From Hell

by C. O. Amal

  I rushed outside and saw Kevin and Tom near the street.

  “Gavin.” Kevin called me when he saw me.

  “Kevin, what’s happening, man?” I asked.

  “Can’t you guess? It’s the fucking earthquake, man.”

  I looked around me. Trees on my house yard swayed slowly and cars on the side of the street shook violently.

  “Look, man.” Tom said.

  I looked and saw wide cracks forming on the ground. Suddenly the telephone in my house began to ring.

  “It must be my dad. I need to get it. See you, man.” I said.

  “We will be right outside. Come when you’re done, okay? And remember that, staying inside house during earthquake is dangerous.” Kevin said.

  “Okay, man. I will be careful.” I ran towards my house. Then the earthquake slowly faded away.

  I rushed inside and closed the door. Then I quickly took the phone receiver.

  “Hello.” I said.

  “Gavin, this is dad.”

  “Hai, dad. When are you coming back? Is the meeting over? There was a violent earthquake here, just a moment ago.”

  “Gavin, listen to me, carefully. We are coming to get you. And meanwhile, you have to stay inside the house and don’t go out. Don’t you dare go out. Do you hear me?”

  “Yeah, I hear you, what is it, dad?”

  “I can’t tell you that right now. Just don’t go outside, no matter what happens. We will be there soon. Be safe, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  The call ended. That was creepy. What’s wrong with going outside?

  “Ahh ...” Suddenly a scream cut through the air. I quickly went near the window and peered outside. Then I saw it. My stomach began to churn with the sight of it. People are running everywhere and some people are on top of others, and these people are ... Eating others ... I closed my eyes and I opened them again. Then I saw Kevin on top of Tom. What the? Kevin is biting Tom in his neck. What is happening god? Suddenly a man walked through our porch. He is just outside, and blood steadily oozed down from his head.

  I quickly covered the window with curtain. I made sure the door is dead bolted. God, is this the zombie apocalypse I have been waiting for?

  Chapter 2

  It’s true that I wanted a zombie apocalypse. I had spent hours of time researching about Zombies and reading zombie novels. But, now, I don’t want this. God, are you testing me? I am sorry that I wished for a zombie apocalypse. Please take it away from me.

  It’s been hours since I sat on the floor with my back on the front door. Tom is dead and Kevin is a zombie. May be now Tom also had changed to a zombie. Anyway I don’t want to research on that. Even though I wished for an apocalypse, I actually don’t know what to do. I have to wait for dad and mom, of course. Will they reach safely here? They certainly know more about this, otherwise he would never have warned me.

  Then I noticed that it’s been too long since I heard the moans from outside. Did they all left my house’s perimeter? I slowly stood up and went near the window. I slowly pushed away the curtain a little and I peered outside. Outside is really quiet and I saw nothing peculiar. Then my eyes caught something on the street. I carefully looked and found a large crack just outside my house, on the street. And some of the vehicles partly fell into the crack. I can see the hood of some vehicles.

  This zombie disease has something to do with the earthquake. Something unusual happened at the moment I entered inside my house, when dad’s call came. If dad haven’t called, I would have most definitely ended up dead or at worse turned into a zombie.

  Are they really zombie? No doubt, they eat flesh. I spent some more time standing in front of that window.

  A few minutes passed. Suddenly sound of some metal clashing with another metal came from the back of the house. Are they still here? I rushed towards the back side of the house. From the kitchen I peered outside through the window. The sound is coming from our neighbour’s house. There is two windows, each on both sides of the back door. I shifted from left window to right window. Then I saw it. There is someone trapped inside a car in the neighbour’s porch. And one of the infected or zombie is ... Appeared to be striking at the car door with a metal rod. What the? They know how to use tools? Whoever inside the car is screaming something, but his words barely reached here through the closed doors.

