"Only you can make all this world seem right.... (The Platters, 1959),"
Yep, that's the song echoing in my head. Right now, my face is pointed toward the sky, my hands are flailing left and right, and my legs are all over the place. Why? Because I'm currently falling from the top floor of the hotel where I work, heading straight for the sidewalk. Strangely, it feels like it's happening in slow motion, even though I'm just waiting for my back to hit the pavement. Now, the question is: how did I end up falling? It's because two girls invited me to the roof and led me to the edge just to test if I was actually blind or not. Damn those two snakes.
They say that when you're on the brink of death, your whole life flashes before your eyes, right? In my case, I actually remembered two of my past lives. It awakened their abilities, but unfortunately, only as I'm about to leave this world—as in, croak. Cool, right? It also made me realize why I've always been obsessed with being a villain. Let's go back to the first story where it all began: a world called Earth, where I learned that song above and where a zombie virus was running wild.
***
Earth, 2021. Post-COVID-19. In a metropolitan city, inside a dilapidated, neglected apartment building, a man opened the door to his unit.
"I'm home," he said, even though he knew no one was there but himself.
He set down his bag and took off his jacket and shoes. The man walked further inside, carrying his bag, and sat cross-legged in the middle of a living room completely devoid of furniture. He opened his bag and pulled out a laptop. He powered it up and checked his bank balance. Seeing no change, he grabbed his smartphone and sent a message, then stretched his body while keeping a close eye on the screen. Not long after, "Pling." A notification popped up on his phone. He opened it immediately:
"Transfer complete to the account of Cain Johnson. The job is finished. Thank you."
Cain refreshed his laptop, and the balance had updated. He smiled and closed the lid. "Blugh," he flopped onto the floor and spread his arms, a wide grin plastered on his face.
"Now I have enough. I can live a quiet life, buy that ranch I've been eyeing on the edge of town at twenty years old, and never have to be a hitman again," he thought to himself.
Cain closed his eyes, imagining a peaceful life on a ranch, alone with only his animals for company, smiling at the thought. "Knock... knock." A rap at the door made him bolt upright. He grabbed the pistol from the table and slowly approached the door, hiding the gun behind his back. He peeked through the peephole and quickly shoved the pistol into the back of his waistband.
He unlatched the chain and opened the door. Standing there was a beautiful girl, his neighbor, holding a Tupperware container of lasagna that smelled heavenly, like it had just come out of the oven.
"Evening, Cain. I brought some food; I happened to make a bit more than usual," the neighbor said, handing him the container.
"Wow, perfect timing. Thanks, Amanda," Cain replied, taking the box.
"Eat it while it's hot. I'll get going now. See you tomorrow, Cain," Amanda said.
"Alright. See you tomorrow, and thanks again," Cain replied.
Amanda turned and walked back toward her unit next door. Cain watched the sexy Amanda, who was in casual clothes and looking a bit sweaty, from behind.
"Well... it wouldn't be so bad to have someone like her for company at the ranch," Cain murmured to himself.
He brought the box inside and set it on the table. He walked to the window and pulled back the curtains, noticing it was a full moon. Cain returned to his seat and opened the container. The lasagna in front of him was still bubbling and looked delicious.
"Time to eat. This is a real blessing," Cain thought as he picked up a fork.
He started eating the meal his neighbor gave him. Afterward, he lay down right under the table.
"Ah, that was great. I have to pay Amanda back for her kindness. Maybe tomorrow I'll buy her something, maybe even ask her out for coffee," he told himself.
"Kyaaa... help... please, no!"
Suddenly, a loud commotion broke out in front of the building, followed by screams from outside. Police sirens blared loudly, sounding like they were circling the city center. Cain stood up immediately and looked out the window.
"What's going on? Why is it so loud?" he wondered.
Cain went back to the table and grabbed the TV remote, but all the streaming services and local channels were dark. Since he was full, tired, and in a good mood, Cain didn't let it bother him. He lay back down and closed his eyes to sleep. But before he could drift off, "blam... blam... blam... blam," someone pounded on his door violently, like the police trying to bust a criminal.
