Chapter 4: The Apocalypse Begins
1572 Words
Chapter 4
The Apocalypse Begins
The university is vast, and the dorm building is quite a distance away, but they can make it in time. Ashyra is a typical student with two genuine friends, a few acquaintances she rarely talks to. Ashyra is considered normal—she enjoys reading, listening to music while walking, and isn't particularly skilled at making friends.
Sometimes quiet, but when with her two friends, she can be lively.
Luna and Amora are chatting while Ashyra walks between them, suddenly stopping when they notice someone blocking their path.
Ashyra looks at the man who blocked them. He's tall, wearing a black hoodie and a mask, making it impossible to see his face.
"What do you want?" Amora questions.
Ashyra watches the man in front of her. Even though he's covered, she can feel his gaze on her.
They expect him to speak, but he suddenly continues walking, passing by the three of them. The three of them are puzzled.
"Who's that? He just blocked our way," Amora says in annoyance, looking back at the man who is walking away.
"He probably got lost. Come on, I might be late for my next class," Luna says.
The two don't complain, not wanting Luna to be late for class.
As they walk and talk, they occasionally ask the quiet Ashyra. When they see the dorm building in the distance, they pick up their pace.
As they approach the building, a loud scream from behind catches their attention. The three of them look simultaneously.
Luna and Amora wear confused expressions, but Ashyra's face is filled with surprise.
From a distance, a strange creature jumps towards the normal people. Ashyra doesn't know what this creature is because it's the first time she's seen low-level or non-level zombies. Typically, zombies are seen on TV, but the ones Ashyra encountered were high-level and superior-level, looking intelligent despite being undead.
"What's happening?" Amora asks in confusion, looking around at the chaos.
"Run," Ashyra whispers, so the two turn to her.
The words aren't heard clearly due to the softness of her voice and the noise around them.
Ashyra lifts her gaze to the two, her expression serious. Unlike Luna and Amora, who are puzzled, she opens her lips, "I said run!" with more strength in her voice, preventing the two from asking further.
She holds the hands of Luna and Amora, pulling them. Being in the middle, she can hold both. The two are still confused, but they follow Ashyra.
"Grraaaa gaaaa!"
"Agh! Help!"
"Waarrr"
"Gosh! Wahhh!"
"Aghhh! Ga!"
"What's wrong?! Ahhh!!!"
Screams come one after another. Luna and Amora are now alarmed, and Amora can't help but look to the side. There, she sees how those creatures are devouring their schoolmates. She sees the blood spreading and the disgusting appearance of the zombies. She is stunned.
If Ashyra hadn't been holding and pulling her, she would have stayed standing, waiting for a monster to jump at her. Amora is shocked and leaves Ashyra behind while running away.
"A-amora! Are you okay?! Don't space out!" Luna suddenly shouts.
Except for Amora, Luna quickly returns to reality. She is shocked and scared by what is happening, but Luna doesn't want to bring her two companions into danger. She releases Ashyra and moves beside Amora, holding her, trying not to leave her friend behind.
"Oh, my gosh, t-that's a-a real blood," Amora mumbles to herself. She nearly stumbles and is left behind, but Luna holds her and Ashyra, not letting her friend go.
"Don't look around! We need to escape! Ash, go to the dorm building!" Luna shouts.
Ashyra doesn't respond. They were already heading to the dorm building. She looks seriously at the path ahead while holding Amora. Ashyra observes the path they will take, paying attention to the chaotic surroundings. She notices a creature blocking the entrance to the building.
"We go to the back of the building!" she shouts to her companions.
The three run while holding hands, and Amora is still not fully back to reality.
Luna is nervous and scared, but she listens to Ashyra. They pass by the side of the building, and when they see that there are not many creatures in that area, Luna knows it's safe.
They run fast, not paying attention to whether there's a monster following them. They see the back door of the building. It's slightly open because they're not the only ones who thought of using the back door.
They enter the door, and beside it, there's a staircase they can see. Although they initially planned to go to the second floor, seeing the chaos on the second floor, they decide to go straight to the next floor of the building.