  His fate is with him and with god. I covered the window with curtain and I slowly backed away from the kitchen. I don’t want to witness one more killing. Suddenly knocks came from the front door.

  Dad.

  I rushed towards the front door.

  “Ahh ...” At the time I reached the front door what I heard was the scream of my dad and mom. I hesitated. Should I open the door?

  “Ahh ...” Mom screamed.

  I slowly went near the window and peered outside, and I saw the horror. Two infected are dragging mom and dad through the yard to the street. I watched everything like a kid who don’t know what to do. Anyway, what can I do? At the moment I step outside, they will kill me. I covered the window with curtain and I sat down on the floor with my back on the wall. Then I did the most childish thing. I cried. I cried uncontrollably. Tears oozed down through my cheek to the sleeves of my shirt. I buried my head in my lap and I continue to cry. God, is this how you test me?

  Mom and dad are dead, no doubt. Where is the government? Where is the clean-up crew? Where is the quarantine shelter?

  This is the apocalypse, certainly. I hate to know that world is ending like someone’s imagination, like a zombie novel. I am alone in this fucking world. There is no one left in this world who I know. God, I am alone.

  Chapter 3

  Sun began to set in the horizon and my stomach began to growl. I stood up and peered outside through the window. Fortunately no one is outside.

  Shit. I could have called 911. Well if it’s some virus got outside from any research facilities, 911 will have the answer, provided they are still there. I quickly ran towards the telephone. I took the receiver and dialled 911. Unfortunately the call didn’t went through. Telephone lines may be down after that earthquake. I quickly ran towards my bedroom. I found my smart phone on the bed. I took the phone in my hand and I dialled 911 again. This time it went through. But, no one is picking up the phone from the other side.

  I spent several minutes dialling again and again, but none got picked up. I dropped the phone on the bed and I lie down, and I cried. What should I do? My stomach began to growl loudly. I haven’t eaten anything since morning. I slowly stood up and strolled towards the kitchen. From the refrigerator I took a bottle of orange juice and I drank it completely.

  “Mom ... Mom ...” Suddenly sound of someone calling someone else came from outside. I quickly walked towards the front window and I peered outside. Surprisingly, I saw a young girl holding a teddy bear walking through the side walk. She is calling her mom out loud. The infected probably have heard her. I can’t leave her like this. I took the risk and I slowly opened the door.

  “Hey, kid. Over here.” I called.

  She saw me and she stared at me.

  “I am looking for my mom. Did you saw her?”

  Oh shit. She don't know anything about this. I have to help her.

  “Come here, quickly. I will show you your mom.” I called.

  The girl’s mouth widened. She wiped away her tears and she ran towards me. As soon as she is inside I closed the door. Then I hurriedly examined outside through the window. Then I saw two oddly looking zombies or whatever they are walking through the side walk. They must have come hearing this girl’s cry.

  “Hey, where is my mom, and what are you looking at?”

  I covered the window with the curtain and I looked at her. Now comes the hard job.

  “Were you sleeping?” I asked.

  “Yeah.” Her blue eyes are cloudy with tears. What should I tell her? I know nothing about children and she looks like a baby doll. Her mother probably had turned. “Where is my mom?”

&n
bsp; “Well, technically, I saw your mom earlier today. And ... And ...”

  “And?”

  “And, she said she will be back tomorrow. She told me to look after you.”

  “She told you, to baby sit me? She could have told this to that old lady?”

  “Well, people in this entire city went for something. Government guys called everyone. I was sick and they told me to stay here. They also told me ... If you come looking for your mom, I have to look after you for some time.”

  “That's nice of you. Can I play here?”

  “Well, the problem is, you can’t make noise. If you want to talk, just whisper.”

  “Oh, that’s a little rude … Okay.” She smiled at me.

  Thank god. The difficult part is over. But, she need to know the truth, one day, of course, not today.

  Chapter 4

  Pop! Pop! Pop!

  I woke up hearing the sound of a gun fire. I quickly stood up.

