Apocalypse: Roach to Supreme Being

SKEDAN City, Streets…

BANG!

"Fuck…"

"That was my last shot,"

Jonathan Carter muttered stood atop his car, his face twisted with frustration. He scanned the chaotic streets, desperate to escape the monsters and reach headquarters.

But his luck had run dry—there were too many of them. Just moments ago, these creatures were normal people, now transformed into monsters by the Z-Virus.

"Dammit… this fucking Z-Virus turned people into monsters so fast," he cursed under his breath.

---------

Half an Hour Earlier…

"If the public finds out about the President's death, what then? Will they calmly elect a new one, or will they riot over the unknown cause of his death? "

Carter was lost in thought, his mind consumed by the President's death and the Z-Virus. With these thoughts swirling, he entered SKEDAN City, but his car slowed to a crawl due to heavy traffic.

Moving a bit further, he stopped completely—the roads were gridlocked, cars frozen in place.

"So much traffic!"

It felt strange to Carter ; SKEDAN's streets were rarely this congested. An uneasy feeling crept over him.

"Ahhh… fuck, this had to happen now, when the whole country's in danger," Carter growled, stepping out of his car, seething with anger and urgency.

"Hey… what's going on? Why's there so much traffic?" he asked a taxi driver nearby.

"Must be an accident up ahead," The Taxi driver replied, glancing back at Carter.

"When did it happen?" Carter pressed immediately.

"No idea, I just got here five minutes ago," The Taxi driver said, looking forward.

"Shit… I don't have time for this," Carter muttered, realizing the traffic could take hours to clear. He decided to head to headquarters on foot. But then, a piercing sound cut through the chaos.

"Ahhhhhhhhhaaa!"

A girl's scream rang out, sharp and desperate. Jonathan froze, fear flashing across his face. The scream carried the same raw agony he'd heard in Lex Winchester's glass room—the pained cry of a man, now echoed in this girl's voice.

"Fuck… fuck… no… no… it can't have spread to the public this fast… it's gotta be an accident," Carter told himself, trying to quell the dread trembling in his gut.

"Arhhhhhaaa… H-Help…"

"Graaaaaa…"

No matter how much Carter tried to deny it, the guttural growl sent a shiver through him, and he froze in place, paralyzed by fear.

"What's happening up there?"

A man shouted in a shocked voice, reacting to the girl's scream, and started moving forward. A few others followed, drawn by curiosity.

Carter knew the cause of the scream—the Z-Virus—but the ordinary people of SKEDAN City were clueless. Driven by confusion and curiosity, they pressed forward to investigate.

"Stop! Nobody moves forward! Everyone, get back to your vehicles, lock the doors fast!" Carter bellowed.

He couldn't bear to see another innocent life brutally transformed by the virus before his eyes.

"Hey, bastard! Who the hell are you to give us orders?" a young man snapped, glaring at Marcus with fiery anger.

"What the…" Carter hadn't expected this kind of backlash.

"Yeah, he's right!" another voice chimed in.

"You go sit in your car! I need to get to my girlfriend's place fast.....cough"

The crowd was already on edge from the traffic jam—some exhausted from work, heading home; others out for a late-night drive. The urgency in the air made them lash out at Carter, the very man trying to save their lives.

"Arhhhhaaa… n-nooo…"

This time, it was a man's voice,the crowd's attention snapped from Carter to the chaos ahead. Some people were sprinting toward them, others fleeing from the source of the scream.

"This… s-somebody call City Police! Psycho killers are slaughtering people!"

A man shouted, standing atop a car, his voice laced with panic as he stared at the scene. He saw brutal murders unfolding—two or three attackers tearing into a single man with savage ferocity. The sight left him stunned, frozen in horror.

" Kyaaaaaa!"

"Argghhhaaa…!"

"Run! Save yourselves!"

Screams erupted from ahead, growing louder. The crowd spiraled into panic, horrified by the gruesome sight and gripped by the fear that they could be next.

People fled backward in a frenzy, some stumbling and falling, only to be trampled by the stampeding mob. In the chaos of the gridlocked traffic, no one cared who was a brother, a son, a mother, a father—terror reigned supreme.

"Grrrrtaaaaa…"

A horde of virus-infected monsters pursued the crowd, their bodies drenched in blood, crimson staining their flesh.

"Are psycho killers chasing them?"

The young man who'd angrily confronted Marcus earlier asked, his voice trembling with fear.

"What… I can't do anything,"

Carter muttered, doubt gnawing at his confidence. The situation was slipping from his control with every passing second.

"Save yourselves!"

The man shouted from atop the car, his voice shaking as he stood frozen in place.

Hearing his terrified tone, some scrambled into their cars, locking the doors, while others backed away.

"C… call, I need to call for backup," said, pulling himself together. He knew he couldn't handle this alone—only the City Police could help now.

"Hey, give me your phone!" Carter demanded urgently from a man nearby.

"Why…"

BAM!

"I don't have time for your bullshit!"

Carter snapped, punching the man and snatching his phone.

"H-Hey, bastard!" the man roared, lunging at Carter in fury.

Carter dodged, grabbing the man's neck from behind."Don't fucking move, you piece of shit!" he growled, dialing the phone.

" TU TU TU TU… " The line was busy.

"Ughh… FUCK!"

For the first time in his life, Marcus felt utterly helpless. Lex's words echoed in his mind:

"YOU AND THE GOVERNMENT CAN'T STOP THIS VIRUS!"

"Kyaaaa… f-father…!"

"Noooo… my daughter…!"

"You bastard...Let her go .....argghhaaaa!"

"Grrrraaa… grrrrrrrraaa…"

"Noooo… Arggghhaaaa!"

The infected surged forward, attacking the crowd. The people were bewildered—What's happening? Why is this happening? How are the fallen rising to attack? Everyone was consumed by fear, desperately trying to save themselves.

The mob reached Carter, forcing him to climb higher onto the car to protect himself. Helplessness was written across his face. He could only watch as the crowd fled and the infected attacked relentlessly. There was nothing he could do now.

"P… please, someone save me… arghhh…!"

"Grraaaa…"

"Urgbbhhh…"

"L-Let me go… I can give you a million SOL, please… don't… arhhhhaaaaaaaa!"

Ordinary people were consumed with saving their own lives, oblivious to the infected's behavior. They thought these infected were psycho killers, taking twisted pleasure in brutally slaughtering the public.

"Has the path to hell been opened to wipe out the human race?""

Jonathan Carter, witnessing the heart-wrenching horror before his eyes, felt a chilling realization sink in. These mindless, human-like beasts could bring about the end of humanity.