《Apocalypse Hero: Rise from the Ruins【English】》


 The Eve of the End

    "Just hold on a little longer. Only ten minutes until five o¡¯clock."


    Adrian Vale leaned back in his office chair, rubbing his temples as he stared at the endless lines of code on his monitor. He was just another programmer at a mid-tier tech company, drowning in bug fixes, endless updates, and client demands. His life was dull but predictable¡ªa routine he had long since accepted.


    The office smelled of stale coffee and printer ink. The rhythmic tapping of keyboards filled the air, interrupted only by the occasional sigh of frustration from overworked employees. It was just another normal day.


    ¡°Hey, Adrian, wanna grab a drink tonight?¡± Logan Reed, his coworker and one of his only real friends, leaned over the divider. A former soldier turned IT specialist, Logan was always trying to pull Adrian into some social event.


    ¡°Can¡¯t. I¡¯ve got a deadline tomorrow,¡± Adrian replied with a tired smile.


    Logan shook his head. ¡°Man, one of these days, work is gonna be the death of you.¡±The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Adrian chuckled but didn¡¯t argue. He liked stability. It wasn¡¯t exciting, but it was safe. What he didn¡¯t know was that safety was about to be torn away from him in just a few hours.


    ---


    4:50 PM. The usual office chatter was interrupted by a sudden news alert on the TV.


    "Breaking news: Reports are coming in from multiple cities worldwide of an unidentified viral outbreak. Infected individuals display extreme aggression and¡ª"


    The screen cut to a live feed outside a hospital. A visibly shaken reporter stood in front of a chaotic scene¡ªdoctors in hazmat suits restraining a man convulsing violently on a stretcher. In the background, shadows moved erratically, and distant screams echoed through the air.


    The office filled with murmurs.


    ¡°Another virus? Great, just what we need.¡±


    ¡°The media loves exaggerating these things. Remember last year? Same panic, just another flu.¡±


    Adrian frowned, his eyes locked onto the screen. Something felt¡­ off. The way those infected moved¡ªit wasn¡¯t normal. Their stiff, jerky motions, the vacant yet predatory look in their eyes¡­ No, this wasn¡¯t a flu.


    5:00 PM. The moment work ended, the city-wide emergency alarms blared.


    "Attention! All citizens are advised to return home immediately. Emergency lockdown procedures will begin shortly. Remain calm and await further instructions."


    Adrian¡¯s chest tightened. He turned toward the window and froze. The streets below were in chaos¡ªsirens wailed, people ran frantically, plumes of smoke rose in the distance.


    A heavy sense of unease settled over him.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t right,¡± Logan muttered beside him, his military instincts kicking in.


    Adrian¡¯s palms felt clammy. Deep down, he knew¡ªthe world as he knew it was about to change forever.

 The Eve of the End

    "Just hold on a little longer. Only ten minutes until five o¡¯clock."


    Adrian Vale leaned back in his office chair, rubbing his temples as he stared at the endless lines of code on his monitor. He was just another programmer at a mid-tier tech company, drowning in bug fixes, endless updates, and client demands. His life was dull but predictable¡ªa routine he had long since accepted.


    The office smelled of stale coffee and printer ink. The rhythmic tapping of keyboards filled the air, interrupted only by the occasional sigh of frustration from overworked employees. It was just another normal day.


    ¡°Hey, Adrian, wanna grab a drink tonight?¡± Logan Reed, his coworker and one of his only real friends, leaned over the divider. A former soldier turned IT specialist, Logan was always trying to pull Adrian into some social event.


    ¡°Can¡¯t. I¡¯ve got a deadline tomorrow,¡± Adrian replied with a tired smile.


    Logan shook his head. ¡°Man, one of these days, work is gonna be the death of you.¡±Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    Adrian chuckled but didn¡¯t argue. He liked stability. It wasn¡¯t exciting, but it was safe. What he didn¡¯t know was that safety was about to be torn away from him in just a few hours.


    ---


    4:50 PM. The usual office chatter was interrupted by a sudden news alert on the TV.


    "Breaking news: Reports are coming in from multiple cities worldwide of an unidentified viral outbreak. Infected individuals display extreme aggression and¡ª"


    The screen cut to a live feed outside a hospital. A visibly shaken reporter stood in front of a chaotic scene¡ªdoctors in hazmat suits restraining a man convulsing violently on a stretcher. In the background, shadows moved erratically, and distant screams echoed through the air.


    The office filled with murmurs.


    ¡°Another virus? Great, just what we need.¡±


    ¡°The media loves exaggerating these things. Remember last year? Same panic, just another flu.¡±


    Adrian frowned, his eyes locked onto the screen. Something felt¡­ off. The way those infected moved¡ªit wasn¡¯t normal. Their stiff, jerky motions, the vacant yet predatory look in their eyes¡­ No, this wasn¡¯t a flu.


    5:00 PM. The moment work ended, the city-wide emergency alarms blared.


    "Attention! All citizens are advised to return home immediately. Emergency lockdown procedures will begin shortly. Remain calm and await further instructions."