  Pop! Pop! Pop!

  The gunfire continued, and now I could hear moans and growls. I went to my parent’s bedroom where Lizzy is sleeping. When I reached there, what I saw was empty bed.

  “Where did she went to?”

  I quickly walked towards the front door, and fortunately she was in the living room. She is looking outside through the window.

  “Who is outside?” I asked.

  “Soldiers.”

  What? I quickly went near the window and I peered outside. Excitement jolted through me. Soldiers are fighting against the monster horde.

  “Why are they killing people?” Lizzy asked.

  “Because, those are not people.” I said.

  “It’s morning. When will my mom come?”

  “Soon.” I looked at the soldiers.

  Pop! Pop! Pop!

  “Ahh ...” Suddenly a soldiers screamed. Then I saw it. From the top of a nearby building, infected are jumping from the top levels at the soldiers. There could be at least a hundred infected on the building alone. Then a military truck came out of nowhere and it punched through the soldiers.

  “What the?” The truck driver is killing the soldiers. Soldiers are now concentrating on the truck. There was a long line of soldiers on the street, now nothing but a bunch of people who are running for their lives. Who is this truck driver? Why is he killing soldiers?

  Then I got all the answers. The truck stopped and an infected man with bloody face got outside. What peculiar about this infected driver is that, he gave commands to the other infected by motioning his hands. He is an infected who has brain power, unlike others. This is getting better and better. What chance do we have against these things? Surviving soldiers are running in different directions. Then I saw two soldiers running towards my house. The infected haven’t set their eyes on them, yet. I quickly opened the door a little and waved at the approaching soldiers. Lizzy is watching everything without knowing what the hell is happening around. Her mind is supposedly a mature one. Normally kids will cry when they saw killing in front of them, right? She is totally different.

  The two soldiers rushed inside my house and I closed the door and I dead bolted it. The soldiers are panting heavily and they are so focused on breathing air. Then one soldier stood up and he came near the window and he peeked outside.

  “What happened? What is happening here? Is this a terrorist attack? Is this some virus got outside from a research facility?” I asked.

  “No, kid, this is none of that. They are demons came from hell.” The soldier near the window said.

  “What?” I broke into a laugh. “Are you being serious?”

  “Do I look like I am joking?” The soldier looks very serious about this.

  “How do you know?” I asked. Lizzy went to kitchen and she came with a bottle of juice and she gave it to the second soldier.

  The soldier near me without answering my question went near the other soldier for drinking. Both the soldiers quickly emptied that bottle. Now I am feeling a little courageous. These soldiers have guns with them, even though those monsters have a leader who can think.

  “What are your names?” The tallest soldier asked.

  “I am Lizzy.”

  “I am Gavin.” I said.

  “I am Cooper and this is Martin.” The tallest soldier said.

  “What are those things?” I asked.

  “As I said before, they are demons, if you believe it or not. Anyway, I don’t care that you believe this or not.” Cooper said. “They came from a tunnel deep underground. They are infecting everyone. And like in the movies, their eyes are fully dark, and surprisingly, some of them can talk and think like us. So, in most of our opinion, they are demons. And I believe that, because, only demon could do things like this.”

  I digested the information hardly.

  “Mister, when will my mom come back? Gavin said government people called her for something.” Lizzy asked.

  Cooper looked at me. I tilted down my head.

  “She is probably on an important mission. You don’t have to worry about it.” Cooper said.

  Lizzy nodded, but she looked at Cooper with questioning eye.

  Cooper and Martin quickly began to examine outside through the windows.

  Now, together, we may have a chance here even if it is the fucking demons.

  Chapter 5

  Later that day we saw a few infected soldiers on the streets. They just sniffed the air and moved away from my house’s perimeter. In the night a whole pack of infected was on the street. I think they are active during the night. As we are already in panic, we didn’t tried to switch on the light. As morning broke in the horizon, all the infected disappeared to somewhere.

