(1)
Tasting it, I could feel the distinct taste of 'ice cream' ...but it had an odd flavour to it.
She scooped up another spoonful. "It's great that the cold storage of this shop was working still! Almost a miracle!"
"Well, it's just been about a month..." Saying that really hit me. Just one month. Only this little time it took for a virus to take civilization to its knees.
Still feels yesterday, I was eating ice-cream that dad brought. Joking with him about his favourite football team as mom would nag from behind.
"Don’t think about us Josh! Just Run!"
I have left it all long behind, haven't I?
"You know..." She suddenly stopped the spoon midway as she looked at me, " I know it's kinda weird of me to demand ice cream all of a sudden-"
"Well, it was my plan to do whatever we wanted to in the first place...hehe...so-"
"I didn't had ice-cream for like the last year", she dipped the spoon in the cup once more, "I thought I needed to diet and gain a better figure for the future to come..."
Future. That one word, that holds no value to them whatsoever.
"So now that I don't have to care-!" She nibbled on the spoon happily, "I can eat as much Ice-cream I want!"
"Well as long as we don't catch a cold-"
"Cold? Are you for real?" She stood up and opening up her hands dramatically, spun around, "now, we are just invincible! No other disease can touch us!"
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The walking dead doesn't get sick. But if they did, that would be seriously funny to watch though...
"Nope! No borderline sad thoughts anymore!" I slapped my cheeks and stood up, "let's go! Next up-!"
"Yeah...so what do you wanna do next up?"
"Yeah....umm.... well maybe take a stroll outside!"
"That's pretty general.... where do you wanna go?"
"Umm...maybe a park or something?"
"Ohk..." She seemingly was lost in thought, then looked up at me smiling, "if you don't have a particular place to go to, how about we go to my old home?"
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(2)
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The roads really do reflect the post-apocalyptic reality, don't they? Well, not 'post', cause the shit is kinda ongoing as of now, but for us!?
"It's kinda liberating to take a leisurely stroll after all these weeks of endless running and hiding" I mused.
The cool breeze made her long beautiful hair flutter. For a moment the scene captivated me, but sadly it lasted but a moment. Then an odd smell, carried by the breeze, hit me.
"Woah, that's a strong smell" she said as she covered her nose. The smell didn't bother me that much, yet it had an unpleasant feel to it.
And that says a lot. Cause throughout the way, in alleys and over over-turned dustbins, one can see the walking dead and decaying zombies, their greasy and smelly bodies emitting stenches that, when it first became commonplace, made me vomit every now and then. But now I have grown used to it.
But this, it kinda had a burnt smell to it.
"Something is burning...I think"
Figures. This past month I've seen fires would breakout unpredictably from turned over cars and buildings. Short circuits and petrol leakages became commonplace amongst the zombie infested abandoned cities.
So, I wasn’t particularly concerned. But well, she was. Hmm...more like she was scared? Her face had darkened a bit with a worrying and fearful look. Was she that afraid of a fire?
"Hey, fires are pretty common now. Stay behind me and nothing will happen!"
Here I would like to take a moment and say, as the assumed representative of the male gender, that all men would agree with the male urge to act tough when a girl around seems scared, don't they?
Well, Men will be Men...
Or something along the lines from that perfume ad... can’t help it from automatically playing in my brain when I think such thoughts lol.
"Yeah, Thanks. Sorry...um, I'm just a bit uncomfortable with fires you know?"
"I absolutely get it. Fires are pretty dangerous although common nowadays, ain't they? I-"
"When I was in 1st yr, a senior of mine was killed in a case of arson"
Ok...that was unexpected.
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I didn't ask more, but seems like my face gave away my unwanted curiosity. I didn't know how to respond, except the mechanical "oh, I'm sorry".
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She sighed. "I'm sorry I know it's kinda too much, but since I saw her burnt body, I developed a phobia of fires"
I didn't respond. More like I couldn't. I mean...really.... how should I respond? I have always been bad at this. Should I repeat my "sorry"? Or console her? I don't know. All I could do is hang my head low and hope it properly acknowledges the seriousness of the situation.
"Umm...I-"
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"BURN THIS BASTARD!!"
The wild roaring shouts suddenly startled us.
"What’s happening?" She was jolted, "are they-?"
Burning. Something. Or someone? This was not an accidental fire, that's for sure.
