The Beginning of The End

It was the year 2020. Everything in Insula changed.

Our small country was engulfed by chaos and fear. Every turn you made you would've seen a life that once was but is now lost.

You have no idea how badly I want to say that it was all just a nightmare, but I can't. Because I know it was all real. The scars they left on my body remind me of the virus that plagued us. Death and danger are still fresh in my mind. I still dream of the countless people I knew and their lifeless bodies on the ground.

It haunts me!

My therapist says it's survivor's guilt. Something that's commonly associated with PTSD. She says that things will get better over time. But will it?

I close my eyes and sometimes I can see them there. I remember their warm smiles and the sound of their laughter. When that happens I can't help but wonder, why me? Why out of the many of us in that situation was I among those who had survived the madness? Why am I still here while they were… gone?

By now you must be wondering, "What is this guy talking about?", and if you want to know then sure, I'll tell you.

Pull up a chair or lay comfortably in your bed, whatever it is you'd be comfortable with. Grab a glass of warm milk or a cup of hot chocolate. Bear with me as we might be here a while.

Let me tell you my story. I'm sorry, let me correct that. Let me tell you our story.

Let's go back to the day it all began, the beginning of the end.

I'm Lanz Caldwell, a sixteen-year-old first-year high school student at Collis Academy. A school in the small city of Valens that caters to the bright minds of tomorrow, or so the brochure states.

I wasn't exactly the academically achieving kid you'd expect to find in a school like ours, that just goes to show that not every glasses-wearing kid was smart or some kind of genius. I was just your average student. My test scores were nothing to be proud of, I would almost always freeze when Mr. Williams calls my name during recitation. I'm just doing what I can to pass and make it through the year without failing any subject and staying as far away from trouble as possible.

Little did I know back then that trouble would find its way to me.

The only upside to studying at Collis? The people who go there as well, my friends.

"I can't wait to get home." Said one of them, Thea.

I turned to face her and nodded in agreement.

Her name is Althea Ackerman, we call her Thea for short. She had curly hair that, for the first time since we were kids, grew past her shoulder and was as tall, if not taller than me. If you didn't know her as I do your first impression of her would probably be that she's this shy, quiet, and probably polite girl. But no, she's far from it! I mean, you got the polite part right. She is polite to our parents and teachers, even the ones who she isn't fond of, Mr. Williams is one of them. She's also one of the loudest people I know! Especially when she's with people that she's close to or comfortable with.

She looked so bored as she gulped down her smoothie. She bought it at one of the food stalls behind us. For some reason, it was named 'Alien Goo'. An accurate name considering how it looked. Though I wonder how much it sold at their store? From how it looked and tasted, I doubt it sold much. She seemed to enjoy it seeing as it's her second one.

I couldn't blame her for feeling like that because honestly, I felt the same thing.

We were at Prasinos, the second biggest city in Insula after the capital. What were we doing here? To attend the annual science convention our school usually participates in. It usually lasts three days and showcases a lot of cool stuff like a Virtual Reality Room, a Space Station Simulator, and, sadly, a Simulated Submarine Experience. Not only do they show us these things as well as all kinds of cool gadgets, but they also teach us the science behind it all.

Since we were in our first year it was our first time at the convention and I was looking forward to it, but it wasn't because of all this sciencey stuff. Don't get me wrong, I like the science of it all! Whether or not I understand it is a whole different matter. I was looking forward to the trip because it's, as our seniors like to put it, a free road trip from the school.

However, by this point, I shared Thea's sentiment. Sure Prasinos is cool and all, and the hotel we were staying at was amazing, but I would choose our town over all the fancy stuff any day. My bedroom beats a five-star hotel in my book!

"Your tie is loose." She said, motioning to my neck. I looked and sure enough, it was loose. I fixed it and continued to slurp my goo sadly.

"Remind me again why we have to wear this? Other schools let their students wear casual and comfortable clothes, why does Collis insist that we have to wear our uniform? I burned one of my ties in a booth yesterday, my mom isn't gonna be happy about that." I asked to which she only shrugged.

"At least we're wearing the right uniform unlike a certain someone here who isn't." She commented while looking across the table at our other friend, DJ, who was noticeably wearing something different than us. It was still an official Collis Academy uniform, just different.

