Last Updated:
2022-11-24 04:32:49The beating of his own heart resounds in Iñaki's eardrums. "Are there two, three...?" he wonders, inspecting the vine. Some hands then cross the vine and enter the inner garden. The individual explores the air with his hands. The creature came alone. Iñaki relaxes his shoulders and resumes the search.
After opening the door, Iñaki finds the shovel next to the hose. He grabs it and walks to the tree at the far end of the garden. That's where he's gonna bury Valentina.
Iñaki sticks the shovel to the ground and turns around to observe the reaction of "Curious Hands." A few meters behind Iñaki, the arms freeze for a few seconds before continuing to investigate the air.
Iñaki throws the earth over his shoulder, digs again, and again the infected stops. Iñaki doesn't notice a bit of violence in the creature, just curiosity. "Would it be the same if he saw me with his own eyes?" Iñaki thinks as he sinks the shovel into the ground. "I guess not."
At the tenth time, Iñaki can't help but let out a laugh. The behavior of the infected reminds him of that of a baby. The arms freeze again and, as Iñaki's laughter dies, the corpse's head begins to open a breach in the vine. Once the entirety of his face crosses the vine, he turns to see Iñaki. The moans are transformed into grunts and the hands, once curious, are transformed into claws.
Iñaki, with his fingers clinging to the shovel, decides to finish him off once and for all.
The infected waves his arms, jabbing between the metal bars. Iñaki advances and squeezes the handle of the shovel a little more.
The moon casts the dead man's shadow on Iñaki's feet. "You have to destroy their brain" he remembers. He takes a step forward, raises the shovel with both hands, and smashes it against the forehead of the infected. "This is the only way to survive." Iñaki thinks.
The white eyes of the infected are conjured again and again in Iñaki's mind when he resumes the excavation. His face mixes with that of Black Sweatshirt, José's, and Valentina's.
As he continues to dig, something begins to change within Iñaki. A feeling of wanting to continue living so big that it would be impossible to explain. " I will survive no matter what, no matter what I have to do," Iñaki repeats in his mind.
The onslaughts on the ground are becoming more and more explosive. An hour passes until Iñaki judges that the hole is deep enough. It's time to go get Valentina.
The small mountain of earth that had accumulated next to the hole has returned to its place. Valentina rests underneath with her eyes closed. The night is quiet and respectful. Iñaki's tears fall on the ground next to some knees that want to take root.
A shiver runs through Iñaki's mind as images of Valentina come to his memory.
"I already have a boyfriend," Valentina said, avoiding Iñaki's gaze.
"I know," Iñaki replied with certainty, "his name is Iñaki.
"Iñaki?" she asked, bringing her eyebrows together.
"Yeah, nice to meet you. What is your name?"
…
"What if we move in together?" Iñaki asked that time in his room.
"No!" she instantly replied, removing a strand of hair from her forehead..."Do you think my father would let us?"
"There's only one way to find out," Iñaki replies, standing up and heading for the door.
"Iñaki!"
With her voice in his ears, Iñaki palpates the earth. He wants to touch her one more time...just one more time. But the earth slips between his fingers.
The ceremonial silence of the night is pierced at that moment by a few dying moans. It's time to survive. Iñaki stands up with stone legs, takes one last look at that brown mixture of removed earth and leaves.
The next night….
