ELPIDIOS: The Heir Must Survive - A Zombie Novel

CHAPTER 12: A Glimpse of Hope or Hell?

My scream echoes together with Violet's scream that seems to be higher than mine. I drown in hers. I reach out my hands, covering my face with my palms facung forward. If I'm going to be eaten, I don't my face to be chewed off.

I feel a tingling on my palms and a heavy weight travels from the centre of my body to my palms. I screams but it only feels like air coming out instead my voice. My head becomes heavy and numb. My body feels restless and everything feels heavy and paralysing. In that moment, the world turns black and silent. I hear nothing, feel nothing, see nothing. Coldness starts to creeps in. I shivers and I wrap my arms around me even if I feel no sense of touch on them. I still feel cold. Only coldness.

Once upon a time, old thinkers said that when a person's going to die, he or she will have their lifetime flashing back before their eyes. I don't see mine. Is that mean I'm dead or does it means, I've become one of them? One of the infected. One of the walking dead. One that need to be shot to head before others can confirm my death. I don't want that. I don't want to be those things.

Please.

Fear that I've become mindless mind with a goal of living my mindless life by eating anything I find eatable is heartbreaking. I fail to protect my sister. I have fail. I feel suffocating by the thoughts of it. My lungs feel like it smothered with toxic air. I try to inhale, taking a deep breath but every times it feels nothing but pain. I feel like my lungs are shrinking, unable to take any more oxygen. I choke to grasp for air, trying to breath normally. But it's painful, it's suffocating, it's crushing me.

Seconds feel like a lifetime. My chest starts to feel numb and it slowly change to a poke. Then the poke changes to a pain like getting bitten by an ant. It stops for a second, then it feels like someone gives me a strong nudge to my chest. The last feels like a punch given by a professional fighter. I yelp in pain and gasp for air. I bring my body upwards and blink to the sudden redness in front of me. My breathing becomes normal again, only the air taste smoky. I cough few times before the breath become smooth. I blink rapidly to clear the smoke covering my eyes. The ground is covers with huge flame and broken pieces from the helicopter crash. My ears pick up a hum that slowly change to a whisper before becomes a clear call. The shake of my right shoulder alerts me. I turn my head to see Violet; covers with dirt and cuts.

"W-w-w-wha-wha-what ha-hap-happened?" My voice croaks.

"We crashed." Her voice pierce through my eardrums.

I squint and squeal over her voice. "Shhhhhhhhh...." I reach out my arm for her to help me gets to my feet. I stumble to my knees but she manages to left me up again despite her shaking body. "What a landing!" My voice hoarse and ache. Strangely, my fingers shaking and numb. I try to move them but the senses come later than I hope. "Where're the others?" I ask, looking around to see the wreckage.

"Only me." She answers immediately. "The seatbelt helps me from flying off the windshield."

"Told you seatbelt will help." I lift up my numb right arm and touch Violet's cheek.

"We will put in the advertisement when we get home. Happy?" Violet rolls her eyes as she helps me walking.

"Did you manage to grab any weapon?" I ask. My head aches again and Violet's voice slips away and come back again.

"What?" I ask again, pinching my forehead to get the pain ease down.

"You're not okay." Her voice finally clears through my eardrums.

"The trip to heaven is oddly rough." I cough off with a laugh.

"That's not funny." Violet answers seriously as she hutches and fixes her grip on me.

"No worries, you pull me back." I wink.

"You're welcome" Violet nods smiling in the air. "I don't you're pure enough to go there yet." she shrugs.

I break another rough laugh despite my chest and throat are in agony. I can't say that the laugh means I'm greatful or I regret that she did. I pull myself up to easy Violet on the carry. "So, where are we going now?" I ask as I clear my throat.

"We are close to the town, I hope the medical team is still intact." Violet answers with a frown face.

"That's why we need the weapons." I take another deep inhale and continue walking. Violet doesn't answer me. She heaves me with all her strength but I know she's tired. The crash must have injured her somehow but nothing I see that seems critical. It made me wonder if how does she survive the crash without any severe injuries? I just died.

"You're strong Vee, you really are. And I thank you for that."

We walk until we see buildings in front of us. The dirt under our feet slowly becoming a black pave. We look at each other, afraid to the step on the foreign material before reluctantly enter into the chaotic town. Most of the buildings are on fire and the doors wide open. I keep my eyes wide to ensure that no threats come to attack us. We walk deeper into the town, unsure which side are we at and try to locate the military base.

"Do you know where exactly the base?" I ask Violet, realising that I have no clue where the location of the military's medical team.

"Are you asking me?" Violet's eyes wide open; surprised by the question that she mumbles for words after. "If you put me in charge, we will never survive."

I blink rapidly. "If only you know that you are more than your name."

Violet lowers her face and gazes on the ground. "What do we do?" Violet asks. We stop on our track and begin scanning the area for any signs that indicate the position of military base.

"I think it's better that we lay low for now. Both of us are injured and tired. It's best to gather our strength if we want to find the military." I suggest. Violet agrees and we walk forward to find a place to crash in for the night.

As we enter into a junction interlink to (what seems to be) a row of shop houses, we stop as a group of dead walker houvering the street. I pull Violet to hide behind a several tall green plastic cans with wheels that smells like a pile of waste. We lower ourselves, kneeling on the black surface. My eyes scan through the street if there's anything after the street but it is pure darkness on the end of the street.

"What are we going to do? Violet whispers behind me.

"Let's turn back." I reply. I direct Violet to make a turn and leave the area before any of the walkers notice us. Violet slowly gets up from our hiding and I follows behind her. A few steps away from the street, a loud scream echoes at another road to our left. Both of us turn. Violet jerk back and squeezes my arm. Another scream echoes but this time it was squeaky like the throat is tore up. The hair behind my next stands and I quickly turn around to see a wounded man standing close to my face.

His face is torn like it was chewed by a big animal. His left eye hangs out from the socket and I can hear Violet's vomit reaction. Part of his hands full of bite marks and I swear I can the metal in his bone.

"Dee..." her voice trails as she calls me, pulling me closer.

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1) Thankfully DK is not dead. Technically.... she did????

2) Now what?

3) Will they survive in the place where they have no idea what's the rules are?

4) Will they be dead before they can get back into Elpidios?

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