Chapter 2: Effects Of The Apocalypse

CHAPTER 2: EFFECTS OF THE APOCALYPSE

December 29, 2019

It is day 2 of the plague, and a lot has happened.

Uncle Jim, my nephew and niece, and my older brothers made it home safely. Many parents have been affected by the pandemic, and some of the children have not yet been picked up, so the school is concerned.

The government can not determine where the drug came from and why it appears to be a form of rabies. The cells of a rabid person who uses Flakka stick to the healthy cells of someone he has bitten. Once an infected person has bitten you, you will only count a few minutes before you completely lose your sense of smell, taste, feeling, and blindness or loss of sight. Only your sense of hearing is what's left for you.

It amplifies the sensation of the ear to any sound. Apart from hearing, only the brain is the one who sends them a signal to move. The virus first attacks the heart of an infected person and slows its heartbeat until the person dies. Their hearts will never beat again.

As with what we see in the movies or on television, the most effective target is the head. When you inflict severe damage to the head of a rabid man or zombie if called in books and movies, you will deliberately kill it—an instant kill.

That is if your stomach is strong enough for such a sight.

"Somehow, they are still human," my mother said. She didn't want to kill anyone. I don't like it either, but what if one of us needs help? What if one of us is put in danger?

"We won't have enough food here for a month." Mom said, walking back and forth as we all sat here in the living room.

We prefer to provide one shield per person. My nephew and niece have nothing to protect themselves but a baseball bat because they are too young for such dangerous things.

Our problem was that none of us had a gun. That would have been nice because a gun's coverage was farther than a melee or a baseball bat. Unlike the knife, sickle, shovel, and backhoe that we have.

"The town is in turmoil. We can't even go down to shop or get food at supermarkets or groceries," said my brother--Coco.

He was still wearing his bank work clothes.

"What if we have to get out of here? Where are we going? There's a lot to do," Kuya Chito said as he walks around the living room and is restless because of the situation.

"Before we think of anything, we need to block the windows and doors first. Are you sure you closed the gate, Chito?" Cole asked as he peered out the living room window. From this window, you can see the gate into our house.

"Yeah, I closed it. I don't know if I locked it," my youngest brother, Chito, replied.

"The best thing we can do is store water. Tubs, buckets, drums, empty bottles and gallons of water, anything, as long as it's clean and can hold drinking water. Let us each find containers, and then we'll meet right here in the living room to talk about what we're going to do next. Cellphones, power banks, rechargeable flashlights, Timothy's and Ara's rechargeable fans, radios, everything that we can charge to help us. Charge them all now while we fetch some water. We will see each other here after all the containers are full. Let's go," I suggested, and they followed suit. We all need to calm down; otherwise, we will all die in this pandemic that we are facing.

When the charging of gadgets and filling of the water was over, we all met again in the living room.

"What's next?" Chito asked while shaking his knee. We are all anxious already. But we had to stay strong, especially since we had two children with us.

I thought for a moment. Even my brain is already blank. "Next, go to your rooms and get a bag pack—just one. Search for a bag that is easy to pack and should not be a hassle when full to carry, and you can handle it. Fill them with your clothes. Don't put too many—just the right ones for you. You have to make sure it's not heavy, and we can put some more in. We'll just put everything that matters, okay? Uncle Jim, you'll take care of what Tim brings, and I'll take care of Ara's. Put all the important papers in a Ziploc bag." I reached for the plastic bag on the kitchen counter and gave them one by one. "Birth Certificates, IDs, all items that can't be wet, put them all there. Just about everything that is important. And please, let’s be aware. Maybe later, there will be zombies nearby. We don’t know yet. Now, go."

I put in three pieces of my t-shirts rolled up to fit in my bag, a sweater jacket, underwear, pants, and pajamas. I also put money in their pockets before I rolled them. I also put some IDs in the Ziploc bag, two ballpens, a passport, tissue, wipes, alcohol, and a 1-liter bottle of water that I brought earlier. I did the same to Ara's bag.

When I was finished with Ara's bag and mine, I grabbed a big duffel bag. I went to their rooms one by one, and each of them put two sets of clothes in a bag and some other valuables.

When we were finished packing, we worked together to sort out the cans, noodles, and other food we had in stock at home.

We all agreed that perishable or easily spoiled foods would be the first thing that we would eat. It will take us until the third week to re-stock.

Then my brothers and Uncle Jim worked together to put up plyboard barriers over the windows. We had to make sure. Maybe someone might come in suddenly and break the windows.

We looked at the door at the same time; there was a sudden bang.

Cole slowly approached the window next to the door. He pulled back the curtain a little to see who or what made the noise.

He motioned for us to be quiet and slowly walk away from the window. He picked up a single-seater sofa to block the door.

"What's going on outside, Cole?" I asked him in a whisper. We were all bent over, away from the door.

"Wait," Cole whispered back. He even took some heavy items to block the door. When he was sure it was safe and no one could not open the door immediately, he approached us. "It was Fred. He's also infected with the virus."

Mom looked up and prayed. Fred is kind and popular with everyone because he is funny and a friend to everyone, whether old or young.

