For three months Mike had managed to survive from the virus, and yet here he was, certain that his death would come sooner than later. As Mike sat there, in a room right above a horde of zombies so large he was impressed, he closed his eyes and reminisced.
The virus had spread quickly, helped by its many points of origin. Mike still did not know who or what orchestrated the outbreak. One day, stars fell from the skies and impacted the ground, leaving no trace. The next day, people started turning into zombies. The time between the first symptoms and total loss of control could be from a few hours to a dozen. Lasting longer was a curse.
The first day, the news reported that around half the population had either totally lost control or was showing symptoms. The second day, there was no more news.
Opening his eyes, Mike looked at his battered body. "I need to get out of here," he said. His voice was raspy, and his throat was parched.
Mike was in a room right above a horde of zombies. As he looked through one of the glass tiles inlaid in the floor, he knew there was no real way out. His only options now were to stay in this room, or sneak up higher in the building. If he sneaked upstairs, he risked making noise. If he stayed in the room, a zombie would eventually find him.
Sitting there, Mike felt an overwhelming sense of hopelessness. He couldn't give up, though. He made it too far for that.
Mike used a table nearby to right myself, then took a hesitant step towards the stairwell. He was going to make it through this. He was going to survive.
As Mike took one step after the other, the zombies started quietening down. Noticing the lack of sound, Mike found another glass tile to peek through. It seemed like the zombies were organizing a ritual. He knew that that could happen, but had never seen it before. It was never a good sign. From what others had told him, only hordes controlled by evolved zombies could create a ritual. And as he saw the horde below close their eyes and bow their heads together, Mike's heart sank deeper than he expected possible.
Mike made a run for the stairwell, but as he was about to reach the door, lightning struck through the ceiling. He did not have the time to curse his predicament as he lost consciousness.
***
When Mike woke up again, he was still alive, which was something to be grateful for. Even if his body wasn't completely healed yet, his mind was. His muscles were stiff, but nothing felt broken anymore. Mike opened his eyes and found himself in a pristine-looking medical room, something he thought no longer existed. The walls were white, the bedsheets were clean and the air smelled good.
It took him a few seconds to realize where he was. "Holy shit!" Mike exclaimed as he came to the conclusion that he returned to the past.
Something moved in the corner of his vision. The nurse of the university, who Mike knew to be called Marie, walked through the door.
"Oh my," she said when she noticed how well Mike was doing. "You're looking better." She wore her usual light blue uniform with short sleeves and a skirt, while carrying a tray filled with various bottles.
Mike pushed himself up from the comfortable pillow. "What happened?" he asked.
"You blacked out during your sports class." Marie smiled gently. "So we took you here to rest for a bit. You should be fine."
Mike frowned, as he had never blacked out like this in the past. Maybe this was a result of coming back to the past.
"Everything alright?" Marie questioned as she saw Mike frown deeply.
"Yeah... I think so."
Marie sat on the edge of Mike's bed and put down her tray. Then she leaned closer, placing her hand onto his forehead. After a few seconds, she pulled it away. "Your temperature is normal," she reported, relieved. "So I think you can leave now. The bell is going to ring any minute."
Mike nodded. He got up from the bed slowly and felt a slight dizziness overcome him for a moment. As soon as he stood up straight, he felt much better. "Thank you, Marie," he said politely, then left the medical room, not forgetting to grab his bag. He passed by a few students and looked around curiously. Mike kept walking until he found the front entrance of the university, at which point the bell rang. Students were already rushing out of school grounds in droves, eager to go home. That's what a Friday does to you, Mike thought.
Mike took one last look at the school before turning into the street. He still remembered most things about his school life, it hadn't actually been that long. There was no point in going back there now.
He walked along the road, enjoying how nice everything seemed after running from zombies for months. Once he reached the town center, he turned towards an area he knew well. There was a park close by that he spent a lot of time in. For how nice the area was, there were very few people around.
Mike entered the park through a small path leading directly behind a tall hedge and immediately found himself alone again. Mike sat on a bench and rested for a minute, in body and mind.
He closed his eyes and tried to sense the aether around himself. This was a trick he learned around a month and half through the apocalypse. Aether was a metaphysical substance that could be used to become stronger and grants immunity to the virus. It was theorized to have many other uses, but the refugee camp he spent two months with did not have any researchers. It was information they had recieved from another camp.
Mike smiled when he realised he could feel aether better than before his travel back in time. "That's odd," he said out loud as he concentrated on moving the aether towards his body. The feeling came quickly. "Oh, yeah," Mike added as his body began filling up with aether.
This was completely impossible before. Mike could sense the aether, but he could not manipulate it, no matter how much he tried. For most at the camp, it was the same thing.
"Now this is more like it," Mike said happily as he focused on pulling aether into his legs and arms. After a while, the aether started flowing faster through him, making his entire body feel lighter. His muscles became sturdier and more resilient. It was not by a lot, but doing this daily would make all the difference going into the apocalypse for a second time.
A week was a lot of time to prepare. Especially considering that last time Mike survived mostly due to sheer luck. There was only so much that could be done without resources though, so he would need to formulate a plan.
Mike sat there for over an hour until he finally decided to go home. He grabbed his bag from under the bench and stood up. With one last glance towards the park, he affirmed his determination.
***
It took about twenty minutes walking through the city streets to reach the apartment complex where Mike lived. He walked along the sidewalks carefully, keeping alert even though he knew he was safe. As soon as Mike reached his doorstep, he let himself inside and shut it tight behind him.
He set down his things onto a small table, then collapsed on his bed. A good night of sleep would do him good.
Mike laid on his bed fully clothed, with just his shoes off, ready to get some rest after a long day. While his body rested in his bedroom, his mind stayed awake, thinking about what tomorrow might bring. He closed his eyes, and slowly drifted off. A tear rolled down his cheek from the relief of being completely safe for a while.
