The Purple Wristband

Mariza's head pounded as she opened her bright green eyes. The concrete floor beneath her felt cold and rough. She pushed herself up, her purple hat slightly askew, and noticed something strange immediately.

"What the heck?" she whispered, staring down at her outfit. Instead of her usual clothes, she wore a sleek black jumpsuit with purple trim. Purple striped leggings peeked out from under it, and her familiar sneakers remained the same. But the most puzzling thing was the silver wristband wrapped around her left wrist, blinking with tiny red lights.

Her baseball bat lay beside her on the ground. She grabbed it and stood up, looking around the empty city street. Tall buildings stretched up on both sides, their windows dark and lifeless.

"Eliza?" she called out, remembering her friend was supposed to be here too. But only silence answered back.

A strange chill ran down her spine as she noticed something moving in the shadows between two buildings. Gray shapes shuffled slowly in the distance.

Mirror Images

Mariza gripped her baseball bat tighter as the gray shapes moved closer. She could see them clearly now—people with ashy skin, stumbling forward with jerky movements. One had red veins bulging from her left eye, while another dragged a twisted leg behind him.

"Zombies," she whispered, her heart pounding. "This has to be some kind of game."

She pressed herself against a brick wall and noticed something glowing on her wristband. Numbers appeared: HEALTH: 100%. MISSION: Find Clone Partner.

"Clone partner?" Mariza blinked at the display. "Eliza must be my—"

A loud crash echoed from inside the building behind her. Through a broken window, she spotted movement. Someone with familiar brown hair was fighting off three zombies with a crowbar.

"Eliza!" Mariza called out, but the girl inside looked different. She wore the same black jumpsuit, but her hair was shorter, and she had a small scar on her chin that Eliza never had.

The girl turned toward the window. Her eyes were exactly like Mariza's—bright green—but something felt wrong about her smile.