Previous Chapter
Related Chapters
The Age Of The Dead Chapter 7: Silence
The shadows witness the disappearance of the last sound in the house. With the batteries from the wall clock on the table, Iñaki considers the task finished. The house is now a cemetery.The clock on his wrist says 20:35, but it could be 3: 00 in the morning. People marked the passage of time with their routines...nowadays they do it and it's always dinner time. The day begins and they are ready to tear the skin of the living. The day ends and they are still there; with their empty eyes, their jaws open..."No, they do not mark the time," Iñaki concludes. "They are the time."There, in the dark Iñaki listens as someone is torn apart by a horde of infected. It's the sound of every night. Some fool thinks that the darkness will play in his favor and not theirs. He ventures to dead Buenos Aires in search of anything and discovers that the infected do not distinguish between day and night.Enclosed in those four walls, Iñaki learns from the mistakes of others. There is nothing he can do fo
The Age Of The Dead Chapter 8: Mother and Son
Iñaki lays out on the table all the objects that he thinks might be useful to him: the cell phone, all the knives in the house, leather gloves, insulating tape, the keys to his house, a broom, and a winter coat that covers him to the knees.He puts the keys in his pants pocket and checks that it only has room for three more items.Iñaki decides to put on the gloves satisfied that they offer him a little protection. Then, proceeds to contemplate the small collection of knives. Soon he finds the longest and sharpest...the "butcher's knife." Almost ready, Iñaki grabs his cell phone to use it as a flashlight.Satisfied with his choice, Iñaki prepares to leave.He turns the key as slowly as he can and opens the door...darkness. There's no one in the hallway.One more step. The darkness of the corridor covers Iñaki completely. The cell phone comes to his rescue and illuminates his way. Still, all the shadows are suspicious.Iñaki reaches the stairwell door and puts his hands on its surface
The Age Of The Dead Chapter 9: Sofia
"Where am I?" Iñaki wonders as he fights against the gravity exerted by his eyelids. When he manages to open his eyes he is in the living room of his house. The furniture is intact and a blue fog hides his surroundings.There, in front of him, is Valentina. A smile is drawn on his face as he extends his arms. Iñaki surrenders to the embrace surrounding Valentina's back with his arms and feeling like poisoned tears begin to sprout from her eyes."Inaki," her voice is hoarse and her body cold.Suddenly, Iñak feels an overwhelming pressure in his chest. Valentina abruptly separates from him with Iñaki´s heart in her hand. Iñaki tries to articulate words but only a sigh comes out of his mouth."Inaki," Valentina repeats once again, bringing the heart to her mouth and devouring it.The blue fog surrounds Iñaki and with it brings the sound of a few blows. They sound like hammering on wood.At that moment Iñaki's eyelids shoot upwards. He's in his living room. There's no blue fog, no Valent
The Age Of The Dead Chapter 10: Undead
Iñaki dragged the father's body up the stairs His corpse was terrifyingly light for a man his age. Iñaki knows he can't leave it there, but there are other issues he has to attend to first.Sofia now sleeps curled up next to Rambo on the couch. Iñaki tries to give her something to eat but nothing seems to be able to wake her up...which, considering the circumstances, seems best. The figure of the girl on the sofa grabs all his senses and does not dare to move for fear of waking her up. "Valentina...What would you think of Sofia?"The little girl sneezes interrupting Iñaki's thoughts. A smile begins to form on Iñaki's face. Sofia settles down on the sofa while Rambo scratches an ear while Iñaki grabs a sponge from the bathroom to wipe Claudia's face.Sponge in hand, Iñaki pulls a chair close to the sofa without making much noise and prepares to wipe her face. Once the task is completed, Iñaki proceeds to clean her arms and legs. Upon completion, Iñaki prepares to make a medical assessm
The Age Of The Dead Chapter 11: Escape
