*Inside the Last Standing, Functioning Building Containing the Final Radiation- Free Humans: One of the five islands of 'The Nation' after the nuclear war.* The Island; Amerindias Unidas Biomedical Lab Time: 23:55 Year: 2085 A loud, grating alarm echoed through the sterile corridors of the lab, cutting through the heavy air like a knife. The youngest member of the team in Triangle Control Room folded his arms across his chest, a smirk playing on his lips as he spoke. "Just jury- rig the darn thing." His cocky attitude was not well received by his older, more experienced colleagues. They had been in this room, in this lab, for months- years, even- and knew their work inside out. They ignored his arrogance, understanding all too well the excitement of new recruits who thought they knew everything. "Check the power output," Luke, one of the senior members, instructed calmly, dismissing the newcomer's bravado. He directed his words to the man seated in front of one of the main scre

[Should we stop here, Liz?] the female automated voice- Kia, said inside her head, but she ignored it, instead commanding it to go into sleep mode for the next twenty-four hours. The system she encountered some years back when she woke up half-drowned by the side of a deep river. Kia served as a great companion, especially when she had the rude awakening that the world is post-apocalypse. Zombies? She always figured those were just sci-fi fantasy movies. Liz learned so much from the information she gathered from Kia and the two had a sort of odd friendship since sane humans were low. Hours later three young adults stared at each other untrustingly, not even flinching when a loud booming sound was heard in the far-off distance. Three pairs of suspicious-looking eyes and dirt-covered bodies and clothing that had seen better days. Surprisingly all footwear- boots, were in good condition. The female, Liz, which was obvious, and two dust-covered, tired-looking men just outside her truc

"-between North Korea and Russia. Will America get involved? Citizens, although we are not affected in America, are asked to stay at home during the next three days. We are on standby as we wait for The President's response as we speak. Citizens are making queries as to whether this could be the start of World War three. Russia, India, America and North Korea, among others, are in talks of a nuclear conspiracy. All parties involved have since denied any claims-" Randall woke up sweating, covering his face with his hands in the dimly lit room. The memory of the last normal news he had seen, replayed over and over like an echo inside his mind. He kept hearing the alert in the somewhat scared-looking woman as she read the news out to them. He remembered how frightened she looked. Like she knew what was happening but was told to say something else. Or maybe she was just scared like the rest of them.  That cute reporter died on the very same day, which was also the day the riots broke o

Liz looked out the window into the darkness and back at her two companions. She knew the danger they were in, for they had the conversation last week. They agreed to; two would asleep while one kept watch. Then one that was awake would remain awake with the one that was asleep and so forth. [You do not need them. They will just hold you back] ‘Hold m back from what exactly. Kia?’ [Survival. Humans hinder each other.] Liz stared blindly ahead of her. Yes, that is a fact but nevertheless, human interaction is also important for survival. She would go crazy if she went on this way much longer- just killing and nobody to talk with. An A.I. would never understand that. They were built on facts not feelings. Sometimes facts can be untrue when dealing with emotions. ‘Switch off Kia.’ [Goodbye Elizabeth] The blue words flashed for two seconds then disappeared silently. They had to move as soon as possible for she had seen movement in the far distance earlier. She figured it wa

Matt “Down,” Randall orders in the same tone. Not needing any explanation, they both dropped to the floor stooping, too. That lowered tone would mean something was near- too near. Could either zombies or any one of the two new groups they discovered; the uniformed and the ununiformed were out and about. Too near, by Randall’s movements and lowered voice, Matt thought, glancing at Liz, waiting for Randall’s next words, still somewhat worried that the conversation between him and Liz just now was loud enough to be heard from outside let alone Randall. Matt is worried that he heard him playing matchmaker. The uniformed ones might be intel or humans …maybe aliens for all Matt knew. The others were a different kind of war-like humans that spoke their own invented language. It was sort of English words with sounds of letters mostly. It must be an adaptation of the English language and lack of words according to Liz and both men agreed with her. Which means when the zombie outbreak trans