Diana yawned as she woke up on the bed in her room in Aidan's apartment. By then, it was evening. The smell of fried chicken got her sitting up instantly. She opened the door to exit her room.
"Good morning?" she greeted Aidan who was in the kitchen preparing food.
"Evening, seems like jet lag hit you." Aidan joked
"How did I get up here?" she asked as she stood next to him to see him cook some vegetables.
"You were rather heavy." he teased
"Meanie!" Diana said whilst pouting and giving Aidan a playful punch.
Aidan put the fried vegetables and chicken onto a plate and said, "Let's eat." and carried it to the dining table. On the table, there some fried bacon and eggs. At the same time, Diana poured a glass of wine for each of them. They slowly ate the food while chatting with each other.
"What happened while I was asleep?" Diana asked.
"Well, Penang Bridge had heavy military activity and as far as I know, United Nations have deployed their peacekeeping troops around Malaysia. A few of them drove by earlier too." Aidan added, "The government will be announcing something soon at 6:30 pm." Diana nodded and continued eating.
"Even though you slept earlier, I will force you to sleep no matter what tonight, you gotta adapt to the time, ya know?" Aidan said with a smile. Diana responded with a cute pout. Aidan picked up the television remote and switched on the TV to hear the announcement that will begin shortly.
The screen read, "A National Announcement Will Commence Shortly, Please Be Patient, Thank You."
While waiting, Aidan and Diana went to clean the dishes in the kitchen sink. As they washed, Aidan asked, "Do you have a boyfriend?"
Diana laughed and asked, "Why so sudden?"
Aidan's face turned pink and said, "Oh, you know, just curious." with a peal of awkward laughter.
Suddenly, the TV had sounds of cameras clicking and showed the prime minister, smoky-grey beard and hair, in his 60's he is young at heart. He tapped on the microphone twice and began his announcement.
"...due to this, we, as the government of our beloved Malaysia, have decided to put Malaysia under strict lockdown, no one can leave or enter the country or to any other states. This will take effect this midnight. Anyone who is seen outside their residence will be shot without warning by Malaysian Armed Forces. Military rations will be provided daily to families with the assistance of United Nations Peacekeeping troops. This is for the safety of our people, thank you." he walked off without saying another word. His demeanour was rather odd and the speech was abridged.
Aidan then shut off the TV and sighed in tiredness.
"It has been a long day, huh?" Diana said.
"Unlike you who slept through it." Aidan said with a rolling eye
"Hey, I'm getting used to it okay?" Diana puffed her cheeks in cute anger to which Aidan chuckled.
As the clock ticks by, Aidan stepped out onto his apartment's balcony to catch the shining stars in the sky. Unfortunately, the light pollution blocks what could have been a fantastic view. Diana came out and pat Aidan's back, noticing his slight disappointment.
Aidan turned to her and said, "At least I have a star right here." with a wink. Diana blushed and looked away in embarrassment at Aidan's words.
"You dummy..." she whispered under her breath.
They looked down from the 8th floor they were on to see the guardhouse had a few police cars and ambulances followed by United Nations armoured trucks and a few commercial trucks entering through the open boom gate. Then after the vehicles entered, the gate closed and curled barbed wires was set as a blockade.
"I shall go check out what is going on down there," Aidan told Diana. Aidan then exited his house and headed downstairs using an elevator. Upon reaching the ground floor, he was met with a few police officers holding rifles, talking to each other.
He approached one of them and asked, "Maafkan saya encik, apa hal berlaku?" pointing with his thumb at the emergency vehicles parked. The officer then explained about the terror activities carried out nationwide. Aidan then asked about the rumours online about a strange virus and the possibility of a zombie apocalypse. The officers stiffened up at the question but advised Aidan to not believe in rumours from the internet.
Before Aidan could ask more, the officers told him to return back home as food and resources will be distributed. Aidan gave a defeated look and left. He told Diana about the whole thing. Diana rubbed her chin but shrugged it off.
About an hour later, someone came to the door and the doorbell rang. Aidan opened the door to see a foreign UN peacekeeping volunteer with a blue beret carrying a military ration package, he seems to be Korean. Noticing Diana was inside, he asked his friend to hand him another package
"These are food and that would last for a day, there will another distribution tomorrow." the volunteer said as he handed the box though was light. He bowed and continued walking with his friend speaking Korean.
