LIVE OR SURVIVE
You only live once.
Everyone is familiar with this line. Yes, it's a fact. But since it's a common knowledge and common sense will tell you the same thing, I didn't understand its essence until the world lost its harmony. It all started three years ago.
I'm inside my room, leaning against the door. I closed my eyes as I hear my mother's cry. I can hear her pleas. Everything's happening right behind me. I want to help her but the last thing she told me stops me.
'Run, Marcus! No matter what happens, live! I know you're a smart boy so please do as I say so. I love you, honey.'
Minutes passed by and I couldn't hear my mother's voice anymore. Nervously, I slightly opened the door. When I looked, horror came to me. My mother's there, lying on the floor, with a living dead preying on her.
I closed the door and sat on the floor. Tears started to fall.
That day, the world turned into chaos. An unknown virus spread and thousands died. It was deadly. People get infected by getting bitten by an infected individual. When you get infected, you become a living dead.
I was sleeping when I heard a loud sound. I got surprised by it. When I stood up, I discovered that it's from the door. I stared at it. Slowly, the door made a creepy sound and opened.
"Hello?" a girl with a lovely voice said.
My eyebrows twitched. I scanned her. She's tall, but I'm taller. Her brown hair is tied in a messy braid. Her clothes are dirty. With her is a man with a big body, carrying a baseball bat. When he saw me, he got alarmed and instantly stepped forward to hide the girl.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"I-I am the owner of this house."
"Did you get bit?" he asked me suspiciously.
"No. Why?"
"Good. If you get bit by those monsters, you'll become one of them. Just like the woman in front of this room whom I just killed," he explained.
I looked down.
"How did you know about that?" I asked.
"Observation. My daughter and I have been roaming around, looking for resources. And from the looks of it, it looks like you've been hiding here since yesterday afternoon. Where are your parents?" the man said.
"I have no father. My mother's dead."
"I'm sorry to hear that. I'd feel guilty if we leave you here. Would you like to come with us?" he offered.
"But we just met each other. I don't trust you."
"You don't have to trust us. We don't trust you either. You just have to come with us."
I stayed silent.
"So are you coming with us or not?"
I don't know why but I came with them. Maybe I was scared to be alone.
I asked for their names but the man told me that we shouldn't tell each other our names as a sign that we don't trust each other. But for my own convenience, I decided to call them Ken and Hya. They called me Luke.
Ken was a huge help because he was a rescuer. He knows several things that we could use for survival.
For five months, we moved from place to place, failing to find a shelter where we could stay permanently. We scavenged markets and met some survivors. And also, we decided to call those beasts "Noshers". We kill them by shooting or stabbing their head. Hya and I use a knife. Ken uses a baseball bat and a stolen gun. At first, I was reluctant in killing Noshers because it's gruesome. It took me time to get used to it. I didn't even have time to mourn for my mother's death. Together, we fought hard.
