, and I noticed that the car was still running. Watching the woman run farther away, I made a snap decision. I dashed into the driver's seat, tossed my backpack aside, and turned the car around, speeding off in pursuit of her.

Some of the zombies followed me, but I floored the gas pedal, catching up to the woman. I stopped the car in front of her and opened the passenger door. She was just behind the car, with a few zombies not far behind her. "Get in! Stop running!" Hearing my shout, the woman made a desperate dash towards the passenger side, but before she could reach the door, a zombie tackled her. More and more zombies surrounded her. I was speechless, paralyzed by the scene unfolding before me. The woman's screams echoed from the pile of zombies, and even more horrifyingly, several zombies had noticed me and were crowding around, trying to grab me.

Finally snapping out of my daze, I slammed on the gas pedal. The zombies were flung aside by the force of the car, crushed under the wheels, or collided with the barricade. Without bothering to close the car door, I surveyed the surroundings, deciding to drive back home along the small road. The situation on the main road was dire, especially near the subway entrance and large office buildings, which were already in chaos. As I reached the entrance of my residential complex, perhaps because it was away from the main road, I didn't see any signs of unrest. The entire complex was eerily quiet, except for a large notice at the entrance, handwritten with a brush, urging us not to go out and to wait quietly at home for rescue.

I parked the car at the entrance of the building, grabbed some biscuits and water I had bought, and rushed up the stairs, returning home. The first thing I did was to lock all the doors and windows, securing the main door. After making sure all entry and exit points were sealed, I drew all the curtains. Exhausted, I collapsed onto the sofa. My phone kept vibrating, and when I checked, I found that various apps were reporting on the zombie outbreak. According to the news, it was a large-scale biohazard virus leak, infecting several cities, including the one I was in. The infected cities had already been sealed off, including City A, where I lived. Military and medical teams had been dispatched, instructing us to self-check for bites. If uninfected, we were to stay at home, lock all doors and windows, and wait for rescue. We were not to go to crowded places or make any noise.

Within the residents' group chat, panic erupted. The property management kept emphasizing that all residents who had returned home should not go out. They had received instructions from above and would distribute supplies safely. Messages flooded the group, expressing panic, sharing real-time news updates, and seeking help. It was then that I remembered I should contact family and friends as soon as possible to ensure their safety. I called my parents, who lived in a remote mountain village far from City A, and they were unaffected by the outbreak, having taken precautions. Other friends were also mostly outside the infected area. But I noticed that Zhang Jie was missing.

I immediately sent a message to the company group chat, where everyone was confirming their uninfected status. Each department was tallying their numbers, but apart from me, there was no response from Zhang Jie, who was in the finance department. My heart clenched with worry as I kept calling Zhang Jie, but she didn't answer. I remembered our conversation earlier today, as we joked about the impending apocalypse. At that time, I had reassured her that it was unbelievable, yet within a few hours, things had spiraled towards near despair. Thoughts of Zhang Jie's daughter, that ten-year-old girl, surfaced in my mind. Was she still alive?

As the evening wore on, there was still no news from Zhang Jie, but the residents' group announced that they would distribute supplies later that night. Currently, water and electricity were still functioning, albeit with unstable water pressure and voltage. Just then, I received a video call from Zhang Jie. Excitedly, I answered, only to be greeted by a horrifying sight. Zhang Jie's legs were bound, her other hand tightly tied to the bathroom faucet. A bloodstained bite mark adorned her exposed arm. "Xiaoou," Zhang Jie called out to me, tears streaming down her face. I noticed her eyes beginning to turn gray.

"Zhang Jie! What happened to you?" I knew she was infected, but I couldn't bring myself to believe it. "I'm infected, Xiaoou. Are you okay?" I fought back tears, nodding at the camera. "I can't believe it. We were fine before we left work, and now this." "I couldn't reach you..." I couldn't help but cry. "Don't cry, Xiaoou. After I call you, I'm going to end it all. But my daughter, I locked her in the bedroom. Can you, please, save her?"

