Viral Pandemic

Chapter 8

In the time of several hours, the city of Kuala Lumpur had completely lost control of the virus. Around fifty thousand zombies now wandered the streets and people were getting bitten and infected every minute.

 Before anyone knew it, the number of zombies had doubled several times, making it unsafe for people to go out or even make a noise. The rate of infection was drastic. Hospital staff had left their workplace as the hospitals were the place where most of the zombies were found.

Dr. Austin was completely depressed now. She had released the zombies from the hospital. Now, the whole city is down. She was hoping that some miracle would happen. Slowly, she got up from her sofa in the living room and peeked through the curtains. There were at least four zombies walking around the street in front of her house.

She panicked even more now. There was no chance of escape and food supplies were running low. Just an hour ago, the electricity went out and left her in the darkness. She had no idea how long the food in her fridge would last. She had to go away from there. Fast.

However, it was clear to Dr. Austin that it would be fine to live there carefully for a few more days. Her plan is to leave only when the food runs out. Immediately, she did some research on her phone about the safest place in Malaysia right now. Suddenly, the electricity came back on and the lights in the living room turned on.

Dr. Austin jumped up, ran, and turned the lights off. She peeked outside again and was relieved that no zombie was paying any attention towards her house. She sighed and went back to researching.

Hours passed on with Dr. Austin just staring at her phone’s screen. She finally put her phone away around midnight because the battery was exhausted. She went for a nice shower. After having a quick dinner, she went to sleep.

In the morning, she woke up suddenly when she heard a noise. She got up immediately and ran to the window. She was overcome with fear after peeking through the curtains. The zombies had started to gather around her front gate. She went downstairs immediately and quietly. Too bad for her, she accidentally knocked down a vase on the way down. The vase fell and broke with a very loud noise. Noise with a license to deafen your ears. Dr. Austin stopped in her tracks. She went back upstairs to her room and peeked through the window again.

The zombie was standing in front of the gate. He was looking around a lot. Suddenly he saw a movement above. An eye. Human. Breakfast. Without waiting anymore, he started to climb up the gate to get to his victim.

Dr. Austin thought one of the zombies was staring at her. She froze and didn’t move. Suddenly, the zombie started to climb up the gate and she screamed. Immediately, she rushed downstairs into the kitchen, the place farthest away from the door.

She picked up a knife and held it like a weapon. She was ready to kill anyone or anything that came in through the door. Slowly, she walked towards the main door. Just as she stepped outside the kitchen, there was a loud bang. The zombie was obviously struggling to open the main door.

Whatever Dr. Austin had to do, she had to do it fast. She knew that the other zombies will start to climb up the gate as well. She remembered the shotgun in her car. Is it possible? she thought.

Without even revising her plan, she ran to the door, opened it, and stabbed the zombie repeatedly with her knife. She looked up and saw some of the zombies starting to run around to the back of her house and one trying to climb up the gate. Dr. Austin wasn't stressed about those who went around the back as she knew it's impossible to get into the house from there.

She rushed forward and pulled the door handle of her car, thinking that everything will be over soon. Boy, was she wrong. After several pulls, she realized that the door was actually locked. She turned around and ran into the house, intending to grab the keys.

After much running and panicking, Dr. Austin lay on her garage with the shotgun set on her hips. She was out of breath. She had spent the last ten minutes cleansing the area of zombies and now, no zombie could be seen. However, she is not planning to stay there. As it is obviously known, shotguns are loud and zombies nearby would already have been attracted to the noise.

After resting for a while, she ran back into the house and grabbed some clothes, food, and other essentials before piling them up inside her car. She had planned to go to Kuala Lumpur International Airport which has been deemed one of the safest places in the country.

The airport was not close to her home, though. The journey would require around one hour of driving and that is if she is lucky to not stumble upon zombies on the way. She is determined to get to the airport which can provide safety for her.

Once she was sure that everything was ready, Dr. Austin started the engine and backed out of the garage to start a gruelling journey. She drove slowly out of the street and turned towards the main road. She stopped and looked around for any signs of zombies. To her relief, there was none and she resumed the journey.

The journey went smoothly. Dr. Austin never anticipated this situation. She thought there would be hundreds of zombies on the roads but she had seen only one or two. When she reached the highway, things changed.

There were a lot of cars on the highway. Clearly, everyone wanted to escape to another place. Dr. Austin hoped that there would be no zombies on the highway. A jammed highway is what zombies will be craving for. More humans, more brains and thus more creatures to infect.

For the next thirty minutes, Dr. Austin simply sat inside her car with the music blaring from the speakers. The car had moved a few meters since she got trapped in the jam. Suddenly, the car in front of her moved rapidly and crashed into the barrier. The driver got out, and to Dr. Austin’s horror, it was a zombie. Another one came crashing out through the window of the back door. 

At first, no one except her had seemed to notice anything. But after a few people screamed, people nearby got out of their cars and took to their heels. Some of them ran back and some of them jumped over the railings into the forest beside the highway.

Not Dr. Austin, though. She had a better idea. The zombie’s car had crashed and left a big gap between the barriers and Dr. Austin gunned her car through the gap and started to drive on the wrong side. No matter what happens, she was determined to get to KLIA.

To her surprise, there was no car on her side of the road and the other side was still congested with thousands of vehicles. She smiled as she thought of the unfair road theory. No matter which side you’re driving on, your side will be congested and the other side would be near to empty. This was also a good sign for her. It meant that no one has yet tried to escape from the direction she’s headed to.

About thirty minutes later, she arrived at the airport and saw that it was jam-packed. People were all over the place. It seemed that the authorities were having trouble handling that many people. To her disappointment, the policemen guarding the road told her that she had to turn around and no one was allowed in anymore as the airport was full.

She turned around and thought of what to do. Not desiring to leave the area which is guarded by armies, she went to the airport hotel instead. At least she would be a little more comfortable. Upon arrival, she went to the reception desk to get a room.

Dr. Austin was very lucky. She had got the last room available in the hotel which was also the most expensive suite. She paid for a two-week stay and headed to her suite ready for a nice rest. Once she opened the suite door, she turned on the lights and closed the door and put the shotgun down which she managed to smuggle in.

She felt like she just did something stupid, paying for an expensive suite at the hotel during these times of crisis. However, it was all too late anyways so she brushed off the feeling of guilt or whatever it was and started to indulge in the suite. 

She opened the curtains and went outside into the balcony. There stood the airport building which was beautiful. She looked around a bit, breathed in the air, and enjoyed the place. After she had taken in enough air, she went inside and drew the curtains. Time for a bath, she thought.