  I slowly walked towards the kitchen. My stomach frequently growled. As I reached the kitchen I found the refrigerator empty. Cooper and Martin are very good at eating.

  I held back my hunger and I walked towards the living room. I found Cooper and Martin by the window. Lizzy is playing with her teddy bear by the couch.

  “Cooper, we need to go for a supply run.” I said.

  He looked at me. “Is your refrigerator empty?” Cooper asked.

  “You know that.”

  “Okay. I see none of those things outside. That supermarket at the end of this street must be enough, right?”

  “Yeah.” I said.

  Martin then worriedly looked at Cooper. I think he is afraid about going out.

  “It is okay, Martin. We have guns.” Cooper patted Martin’s shoulder.

  I looked at our nervous soldiers. Anyway I can’t hold back my hunger for too long. We quickly took a bag and we exited the house. We told Lizzy to stay inside the house. We also instructed her to not to open the door until we come back. She courageously nodded at us.

  In a moderate pace we walked through the street looking for the super market at the end of the block. We saw the gigantic crack on the road. I saw some vehicles in the newly formed deep trench. We passed many crashed vehicles and finally we set our eyes on the supermarket. The surrounding is extremely quiet. We quickly ran rest of the way and we rushed inside through the rotating glass door. Suddenly an alarm beeped for a short time indicating that we got inside through the doorway. Even though the alarm was short, relative to this quiet atmosphere, it was very loud. Any nearby infected must have heard it.

  We quickly began our job of filling the back pack with food materials, such as canned goods and chips. Martin and Cooper found a carry bag and they filled it with bottles of water and other canned goods. When we finished everything, we slowly walked towards the front door. Suddenly we froze. An infected is just outside the glass door, and he already set his eyes on us. The he took a deep moan and he rushed at us thinking that nothing is stopping him. Fortunately this one is one of the dump infected. He collided with the side glass wall, and he started pounding on the glass wall with his head.

  “Quick, the back door.” I said.

  We quickly ran towards the back door and we found it just at the end of aisle. We quickly rushed o
utside. Suddenly two infected came from the back of the supermarket.

  Pop! Pop! Pop!

  Without further thought Cooper opened fire and the infected went down. We ran through the road. And I saw the infected who smashed on the glass wall earlier. He ran towards the back of the supermarket where Cooper had fired a few shots. As we neared my house, we saw a group of infected running towards the supermarket, probably on hearing the gunshot. We quickly hid behind a building, and when all of the infected moved away, we ran towards my house. As soon as we were on the doorsteps, Lizzy opened the door for us. We rushed inside and then, all of us took a deep breath.

  “Oh, man, that was close.” Cooper said.

  Epilogue

  A week is gone. We never left the house since our last super market visit. Cooper and Martin are of course courageous, but, when discussing about going out, their courage slowly drains away. I can’t blame them. There are lot of infected outside and their moan is very horror inducing. They are mostly active in the night time, and usually we see only a few infected in the day time.

  These infected are definitely very advanced beings. They walk and hunt in groups, in a coordinated manner. And one thing I noticed about them is, when they get hungry, or so I think, they kill each other and eat the flesh of their comrades. Cooper still believes that they are demons. And I guess that too. I have watched the movie paranormal activity a dozen times and like in the movie, these things’ eyes are very dark. Of course you can’t judge things in terms of a movie, but, their coordinated behaviour is very horror inducing to us.

  Then, it is today that I am noticing the dust accumulated in the living room. Once my whole family went to a trip to Hawaii, and when we came back to house, we hardly saw any accumulation of dust. But, now, even though we are inside the house, the dust accumulated uncontrollably. And one thing pretty horrific is that, the trees around my house are withering. The garden was the first to wither and dry, but we hardly gave attention to that. Now we can’t discard the fact that plants are dying around us. This has something to do with this plague, certainly.