"Zhang Jie, the military and medical teams are already in the city. Hold on a little longer." Zhang Jie smiled weakly, shaking her head. "It's no use, Xiaoou. I know my body. I won't make it through this. I can't endanger my daughter. I know this request is a lot, but after my divorce, I came to City A alone with my daughter. I have no other friends. If you don't save her, she's as good as dead. Please, Xiaoou, can you take her away?" Zhang Jie choked up, pleading into the camera, and my heart twisted into a knot. In the face of the apocalypse, everyone was out for themselves, but Zhang Jie had always been kind to me. Watching her suffer like this, I almost instinctively agreed. "I promise you, Zhang Jie, I'll find a way to save her." I didn't know if this decision would cost me my life, but at that moment, I couldn't care less.

"Thank you, Xiaoou. I gave the company's spare phone to my daughter. You know the number. Call her directly later. If she asks about me, tell her I've been quarantined at the company." "Okay." "Xiaoou, take care of yourself. You must keep my daughter safe." With those words, Zhang Jie ended the call. I stared at the darkened screen of my phone, my heart throbbing painfully. I knew I would never see Zhang Jie again. Since I promised her to save her daughter, I had to follow through. But as a woman, how could I rescue a trapped little girl from the building?

I posted a message in the homeowners' group chat, hoping for help or advice, but almost everyone told me not to go. I hesitated, but what happened next forced me to leave the residential complex and face the world that had already turned apocalyptic.

I knew that in the face of the apocalypse, everyone was selfish, but I couldn't bear to refuse Zhang Jie's final wish. I dialed the company's backup phone number, and it was quickly answered by a girl's voice. "Hello, who's this?" "Are you Nannan? Hi, I'm a colleague of your mom's. You can call me Aunt Xiaoou." "Hello, Aunt Xiaoou. Where's my mom?" Mentioning Zhang Jie made my heart ache. "Your mom has been quarantined by the company and can't come back for now. You need to stay home alone and be obedient. Do you have enough food and water?" "Yes, but when will Mom come back? I'm scared." Nannan's voice was barely audible. At just ten years old, facing all of this alone, I couldn't bear it either. "Aunt Xiaoou doesn't know, but your mom's phone has been confiscated. If you need anything, call Auntie anytime, okay?" "Okay." After hanging up the phone, I breathed a sigh of relief. At least Nannan was safe for now, with enough food and water for seven days. Maybe in seven days, the zombies would be under control, and then I could go get Nannan. I turned on the TV and made myself a bowl of instant noodles, the news channel now broadcasting 24-hour emergency updates on the current infection situation, repeatedly emphasizing the need for everyone to stay indoors. The news also stressed that if encountering an attack from infected individuals, one should directly aim for the head for self-preservation. I realized that dealing with zombies was just like in the movies.

Suddenly, there was a commotion outside in the hallway. I quickly turned off the TV and the desk lamp, relying only on the faint light from my phone as I cautiously made my way to the door. Though separated by just a door, the various screams were still clear, and it seemed like the entire hallway was packed with people. Holding my breath, I extinguished the screen of my phone and peered through the peephole. The screams had stopped, replaced only by the heavy, labored breathing emanating from just outside my door. And one of those heavy breaths was pressed tightly against my door. Outside the peephole, a bloodied man was sniffing around my door, and with each breath I took, he seemed to sniff more eagerly. I knew he had caught my scent. I tried to hold my breath and slowly backed away, wanting to distance myself from the door. But in the darkness, I accidentally stepped on a fallen mineral water bottle, causing me to fall backward with a loud "bang!"

