Capsule Outbreak

15 Wish Granted

Montgomery, Alabama

7:00 AM

Louis' POV

When we escape the tunnel, it leads us to a long road. A sign indicates that we are already in Montgomery, Alabama. We find an old car on the road with a corpse inside. Eventually, we remove it. Luckily, Charlie finds the keys in the backseat, and we drive all the way to our hometown, where my grandmother lives with my aunt.

While we are in the car, Charlie suggests a game. The rule is whoever loses will tell their life story before and during the zombie outbreak, which makes it interesting. The young girl Celestia loses.

"I'm Celestia, a nine-year-old little girl. I ask God why He gave me a trouble like this. Did I do something wrong? Is He punishing me? I'm worried about my mom, Bridget. The last time I saw her was on the train, and then I didn't see her again. It was a lively day for us. My mom Bridget and I were celebrating the awaited new century. I didn't think she would be gone for a long time after we went to the mall to shop for clothes and shoes. We watched a movie in the cinema together and lastly, we bought the supplies we needed to prepare for the new year at the market.

After that, we went to the train station, but thousands of passengers were waiting for the train. We waited for almost five hours to get inside. I can say that was my best and worst day ever. It happened around midnight. Passengers were inside the train, creating a cacophony. I was sitting beside my mother Bridget. She felt annoyed by what was happening. Maybe that's why we bonded earlier because this was going to happen. A few minutes later, I heard the sound of a helicopter. I looked out the window and saw they had dropped a strange person out of the helicopter. Everyone was astonished. Then, the zombie outbreak happened. I could still hear the cacophony that night. My mom thought I had already gone outside the train, but I hadn't. Passengers were pushing each other, creating chaos. I fell to the floor, feeling pain as people stepped on me. I cried, and suddenly zombies started to come inside the train. Many got bitten and turned into zombies. Luckily, Duke's mom Ellisa saved me from the chaos," Celestia told her story with teary eyes.

"Wow, even if mother Ellisa is gone, she's a hero indeed!" Allie shouted while driving the car. Duke smiles, looking out the window, remembering his mom Ellisa.

"So, where do you think your Mom Bridget is now?" Maggie asked.

"Well, I hope she's surviving, but for sure she's now in Mississippi with my stepfather." Celestia informed us.

"Mississippi is near us; maybe we could drive there to see your Mom Bridget!" Allie suggested. Celestia feels tears of joy, and I feel sleepy.

"We're here at your hometown!" Allie informed us, parking the car somewhere.

I feel nervous, but I hope to see my grandmother again, and I will perform my tricks that night in front of her. I immediately run to our small house.

"Granny Emma? Anybody home? Aunt Giselle? Where are you?" I shouted, entering our small house.

I start to lose hope because I don't see them. Then, I go outside.

"Surprise!!!" They all shouted happily and laugh.

I am too stunned to move as they spring the surprise. I can't believe it is all happening.

"Oh my God, did you plan to surprise me?" I asked them. I am about to cry as I see my grandmother smiling, and I immediately run to her and hug her tightly.

"I miss you so much, Granny!" I said to her while hugging, and she asked me.

"Why are you hugging me? Are you my father?" she asked me, and I am confused why she called me her father.

"Granny Emma, it's me, Louis, your handsome grandson!" I informed her.

"You're not my grandson. Maybe you're the thief who stole my cane and accessories yesterday!" Granny gets angry. It looks like she has dementia. I feel scared as she seems to be cursing me. Then, I hear a sound from somewhere waking me up.

"Louis, wake up!" Maggie said, waking me up. I realize it is all just a dream; we are still in the car, heading to our hometown. After an hour, we arrive in my hometown, and it is really different from how it used to be.

We arrive at my hometown, feeling nervous about everything. I immediately run to our house, seeing Aunt Giselle.

"Is that really you, Louis?" Aunt Giselle asked, confused, with teary eyes.

"Yes, I came back. I missed you so much," I said softly and hug her right away.

"Where is Granny Emma?" I asked her.

"Your grandmother is in the backyard feeding the birds," Aunt Giselle informed me. I immediately go to the backyard to see my grandmother.

"Granny, I missed you so much!" I said softly, hugging her right away. I immediately tear up. It is really fulfilling to see her again. She just looks at me as if she were seeing me for the first time. I ask my aunt why my grandmother isn't speaking. I don't know if she has forgotten me after so long. My aunt starts to tear up, worried about what is going on. She explains that my grandmother started to have Alzheimer's disease four years ago. I feel a deep melancholy as I hear what has happened to my grandmother.

Even though she has dementia, I still want her to know that she is the best grandmother ever. I perform tricks using my skateboard in front of her. She watches me perform. As I look into her eyes, they tear up, knowing she still remembers a part of her life with me.

After some time, my grandmother is sleeping on our couch inside. My friends are sitting in the backyard, watching the kids feed the birds.

"So, how are you feeling right now, Louis?" Maggie asked me.

"Wish granted, still happy as I see her again, but I feel so melancholy knowing that my grandmother has Alzheimer's disease."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Maggie said softly, hugging me. Suddenly, we hear a glass fall to the floor and shatter into pieces from inside.

I immediately run inside and see an open closet. It looks like a zombie has been hidden there. While my aunt Gisselle is looking for something, she suddenly opens the closet, and the scary thing happens. I see my aunt Gisselle approaching us, scared, with her hand bleeding rapidly. Realizing that she has been bitten by a zombie in the closet, I see my grandmother still sleeping on the couch and immediately wake her up. Maggie notices that my grandmother's right foot is bleeding too, but it’s from a piece of shattered glass and not a bite.

"Don't look at me like that! My hand is bleeding because it was wounded by broken glass!" Aunt Gisselle said, denying the bite and slowly hiding her hand.

"I'm sorry, but how did a freaking zombie get inside the closet?" Allie asked, worried.

"I remember that face. The zombie in the closet is the one who stole my cane and accessories!" my grandmother exclaimed, seeing the zombie struck in the head with her cane.

"He's so unlucky. Maybe when he was about to leave our house after stealing the cane and accessories, a zombie bit him outside, and he didn't know what to do or where to go. So, he just came back to our house and hid in the closet, then turned into a zombie!" Aunt Gisselle explained, trembling.

"Why are you bleeding, my mother Gisselle?" my grandmother asked, struggling with dementia.

"Take care of your grandmother!" my aunt Gisselle said as her last words before she turns into a zombie.

I'm in tears at that moment because, even though my aunt knows she's turning into a zombie, she's still thinking of my grandmother. For the past years, she has been taking care of my grandma, and I'm very proud of that. In the heat of my anger, I immediately approach the dead zombie and kick it repeatedly, as it stole my aunt's life. It is an unforgettable and painful experience.

My grandmother is crying, in pain, as she sees my aunt turn into a zombie. Maggie approaches her to treat her wound inside the car. Before we leave our house, I decide to kill my zombie aunt Gisselle, even though I don't want to, but I have to. As I return to the car, I see my grandmother sitting in tears while Maggie is treating her right foot. My grandma suddenly asks me, struggling with dementia, "Where is my mother Gisselle? Why are we both bleeding?" I just hug her tightly and can't say anything. We immediately leave as zombies begin approaching our hometown.