Prologue

A Deserted place. A few trees were scattered on the land, and the sun’s rays barely came through the cloudy sky. A little far away, large mega story buildings could be seen. On the ground pebbles vibrated and the ground slowly shook, as a team of men operated the gigantic driller for creating the subway tunnel.

The tunnel was coming from the nearby city and the driller already passed a great deal of distance. As the driller progressed through the underground, an automatic machine placed concrete rings along the muddy wall for reinforcing the tunnel wall. A few men were constantly feeding the automatic machine with parts of the concrete rings.

While the drilling and wall construction made progress, a few groups of men were very busy placing metal rail tracks. A pulley system was continuously bringing metal tracks and concrete rings from the other side of the tunnel.

Sweat uncontrollably oozed down from the men’s brow. It was incredible that these men could work in this hot environment. In this tunnel, there was no one resting. There was job for everyone and everyone was doing everything they could to build the tunnel. They all were working in a fast pace, probably because they want to complete this construction as soon as possible. Suddenly it happened without any warning. The tunnel completely shook like the effect of an earthquake.

Everyone all at once stopped working and they analyzed the tunnel. Then the ground stopped vibrating. Workers took a deep sigh. Suddenly the quake started again, this time a little stronger.

With a crack sound, the newly placed upper part of the concrete rings fell off from the wall. Miraculously the workers under the fallen concrete piece escaped without any serious injury apart from the loss of skin on the side of a few men’s arms as the concrete pieces brushed past.

The quake continued. The driller began to vibrate and suddenly the wall of soil in front of the driller broke away, revealing a natural cave system. Cold wind blew towards the workers through the tiny gaps in the front part of the driller. Then suddenly the side part of the concrete rings fell down, and the tunnel wall slowly broke apart, revealing a massive cave system across the underground. Fortunately none of the top soil fell off.

Workers gazed at the newly discovered tunnel in horror, with curiosity. None of the men said any words. The light from the bright bulbs which were now on the tunnel floor, barely cut through the darkness beyond the part of the tunnel these men have made.

A few new men arrived at the spot from the other side of the manmade tunnel with flashlights. They must have experienced the earthquake, but it seems that only a small part of the manmade tunnel had collapsed. The men with flashlight slowly walked through the newly discovered tunnel a little. A cold wind was coming towards them from somewhere, and it seems that there was a flow of cold air all over this tunnel system.

The part of the tunnel they were now in was like a big wide room and there were numerous tunnels coming to this wide room from different directions.

The men slowly approached one of the tunnel and they slowly examined the tunnel in the bright light of the flash light. Then it happened. When one worker shone the light at a nearby wall, the wall began to glitter, as if there were millions of tiny fireflies on the wall. The men slowly approached the wall with curiosity. And one worker touched the wall.

“Diamond!” The man said.

Yes. The whole wall had diamonds having the size of a man’s palm. They slowly shone the light at the nearby walls and excitement and curiosity struck all of them. The whole walls in all the nearby tunnels were filled with diamonds!

Chapter 1

“Jerome, wake up, honey. It’s morning.” I heard Emily’s voice in my deep slumber.

“Huh ...” I slowly opened my eyes and found Emily hurriedly dressing. “Honey, it’s Sunday, right?”

“Yeah. Why?” Emily asked.

“Well, why are you dressing? Are you going outside?”

“Huh, huh.”

“Well, you don’t have to go to office, right?”

“Isn’t that obvious? I am going to church for the morning mass. Jenny said she will be here to pick me up.”

“Okay. Is Aidan awake?”

“Yeah. He is dressing. He is coming with me.”

I slowly removed the covers and stood up. And I slowly walked towards the front door.

“Newspaper is in the kitchen, and coffee is on the dining room table.” Emily shouted from the bedroom.

“Okay ...” I backed away from the front door and I walked towards the kitchen. In the kitchen I found the newspaper on top of the table.

Reading newspaper had become part of my life and I couldn’t start a day without newspaper. I took the newspaper and flipped through the pages. Then the story on the second page really attracted my eyes. It says a group of subway workers discovered a tunnel system during the drilling. The site was near here, about 50 miles away from home.

Suddenly the phone rang.

“This is Emily. Who is this?”

“Huh, huh ... I will give him ... Jerome, honey? A call for you.”

I slowly walked towards the dining room and found Emily near the phone.

“Who is it?” I asked.

“Government.”

I quickly approached Emily and grabbed the receiver from her hand.

“This is Jerome.” I said.

“Jerome, we hope that you have red the newspaper today. We need your geological skills in this tunnel in Wyoming.”

“I am listening.”

“We are not in a situation to drive you to this place. We hope you have a car. Be here as soon as possible.”

“I will be there.”

The call ended.

“What is it, honey” Emily asked.

“They want me to study a tunnel system that they have discovered during the construction of a subway tunnel.” I said.

Suddenly a car horn cut through the air.

“Jenny is here. I am going, okay?” Emily said.

“Okay.” I said.

“Aidan, we are going.” Emily yelled and Aidan came from his bedroom.

“See you, dad.” Aidan said.

“Okay. Look after your mom, okay.”

“Yeah.” Aidan walked outside.

Emily smiled at me and she too exited the house. I watched both of them walking through the footpath towards Jenny’s car which was parked on the side of the road. A moment later Aidan and Emily entered inside the car and the car drove away in the church’s direction.

I quickly brushed my teeth and drank a cup of coffee. Then I took a quick shower and I dressed for the job. Then I drank one more cup of coffee. I usually drink four cup of coffee in the morning, but today I don’t have time for that. I took my bag from the office room and I made sure I took everything. Finally I took my cell phone and car keys from the table top. After locking the house I placed the house key under the flower pot where we usually hid the key. Then I quickly ran towards my sedan.

It’s time to go. A new tunnel system. New discoveries were waiting for me and I don’t want to waste this opportunity to study well.

Chapter 2

I Pressed my foot on the accelerator and the small sedan rushed forward. Today traffic was less and I easily passed the city without being stopped by the signal lights. The footpaths were empty of people, mainly because it was Sunday, but occasionally I saw people here and there.

At the time I reached the site, it was 9:45. I parked the car and I slowly exited. Then I slowly walked towards the subway. The streets were mostly empty and I slowly entered inside the newly built subway platform. Then I saw a huge amount of people on the platform. Most were from press. In a corner an interview with a construction worker went on. Most news feeds were live.

I slowly walked towards the construction office and in the doorway I was welcomed by Andrew who was a professor of paleontology. I know him well. He was my collage mate.

“Good to see you, Jerome.”

“It’s good to see you too. It’s actually a surprise. I thought you were out of state.”

“I was. They insisted that I should be here by morning. They told me you were coming.”

“Did you check the tunnel?”

“No. I came here just a while ago. They gave me a light breakfast and I was waiting for you. If you’re hungry, there is sandwich.”

