HARRY
What would be the best words to describe what I’m feeling right now?
Fear. Dread. Paranoia.
Any word synonymous to those words I guess would best depict my emotions at this time. It had been more or less two or three weeks since my eyes laid their sight on the once majestic vista of London, only to be superseded by the ghastly fate of the total wreck caused by this appalling apocalypse. The early morning sun had yet to make its vivid debut anytime soon, as the little stars were making their final sojourns right above the gloomy sky. Those stars might be diminutive in size, but what mattered was the fact that they were still going on, persevering to make their final moments of luster to provide even just a glint of light that would make the dusky blues sparkle with glee. Like those little stars, I was persistent to carry on. I still had that little spark of hope that everything would be alright, and I would hold on to that little hope to live with my friends as soon as we would find the answers.
“We’re almost there Harry. Are you ready?” Mike suddenly asked, interrupting my thoughts of my expectations after this treacherous trip. He kept his eyes on the road, his knuckles almost turning to white as his hands held firmly on the wheel. We had been cruising along the dangerous roads for a few minutes, passing through the streets and boulevards dwelled by the Creatures as they could only look at us as we drove through.
“Yeah. I think I am,” I answered, giving him my best smile.
Apparently, I felt suddenly unenthused with my decision. As each second passed by, the view of the massive structure was coming closer, and it did look like a place where all of the scientific pandemonium had happened that caused all of this mayhem – its seamlessly plain white partitions matched with the crystal glass doors and windows that altogether formed an obscure spherical-like building, similar to some of the laboratories I had seen in science fiction movies. It would’ve had been a great place for a school excursion of science geek kids and their dreams would be answered if they’d see this, but the thought that those children’s lives taken away because of the dreaded Plague sent an upsetting feeling in my heart. The little kids back home in Cheshire would be delighted if they would see this, for it was every child’s dream to explore and learn new things, especially involving the field of Science. Yet, they didn’t know that this renowned fantasy institute had caused all of this mess which caused a great amount of people be carried away from the bliss of life.
“Shit,” I mumbled to myself as our car made its hushed halt beside the bushes parallel to the building. Mike immediately got his gun from behind the seats and he urged me to do same. We both paused for a while, letting our eyes feast on the shocking sight in front of the Schmidt Institute.
“You’re right. Funny how the name of this place suits it. It’s just full of shit,” he kidded sardonically, trying to relieve the situation we were in. He gave me a warm smile, and that was all I needed in order to feel somehow a little at ease despite the growing fear in my soul. My heart was beginning to beat like a drum, making endless pattering rhythms similar to someone having palpitations.
“Just tell me when you’re ready, lad. I got your back,” he said reassuringly, and his tactics of making me feel secured was quite working. “Remember our simple plan?”
“Yeah. Run like it’s your last chance to live. I got it, I’m ready,” I told him fictitiously, trying to prove to him that I was someone whom he could count on.
He nodded in response and the two of us made our way out of our place of retreat. There was absolutely no turning back at this point, and soon enough, Mike led the way by making his slow but careful steps towards the building. With only a gun in my hand and the customized leather jacket providing momentary protection from possible future deadly nibbles, I braced myself forward following his lead.
With every step, sudden senses of fear ran through my nerves like the chill of the icy morning wind that caressed my face. According to Mike, who claimed himself to be one of the people involved in the first clinical trials for patients given with a so called biological warrior cell, they made initial assumptions that generally, the Infected were technically blind, and just like in any other zombie movies made, they would only rely on their sense of smell. With that being said, the only thing that would trigger their attacks would be the delicious aroma of the human blood. The second thing to consider was their strong sense of hearing as well, and that’s why shooting bullets could be a bad thing to do. It was quite cliché to think, but he also wondered why some of these Monsters could be quite alarming even just seeing a tiny point of light, and he came to a conclusion that the cell had caused quite a variety of results among the Infected.
And just like what I had experienced in the past, they seemed to think on their own, and Mike agreed with my observations. He assumed that as time went by, given the fact that it had been five months at least, the cell might have had caused certain kinds of mutations that were just difficult to explain at the moment. That’s why we’re here in the first place, and that’s to find answers to all of these phenomena. Given all of these unpredictable behavior of the Infected, our chances of being noticed as we carried on to walk forward were absolutely great, and that’s something not to be happy about. To simplify things, anything is possible, and we were hoping that the ones we were looking right now were those who had a weak sense of sight and smell, as well as those who only move by their slow shambles with their broken limbs.
