THI...THIS CAN'T BE REAL?!"
Those were the only words that Jefford Cliff could utter when he saw the bloody sight that would turn his world upside down.
The place where he had worked for almost 3 years the Shanghai Sea port control center: A place that he envisioned should be filled with a welcoming atmosphere filled with warm smiles and greetings from his kind co-workers and seniors like any other day for the past 3 years.
Yet today, the atmosphere was cold, suffocating, and lifeless.
All he could see were the blood-soaked, torn, lifeless bodies of his kind and compassionate coworkers spread around the room, with their blood dripping towards the floor, staining it and creating an atmosphere beyond the word welcoming.
Jefford felt like something shattered within him, like the cake that slipped from his hands and shattered on the floor that he brought for his girlfriend's 25th birthday today
"THIS CAN'T BE TRUE, RIGHT?!" He asked himself in denial as he pulled out his phone, and started dialing the city police station number. But strangely, even though he called for already 3 times in a row, the police station didn't answer, and when he was about to call again, a loud cry of a human begging for help reached his ear: "HELPPP, ME, PLEASE IT HURTS!!!"
Jefford instantly flinch and immediately lowered the sound of his phone and called again, yet for the 4th time, still no one answered.
"WHAT SHOULD I DO?!" He asked himself inwardly as he continued to gaze aimlessly at the bloodied scene that he could never had thought would happen. Then suddenly, he saw an object beside one of the dead bodies. It was a bloodied pistol. He slowly walked towards it, trying his best to not make any bit of sound. When he was about to pick up the gun the peripheral view of his eye's unintentionally captured the dead body beside the gun glaring at him with his red and murderous eyes.
"Hahhh.... ALLAN... !!!"
He instinctively flinch and jolted back with his eyes fixated at the glaring red eyes of his dead colleague and immediately moved his head from left to right, not wanting to accept what he is seeing. It was Allan, one of his most closed senior male colleagues, who had always had a beautiful smile, especially to him. Yet, his face right now was something the total opposite—his skin was pale, his mouth was dripping blood, and his bloodshot eyes, which stayed open even after he died, were glaring at him as if they wanted to kill him.
Jefford felt like he was going mad with his mind shutting down due to all that he has seen in just less than a minute. Yet miraculously he came back from the brink of mental collapse when once again he heard the pleading voices: "ARGHHH, IT HURTS, HELP ME...!!!"
Jefford knew he had to come back to his senses for he needs to save his co workers that he considers family, especially the fact that his girlfriend might still be alive and is one of those voices pleading to be saved.
"Just hold a little longer Marianne I will save you," he said inwardly as he checked the guns magazine if it still has ammunitions and fortunately it still had some.
seeing the magazine still having bullets he smiled faintly then he proceeded to head towards the basement as silently as he could. He tightly gripped the pistol and aimed at every door of the rooms that he passed by one by one. Every room was a mess with blood stains scattered everywhere, yet strangely there were no dead bodies.
"Did the murderers pull the dead bodies somewhere?"
He asked himself as he continued to head towards the basement. But as soon as he was about to go downstairs, a sudden eerie sound was heard: it was like someone was eating meat, but it was not soft; it was implying that the meat that was being eaten was raw.
But despite of that eerie sound he still continued descending through the basement with his gun ready to fire at any moment.
As he got closer and closer to the basement, he suddenly smell something. It was an awful stench like that of a decomposing corpse. He almost vomit, but fueled by the wanting to save someone he love he still pushed on. But right before he could move any further, a hand pulled him back , stopping him from advancing any further, with a female worrying voice whispering in his ears: "Jefford, there are a dozen fast-running, zombie-like monsters inside the basement. You can't kill them all ! "
Jefford immediately glanced back with a shock face and there he saw , Marianne, his tall and beautiful girlfriend, but instead of being delighted to see her he felt scared and confused due what she just whispered, and immediately asked in a trembling voice: "WHA..WHAT!? Did you just say?"