The days after were quiet. The street had no cars on it other than military vehicles rumbling on the streets doing their daily patrol. Aidan knew the government was obviously hiding something. Based on reports he read online and the situation he experienced in Kuala Lumpur, he believes that there is a zombie apocalypse raging on in the nation. Aidan tries to bring it up to Diana as to cure boredom, but it was apparent that Diana was uncomfortable about it. Aidan noticed it and decided not to talk about it further.
Over the next few nights on that week, the volunteers always provided all residents with military rations. At the same time, Diana was speaking to them every night as they come by.
"They are Koreans!" Diana told Aidan with full glee "One of them is North Korean, the other from the South." she continued. Aidan laughed, glad to see her happy during these trying times. She was excited to see them again the next night, but no one ever came to the door to her dismay. Diana was disappointed and bugged Aidan about it.
"Could you go down to check if they are alright?" she begged Aidan
Aidan shook his head and said, "I am lazy."
"Aww, come on, pleaseeeee." she begged some more to which she was rejected again.
She playfully punched Aidan's leg in desperation.
"Fine, fine, I will go and check it out," Aidan said and Diana cheered.
Aidan took the elevator and headed downstairs. Upon the opening of the door, he could see soldiers, police officers and paramedics in a state of panic. Soldiers and officers were holding rifles and got into battle position at the boom gate. One UN Peacekeeping soldier approached Aidan and shouted, "Sir, please return to your home immediately." He was wearing a blue army helmet and a thick vest while he was sweating profusely.
"What is going on?" Aidan asked.
"It doesn't concern you, return home now!" he raised his voice which got the attention of other officers and soldiers. Aidan gave a slight bow of apology and went home. Diana looked with expectancy as Aidan returned. After Aidan told her what had happened, Diana's smile turned upside down.
"They seem to be preparing for war," Aidan mentioned
Diana didn't respond.
"Oh, I haven't opened up my phone in a while, let's see what is on the news today." Aidan said to himself.
The first article appeared on his feed titled, "The Government Can't Hide It Anymore! A War Not Against Terrorist But Something More Serious."
As he read the article states that it is no doubt a zombie apocalypse going on and the terror attacks excuse was just a poor cover-up by the government. The article further stated that zombies had successfully infiltrated Penang Island 3 days ago. Aidan grew concerned as he read the article further. The article said that the Southern part of Penang has been overrun by zombies.
Feeling disturbed, Aidan put down his phone and saw that Diana was still saddened that she didn't get to see the two Korean volunteers again. He decided to approach her. As he approached her, there was a loud explosion from a distance. Instinctively, Aidan shielded Diana as the explosion blasted the glass around them. They weren't hurt though shaken.
Aidan helped a shaken Diana up and sat her down on his leather couch while he headed to the balcony to check out what had happened. Looking from about a kilometre away from his house, a gas station had exploded. The sight that welcomed him was flames dancing as high as a tree while people headed to the source of the sound. Not long after, the sound of distant gunshots was heard. Aidan looked down at the apartment's main entrance and saw the soldiers were shooting at a hoard, a limping, bloody, unnaturally scary hoard of zombies.
The sound of bullets pierced through the air along with the sound of the soldiers screaming orders or them possibly bitten. Diana seemed unfazed, Aidan wasn't surprised as Diana was from America after all. Diana still looked down, so Aidan decided to send her to sleep. The gunshots rang into the night and the loudness of it reduced little by little until complete silence took over. Aidan was ready to go to sleep when suddenly his door opened. He immediately stood up in fear.
"Who's there?" he said with fear.
"Its me, Diana." The meek voice said which calmed Aidan.
"You could've at least knocked!" Aidan said
"Hehe, no," Diana said as she got over next to Aidan who was still lying down on the bed.
"What is it?" Aidan asked.
"I can't sleep," she said as she pushed Aidan further into his bed to make way for her.
Taking this opportunity, Aidan started tickling her and said, "Come in to my room without knocking, huh?! Stealing my space as well?!" in a joking tone.
Diana laughed and shouted, "Stopppp, I'm sorryyyy."
After a quick while, Aidan stopped and Diana calmed down.
"Learned your lesson?" he asked sarcastically.
