MIRAI

Chapter 3. The Humming Zombie

"Why is... Tiana... humming?"

He squeezed his ears and covered it tightly to forbid any sounds from entering.

He saw his roommate, Kirk, sleeping soundly on his bed. Who knew if he was sleeping normally or if the hums affected him in anyway.

He closed the glass window with one hand, squeezing his other hand on one of his ear while not breathing as if stopping his breath could stop his ear from hearing.

He immediately ransacked his clothes and used it to cover any hole that could be a possible sound passageway. He finally let loose when he could no longer hear any hums.

Lui sat on the side of his bed, and took a deep breath, as he looked at Kirk who is still sleeping peacefully. He paused momentarily, then decided to walk towards Kirk's bed and nudge his shoulder lightly, while calling his name. He, then, put a minimum force to nudge him to possibly wake him up.

It was not his best attempt to wake someone up, but in his mind, no one can wake up someone who's affected by Tiana's hum. So he decided to give up, think of a plan and wait for 10 minutes for Kirk to wake up and be fully free from Tiana's hum.

Just as he was about to go back to his bed, he heard a gibberish mumble, "What? Why are you waking me up?" It was Kirk.

"Guess, he was not affected..." Lui thought to himself. He took a quick glance of Kirk who's readying himself to get back to sleep.

Lui sighed and grabbed Kirk's blanket, then tossed it aside. "Hey!" Kirk blurted as he sat up trying to recover his blanket.

Lui moved closer, and said, "Listen."

Kirk's eyes widened to see how close their faces were.

"There's something going on outside. Someone who was not supposed to turn this early is already affected by the blood moon, and is affecting everyone nearby."

Kirk halted his movements and memories of Mei biting his arm off terrified him. Lui noticed it and flicked his forehead while saying, "Hey, hey, don't go dissociating now. We'll be okay." He stood up, and he continued with a convincing tone, "You'll be okay."

"What should we do?" Kirk looked up to Lui who just stood up checking the premises outside from the closed window.

"Tiana was supposed to turn several months from now, but for some reason, she became a victim this early. And s**t knows if there are other victims."

"Tiana? How'd you know she turned?" Kirk asked, tossing his pillow aside.

"Because I hear her hums." Lui answered while his back is turned to Kirk.

Lui explained that there are two types of zombies they will encounter. The evolved one and the normal one. The normal ones are those that everybody sees in a zombie movies. The evolved ones are those who acquire special abilities. And Tiana is one of the evolved.

"When she hears a sound from anyone alive, may it be a human or an animal, Tiana will follow the sound and she will start humming. Everyone who'll hear her hums will fall into slumber and will not wake up unless they manage to not hear the hums for 10 minutes." Lui explained trying not to overwhelm Kirk. "Now that she's humming, I'm assuming everyone on the second floor, atleast, fell asleep. We're on the third floor, so we're safe for now..."

Lui stopped not mentioning that he heared her humms earlier before he woke Kirk up. He put his fist on his chin, thinking that if he heard it earlier, others from the third floor might also have heard it. He had no way to know as this did not happen in the future he knew.

Lui suddenly shifted his gaze to Kirk who was at that time was also having his own deep thoughts. "Don't worry, she is harmless alone..." He assured Kirk.

Kirk's eyes brighten with the realization. "She's only responsible for making them fall asleep, but she's not biting them?" Lui nodded.

"If she only hums when hearing a sound, it means we only have to be super quiet so she'll stop humming, and if she stopped humming for 10minutes, everyone affected will be awake, right?" Kirk concluded. "We can save everyone!"

"That is..." Lui answered, then he looked at the door. "...if there are no zombies out there other than Tiana."

"Right, we don't know the situation outside, yet..." Kirk said as he put on his black hooded jacket. He grabbed his Air Jordan shoes, and continued, "As you mentioned yesterday, since we came from the future, it is us who can save them, right?"

Lui smiled in disbelief on how Kirk shifted from scaredy cat to some hero wannabe in a short span of time.

"Okay. First, we need to scout the area... we need to know how many zombies are there, how many were bitten, and how many are not." Lui said, while soaking cottons in a bottle of water.

"Bring your phone with you and put it on silent mode. Any verbal communication is not allowed so text me if you want to say anything, we cannot produce any sound if we want to stop her from humming."

"Why silent the phone if she's just reacting to live voices?" Kirk interrupted.

"That's not for her, that's for the normal zombies around if there are any. They're normal zombies, they react to any sounds." Lui answered.

"Then that?" Kirk said pointing the bottle of water with cottons.