“I am really hungry …”

Andrew led me inside and showed me coffee and sandwich. I quickly filled my belly. A few minutes later three workers with yellow helmets came and they gave us helmets they had brought with them. I wore the helmet and I made sure my bag was with me. All my tools were in this bag.

A few minutes later a few more workers and five men in white lab coats came. Men in lab coats must be some professionals. At 10:30 we started our walk from the platform. It was very hot inside the tunnel but occasionally a cold wind came from the other end.

“How far is it?” I asked a nearby worker.

“Two miles.” He said.

Two miles. That was a lot to walk. The whole tunnel was lighted by small incandescent bulbs placed on the tunnel wall. A few minutes later we began to see concrete pieces that had fallen off from the tunnel wall.

“What happened here?” Andrew asked a nearby worker.

“There was a big earthquake when the tunnel appeared.” The man said.

Then I noticed that a few people from press were following us with cameras and mike. A few men were noting down what the construction workers were saying in a note pad, they must be from newspapers. I think the media was live. A reporter was saying things about the tunnel, looking at the camera.

I usually hate staying around media. Who gave them permission to record this? This was supposed to be a secret study, right? I pushed back my thoughts and I focused on the mission at hand. By 11 O’ clock, the cold wind increased. Then we saw the big wide cave or whatever it was. There was heaps of soil here and there where there used to be tunnel walls. And I saw the driller in one side.

This was a wide room like place and the driller machine was an isolated entity in here. Around the driller machine there was only this cave. The workers have already done a great job in electrifying this place. The whole place was clearly visible. Then we saw the tunnels. There were tunnels all over the place, coming from all directions to this wide room.

From the ceiling, narrow, pointy rocks protruded inward. The whole place was very cold and there was a constant flow of cold air in here. I actually shivered in this cold, and I almost bit the air several times.

“We will show you the north part. That’s the only part we have lighted, at least a little.” One worker said.

We nodded. The workers slowly led us to the north part and the people from the press followed us. We entered into one of the tunnel in the north part. The wall was very moist, and a green moss or something like that was growing on the wall. Then we saw the series of glitter.

“Is that what I think it is?” Andrew asked.

“It could be.” I said. We slowly approached and we saw it clearly. Our jaw fell open at the scene. The tunnel wall was filled with sparkling diamonds. Pure diamonds having the size of my palm!

Chapter 3

“Ultrasonic scanning indicated that this tunnel is about one mile long. We didn’t went that far, but we do think that this whole tunnel is filled with diamonds.” One worker said.

I slowly approached the tunnel wall and I touched a diamond. It was really smooth. I switched on my flashlight and I showed the light on the diamond. Then I saw the glittering in the inner part of the diamond. It was a pure diamond and all the diamonds in the wall looks similar.

I tried to take one diamond from the wall, but it was pretty well attached to the tunnel wall. Then I tried another one and surprisingly, this diamond broke away from the wall. I carefully analyzed the diamond. Andrew came near me and he too stared at the diamond. We were speechless. The beauty of this diamond was beyond words. And the diamond was shrouded with mysteries.

“Can I hold it for a moment?” Andrew asked.

I looked at the diamond. Why would I want to give this to him? This is my diamond, right? What the hell am I thinking? I am here to study this cave, not to take anything with me. I pushed back my resistance to give the diamond to Andrew, and I gave it to him. Andrew grabbed the diamond and he just stared at it. Certainly he lost in thoughts. I smiled at him and I looked at the tunnel wall where hundreds of diamonds were present.

I slowly walked a little deep. When I thought I made a good distance from Andrew, I took a quick glance at my rear and found Andrew still in his initial position. He was still looking at the diamond with his mouth open. Something was pretty wrong with that diamond.

I walked a little more. The other professionals in lab coats were in front of me, analyzing the wall and the soil. They have a cell phone like device which was showing a lot of information when they placed the device on the soil. I carefully looked at the device and found a needle on its lower part. That device was for analyzing the soil. I have got to get one of those devices.

I passed the professionals and I found the people from press moving a little deep into the tunnel. A moment later they stepped into the darker part of the tunnel. The whole tunnel was not electrified. I followed the media since they have a pretty good light emitting thing with them. The whole place around them was pretty much visible.

Then the tunnel twisted around a boulder. I am little behind the media people and I am walking with my flashlight. Then I noticed that, from beyond the twisted part of the tunnel, a purple light was coming. I curiously followed the light. I went around the boulder and then I saw it. The end of the tunnel. The media people were looking at the end with mesmerized eyes. I too am in shock. At the end of tunnel lays a purple light emitting wall. Purple light was continuously coming out of the wall. I approached the wall and I examined it thoroughly. It looks like made up of glass. I ran my hands over the purple wall and found it very smooth.

Then I felt it. I have an urge to break this wall. I don’t know from where that urgency arose, or for what. But, I do want to break this wall. It was glass. One hit was all it needs to break it. Something was drawing me close to this wall and whatever lies beyond this wall was the thing which was calling me.

“Ahh ...” Pain coursed through my index finger. I looked at my finger and found it cut by the sharp glass shard which was protruding from the borders of the purple wall. Blood steadily oozed down through my finger. I quickly drew back my finger and I put it in my mouth. Copper taste of blood filled inside my mouth. It was very painful. I winced. I slowly backed away from the wall and I stood behind the media people.

It seems that the camera was still rolling, but, the reporter and the camera man were staring at the purple wall. What was with these people? First Andrew, now these people too. Then it happened. The reporter lunged towards the purple wall and she started pounding on the wall with her mike.

“No ...” Something inside me was telling me that this was all wrong. She doesn’t suppose to do that, right?

Then with a crackling sound cracks appeared on the wall. The wall was truly glass.

“Lady, you shouldn’t do that.” I tried. But, the lady was beyond my reach and she was so focused on breaking this wall, like a deranged person.

Then it happened. The glass broke and a black smoke rushed out through the now formed hole on the wall.

I ducked. And the black smoke rushed through the tunnel. The sound of air flow filled the very air. From this position on the floor I saw the legs of the camera man. He must be in the middle of the smoke. The reporter was nowhere to be seen.

One way or the other, all hell does break loose. The hell was breaking loose, no doubt.

Chapter 4

The flow of black smoke or whatever that was lasted only a few minutes. I slowly stood up and examined my surroundings. I found the camera man on the tunnel floor. I think he was unconscious. The reporter was nowhere to be seen. Then I looked at the purple wall. There was a wide hole in the middle and I could only see darkness in that hole. The black smoke might be some kind of pressurized gas.

I slowly approached the camera man. I crouched down near him and I shook him.

“Hello, are you okay, man?”

He was not moving. Then it struck me. He was not breathing!

“What the?”

I took his left arm in mine and I checked for a pulse.

None.