You see, Collis has different types of uniforms. Three of them actually, four if we're counting our PE uniform. Expensive I know. The one we're wearing right now, the one we should be wearing, is called Type A. For boys, it consists of a white polo shirt with a chest pocket that has the school badge, royal blue trousers, black shoes, and a blue, and yellow striped school tie. For the girls, the Type A uniform is a white short-sleeve blouse with the school badge on the left-side chest, a knee-length royal blue pleated skirt, black thigh-high knit socks, black shoes, and a blue, and yellow plaid uniform bow tie. It's what we usually wear to school.

After Thea said that, DJ stopped slurping his Goo and replied, "It's not my fault our class representative mixed up the instructions, you know?"

"Yeah, but he clarified it in our group text," I pointed out, "And if I remember correctly, you and I were one of the first people that read it."

"And may I remind you that my phone got stolen?" He said as he grabbed his drink from the table.

Oh, right! I forgot about that. Although he could've said it more nicely. But then again, I am talking to DJ after all.

This guy right here is our good friend DJ Henderson. Calm and collective guy, he's a cool guy that's fun to hang around with, most of the time. He has wavy hair that's quiff with a longer top, and like me, he wears prescription glasses. Although I think my eyesight is worse than his. Also, remember when I said Collis had smart kids? DJ's one of them. He could probably go head to head with the top people in our class if he just showed more interest in school. He's also kind of weird. Then again, when you think of our little clique, as teachers like to call us, it isn't a surprise.

Unlike us, DJ was wearing the Type C uniform. As he said, our class rep mixed up the instructions. Instead of announcing that we'd be wearing the Type A uniform, he mistakenly announced that we should wear the Type C one, an announcement that was for our school's foundation day two weeks after the convention. The Type C uniform for boys consists of a white school shirt that is top button fastened and tucked in, a royal blue blazer with the school badge on the left chest side, beige trousers, black socks, black shoes, and a blue, and yellow striped school tie. For the girls, it's a white school blouse that is tucked in, a royal blue blazer with the school badge on the left chest side, a knee-length beige pleated skirt, black thigh-high knit socks, black shoes, and blue, and yellow plaid uniform bow tie. We only wear this type of uniform during events, like our foundation day as well as when we get visited by other schools like during the Friendship Games that happen every five years. It's also probably the type of uniform I like least because wearing it makes me sweat buckets! Even looking at DJ right now makes me want to fan my face. Did I mention how thick that blazer is by the way?

Thea's expression then changed as if she just remembered something and started to look around.

"Where are the others?" She asked, "Shouldn't they be here by now?"

DJ looked over at Thea, holding his goo in one hand while fixing his glasses with the other, "You're going to have to be a little more specific on who you're looking for T since they're all scattered around this huge place."

"And I have this nagging feeling that you know exactly where each one of them is," she said, "Come on DJ, start talking."

"I'm flattered that you trust my good memory but I'm afraid to tell you I don't know where they are. However, I do know where they were."

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes composing herself, trying her best not to blow a fuse at DJ, and replied, "Okay then, where were they?"

He smiled and was about to answer her question when he was interrupted before he could even say anything. We were all suddenly listening attentively to the announcement of the PA system.

"Attention students of Collis Academy, this is an announcement from your High School Coordinator Mr. Arthur Williams. All class representatives, please gather your classmates and proceed to the Jupiter Exhibition Hall. All students must be accounted for and be certain that one among you is missing. For any students who are or feel like they require medical attention, please proceed directly to the medical bay. Thank you for your cooperation."

"What?" I muttered.

Why would they suddenly want everyone to go to the exhibition hall? We were just there four hours ago. Did they prepare something for our school? Or were we the next school scheduled to attend the showcase about the tech they'll be sending to explore Mariana's Trench? If that was the case then no thank you! I would barely be able to sit through that with my thalassophobia.

And just after that, another announcement was heard. Only this time it wasn't for us Collis kids, it was for another school at the venue.

"Attention students of Occidens High School, this is an announcement from your High School Coordinator Mr. Paul Brunner. All class representatives, please gather your classmates and proceed to the Mercury Exhibition Hall. All students must be accounted for and be certain that one among you is missing. For any students who are or feel like they require medical attention, please proceed directly to the medical bay. Thank you for your cooperation."

And then another, and another, and another announcement was made by different schools and was repeated over and over again until all schools present had their kids lining up and entering the exhibition halls.