The rain of fists continues to hit the stairwell door. Iñaki feels the vibrations in the soles of his shoes. Sofia is a statue in his arms and Rambo barks furiously.Iñaki's eyes check every corner looking for an escape. Screams, barks, moans, vibrations..." think, think.""Going down the stairs is impossible." Iñaki discards in his mind "going out the window too...""Shit!" he exclaimed. "Go down, we have to go down!"The roars of the reanimated grow louder as Rambo barks, snapping at the air, his saliva flying into the air."Relax," he says to himself, "breathe, breathe. How many ways are there to get down? The stairs...and the elevator. The elevator! Will it work? " Iñaki wonders, squeezing Sofia into his arms. "It is the only option.""Rambo, get ready."Iñaki approaches the door of the apartment. Dying groans enter his ears and run through every nerve in his body. Another step. Iñaki opens the door.The noise is deafening but they have not yet managed to knock down the door to t
The Age Of The Dead Chapter 12: Surrender
The elevator descends and allows Iñaki to hear his heartbeat. The mirror on his right offers an image he is not willing to see. Iñaki closes his eyes and feels Sofia's trembling body against his ribs.A little startle reopens them. The door starts to open. Roars.Iñaki doesn't think twice. He shoots in the direction of the door that leads to the street. Behind him echoes the hymn of death. With Rambo at his heels, he grabs the door handle and, feeling a few fingers on his shoulder, pulls inside. Iñaki slams the door behind him and an infernal groan accompanied by a pair of hands crashing against the other side of the door.The air caresses Iñaki's sweaty face. The glass of the door begins to break, hit by their deceased neighbors. Every cracked glass is a stab wound.Iñaki runs to the street as every muscle in his body screams in agony. Sweat clouds his eyesight. Then the sunlight - the one he had eluded for so long - burns his skin and relaxes him. Sofia's nails stuck in his back and
The Age Of The Dead Chapter 13: Oasis
Iñaki opens his eyes without knowing how much time has passed. He looks around feeling the movement of the car on his body. Sofia is stiff again on his lap. Rambo, however, has half his head out the window; he enjoys the wind and barks at every infected he sees."Hello," says the man with a strong Yankee accent, "it's Mike. You alright?"Iñaki nods."Bitten?"Iñaki shakes his head."Let's go to my urbanization," he says, looking at the road and dodging a zombie, "we're safe there."Going at high speed and looking at the sun, Iñaki allows himself to forget his problems and imagine that nothing has happened. The sun's rays light the way and promise a better future. If only Mike kept driving to infinity there would be no problem.But after a long drive, the car stops in front of an urbanization and Iñaki finds himself again.The water droplets in the clouds become too heavy and fall heavily on Buenos Aires. The rain descends vertically as Iñaki closes the window. That scent of moist ea
The Age Of The Dead Chapter 14: Welcome
Mike walks to a reinforced steel door and pulls a key out of his pocket. "No garage?" Iñaki asks as he tries to cover Sofia from the rain. "Now you'll see," he replies. Then he sees it. Behind the door stands a landscape of cars, scrap, furniture, and rubble that merge into a kind of barricade. On his left, a gray apartment block forms one of the "legs" of the urbanization "U", on his right the other one and in front of him is the building that forms the base. The path leading to the pool is clear in a straight line. It continues until it comes to the door of the central block. On the sides, the passage is blocked by the "barricade". The only way in is through the pool. While Iñaki soaks up in the rain, still shaking from the cold that reaches his bones, Mike looks at him with a semi-smile. "Time for a swim." The raindrops hit the barricade around the pool composing a macabre symphony. Sofia's body is a cold rock in Iñaki's arms. Roco does not detach from his heels. Even with t
Latest Chapter
- The Age Of The Dead
Chapter 21: 15 Bullets
