City of the Undead

Part 1/2

"On your left!" You alerted Tarano, your partner.
"Aye aye captain!"
On your way out of the near-by grocery store, the two of you had encountered a hoard of zombies who, coincidentally, were standing next to your jeep. Since they were less in number, it was easy to kill them. You wiped the zombie blood off your hands after slashing the last one.
"We need to get out of here before more of them come running. After all, we did make quite a lot of noise." He said while scanning the area for more of them.
You nodded your head in response. You quickly loaded all the things in the jeep you had found along with the man-sized tarantula that follows you everywhere you go. Your man-sized tarantula loaded the things in the vehicle as you started the engine.

Life in this apocalyptical world showed you the nasty side of human nature. Never in your whole life had you ever thought of seeing people so blood-thirsty. Neither did you ever imagine yourself killing others for the sole purpose of survival. You craved nothing but the peace you had never valued.

After a 10 minutes drive, you arrived at Tarano's house which was huge. Very very huge. The two of you carried your things inside.
"Dude I'm exhausted!" you plopped yourself on the sofa.
"I know right! It was tiring as heck."
He turned his head towards you. You had a grim look on your face.
"What is it?" He asked in a soft voice.
"What are you talking about?" You counter-questioned.
"Your eyes look pensive."
You sighed as you gave in.
"I hope I wake up tomorrow to see that this whole apocalypse was nothing but a lucid dream. I hope to see my family again. I miss them."
"I understand how you're feeling. No one could've predicted that a time like this would come. It was too sudden and ruthless."
You felt empty inside. Your parents and your younger brother had been turned into zombies. So you had no choice but to kill them. You were nothing but a murderer. Killing many people each day. But disregarding the chaos, you were grateful enough to be reunited with Tarano, the person who gave you hope and helped you pull yourself together. The two of you have been together ever since middle school. He had left for Canada last year after promising to make you his bride when he returns as you two have had feelings for each other. But never had you ever perceived that you would meet him in the middle of a whole damn apocalypse. You suffered everyday from what they call 'survivor guilt' and you knew Tarano did as well. So you pledged to be by his side as long as you were alive.

"Wait!" He screamed out of nowhere, scaring the living heck out of you.
"Why you-" You were about to scold him but he, as always, did not let you finish. He jumped off the couch.
"What if we're the only survivors?" He questioned.
That somewhat believable sentence scared you. Just the thought that you two are the only person in this entire universe was enough to give you chills.
"That's terrifying." You answered. "What if we are?" You questioned him.
"I don't know. Maybe we would have the responsibility of the reformation of humanity. You will have no choice but to marry me." He teased.
"Is that a proposal?"
His expression fell.
"Not really. I mean, don't get me wrong. I do want to spend the rest of my life with you. But the time is not right. We don't even know whether we would be able to see the next sunrise or not. Life isn't stable at the moment." He attempted to explain himself. You nodded your head in understanding
"I know. It's okay. Just don't let it get inside your head." You got up and hugged him. He wrapped his arms around your waist.
"Besides, I'm right here. And don't forget that worrying gives you wrinkles. Hey- are those wrinkles? Are you becoming a grandpa already?" You make efforts to lighten up the atmosphere. And you succeeded. He let out a chuckle, making you grin. He pulled you closer to his body allowing you to listen to his heartbeat. You closed your eyes, taking in the newfound peace.

But as we know, peaceful moments are nowhere to be found in a world where the undead are roaming on the streets.
"Do you hear that?" Sounding attentive, Tarano whispered in your ear.
"Yeah" It was the sound of the radio that had stopped working a long time ago. You both cautiously went up to it and increased the volume.
"Hello. This the military speaking. A message is for all the survivors out there. If you get this message, please gather in the Samsung building in Area-24. I repeat if you get this message, please gather in the Samsung building in Area-24. Over and out." The man on the other side of the radio spoke. The line went silent.
"Is it the end of this apocalypse?" You mumbled.
"We'll be able to live a normal life now. Can you- can you believe that?" He rejoiced. You fell on your knees. Clasping your mouth with your hand, you let out silent sobs as Tarano hugged you. Both of you were crying in each others arms. 'Is it over now?' You were in total disbelief. You cried for a good while.
At last, after calming down a bit, you stated, "We leave at dawn." "Yes sir."