"We will put this on our ears later for us to avoid hearing her hums." Lui explained and Kirk nodded.

"While we're scouting the area, let's look for Mei, or find someone who's not affected by the hums..." Lui said, but in his mind, it is not possible for anyone to not be affected by the hums, unless they also have the knowledge of Tiana's evolved humming zombie.

"Roger that!" Kirk answered.

"Also, if there's a zombie, do not engage, run..." Lui finished his instructions and picked the wet cottons and gave two pieces to Kirk. "Ready?"

Kirk nodded.

"Put this on..."

* * *

Beru swayed her feet to the beat as she listened to "Yoasobi's Into the Night" in her headphone in max volume. She scrolled down the manhwa she was reading, seemingly enjoying it.

Half an hour passed already when Beru's roommate, Mei, rushed outside when Cier knocked for emergency, and she hadn't return since.

"Was it not sorted yet?" She thought to herself as she yawned, then right after, she saw the doorknob moving.

The door was slowly being pushed open, until she saw a figure. It was Kirk.

Kirk froze and dumbfoundedly stare at the unaffected Beru, while Beru just raised her eyebrows as a sign of greetings; Unbothered to as why he was there in their room. She saw a hand moving closer to Kirk, it was Lui's.

Kirk shut a "why-didn't-you-think-of-using-headphones-to-block-the-sounds-off?" look to Lui. He couldn't help it, in the future Lui knew, Tiana turned when there were no electricity available, and things like headphones or earphones are useless that time.

Kirk entered the room letting Lui enter as well, moving carefully to not produce any sound. Lui entered with Mei sleeping on his back. Beru saw it and she held her earphones, aiming to put it down, but Kirk immediately jumped on the bed stopping her from removing the headphones. Beru opened her lips to ask what's going on but before she could produce any sound, Kirk covered her mouth with his hands.

Beru stayed still. She was not stupid enough to not notice how desperate Kirk not to let her hear anything or say anything.

Kirk immediately tapped on his phone, while Lui closed the door and put Mei down on the bed.

"NO TALKING AND DON'T REMOVE YOUR HEADPHONES. WE CAN'T EXPLAIN EVERYTHING RIGHT NOW, SO FOR NOW, PLEASE JUST DO WHAT WE SAY."

Kirk wrote down on his phone and let Beru read it. He thinks Beru might be overwhelmed if he explained things via typing. He thinks it's way more easier explaining things verbally.

Beru watched Kirk and Lui communicate via phone messages. "Ugh, they look stupid." Beru thought to herself.

After a minute of discussion, Kirk looked at Beru and showed his screen: "STAY HERE AND TAKE CARE OF Mei." Then both Kirk and Lui went out the room.

Beru looked at Mei, "What are you doing? Is something going on outside?" She thought to herself as if she's asking Mei. When Mei did not answer her telepathy back, Beru looked at the door as if tempted to see what's happening. She then sighed, and laid her back on her bed. "Nah, curiosity killed the cat. I'm not some dumb woman in a horror movie film who does the exact opposite of what's been told to her." She said to herself once again.

After some time, Lui and Kirk came back, and Kirk showed his phone screen to Beru. "LET'S HEAD ON THE 5TH FLOOR"

Lui lifted Mei and the four of them climb to the 5th floor. As Beru stepped out the room, she was amused and terrified at the same time to see her teammates all lying on the floor, except Tiana who seems to be different.

Beru was too stunned to move when Kirk grabbed her wrist and showed his screen, "DON'T WANDER OFF." Then Kirk let Beru walk in front of him.

The 5th floor of the house was meant for recreation. Different sorts of board games, Billiards, Video Games, and Theater room were all present as amenities.

When they arrived on the 5th floor, they entered the theater room and locked the door. Lui put down Mei on one of the sofa and removed the wet cotton on his ear. Kirk did the same.

"You can remove your headphones now." Kirk said to Beru and removed her headphones for her. She looked at them like "WTF?"

"When Mei wakes up... Let's wait for 10minutes and I'll explain everything." Kirk said, as he looked simultaneously at Mei, Beru and Lui.

Kirk stared at Lui, remembering their agreement back when they're on Malayan village.

Lui: I will tell you everything I know since you're also from the future... but... only you.

Kirk: Why? We could use it to save everyone.

Lui: I only intend to save my friends.

Kirk: What?! You selfish piece of s**t!

Lui: People changed in the future, you don't know how lethal everything was!

Kirk: If we can save everyone, we should!

