4 Chapter 4

"Young Mistress, please let us go back to our family! There's a pandemic going on. We cannot rest easy here" all maids and butlers who welcomed her yesterday curtsied to her while shivering.

They are scared of offending their new master. They have been planning on leaving the old mansion last week. They are just waiting for the right timing to tell Antonette.

After all, she's the Head Maid who distributed their salary montly. Who would have thought that they will soon have a master to serve on. Worst of all, the new master is rumored to be a timid and weak girl. Even if she's the biological daughter of Hunter Couple, so what? Is she even favored?

However, there is one maid who stands out among them. She stood up in front of Hazel.

"So what if you're the new master of old mansion? Have you ever thought of your status now in Hunter Family? You're the abandoned child! No matter what you do, the Hunter Family will never treat you as one of their own! Huh! Just because the Old Master Hunter gave you this old mansion, you already have the audacity to punish every maid here?! Have you ever thought of what will the Hunter Family do to you if they found out what you have been doing all this time?!" she shouted without respect at all. She didn't treat Hazel as her new master of the old mansion in the first place. So what, if she's the real daughter of Hunter Family? Didn't they cast her away because of her Elder Sister Liezel? Huh!

Heh! C'mon! Even if you kneel down for forgiveness just like you usually do, I will never let you off! Who told you to have those moon necklace which made my mother snatched it and gave it to my elder sister?

If not because of you, my elder sister Liezel wouldn't become the favored daughter of Hunter Family! I would be!

Yes, she's the younger sister of Liezel - Leah Demitric! The Demitric Family has doted on her so much before they found out that Liezel Hunter is their biological child who have they sold before for PHP 100,000 but they have no idea how did Liezel become the Young Miss of Hunter Family. As they remember, they sold her to human traffickers who preferred babies.

After that, Liezel becomes main focus of the Demitric Family and even wanted her back! Heehhh~ Have they really think of getting back their child? No! They are thinking of draining the Hunter Family's wealth for themselves!

Hazel Tancongco just listening to her childish tantrum while her finger is caressing on surface glass of the water. Then, she looked back to Leah Demitric. Before she died in her first lifetime, she saw Leah Demitric happily chatting with Liezel Hunter.

At the time, she was jealous of Liezel because the Hunter Couple love her so much despite being a fake daughter and she has a cute younger sister to dote on Leah Demitric was eight years old at that time while She and Liezel are in similar age.

She laughs. Why was she even jealous at that time? Should she really be jealous of having a two-faced younger sister who will stab you anytime? Isn't that what Leah Demitric doing now?

All maids and butlers are shivering from the heavy tension slowly accumulating in the hall because of Leah's tantrum and scared that they will be implicated as well.

Hazel intentionally slightly pushed the glass and shattered on the floor which awakens Leah from reality that Hazel is different from the said rumors. She doesn't look like a timid and weak at all but like a tiger who just get out of her den and wildly run around.

"Antonette, I permit them to go back to their families and their contract to the old mansion is already invalid from today onwards. Also, they are no longer accepted or allowed to enter Tancongco Forest or the mansion itself" she stated coldly as her gazed looked around towards the thirty maids and butlers she has today.

"Huh! Who do you think you are to scare us away?! Do you think we want to serve someone useless like you? C'mon! Wake up! No one does!" she angrily shouted and pointed her fingers to Hazel. Hazel Tancongco narrowed her eyes because of Leah's actions. No one in her three lifetimes dared to point finger on her! Otherwise, they will never know how they died!

"Oh! Yes! Only the old maid will remain as she is the descendant of Old Master Hunter. Once a maid, forever a maid" and sneered. She took off her maid uniform and slammed it down on to the floor.

"I will never ever step in Tancongco Forest nor in this mansion!" and she left. She looked back for a moment and shouted back to her maid colleagues.

"What are you all waiting for?! Come with me and let's go to the main mansion! In there, we can live happily with dignity, honor and fame!" as she raised her eyebrows smugly. It seems like she forgot her cursing to her elder sister earlier.

"Then, give them enough salary, Antonette" and went towards her room. Antonette curtsied to her and immediately handled the salaries of all maids and butlers who voluntarily leave the old mansion.

"I'm sorry, Head Maid. We cannot stay here forever like you. We need money for our family outside. By severing her ties to Hunter Family also means reducing our family expenses. I'm sorry" Monique patted the Old Maid's hands while explaining the reason of her resignation.

Antonette feels suffocated of her colleagues' decisions. Never crossed in her mind that this day will come. She shook her head and smiled at her. Monique is a kind person and she never talk bad to Hunter Family's shortcomings.

Also, she doesn't resent them, she was just caught off guard of what they have done. They immediately decided timely when Hazel is appointed as a new master.

Antonette sighs. The crowded mansion before the departure of servants made the mansion empty and lonely.

Suddenly, a vibrate sounded in the middle of the house ceiling throughout the mansion, indicating that Hazel is looking for Antonette.

Antonette clenched her hand into a fist. 'I'm the only maid left now. I will do my best for Young Mistress and Little Young Master!' she firmly cheered up herself.

She knocked on the warehouse door three times while waiting do Hazel's permission to let her inside but she only heard Hazel's cold voice.