"Lo...look at this babe and you'll understand." she answered with a shaking and serious tone as she pulled out her phone and showed towards Jefford a news website where a video without sound was showing a horrifying zombie-like monster with bloodshot eyes, biting the neck of a hospital nurse Infront of a big hospital whose face was showing that she was screaming in pain as her flesh was being torn apart by the monster's sharp teeth causing huge amount of blood out to gush out.
Then suddenly dozens of nurses and patient's started to run out from the hospital with hundreds of
zombies all packly packed together chasing them from behind
Jeffords mind slowly became torn and confused about whether what he seeing was all true, that the cause of all these nightmarish events he has experience in just with in 3 minutes was because of a zombie apocalypse.
"M... MARIANE, IS THIS REALLY TRUE?"
Marianne looked at Jefford and was about to speak when suddenly her phone suddenly rang loudly. Then followed by dozens of monstrous growls from below the basement. "JEFFORD, RUN!" She yelled as she instantly grabbed Jeffords hands and pulled him away from the basement and started to run back upstairs.
As Jefford was continuously being pulled towards the exit he momentarily glanced back at the pursuing growls and there he learned the harsh truth: Around a dozen red eyes glaring zombies with mouths filled with blood and human meat were chasing them, and all of them had the faces of his co-workers causing him intense grief yet he knows there's nothing he can do for them.
All he can do is to protect the remaining people that he cherish and then at that very instance he raised his pistol with tears in his eyes and said them with a sorrowful and loud voice: "Forgive me, seniors, Let me set you all free,"
Bang, Bang, Bang sounds of gun fire erupted, along with a few zombies falling to the ground.
Then Jefford retreated back his gaze towards the door that he Marianne slowly got closer too.
However, as soon as Marianne pulled the door open— She was greeted by a zombie with glaring predator eyes that looked at her as if she were a prey that had fallen into its trap.
"MARIANNE...!!!"
Jefford screamed at the top of his voice as he tried to pull her towards him, but it was too late!
The zombie lunged at her, breaking their connected hands and quickly tackling her to the ground. And in an instant, the zombie bit her neck aggressively with its sharp teeth ripping through her skin and embedding it's monstrous teeth on her neck.
ARGH...!!! Marianne screamed in pain while Jefford stood frozen at what he was seeing, with all of the happy and precious memories with her started to flash like continuous video recap in his mind that included:
his happy memories with her as they played and met together for the very first time in play park during their childhood. Then the memories of them as they laugh and mock one another as they video games at each other's houses which often made their parents to tease them , calling them soon to be cute couples that made both of their faces turn bright red. And finally the memories , when Jefford finally truly understand that he has feeling for Marianne and making him confessed his feeling's for her on the day of their university graduation promising that he will be a boyfriend that will always love and protect her no matter what and saw for the very first time her teary eyes of joys as she approached Jefford and embraced him in tight hug as she said the sweet yes making Jeffords heart feel complete and whole from that day on.
But now he felt like his heart was breaking into pieces, creating an unbearable pain just like how he couldn't bear to watch his beloved childhood friend and girlfriend Marianne, being eaten mercilessly alive in front of his bare eyes.
His mind and reasoning started to go out of control not caring with any single ounce of the fast approaching zombies towards him.
But suddenly amidst the growls and the munching of flesh a weak yet influential voice was heard: "JEFFORD PLEASE GET OUT OF HERE FOR ME AND MY... But before she could finish, another zombie lunged from the side and started biting her throat, silencing her forever. But that was enough… Enough for Jefford to come back to reality and understand what she wanted to convey.
Then in a blink of an eye Jefford run towards the door narrowly escaping the hands of the zombies behind him and immediately closed and locked it.
haaaahhhh....
Jefford sigh heavily in relief yet he knew it was short lived for his eyes saw the city port that was once buzzling with ships and dock workers now replaced with an eerie dead silence. Along with the continuous sound of munching from behind.