There was not even a slightest indication of a pulse. His body was freezing cold. Panic and worry grew inside me.

“Ahh ...” Suddenly a scream shot up through the tunnel. The scream was coming from the other end. Then I heard a shriek and a moan.

With panic, I slowly moved forward. Will Andrew be okay? Will the workers be okay? Then I heard a shuffling noise from behind me.

I froze. Someone was standing behind me. I could feel it. I slowly turned back. There stood the camera man.

“What the hell?”

He was dead. I am sure. Or did that smoke caused him to mimic death? Then the camera man shifted his gaze from the ground to my face. In the purple glow of the wall and from the flash light of the camera, I could clearly see his face. Then it happened. Without warning, the camera man screeched sharply and he rushed at me with his open mouth. I didn’t get time to turn away, and in the next moment he was on top of me. He was trying to bite me. I kept his head at bay using my hands. But he was shrieking at me and he wriggled violently.

I struggled to keep hold of his head. His saliva sprayed on my face and a horrible stench came from his mouth. I am already in panic. Then I took all my might and I balanced my foot on his stomach and I threw him into a distance using my legs, like a spring. The trick worked and he fell down near the purple wall after a short flight in the air.

I didn’t wait for him to regain his footing. I stood up and sprinted away through the tunnel, towards the other end. A moment later I heard pursuing footsteps, but I didn’t look back. I kept running at my maximum speed. A few minutes later I saw the bright light of the electric bulbs. Then I saw Andrew’s body. His chest was wide open and his head was barely attached to the neck.

Suddenly I puked. Panic and worry coursed through my body. Then I saw the camera man gaining on me. I started running again. Then multiple pursuers came from the wide tunnel room where the driller machine lies. I looked back and found the camera man and few workers running at me. All the pursuers were running to bite me. How do I know? Well, all of their mouths were open and they made a horrible sound when they moved. I ran and ran. I need to get away from this tunnel.

It must be the smoke. It gotta be. People who were exposed turned into rabid animals. One of this rabid people must be the one who have done that to Andrew. Poor Andrew.

A moment later I entered into the region where the rail had partially built. Then I began to see dead bodies. I think they were dead bodies. Most bodies were drenched in blood. Men with white coats were here among the dead. They may have been attacked by the mad people when they were escaping. That also means that there might be those creatures outside the tunnel. The black smoke may have went out of the tunnel. That means, I have more to worry.

A moment later pursuing footsteps faded and a series of screams came from nearby. My pursuers might have found survivors who were hiding. Before long I saw the subway platform. Blood marks were everywhere on the platform. I slowly approached the office of the construction workers. The office was empty and the door had been broken away from its hinges. Then I saw a trail of blood on the floor.

I should call 911. I may don’t have to do that. People who were watching the news channels might have seen this horror. If my count was right, there were people from three news channels, apart from the people from the newspapers, and all of them were live. I hope that the cops and whoever who should control this situation might be here soon.

I sprinted out of the subway platform. I need to get out of here before more of those things find me. I rushed outside and I found my sedan on the side of the road. Then it struck me. The city was dead silent. I took a quick glance at the nearby buildings and I found their doors broken. I rushed inside my car. I took my cell phone from the car and I quickly dialed 911.

“911. What is your emergency?”

“Hello, I am calling from the Wyoming tunnel. There are mad people everywhere. They are killing people and there are dead bodies everywhere.”

“Calm down, sir. Tell me what happened.”

“We were studying this new tunnel system and a black smoke rushed out from one of the cave. I think the people who were exposed to this smoke have become mad. These mad people are very hungry for flesh, I think. They are everywhere. They are killing everyone. Please send help. There is no one nearby. I think everyone is dead.”

“Okay, sir. Are you near any type of vehicles?”

“I am in my car.”

“Stay away from the infected people. Try to drive to a safer place. We will be sending help soon.”

“Okay.”

I ended the call and I started the car. I floored the accelerator and the car rushed through the desolated town.

Chapter 5

There weren’t any vehicles on the road and all the vehicles I saw were crashed onto the nearby buildings. The windows of the vehicles were all broken and there were trails of blood on the doors. I accelerated beyond the city limits. The black smoke must have spread to everywhere. I need to get back home and I need to save Emily and Aidan from this.

I quickly took the cell phone and dialed Emily.

“This is Emily, I can’t take this call right now. Please leave a message.”

“Shit. Emily, this is me, Jerome. Are you okay, honey? If you’re inside the house, please lock all doors and don’t go out. I am coming right now. I will explain everything.”

I put away the cell phone and concentrated on the road. A few minutes later the road got blocked by a series of vehicles. There was no way through this dead traffic. Then I chose the worst choice I could think of. I took my cell phone and I exited the car. I slowly started walking through the long line of vehicles. Most vehicles were crashed one another and smoke was rising from most vehicles.

I cautiously walked through the footpath and whenever a block ends, I examined the street thoroughly before continuing the journey.

Suddenly a screech came from behind me. I turned towards the street I passed and I saw a tall mad man rushing at me. I broke into a sprint. There were glass shards everywhere on the footpath and they shattered further when I moved over them. The crackling of glass shards filled the very air. Then I saw the end of the traffic. And at the end I saw a land rover with its door already open.

I rushed inside the land rover and I closed the door just in time. The mad man skittered to a stop near the land rover. Then the mad man started pummeling at the side window. It was now that I am looking at one of them clearly. This man’s eyes were dark as darkness can do at its best, and he was like a deranged hungry, thirsty, rabid dog. Then the side windows began to crack. I quickly searched inside the land rover for a key and I found it just where I wanted – in the key hole.

I turned the key and fortunately the land rover’s engine came alive with a roar. I put the land rover in drive and I floored the accelerator. Within moments I made a considerable distance from the mad man. But, the mad man followed the car.

“Ahh ... Ahh ... Ahh ...” Suddenly loud cry came from the back seat. It was a kid. It had to be. I looked at the rear view mirror and found the mad man still chasing me. I again accelerated, and before long I exited the town. This time when I looked at the rear view mirror I didn’t saw the mad man. I took deep sigh and I parked the land rover on the side of the road.

The cry of the kid still came, but now it was a little low. I examined the backseat and found a baby, not older than two years. He was in his own custom seat attached to the land rover’s seat belt. Then I saw something else too. In the back seat, on the floor, there was a little girl. She was sitting on the floor cuddled into a ball and I saw tears steadily oozing down through her cheeks.

“Great.”

I felt my head getting heavier. These kids’ parents must have lost their lives or at worse, they may have turned. Land rover’s door was open when I saw this vehicle. That means, their parents must have got outside, probably for seeing what the black smoke was.

“Hey, there. What’s your name?”

The girl looked at me with cloudy eyes which were filled with tears.

“My mom. They took her.”

