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Every moment's joy is life's sweetest melody -Alex Bennett ~.~ The door opens again after a while, and that's when my breathing evens out. He's here again, but why is he here? I look at him and find him sweating with blood scattered on his body. He... has killed the zombies so we can leave. I follow him and walk out of the door, and we walk in the corridor in silence. I notice the dead zombies along the corridor, blood splattered everywhere, making us step on them and make a trail of bloody footsteps. We don't run as we usually do, and I realise the change is all because of what I did. I regret. I shouldn't have done that. "I am sorry," I say as soon as we take the turn to the main corridor. "I- I wasn't thinking when I did that, and you-" "Why did you do it then?" "I don't know." He stops in his tracks and turns to face me. "I don't know about you, Andrea. But for me, it's something that happens between people who love. It might be just another kiss for you, but I take it ser
Happiness is a choice we make.-John Lennon~.~We walk out of the room to the computer machine. Ivan moves the CPU of the machine that is facing it so that I can hide under the table, undetected by the lurking zombies outside the laboratory one. I get under the table between it and the CPU. As we wait for the machine to start, Ivan keeps looking outside the glass door, his eyes moving from one zombie to another."There are sixteen," he mutters."Are you planning to kill them?" I ask."Not really. If they are a threat to you, I might."I don't know why. It's only him showing a bit of concern, and here I am, feeling butterflies once again. I might be infatuated for crying out loud. Yeah. I shouldn't be feeling like this!I wait under the table, looking at how Ivan opens the machine, and we see a bunch of files in it. He presses the cursor on the secured file, and it gives us the five attempted options to open it. It shows a face ID and password."This is the file," he says."Looks sus."
Happiness is a state of mind- Dalai Lama~.~The head turns in my direction, and I suppress my scream, keeping my hands on my lips. Ivan holds the zombie's broken neck and forces it to face the face ID. I could sense Ivan's frustration with the situation. He doesn't want anything to go wrong. But the zombie has come back to life, and it's struggling on the spot.Ivan tries a few times, but as all his struggles fail, he slams the man on the ground and steps on the neck. I wince at the situation, and Ivan looks at my horrified face."Close your eyes," he whispers.My eyes tear up."I said, close your eyes," he repeats.I close my eyes with tears running down my cheeks. My stomach churns when I hear crackling sounds and all the horrifying sounds I can imagine. I bury my face in my hands with tears running down, and I control myself not to cry out.The sounds stop after a while, and something drops on the ground."Don't open your eyes," Ivan says again.I want to open my eyes, but I am n
Happiness doesn't have a path, it is the path- Anonymous~.~"No. You are not coming with me. I'll search through the building and get hold of all the necessities. You can stay here." Ivan says, putting an end to his words."But I want to be helpful. Why did I even join your group? You always do things alone. I feel so useless." I grumble out my complaints."So it wasn't you who came up with the idea to use face ID??" he asks, wiping his hands on the other lab coat we found. He uses a bit of water to dampen his hands to get everything out. The lab coat is left sticky due to the thickness of the blood."Stop trying to attack me with my words."Ivan sighs, "You see, if you join me, I will have to protect you.""I can protect myself alone." I hmph. "Why do you sound like I've been a bother to you?""Don't bend my words, Andrea. Do you want to come or not? It's wholly your decision. But I appreciate it if you stay.""Too bad I don't want to be appreciated." I roll my eyes at his words be
Happiness cannot be consumed-Anonymous~.~I sit on the floor and wait for Ivan while massaging my sore legs and fantasising about our high school love story. Been running and doing all kinds of things. My feet hurt like hell. It takes Ivan around five minutes to come back. When he's back, he hands me the gun, which has all the bullets left."I don't think we should waste the bullets. I found an empty room. I'll lure the zombies there and lock as much as I can." he says."How would you do that?"Ivan goes through his bag and takes out a plastic phone."I had this as a kid," he says, showing me a phone.He presses a button, and a song plays."It's Barbie," I say."Yep.""I like Barbie. I have watched all the films.""Me too."We hear some banging sounds on the door, a sign that the zombies are reacting to the music. Ivan switches the phone off and waits for them to calm down. Then he walks out of the door, asking me to lock it just in case, and I do. Because I trust that he'll make it
Happiness is a warm puppy-Charles M. Schulz~.~Leaving the fourth floor is the same as before, something that makes my heart leap out of my chest at the fear my legs might not work as fast as the zombies. It's the same practice we did before. Ivan decides not to kill any more zombies, and he lures them to the other side as I make my way to the door as soon as possible. He joins me after a while, and we make it to the third floor.Our bags have become heavy with the samples from the lab. So we keep them aside. Then outside the emergency exit, Ivan asks me to stay back until he brings back the rest of our group so we can leave the building."I want to come--" my words get interrupted as he shushes me."Don't be stubborn. Stay right here until I bring them safely," he says."Says the one who's the most stubborn here," I mumble."There you go again."Ivan takes the walkie-talkie and speaks to it."Anyone there? Over.""Ivan! I've been sending you messages for hours now!! Where have you