The Jupiter complex was by far the largest out of the five which accommodate Collis's large number. We had the most students at the convention.

While not knowing what was going on, the three of us made the intelligent decision to stick together. We made our way to the front of the exhibition hall and ran into our class rep, Harvey, who looked so stressed out.

Our classmates call him "Helmet" since his hairstyle always looks like one no matter how you style it. He was shorter than me but smarter than me. This guy was one of the brainiest people in our class. But despite knowing him since elementary, we aren't close. We don't have much in common or anything to talk about. And if I tried to strike up a conversation, which is highly unlikely, we'd just end up talking about school-related stuff. Thea's a close friend of his though, if she isn't hanging out with us she's with him and their other friends.

"Caldwell, Henderson, and Thea." he checked our names on the list on his clipboard and then looked up at us, "Where's the rest of your clique?"

"We aren't a clique, Harv," Thea corrected, "And I don't know. Are we the first ones?"

"In your group, not counting my secretary, yes. But in our class? No. The first five came and he assisted them to the med bay. You guys go ahead inside and find yourselves some seats, it's first come-first serve. I have to wait for our classmates here, excuse me." He said and then went to talk with another class' class rep.

We went inside and found some seats near the front. People were whispering amongst themselves, some were talking so loud. I kept on looking to the door to spot our other friends but with the number of people coming in at the same time I had little success.

Soon the entire room was filled. The entire high school department joins the convention so which meant that all three grades and their five sections were there. All fifteen classes held, at a minimum, forty students. Our friends were here, somewhere.

"What do you think is going on?" Asked Thea who was sitting to my right.

"I don't know, but I think we're about to get some answers," I replied then nodded my head forward.

Both she and DJ looked to where I was facing and found our class secretary and friend, Jelo making his way to where we were.

Like me and DJ, Jelo wore glasses. Other than us three there were two other people in our group of friends who also do, I guess bad eyesight is a common factor among us. He was taller than me. He was also taller, or maybe as tall, as DJ. His hair was side swept, the kind you'd see actors have in those 90s movies and shows. Smart, responsible, and witty are how teachers describe Jelo Jenkins. All true, except they left out the part where you'd more likely find this guy asleep at school more often than he is awake. Seriously, I half expect this guy to show up to class in a sleeping bag just hopping or rolling around.

"Hey!" he called out, "It's just you three? Where are the others? I thought we were supposed to meet up at the food stalls?"

"Yeah that plan didn't work out so well and this crowd finding them as hard as Mr. William's last quiz," I answered, "Did they tell you what we're doing here?"

"No, they didn't. And I'm worried that it has something to do with all those people in the medical bay. The place was packed! I just got back from there, the nurses and two doctors here were having a hard time since patients keep lining up. Harvey's worried too. We tried to get some answers but the teachers didn't give us much to go on. I don't know about you but the vagueness of things and jampacked medical bay tells me that something about all this doesn't feel right."

Well, this isn't good. If they aren't telling the class reps anything it might be something serious. Or I might just be reading way too much into things. That's probably what I get for heeding the recommendation of one of our friends to watch that old detective anime. Maybe. But I can't shake this feeling that, as Jelo said, something wasn't right.

"I've got to go and help Harvey. I'll keep an eye out for the others, I'll text you if I see them. Save me a seat!" he said before disappearing into the crowd.

A couple of minutes passed. We waited for something to happen but aside from the constant laughter, shouts, and noises of our fellow students, there was nothing. Then, our teachers came into the room closely followed by the student council and the class representatives, and their secretaries.

I thought, maybe this time we'd find out what was going on. But something struck me as odd. Our teachers all had worried looks on their faces. No, wait. It wasn't a worrying look. It was a face of fear! They were afraid! But of what?

Mr. Williams was handed a microphone by the student council president, what her name was I can't recall. From where we sat, I saw him take a deep breath and put on his stern look before going up the stage.

"Good day students. I hope everyone had a wonderful time today and learned a lot. I expect that your reflection papers on the trip will have an in-depth analysis of the convention's significance and how a certain stall or showcase piqued your interest and impacted you. However, I bear unfortunate news. I regret to inform you that we will be cutting the trip short and, preferably, within the hour we will be leaving for Valens."