“Just a few more steps. How are you Harry?” Mike turned and whispered to me, and I only gave him a weak smile and a slight nod to indicate my state.
My head was all over the place, but I tried to focus on saying little prayers to Him, asking for our safety. Although I couldn’t quite concentrate, for heaps of dead and rotting bodies were dispersed all throughout the outer premises of Schmidt, and our handkerchiefs were not doing enough to conceal the overpowering whiff of the dead. Okay, I was wrong. Where is Zayn when I needed him? I would do anything to smell his perfumes again, or even just Louis’ sweaty scent after having a whole day’s football practice. Those were so much better than smelling these corpses, there’s no doubt about that.
After a few more steps, our feet finally touched the small portions of a marbled floor where a massive glass door had a gap big enough for the two of us to enter. The first stage of this adventure finally ended, and thank God that the small number of Infected shambling and devouring the dead bodies’ flesh outside didn’t notice our entry. As we made it inside, I was astounded by the splendor of the place – where everything was virtually made out of glass, accentuated with the whitest granite floors and walls that surround the empty hallways. Although, what’s disappointing was the fact that they were stained with marks of blood, indicating the horrific episodes that once happened here during the assaults.
The silence was then interrupted by faint cries somewhere inside, sounding like the bellows of doomed souls echoing around the halls.
“Remember my second rule. Only use the gun whenever necessary. Use Niall’s stake as much as you can, okay?”
“Okay.”
The stake that Niall used to hold on to protect himself back on Tesco was all set up on my small backpack, and it was probably the best weapon to kill with minimal noise. Mike urged me to follow him and we slowly made our way to the smooth stairs, most of the railings and steps garnished with crimson stains and flesh leftovers, as we were welcomed with more decomposing bodies the more we made our way upstairs. He even recognized some of them, after seeing their nameplates plastered on their lab coats.
“Where are we going?”
“We’re going to the main lab. For I can remember, that’s where all of the documents of the results are kept safe. Hopefully they’re still there, as well as some antibiotics in case of emergencies. But…”
“But…what?” I asked with concern, for his face never looked more uncomfortable than before.
“Nothing lad. Sorry. Let’s just keep moving and make this quick, alright?” I couldn’t do anything but only nod in response. Even though I didn’t know what he was worried about, one thing’s for sure: we were not alone. More faint sounds of cries and clattering of glass reverberated the corridors, and I was more certain than they were more than the number I could at least count. Both of us kept still, listening as the sounds seemed to come closer from where we were. Wearing the strap of the gun, my hands made a grab for Niall’s stake, holding it firmly against my palms. With enough time to study the scene, our assumptions were right.
Thump.
Thump.
The sounds of the cries were coming closer.
Closer.
And closer.
Right before in our eyes, a mob of them began to sprint from the right wing’s overpass, their blood-stained teeth and bloodshot eyes yearning nothing only but our flesh.
“The main lab’s on the sixth floor. We have to move Harry, now!”
With that, the only intuition of my mind was to turn and we began to run. I could hear them behind us, their teeth clashing and fingers seemingly making earsplitting sounds against the walls that made my whole being abstracted from my goal to escape.
Run like it’s your last chance to live, that was Mike would always tell me and I tried my best to perform his rule. With my legs making their unsteady sprint on the staircases, it was becoming more and more difficult as more steps were required to reach the subsequent floors. If only the elevator was functioning, we weren’t in this chasing spree, but we had no other choice.
Fourth.
I was gasping for breath, and my initial strength was slowly fading away. This should be a breeze for me to do, for I had always been working out in the past, but for some reason, my body functions suddenly changed. It was required for us in the band to keep our physical health, but given these circumstances, I was sure that everything I had worked for was all a waste. In front of me, Mike was making his steady ascent, although he was starting to lose his control as well.
Fifth.
He was holding the left part of his abdomen, and I took the chance to run beside him and aided in support. Both of us hastily climbed the steps, but the more we did, the more the sounds behind us were becoming closer, until I made the worst decision to look back – they were only a few steps behind us.