“Hey. It’s okay. Come on. Sit with me.” I lifted her from the floor and I slowly placed her on the front seat. “Here’s what we do. I need to get to my home. We could ... We could go together. Don’t worry about anything. Okay?”

I slowly wiped her newly arrived tears using my index finger.

“Put on your seat belt.”

She obeyed. She has no other choice but to come with me. It was a great weight for me, but I can’t leave two young kids on the road for those rabid animals.

The baby was still crying. I need to do something about him.

“Can you hold him?” I asked her.

She nodded. I slowly took the baby from his seat and I slowly placed him on her lap. Surprisingly the boy stopped crying. I smiled at them and I started the land rover.

A moment later the land rover started rushing through the road. Home. That’s where I am going, if it was still there, of course.

Epilogue

I Looked at my watch. It was 2:35 PM. I slowed the land rover a little. Far away I saw my home street. All the buildings were in extreme quietness. Nobody was on the streets and there were couple of vehicles on the side of the road. Before long I saw my house. I parked the land rover on the side of the road and I examined the surroundings. It was really quiet and then I saw the broken front door of my house. The infected were here too. I need to find Emily and Aidan and I need to get out of here fast.

“Mia, you and baby Brent stay inside, and don’t make a sound, okay?”

Mia nodded.

“I will come back quickly, don’t move.” I exited the land rover. I closed the door and I slowly approached my house.

Please, god, Emily and Aidan be okay. I entered inside through the broken doorway. There were mud everywhere inside and thankfully no blood. It was then I noticed that the windows were all broken. Something bad took place here, that was certain.

I wanted to call Emily and Aidan out loud, but that would reduce the advantage I have, if those things were nearby.

I passed the living room which was a mess with broken furniture. There was mud everywhere here too. I checked the kitchen, but it was empty. I slowly walked towards the bedroom. Bedroom door was closed. I slowly approached the door and tried the knob, but it was locked from inside. That means someone was inside.

“Emily, Emily?” I called in a lower voice. But, I heard no movement from inside.

“Aidan, this is me, dad.”

Then I heard sound of a furniture being moved. I patiently waited, and I didn’t forget to examine my surroundings. A moment later the door slowly opened from inside and in the doorway stood Aidan.

“Dad ...” He rushed at me and I crouched down and hugged him. “Dad, Mom …”

“What happened?”

“Mom killed a man. She ... She bit him and she ate him ... Then she tried to kill me too, dad.”

What the? So Emily was one of the deranged persons. A drop of tear oozed down from my eyes. Right now I could do nothing for Emily.

“What happened to mom, dad?”

“Where did you saw her, when the last time you saw?”

“She was at the back porch. She was yelling something at our neighbor. When I went to the porch, I saw her eating our neighbor.”

“Okay. Stay with me.” I slowly approached the back door. Aidan closely followed me. Before long, I opened the back door and stepped inside the porch. Then I saw movement near our neighbor’s house. I carefully examined and saw someone walking through the back side of the nearby house. Then all of a sudden he looked at my direction. Then I saw it. His face was filled with blood and he stared at us with dark eyes.

“Run.” I said and we ran inside the house. Then we quickly ran towards the Land Rover parked outside. Pursuing footsteps closely followed us.

Prologue

A Large city. Mega story buildings were everywhere. The glass windows of the buildings reflected the noon sun light with an extraordinary glory. Suddenly, all of a sudden, the ground began to shake and the mega story buildings vibrated. Quickly scream of people filled the very air. The ground continued to shake and the vehicles parked on the parking lot swayed sideways. A moment later, large cracks appeared on the dark roads.

Vehicles on the road crashed one another and smoke rose from most crashed vehicles. The cracks on the road continued to get widen, and the earthquake was still not ready to stop its play. Not far from the center of the town, in a town square, a TV reporter and her camera man were recording everything. The ground near the town square shook violently. Suddenly the camera man dropped his camera and looked at a place beyond the reporter.

“What the heck is wrong with you? Why did you drop the camera?” The reporter asked.

“Charlotte, look.” The camera man said. Something was really spooking the camera man. Then Charlotte, the reporter, looked at where the camera man was looking.

Then she too saw it. On the road near them, a wide crack had formed and this crack was gigantic. All the nearby vehicles fell into the wide crack. The sound of car alarm lingered in the air, but those alarm sound was nothing compared to the sound of destruction the earthquake was leaving in the city.

Glass windows broke and a rain of glass shards dropped from the nearby mega story buildings. Suddenly with a violent quake, the earthquake stopped. Quickly silence filled the very air. There were not even people’s sounds. Everything was extremely quiet. Then the quietness ended by a sound of sudden flow of air. Charlotte and the camera man looked around them in horror. There were of course a lot of people nearby Charlotte, but nobody was making any sound. Everyone was in fact listening to the sound of the flow of air or whatever it was.

Boom!

Suddenly a loud noise came from the nearby crack on the road and that loud sound immediately got followed by a rain of soil. In fact the raining soil was thrown up from the crack when that loud sound came. Suddenly through the crack a black smoke rushed outside like a jet of water. At the instant the black smoke reached near the people in the town square, it split into tiny jets and the smoke rushed inside the people’s body through their nose and mouth.

Charlotte and the camera man ducked and they witnessed the horror happening around them. Most people, on who the smoke was entering, wriggled violently as the smoke rushed inside their bodies.

Tears of fear uncontrollably oozed down from Charlotte’s eyes. She looked at the camera man who was lying on the ground with his eyes closed. The swoosh sound of smoke was everywhere. In fact no other sound could be heard.

The flow of smoke lasted barely five minutes, but to Charlotte, it was an eternity. At the moment the smoke died out, all the people, inside whom the smoke entered, all at once dropped to the ground. Charlotte and the camera man stood up and they examined the limp bodies of people all around them.

Charlotte was too shocked to do anything. She just stood there and stared at the bodies, like her mind was blank. In fact she doesn’t know what to do.

Suddenly a fallen woman slowly stood up and she looked at Charlotte. Charlotte looked at the women and she saw the deep dark eyes of the women. The women’s eyes were in fact completely dark, as night. Then with a sharp moan, the woman rushed at Charlotte. Before Charlotte could make out what was happening, the woman jumped on top of Charlotte and she sunk her teeth on Charlotte’s neck.

“Ahh ...” Charlotte’s scream ended quickly. The camera man stood there watching Charlotte and the woman with horror, without knowing what to do. Blood steadily oozed down from Charlotte’s neck. Then all of a sudden all the fallen people slowly stood up and they looked at the camera man and Charlotte with their deep dark eyes. Before the camera man could run, most of the people rushed at him. Some of the people rushed at Charlotte’s body.

“Ahh ...” The camera man made a short yelp, and that was it. Sound of a hurried eating lingered in the air, followed by a series of moans.