The next morning, you woke up early since it was a big day. After freshening up and eating breakfast, you hopped into your jeep. Tarano hit the gas and off you went. Since Area-24 was 30 minutes away, you kept scanning the surroundings in order to watch out for anymore zombies. You did run into some of them on your journey and as always, they were pretty easy to deal with. But other than that, all you saw was the rotting bodies of the infected. You couldn't help but feel disgusted at the sight.
Tarano took a notice of you spacing out. 'How did a person who cried by just the sight of a wounded person, turn into this?' He felt pity towards you.
'Humanity sure is on the brink of extinction.' You both thought in unison.

~30 minutes later~

Your jeep came to a halt in front of the building. You had gotten off the vehicle were staring the architectural structure. Your heart was hammering in side your chest. Tarano saw through you and held your hand. "It's gonna be okay now." He reassured you.
"I- I don't know why but I have a bad feeling about this. It just doesn't feel right. As if s- something terrible is going to happen." You stuttered.
"I know. But this is the only way out of this." He reassured.
He couldn't deny a word that came out of your mouth. He too felt the same way. But nonetheless he had to be by your side. He had to have you by his side. Therefore, he embraced you to make you feel a bit better. You two stayed that way for a minute or so.

You abruptly pulled apart the moment you heard grunts and groans coming from a distance. Before you could even think of doing something, you felt Tarano jerk your body towards him and rush inside the building. A guard who was standing near the door, banged it shut. Soon enough the police and the military stationed at the building, started to fire. You stood there, silently watched the scene in front of you. You saw them shoot people of all age groups. From kids to senior citizens, everyone had now become a zombie. It was a horrendous sight. Since they were heavily equipped, it didn't take long for the army men to take down all of the zombies. When everyone inside the vicinity of the building saw the last one fall, they heaved a sigh of relief. So did you, but the gut feeling did not falter.

"Please god! No! God please help me! I don't want to hurt anyone! Please save me! I'm sorry. I'm sorry." A very feeble voice whimpered inside the washroom of the Samsung building located in Area-24. She was pleading for help. A lady in her early 50s had stepped in to wash her hands and took notice of the cries. Knocking on the door, she said in a worried tone, "Excuse me. Is everything okay?" The sobs continued. "Hello? Ma'am? Are you okay? Please open the door." She got suspicious. Instinctively she grabbed her gun in case there was a zombie in there. But unfortunately, before she was given a chance to react, the door had already flung open and as suspected, an infected charged at her and bit her on her neck.

"All the survivors, please follow me. I will lead the way to the helicopters which will drop you off at a safe place." Instructed a military man. Without a question, we started to follow him but then a man spoke up. "Excuse me. My wife has gone to the washroom. I would really appreciate it if you could wait for a little while." There were mixed reactions. Some, including the two of you, were fine with a little waiting, but on the other hand, some people said that it was non of their concern and suggested the crowd to keep moving. To prevent any dispute, the police divided the people into two groups. One would stay back and wait for the woman and then approach the helicopter while the other would go to the safe place first.

It had been a little over 5 minutes waiting for her. "Sir, are you sure that your wife went to the washroom?" The guard in-charge of our group asked.
"Yes. I am very sure that she went to the washroom. I'll go and check upon her." The man hurried to the women's washroom.
You felt sick in the stomach to the point of throwing up. "You alright there?" Tarano whispered into your ear. You looked up and your eyes met his anxious ones. You flashed a small smile at him. With a swift movement, he tried to tickle you. Which, of-course you blocked by grabbing his arm.
"Not so fast babyboy." You smiled triumphantly.
However, while you were distracted, his other hand successfully tickled you.
"Gotcha."
You just giggled in response, basking in the love he was showering on you.