May Peace Grace Us

Chapter 34: Abilities emerging

Aila’s early warning has no doubt saved the people in the community. Later that morning, just as the zombies begin to develop a taste for human flesh, the security team of the community begins sealing off the community for safety measures. Unless it is proven that they are residents of their community, they cannot get inside at will. Should outsiders try to force their way in, they will not hesitate to use violence to solve the problem.

And as they became strict in their customs, they also made sure that there was no ‘rabies infected’ person in the whole neighborhood. They also warned children and their parents to stay at home for now due to the increasing number of people with sickness nowadays.

To make sure that the sickness would not spread in the neighborhood, they also went to conduct a door to door inspection and immediately sent those with symptoms to the nearest hospital post haste. They cleverly told the families of the people involved that there were reports of a new virus in their department, and to contain them they were instructed to bring those infected to the professionals as fast as possible.

There were some protests about their approach, but the news of a pandemic being on the way won over the worry in the end. The people with symptoms or those simply feeling a little ill peacefully went along with the arrangement. Though some really don't want to get out of their home, they voluntarily isolate themselves for the well-being of their families. It was helpful that most of them had already experienced what a pandemic could do to a person and a whole population. Thus, making the whole La Villa Homes a safe place after the initial outbreak of the apocalypse.

With everything arranged like this, the officers easily take the infected people into check and act appropriately in a manner that has the military give their commendation later on. The military made this place their early base and when everything was developed the whole area remained a highly sought place for good law and order. Much to the pride of the original residents. Putting dignity in the this accomplishment and forging an ironclad and tight-knit home they will live in later on.

But that is a story for another time. For now, let's focus on the present time.

Aila does care about the next developments with this interferences she did, however she is more preoccupied on monitoring her friends’ status.

From the little communications she had with her friends, it was clear on Albert's side that his parents finally saw the importance of the requests of their son for the last months. Regretting why they only took him for granted, they only did the minimum of what was asked. As politicians, they should know a thing or two about what is happening. But with how proud they are, it is quite predictable that they can only bear the shame of being wrong.

The contempt in Albert’s reports he provided them on their group chat had told her that much.

As she remembered, Liza and Travis did awaken their abilities when they woke up this morning. Liza told them that she had somehow sped up the growth of her cactus plant. Sending an image of the overgrown cactus with a small pot beneath it. Much to the unbelief of the rest of their friends.

Travis also mentioned that he accidentally vanished his refrigerator this morning. He was thinking of how nice it would be if he could carry it all over and not be worried about running out of food. And it disappeared in front of him, but he could sense its existence somehow somewhere around him. It took him a few moments before he summoned the refrigerator once again.

[TheMostBrillaintGCThereIS]

[Top1: @ReadingManiac, I think you did not mention anything like this to us.]

[ReadingManiac: @Top1, I had mentioned it back then. None of you thought I was joking. I clearly said that each of you will have some powers to command.]

[HandsomePoop: @Top1, she did say. She said I will have Ice and Water respectively. @ReadingManic, Travis and Liza’s powers were ‘awakened’ as you put it. When will I have mine?”]

[PresidentialGirl: Hold up everyone! Let’s digest this matter well for now, okay? I’m sure I am not the only one not following along.]

[KeyboardWarrior: I second that.]

[DaddyDearest: Me three]

[TeddyBear: Me four.]

[...]

Aila massaged her temple as most of her friends actually did not take her words in regards to abilities well. She will have to explain things all over again. What a hassle it is now. The world does not wait for them now to accept the changes in their bodies.

[ReadingManiac: To make explanations short. Humans were going through rapid evolution. Those who did not get to adapt well turned into zombies, while those who adapted well either became resilient people towards the changes or developed various abilities like those in fantasy movies and stories.]

[ReadingManiac: All of you have developed at least two abilities. I will not say it over the message, but hear me out and don’t panic and easily expose your abilities blindly at the moment if you awaken them now. I’m referring to you both Liza and Travis. Currently, it is truly too sensitive for you two to exhibit abnormalities. Other people might blindly harm you two because of this matter.]

[ReadingManiac: @HandsomePoop, the duration of developing abilities is different from person to person. I am not quite sure when you and others will manifest their abilities.]

[PresidentialGirl: @ReadingManic, question! You said that we will have abilities, but why state it as if you don’t have one?]

[ReadingManiac: Because I really don’t have one. It’s complicated. We’ll talk about it when we meet up.]

[ReadingManiac:@Discussion First things first, how are you all now? Was there anything out of the ordinary regarding where you are now? Like people acting suspiciously and weirdly?]

As Aila remembered, today was a busy day for everyone. There were various activities that had to be done during the weekends, prompting most of them to be in crowded places. Like she was in her past life, she has to be in school to complete an assignment that is required for her scholarship.

If she remembers it well, the activities of her friends are something her friends cannot avoid. There was a ball for Bella to attend, Jerome had to attend a seminar, Liza had a recital, Alexa had had a concert to attend, Harry is on the student council, Albert has to accompany his parents with some social work, Eugene has a race to participate, Felix has to temporarily take over his brother’s post and Travis has to present on an exhibition. These activities were already planned since last year and are not allowed to be changed arbitrarily.