Chapter 1

I Was playing on my smart phone when all of a sudden the ground began to shake. An earthquake. I rushed toward the front door. Sound of plates clashing with the floor came from the kitchen. Books from the shelf fell down and furniture began to shake uncontrollably. I looked outside and saw people outside. Everyone must be discussing about the quake. All people seemed to be in worry. The quake continued.

I rushed outside and saw Kevin and Tom near the street.

“Gavin.” Kevin called me when he saw me.

“Kevin, what’s happening, man?” I asked.

“Can’t you guess? It’s the fucking earthquake, man.”

I looked around me. Trees on my house yard swayed slowly and cars on the side of the street shook violently.

“Look, man.” Tom said.

I looked and saw wide cracks forming on the ground. Suddenly the telephone in my house began to ring.

“It must be my dad. I need to get it. See you, man.” I said.

“We will be right outside. Come when you’re done, okay? And remember that, staying inside house during an earthquake is dangerous.” Kevin said.

“Okay, man. I will be careful.” I ran towards my house. Then the earthquake slowly faded away.

I rushed inside and closed the door. Then I quickly took the phone receiver.

“Hello.” I said.

“Gavin, this is dad.”

“Hai, dad. When are you coming back? Is the meeting over? There was a violent earthquake here, just a moment ago.”

“Gavin, listen to me, carefully. We are coming to get you. And meanwhile, you have to stay inside the house and don’t go out. Don’t you dare go out. Do you hear me?”

“Yeah, I hear you, what is it, dad?”

“I can’t tell you that right now. Just don’t go outside, no matter what happens. We will be there soon. Be safe, okay?”

“Okay.”

The call ended. That was creepy. What’s wrong with going outside?

“Ahh ...” Suddenly a scream cut through the air. I quickly went near the window and peered outside. Then I saw it. My stomach began to churn with the sight of it. People were running everywhere and some people were on top of others, and these people were ... Eating others ... I closed my eyes and I opened them again. Then I saw Kevin on top of Tom. What the? Kevin was biting Tom in his neck. What is happening, god? Suddenly a man walked through our porch. He was just outside, and blood steadily oozed down from his head.

I quickly covered the window with the curtain. I made sure the door was dead bolted. God, is this the zombie apocalypse I have been waiting for?

Chapter 2

IT was true that I wanted a zombie apocalypse. I had spent hours of time researching about Zombies and reading zombie novels. But, now, I don’t want this. God, are you testing me? I am sorry that I wished for a zombie apocalypse. Please take it away from me.

It had been hours since I sat on the floor with my back on the front door. Tom was dead and Kevin was a zombie. Maybe, now Tom also had changed to a zombie. Anyway I don’t want to research on that. Even though I wished for an apocalypse, I actually don’t know what to do. I have to wait for dad and mom, of course. Would they reach safely here? They certainly know more about this, otherwise he would never have warned me.

Then I noticed that it had been too long since I heard the moans from outside. Did they all leave my house’s perimeter? I slowly stood up and went near the window. I slowly pushed away the curtain a little and I peered outside. Outside was really quiet and I saw nothing peculiar. Then my eyes caught something on the street. I carefully looked and found a large crack just outside my house, on the street. And some of the vehicles partly fell into the crack. I could see the hood of some vehicles.

This zombie disease had something to do with the earthquake. Something unusual happened at the moment I entered inside my house, when dad’s call came. If dad hadn’t called, I would have most definitely ended up dead or at worse turned into a zombie.

Are they really zombies? No doubt, they eat flesh. I spent some more time standing in front of that window.

A few minutes passed. Suddenly sound of some metal clashing with another metal came from the back of the house. Were they still here? I rushed towards the back side of the house. From the kitchen I peered outside through the window. The sound was coming from our neighbor’s house. There were two windows, each on both sides of the back door. I shifted from left window to right window. Then I saw it. There was someone trapped inside a car in the neighbor’s porch. And one of the infected or zombie was ... Appeared to be striking at the car door with a metal rod. What the? They know how to use tools? Whoever inside the car was screaming something, but his words barely reached here through the closed doors.

His fate was with him and with god. I covered the window with the curtain and I slowly backed away from the kitchen. I don’t want to witness one more killing. Suddenly knocks came from the front door.

Dad.

I rushed towards the front door.

“Ahh ...” At the time I reached the front door what I heard was the scream of my dad and mom. I hesitated. Should I open the door?

“Ahh ...” Mom screamed.

I slowly went near the window and peered outside, and I saw the horror. Two infected were dragging mom and dad through the yard to the street. I watched everything like a kid who don’t know what to do. Anyway, what could I do? At the moment I step outside, they would kill me. I covered the window with curtain and I sat down on the floor with my back on the wall. Then I did the most childish thing. I cried. I cried uncontrollably. Tears oozed down through my cheek to the sleeves of my shirt. I buried my head in my lap and I continue to cry. God, is this how you test me?

Mom and dad were dead, no doubt. Where was the government? Where was the clean-up crew? Where was the quarantine shelter?

This was the apocalypse, certainly. I hate to know that world was ending like someone’s imagination, like a zombie novel. I am alone in this fucking world. There was no one left in this world who I know. God, I am alone.

Chapter 3

Sun began to set in the horizon and my stomach began to growl. I stood up and peered outside through the window. Fortunately no one was outside.

Shit. I could have called 911. Well if it was some virus, got outside from any research facilities, 911 would have the answer, provided they were still there. I quickly ran towards the telephone. I took the receiver and dialed 911. Unfortunately the call didn’t went through. Telephone lines may be down after that earthquake. I quickly ran towards my bedroom. I found my smart phone on the bed. I took the phone in my hand and I dialed 911 again. This time it went through. But, no one was picking up the phone from the other side.

I spent several minutes dialing again and again, but none got picked up. I dropped the phone on the bed and I lie down, and I cried. What should I do? My stomach began to growl loudly. I haven’t eaten anything since morning. I slowly stood up and strolled towards the kitchen. From the refrigerator I took a bottle of orange juice and I drank it completely.

“Mom ... Mom ...” Suddenly sound of someone calling someone else came from outside. I quickly walked towards the front window and I peered outside. Surprisingly, I saw a young girl holding a teddy bear walking through the side walk. She was calling her mom out loud. The infected probably have heard her. I could not leave her like this. I took the risk and I slowly opened the door.

“Hey, kid. Over here.” I called.

She saw me and she stared at me.

“I am looking for my mom. Did you saw her?”

Oh shit. She doesn’t know anything about this. I have to help her.

“Come here, quickly. I will show you your mom.” I called.

The girl’s mouth widened. She wiped away her tears and she ran towards me. As soon as she was inside I closed the door. Then I hurriedly examined outside through the window. Then I saw two oddly looking zombies, or whatever they were, walking through the side walk. They must have come hearing this girl’s cry.

“Hey, where is my mom, and what are you looking at?”

I covered the window with the curtain and I looked at her. Now comes the hard job.