He immediately fall down the floor with his back leaning towards the door that separates his intact body from his girlfriend's munched and torn one. Jefford Experiencing such heart tormenting irreplaceable losses of kind co workers, and a kind, genuine and loyal girlfriend he could no longer hold his tears, and slowly it's all showed up not just in his eyes and face but rather in his heart that made him feel suffocated to live on. He no longer has the will to survive.
But a few seconds later, his phone ringed with an unexpected message. He slowly pulled out his phone and as soon as he saw the name of the sender and it's message his teary eyes with disbelief And regret yet slowly it made his tears lesser overtime.
The message was from his parents, whom he have never met again for almost 2 years since that last argument with them: The time when he drunk and hung out with his friends all night and didn't come back, nor messaged his parents for 2 days. And when he came back, they scolded him like any normal parents would do, yet for Jefford who now is now a working adult felt like
they were trying to control his life even though he is already a grown up.
Which is why he couldn't able to control himself and lash out against them for the very first time in his life letting out all his hidden frustration accumulated through the years of him being scolded:
" ENOUGH...!!! "
Immediately his parents stopped speaking and remained silent with eyes of shock.
" I'M OLD ENOUGH TO DO WHAT I WANT! I'M NOT A KID ANYMORE..!
I HAVE MY OWN LIFE, MOM...DAD...!!!"
After Jefford unleashed all of that he immediately packed his belonging and said as he was about to leave the house: " I WANT TO HAVE SOME TIME ALONE" and with that final words he left the house that he has lived for all his life carrying resentment towards his parents. Without even thinking a single ounce of regret that day.
Yet when he read the message of his parents— It made him regret, it not just regret but rather a regret piercing through his heart and soul making him feel shameful to all those inappropriate word's and things he said to them.
THE MESSAGE:
Jefford, our precious son please be careful there's a zombie apocalypse happening right now. We know our relationship as parents and son has become a mess, to the point that you hate us and don't want a single message connecting us. But we can't just sit idly and not warn you to be careful against those monstrous zombies that are currently being broadcast on the news the ones eating people mercilessly.
Jefford, we know sometimes we become too overprotective and strict to the point that you feel suffocated. But we don't hate you. Not even after that incident when you lashed out against us. We still care, and love you Jefford. And were sorry for our own shortcomings too.
You can visit us at our house if you want. It's safe here since there's a military camp detachment nearby. Please be stay safe and survive.
After Jefford read their selfless and heartwarming message, he started to cry not because of grief or fear but because of joy and disappointment. Joy that they truly love him. And disappointment for not realizing it much earlier. For not knowing how much they truly do. Knowing that slowly helped him clear his troubled mind, his restless and battered heart, and his shatter will to survive.
It made him want to be there for them, to protect them, to survive this apocalypse. It gave him a surge of determination, making him stand up from the heavy feeling of losing people that he love and to walk forward once more for he still have a reason to survive this apocalypse.
Then Jefford renewed and energized walk cautiously and silently down toward the cargo containers while holding his gun as head towards the seaport's exit gate intending to go and reconcile with his parents.
"I want to leave this place and survive for my parents…" Jefford muttered as he got closer and closer to the cargo area. But as he stepped into the cargo container area what he saw made his body froze, and his eyes twitch uncontrollably.
His yes saw something that wasn't human nor he could call a normal zombie.
There, between the shadows of the containers, stood the silhouette 7 foot tall of a being. It's skin was gray, decaying, like it has been buried out from it's slumber after weeks that it died. Around his neck there were cancerous tumors that bulge as almost as big it's head. And worse the bulges had tiny holes where green mist sept releasing an awful stench that smell like a rotten corpse. And above his hideous neck was a long, slimy greenish tongue that dangled down to his knees, dripping green phlegm.
It was a mutant zombie full of abomination that looked straight at Jefford's eyes like a predator seeing a potential prey.