[KeyboardWarrior: So far there is no such problem from what I can see. But as a precaution, I had my fellow fans take measures and control themselves due to the dangers of crowded spaces for today's concert. As I am a leader in the fan group, I have some credit authority to say so. But there are also some hard to herd fans. I cannot control them, so I just kept a distance from them.]

[Top1: There are relatively fewer students in school than on normal days and work here is less than expected. By noon I will be at home and will not be out until we meet up.]

[HandsomePoop: There are plenty of people here in the Seminar. I saw some that looked unwell to me. So I took a seat near the door in case they really start biting each other.]

[DancingQueen: I have no idea how things are outside. I am in the dressing room at the moment, but so far so good on my side. Geoffrey is here to accompany me.]

[DaddyDearest: The company is a mess. There are plenty of sick people here. I am sealing the office until we meet up. Fortunately, there is some food and clothes stored here. Else I really have to brave myself to get out of here later. With the amount of sick people in the company, I don't doubt that there will be a huge number of people turning into zombies here. So staying in the office is quite the most logical choice for now. ]

[...]

Everyone gave their general situation to make sure they are safe currently. Though some of them are in high-risk environments, they are confident enough to escape if the need arises. Assuring that they are well prepared and will not need to be worried about it.

Despite knowing how capable her friends truly were, Aila couldn’t just help but to give them all one by one some specific reminders for them to take special attention to. Especially with Liza, who is still in a relationship with Geoffry. That guy was a snake Aila did not have time to deal with because her psychiatrist had instructed her to be isolated for a comprehensive assessment and therapy.

[ReadingManiac: @DancingQueen, if something happens never extend your hand to Fritzi. Do so and you can discover a secret that has made a fool of you for so long.]

After sending that, Aila gave them instructions in case they were trapped where they were. If they encounter a zombie, she freely tells them where to find its weakness and what to do should it threaten their lives. Though those would-be zombies are currently in an infected state and it is not really too humane to harm them at this stage, Aila still told them that "killing them off" is the best way to restrain them.

Other than that, she told them where they should hide and where to run should they get to leave their entrapment. It was a huge block of text she sent, but her friends cannot find the annoyance in reading them carefully. After all, it was made out of concern. Most of all, they can’t bear to wrong Aila because of her genuine care towards them.

Immersed in chatting, she did not notice that her parents were finally out of their respective rooms. Both of them did not disturb her until the sound of the microwave being turned on got Aila’s attention. Much to Aila’s startlement over the sudden noise.

Seeing her parents on the counter, Aila cut her messages and told her friends she had something to do. She has to personally check her parent’s situation to not worry about them too much. Their inability to wake up in time has truly scared her, thinking because of her existence in this timeline has created divergence and has ultimately caused her parents to perish before anything could start.

“Are you two not feeling weird or any of sorts?” Ailal asked them as she gave a kiss on her mother and father's cheeks. “The first day of the apocalypse is not yet too hard, but it has changed everyone’s evolutionary paths. I don’t know if this has also happened in my past life, so I am very worried about your uncharacteristic late rising.”

“Oh I feel so good,” Judith said as she drank water. “It almost makes me feel like I have once again entered a gymnastics competition and won against everyone.”

“You were a gymnast?” Aila was surprised to hear that. She has no idea that her mom was once a tyrant in what she does, judging from her tone and words. After all, her parents never actively shared their past unless she asked for it herself.

“Well, your mom was a frequent contestant in competitions when she was younger.” Stephen had a big smile as he recalled their younger days. “Your mom was never the type to be stationary, she liked to move her muscles, so she entered various classes of sports. Gymnastics was her favorite and was once well-known in the domestic scene.”

“Don’t mention the past anymore.” Judith was shy as her husband proudly retold her once glory.

“I see.” Aila filed the information aside and asked her father how he was feeling.

“Well, I feel fine I guess, ” Stephen said as he took out the heated breakfast from the oven. It’s already noon, so it is not so appropriate for them to eat them for lunch. But they are strangely too hungry at the moment. He supposed he would prepare another set of dishes for them to eat in a while. “There is something inside of me that I can’t seem to get. Other than that, everything is good and well.”

“What is it all about?” Judith asked her daughter as Aila was very thoughtful as they answered her inquiries. “Does it have to do with the things you are scared of?”

“No,”Aila quickly answered as she shook her head. “This is related to it. But what you are feeling is nothing bad and, in fact, all good for all of us. What you are experiencing will protect us should you be given the opportunity and time to grow. Only that I have no idea about how things will be in the future.”

Aila fully recognizes that the plot is currently in a mess even if the world is still mostly following what she has set. There are too many unstable factors all over that threaten their safety. Her discovery of her parents being a potential supernaturalist is a reassurance for them. But she has this nagging feeling that something big is happening and her parents will be in a tight spot because of it.