“Were you sleeping?” I asked.

“Yeah.” Her blue eyes were cloudy with tears. What should I tell her? I know nothing about children and she looks like a baby doll. Her mother probably had turned. “Where is my mom?”

“Well, technically, I saw your mom earlier today. And ... And …”

“And?”

“And, she said she will be back tomorrow. She told me to look after you.”

“She told you, to baby sit me? She could have told this to that old lady?”

“Well, people in this entire city went for something. Government guys called everyone. I was sick and they told me to stay here. They also told me ... If you come looking for your mom, I have to look after you for some time.”

“That’s nice of you. Can I play here?”

“Well, the problem is, you can’t make noise. If you want to talk, just whisper.”

“Oh, that’s a little rude … Okay.” She smiled at me.

Thank god. The difficult part was over. But, she needs to know the truth, one day, of course, not today.

Chapter 4

Pop! Pop! Pop!

I Woke up hearing the sound of a gun fire. I quickly stood up.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

The gunfire continued, and now I could hear moans and growls. I went to my parent’s bedroom where Lizzy was sleeping. When I reached there, what I saw was an empty bed.

“Where did she went to?”

I quickly walked towards the front door, and fortunately she was in the living room. She was looking outside through the window.

“Who is outside?” I asked.

“Soldiers.”

What? I quickly went near the window and I peered outside. Excitement jolted through me. Soldiers were fighting against the monster horde.

“Why are they killing people?” Lizzy asked.

“Because, those are not people.” I said.

“It’s morning. When will my mom come?”

“Soon.” I looked at the soldiers.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

“Ahh ...” Suddenly a few soldiers screamed. Then I saw it. From the top of a nearby building, infected were jumping at the soldiers. There could be at least a hundred infected on the building alone. Then a military truck came out of nowhere and it punched through the soldiers.

“What the?” The truck driver was killing the soldiers. Soldiers were now concentrating on the truck. There was a long line of soldiers on the street, now nothing but a bunch of people who were running for their lives. Who is this truck driver? Why is he killing soldiers?

Then I got all the answers. The truck stopped and an infected man with bloody face got outside. What peculiar about this infected driver was that, he gave commands to the other infected by motioning his hands. He was an infected who had brain power, unlike others. This was getting better and better. What chance do we have against these things? Surviving soldiers were running in different directions. Then I saw two soldiers running towards my house. The infected haven’t set their eyes on them, yet. I quickly opened the door a little and waved at the approaching soldiers. Lizzy was watching everything without knowing what the hell was happening around. Her mind was supposedly a mature one. Normally kids would cry when they see killing in front of them, right? She was totally different.

The two soldiers rushed inside my house and I closed the door and I dead bolted it. The soldiers were panting heavily and they were so focused on breathing air. Then one soldier stood up and he came near the window and he peeked outside.

“What happened? What is happening here? Is this a terrorist attack? Is this some virus got outside from a research facility?” I asked.

“No, kid, this is none of that. They are demons coming from hell.” The soldier near the window said.

“What?” I broke into a laugh. “Are you being serious?”

“Do I look like I am joking?” The soldier looks very serious about this.

“How do you know?” I asked. Lizzy went to kitchen and she came with a bottle of juice and she gave it to the second soldier.

The soldier near me without answering my question went near the other soldier for drinking. Both the soldiers quickly emptied that bottle. Now I am feeling a little courageous. These soldiers have guns with them, even though those monsters have a leader who could think.

“What are your names?” The tallest soldier asked.

“I am Lizzy.”

“I am Gavin.” I said.

“I am Cooper and this is Martin.” The tallest soldier said.

“What are those things?” I asked.

“As I said before, they are demons, if you believe it or not. Anyway, I don’t care that you believe this or not.” Cooper said. “They came from a tunnel deep underground. They are infecting everyone. And like in the movies, their eyes are fully dark, and surprisingly, some of them can talk and think like us. So, in most of our opinion, they are demons. And I believe that, because, only demon could do things like this.”

I digested the information hardly.

“Mister, when will my mom come back? Gavin said government people called her for something.” Lizzy asked.

Cooper looked at me. I tilted down my head.

“She is probably on an important mission. You don’t have to worry about it.” Cooper said.

Lizzy nodded, but she looked at Cooper with a questioning eye.

Cooper and Martin quickly began to examine outside through the windows.

Now, together, we may have a chance here even if it is the fucking demons.

Chapter 5

Later that day we saw a few infected soldiers on the streets. They just sniffed the air and moved away from my house’s perimeter. In the night a whole pack of infected was on the street. I think they were active during the night. As we were already in panic, we didn’t try to switch on the light. As morning broke in the horizon, all the infected disappeared to somewhere.

I slowly walked towards the kitchen. My stomach frequently growled. As I reached the kitchen I found the refrigerator empty. Cooper and Martin were very good at eating.

I held back my hunger and I walked towards the living room. I found Cooper and Martin by the window. Lizzy was playing with her teddy bear by the couch.

“Cooper, we need to go for a supply run.” I said.

He looked at me. “Is your refrigerator empty?” Cooper asked.

“You know that.”

“Okay. I see none of those things outside. That supermarket at the end of this street must be enough, right?”

“Yeah.” I said.

Martin then worriedly looked at Cooper. I think he was afraid about going out.

“It is okay, Martin. We have guns.” Cooper patted Martin’s shoulder.

I looked at our nervous soldiers. Anyway I could not hold back my hunger for too long. We quickly took a bag and we exited the house. We told Lizzy to stay inside the house. We also instructed her to not to open the door until we come back. She courageously nodded at us.

In a moderate pace we walked through the street looking for the super market at the end of the block. We saw the gigantic crack on the road. I saw some vehicles in the newly formed deep trench. We passed many crashed vehicles and finally we set our eyes on the supermarket. The surrounding was extremely quiet. We quickly ran rest of the way and we rushed inside through the rotating glass door. Suddenly an alarm beeped for a short time indicating that we got inside through the doorway. Even though the alarm was short, relative to this quiet atmosphere, it was very loud. Any nearby infected must have heard it.

We quickly began our job of filling the back pack with food materials, such as canned goods and chips. Martin and Cooper found a carry bag and they filled it with bottles of water and other canned goods. When we finished everything, we slowly walked towards the front door. Suddenly we froze. An infected was just outside the glass door, and he already set his eyes on us. Then he took a deep moan and he rushed at us thinking that nothing was stopping him. Fortunately this one was one of the dumb infected. He collided with the side glass wall, and he started pounding on the glass wall with his head.

“Quick, the back door.” I said.