The loud noise caused the heavy breathing outside the door to intensify. Even more terrifyingly, I had scraped my palm, and blood was oozing out, filling the air with the scent of blood. Outside the door, the zombies had begun to scratch at it. I immediately got up and blocked the door with the sofa, then moved away from the door and onto the balcony. By the faint moonlight, I bandaged the wound on my wrist. Just then, my phone started vibrating violently. It was from the homeowners' group chat. Unlike when I had just returned, the group chat was now filled with cries for help. Apparently, a man in one of the buildings hadn't realized he had been bitten. By the time he became aware, he had already begun to mutate. He started attacking his family, and in an attempt to escape, his family opened the door, but they couldn't escape their fate of being bitten. And at that time, the community had not been completely sealed off, and many people who had just returned had been bitten. Almost every building was affected. And once these zombies caught a whiff of human scent, they would scratch and break down doors to get in.

I listened to the increasing noise outside the door, realizing that staying at home was no longer an option. I had to leave. And the only place I could go now was perhaps Zhang Jie's house. Without hesitation, I packed up all the food and water, grabbed a flashlight and a folding knife, and even found the baseball bat I had won in a lottery a few years ago. The baseball bat probably never imagined that one day it would be used not for baseball, but for fighting zombies. My home was on the second floor, and I tore the bedsheets into strips and tied them along the window frame. After observing for a moment, I saw that there were only three zombies wandering about 50 meters away from my house. As long as I carefully made my way down, I could directly get into the car, which was highly feasible and relatively safe. But I didn't expect that cursed bedsheet to break off just as I was about to land, causing me to fall directly to the ground. The pain came instantly, and even more terrifyingly, those three zombies were now charging towards me.

Ignoring the pain, I immediately climbed up, opened the car door, and got in, but the car wouldn't start. Come on! Start already! My mind raced with panic as I glanced in the rearview mirror. The zombies were just a few meters away from me, and more were coming from all directions! In just a few seconds, my car was surrounded by zombies, banging on the windows incessantly. But the good news was that the vibrations caused by the zombies hitting the car started the engine! I looked at the circle of zombies surrounding the windshield, recognizing some of my neighbors among them. I had no choice. I closed my eyes tightly, floored the gas pedal, and broke through the encirclement. Several zombies were thrown into the air and fell to the ground, turning into a pile of flesh and blood that still writhed uncontrollably. I tried my best not to think about the gruesome scene and forced myself to stay calm as I drove forward through the chaotic streets.

Zhang Jie's house was located in the development zone, far from my home, and I had to pass through a cemetery on the way. At that moment, the fuel light came on, indicating that the tank was almost empty. I didn't know if I could make it to Zhang Jie's house. But I also knew that I had no choice. This was just the beginning of the zombie outbreak, and going to the gas station was definitely not a wise choice. Sure enough, the car slowly came to a stop near the cemetery, and smoke started billowing from the hood. I was faced with one piece of good news and one piece of bad news. The good news was that there were fewer people in this area, and I hadn't seen any zombies for the time being. The bad news was that apart from the cemetery, there were no buildings around. If I abandoned the car and walked, I might encounter zombies on the way and end up as a zombie graveyard keeper. I had no choice. Staying in the car was equivalent to waiting to die. I packed my backpack, held the baseball bat in my hand, surveyed the surroundings, and made sure there were no zombies before carefully getting out of the car.

I dared not use the flashlight and could only rely on the faint light from the cemetery to slowly move forward. The cemetery at night seemed especially eerie, and the temperature had dropped significantly. I felt a chill down my spine as I passed through the cemetery. But what was even more terrifying was that in front of me, I saw a group of corpses. They were all wearing matching tracksuits, each with a blood-stained bib. Then I remembered that there was a marathon race in the development zone today, and it was clear that this race had turned into a zombie race. The group of corpses didn't move in any particular direction, just wandering aimlessly in the middle of the road. But that road was the only way forward for me. I hid behind a tombstone, exhausted from the journey. I felt like this was the most desperate moment of my life. In a cemetery, with no cover, facing a group of former runners with good physical fitness. I guessed they could run faster than me. But I had to survive, no matter how slim the hope. I slowly opened my backpack and took out a piece of compressed biscuit, taking a few bites to replenish my strength. The biscuit was harder to chew than I had imagined, but it was indeed filling. Half a bottle of water and half a biscuit were enough to satisfy my hunger.