The only way to do great work is to love what you do – Steve Jobs ~.~ I stay hidden, and Ivan comes into the lab. He asks me to stay in the same place and crouches in front of me. We wait for a few minutes for the zombies outside to calm down. And meanwhile, I extend my hand and keep it against his eyes. With my free hand, I ruffle his hair to get out the tiny pieces of glass from his hair. "How do we find Sasha and the other two?" he questions me once I am done cleaning his hair. Wow, he's too comfortable always asking me for a solution. "Search the rooms and see. I'll talk with Sasha to comfort her. She might be deadly worried." "Give me the gun. She said there was a zombie stuck with him. I can't fight one in front of her." I give him my gun. He searches the rooms and finds Sasha in one room. After a while, I hear a low bang, and I realise Ivan might've killed the zombie inside. So I quickly get out of where I am hiding and run to the room where I find Ivan hugging Sash
The only joy in the world is to begin-Cesare Pavese~.~"No one's there."I jolt when I hear Ivan's voice. He squints his eyes at me at my surprised state."Nice. So you were here daydreaming in this kind of a situation?" he complains."Well, I was thinking about several things. What else am I supposed to do??" I ask."Stay alert?""You should try and stay back, waiting for your partner. It sucks." I stuck out my tongue at him."Sometimes you are so annoying," he comments, not seriously, while making his way downstairs. I follow him."You aren't the first to say that. I come with pros and cons. So you better be aware.""I got it. Let me consider and tell you."Ivan walks to the first floor in search of the other two. Then the ground floor after the first. But he fails to find them there."Fourth floor it is," he says."Yeah. Let's head upstairs."We walk upstairs with Ivan in front of me, and I notice a slight limp as he walks. So I walk up to him and keep my hand on his shoulder."D
Happiness is only real when shared -Anonymous ~.~ "Eric only has one last shot of vaccine left. His state will normalize after that." Luke says on the phone. "Okay. When can I visit him?" I ask. "In two weeks will be fine. He reminded me of you. It's too bad you can't meet him. Anyway, he liked the gift you sent." he says. "Aww. Tell him that I love him. And... What is your plan after this? Can he resume his work in the Marine Corps? What about his future?" I ask. "Surely. He'll be able to work as before. But it will take some time. As he's like this due to the mission, the military is under obligation to look after him till the end. So you don't have to worry about his safety and well-being," he says. The conversation ends after a few words, and I sigh in relief. I keep my phone aside and walk toward the sliding window. The clouds huddle in front of the sun, making the sky look gloomier. I watch through the window with a cup of coffee in my hands to keep my hands warm. The we
No medicine cures what happiness cannot-Gabriel García Márquez~.~When I walk inside, Ivan is sitting on the floor, packing his bags. He looks up when he hears the sound of footsteps. His eyes widen when he sees me, and he gets up instantly. The next thing I know, I get engulfed in a warm hug, and I hug back with tears trying to escape my eyes.It was my first time seeing him after months of absence."Shit. I missed you so much." he nuzzles his nose in my neck and kisses me there. I melt at the closure and breathe in his shampoo scent. That hug makes me feel a bit better."Let's go home," I say.He softly laughs at my words, drawing back and looking into my eyes."I never thought, after everything, there'd be a home waiting for me," he says."I am your home, and you are mine.""Thank you."I smile at his words.Ivan picks up his belongings, and I help him with one."What are all these?" I ask about the two bags."The military gave me clothes and other necessities. And you know... th
Some cause happiness wherever they go, others whenever they go -Oscar Wilde ~.~ (A/N: the written letters are between the * marks) - *Mon Chéri, To answer your questions, my favourite beverage is coffee, although my stomach doesn't respond well to that. And my favourite song is Warriors by Imagine Dragons. It was in a series I watched. And no, I am not a diary person. I have never written in diaries. So. I am going to get released in two days. It's been seven months since the isolation period, and I am excited yet anxious to meet you. It's never been the same since the virus spread in Cargo, so it'll take me some time to get used to my life ahead. But thank you for writing to me every two days because without those letters I would've been so depressed. I never thought I would say this to someone. I never thought I would fall for someone after everything, either. I think I love you more than you can think. And my heart is beating fast as I am writing this letter to you. I can't
Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be. -Abraham Lincoln ~.~ (A/N: The written letters are in between * marks) *Dear Eric, You are such an idiot. How could you get bitten like that at the very end?? We were just a second away from being free from the virus, but you decided to let a zombie bite you! Are you crazy or something? Idiot. I really want you to come back and talk with me like before. I want to spend more time with you and get to know you because you are like a brother to me. So pull yourself together, and fight the virus! Eliminate it from your body and come back so we can grab a beer and talk about the zombies with a laugh. Anyways. I hope you get released soon so we can meet sometime. I am glad Bailey found the antidote, or else you'd be dead meat by now. Pull yourself together and stay safe till they release you. I'll come to see you as soon as you are released. Don't you dare die on me! Andrea.* ~.~ Then, I write on the second paper f
There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved-George Sand~.~Bailey takes out a syringe and stabs Eric's neck quickly. She injects the substance inside, but my heart feels so cold, thinking it may be too late. Just as she does that, my hands get pulled back, and a soldier cuffs me. I turn to him in confusion."What are you doing??" I ask."It's for the safety of others." the tall guy says before turning to the rest of the soldiers. "Cuff them and check their bodies. Take the infected man into a separate lab.""Wait!" I exclaim. "Can I meet your captain? His name is Luke Plowden. One of my friends. And stop handcuffing us! We are not infected!""Right." the rude man says before looking at Eric, who looks sane but in a trance. And the rude man's attention goes to Ivan, who has his arm bandaged. "Show us your arms."I become impatient. This guy is just too much!A soldier walks to Ivan and removes the bandages forcefully, then reveals his fresh marks on the arms."Were
“The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows it under his feet.”-James Oppenheim~.~As Ivan drives in the other direction, the mindless zombies run after it. We take that as the green light to move. We quickly make our way through the streets toward the supermarket from before. We hide behind walls and sneak around the supermarket. As we come across the parking lot, we can see many zombies lurking among the vehicles."Damn it," Eric mutters."Let's wait for Ivan and proceed. We are almost there." Henry says, looking at the green meadow ahead of us, which is across the parking lot.So we hide and wait for Ivan behind the supermarket. It takes almost half an hour for Ivan to appear. He almost runs past us but stops when he sees us.He joins us and hides behind the supermarket as well."We'll have to make it through the parking lot," he says."Yeah. And there's a field afterwards. So surely, once we are out of the parking lot, the zombies will spot us. We only get a
Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier -Mother Theresa ~.~ (The Day) Each one of us prepared a backpack for the short journey. I had mine filled with some samples we found in the laboratory, and Ivan has his one filled with those as well. Others have gadgets to lure the zombies away. And last but not least, Eric and I have the smoke signal guns safely tucked in our pockets. It's early in the morning, and we decided not to choose night because of the smoke signals. At night no one would notice the smoke signal at all. That makes it even more difficult as zombies see well during daylight. We put on our bags and leave for the vehicle. As we discussed last night, we are going to enter the deadliest part of the city, which has the most number of zombies than other areas. I can remember the last time I was there. It was swarming with zombies. Sasha made a sketch of the area and drew out a plan on how we could travel by vehicle for a mile or two and get
“Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” -Abraham Lincoln ~.~ When night comes, everyone goes to sleep. I get up from the floor mattress and go to Ivan's room. I don't know why. But my feet take me there. I walk over to his bed and look at his peaceful sleeping face. "It's a bit creepy to watch someone sleep," he says without opening his eyes. "Tsk. And too creepy to pretend sleep." "I was actually sleeping. I am a light sleeper." "Damn. I can't imagine how you sleep." "What are you doing here? Missed me?" he asks. "Not really." "Says the guy who kissed me twice in my sleep-" I quickly cover his mouth with my hand. "Stop using that against me." I hiss. He holds my hand and pulls me toward him with a smirk. I fall on top of him, and when I try to get away, he puts his arm around my waist. "Why don't you sleep here tonight?" he suggests. "Really? Wouldn't it be awkward?" I ask. "I am going to sleep next to you once we escape this country anyway
Life is full of happiness and tears; be strong and have faith.” -Kareena Kapoor Khan~.~We decided to leave our hideout in one week of time. So the packing starts before everything, and everyone seems to be excited about leaving already."I want Ivan! Where is Ivan??" Bailey yells across the hall in search of Ivan, who's currently making me a bowl of instant noodles."What do you want, nerd?" Ivan asks in a playful tone."I want your blood," Bailey says in a sinister way."Are you a vampire or something?" I ask, holding out the bowl so Ivan can put the noodles in. Once he does, he starts washing the pan he used to make the noodles.Ivan is my personal noodles maker."I am not." Bailey says. "I have to make the antidote, guys. I can do it quickly. In two days' time if I get Ivan's blood sample.""Ohh." Ivan and I say in unison.Ivan follows Bailey. I follow them while chewing on the noodles.Bailey makes Ivan sit on a chair, and she takes out a new syringe. I close my eyes when she d