The Walking Dead had been my favorite show for years, and the latest episode made me want to throw the remote across the room. Another group argument. Another terrible decision. Another death that never had to happen. I switched off the TV and went to bed thinking what I always thought after an episode like that: I could do better.
That was the last thought I ever had in my old life. I died in my sleep.
When I opened my eyes, I was sitting in a white room on top of a cloud. Across from me, an old man was sipping tea, taking his time about it.
"Hello, Jake," he said. "I'm God. I've taken an interest in you."
He told me he had watched me grumble at that screen for years, and that he agreed with me: the show could have been better. Then he made me an offer. I could be reborn into the world of The Walking Dead, with three wishes, and a chance to do it right.
I said yes before he finished the sentence.
For my first wish, I asked for the super soldier serum from Marvel. I wanted the strength and agility of my favorite hero, something that would keep me alive when the world ended. God nodded, and I felt something shift inside me, like a door unlocking.
For my second wish, I asked for a thousand times more experience in anything I did. Knowledge and skill were what kept people alive out there, and I wanted a head start on both. He granted that too.
For my third wish, I asked for a system that would show my status and abilities, so I could track my progress and know my strengths and weaknesses. God smiled and a glowing interface appeared in front of my eyes, filled with stats and menus. "There are a few extra gifts in there," he said. "You'll have to explore to find them."
He wasn't finished. He also gave me a special currency called Zombie Coins, or Z coins. Every zombie killed by me or by anyone in my group would drop one, and about one in ten would drop a ration too. The coins could be spent in a store he had built just for me, stocked with everything I needed to survive, though the best items cost far more than anyone could earn by being careless.
Then the cloud dissolved, and the white room went with it.