    Adrian¡¯s chest tightened. He turned toward the window and froze. The streets below were in chaos¡ªsirens wailed, people ran frantically, plumes of smoke rose in the distance.


    A heavy sense of unease settled over him.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t right,¡± Logan muttered beside him, his military instincts kicking in.


    Adrian¡¯s palms felt clammy. Deep down, he knew¡ªthe world as he knew it was about to change forever.

 The First Night

    The emergency alarm still echoed in Adrian¡¯s ears as he grabbed his jacket and rushed toward the elevator. But when the doors opened, he was met with a chaotic scene¡ªhis coworkers pushing and shoving, all desperate to leave.


    ¡°Forget the elevator! Take the stairs!¡± Logan shouted, grabbing Adrian by the shoulder and pulling him away from the stampede.


    Together, they sprinted down the emergency stairwell. The once-ordinary office building now felt suffocating, the distant sounds of sirens and screaming growing louder with every step.


    By the time they reached the lobby, panic had fully taken hold. The security guards were nowhere in sight, and a crowd had gathered by the glass doors. Outside, the streets were gridlocked, with drivers abandoning their cars and running on foot.


    Adrian¡¯s heart pounded. ¡°Logan, we need to¡ª¡±


    A bloodcurdling scream cut through the noise.


    Near the entrance, a woman collapsed, convulsing violently. Her skin paled within seconds, veins darkening like black ink spreading beneath her flesh. A man knelt beside her, shaking her shoulders.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°Sarah? Hey, stay with me!¡±


    Then she stopped moving.


    For a brief moment, there was silence.


    And then she twitched.


    With unnatural speed, she lunged at the man, sinking her teeth into his shoulder. His screams were deafening as she tore into him.


    The office lobby erupted into pandemonium. People tripped over themselves to escape, pushing toward any exit they could find.


    Adrian¡¯s breath caught in his throat. This was really happening.


    Logan grabbed his arm. ¡°We have to move. Now.¡±


    Adrian snapped out of his shock and followed, dodging panicked coworkers as they rushed into the streets.


    Outside, the city was in full collapse. People ran in every direction, some already bloodied, others screaming for loved ones. The infected were spreading¡ªlunging at pedestrians, dragging them to the ground.


    Adrian¡¯s apartment was fifteen blocks away. On a normal day, it would take twenty minutes to walk. But with the chaos unfolding, walking wasn¡¯t an option.


    ¡°Where¡¯s your car?¡± Logan asked, scanning the street.


    ¡°In the underground lot. But if the roads are like this¡ª¡±


    ¡°Forget the car,¡± Logan said. ¡°We need a weapon.¡±


    Adrian swallowed hard. He had never even held a weapon before. But as he watched the infected hurl themselves at the living, gnashing their bloodied teeth¡ª


    He knew he wouldn¡¯t survive the night without one.

 First Kill

    Adrian¡¯s heart pounded wildly, fear seizing his mind as the bloodied, rabid infected charged straight at him.


    He never imagined he would be in a situation like this¡ªstaring death in the face.


    Logan reacted faster. He yanked Adrian aside and lunged forward, military knife in hand.


    The blade sliced through the air, stabbing deep into the infected¡¯s throat. But the creature didn¡¯t stop¡ªit let out a guttural snarl and lashed out, its clawed fingers raking across Logan¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Shit!¡± Logan staggered back, his jacket torn and blood seeping from the wound.


    Adrian¡¯s mind went blank, but instinct kicked in. He gritted his teeth, raised his crowbar, and swung it down as hard as he could.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    THUNK!


    The impact sent a sickening vibration up his arms, but the infected barely flinched. It swayed for a moment before turning its frenzied gaze toward Adrian.


    It locked onto him.


    His breathing turned ragged. His hands trembled against the crowbar. He had never fought before¡ªnever even been in a real fight. But there was no time to think. No time to hesitate.


    ¡°Hit the head! Hard!¡± Logan yelled.


    The infected lunged.


    Adrian swung with everything he had.


    CRACK!


    The crowbar struck the infected¡¯s temple with brutal force. The skull caved inward. The creature twitched violently, then collapsed to the ground, spasming before falling still.


    Silence.


    Adrian gasped for breath, staring down at his weapon, now slick with blood. His stomach churned, nausea clawing at him, but he swallowed it down.


    His hands still shook. The sound of the impact echoed in his head.


    He had killed it.


    Or¡­ had he killed a person?


    ¡°You okay?¡± Logan¡¯s voice was rough as he clapped Adrian¡¯s shoulder.


    Adrian stared at the lifeless corpse, his throat dry. ¡°¡­I¡¯m alive.¡±


    Logan winced, glancing at his wound. ¡°We need medical supplies. Fast. I don¡¯t know how this infection spreads.¡±


    Adrian took a deep breath, forcing himself to focus. The streets were still dangerous. They had to move.


    He met Logan¡¯s gaze, steadier this time. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    This was Adrian¡¯s first kill. The first step in his transformation.


    But he had no idea how much darker things were about to get.