"Yes..." Diana responded.
Aidan then pulled her closer for her to sleep, facing him. Aidan ran his finger through her hair as Diana slowly went to sleep. Seeing Diana in his arms, Aidan didn't feel like sleeping. Aidan continued to play with her hair as she slowly drift off to sleep.
A sudden loud deafening siren rang through the whole suburbs. The siren was as loud as an air raid siren. Aidan immediately got up and realised it was morning, the morning rays shone through the window.
"Never heard that siren since the 2004 Tsunami," Aidan said to himself. Looking to his right, he saw Diana sleeping, using his arm as a pillow. He nudged her and it didn't take long for her to wake up to the sound of the sirens outside. Unable to cope with the sound Aidan forcefully got up, almost pushing Diana off. He walked to the balcony and slide the window door shut, suppressing the siren slightly.
He could look outside to see the fire from the explosion from last night was still burning and strange moving figures lingering. Soon after, the siren switched to an announcement.
"Attention all citizens of Malaysia, an announcement will be made on national television in half an hour, we recommend all citizens to switch on their television or radio in preparation of the announcement, thank you."
The announcement repeated once more before pure silence kicked in. Aidan walked over to the television and turned it on. There was the emblem of the Malaysian Government, below it had a text that said," Announcement will begin in:" along with a countdown timer below which had 27 minutes left.
"Another announcement?" Aidan said as shook his head in slight disappointment. Diana plopped herself on the couch with a pack of Doritos. Aidan sat next to her.
"Don't mind if I do," and reached out to try and eat but Diana pulled away and hissed at Aidan.
Aidan laughed and said, "Alright, alright, you do you." and Diana continued eating while glaring at Aidan.
Soon the timer reached zero and the screen turned to a screen showing the Malaysian National Emergency Alert System and a warning sound to get the attention of residents.
"This is the Malaysian National Emergency Alert System," the announcement began, "Please keep all your devices on and pay attention to the following announcement."
Aidan and Diana began to watch attentively as a speech began
"The government first would like to apologise to all citizens residing in Malaysia for the false news of a terror attack on Malaysia. The Malaysian government now promises full transparency in reporting news. Malaysia now is actually facing a threat of what many would call 'zombies'. Due to the severity of the situation, the lockdown will remain in place until further notice. We recommend you, the people of Malaysia to NEVER leave the house unless you are told it is safe to. Keep all doors and windows shut and make sure you can't be seen or heard by zombies."
The announcement continued, "The Malaysian Armed Forces are working along the United Nations Peacekeeping troops and military troops from Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States, Philipines, Indonesia, Unified Korea, European Union and Russia. Food supplies will continue to be redistributed to interrupted areas of the nation."
After that, the Emergency Alert System showed the symptoms and precautions that everyone must take in order to keep themselves safe. Aidan yawned again. Diana on the other hand was still eating her Doritos. Feeling bored, Aidan wanted to check out the outside.
"It'll be a suicide mission," Dian replied.
"I am bored just staying indoors." Aidan groaned.
"Don't die, okay?" Diana added.
Aidan nodded and exited his apartment unit and onto the corridor. The silence was eerie. He remembered a few days ago when the aunties were gossiping away, filling the air. aidan put on his slippers and slowly walked down the corridor to the elevator. Next to the elevator, about 4 feet away was the staircase, from there, he could hear echos of inaudible sounds. Suddly, there were gunshots. He walked to the staircase as the shots got louder. Suddenly, a police officer tripped and fall after stumbling up the stairs.
"Lari!! Lari!!" the officer shouted and Aidan ran off back to his apartment, he heard the officer scream as he fired a few shots. Aidan dashed back into his house and locked all doors and windows. Seeing his panic, Diana questioned him. Aidan explained what had happened. Diana nodded but decidedly not said anything.
"You have been a little different lately, what's the matter?" Aidan brought up.
"I have?" she turned to look at him with a gleaming smile.
Looking at her smile, he said, "Nevermind, maybe I was just tired."
Suddenly, he heard the door banging. Aidan looked out the peephole and saw the same police officer shouting for help. Seeing the hoard mauling, Aidan moved his hand away from the doorknob. Meanwhile, other curious neighbours came out of their houses to see the commotion while heroic ones went to pull the zombies away but instead got bitten, and screams filled the corridor.
