Lady Coral was a woman of integrity. Long pitch-black hair and the bluest eyes. Her beauty could topple cities if she wished. Her relatively small stature didn’t pose a threat. They even underestimated her. Many desired her slim body with curves at the right places and slender waist, but none ever tried anything. She never cared for anything or anyone else other than her husband and her son. They could only envy from afar.
Beloved by her family and friends, she lived her life with her husband and son in a small town called Colby. Even though she declined her family’s fortune, they still listened and respected her.
When her father died, she didn’t fight for her inheritance. She had no desire for that wealth. She only cared about her family’s wellbeing. Even when they approached her to side with either of her brothers, she refused.
Although they didn’t like it, they accepted and respected her wishes. She left that part of herself behind and focused on raising her son, whom she loved dearly, and enjoyed the life her husband provided. They didn’t swim in reaches but had love in their home and that was enough for her.
Once that dreadful evening was minutes away, Coral and her husband were about to go on a trip for the weekend. She jumped on her husband like a child and woke him up from his afternoon nap. Even though he was still drowsy and grumpy, he couldn’t say no to her.
They got out of the house and saw their neighborhood in a frenzy. Both stared at the people running around like headless chickens, bumping into one another. Her husband saw a neighbor on the ground and got worried. “Hey, what happened? Are you okay?”
Holding his wife’s hand, they approached the man in the street. They heard him groaning, but he didn’t move. Coral noticed web-like dark veins on the back of his neck and nudged her husband. “What’s that?”
While he was about to examine him, the siren of the national emergency podcast rang and interrupted him. Startled, he turned his gaze away and into the distance. From the speakers attached to the electricity poles, a message played through. “Everyone go back into your houses, and a team of doctors will be with you shortly!”
“Doctors? What’s happening?”
Coral shook her head. She grabbed her husband’s hand and pulled it, urging him to get into the car. “Let’s go. Jin is waiting for us…”
“But they…”
Coral interrupted him. “I don’t care!” Her voice came out confident and clear. “If something happens, he will be all alone. Let’s get our son first and come back to our home.”
He gave up. Unable to go against her will, he sighed and grabbed her hand. He looked at her with a painted smile on his face. “We should get the keys, then.”
The couple walked back to their home. Just before they went through the door, Coral felt bad for that person on the street. She checked back to see him, but he was already gone. She let go of her husband’s hand to look around.
A growl from the side startled her. She turned her gaze to where it was coming from, and she saw a man with bloodshot eyes and web-like veins on the neck coming at her. She squealed and tripped the moment she stepped back.
Her husband rushed to her side and grabbed her before falling down. When he saw the man coming at her, he stepped in front of Coral to cut him off. Once he saw how frightened she was, he lost it and punched the man in the face. “How dare you!”
As he turned around and grabbed Coral’s hand to go back into the house, they heard the growl behind them. They turned around and saw that same man coming at them once more. He stood in front of his wife again and together; they took small steps backward. “There’s definitely something wrong with him…”
Another growl crept from the side. He slammed his elbow on the other one’s face and with the other hand gave a gentle push to Coral to get her in the house. The undead grabbed his hand and took a bite on his elbow. He punched it repeatedly until it let go of his hand and went back inside.
He took a few steps and fell to the ground in front of the petrified Coral. Blood poured on the floor ceaselessly. Her husband agonized in pain as he held on to his torn elbow. Without giving it a second thought, she grabbed a towel from the kitchen counter and wrapped his arm.
It didn’t take long for the white fabric to change colors. With that small body of hers, she found the strength to pick him up. Coral grabbed the keys and helped him to the car through the back door.
As she drove her husband to the hospital, Coral tried to keep him calm. She patted his head and talked to him. Despite the situation she was in, her heart shattered in pieces when the thought of something like that might’ve happened to her son.
Even though his mind was in and out because of the pain, he still glimpsed his wife’s troubled face. In a calm voice and steady tone, he uttered. “Jin is a strong young man. He will be fine!”
Coral heard her husband’s words and nodded in relief. Her focus cleared and sped to the hospital. Once there, she rushed inside and brought a few nurses and a cart to get him inside.
While she waited patiently in the hall, she saw a man walking in. They had never met before today. “Someone… Someone help my wife.”
A nurse approached him with a wheelchair. “What happened to her?”
“A maniac ran her over with his car…”
Not before long. Screams came out of her husband's room. The nurses rushed out bloodied. Coral ran towards them frantically. “What’s going on…?”
They ignored her and ran the other way, knocking the man’s wife from the wheelchair while doing so. Soon, Coral could hear a growl. She inhaled a mouthful of air from the shock and forgot to exhale it. Her husband with bloodshot eyes and web-like veins on his neck walked out.
Her now turned husband recognized nothing. He simply kneeled in front of the injured woman and started chewing her alive. Jorge, who carried in his injured wife, lost it. His tears dried the moment he saw this. He broke the emergency glass and took the axe. With a single swing, he cut off his head and threw away the axe.
Coral dropped to her knees, sobbing as her dead husband’s head rolled in front of her.
