Babel District, November 30th, 2030
"Looks like we gotta get outta here."
I'm Gumball, a cool monkey chilling in front of a workshop, wearing sunglasses I 'found' in a store.
Very stylish sunglasses, by the way.
"Relax. The engine's almost fixed," said Maxwell, busy tinkering with a beat-up car.
His face was pitch-black from oil.
He's a dumb monkey who's way too obsessed with mechanics and electricals.
"Look, there are tons of zombies coming this way," I warned the idiot.
"Wait... are they attacking monkeys now?"
"Hurry up, wipe your face! We need to leave!"
I grabbed Maxwell and tossed him into the car.
"Seems like the infection mutated or something. Let's go."
V-v-v-v-vr-vr-vr..
"This rotten junk won't start…" Maxwell groaned.
VROOM.. VROOM..
Maxwell twisted the radio knobs.
19-2000 by Gorillaz started playing.
"Wahahaha! The radio works!"
"Why are you messing with the radio?! They're running toward us!" I screamed, pointing at the horde of zombies sprinting at full speed.
"Calm down. Even if it's a crappy box, a BMV E36 is still fast."
He'd modified the gas pedal, clutch, and brakes so his monkey legs could reach them.
The car sped off, leaving the zombie swarm behind.
...
Sera Forest, October 31st, 2030
"Hey! What you're doing is stupid! You've been doing that all day!" Maxwell yelled from a tree.
"Shut up, you deranged ape! I'm meditating to raise my cultivation!" I snapped.
"Hahahahaha! You're just a monkey, idiot! Stop doing that dumb cultivation stuff!"
"You're the mad one! What kind of monkey builds wooden toy weapons?!"
We exchanged insults, confusing the other monkeys around us.
Look, cultivation is important, okay? What if I become the next Wukong?
"Why are you two acting like humans lately?" asked the monkey elder.
We froze.
That's when we realized… we had changed.
We used to just climb trees, play around, and eat bananas, fruits, and seeds.
But a month ago was the day Maxwell and I awakened human-like consciousness.
...
"Do we really act weird?" I asked Maxwell.
"We still behave like normal monkeys, right? These are just hobbies."
"I dunno, I've always liked building sling-shots from sticks… now I just make better stuff. Reasonable, right?"
"But you two poop in containers, drink from cups, and eat from plates…"
"…what kind of monkey does that?" the elder asked.
"What does that make us similar to, then?"
"Why don't you go look at humans in Beka City?"
Beka City has several districts, the closest is Babel District.
"Alright bro, let's visit humans for once. I'm also looking for some machine parts."
"And stop meditating like an idiot. Come ride my new invention!"
Maxwell revealed a weird box-shaped contraption made from sticks, branches, round rubber sap, and scraps of metal from a crashed plane.
Later, I discovered it was his attempt at building a car.
...
Eventually, we traveled to Babel District in Beka City, searching for… whatever. Answers or machines—mostly machines.
...
Early November 2030, Beka City
"Look at this! These sunglasses are dope,"
I said, posing in the mirror.
"Get out, you naughty monkeys!"
The shopkeeper yelled, furious that monkeys were messing with his store.
"Aaaaa...!"
Screams erupted from the electronics store next door.
Humans ran out in panic. We followed out of curiosity.
A man was lying on the ground, pinned by another human who was heavily injured.
Maxwell whispered,
"That's a zombie, right? Looks like the ones on human smartphones. I saw it on Metflix."
"What's a zombie?"
"An infected human. Loses their brain and body control."
Soon after, the bitten man turned into a zombie and sprinted toward the exit—toward us.
We dodged left. The zombie ran straight after fleeing humans.
"They don't want to eat us, huh???"
...
Babel District, November 30th, 2030
"There's a monkey in the jungle
Watching a vapor trail
Caught up in the conflict
Between his brain and his tail…"
Hearing the song's lyrics reminded me of something embarrassing I had to say.
"I'm feeling kinda horny. It's mating season, after all," I admitted.
This was an important ancestral duty. My ancestors had done this for hundreds of generations.
"Ew, disgusting. Go find someone else. I'm not letting an ugly monkey like you touch me."
"I wasn't talking about YOU. I mean let's go back to Sera Forest."
"We'll find a cute female monkey. And you'll stop obsessing over your stupid machines."
SKRRRRRRRITTT...
Maxwell slammed the brakes, the car jerked to a stop.
"Wait, I wanna test something," he said suspiciously.
"Bro, don't tell me you're—"
"Not THAT, idiot. Let's turn around. Let's see if the zombies actually followed us."
"If they follow us, the forest's animal will be eaten too!"
Surprisingly, the maniac had a reasonable point.
We returned to the market.
Empty...
"Be careful, bring your handmade weapon," I told Max.
We got out of the car to see where the zombies went.
As we passed jewelry shops, zombies surrounded us.
They charged at us.
Bang... Bang... Bang...
Bolts shot from Maxwell's homemade rifle.
"Max, cover me!"
Sacred Monkey Kick!
I kicked three zombies away.
Monkey Claw!
Another technique, scratching several zombies.
"Gumball! Run! I'm out of ammo! There's too many!" Max warned.
We ran, dodging, climbing whatever we could; stairs, windows, anything.
We jumped into the car and escaped.
...
We hid between Babel District and Binta District.
As usual, Max wandered around gathering gasoline, metal, and whatever he could find.
"Oi Gumball! Look at this!"
He showed me a smartphone, charged with a jumper-battery setup he built.
From news portals, there was shocking, but weird, information.
Breaking News:
"Valenesia enters zombie emergency; infections spread nationwide."
Local News:
"Beka City collapses; 70% infected; city to be isolated."
"Look at this. All happened today."
Then he showed news from ten days ago.
Breaking News:
"Beka City zombie outbreak; 10% infected; military evacuations begin."
"Didn't the outbreak begin last month?" I asked.
"Exactly. Ten days ago it was only 10%!"
Max explained clearly.
"Within ten days, it skyrocketed."
"And look at this!"
Fauna News:
"Animals found speaking and acting like humans."
Footage showed cats, birds, and crocodiles behaving like humans.
"You see something strange?"
"The more humans turn into zombies, the more animals become like us!"
Max connected the dots.
"That makes sense… but is it true?" I wondered.
"Is someone causing this explosion? Or is it just exponential growth?"
"Don't ask me, idiot. We should stock supplies and warn Sera Forest."
"And you. Train properly! We need close-combat fighters. They're too fast."
Even though he is a ultimate case of idiocy, sometimes Max actually made sense.
...
Clank.. clank..
"What is that sound? What's wrong with your shitbox?"
We look around.
"Zombie!!"
...