"Chito, you said you closed the gate. How come someone enters our backyard?" Coco asked Chito, who was silent on one side. He ignored Coco and Chito seemed to be thinking deeply.

It's dinner time. Mama cooked chicken adobo for our dinner and the leftovers for our breakfast for tomorrow. The adobo is good because it's not easily spoiled because it will probably take a while before the power goes out. She also boiled the pork and chicken before putting them in the freezer to heat them and season them before reheating or cooking.

The next day, we watched the news, and it was said that the CDC from the USA sent some vaccine samples for this zombie outbreak. This pandemic was not just in the Philippines but all over the world. Some areas are not affected by this virus, but it is not yet specific where these areas are.

Another shocking thing we have learned from the news was that such a virus derived from an illegal drug could also be transmitted to animals; or from animal to human, just like Ebola, HIV/AIDS, Bubonic Plague, etc.

Scientists have not yet determined whether this is a form of terrorism or whether the virus was spread by accident.

This virus is currently called ZR-Flu1. By the time you are bitten or by the saliva of an infected reaches an open wound, you can be killed in just a few minutes and walk the earth again as the undead.

ZR-Flu1 is the short term by the biologists on the virus Zombie Rabid Influenza 1. Its symptoms are bleeding of the eyes, nose, mouth, and ears; limpness; severe headache; vomiting; convulsions; and extreme hunger.

The whole village was quiet that night. But even though the night was so quiet, we could not even take a nap.

Once, someone tried to break into our house, so we decided to have two watchers to keep an eye on the house while some would rest.

Coco and I are the watchers for tonight. Cole and Chito slept just now, and they are in the living room with us right now. Mama and the rest of us are already in their respective rooms and resting.

"It's like we're in The Walking Dead," Coco said as he threw the Jack. We are currently playing Tong-its—our favorite card game.

"Chow," I dropped two Jack cards. "Yeah. Thinking we're going to lose food, I'm nervous. I think I'm going to lose my shit." Many times, such a situation has haunted my brain. What if we run out of supply and someone needs to get out of the house and search for food?

"Chow. Sapaw," Coco landed three Kings, and Five of Spades overlapped my six, seven, and eight of Spades cards. "When we're in that situation, of course, us as your older brothers and Uncle Jim, will be the ones to solve the problem. Not you or Mama."

"I'm just thinking. Of course, I need to help too. I don't want to be a burden," I said, then picked up a card. "Bro, where do you think is Ate Demy?" I asked him. Ate Demy is Coco's long-time best friend-slash-girlfriend.

"You're not a burden. There's no burden here. Us Gonzales' vocabulary doesn't have the word burden in it," he said. "Okay, I won. You lose." I rolled my eyes at him because I only had one card. An ace. He has the three aces that I need. "My Demy, she's strong. I feel like we'll meet each other even in this situation. We talked earlier via Messenger. Thank goodness we still have internet and electricity, isn't it?"

"Shall we play another round?" I asked, then reshuffled the set of cards. "Isn't Ate Demy alone in the dorm? Why don't we get her? Let's try it. It's hard to be alone. "

"Will Tito Jim agree?" he asked.

"Of course he will. Tomorrow, do you want to go with me?" He nodded and smiled at me.

"I had an idea, Claire." I looked at him. I arranged my cards, and then he spoke again. "What if, while we're out tomorrow, we also look for supplies, and if we're lucky, we might find guns or any weapons that are much better than what we have right now?"

"Yeah. It's not like we're in those Western TV shows about zombies. They already have guns ready. That's why I don't particularly appreciate watching TV shows and movies. They're so fictional. Too far from reality."

"This zombie pandemic isn't fictional, though," I said, then he nodded.

"Tomorrow, we'll do everything we can. Are you sure you want to come along?" My brother was worried, but I wanted them to know that I could handle myself.

"I can handle myself, bro," I said.

"Good. Tomorrow at 7 am," he smiled. "Oh, you lose again. You suck at this game, Claire."

I angrily dropped the card I was holding. This is my second loss. I hope that tomorrow luck will be with us when my brothers and I go out.

"Coffee?" Coco asked. I nodded and checked my social media.

*Help! We couldn't get out of this building. A lot of Zs are idling in the hallways! Somebody help us!*

I read Selena’s—my former high school classmate—post on F******k. So, how many people are stranded? They could not get out of the building. The post was 12 hours ago, and Selena is no longer online. How are they there?

When Coco returned, he was already carrying the coffee that he had brewed.

"I also checked my social media feeds. The videos in my news feed are scary. A guy said you have to hit them or shoot them in the head. That's where the virus lives. The virus eats your brain cells, causing jerkings and a lot of the symptoms to occur. "

"In the head? Wow, so the tactics in TV and movies are right?" Now we know.

"Yup. So remember always to hit them in the head. Destroy the brain before we become the undead."

"Wow, the world outside is really terrifying." I shivered from the cold night and the terror of someone barging in and eating all of us like a cannibal.

"Come on, let's play Call Of Duty. Think of it as a practice for tomorrow," Coco cheered me up, which I agreed, to get rid of drowsiness and boredom.