Viral Pandemic

Chapter 3

Harry was running as fast as he could through the aisle, his trolley in front of him. When he came near to the check-out lanes, he saw an ocean of humans running away. Thinking that there is no point pushing the trolley, he abandoned it and ran towards one of the exits. He suddenly realized that the zombie chasing him was right behind him. 'They’re so fast! ' he thought.

He grabbed a fire extinguisher nearby, pulled the open key, and pressed the lever while aiming the nozzle at the zombie. The zombie stopped, turned around, and started to chase Harry again. Harry sprayed the fire extinguisher straight into the zombie’s face but he was astounded to see that it did not affect. He then threatened to throw it at the zombie. The zombie stopped. Harry threatened again. The zombie turned around and ran away.

Harry didn’t care what happened just know. He was in a mild hysteria. His brain couldn’t register properly what was happening. It was as though you were senseless. Harry ran as fast as his feet could carry him to his car and drove home faster than ever.

When he was in the safety of his home, he started to notice some things about him. Strangely, even though his trousers were ripped at the knee, his elbow was bleeding, and he had a moderate-sized lump on his head, he felt no pain. He couldn’t remember when he got all those injuries. He walked towards the storeroom, grabbed the first aid kit, and attended to his wounds.

When he was done, he decided to call his old buddy Smith, to inform him about what happened. He dialled Smith’s number on his phone and waited for Smith to answer. Unfortunately, Smith never answered the phone call even after Harry tried at least a dozen times.

Feeling lost, Harry turned on the television in the kitchen. Many channels showed only green screens. He turned the television off and grabbed his phone, hoping there will be a website about what’s happening. Luckily, he found a Japanese website that offered real-time news about the virus.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise on his front door. Harry jumped. More noises. Someone was knocking or rather banging the door, to get inside the house.

Harry put down his phone and went towards the CCTV monitor that displayed the front porch. To his surprise, he saw at least five zombies standing in front of the door, one of them smashing his head onto the door.

At this point, Harry didn’t even know what to do. One thing that he had learnt from the movies about zombies, is to keep silent. Whether or not the same rule would apply now, he was not sure.

He carefully moved some furniture to block the entrances to the house. Once he saw that every door was blocked, he created a plan to escape from the house. He couldn’t stay there forever, could he? What if more zombies arrived and broke down the door?

After a while, he came up with an escape plan. The basement in his mansion has a tunnel that is linked to a nearby safehouse occupied by the U.S Army. He is always welcome there if anything occurs or needed. He decided to stay in the mansion for two or three days and then go to the safehouse. He then went to stock up his basement with necessities.

Hours later, Harry turned around and looked at the newly stocked up basement/temporary safe house. It was filled with food and water enough for a few days, some of the useful weapons from his private arsenal, a backup Wi-Fi router, some military equipment although not military-grade, and some of his clothes.

Harry closed the titanium alloy doors to keep any intruders out. He turned around and went to his workspace that he has dubbed the Control Center. This place was equipped with several monitors, all showing live CCTV feed from the cameras around the house. It also had a place for a few tablets, showing news and stuff from different websites. The Harry that existed before the zombie attack started would have loved this place, but he didn’t like it anymore. He got inside this heavenly place because something bad is happening.

Harry sat down at the Control Center and took his phone. He opened a social media app and scrolled up and down, without any specific reason. Suddenly, there was a loud noise from above. Harry jumped a bit and instantly went for his monitors, checking the CCTV feed. Oh, s**t! The sliding door! he thought. There was a sliding door around the living room made of glass, and the zombies seemed to have penetrated Harry’s protection.

On instinct, Harry went and packed his two backpacks with things that he had planned earlier. In case of an emergency instant escape, he had to pack the necessities he needed. Harry was busy packing and checking some of his weapons when a loud noise came from the titanium alloy door. Harry looked up, his face showing only one emotion: fear.