Alright, next, I had to figure out how to escape. In the dim light, I noticed a small slope next to the group of corpses. There were no zombies on the slope, and there was an extremely narrow pathway leading through the cemetery. That was the only way through the group of corpses. Good, at least it wasn't a dead end. I packed up my backpack, slowly stood up, but it seemed that things didn't go as planned. At the moment I stood up, I accidentally knocked over the incense burner next to me. It rolled down the steps of the cemetery, making a crisp sound with each step. The sound was like a symphony of death, and the zombie athletes all turned towards the sound and started converging towards me. Without time to think, before the zombies caught up with me, I also ran desperately trying to rush to the narrow path through the cemetery. But I miscalculated. The zombies surrounded me from all sides, and I had no direction to escape. At that moment, I noticed a grave pit beside me, with a half-covered coffin inside. Almost without thinking, with the zombies closing in on me within a few meters, I jumped into the grave pit and into the coffin. I almost exhausted all my strength to close the coffin lid. And from above, I could already hear the dense sound of panting.

Trapped in a sealed coffin with dwindling oxygen, I didn't know how much longer I could hold on. Perhaps this empty coffin would be my final resting place? Lying there, listening to the suffocating gasps from above, I truly felt like giving up. I started regretting why I even attempted to escape. But would staying at home have led to a better outcome? Maybe I would have turned into a zombie, aimlessly roaming the streets, tearing apart the living. I opened my phone's notes app and wrote a brief farewell, unsure of who it was for. I simply introduced myself and expressed a wish for the world to return to normalcy. But perhaps it would never be seen by anyone. After finishing, I turned off my phone, placed it aside, and used my backpack as a pillow, adjusting myself to a more comfortable position if death was imminent. As the oxygen inside the coffin dwindled, I closed my eyes, hoping to drift off to sleep, unsure if suffocation would be painful.

"What are you doing here?" a man's voice echoed inside the coffin. By now, the lack of oxygen had made me feel dizzy, and I thought I was hallucinating. "Waiting to die," I replied. It seemed strangely comforting to have someone to talk to before dying. "You went out of your way to find a coffin to wait to die in?" "Yes, being able to talk to a man before dying and having a place to stay is worth it." "Well, if you're not dying, then move aside. What are you doing dying in my house?" The man's voice gradually became clearer, and I began to realize that this might not be a hallucination. In this space, there really was a man speaking. This didn't put me at ease; I wasn't even sure if he was human or ghost. The voice came from the foot of the coffin, and my heart pounded as I pulled out a flashlight from my backpack and shone it towards the foot of the coffin. I saw the pale face of a man. "Ah!" On a moonless night, in a desolate cemetery besieged by zombies, a woman let out a piercing scream from a coffin because she discovered a man's face inside. "Can you stop screaming? Are you afraid the zombies aren't enough?" "Are you a human or a ghost?" "Neither really matters, but that's not important. Are you dying or not? If not, I'll save you." I shone the light on the man's face again, suspecting that he might be crazy, and observed his face carefully. He seemed somewhat handsome, but that wasn't the point. "Of course, I'm not dying! How are you going to save me? There are zombies above us, and there's almost no oxygen here." "You know there's almost no oxygen, yet you keep talking? And who said we're going up?" The man withdrew, and I noticed a large hole in the side panel of the coffin, from which his face had emerged. Although he retracted his face, he soon extended both hands, a sight more terrifying than any horror movie I had seen. The panel was removed, and fresh air flooded into the coffin. I then saw that there was a large space behind the panel, like a secret passage. The man stepped back, making room for me to climb out. "Still pondering? What are you waiting for?" he impatiently asked. "Oh," I replied, too preoccupied to understand his mood, and hurriedly crawled inside. After crawling for about ten meters, the man suddenly jumped down. I stretched out my legs and followed him, landing safely on a flat surface. It was a larger space, more like a three-room stone house, with all the amenities one could ask for. "Did you dig a basement? Are you a p*****t?" I suddenly remembered the news about a p*****t who dug a basement to imprison teenage girls. "Are you afraid of perverts? Then you might as well crawl back and see if the zombies will be friendlier." I suddenly realized that he still hadn't directly answered my question. A shiver ran down my spine. "So, are you a human or a ghost?" He sat down on the sofa, answering me wearily. "You might not believe it, but I'm a vampire.

