Chapter 1

When the zombie apocalypse broke out, I was watching my former bullies turn on each other from the comfort of my cozy, climate-controlled underground bunker.

I felt a surge of satisfaction as I snapped a picture of myself enjoying a hot pot meal while my little dog happily munched on a juicy steak beside me.

"Want some?" I posted in our class SnapChat group, watching their reactions evolve from threats to desperate pleas. I only replied with one sentence:

"Dream on, idiots."

October 21, 2025. It was the third day of the zombie outbreak, and the fragile order at school had begun to crumble.

On the first day, the school had hurriedly summoned students to a designated "safe room," offering a brief respite from the chaos outside. They provided us with a week's worth of food.

But human nature is unpredictable. Many people, in their desperation to survive, began stealing food. As supplies dwindled and we lost contact with the outside world, fear took hold. What started as unity quickly devolved into the worst of human nature.

People began fighting over who ate how much. Today was no different.

"Let Aria go outside to get supplies. She's fearless, aren't you, Aria?" Vanessa's voice wasn't particularly loud, but in the eerily quiet room, it seemed to echo.

All eyes turned to me.

"Yeah, Aria's dad was a psychic or something. She's probably not scared of those things," someone chimed in.

"She's pretty big too. She could probably carry back a lot of stuff."

The voices grew louder. They stared at me, speaking casually, but their eyes were full of threat.

They seemed to have forgotten that I was just a girl.

Before I could react, someone pushed me towards the door, feigning encouragement: "You can do it!"

I looked at the horde of zombies outside, then back at the people inside. Their expressionless faces were more terrifying than the zombies.

They shoved me out the door. I tried to resist, but the commotion attracted nearby zombies. They lurched towards me as the people inside held the door shut.

I saw Vanessa's smug smile as she watched me. I turned and walked towards the zombies...