We quickly ran towards the back door and we found it just at the end of aisle. We quickly rushed outside. Suddenly two infected came from the back of the supermarket.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

Without further thought Cooper opened fire and the infected went down. We ran through the road. And I saw the infected who smashed on the glass wall earlier. He ran towards the back of the supermarket where Cooper had fired a few shots. As we neared my house, we saw a group of infected running towards the supermarket, probably on hearing the gunshot. We quickly hid behind a building, and when all of the infected moved away, we ran toward my house. As soon as we were on the doorsteps, Lizzy opened the door for us. We rushed inside and then, all of us took a deep breath.

“Oh, man, that was close.” Cooper said.

Epilogue

A Week was gone. We never left the house since our last super market visit. Cooper and Martin were of course courageous, but, when discussing about going out, their courage slowly drains away. I can’t blame them. There were lot of infected outside and their moan was very horror inducing. They were mostly active in the night time, and usually we see only a few infected in the day time.

These infected were definitely very advanced beings. They walk and hunt in groups, in a coordinated manner. And one thing I noticed about them was, when they get hungry, or so I think, they kill each other and eat the flesh of their comrades. Cooper still believes that they were demons. And I guess that too. I have watched the movie paranormal activity a dozen times and like in the movie, these things’ eyes were pretty dark. Of course you could not judge things in terms of a movie, but, their coordinated behavior was very horror inducing to us.

Then, it was today that I am noticing the dust accumulated in the living room. Once my whole family went to a trip to Hawaii, and when we came back to the house, we hardly saw any accumulation of dust. But, now, even though we were inside the house, the dust accumulated uncontrollably. And one thing pretty horrific was that, the trees around my house were withering. The garden was the first to wither and dry, but we hardly gave attention to that. Now we could not discard the fact that plants were dying around us. This had something to do with this plague, certainly.

The next thing was birds. We usually see a pack of birds in the mornings, but now, birds hardly visit here. And by our neighbor’s house we saw a whole bunch of dead birds. Yeah, we visit our neighbors’ houses when sun was highest in the sky, although, we don’t venture far away from my house. In one of the house we found a whole cartoon of soft drinks. But, our supply of food was running out, and soon we need to go for a supply run again. In the noon time, I was standing in the living room, watching the outside view, when all of a sudden a sand storm hit our house. It lasted about an hour, after which a few inches of sand got deposited on our doorsteps.

Something definitely was going on. And something inside me was telling me that this was the end of everything. And that something was also telling me that staying inside this house was not a good idea. Whatever this was, the real end was not here, yet. This was only a harbinger of what was left to come. And whatever was coming at us, it could not be anything good for mankind.

During the first days we saw a few military fighter jets, but that also disappeared as the days passed by. Everything was dead around us.

Certainly, I am not ready to give up. And neither does Martin and Cooper. Lizzy was still waiting for her mom. Can I tell her that everything have begun to end? Can I tell her the truth? She was giving hope for all of us, but, hope was dwindling in us as the days pass by.

Prologue

A Misty morning. A city shrouded in dust. Through the mist came silhouette of a few infected. The infected swayed as they walk. All the infected wore torn clothes, and whatever clothes they wore, that all were filled with dried blood and dust. Even though they swayed when they walked, they were actually moving in a moderate pace.

A few minutes later the infected reached inside the city, and they continued to move forward. If someone sees these infected right now, that person definitely think that these infected were going for a particular mission. These infected were that much concentrated on moving. Why they were moving was a mystery only god knows.

There weren’t any normal human beings inside the city, and even if there was someone inside this city, that person must be hiding in a deep underground bunker. Streets were filled with dust and dry leaves. In fact there weren’t any leaves on the nearby trees. Like a naked man, the trees stood here and there, probably waiting for the inevitable death. It hadn’t been too long since this land got in the hands of this plague. And the plant lives were already dying, even though they were not infected by this plague.

Suddenly the quietness got cut by a sharp howl of a dog or a wolf. The infected on the road quickly became alerted. They stopped moving and they examined their surroundings, like a dog sniffing for any food. Then came a small dog from behind a nearby building. And the infected already set their eyes on this poor dog. But, the dog was already targeted by a group of infected dogs! Yeah, there were infected dogs too. With cold dark eyes, the infected dogs chased the poor dog. The infected dogs were growling on the way. Then all of a sudden the human infected also joined the chase. The infected humans were running with inhuman speed. But, the poor dog was also fast. The infected dogs were very fast.

A dust wind blew through the streets. And the sound of dogs filled the very atmosphere. Then the poor dog saw its way out. Not far from the current street in which the infected were now in, a small hole was on the wall of a building. The small poor dog perfectly fits in the small hole, and the poor dog rushed through the hole. Unfortunate for the infected, they can’t go inside the hole. The infected made sharp moans and growls. The poor dog took a few deep breaths and it examined it’s surrounding. Light was seeping inside this small room from the air holes on the top of the room wall. And then the dog saw a pile of soil in a corner. The dog slowly walked towards the pile of soil and it saw a hole on the floor. Someone dug this inside this building.

The dog took the risk and it jumped into the hole. It landed on the ground and it slowly moved forward through the small muddy tunnel. The small tunnel directly leads to a sewer and from the sewer, the dog saw a small young girl and a tall man. The tall man was busy boring a tunnel on the sewer wall. The girl was playing but, she saw the dog.

“Daddy, look. Can I keep him?” The little girl asked the father with joy. The dog whipped its tail with joy. Finally a home.

Chapter 1

A Wide room. In the center of the room, around a table sits ten men in black suits.

“President, we can’t say how long we would be safe here. According to our Intel, this is global.” A middle aged man with spectacles said.

President looked at the images in his tablet computer. All the images were of the infected. The infected’s black eyes were zoomed in on a few images.

Suddenly a soldier in his camouflage uniform came inside the room.

“President, we got one of them. Doctor is preparing for the dissection. You may want to see this.” The soldier informed.

President stood up. “Then, lead the way.”

All other men in black suit stood up. President followed the soldier and others accompanied the president. They all entered into a corridor and the soldier led them to the end of the corridor. Before long, they reached near a door, and the soldier opened the door for others. They quickly got inside and now a new corridor lies in front of them. Soldier led them a little deep into the corridor, and he stopped in front of a glass wall. President and others stared at the room beyond the glass wall.

In the room an infected was restrained to a table and a few men in lab coats were preparing for something. A tall man in lab coat saw the president.

“President, we are going to examine this infected.” The man in lab coat said.

“Proceed.” President said.

The man in lab coat quickly went near the infected. He took a surgical blade and then he wore the face mask. The infected was making short moans and he was wriggling violently. The man in lab coat held the infected’s head in his arms and he analyzed the infected’s face.

“As seen before, this thing’s eyes were all dark. I am going to test his blood.” The man in lab coat looked at president.

“Proceed, doctor.” President said.

Doctor shook his head. He then drew a small line in the infected’s right arm with the surgical blade. Suddenly a black fluid poured outside.

“Looks like the blood is black in color.” Doctor said. Other men in lab coats stared at the infected with shock and horror.