Iñaki opens his eyes and everything turns white. He's in bed, Sofia at his side. Eduardo must have brought Rambo in the morning since he is now resting at the foot of the bed. Iñaki looks at him and Rambo raises his ears."Up!"Rambo jumps into bed and gives Iñaki a lick attack never seen before.Suddenly, Sofia opens her eyes and finds herself in the battle to the death between Iñaki and Rambo. Rambo notices the new opponent and attacks her ears as if they were made of honey. The girl looks at Iñaki, laughs, and exclaims "Dad!"During breakfast…."I heard you scream a name last night," says Mike, toast in hand, "Valentina?"Silence. Eduardo and María watch Iñaki curiously."She was my partner," Iñaki replies."I'm sorry," Maria says, placing her hand on Iñaki's.Eduardo studies Sofia with a look that seems to say "she lost his mother.""So today you're gonna go find more survivors? " Eduardo asks suddenly."That's right."Then keys are heard behind the door, they are inserted in the
- The Age Of The Dead
Chapter 20: Sweet Dreams
Iñaki puts first and turns in the direction of the infected. Second, the asphalt burns the tires. Third, Iñaki can already hear them. Fourth, they line up on the street with their arms outstretched. Fifth, dozens of bodies hit the hood and windshield of the car. Short, dry noises resound in Iñaki's ears. Iñaki stops and looks back."There, mission accomplished."He parks the car in front of the gate and looks at Mike."You got the map?""Yes.""Are you okay?""Yes," Mike replies as he looks at the bloody cracks in the glass. "Let's go back."Then Iñaki lets go of the wheel, turns off the engine, and relaxes his arms."Let's go back.""Let's go to Eduardo's apartment, I'm sure Sofia is there with Maria.""Ok."In Eduardo's apartment..."You all right? What were those noises? " asks Eduardo."What are they going to be?" Mike answers.Sofia is sitting next to Maria with her face smeared with puree. She looks at Iñaki and he thinks he sees joy in her eyes. Rambo runs to the girl and wipe
- The Age Of The Dead
Chapter 19: Adaptation
"What about Rambo? " asks Mike.Iñaki looks at the dog, who looks at him with his head on one side and his ears pricked."We leave him here. It's very dangerous, sorry, Rambo.""As you think is best, Iñaki.""Yeah, it's gonna be safer that way. Let's go."When Iñaki goes out to the interior park of the urbanization, it is already night and the rain has stopped falling."We have to cross the pool," Mike says, "ready?"His words make every hair on Iñaki's body stand on end."No."Mike smiles and walks over to a small trunk by the pool that he hadn't seen before. He opens it and pulls out a black inflatable boat. Iñaki's eyes light up like the moon."The important thing is not to leave it outside as a red carpet for "guests".""I don't think the infected know how to use it...""I wasn't thinking about them, come on."Both get on the inflatable transport. Mike pierces the water with the oars in the quietest way. He can barely hear the movement of the boat.After a few seconds, they reach
- The Age Of The Dead
Chapter 18: Victor
"Did you have a good night? " Mike asked."I don't remember having a better one in a long time. " Iñaki replied."If at any time you need to talk, I'm here.""How did you end up here?""By accident. When I was escaping by car from the center of Buenos Aires, I crashed. Inside the other car were Victor and Eduardo. Mine was useless, but not theirs. Eduardo asked me if I was okay, and I said yes. Victor, looking at my car, wondered where I was going, I told him anywhere away from there. Then he yelled for me to get into his car since the infected were already meters away.""I wouldn't call it an "accident" in this case.""I guess not," Mike replies, shaking his head. "Anyway, I got in the car and they brought me here. I'm alive thanks to the generosity of a couple of strangers. That's why I intend to keep looking for survivors. Without realizing it, Eduardo and Victor taught me how to save this world.""Generosity?""Yes, generosity and trust. We are going to survive, Iñaki, have no dou
- The Age Of The Dead
Chapter 17: Calm in the Oasis
"It's time for me to show you your new home, " Mike says, standing up."Let's go."Eduardo approaches Iñaki and shakes his hand. It's a warm greeting. Iñaki takes a few seconds to recognize that feeling again; human kindness."My apartment is next to Maria's, if you need anything you can find me there.""Thank you."Mike walks out the door and Iñaki follows him with Rambo at his heels and Sofia in his arms."We're on the fourth floor," says Mike going up the stairs, "Eduardo and Maria are on the third, Martina and Victor on the fifth. The rest of the floors are empty.""Why aren't you all together?""I asked the same thing when I arrived...Eduardo and Víctor are in their "real" homes. When they started bringing people, they were assigned apartments on every floor. At one point all the houses were occupied. Today only the apartments of those who came this far are.""I still find it strange.""Me too...talk to Victor.""He's in charge?"Mike stops in front of the 4th D and pulls a key o
