Survival Instincts: by Nick Venom (korean ebook reader TXT) 📕

Episode One "Prologue"

 Eight years ago, the world broke apart. Zombies rose from the ground and invaded humanity, purging almost every human in existence from the Earth. My family was able to survive the first wave of zombies, but the second wave devastated us. The zombies tore through the remaining humans, dwindling the population even lower. We were lucky enough to escape the house we stayed at, but the zombies continued to chase after us. They pushed us away until our stamina was drained, leaving us with few choices. My parents decided to allow me to live by throwing me forward while remaining behind. They forced me to run as far away as I can from them while they led the zombies away. Tears ran down my cheek as I fled away from them. The tears blinded me as I ran away from the sounds of growling and moaning before running into a soft cushion. I wiped my tears from my eyes and looked up. A man wearing camouflage gear, wielding an assault rifle, looked down at me. “Are you okay?” he asked. I shook my head before turning around and pointing towards my parents.  

“Help them,” I muttered. The man nodded and motioned for two men to go towards my parents. The man then led me away from the scene and towards a military base. He never mentioned my parents after that, leading to many questions about them. Eventually, he told me that my parents were killed shortly after I ran and weren’t able to be saved by any medicine. They left nothing behind, only their rotting bodies and empty minds. The man, whom I never learned his name, passed away the next day during another scavenger mission. Fortunately, the people of the base were kind enough to take me in and raise me. I then learned the basics of a normal life as well as undergoing military training to form me as a soldier with the ability to fight against the zombies. My new life began shortly as a private in the army.

 

TBC…

 

Episode Two "Only Friend"

Eight years have passed since my parent’s death. Since then, I’ve been living in the fort along with the other families and orphans. These eight years have sparked many fights between bullies and myself, but one person has always stood in front of me, protecting me. His name is Garfield Alvarez and he is the only friend that I’ve made. Garfield is a strange person due to his behavior. He was extremely nice to me---mean to others---but, somehow, he’s also the harshest person I’ve met. He’s strict on my training, but nice to me once training’s over. He acts like an older brother, a relationship that I’ve never had before. 

Garfield was tight-lipped about anything concerning his past. The scars on his back were a tale that has never been told. Instead, Garfield acts as if they never existed and ignored any questions about it. He could’ve been abused at a young age, which makes sense why he doesn’t talk about his life before arriving at the fort---parentless and near-naked. The only things that he has told me about have been the good events in his life. Good memories were the only tales that he’s told.

The government of the fort, being high-rank military officers, forced every individual over eighteen into training. This forced any normal citizen to grow stronger, to the point that a zombie couldn’t defeat them during a one on one. This strong army allowed the high-rank officers to devise plans to expand the fort, including a new plan that will gather most of the fort’s force and converge on a nearby town for supplies and land. Three squads have been given the green light to invade the town on a “reclaiming” mission. As a private, I was sent along under one of the teams known as the Warriors with Garfield. I’m fortunate that my best friend and protector is in the same squad as myself. The plan is set to be in motion soon. 

 

TBC…

Episode Three "The Warriors"

The day arrived when a captain of the base informed me that the team I was joining, which would be the Warriors, will be leaving and executing a plan they nicknamed Iron Hold. 

Iron Hold needed the efforts of three teams to execute, pushing the Warriors, Silver Dagger, and Red Scorpion to the nearby town of Stalinhold. Captain Grant who oversaw five squads, one of which was the Warriors, briefed everybody on the plan. Project Iron Hold’s objective was to secure the nearby town and plunder it. Once all supplies were transferred to the Headquarters, all three teams would begin to barricade the town to use as an outpost of sorts. 

Once the briefing ended, the Warriors met each other and introduced one another. “I’m the leader of the Warriors, Holly Luna.” A woman said, starting the introductions. She had blonde hair with pale skin and sharp features. She wore a tattered tee-shirt and ripped jeans with black sneakers. She then motioned to the man who stood next to her. “This is Charlie Lee,” The man had purple hair that stood out, unlike his face and attitude. He was a timid man. He wore the average military outfit of green camouflage clothing. “That…” She said, motioning to the woman to my left. “... is Christine Mccormick.” The woman on my left looked to be ten years older than me with aging features like scattered wrinkles and fading, almost graying, hair. She wore the same outfit as Charlie. 

“The other members are Frances Salinas, Melanie and Will Cruz, Amie Nelson, Garfield Alvarez, and Lindsay Harper.” She said, motioning to everybody else in the squad. Frances looked younger than me with dark brown hair and sharper features. Amie had light brown hair and looked around the same age as Frances with a very timid atmosphere surrounding her. Melaine and Will, who are twins, had black hair and puffier features that restricted their movements. Everybody except for Holly wore the green camouflage outfit. 

We were employed with horses to travel to the south side of the town. While preparing the squad to move on horseback, we received envious glares from the Silver Daggers. The same envy-filled glares were directed towards the Red Scorpions who were permitted to travel with a convoy of humvees to the northside. Silver Daggers couldn’t do anything as they didn’t hold much experience with the outside. They were forced to travel on foot to the westside. The Warriors and Red Scorpions held more experience than Silver Daggers, allowing them a different type of transportation than walking. 

Once we rode out to the south side of the town, we were filled with the sight of the undead making their rounds through the town, tearing it apart. The sight scared me as it was my first encounter with the undead, the same beings that tore my family away from me. The same beings that I’ve held anger towards. They will all die… 

TBC…

Episode Four "Phase One"

The Warriors group split into their separate groups once we made contact with the town. Garfield and I were positioned in the first squad along with Second Private Lee and Private Parker. The four of us were in charge of evicting the undead residents from their childhood homes. Meanwhile, the second squad was tasked with barricading and securing their part of the large-sized town. The second squad leader was the highest-ranking officer in our group---Specialist Luna---and was the leader of the entire group. 

The Red Scorpion group were gunning down the undead citizens on the heavily populated Northside while the Silver Daggers did the same to the Eastside. 

“As exterminators of our friendly undead brethren, we ask everybody to leave their building and kill themselves.” I joked out loud. My attempt at a joke got small chuckles but very little ones. The joke, however, wasn’t joyous to squad one’s leader---Garfield. He instructed us to be thorough with our building cleansings. Unlike my comrades, I wasn’t surprised by his cold attitude---directed at the others and not myself. Even with his attitude, the cleansings went through effortlessly, burning every tenet with relative ease. 

The second squad radioed in their efforts. They were nearing completion. The Southside was close to being sectioned off and ready for retaking. Fortunately, we were able to radio in our efforts. The less-dense Southside wasn’t as cramped as the Northside, allowing us to run through the entire side with less resistance. 

Garfield radioed in our completion and to begin phase two of the plan. The second squad agreed---as well as the Red Scorpions and Silver Daggers---and it was soon finalized. Phase two was set in motion.

 

TBC…

Episode Five "Phase Two & Three"

Phase two began quickly. Group two’s job was to secure our part of the town. Fortunately, we were given the easiest mission, unlike the other teams that received the