The first thing Adrian Black knew was pain.
A searing headache split his skull as consciousness returned. His mouth tasted like copper and dust, his limbs heavy as lead. The surface beneath him was hard and cold - a hospital gurney, he realized as his vision cleared.
*"What...?"*
The ceiling tiles were cracked and stained. Fluorescent lights flickered erratically. And the smell - god, the smell - like rancid meat left in the sun.
A wet groan came from his left.
Adrian turned his head slowly, every muscle protesting. What had once been a nurse in blue scrubs now shambled toward him, milky eyes unseeing yet somehow locked onto him, mouth working hungrily. One arm hung by strips of rotting flesh, fingers twitching.
» SYSTEM INITIALIZED.
» USER: ADRIAN BLACK.
» LOCATION: KING COUNTY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL.
» APOCALYPSE PROTOCOL ENGAGED.
» SURVIVAL PRIORITY: IMMEDIATE EVAC.
Golden text burned across his vision. Adrian blinked, but the words remained, floating at the edge of his sight like a persistent afterimage.
The Walker lunged.
Adrian's body moved before his mind could process. His fingers closed around a nearby IV stand just as the creature's teeth snapped inches from his face.
» COMBAT INITIATED.
» IMPROVISED WEAPON DETECTED.
» TRAINING MODULE ENGAGED.
White-hot fire lanced through his nerves as foreign knowledge flooded his muscles. His arms moved without conscious thought - thrusting upward, driving the sharp end of the stand through the Walker's eye socket with a wet crunch.
The creature collapsed.
Adrian staggered back, gasping. His hands shook violently as he stared at the corpse.
*"What the hell was that?"*
» SKILL ACQUIRED: IMPROVISED WEAPONS LVL 1.
» STAT INCREASE: STR 3.0 → 3.1.
A wave of nausea hit as his muscles cramped violently. He could feel them shifting beneath his skin, fibers tearing and reforming stronger. The pain made his vision swim.
» WARNING: CALORIC DEFICIT DETECTED.
» CONSUME 1200 CALORIES WITHIN 2 HOURS TO COMPLETE UPGRADE.
Adrian doubled over, vomiting bile onto the stained hospital floor. When he could breathe again, he wiped his mouth with a trembling hand.
The hallway outside echoed with shuffling footsteps and guttural moans.
*"Okay. Okay. Think."*
He forced himself upright, testing his new strength. The IV stand felt lighter in his grip. His movements were... sharper somehow.
Adrian exhaled sharply, his breath fogging in the cold hospital air as he glared at the flickering stat screen in his mind.
» CURRENT STATS:
STR: 3.1 | PER: 4 | END: 3 | INT: 7 | AGI: 3 | CHA: 2
A bitter laugh escaped him.
*"So I'm a scrawny nerd with trust issues. Fantastic."
The IV stand in his hand suddenly felt heavier. Strength barely above average, agility mediocre, and charisma so low it was practically a liability. At least his intelligence was high—not that it mattered much when the dead were clawing at the doors.
Another groan from the hallway. Closer this time.
Adrian tightened his grip on the IV stand. The System hummed in his mind, cold and impersonal.
*"Alright,"* he whispered. *"Let's see what this thing can do."*
Adrian stepped over the dead nurse and moved toward the door, his boots leaving smears of blood on the linoleum. The IV stand heavy at his side.
The hospital hallway stretched before him, flickering fluorescents casting jagged shadows. Somewhere deeper in the building, a scream echoed, then cut off abruptly. He didn't flinch.
The apocalypse wouldn't wait.
He adjusted his grip, pushed open the door, and stepped into the ruin of the world.