"I promise to tell you later. Let's just leave here first. You said it yourself; we need to get to your family as soon as possible." Layla said in a beseeching tone. Adam didn’t believe her but he didn’t want to waste time arguing as well. He was tempted to just leave her right there to see if she would find her way or not. Still, he bent down for her to climb on his back again. “You…” His growl of anger shut her up immediately and she got on his back. Adrenaline pumped through his body as sweat mixed with the water from Layla’s pajamas. “I think you..." “Shut up!” Adam snapped as he fixed his gaze on the lone light they had been tracking for almost an hour now. Soon enough, Adam could see a slope go down from where they were. The sky was lightening up as well. Adam stopped suddenly, though he was still far from the light. He had thought they were going up a path because of the height of the light. He soon realised that the light was not coming from home. It was from a li

“Mum! Mum? It’s Adam!”Lisa rushed to her parents’ tent with excitement dogging her footsteps.“Adam? Oh Lord! Thank you!” Marriane practically snatched the ringing phone from Lisa in happiness.She picked up the call and put it in her ears.“Hello? Adam? Hello?” Nothing.She removed the phone and disappointment filled her face that was so alive a second ago.“What happened?”Caleb asked behind her.“It is dead. Why did you not pick it? You should have just picked it up. What if we can’t call him again as we have been unable to?” Marriane bombarded Lisa with questions.With tears in her eyes, she stared at the phone like it had stolen something important from her.“Come now. Calm down. Just call him back,” Caleb said.He waved at the two men standing away from the group.“It’s fine. We would join you soon.”“Dial it. Dial it then,” Marriane said in agitation.“How can you all just tell me to leave when he is not back?” she muttered as the phone rang.And ranged.But it was not answer

With reeking, discoloured purple pajamas and a limping gait, Layla immediately rushed towards the figure on the bed.Adam could see the blown-out jaw of the man on the bed.There was not enough left of his face for Adam to guess his age.But he had a slight paunch made visible by his stained singlet that must have been white once.“See?” Layla said in a trembling tone as she suddenly stopped in the doorway, as if she were afraid to enter the room.“I killed him in his bed. The noise of our crash must have woken him up. I killed him before he could check it out. We broke into his home and I thanked him by killing him!” Her voice rose an octave on the last statement.Adam laid his hand on her shoulder and felt a tremor go through her.“I am a killer,” she whispered more to herself than to him.Her broken voice stopped what he was about to say.He looked over at the room over her shoulder again.Apart from the dead smell rising off him and her, there was another distinct smell too.Adam

He was waiting for them when they arrived.Adam’s family was so anxious on the three-hour flight that took them from the camp to the government shelter facility on the outskirts of Alagan.They did not get to see the facility, though.Just as the pilot gave them warnings about sitting in their seats as they were about to land, Marriane was already trying to peek out of the window as if she could catch sight of her boy from that distance.As the plane was descending, they could see the massive, white shelter where one of the men announced they were providing for survivors like them.The announcement was not so necessary, as the people could even see military men patrolling the grounds of the facility.Just before they got to the outskirts where the shelter was situated, they could see many dead zombie bodies at the barricade that led to the shelter.The city of Alagan itself was overrun with zombies.Yet, there was none miles from the shelter.The shelter disappeared from view and soon

The church bell turned out to be type winded by alarm.There was no one there.Adam thought of disconnecting it, but he eventually let it be.That ghost settlement could do with a little bit of noise once in a while.Adam had a perverse satisfaction at the thought that zombies who came along would be put to stress by the bell, as well when they tore into the church, with the expectation of meeting someone there."I never pictured you for someone who would be satisfied with something so childish" Layla said when he told her why he didn't disconnect the alarm."That goes a long way to say that you don't know a lot about me, miss smarty" Adam responded before he swung the water container in his hand upward to have a drink."Hmm, that is quite true, you mysterious man," Layla said as she tried not to breathe harshly while walking behind him."I know quite a bit though," she said as she adjusted the church curtain they had each pulled down to protect their heads under the unforgiving sun.