The Dream That Stayed

8.Training For Tomorrow

# Part 8 Training For Tomorrow

The next morning, everyone left for their respective jobs. Only Lily and Ryan stayed back at home.

Lily was washing the breakfast plates when Ryan approached her and sat on the chair near the kitchen counter. Resting one hand on the counter and the other under his chin, he kept smiling at her quietly.

“Lily,” he called softly.

She turned back. “Hmm? Do you want something else to eat, babe?”

“No, I’m full. But can you come sit with me for a bit? I want to ask you something.”

Lily wiped her hands and walked toward him before sitting across from him at the table.

“Hm, tell me.”

Ryan suddenly pulled her chair closer using his strong arms, making Lily blush instantly.

“What are you doing? Ryan, stop…”

He smiled lightly. “Then tell me… why didn’t you tell me anything about the dreams?”

Lily’s expression changed slightly.

“I told you everything, Ryan. There’s nothing left.”

Ryan gently held her hand and kissed it.

“What about the nightmares never stopping, my love?” he asked softly. “Don’t I deserve an explanation?”

Lily lowered her head guiltily.

“I’m sorry, Ryan… You were already trying so hard to help me. You were exhausted all the time. You had movie shoots during the day, and when you came back home, you never rested. You would come directly to help me practice martial arts even though I already had a trainer. Still, you came every single day… I couldn’t bear seeing you suffer because of me. So I lied. I’m sorry… I never meant to break your trust.”

Ryan looked at her quietly before caressing her hand.

“It’s okay. I’m not angry at you,” he said softly. “I just started feeling like an incompetent boyfriend… someone who couldn’t even take care of his own girlfriend.”

“No, Ryan… please don’t say that,” Lily said softly. “I’m sorry. Let’s focus on the plan now.”

Ryan nodded. “Okay. Let’s start.”

The two of them spread multiple maps across the table and began marking different locations carefully. Ryan drew lines between crowded areas while Lily noted down places where infection could spread rapidly.

Schools, hospitals, IT hubs near Bright’s Hospital, clubs, bars, subway stations, and public gathering spots were all listed one after another.

Together, they started visiting those places daily, secretly trying to prevent possible infections before the outbreak could even begin.

Days passed quickly.

Every night after dinner, everyone gathered together in the living room to discuss the progress of their mission and share new information.

That night, Preet and Ethan seemed unusually serious.

Both of them had spent days researching the virus and possible reasons behind the zombie outbreak.

After everyone settled down, Ethan placed several files and papers on the table while Preet opened her laptop.

“I think we finally found something important,” Ethan said.

The atmosphere in the room instantly turned tense as everyone focused their attention on them.

Preet took a deep breath before beginning the explanation about the virus.

Ethan spread several papers across the table while Preet opened a file on her laptop. The room slowly grew silent as everyone focused on them.

“So… we finally figured out what we’re dealing with,” Ethan said seriously. “The outbreak is connected to two viruses — HVV and HZV. Human Zombie Virus.”

Arjun leaned forward slightly. “That already sounds bad.”

“It is,” Ethan replied. “Its fresh, hungry sufferers could become one of the greatest threats to humanity.”

The atmosphere instantly became heavy.

“The zombie plague is, in fact, caused by a virus from the order *Mononegaviruses* — negative-strand RNA viruses responsible for diseases like Ebola, measles, rabies… and of course, vampirism.”

Bright blinked twice. “I already regret sitting here.”

Ignoring him, Ethan continued walking around the room while explaining.

“I’ve determined that HZV is a zoonotic virus initially spread to humans through ticks from the *Ixodidae* family. A tick bites an infected rat, raccoon, or another animal, and later transfers the virus to humans through direct bites, especially in rural regions.”

Ryan frowned slightly, trying to keep up.

Ethan pointed toward the medical diagrams.

“Once an infected individual bites someone, the virus enters the victim’s bloodstream through saliva. After entering the body, it attacks the host cells and begins replicating at an alarming rate. HVV takes time to adapt to the host… but HZV starts immediately.”

“Immediately?” Lily asked quietly.

Ethan nodded grimly.

“Fast fever. Organ stress. Neural damage. Aggression spikes. Loss of emotional control.”

Preet took over from there.

“Humanity remains only for a brief time,” she explained calmly. “Because of their failing circulatory systems, damaged organs, and brain trauma caused by coma-like high fevers, the infected slowly lose the ability to think and reason.”

The room fell silent.

“However,” Preet continued, “certain habits and abilities remain active for two to three days. Things stored in muscle memory… like driving cars or using tools.”

Arjun almost jumped from his seat.

“That’s insane! A dead person can drive a car? Oh God…”

“And later,” Preet added, “even basic thinking disappears completely. They eventually transform into human-hunting machines with only one purpose left — locate prey, capture prey, and feed.”

Bright stared blankly at both of them for a few seconds.

