Antagonist: Dependent

CHAPTER 5

                                 The Expedition

I woke up the next morning as always. Waking up in my torn clothes and brushing my teeth with a worn out toothbrush. I squeezed out whatever's left in the toothpaste tube. If it had not been for the broken windows and gaps in the walls, it would feel like another day before the outbreak.

I opened the last can of kennel corn and tomato sauce. It was the last of my rations but it didn't matter. I am leaving today and I doubt I will be back any time soon. I stuffed all my belongings into the haversack; a pen, notebook,water bottles,a rope and a flashlight. I picked up the letter from the table and flipped it to the back; an address was written in black ink. This must be the quarantine facility that my mother was taken to. I read the address and I was taken aback. The National Stadium. It was all the way at Kallang. I wasnt how long it was going to take me to reach there, let alone being able to survive whatever the hell was out there.

I fetched the gear I had collected all these times. Knee protectors, glocks, leather gloves, a bulletproof vest , a hard head helmet and elbow guards. It was bulky but I needed the utmost protection. I grabbed my rifle, threw the bag around my shoulders and headed to the door.

I stood at the doorway and looked back into the empty unit. The base I had for 2 months, the place I called home for the past 15 years old. I took a deep breath and shut the door. I told myself I was just leaving for school.

I approached the mall entrance, swaying my rifle around while surveying my surroundings for potential ambushes. It was difficult to assess for threats due to the sheer amount of blind spots around. Anything could come out from the surrounding apartments or in between the cars and the dense yellow smoke didn't make things any better. I climbed across a barricade while setting my eyes on the military vehicle that crashed into the Mcdonalds around the corner. I wasn't paying attention when I fell into an open manhole. I instinctively grabbed onto the edge of the road and used all my strength to pull myself up.

"Damn, that was a close shave. Gotta stop being so distracted all the time." I scolded myself.

The front entrance was barricaded shut with wooden planks with a thick steel bar wedged between the door handles. I used both hands and grabbed one end of the bar and leaned back. I relied on my body weight and tried to wedge the bar out. It fell on the floor with a loud clunk. It revealed a thick mess of chains wrapped around the door. The glass was broken but the spaces weren't enough for me to fit through . The blocky gold padlock hung precariously from the chain, the wind blowing while it gained momentum to hit against the door every few seconds with a "clink". Despite such a faint sound made by such a small object, the surroundings were so quiet it could be heard from miles away. It reminded me of how much the world changed. The bustling atmosphere of this major traffic junction is replaced by complete silence . A silence that could turn one insane.

I did not have a lockpick nor anything that could help me to remove the lock.I needed an alternative way to get in. The car park was flooded and the loading bay was fogged in the mysterious yellow smoke and there was no way I was going in there. Then it struck me. I remembered the hole the military vehicle made when it crashed into one of the stores. The fall must have shocked me so hard I must have forgotten about that. I walked towards the crash site and bent down the slightly shorter gap than me in the wall. It gets darker as you move further into the store. The sunlight seeping in through the large windows was not enough to give me a proper view of where I was heading towards. All I could see was overturned tables and chairs. Debris and blood was scattered everywhere.

I walked into the main atrium of the mall.The oval shaped layout of the mall had never felt so intimidating. The red-brown light flowing in from the glass roof washed the empty and deserted mall, making it look like a hellish landscape. It was barely sufficient enough for me to see the corridors leading into the other shops. I walked cautiously through the mall, being sure to check for anyone or anything that may endanger my life.