Lui: You may want to play hero now, but you'll regret it soon.

Kirk: We're not friends. Do you not intend to save me?

Lui: I'll save you.

Kirk: Then let's save everyone.

Lui: You're helpless...

Kirk: I know.

Lui: Fine! If you want to save everyone using the information I have. You have to pretend it came from you. Don't mention anything about me.

Kirk: You want me to have all the credits?

Lui: It's not about having the credits. It's wanting to keep myself away from prying people.

Ten minutes of waiting seems like forever. Beru has a lot of question but understood that they have to wait for Mei to wake up. But how do they know Mei will wake up in 10minutes? Why was Mei sleeping all of a sudden? Why was everyone sleeping in the first place?

Tired of waiting, Beru took a peek on the window. She was half asleep, trying to kill her boredom by sightseeing outside... but what she saw outside the window horrified her.

"W-what's happening?" She mumbled.

She looked at Lui and Kirk and they were both looking down, avoiding her gaze.

She looked outside again and saw people attacking, biting people. It was a chaotic---like a zombie apocalypse she saw in movies. Just as when she was about to question Lui and Kirk, Mei opened her eyes.

Mei sat up and looked around, wondering why they were there. The first she saw was Beru with her unusually terrified look. She also saw Lui being nonchalant and Kirk who seemed like he has a lot to say.

"Uh, guys...?" The only words Mei could say before Beru rushed to Kirk and said "Mei is now awake... now tell us, what's happening?"

"Exactly what you saw..." Lui butted in.

"What she saw?" Mei said seemingly having a big question mark atop her head.

"We are now in an apocalypse..." Beru mumbled before dropping on the floor, feeling hopeless. "Are we doomed?" She continued.

"Apocalypse?!" Mei questioned. "Is this a prank?"

"Guys, calm down. Listen..." Kirk said to calm everyone even though everyone looked calm except him.

Kirk guided them to the window and they saw the wreck from outside. Mei catches her breath seeing what's happening for the first time.

The pathway, once bustling with life, are now filled with grotesque forms lurching forward. People are running, tripping and falling, some were even being swarmed by hordes.

Mei held the bar of the window, did not know what to say or do. She wanted to know why is this happening, how did this happen, what should they do but she couldn't say a thing.

"It was the blood moon..." Kirk looked at the moon. The lunar eclipse just passed. "The blood moon caused the people to act violently... It was the blood moon who turned people to zombie..."

"How? Why didn't we turn, then?" Beru asked.

"You'll turn if you eat the blood moon food..." Kirk answered, he paused momentarily, then looked at Mei. "And if you turn, you can either be a normal zombie or an evolved one..."

Beru looked at Kirk, trying to absorb the information. "Evolved?"

"Evolved zombies are more dangerous than normal ones. They are not just wandering cluelessly and biting people at random. They inherited the skills that they have when they were still human."

"Is this why you tried so hard to stop Mei from eating the blood moon food given by the villagers?" Beru continued.

"Right... the villagers, they are the one who made it, do they know they'll turn if they eat it? If yes, why did they made the blood moon food in the first place? If no, are they safe?" Mei panicked asking everything at once.

"I don't know the specifics." Kirk drooped down. "I'm sorry..." He sighed. "But one thing is for sure, there's an evolved zombie inside this villa..."

"Tiana..." Beru murmured remembering the scene she witnessed when she first step outside the room.

"Yes. Tiana... Tiana is an evolved zombie who hums every time she hear living sounds. Maybe she became evolved inheriting her angelic voice when she was still a human..." Kirk said not glancing at them. "If you hear her hums, you'll fall to slumber, oblivious to the danger around you and you won't wake up unless you stop hearing her for 10minutes."

Beru put her fist below her chin. "Is this why he don't want me to speak or remove my headphones earlier, so I won't fall for Tiana's trap?" She thought to herself.

"But... how does Tiana turned to one? She did not even go to the village..." Mei looked at Kirk. "Wait... how do you even know all these details?"

Everyone looked at Kirk, and Kirk glanced at Lui. "I'm a regressor..." Kirk said without blinking. "I came from the future."

"What? This doesn't make sense..." Mei said putting her whole face on her palm.

Everyone fell silent.

"So... what now?" Beru broke the silence.

"Wait Beru, don't tell me you believe him?" Mei butted in.

"Mei..." Beru mumbled. "Did you see what's waiting outside?"

Mei halted. She clearly saw what it's like outside. Is this really the reality? Or perhaps, was she still half awake?

"I do too." Beru paused. "...and right now, what Kirk was saying is our best choice..."