**Chapter 5**
**Survival and Struggle**
The creatures spread rapidly, and surely, more await them on the next floor. They continue their ascent, not bothering to check which floor they're on. Luckily, Amora is still with them, making their escape less challenging.
As they ascend the stairs again, two zombies confront them. Luna panics, but Ashyra remains composed. "In the hallway!" she shouts at the two before releasing Amora.
She lets them run ahead of her. Chaos ensues in the hallway, and more creatures are making their way up the floors. Ashyra searches for something to use as protection and spots a mop nearby. Luna notices.
"Ash, be careful!" Luna shouts, expressing both fear and panic.
"Graaa! Gaaar"
"Grrerrer!"
Ashyra's movements are not swift enough, and a creature from behind manages to get close.
"Ash!" Luna shouts in fear.
Ashyra reacts, thrusting the mop into one of the creatures.
"Run! Find a safe place!" Ashyra instructs the two while fending off the approaching monsters.
Luna hesitates, unwilling to follow Ashyra's advice. Suddenly, a voice from a distance catches her attention. Luna looks and sees a student signaling to them. Behind the student, a dorm room door is open.
"Hey! Here! Faster!" the female student shouts.
"Ash! Let's go!" Luna, without thinking, pulls Amora towards the calling student.
Luna is delighted they made it to the door with Amora, but when she glances back, she sees that Ashyra is still outside, engaging with the monsters. Luna considers shouting at Ashyra, but a hand stops her and Amora from behind.
"Come here!" the student insists, pulling them into the dorm room.
Luna is left dumbfounded as the door closes.
"No! Ash is still outside!" she cries to the student who closed the door.
The student appears irritated. "We can't save her; there are too many monsters around her," she explains.
Luna stands there, stunned. She is scared and feels guilty, thinking it's her fault that Ashyra was left outside.
"Huh? Ash? Ha?!" Amora, sitting on the floor, touches her messy hair.
Amora is traumatized by what she saw, but when she realizes they are not with Ashyra, she breaks down. She thinks she's a burden to Ashyra, and this wouldn't have happened if she weren't such a burden.
"N-no! O-open the door! A-ash is still outside! She can't... She can't..." Amora pleads, trying to push the door.
But the student who helped them is stopping her. "No! We can't! I don't want to die! I don't want to be like those monsters!" the student shouts.
"Raiza, why did you let them in? I said don't let anyone in! Are you crazy?!" another voice from inside the dorm room interrupts.
"Jess, I'm just helping them. I'm sorry," Raiza, the student, replies.
"Raiza, what if those two turn into zombies? You're being careless," a female voice named Evanna adds.
"I'm not like you, Evanna. I'm not stupid enough to let an infected person in. I'm just helping," Raiza defends herself.
The only male, Jess, heaves a heavy sigh.
"Raiza, if those two become a burden, I'll make sure to vent my frustration on you," Jess threatens.
"The heck, Jess. I'm doing something good here, and I'm your girlfriend. You should be on my side!" Raiza argues. They seem on the verge of a fight, but Luna intervenes.
"Do you have time to quarrel? In a situation like this?" Luna says, annoyed.
Raiza glares at Luna. "Shut up! I'm the one helping you. Just shut up and be thankful!" she retorts.
Luna looks at Raiza in disbelief. "How can I be thankful to you?! My friend is still outside, and I don't even know if she's alive. Do you think surviving makes me happy? I would prefer to be with my friend than owe anything to you," Luna says angrily.
Amora, who had been silent, grabs Luna's arm.
"Argh! I'm the one doing a favour here, and that's what you say?!" They are about to scream at each other.
"Hey, guys, you need to lower your voices," Evanna, another student, intervenes.
They fall silent, hearing noises from outside. It seems the monsters are alerted by their voices.
"Calm down, okay?" Evanna suggests.
"Evanna's right. Be quiet if you don't want those zombies to come to us," Jess advises, then walks to the couch in the living room.
Luna, still anxious, glances at Amora, who is bowed down. She knows Amora is crying, judging by the movements of her shoulders. Luna is sad too, but she needs to strengthen herself.
She didn't see Ashyra become a monster. Luna firmly believes that Ashyra is safe. She needs to stay positive until there's evidence of something happening to Ashyra.
•••
- Writer