- The Age Of The Dead
Chapter 16: Survival Story Part 2
"I don't know for sure who spread the infection through block 2 and block 3, but in a matter of days, everything went to hell. I remember the doors of the apartments being hit from the inside by their already dead occupants. We tried to act the same as with Clemente but it was impossible to lock them all up. The only reason people didn't leave the block was that they were afraid of what was waiting for them outside.""The last day was chilling. My husband was lying in bed, his face covered in sweat. His last words were "I'm hungry." I went to the kitchen of the apartment and prepared something for him. When I got back to the room, he was gone. I heard noises coming from our roommates' room and went to see what was happening.""I'm embarrassed to admit it, but can you believe I was jealous? The woman was on the bed and my husband was on top of her. All I felt inside was jealousy. At that moment the woman "shouted help me" which penetrated my bones. It was also when my husband turned hi
- The Age Of The Dead
Chapter 15: Survival Story Part 1
Three people seated in a semicircle, one standing and a candle on a table receive Iñaki. The man standing is the one in the black jacket he saw by the pool. Rambo smells around him. Sofia's eyes rest on one of the two women, she seems not to understand her image. "So you finally found survivors." "Yes," Mike replies, "and they won't be the last." "An optimist...What is your name?" he asks Iñaki. "Iñaki." "Well, Iñaki, what did you do, what skills do you have that can serve us here?" "Victor!" exclaims the older man sitting to the left of Iñaki "Come, sit here, have some water and dry yourself." When he sits down, his legs send a signal of pleasure to Iñaki's brain like he had never experienced before. He grabs the bottle and towels offered by the man, then wraps them around Sofia and offers her water. "Always so hospitable, Eduardo," Victor says, breaking the silence."My answer?" "I was about to finish my medical degree." "A doctor?" Victor asks and all hostility disappears
- The Age Of The Dead
Chapter 14: Welcome
Mike walks to a reinforced steel door and pulls a key out of his pocket. "No garage?" Iñaki asks as he tries to cover Sofia from the rain. "Now you'll see," he replies. Then he sees it. Behind the door stands a landscape of cars, scrap, furniture, and rubble that merge into a kind of barricade. On his left, a gray apartment block forms one of the "legs" of the urbanization "U", on his right the other one and in front of him is the building that forms the base. The path leading to the pool is clear in a straight line. It continues until it comes to the door of the central block. On the sides, the passage is blocked by the "barricade". The only way in is through the pool. While Iñaki soaks up in the rain, still shaking from the cold that reaches his bones, Mike looks at him with a semi-smile. "Time for a swim." The raindrops hit the barricade around the pool composing a macabre symphony. Sofia's body is a cold rock in Iñaki's arms. Roco does not detach from his heels. Even with t
- The Age Of The Dead
Chapter 13: Oasis
Iñaki opens his eyes without knowing how much time has passed. He looks around feeling the movement of the car on his body. Sofia is stiff again on his lap. Rambo, however, has half his head out the window; he enjoys the wind and barks at every infected he sees."Hello," says the man with a strong Yankee accent, "it's Mike. You alright?"Iñaki nods."Bitten?"Iñaki shakes his head."Let's go to my urbanization," he says, looking at the road and dodging a zombie, "we're safe there."Going at high speed and looking at the sun, Iñaki allows himself to forget his problems and imagine that nothing has happened. The sun's rays light the way and promise a better future. If only Mike kept driving to infinity there would be no problem.But after a long drive, the car stops in front of an urbanization and Iñaki finds himself again.The water droplets in the clouds become too heavy and fall heavily on Buenos Aires. The rain descends vertically as Iñaki closes the window. That scent of moist ea