"If you're with us, let's throw Tiana outside" Lui interrupted after Beru stated her conclusion.

"How do we do that?" Mei asked.

"Tiana is not harmful. She won't bite us. We just need to push her out the door." Kirk said.

"That easy?" Beru sat staring intently at Kirk.

Kirk nodded. "Once outside, she'll walk towards where she hears human sound. She'll walk away here and we can save everyone."

"Wait! You're saying we sacrificed everyone outside? Instead of giving them even a small chance to escape? They'll fall to more danger if we do that!" Mei blurted.

"What do you suggest? Keep Tiana here and let everyone here to fall asleep to death? Or let the four of us get trapped here with no food, no nothing?" Lui questioned her.

"But..." Mei drooped down. "Is there any other way? Can't we save everyone?"

"You know the answer to that question." Lui answered firmly.

"If I'm the one to answer... there is a way! We just haven't thought of it yet!" Mei exclaimed.

"Suit yourself." Lui emotionlessly answered.

"Can't we bring back Tiana to normal?" Mei said as if it was the greatest idea.

"Mei..." Kirk mumbled. "Even in the future, it is not possible."

Mei bit her lips in anger. "There must be another way!"

"Should we waste more time thinking of another way?" Lui interrupted her once again.

"What's wrong with you? Why do you want more people to die?" Mei spouted angrily at Lui.

Lui was taken aback. "No. what's wrong with you? I'm doing this to survive."

"Can you guys stop?" Beru mediated the heated conversation. "Let's just cast a vote to solve this quickly."

Everyone looked at Beru.

"Raise your hand if you think we should throw Tiana out."

Lui raised his hands immediately. Kirk follows. Beru looked on the floor and slowly raised her hands.

"Decision carried." Beru concluded without glancing at anyone.

"You guys are selfish!" Mei couldn't believe it. She believed that they should not abandon humanity but she couldn't do anything.

"Beru..." Lui said firmly. "Stay here with Mei and keep an eye on her, we don't want her making any scene when we pushed Tiana out." Lui looked at Mei before continuing, "One wrong move and we all could fall to slumber."

Beru nodded with Lui's authority.

The two girls watched the two guys' backs as they walked out and closed the door.

"I'm sorry." Beru mumbled.

"You could have atleast sided with me." Mei said then proceed on ignoring Beru as she felt betrayed.

"I did that for all of us." Mei didn't move as if she didn't hear her, then Beru said, "There is another way so outside people can survive."

"You could have told them!"

"That includes us escaping from the roof and leaving everyone here sleeping." Beru blurted that it echoed to silence. "We could give the people outside chance to escape by not letting them fall asleep to Tiana's hums but that will mean, we will abandon our people inside. If I had to choose, I choose those people inside."

Mei, feeling hopeless, stayed silent.

"Mei-chan, before everything else, I want you to know that you're one of the best people I met, so no matter what happens, please... survive."

* * *

Lui and Kirk reached the first floor while staying silent.

Under the fading crimson red atmosphere, there stands Tiana who seems glowing as she hums with a several bodies scattered around her. Some rested on their backs while others lay on their sides in quiet surrender to sleep.

Lui signaled Kirk as Lui run towards the door, readying himself to make a sound. Their headphones maxed out to not hear any hums Tiana would make.

"Tia, congratulations, you made it. You passed your audition." Lui smiled as he said those words in his normal low voice. Tiana heard it and looked at Lui's direction. "It's game on." Kirk thought to himself as he positioned himself at the back of Tiana waiting for the right time to push her out.

Tiana smiled at Lui, her eyes half closed, as the first note slipped from her lips like a thread unwinding in the quiet air. Each hums seemed to glow, filled with emotions, as if the song had taken on a life of it's own; A melody that unfortunately they wouldn't hear, yet fortunately they couldn't hear.

Lui stared at Tiana as she stepped slowly, moving her arms and fingers as if she's dancing to the melody.

When Tiana is one step closer to him, Lui didn't move, he just stared at her, feeling apologetic.

Kirk shoot a "What-are-you-doing?" gaze at Lui, but instead of sticking to the plan, Lui grabbed Tiana to a hug and said "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." before opening the back door and pushing Tiana out.

The chords on Lui's earphones gets tangled with Tiana's fingers that Tiana accidentally brought his earphones with her, making Lui hear Tiana's hums. He heard her humming voice clear and rich for the first time, and as if it was telling a story with full of emotions, and that story from that melody, it was a sad one.

Lui immediately fell to a slumber.