His instincts kicked in instantly, and he was wide awake. He grabbed the pistol from the table and crept toward the door. When he peeked through the hole, he jumped back, his face turning pale.
"W... what? N... no way."
Cain looked again and saw several horrific zombies outside, slamming against his door as if they were trying to tear it down. Cain spun around and ran. He snatched his backpack and his sniper case, opened the window, and stepped out onto the balcony. His eyes went wide as he saw flashes of lightning filling the night sky across the city. He looked down and saw swarms of zombies wandering the streets, chasing people who were screaming for help. He saw groups of them huddled together, devouring the humans they had caught.
"How did this happen... everything was fine this afternoon... oh no... Amanda," Cain said.
He turned to look at Amanda's balcony next to his. With a swift movement, he ran and jumped over. He peeked through a gap in the curtains and his eyes bulged. Amanda's door had been smashed in; she was lying on the floor with several zombies digging into her stomach, eating her insides. Cain's heart sank, but he couldn't do anything. It was too late to save her.
Cain threw on his backpack and slung the sniper case over his shoulder. He looked down one more time.
"No way I'm jumping down. Fine, I'll go that way," Cain said.
He leaped to the balcony beyond Amanda's, then to the next, until he reached the very end of the row. He climbed up to the roof using the gutters and the side of the wall. Once he reached the top, he saw more lightning strikes setting streets and buildings on fire, making the city look bright. The air was thick with sirens, screams, and horrific roars in the distance.
Cain ran to the edge of the roof and jumped to the next house, praying he wouldn't fall. When he reached a larger building, he took the fire escape up to the roof. As soon as he got there, "graaaah," a zombie lunged at him. Cain blocked it with his arm by reflex—"dub"—and shot the zombie in the head with his other hand until it dropped.
"Ah," Cain saw that his jacket had been pierced and there was a bite mark on his arm. He dropped his bag and pulled out a towel.
"This is bad. I'm bitten. If this is like the movies, I'm going to turn. Let's hope real life is different," Cain said as he tied the towel tightly around his arm to keep the virus from spreading.
He ran toward the next building. When he reached the edge, he stood on the very corner of the roof and scanned the area. "Help... hey... help!" He looked down and saw a woman sticking her head out of a window on the floor right below his feet. She was beautiful, also in her twenties, with her black hair tied in a bun. Her face was smeared with blood and she looked completely panicked.
"I'm coming down. Can you open the window?" Cain asked.
"Yes, it's open. Hurry!" the woman replied.
Cain dropped down, caught the window frame, and pulled himself inside. He looked at the woman and realized she was wounded in the thigh—it looked like a bite. She was holding a sword even though she was wearing a brown blazer, and she was panting heavily. Cain looked around; the room was littered with zombie corpses. He saw the door to the office was smashed and destroyed. It looked like she had been holding out alone.
"Are you okay?" Cain asked, reaching out a hand as he knelt down.
"I'm fine... but I'm bitten. Am I going to turn into a zombie too?" she asked.
Feeling like they were in the same boat, and seeing she couldn't move, Cain sat down beside her. She looked at him, confused.
"Wait, why are you just sitting down?" she asked.
Cain didn't answer. He just showed her his arm and smiled. The woman was shocked, but then she smiled too.
"I guess we're in this together. My name is Rachel. And you?" she asked.
"Cain. Nice to meet you," he replied.
"If I turn into a zombie first, can you do me a favor and kill me?" Rachel asked.
"Okay. And do the same for me, alright? But let's hope real life isn't like the movies," Cain answered.
"Hehe... you're right. Thanks for staying with me," Rachel replied.
"Groaaaaah!"
Suddenly, a pack of zombies burst in, but they got stuck in the doorway because they were all trying to shove through at once. Cain stood up and helped Rachel to her feet.
"Can you do this?" Cain asked, drawing both of his pistols.
"Yeah," Rachel replied, having tied her leg with a strip of cloth from her skirt.