BACK FROM THE DEAD: MY APOCALYPSE LEVEL-UP SYSTEM

Chapter 6: The Steel Warehouse

The crimson light of the system screen burned into my eyes. My fingers dug hard into the wood of the floorboards. The numbers were spinning down fast. They glowed like coals in the dark cargo hold.

Twenty-four hours.

"LUS " I choked out. My chest was tightening until it hurt. "You gave me your word. You told me I had a month."

[THE TIMELINE HAS CHANGED, HOST EVA. THE SICKNESS IS ALREADY SPREADING THROUGH THE SUBWAY STATIONS AND AIRPORT TERMINALS. EVERYTHING FALLS APART IN TWENTY-FOUR HOURS. YOU HAVE TO CHANGE YOUR PLAN NOW.]

"Change my plan?" A wild breathless laugh escaped my lips. I pulled myself up against the cold metal wall of the truck. My legs were shaking so badly that my knees were knocked together. "I do not have a weapon. I do not have a wall to hide behind. I am sitting in a rented box in a dark alleyway!"

[THEN STOP HIDING, HOST EVA. EVERY SECOND YOU SPEND CRYING IN THIS TRUCK IS ANOTHER SECOND YOU GIVE TO THE DEAD.]

The red warning light blinked out, leaving me alone in the darkness as my heart slammed against my ribs like a trapped bird.

In my past life, this was the exact moment I would have broken down completely. I would have curled into a ball. Begged Marcus to tell me what to do. I would have trusted his face and sweet lies until the teeth were at my throat. I used to think his love was a shield.. It was just a trap to keep me weak.

Not this time.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead. I forced a breath into my lungs as I climbed into the driver's seat. My hands were trembling so much that the keys slipped from my fingers twice.. I finally jammed them into the ignition. The engine roared to life. It was a deep rumble that shook the steering wheel.

I needed a place. I needed a fortress.. I needed it right now.

I pulled out my phone. My thumb flew across the glass screen. I searched for industrial properties on the very edge of the city. They had to be away from the crowded apartments downtown.

My eyes locked onto an ad: “Storage Yard. Heavy steel building. Private fence. Move in tonight.”

It was out by the shipping docks. a quiet area of cracked concrete and rusted iron.

“Perfect.”

I slammed my foot down on the gas pedal. The heavy moving truck lurched forward, broke out of the alley and into the midnight traffic. The streets still looked completely normal. People were walking out of bars. They were holding hands laughing and calling cabs. They were completely blind to the countdown ticking inside my head.

A painful ache hit my chest. I watched a young man wrap his arms around a girl to keep her warm. I used to want that kind of protective love so badly.. Marcus had cured me of that foolish dream.

Thirty minutes later the bright city lights faded into a landscape of empty roads and quiet warehouses. I pulled the truck up to a heavy building made of thick steel panels. A high chain-link fence topped with barbed wire surrounded the whole lot.

An old pickup truck was idling near the gate. A man in a jacket stepped out. He was coughing heavily into a rag.

I opened my door. Jumped down to the pavement. I marched toward him. "Are you the landlord?"

"Yeah I'm Arthur " the man said. His voice was raspy and dry. He looked at me then at the massive rental truck. "You the one who called about paying cash tonight? It's midnight, lady. Most girls your age are at home in bed."

"I do not care what time it is, " I said. My voice dropped into a hard line. I reached into my jacket pocket. Pulled out a thick envelope packed with the money from my house and my car. "Ten thousand dollars. Cash. I want the keys. I want them right now."

Arthur’s eyes went completely wide when he saw the stack of bills. He swallowed hard. His rough attitude vanished in an instant. "Well uh you're in a hurry. The ad said I need six months upfront you know. I usually do paperwork."

"There is twenty thousand in here " I lied smoothly. I shoved the envelope right against his chest. "Take it or I drive away and find the next warehouse down the street. Do we have a deal or not?"