"They are burning... someone"
An arson. Expectedly, her face fell.
"Fall behind me! We will be ok!"
We silently walked up to near the sound's source, which happen to be the front yard of one of the abandoned houses of the many in the locality. Slipping alongside the boundary wall, I peeked through the front gate. Just what's going on-
"Ryan do it!"
I moved away at lightning speed. No no no. Not again.
"What's-" she tried asking, but stopped midway perhaps seeing the fear on my face.
Fear and sadness.
"It’s nothing! Wait here..."
I peeked again. There he was, a little ahead of the rest. With a flame torch in one hand.
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Ryan. My best friend of the last 10 years. The one guy who stood by me when no else did. Who shared my emotional burdens and helped me walk forward. And my first companion since the apocalypse started. And... and...
Josh... it’s too late. You must kill yourself!
My mind went blank.
"Hey?" She stepped up, coming beside me. I didn't... or just couldn't, stop her. "Are you okay?". I tried to respond, but again, I just couldn't.
"Hey-" she suddenly went silent, for now she also saw the group. She mayn't know Ryan or others...but for now, she saw the biggest enemy there is to us- healthy humans.
I peeked again. In front of Ryan...there it was, an old man.... his skin rotten, eyes red, and mouth drooling. He must've been the owner of this house, the same place Ryan and co. decided to take nocturnal shelter.
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Ryan tried scaring away the zombie, but it was still healthy (as if recently bitten) and therefore dangerous.
"Good, there attention is completely on the zombie there" her words brought me back, "lemme just..."
She leaned slightly and picked up a stone. "Let's go old school now!"
She threw the stone hard in the opposite direction. "There's another?" Someone shouted amongst the group, as they looked behind. Ryan instinctively looked as well, giving a chance to the zombie, which took it by pouncing on him.
Or tried to. Ryan was quicker. He dodged the walking dead and threw the torch at him, immediately engulfing the zombie in flames.
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No surprises there. It's Ryan after all-
"What are you waiting for? RUN!"
Her words brought me back, as we dashed in the guise of the confusion across the open gate, aided by the night's darkness, before anyone could notice.
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(3)
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The place felt sort of odd one out. The locality had abandoned houses left and right, but each marked with broken window panes, scratch marks on doors and walls, and blood stains everywhere. You know, typical zombie stuff.
But this house still was in a pristine condition, though old and unused, still not desecrated like the others.
"Let's go in!" She looked excited, as if we didn't just run with our 'lives' from Ryan and co. We had climbed the boundary walls bypassing the old locked gate, but now what about the locked door?
"I guess the backdoor?" Ok...her stutter proves to me that she doesn't know either. Okay. She definitely didn't plan this far ahead as of after reaching the house. Nevertheless, we circumvented around the house, hoping for a miracle. But alas, the backdoor's locked too.
"Ok! We break the patio!" She rushed to the flower bed front patio doors, those sliding doors fit with heavy glass panes. Huh? Wait what's the plan here? Is she gonna-
"Hey, break it!" She cheerfully commanded me.
Huh?
"You want me to break it?"
"Yeah, why not? Aren't men usually the stronger ones?"
Yeah. Sure.
"And zombies are even stronger, aren't they!?"
I, absolutely against my will, still grousing, stepped back a bit, putting my shoulder first. Then in the next moment, putting all my strength to my shoulders rushed against the glass.
BAAM! That's the sound of glass breaking, splintering into a thousand pieces, cracking open our way in-
Just kidding. I would be grateful to God if my shoulder wasn't dislocated, because the heavy window panes didn't suffer as much as a freaking scratch. I tried again, and once more, but in vain.
"This. Just. Won't. Break-"
"Oh!!! I got it!"
Huh?
She looked around and dipped down to one of the house plants kept outside the door.
"Yup. Found it!" A rusted key now slipping into her hands. "I was wondering if I took the spare key with me before...turns out being careless once in a while is pretty lucky, ha?"
Ya...but maybe...just maybe...try that before ordering someone to break their shoulders trying to break into your own damn house!?
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(4)
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The house...felt a shade of lonely grief. I couldn't explain why. Maybe it was the stale musty smell and the dampen atmosphere, or maybe the scent of the old fabrics telling tales of days bygone. Maybe it was because of the melancholic expression painted on her face.
I couldn't really say.
