City of the Undead

Part 2/2

"Honey? Are you in there?" The concerned man knocked on the women's washroom door. To his dismal, he received no response. He knocked again and repeated his words. This time he heard grunts and groans. Fearful, he kicked the door open. In the center was a young girl in her late twenties along with his wife who had been turned into a zombie. He fell to the ground. He couldn't believe the sight in front of him. 'No. This can't be.' He was in denial. Fresh tears rolled down his cheeks. His wife, with whom he had spent his past 20 years was now an undead. He couldn't help but bawl his eyes out. The zombies had already paid attention to his presence. His wife lunged at him. He tried to block her but stopped when he felt a drop fall on his face. He looked at the figure hovering on top of him. His wife was crying. She was trying really hard to not let the virus take over her nervous system. With a lot of struggle, using all the life that was left inside of her, she attacked the other girl who had already bit her husband's leg. The two of them had quite a fight. But as we know, not a single person was ever able to break free from the clutches of this ruthless virus. So eventually, the moment it fully established a control over her, she stopped on her tracks. On the other hand, when her husband realized that he had also been infected, he, like every other person who had now turned into an undead, fought against it with all his might. Though muffled, he could hear the chaos that had been caused. The cat was now out of the bag. He battled against the monster that was now taking over him. However, when his life's sweetest moments flashed in front of his eyes, he knew it was the end. He had also been turned into a zombie. But instead of turning others, he grabbed his wife. Muttering an apology and a small 'I love you', he stabbed himself and her.

Tarano was constantly scratching his arm. A habit which indicated that he was really anxious. You placed your hand over his arm, stopping him from scratching any further. "Did she come back yet?" He asked. You shook your head. "I wonder-" You were cut off by a shrill cry. A zombie was latched onto a man like a leech. It was biting his neck. This wreaked havoc amongst every person present there. More and more people were getting infected. The military couldn't even shoot at them since the survivors were running around everywhere. The number kept on multiplying. 'Shit' You muttered when one of them charged at you. You, very efficiently, slit his throat with you dagger. You were one of the handful survivors who were now fighting for their dear lives. An officer who had gotten to know about the situation, came at scene with a few other army men. "Please don't worry about the zombies and follow me! My men will take care of them." He shouted through his walkie-talkie.
'It's easier said than done.' Tarano thought. Slashing the infected on his way, he caught hold of your body and sprinted across the room towards the officer. "Please follow me." The officer stated. Without wasting a second, he followed the officer's trail as he made his way up the flight of stairs. 'Guess they didn't do that great of a job to hold these insects back.' Tarano thought as he could still see the undead chasing after them. Even the military had now been turned into one of them. Nonetheless, the two of you kept running until you reached the terrace. 'Yes! Only a few minutes and we will be saved.' This newfound hope made him increase his speed as he ran. But unfortunately, the undead increased their speed as well and caught up to them. The two of you had no choice but to kill them because they were too close.

"Sir! Please hurry we need to leave this place soon!" The captain screamed. In an instant, armed men flocked on the terrace and started shooting at them. 'Just a few minutes more!' The other survivors were already inside the helicopter. So he grabbed your hand once again and took off. But to his horror, the very moment you two covered almost half the distance, you tripped and fell down. Before he was given a chance to turn around, a zombie which somehow survived, charged at you. You tried to get hold of your dagger but froze as dread took over you when you caught on the fact that you had now been bitten. Tarano shot the zombie. He came to your aid as fast as he could.
"Hey! You okay?! Are you hurt somewhere?" He said in a worried tone.
He audibly gasped when he saw the bite mark on you arm.
"You- I-" He wasn't able to speak properly. He could feel a lump form on the back of his throat. "We- we'll get you treated. You will be f-fine." He hated how weak he sounded.
"There's no hope Tarano. There's no hope." You said as you stared blankly at the wound. Tears were already rolling down your cheeks.
"Don't say that." He whispered.
"Can you fulfill my last wish?" You wept.
"Please stop."
"Don't do anything stupid just because I died. Okay?" He started wailing.
"Look here. Can you promise me?" He did not reply.
"Please look at me."
He finally looked at you. Your heart broke into a million pieces when you looked into those eyes which once held immense love for you. It was all because of you. You didn't want to leave. But you had to. You were afraid of what you might become of you. You didn't want to hurt him or anyone else.
"I don't have much time left." You got up and started taking small steps away from him. Police men surround you.
"There's no need to do that." You pulled the trigger of the gun you stole from him a few minutes earlier. You placed it on your temple.
"NO!" He stood up only to be stopped by the police.
"Please st-" He was cut off in between.
"Sir, I request you to calm down. There's nothing that we can do." The officer said in a guilty voice.
"He's r-right." You stammered. You could feel the virus taking over you. You had to end this before things got out of hand.
"Listen, remember t-to live your l-life to the fullest and like I m-mentioned before, don't do anything s-stupid. I'll be w-watching from above. Okay?" All he could do was cry over the loneliness and despair helplessly without anyone stopping him. "P-please live for me. I-I'm sorry I wasn't able to m-marry you. I'm sorry for being so pathetic. I am sorry if I have ever hurt you by any means. And remember I love you for eternity." And just when you almost gave-in to the monster, you pulled the trigger and shot yourself.

Tarano saw your lifeless body collapse onto the cold floor. His knees gave up and he himself stumbled and fell down. He quickly got back at his feet and hurried over to your side. Your limp body felt cold when touched and was drenched in a crimson fluid. He placed your head on his lap and caressed it. Tears were threatening to break out of the prison called eyes. Nevertheless of all the efforts he made, he was a human after all. Hell broke loose and he let out a cry of agony. He was screaming at a God he doesn't know if he believes in. The police and the army men took off their cap as a sign of respect for the deceased. 'Why is that the happiest of moments usher in sudden fear?' He wanted to kill himself as well but didn't. You gave up your life for him. Moreover, that would be against your last wish. He had to live for your sake. So he gave you one last kiss on the forehead. "I love you, today, tomorrow and forever. Farewell, my ishtar."

You opened your eyes. Your head felt warm. You could also sense that you were floating. Floating in an abyss of darkness. Suddenly, something popped up in-front of you like a screen. Snippets of your whole life flashed in-front of you. You smiled upon seeing them as tears were streaming down your face. You saw your friends, the ones you had to kill. You wanted to apologize to them will do so once you face them. You saw your parents as well. You missed them dearly and were a little excited to meet them again after so long. You saw yourself back in the field where Tarano gave you a flower and confessed his love for you. A part of you shattered into pieces. The part that you had given him. 'I had to do this for our sake. For his sake.'