He snatched the envelope from my hand. He flipped it open to feel the bills with a greedy smile. "Yeah. Yeah we got a deal. Let's go inside and sign the papers."

"Forget the papers " I snapped. I grabbed his wrist before he could turn around. My grip was tight. It was fueled by the panic buzzing under my skin. "Give me the keys to the gate and the doors. Now."

"Hey lady, take it easy, " Arthur muttered as he flinched away from my eyes. He reached into his pocket. Pulled out a heavy metal ring with three thick keys. "The big one is for the padlock on the gates. The copper one opens the rolling door. It’s reinforced steel. Nothin' is getting through that."

I snatched the keys out of his hand. The cold metal bit into my palm. "Is there anyone on this property?"

"No, just me and I'm leaving, " Arthur said. He shook his head as he backed away toward his pickup truck. "The whole yard is yours. Have fun with whatever you're storing in."

"Get out of the city, Arthur, " I said as I looked at him one more time. "Do not stop for gas. Do not go back to the center. Just drive north. Keep driving."

He stared at me like I had lost my mind. "Right. Whatever you say, crazy lady."

He jumped into his truck, slammed the door and then sped away as his tires screeched against the gravel.

I did not waste another moment. I ran over to the iron gates. I unlocked the padlock then pushed the doors open, wide enough to drive the moving truck through. I drove into the dark courtyard. I parked in front of the massive steel rolling door, then I jumped out.

The copper key slid into the lock. With a grinding screech I hauled the heavy steel shutter upward. It rolled up into the ceiling. It revealed an empty space that smelled like old oil and dust. The concrete floor was thick and solid.

It was perfect. It was a tomb for anyone.. but for me, it was a shield against the world.

I walked into the center of the room, then closed my eyes.

"LUS " I called out in my mind. "Release the supplies."

[Understood Host Eva. Unloading Assets From Dimensional Storage.]

A sudden vibrant purple light exploded in the middle of the warehouse. The air hummed with absolute power as the light rippled across the concrete floor. In less than ten seconds the massive mountain of supplies I had gathered earlier materialized out of thin air.

The heavy fifty-gallon drums of fuel clanked softly as they settled against the ground. Row after row of bulk rice sacks, flour, sugar and crates of canned goods appeared in organized stacks. The medical boxes sat on top. They were untouched and perfectly safe.

I walked over to a stack of canned beef stew. I picked up a tin. It was still ice-cold from the warehouse refrigerator I had taken it from hours ago.

"Unbelievable, " I whispered. A warm feeling of relief washed over me. For the time in two lifetimes I felt like my life belonged to me. Nobody could steal this from me.

[THIS IS THE BEGINNING, HOST. YOU HAVE SECURED A SHELTER AND FOOD.. YOUR BODY IS STILL SOFT. HUMAN SKIN CANNOT STOP A BITE. IF A STRONGER MAN HOLDS YOU DOWN YOUR FOOD WILL BELONG TO HIM.]

The system’s cold words sent a chill down my spine. They reminded me of how Marcus used to overpower me during our arguments. He would trap me in his arms until I stopped fighting. "I know, " I said. I dropped the tin back onto the pile as a sudden anger flared in my chest. "I need weapons. LUS, how system points do I have right now?"

[CURRENT BALANCE: 100 SYSTEM POINTS. WOULD YOU LIKE TO OPEN THE SYSTEM SHOP?]

"Yes. Show me what I can buy."

A new blue screen appeared in front of my face. It was a clean list of items with numbers next to them.

Basic Combat Knife: 10 Points

Reinforced Steel Crowbar: 15 Points

Low-Tier Body Armor (Kevlar): 50 Points

System Attribute Point: 50 Points

My eyes scanned the list. Guns were not on the list. That meant I had to rely on my hands and cold steel for now.

"LUS buy the Combat Knife, the Crowbar and two Attribute Points " I commanded.

[PURCHASES CONFIRMED. 100 SYSTEM POINTS DEDUCTED. CURRENT BALANCE: 0.]