“…Can you guys explain this in simple language?” he finally asked. “I’m a commerce student. I understood absolutely nothing.”

Ethan immediately pointed at him.

“You didn’t understand because you’re dumb,” he teased while sticking out his tongue.

“Shut up,” Bright muttered.

Ryan raised his hand slightly.

“No seriously… even I didn’t fully understand either.”

Ethan sighed dramatically before sitting down.

“Fine. Let me explain it in normal human language.”

Everyone immediately looked relieved.

“So basically,” Ethan began, “this virus spreads mainly through bites. A tiny infected tick first spreads it to animals, and eventually infected humans start spreading it to other humans.”

Bright slowly nodded. “Okay… that part I understand.”

“The moment someone gets bitten,” Ethan continued, “the virus enters the blood through saliva and starts taking over the body very fast. Unlike normal viruses, this one doesn’t wait. It attacks immediately.”

“And the fever?” Lily asked.

“Horribly high,” Preet answered. “Hot enough to damage the brain.”

Ethan continued, “At first, infected people still remember small things because of muscle memory. For example, they may still know how to drive, open doors, hold weapons, or use tools.”

Arjun looked terrified again.

“That is NOT comforting.”

“But after a few days,” Preet said softly, “their brain completely stops functioning normally. They lose emotions, logic, humanity… everything.”

Ethan leaned back in his chair.

“At that point, they become predators. Their only instinct is to hunt, bite, infect, and feed.”

The room became dead silent after that.

Then suddenly Preet remembered something.

“she said she wanted to confirm something.”

“Can you show me the CCTV footage from Win Corporation?”

Everyone followed Arjun to the computer systems room. The surveillance footage played across multiple monitors. At first, nothing seemed unusual, but Preet kept staring at the screen thoughtfully.

Then she suddenly turned toward Bright.

“Bright… is Dr. Ron related to your family or connected to your corporation in some way?”

Bright looked confused. “No, he’s not related to us. But he’s a close friend of my uncle. In fact, he’s going to become the director of our new hospital. Why? Do you think he’s suspicious? Do you know something about him?”

Preet crossed her arms, still watching the footage.

“He’s a senior doctor at my hospital. Ten years ago, he worked on the same HZV virus research. I’m not sure yet… maybe I’m wrong… but I have a feeling he’s somehow connected to the zombie outbreak.”

The room suddenly became silent.

Arjun immediately became serious.

“We shouldn’t ignore even a small lead. I’ll separate and secure every record connected to Dr. Ron.”

Ethan shook his head uncertainly.

“But Preet… Dr. Ron is one of the most respected doctors in the country. He’s already wealthy. Why would he do something like this?”

Lily looked at everyone calmly.

“Let’s not jump to conclusions yet. This is our first real lead. We wait, observe, and gather proof.”

Then she turned toward Arjun.

“Let’s recheck all the old footage too. Maybe we missed something important earlier.”

Ryan nodded before changing the topic slightly.

“And by the way, Lis is coming home for Christmas before returning to the military. She said she’ll teach us shooting.”

“So every evening, until Lis leaves, we’re going to the shooting arena.”

For the first time that night, the tension in the room eased slightly… but Preet’s mind was still focused on Dr. Ron.

The next morning, before anyone else woke up, Lisa had already arrived at the bunker house.

Ethan slowly opened his eyes—only to freeze in shock.

Lisa was standing beside his bed, pointing a g*n directly at him with a mischievous grin.

“LIS! You maniac!” Ethan shouted, nearly falling off the bed. “Stop doing that!”

Arjun woke up from the noise and groaned.

“How are you, Lis?”

“Better than before,” Lisa replied proudly.

Ethan sat up, rubbing his eyes in frustration.

“Wait… how did you even get inside? Everybody was asleep. Who opened the door?”

Lisa raised an eyebrow.

“Didn’t your sister tell you about the biometric lock and facial recognition system?” she said casually. “The door automatically opens for people whose data is already stored in the system. It has all your faces—including your parents’.”

Ethan looked impressed.

“My sister is incredible… I still don’t know how she managed all this alone.”

On the other side of the room, Lily slightly opened her eyes. She had been listening to their conversation the whole time.

“Mm… what are you about me while I’m trying to sleep…” Lily muttered lazily.

Everyone turned toward her.

“The lock system was designed by my friend Mia,” Lily explained. “The house itself was constructed by the Nemo Brothers. I only designed the layout. The interiors were done by Richard’s wife.”

Ethan blinked.

“Sis… exactly how many people know about our secret bunker? At this point, it’s not even secret anymore.”

Lily sat up calmly.

“Only Mia, the Nemo Brothers and their workers, Richard, and his wife. That’s all. And don’t worry—this place is completely legalized.”

That answer seemed to relax everyone slightly.

Since it was Christmas and everyone had the day off, the group quickly got ready and headed toward the shooting arena with Lisa.

For a brief moment, they almost looked like normal friends enjoying a holiday together…

-To Be Continued...