"How can I be so careless? I lost sight of her when we were still at the aisles." I curse in my thoughts. I press my head hard, trying to calm myself, discarding the guilt I had for losing Violet. I need to find her.
"Calm down, I'm sure she's fine." Taylor whispers at my ears with a gentle voice. Trying to ease my nerves. He caress my back softly like I'm a little child. I want to believe that. I want to believe it. "Don't worry." He adds. She is going to be alright. I whisper to myself but as soon as I heard a scream behind the close door, I immediately barge to the door, wanting to open it. Desperately I want to go to where ever the scream are but Taylor pulls me on my waist as he pulls me away from the doorknob. He lifts me up and carries me to the other side of the room. I try to push his arms reaching for the door, urging him to let go. I have to get to my sister.
"Let go of me. Where the rest of the group go?" I yell.
"CALM DOWN" Taylor shouts as he puts me down.
"My sister is with them. I need to get to her. What if that screams was her?" I punch him on his chest immediately as my feet reach the ground. I try to run to the door back but he stops me.
"Are you insane?" he raises his voice. "They're out there. You can't just open the door. Are you trying to kill all of us?"
"I need to get to my sister." My pupil shrinks, I look at him with anger and frustration. I glare into his eyes and see my reflection. I dug my nails deep into my palms, trying to hold my anger. Anger to myself or to Taylor, I'm not entirely sure.
"I know that. But what you are doing right now can kill all of us. Kill yourself." Taylor persuades with confrontation.
I want to let out my frustration so bad but instead, I held my breath as I count the numbers to calm myself. My head starts to throb. It beats rapidly like the beating of my heart. I clench my head with my left palm as I hold my tears, my anger. How can I be so stupid? Violet, please stay alive until I come. Wait for me. I'm coming my dear.
"There's an open ventilation path." A boy pointed above us. I stop to look at where he was pointing and frown to the unfamiliar panel above me. "You can climb there and try to look your sister. It links to the air tunnel."
"What in the world is that?"
"It's more like an air purifier. It sucks up bad odor, harmful fume out from a seclude space." Taylor's explanation make me realise how idiotic I must sound and for him to explain it so calmly is a trait that is difficult to find in Elpidios. I nod to the explanation and figures that this method can work. Please Violet, stay alive until I reach you. I whisper to myself, alleviate it up. "So, this compartment is all over the building?" I ask one more question.
"Yes. Only to this floor it is. If you're lucky you might able to find a way to get up or to go down." Taylor says as he helps me climb onto the shack, I push the window inwards, spreading the dust on my face as I enter. It is dusty and covered with cobweb. I sneeze few times and keep rubbing my nose. My eyes started to become reddish, blurring my sight.
"Hand over your cloth around your neck." I reach out to Taylor. His forehead wrinkles as he pushes my hand away, refusing to lend it to me.
"Oh! Come on." I insist.
"Seriously?" Tylor complains, dissatisfy on my desperate request.
"Hand it over." I almost yell.
He then reluctantly untie the fold off his neck and hand it over to me. "By the way, it calls bandana." I snatch the 'bandana' and quickly fold it into triangle. I put it around my head covering my nose and mouth. As I breathe in, I took a sniff on the bandana and turn to the man.
"Seriously, can't you at least wash the bandana?" I complain.
"Can't you at least focus on your mission?" he argues back.
I curse and turn into the ventilation. I lie down on my stomach and start to crawl in the tunnel but realising something I turn back to the shack I came from. "How do I know where to go?" I ask to the group. Taylor give me a perplexed look. "I think you have to go with your instinct DK. That's all I can say." he answers. I nod and crawl into the tunnel. I take a deep breathe, concentrating about Violet.
Follow my instinct. Follow my instinct. My instinct? Seriously? My instinct is either a scary thought or just plain stupid. Stupid but worth it. Worth it. Totally worth it. Just follow my instinct. Instinct. Now, I should go left or right?
I turn to the right and back to the left uncertain of which is the correct way. In that moment of doubt, I remember what happen this morning when I had that weird moment. So I try to do that again. And how do I do that again? Okay! How exactly those people in the movies played it. Picturing the subject and concentrate on it. Right. Exactly. Of course. I picture her in my head. Thinking that she might be in danger if I don't hurry up. With that thought and memory, I feel a sudden numbness in my head. Something is happening. Yes! Something is happening.
I try to press on the numbness. Hoping for miracle. Nope! I got nothing.
I tried again. I close my eyes for better concentration. I imagin her is her usual casual clothes. Blue dress with white lace. Dancing under the summer glow. Her blushing cheek and sparkling eyes gleaming with happiness.
When I open my eyes, I see a fast movement of a corridor, then a movement towards the escalator. I see more of zombies chasing. And a scream echoes. I start crawling instantaneous through the tunnel, with Violet's vision as my guide. The tunnel is full of dust and spider web but I keep moving, I turn to the right, following my instinct. I stop at every ventilation I acquainted to see if I'm getting closer. But all I see is more zombies gliding or crawling to find anything eatable. The air in the tunnel humid and dry make me barely breathing. I need to find Violet quickly and get out of this small space. I starting to get claustrophobic.
After the second left turn, I heard another scream. I crawl towards it ignoring the noises and banging I made from the crawling. When I reach to a shack, my eyes collided with the eyes that I've been trying to find. That blue eyes. I quickly jump through it and land between the pack of zombies and the group. The moments my eyes find Violet's, I return to my self as I stand on my feet. I start to take shots at the zombies as I scream to the group to start moving.
We run towards a storage room that links to the loading garage. As Violet run towards the garage, John Quichburd pushes Violet away so that he can enters the garage first. Violet slams herself violently to the wall before she collapses. With a shock, I stop at her and quickly carried her up on my left arm with another keep firing the bullet gun. When I reach into the loading garage with unconscious Violet, I quickly close the door between the loading garage and the storage room. I place Violet gently on the floor and examine her.
Noticing that they have a chance to escape, they start to jump on a nearby vehicle to leave. "Wait! Help me." I beg.
"Leave her." Quichburd screams. "She'll be a weight to us."
My clench my teeth tight, holding every anger I had at him. I open my mouth letting out every breath I had at that moment. "She's my sister for goodness sake. There's no way in the world, I would leave her." I snap.
The door behind me begin to stamp with zombies. They try to break through the door as I heard the roars and the banging on the door. I turn to the man and asking him to help one last time but he looks at me with a nuisance. He gets into the truck with the rest of the group.
"What about the rest? They are in the back room." I inform. The engine starts and the gate is open slowly.
"It's too late for them." He says before wanting to leave the garage along with the black couple and the mother and son.
I stare at him with fear and hope. For the times I never fear of anything except in my dreams, but losing my dearest family is the most fearful of them all. My hands begin to shake and my mouth trembles, clattering my teeth. He stares at me through the windscreen. In few seconds, he opens the door and jumps out. My heart races. Excited and worried jumbles together. He's going to help me. Instead, he pulls me and pushes Violet's hand out of my grip.
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It will take me a long time before I can finish this. But no worries. Original drafts are already made for each chapters. Just sit tight and enjoy the story. I know most of you want to wait till the story completes, but it is really difficult considering I'm about to start working soon. But I will try.
Enjoy the story.