Betrayed by such a despicable lie, I couldn't help but feel angry, questioning whether it was he or I who was foolish. "Could you at least put some effort into lying when deceiving people? It's the apocalypse, man. Are you here to joke around?" I demanded, my frustration boiling over.

"You know it's the apocalypse, with zombies everywhere. What else is there not to believe? You believe in zombies but not vampires? You're discriminating!" Despite his pale appearance, the man remained steadfast in his argument, even though he was seated, he seemed to hold the moral high ground.

"Well, can you prove it to me?" I knew my request was unreasonable, but if I was supposed to believe that I encountered a vampire during a zombie outbreak, I needed some convincing evidence.

"Whatever, nerve-wracking. Believe it or not." He dismissed me, reclining on the sofa with closed eyes. After narrowly escaping death, my mood lightened considerably, and I suddenly felt hungry. I retrieved the half-eaten compressed biscuit from my backpack, taking a bite while surveying the stone room.

"Hey, do you want some compressed biscuit?" Despite my many questions about him, he had still saved me, and he looked like he hadn't eaten in ages. I felt compelled to share my food with him.

"Have you ever seen a vampire eating compressed biscuit?" He kept his eyes closed, refusing to look at me. Not wanting any, huh? Suit yourself. I wandered over to a stone wall, adorned with many old photographs. From the late Qing dynasty to the Republic of China to the People's Republic of China, I saw the same face in every photo. The man who was currently resting.

Suddenly, the biscuit in my hand lost its appeal, and I struggled to swallow the dry crumbs. Slowly turning my head to look at him, I couldn't help but wonder, was he really a vampire?

"Did you Photoshop these photos?" I asked, my voice trembling slightly.

"Do I look like I have nothing better to do than Photoshop these? What, scared?" He opened his eyes, teasingly.

Scared? Of course, I was scared. From being potential prey for zombies to being potential prey for vampires. "Are you, are you really a vampire?" I involuntarily took a few steps back as I spoke.

"Fine, come here, and I'll prove it to you." He beckoned with a wave of his hand.

"N-no, it's okay. I just remembered I have something to do. I won't bother you anymore. I'll leave now." I retreated to the hole I had jumped down from, attempting to climb back up, although I hadn't thought about what I would do once I reached the top. But damn, I couldn't jump back up!

"Alright, no need to waste your energy. I won't bite you or drink your blood. Just stay put. I'll dry up soon. When the zombies above disperse, you can leave." The man remained motionless, making no attempt to stop me. I awkwardly stood at the edge of the hole, the atmosphere becoming tense, like a standoff between hunter and prey.

"Um, thank you for saving me. I haven't asked for your name yet."

"Jin Yueming."

"I'm Wang Xiaou."

There was a long silence, and in my curiosity, I couldn't help but break it. "Jin, why did you save me?"

"Out of convenience."

"Then why didn't you bite me?"

"Picky eater." His response caught me off guard. I had expected some profound explanation, not picky eater.

He successfully killed the conversation, and I didn't feel like talking anymore. Instead, I sat down and observed him. It was only then that I noticed he was quite handsome. If not for his skin growing paler and his veins protruding, he might have been even more attractive. Wait, was he... drying up?

"Jin, are you okay?" Jin Yueming ignored me, seemingly lifeless. Carefully approaching, I poked him with the flashlight, but there was no response. I even contemplated slapping him hard across the face, but I refrained, gazing at his handsome face. Did a vampire drying up mean death?

I noticed a beautiful dagger on the coffee table, and inexplicably, I picked it up. Should I give him some blood?