"Closed down the territory around the Tancongco Forest. We will open again in five years" she nonchantly said while checking the seeds in the baskets. These seeds are top-notch. She felt satisfied and forgot what happened earlier.

Meanwhile, the three transport van in which used by the twenty-nine servants are driving out of the Tancongco Forest. At first, their faces show a relief and refreshing feeling because, finally, they are not part of the old mansion.

"W-What's that?!" a young man in his 20s pointed her finger to the red clouds and the three transport vans are now on the road way to the city.

They all looked up and were shocked when a blood rain poured down onto them. The ground temperature increases while feeling uncomfortable inside their body. The three drivers' sight are spinning around and fainted.

The three transport vans almost collided each other if not because of the quick reaction of Monique to control the last transport van where she is in. Otherwise, the last transport van will collide to the middle transport van until to the front transport van. She stepped on the brake and parked it on the side road.

"Let's get out of the van. There are so many of us inside here. We cannot breathe properly." she panted heavily and touched her head with her palm. Her vision slowly blurred and fainted. It also happens to others.

If someone passed by, he/she will see those unconscious servants on the street near the entrance of the city.

After two hours, they woke up one after another. Some servants are staggering to stand up while some servants just woke up normally. These servants who just woke up were stunned of what they are witnessing right now.

"AHHHHHHH!!!!"

"HELP MEEEE!!"

"NOOOO! STAY AWAY FROM MEEE!"

"AHHH!! DON'T COME NEAR ME!!"

Despair, fear, and hopelessness are embracing the wavering hearts of these servants. Cries, shouts and sobs are the noises they can only do at this moment.

"N-No... W-Why? W-What's happening?" Monique stuttered. She cannot move her lower body properly as she is looking around as she witnesses the horrible deeds of these zombie servants. The zombies are eating, tearing and nibbling on human flesh and bones.

Her eyes shows fear and confusion. Fear for the man-eating monsters and confusion for being ignorant of what's happening.

However, she looked back towards the direction Tancongco Forest. She was stunned to see the huge difference.

"W-What the..." and her legs gave up on its own as she saw contrasting landscape of the horizon of Tancongco Forest and the outside. Like, the Earth has separating sides - The Haven and the Hell.

"If...If we didn't resign, t-this wouldn't h-happen.." she murmured to herself while tears flowing down her cheeks. She doesn't blame anyone but herself for deciding abruptly without checking the immediate changes of the outside world.

Suddenly, her eyes widened when she saw a fog on the horizon is slowly enveloping the entire Tancongco Forest. Now, she cannot see the difference but she somehow knows that it is not illusion at all. She was recently at that side but that side shut out itself.

She couldn't look away from that fog. The fog made her feel a chill down her spine like it is more terrible than hellish state in her side.

"Guuuuhhhh~" a woman zombie opened her mouth to bite down on her shoulder but she was immediately pulled away from the zombie.

"Wake up! We need to go there!" a man's voice made her turn back to reality. However, her eyes no longer showed any fear but hate. She hates herself! She wanted to die but, at the same time, she's hoping to see of what will come the next time in here. Her wrist is still hold by a man. She doesn't know him but she feels safe if she goes with him.

At the gasoline station, Monique and the man stopped running and panted heavily. There are no zombies near the gasoline station but shoe prints can be seen on the floor at the front door. The man was about to go inside when Monique holds on his wrist to stop him. The man was shocked by her inhumane strength.

"What are you doing?" the man coldly asked. Monique panicked. She doesn't want the man to be agitated of her sudden action.

"I'm sorry! Uhh.. I just got out of Tancongco Forest. I don't know what's happening" as she sweated.

The man frowned, "Why did you get out of Tancongco Forest? That's the most safest place in Earth! At first, no one paid attention because of these chaotic mess. But when we saw the natural state of Tancongco Forest, many people packed up just to go there" he stated.

It was not only Monique who saw the changes on Tancongco Forest but also those people nearby. They witnessed the fog slowly closing itself like a curtain.

He and his group were also one of those people who wanted to go there but he proposed to check the situation first before going there. Otherwise, with many people, it will be very difficult to come back in gasoline station.

However, the man confusedly stared at Monique and asked his doubts, "Just... we were bewildered when we three transport vans going out of Tancongco Forest. Why did you go out of there?" he asked.

Monique was dumbfounded after hearing the man's words. Her body shivered and sobs sadly.

"The Tancongco Forest has the new owner. Her name is Hazel Tancongco. We...we voluntarily resigned after she meet us. We begged her to let us go and she did as what we told her" as she bit her lips while crying. If only she knows what's happening outside, she will never go back.

"Jared, who is she?" a boyish woman appeared in front of them and looked up and down on Monique. There's no malice on her tone nor jealousy. Just a pure and plain curiosity.

"She's Monique. She came out of Tancongco Forest without knowing what's happening outside and got stranded there" Jared, the man who rescued Monique, instinctively responded.

"Hello, I'm Selena. And, Welcome to the Zombie Apocalypse!" Selena spread out her arms as she smirked on Monique. She doesn't dislike Monique but she hates shells in a swan clothing and Monique explicitly looks like that.