"Can I see?" Diana asked.
Aidan was too speechless and just let Diana watch it unfold. She clenched her chest at the sight of people dying in front of her and she fell weak to her knees. Aidan hugged her and held her up to her room while the sounds of the groans of the zombies seeped through the door.
"Maybe we should store water just in case," Diana mentioned.
"Oh yeah, wanna help me?" Aidan asked.
"Sure!" Diana said.
Aidan opened the cupboard under the sink and pulled out two five-litre and three 1-litre plastic bottles. Aidan filled them with water from his water filter with the help of Diana.
Two weeks passed since. Diana and Aidan were restless, being at home 24/7.
"It's time we make a move!" Aidan said with determination.
"But why?" Diana asked
"There is no hope of us being saved and plus electricity and water
"But there are zombies outside," Diana added.
"Let's just hope there will be a distraction to attract them away. In the meantime, let's get ready to make a move."
Aidan went to his room and pulled down two backpacks. "Here's one for you." he said.
Instead, Diana shook her head and instead held up her black with yellow detailsBTS backpack and said, "I'll use this instead." with a smirk. Aidan laughed and nodded.
From his room, Aidan pulled out a first aid kit from his bedside drawer and passed it to Diana.
"Here, you shall be holding on to this," he added. He then went to his kitchen and took out a chef's knife and cleaver from the knife holder.
"Which would you like?" he asked Diana.
"Of course, the butcher knife," she responded as Aidan handed it to her.
Just then, more shots were heard upstairs which caught them off guard. Hopeful, Aidan checked the peephole. He could see the zombies slowly moving away towards the direction of the sound.
"Get ready, Diana, its now or never!" Aidan said as she packed up the snacks and essentials.
They put on their backpack and held up their knives. A few minutes passed.
"Alright, let's go." Aidan said and he opened the door. Looking at the floor, had dried up blood from both the zombies and the officer. Without hesitation, Aidan vomited on the spot while Diana held back. Aidan wiped his mouth with his handkerchief and wrapped his mouth with it. They walked towards the staircase and slowly walked down each floor with caution.
They finally reached the ground floor safely. Looking around, there were zombies lingering but didn't seem to notice them and there were some corpses lying on the ground. The state of the apartment was in slight disarray and the remains of a former military presence. Aidan and Diana walked towards the open air which had military tents propped up. The tent was ripped open and stained with blood, signs that it was raided by the undead.
Aidan and Diana entered one of the tents with great care and saw a wardrobe full of bulletproof and military clothing. He pulled out a bulletproof vest and a military uniform, both belonging to the United Nations Peacekeeping force.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Aidan smirked, looking at Diana.
Diana smirked in return, understanding his question and picked out a South Korean soldier's outfit which had the surname 'Jeon' written on the nametag. Knowing the reference, Aidan smirked once more.
A few minutes later, they changed into full UN Peacekeeping soldier outfits topped with the blue UN soldier helmet with Aidan wearing one that belonged to a Chinese Troop and they left the tent. Lucky for them, no zombies were around but distant gunshots from inside the apartment can still be heard. They also picked up some ammunition from the storage in the tents.
Aidan picked up a rifle from the gun rack and stared cluelessly at it. Turning to Diana, he asked, "Do you use rifles often?"
Looking proud, she said, "Well, of course! Unlike you non-gun-wielding peasants" and chuckled.
Aidan rolled his eyes and handed the rifle over, he said, "Well, you shall take the rifle and I..." he said as he picked up a simple duty-issued pistol from the ground and said, "Will take this instead."
"You know how to use a pistol?"
"Eh, more or less," Aidan replied proudly and fired a shot into the air without giving a second thought.
"Are you crazy?!" Diana responded, "You're gonna attract zombies!"
"Well then," Aidan said, "Let's get going!" and they sprinted off.
They managed to get through the barbed wire boom gate without getting cut and continue walking on the deserted streets. Though it wasn't long until they reached a long line of abandoned traffic leading to town. They climbed onto an abandoned car to see the unending wave of cars and the undead walking within them. Exhausted at the view, Diana accidentally dropped her gun and shattered the windshield of the sedan they were standing on, causing an alarm.
Like hearing a piece of very good music, all the zombies around them turned in their direction.