Capsule Outbreak

04 Vintage Love

Georgia, 100KM away...

6:00 PM

Maggie's POV

Inside the car, vibing music starts to play...

"We're almost in Georgia!" Allie informs us.

"Yeah, you'll see your lover out there!" I said to her, and she smiles.

I saw Charlie suddenly in tears...

"Charlie, are you okay!?" I asked him.

"I miss Mom and Dad!" He said through tears, and I hugged him right away.

"Me too. I wish I could bring back the time. But, Charlie, I promise to protect you and keep you safe from the zombies out there!" I whispered to him.

"Looks like the zombies are going to hit the road. I'll kill them." Louis said.

"Yeah, I don't want my car to get messed up with their blood!" Allie shouted and laughed.

"Charlie, cover your ears! It's gonna be a zombie party time," Louis eagerly said.

Louis started to kill the zombies hitting the road.

"Yeah, that's what I'm talking about!" Louis said and laughed with Allie.

After some time...

"No way, we've run out of gas!" Allie said, disappointed.

"Really, here, in the middle of the road!?" I said.

"I guess we need to go down there," Louis said, pointing to a very old cottage nearby.

"Charlie, don't get out of the car. Promise me! We're just getting some gas out there."

"I promise!" Charlie said, making a promise finger with me.

Zombies were growling...

"Zombies are coming! Get ready, let's kill them all," Allie said.

We killed all the zombies approaching us and headed to the cottage.

I knocked on the door twice, but nothing came out. Suddenly, we realized the door was open.

"Hello, anybody home!?" Louis said, his voice echoing.

"I'll check upstairs," Allie said softly.

As I observed the place, it looked like no one had lived there in a long time.

"Look at those photos. It's like a photograph in the 1950s," Louis said.

"Antique things like this can last forever, unlike humans," I said.

We arrived at the kitchen. It looked old, but someone had just made tea here.

"Someone's been here recently," Louis said.

"Guys, look what I found upstairs!" Allie said, approaching us.

Allie showed us a vintage map of the United States of America.

"You found an old map of the U.S.!" Louis said.

"Yeah, it's great to see a map like this nowadays," Allie said.

"Don't touch my precious map!" An old man came out from the backyard, threatening us with a chainsaw.

"Oh, lower your weapon, sir. We're not here to hurt you," I said to him politely.

"Then why did you just come in? You don't own this house, trespassers and thieves!" the old man said.

"We're very sorry, sir. We just need some gas because we ran out," Allie said.

"Where did you get that vintage map? I buried it a long time ago," the old man asked.

"I found it hidden in the antique piano upstairs," Allie responded.

Someone was coughing in the old bedroom repeatedly...

We saw a grandmother lying in bed, looking like she had been paralyzed a long time ago.

"What happened to her, if you don't mind me asking?" Allie asked.

The old man told us their story...

A long way back to the 1950s, when love was often idealized and romanticized, with an emphasis on loyalty, chivalry, and the belief in "happily ever after." The courtship process was formal and structured, often involving rituals such as asking for parental permission to date, and activities like going to the drive-in theater, soda fountain, or dancing. Marriage was highly valued, and getting married at a young age was common.

"We met in the park when we were 16 or 17, and I had what you call nowadays, a love at first sight. I started courting her, and the rest is history. We got married at 22. We wished to have many children, but God didn't give us any. I worked on a cruise ship when I was around 40, and that vintage map was always with me. But when I came back to our cottage, I forgot where my vintage map was. I bet my wife hid it from me because she didn't want me to go back and leave her alone for a long time anymore. Time went on, and our family slowly disappeared, but in the end, Theresa and I are still here, living together forever."

"She was paralyzed a long time ago due to a traumatic brain injury. She hasn't spoken to me since then and I just wanted to dance with her again just like before," the old man added.

"If all this happened in the 1950s, what in the world is your age now!?" Allie wondered.

"I'm 168, and she's about 167," the old man said.

"No way, you're kidding!" Allie responded immediately.

"It's all real, but believe whatever you want. Our love lasts forever," the old man said.

"We are in the 22nd century right now. Did you ever realize that? You have existed through the 20th and 21st centuries. That's really crazy. Maybe that's how unconditional love is," I admired.

"Even in any year or century, I will still love the only Theresa in my life forever," the old man said, tears in his eyes.

Zombies are growling...

"Zombies are coming!" Allie warned.

"Wait here, I'm going to get some gas we stored before. I just hope it still works," the old man said.

"Here they are! Let's kill them," Louis said.

We shot the zombies coming, but as the old man returned, zombies attacked him. The container of gas fell to the ground, and he turned into a zombie.

"Don't shoot him," Allie said.

"But... why?" Louis asked.

"Let's get him inside the old bedroom where his wife is laying," Allie said, and the old zombie man went to it.

Suddenly, the old zombie man bit his wife, turning her into a zombie too. Unexpectedly, the old zombie woman got up from her bed and like dancing with the old zombie man she love  unconditionally."

"Are we not going to kill them!?" Louis asked.

"No, we don't have to!" Allie said.

"Yeah, they're not going to bite us," I said, and the old zombie man looked at us blankly.

"May you live eternally," Allie softly said and closed the door of the old bedroom.

We left that old cottage with the vintage map and containers of gas we needed. As we returned to the car, I saw Charlie sleeping deeply, and I kissed him on the forehead for keeping his promise.