Everyone, including Jin, looked at Coral, surprised. They didn’t think she had it in her. Her son approached her and gently placed her slender palm in his hands. “Does it hurt?” The angry man looked down and whispered. “My face hurts!” Audible to the rest, he received a few scornful looks. Coral clenched her hand visibly, which made him step back. Jorge tried to diffuse the situation. Mostly an easygoing man. Tall with a strong build. His stern looks and fast decision-making skills in a case of need earned him the place of leadership. He didn’t ask to be in charge, but didn’t refuse either. “Easy now, both of you. There are people outside. We don’t know their intentions. There’s no need to fight among ourselves.” He looked at them both with eyes that shot daggers. “N
Jin smiled and raised his hand to stop her from talking further. He stepped to the side and showed them the door behind him. “Come in!” He then looked at Jorge to confirm, and he received a nod of approval. Together, they went back inside the hospital as dusk was upon them. The last one to walk back was Jin. He rested the bat on his shoulder, and at a steady pace, joined them. Once they were in, they shut the doors behind them. The girl with the emerald eyes thanked them and stood in front of Jin. He looked at her, confused. “Did you forget something?” She shook her head as she fidgeted with her fingers. “As the warden’s daughter, I want to be the one to inform the father whose son we left behind…” Jorge heard the girl and approached them. “I should be present…”
Jin and the others descended from the peak where the hospital rested. Colby, once like a living organism, is now a ghost town of tales and myths. The moment they entered, the stench of death that surrounded the town like a fog bombarded them. Jin couldn’t smell it, but he acted as if he did and copied the other two who were puking their guts outs. After several minutes passed, they got used to it, or rather tolerated it, and they were finally fit to travel. Not long into town, and growls crept from the sides and then in front of them. Jin readied his bat whilst the other two brought their guns out, but before they could fire a single shot, Jin swung his bat fiercely, smashed their heads, and floored the undead. Blood painted the ground crimson. Kroll and Rena looked at one another in disbelief. They were unaware
As the sun rose, and its dim light showered the land. Rena stretched and flexed her slender body in the back seat. Even though it was a big vehicle, she found it hard to move around. With her eyes half open, she saw Jin’s figure jumping off the hood of the jeep. She fluttered her eyelids open and got up. Although she was drowsy, she heard growls coming from the distance. Rena, worried, looked out the window and saw a few figures meshing with that of Jin’s. Without wasting time, she grabbed her gun and went after Jin. She sighed in relief when the young man bashed their heads in. Rena slowed down her pace and walked towards him, all the while keeping a lookout for any more popping up. As she got closer, Rena was about to call out to him, when he saw him getting down and taking their skulls apart. For sure, the act
Rena led Jin and Kroll towards the next room, away from the cafeteria. Jin looked back and in the corner of his eyes, he caught a figure speeding in the opposite direction, until it disappeared. Because of how fast things happened, the young man thought, his mind played tricks. Soon Rena stopped in front of chained doors. Without a key, there was no other way to go through, and Jin’s bat was good against skulls, but it can’t break chains. Kroll turned to Rena. “Are you sure we are going the right way?” The girl nodded. “Yes. If we go through here, we can go around the cafeteria. But I don’t remember seeing chains the last time I was here… Someone must’ve put them after we left…” Her words confused both Jun and Kroll. “What do you mean? How is that possible?”
The constant growling deafened the beat from their hearts. When the zombies surrounded them, they blocked their only way out. The teenage inmates were in and out of consciousness, and there was no other way than to carry them. Kroll shot at them until he emptied his clip, but a few bullets weren’t enough to clear a path. Jin slapped the teens back into consciousness. “Get up! Rise and shine, sleeping beauties…” Rena stared at him, confused. Yes, they were hindrances, but he didn’t have to hit them. To their surprise, Jin dropped the guy he was carrying and rested the trustee bat on his shoulder. He stood in front of them and smirked. “I’ll clear a path, so make a run for it when you can…” He spun the bat a few times and charged ahead. With every swing, a smashed head sent blood flying in different directions. He
A cloud of dust obstructed visibility in the rear-view mirror as Kroll sped away from the Juvenile Detention Facility. Meanwhile, Jin held on to the hood of the Jeep with every ounce of strength he could muster. With every vibration, he lost his grip slightly each time. Once they had created plenty of distance between them and the undead, Kroll brought the vehicle to a halt. Jin’s fingers were stiff and bled profusely. His restoration skill got to work fast, and his wounds healed after a while. He chose not to disclose this information, therefore he didn’t mention this to anyone and let them wrap his hands with a piece of cloth. He considered himself lucky that the nerves got damaged when he died, or he’d be writhing in pain by now. While Rena mended Jin’s injuries, Kroll stayed in his seat and checked the condit
While Jin and the others left to find Kroll’s son, back at the hospital, things grew wry. Jorge was losing control of his people when more and more undead were breaching their defenses. Some didn’t even take their patrols seriously, which led to people dying when undead wandered inside. When the word got out that they were running low on food and water, morale plummeted. When they tried to make a few runs into Colby town, the undead cut them off. People became visibly scared and hungry. Coral tried her best to support Jorge and his decisions and subside the worries of the rest, but to no avail. As the days passed and there was still no sign of Jin and the others, people became more frightened and groups formed one after the other that went against Jorge's leadership. Some even openly challenged him. “They are not