She had a silent melancholy since we entered, I could feel it. But myself, I wasn't in the best of mind either.
It felt odd. But I have been feeling a sense of disappointment since the chance encounter with Ryan's group. Disappointment? Yeah...that's one way to describe this feeling.
But why am I disappointed? Is it because I met Ryan once again yet couldn't talk to him? Is it because I froze in front of a girl and lost a tremendous amount of aura? Lol.
But I think it's because the zombie didn't bite Ryan, or failed to. I know that doesn't sound very righteous. But even so, I wanted Ryan to see my side, live my sufferings.
"That's selfish!" I know. I know. Only I was at fault for getting myself bitten and Ryan did the only thing he could. He could've killed me, yet he didn't. Wait, would that have been more merciful? Can't say...
But even if I rationalize with these bruised feelings of mine, the silent fumes still burn. Is it jealousy of my friend? And disappointment when he rose above my ill-wish?
It all makes me feel a bit guilty too. I'm not the 'good' person I always thought I was.
Not that I'm bothered. Jealousy-Disappointment-Guilt, I observe these feelings as they come and go. Afterall, neither I have 'time' to sulk, nor am I really a 'human' to ponder on this, now, am I?
I shaked these thoughts away, and followed her to the stairs in silence. The stairs took us to the upper floor, where at the end of hall stood one lone door. I suppose this was our destination? Now-
She sighed. Quite loudly all of a sudden. And stood still, one hand on the door knob. She didn't pull back, but neither did she turned it.
She's nervous. I don't know what's behind the door, but she's too nervous to face it alone.
Alone?
I softly put my hand on hers. I don't know what else to do. What could've been polite or appropriate. But that's all I could do. To show
that she isn't alone. No matter what lies forth, we venture in together, till maybe death does us apart?
She looked at me, surprised. Yet, a soft smile appeared on her face. Oh God! That smile on that face of hers. I don't know how long I stared, but I felt as if I could watch it without boredom for hundreds of years to come.
Her grip tightened, as she turned the doorknob. The door opened with an ACKKK sound.
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(5)
The scent of incense burned past my nose with a pleasant feel of a sweet scent to it.
"It's good there was a matchbox left here!"
She sat down in front what I suppose was a household shrine for the departed. Beside the burning incense which was standing atop a small tray, there were two small framed pictures, right in the shrine centre, of a man and a woman somewhere in there 50s. Frozen in time, captured within those frames. I could already guess who they were, but I didn't say anything. Neither did she. Instead, she joined her hands in a silent prayer, and then bowed down.
It lasted a while, this silence. It didn't feel oppressing like when we sat in silence after our first argument, but it wasn't rejoiceful either.
A silence of... quiet reverence and remembrance I suppose? Nah, those are quite long words I'm using, but I can't really say I understand it. Silently I also do a small bow to the shrine as a sign of respect, but as I sit up and look around, she's still bowed deep in prayer.
Finally, she gets back up, almost in sync with the TAP sound of the first ashes falling on the tray below. "Mom and Dad were against me going to a med school"
"Huh? Oh...why? Like they-" seeing me trying my hardest to balance the first few words she let out a sigh and continued.
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"It's just some old timer thinking, I guess. They wanted me to study something else, not anything that required touching the dead"
"The dead?"
"You know, dissection and stuff-"
She moved near the shrine and dusted off the top. "I went regardless. Almost cut connections with them. Said to myself I will come back only when I've become a full-fledged doctor."
Her face darkened. "I had to return much early. A car crash. I didn't know what to feel. Maybe if I had been there..." She let out a lonely tear out.
"Hey! No, it’s-"
"I'm okay." She smiled, wiping her eyes, "I know it's not my fault. It's just what I felt then.
I promised once again, while locking the front gate, that I would only return after I achieved my dream; that I would face them not only as their daughter but as a doc....tor...."
She laid on her back, "and yet I'm here, with no way to fulfil that promise anymore."
I said nothing. Yes. Unfulfilled dreams. Unfulfilled promises. Lives that had no closure. Maybe for those like Ryan surviving in the wild, there's still hope. But for us, the dead?
The world truly is unfair sometimes.
The darkness outside had lightened a bit in the rays of the dawn. A lone ray fell on the verandah window. The room was lightening up just as the world outside.
ns216.73.217.39da2
and then Add to home screen.