Two heavy thuds echoed on the floor in front of me. A long bad combat knife with a blade and a rubber grip was resting on a crate next to a heavy steel crowbar.

At that moment a strange burning heat exploded deep inside my chest. It felt like liquid gold flowing through my veins rushing down into my arms and legs. My muscles got tight, my vision became super sharp in the warehouse and the heavy tiredness in my bones completely vanished.

[ATTRIBUTE POINTS APPLIED TO STRENGTH AND AGILITY. YOUR PHYSICAL LIMITS HAVE EXCEEDED THE HUMAN STANDARD BY TWENTY PERCENT. YOU ARE STRONGER AND FASTER NOW.]

I picked up the steel crowbar. Before, lifting this tool would have strained my wrist. Now it felt as light as a stick. I swung it through the air, the metal cutting through the darkness with a sound.

"Good " I muttered, a smile touching my lips as I thought about my ex-boyfriend. "Now let Marcus try to lay a hand on me. Let him try to push me around."

I spent six hours working like crazy. Using my strength I hauled heavy iron beams that had been left in the corner of the warehouse and wedged them tightly against the main steel door barricading it from the inside. Anyone trying to break in would need tools to breach the steel now.

I set up a living area in the corner, throwing down some blankets near my food supplies. I kept the combat knife strapped to my belt and the steel crowbar next to me.

The hours passed into the morning. I sat on a crate checking my phone for any news updates. The internet was still quiet. There were strange rumors popping up on local forums. “Subway lines delayed in Queens due to emergencies. Police activity is increasing near JFK airport. Avoid the hospitals.”

"They're hiding it " I whispered, watching a video of a man biting a paramedic before the clip was suddenly deleted. "They're trying to keep everyone calm while the ship sinks. They are going to let everyone die."

[The Breakdown Of Communication Is The First Stage Of Total Collapse Host Eva. The Countdown Is Reaching Its Phase. Do You Feel Any Regret For Leaving Your Loved Ones Behind ?]

I thought of Marcus's face. I remembered how he used to look at me, his eyes full of warmth making me promise I would never leave his side. I had loved him so much it hurt and he had used that love to destroy me.

"Regret?" I let out a laugh, my voice echoing in the empty space. "No. I hope he tries to protect Cindy the same way he protected me. I hope they are together when the teeth find them."

I stood up walking toward the windows to look out at the horizon. The sky was turning a sickly gray as the sun began to rise over the city. The distant skyline of Manhattan looked beautiful, cold and completely doomed. Millions of people were waking up now getting ready for work pouring coffee completely unaware that this was the last normal morning they would ever see.

I looked down at my phone screen. The digital clock read: 06:00 AM.

Sixteen hours left.. So I thought.

"I'm ready " I said to the room, my grip tightening around the handle of my knife. "Let them come."

Suddenly the quiet morning air was shattered.

It didn't start with a scream. It started with a sound that vibrated through the concrete floor beneath my boots, a heavy shaking that made my teeth rattle.

A loud blaring siren began to wail from the direction of the city center. It was the air-raid sirens, the ones only used for national emergencies. One by one more sirens joined in from neighborhoods, their high-pitched screeching screams echoing off the steel walls of my warehouse filling the air with a terrifying rhythmic roar.

My phone violently vibrated in my hand, then the screen turned completely black replaced by a flashing red box.

EMERGENCY BROADCAST SYSTEM. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. AN IMMEDIATE QUARANTINE HAS BEEN DECLARED FOR THE TRI-STATE AREA. REMAIN, INSIDE YOUR HOMES. DO NOT APPROACH ANY INDIVIDUALS EXHIBITING BEHAVIOR.

The text cut off as the phone signal completely died.

In the distance past the chain-link fence of my yard, the faint horrific sound of hundreds of car horns slamming together echoed through the morning air followed by a sound I knew all too well from my past life.

The long, desperate, terrified screaming of a city being eaten alive.

The outbreak hadn't given me twenty-four hours. It is happening now.