Sixth.
“Hold on Mike. Which way?”
“Straight ahead to those big glass doors.”
With just one gaze, it was easy to spot what he was talking about. There was a wide glass wall right in front of us, with a panel of number pads illuminating in front of what seemed to be the door towards the main laboratory. Without any moment to spare, Mike let go of my grip and speedily typed the number code, closing his eyes as if asking for a miracle for the machinery to work.
“Please work. Come on!”
I was having palpitations, my heart making its aggressive thuds against my chest as we waited for the door to open. Mike typed in the code again, but the sight in front of me didn’t alleviate the situation. The mob finally made their ascent to where we were, and of how much I assumed, there were at least a dozen of them, making a full halt as our eyes met each other. Some of them were in jeans, t-shirt and even in sneakers, as some were wearing filthy pieces of clothing and lab gowns, all flailing their limbs feebly. From their posture, they seemed to be studying the situation, and that was one of the things that I despise about them. It’s in their nature. They were making schemes on their own. They were not the usual stupid zombies in movies who would just attack naively upon the sight of their prey.
I froze in place. I didn’t know what to do. Even I had two weapons in my possession; I couldn’t find the courage to use them. Their eyes were as red as melted rubies, even more intense than flaming stars that I could imagine.
“Mike?”
He didn’t answer, and I could hear him trying to get the code pad work but only grunting in frustration. As he pursued his attempts, I was taken aback when one of the Infected stepped forward from behind the group, making a distance closer to mine. My eyes grew with fear as he came into a halt just a few meters from me, his scarlet-stained eyes with hints of black veins gaping at me with intense fury. And what was more surprising was the fact that he moved with such poise, somewhat similar to how a normal human would move and walk. I took a step back, until I was finally beside Mike, who had his head covered by his hands in defeat, indicating our downfall in our futile attempt to find the answers.
“It won’t work Harry. I’m so sorry,” he suddenly spoke up as he situated his hand on my arm, regretfully asking for an apology.
“Of course it will. Where’s your faith, Mike? Don’t give up for your daughter. Don’t give up for Hannah,” I said, trying my best endeavor to get his spirits up. Although as much as I was looking tough and strong for him, I was all defeated inside as well. But given the situation, there was no option of giving up. We had something in our hands, and this time, rules were meant to be broken.
Tears started to fall on his cheeks, but despite his feeling of loss, he carried on typing the code and making adjustments among the tangled wires below the pad. In my case, my eyes didn’t leave their gaze on the Creature who took another step forward, followed by two more behind him, cracking their necks as they took each step. I didn’t know what came into me, but I suddenly found a hint of audacity to step forward, trying to observe their unusual actions of not making an instant assault to Mike and me.
From the way he looked, he was a Caucasian, probably on his forties, tall, wiry built with sagging brown hair in a white lab coat. His face glittered, the minimal amount of light from the uprising sun outside refracting of hundreds of tiny splinters of glass etched on his face. His nose appeared to be broken, and several scratches crossed his face. From his initial look of nothing but rage, it somewhat turned into something softer, small grunts of agony escaping from his lips. The two behind him did the same, and I couldn’t help but wonder why they were doing those things. As his eyes twitched with such pace, I was astounded to see that he raised his arm forward, a gesture of what seemed to be someone who was asking for…help.
“W-what? Mike, ” I mumbled to myself, and trying to whisper to him to get his attention. With my attempt a success, he stepped forward beside me, and both of us looked in awe at the man in front of us.
“What is this?” He asked, more like to himself rather than to me. As our focus was implanted on the revelation beyond belief, a beeping sound from behind turned us back to reality as we heard the doors finally open.
“Harry, let’s go!” He screamed and in one split second, a Creature other than the three who stepped forward suddenly made a quick sprint towards me. I braced myself for the attack only to hear a deafening outburst of a bullet from beside me.
“Harry, move. Now!”
The Infected fell hard to the ground, a massive pool of blood surging from its perforated skull. Then, I saw the expression of the man in the lab coat made a sudden change. All of them started to snap their bones, their faces returned to the state of vehemence as they began to lurch forward to both of us. I couldn’t move. I was too astounded until they started to make their way closer to me.
“Harry!”