Suddenly the infected began to utter a series of unknown language.

“Looks like it can speak, in another language.” Doctor said with shock.

“What the hell are you?” President muttered.

Chapter 2

President and the officials sat around the table.

“So, anybody have any idea about what we are dealing with here?” President asked.

“It could be a terrorist attack.” One of the men said.

“But, we know, there are no terrorist with this kind of power.” President said. “Our Intel suggests that this originated from somewhere in Wyoming, through a naturally occurring tunnel. Did anybody have anything about that?”

“Mister President, we do think that this is done by a terrorist group right under our nose. They may have been hiding inside those tunnels.”

“Do anybody have any other suggestions, like a plague virus escaped from a research facility?” President asked.

Then a female official stood up and she went near president. She has a tablet computer with her and she showed an image on the tablet to president. “Sir, this came from Chicago. After whatever this was escaped from Wyoming tunnel, there was a series of earthquakes. Look at this.” The image showed a big deep trench like crack on the road. “This happened after the earthquakes, and immediately after that, a black smoke escaped from that crack, infecting our people with this plague.” She showed a new image to president. Now this image shows a stream of black smoke like thing escaping from the crack.

“What are you suggesting?”

“No terrorist have world-wide power. So, I think, this is something else.” The female official said.

“What something?”

“It’s just a figment of my imagination.”

“Shoot it.”

“I think, this is a demonic work.”

Suddenly president and others broke into a laugh. “Demons? For god’s sake, we studied politics to get here. We know religions are a crap. We don’t believe in these things.”

“But, you may want to change your beliefs, mister president. Do you remember that the infected in that room spoke?”

“We think it spoke. It may be producing a distinct sound that we haven’t heard before.”

“No, sir. That’s not any distinct sound. According to my religious knowledge, that’s an ancient language. I have heard it before. But, I am afraid, I can’t translate it.”

President and officials looked at the woman with shock and fear.

“We have to think about religious ways fast, before this thing get out of our control.” The woman said.

“This is out of our control.” A tall man stood up showing a live video in his tablet computer. The video shows an army of infected marching through a street with an infected shooting command at the followers by motioning its hand. And suddenly the group split up and they moved in four different directions. There could be at least thousand in one group. “This is a satellite video from Boston.”

“Okay, everyone, this might be demons. Now go back to work. We need to find a way to save our people.” President said.

Suddenly everyone stood up and they immediately left the room.

President stared at the image of the army of infected in Boston. “What the hell are you planning, bitches?”

Chapter 3

Pop! Pop! Pop!

A sudden gunfire reverberated through the facility. President and his assistant quickly shifted their gaze at the exit door with panic. A moment later, a female soldier ran inside the room and she closed the door. She also dead bolted the door. The woman took deep breaths. Tears of fear were uncontrollably oozing down through her eyes.

“What is it?” President asked.

“The infected ... The infected ... It bit our doctor. It somehow gotten loose from the table ... Then ... Then many came.” The woman said between hiccups.

“Many came?” President asked with complete fear.

“The infected we captured ... It screamed and many of those things got inside through the front door. They are everywhere. Sir, I don’t want to die.”

“Nobody is dying here. Is there any way out from here. If somehow we could get to the helipad, we could fly away.” President said mustering courage.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

More gunshots came from the nearby corridor.

“There is a way out from here through the rest room window.” The woman said as if it was revealed to her from the heavens.

“Okay. Then, let’s get out of here.” President rushed towards the door which leads to the rest room. The female soldier and the assistant followed him.

Chapter 4

President, the soldier and president’s assistant broke the window of the rest room and somehow they hauled themselves outside. As soon as the three of them entered into a corridor nearby the restroom, the female soldier ran in the left direction. President and his assistant followed her.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

Gun shots came from their rear. The three of them increased their speed. Suddenly the female soldier came to a halt near the end of the corridor. She quickly began to type in a password for the door, on a nearby computer system. A moment later, with a loud thud, the door budged. The three of them entered inside and president closed the door behind him. Then they saw a staircase in front of them. The three of them quickly began to ascend the stairs.

After several minutes, the long staircase ended in front of a door. The female soldier opened the door and they saw the sky. They rushed outside and president closed the door behind him.

Now they were on top of the facility, and around them they could see buildings. Then they spotted a helicopter resting nearby.

Suddenly a screech came from below. The three of them went near the edges and saw a sea of infected rushing inside the facility. Then they saw several nearby buildings on fire. Far away, a wild fire was ravaging a dry forest. President turned towards the helicopter.

“Where would we go?” The female soldier asked.

“We could go to USS Mariner. She is near the coast. Entire navy will be there.” President said.

“But, we need a pilot.” The soldier said.

“Don’t worry. I can fly a helicopter.” President said.

The three of them quickly got inside the helicopter.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

Gunshots came from nearby. President switched on the rotor, and a moment later the helicopter rose from the platform. Then the helicopter began to rush through the open sky.

Chapter 5

The helicopter rushed through the sky. There weren’t many buildings on the ground, and before long they passed the blazing forest. The female soldier looked outside through the side door and saw the whole forest burning away.

“How long will it take to reach there?” The woman asked.

“May be a couple of minutes.” President yelled.

The three of them were wearing head sets, but, it was very loud inside this small helicopter. Before long they entered inside a city. Below fire began to consume most buildings and a sea of infected or normal people were walking through the street. Those might be infected but, from this height they couldn’t be sure about that.

Far away President and team could see a wide open ocean. Suddenly the radar in front of the president began to beep.

“What is it?” The female soldier asked.

“Something is coming at us at an incredible speed.” President said.

Epilogue

The female soldier and president’s assistant peeked outside through the rear window. The radar continues to beep indicating that something was directly coming at this small helicopter.

Panic surged through the three of them. What will it be? Perhaps an unknown missile. Or perhaps a rogue fighter jet.

“Did you see anything?” President yelled.

“No, I don’t see anything. May be the radar is faulty.” The female soldier said.

“No, this is something else.” President muttered.

Then the female soldier and president’s assistant saw it.

“Is that a bird?” The female soldier asked.

“What? A bird?” President asked confused.

Then they saw it clearly. A man with large wide wings was coming at this small helicopter.

“What the?” Female soldier asked with shock.

Suddenly the man with wings drew out a metal rod attached to his back, and he began to beat at the back rotor using the metal rod.

“Ahh ...” Female soldier screamed.

“What is happening?” President asked. He still hadn’t seen the man with wings.

Suddenly the helicopter began to shake. The man with wings pounded on the back rotor with the metal rod for a final time and, the back rotor broke away from the tail. Suddenly the helicopter lost balance and it began to descend quickly. President worked on the gears in vain.

“Ahh ... Ahh ... Ahh ...” The three of them screamed and the helicopter crash landed.

Boom!

With a bang the helicopter exploded into pieces.