Upon hearing this, sad noises filled the exhibition hall.

"Now, now, we are doing this for you. Due to health and safety concerns, we must get you home safe and sound."

A couple of class representatives and some students raised their hands to ask questions, Mr. Williams saw them but didn't entertain them.

"I know you have questions but I am afraid that I am not the person to answer them."

What did he mean by that? I wanted answers but all I ended up with was more questions. Not to mention the growing fear that's creeping up my back.

"Class representatives and secretaries, assist your homeroom teacher in leading your respective classes back to the hotel. The members of the student council will also be at your aid. Once you have arrived in your rooms, quickly pack your things, check all your valuables, and head to the front of the hotel to board the buses. Is that clear?"

"Yes." Everyone unanimously said.

"Good. Now let's make haste."

After that, Mr. Williams went down the stage. There were a lot of emotions in the room. Some were happy, others were sad. But why do I get the feeling that I was only one of a few who was feeling that something big was going on?

A few hours had passed and we were on the road. Everything happened instantaneously! As I was packing my things back at the hotel with four other classmates of ours who shared the room, teachers were walking back and forth hallway urging us to hurry up. Because we were in a rush we forgot to close the door and weren't the only ones who did, across the hall you could hear other students shouting and saying stuff like "Where's my pajamas?" and "My charger disappeared! Did anyone see where I put it this morning?"

Unlike the trip here, our class didn't ride on the same bus. It was first-come-first-serve. Whoever showed up first got to be on the first bus home. Since I didn't bring that much stuff I finished quickly and went out. I bumped into DJ at the elevator and we headed to the buses together. We were surprised when we found out about the arrangement but it's not like we could do anything about it. We wanted to wait for our other friends but Mr. Williams insisted that we get on the bus.

After we got settled in I kept on looking at the door hoping that it would be one of our friends, one student after another came on but it was only eleventh and twelfth graders.

Then I smiled as I saw Thea get in with her crocheted backpack, she looked like she was looking for familiar faces too, and was relieved when she spotted me and DJ. She took the open seat before the one next to us. And after a few more got on, Jelo got on the bus and sat directly behind us.

I was still looking at the door when I noticed Thea turn around and gesture to her phone. It took me a quick second to realize that she had texted me. I opened my phone and saw her message "Where are the others?", to which I replied, "I don't know."

The last empty seats were filled up by the sophomores and seniors, our friends were going to have to take the other buses home. Mr. Williams checked to see if there were no more vacant seats and when he confirmed that the bus was full he told the driver that we could go.

Like most people on the bus, I slept for most of the drive. I woke up occasionally to the bumps on the road, the laughter and chatter by the seniors at the back of the bus, and a phone call. Mr. Williams was on the phone with someone, I can't remember the actual conversation but I think I heard something about an infection. I didn't mean to listen in to his call, it just so happens that we were a row away from the front seat.

Was that even real or was it just a figment of my imagination caused by tiredness? I don't know. All I know is that we were almost home.

Valens is a small city in the province of Scriptor. The architecture here was a mix between the past and the present, unlike Prasinos which was very modern.

The smile that formed on my face when I saw the 'Welcome to Valens!' sign started to slowly disappear when I noticed something odd. I knew we took the less common route but even for this road the emptiness made it seem like there wasn't anyone living there. My family and I would often use this road to avoid the traffic at the heart of the city. Usually, at this hour, the streets were still bustling. People rushing to go home, vendors closing up shop, and students just getting out of their after-school academies. But the place was quiet, most, if not all the shops were closed, and what was puzzling out of everything was the fact that there wasn't a single person in sight.

We arrived at school at about nine past the clock and my stomach was already grumbling. I asked DJ if he wanted to spend the night at my place since it was already late and getting home would be hard since he lived on the other side of the city. He agreed but said he'd meet me there because he wanted to wait for our other friends to arrive.

I thought it was a good idea. My mom wouldn't mind me bringing the boys over since they were practically family and my sister wasn't home since she moved to our aunt's place for university so she wouldn't be bothering us as we played games or watched Space Rangers for the hundredth time. I asked Jelo if we wanted to join but said he'd pass because today's events drained his battery and just wanted to sleep. Typical Jelo. Thea, on the other hand, was already planning her night, she said that after she eats dinner she's going straight to crocheting to catch up on her customers' orders. I told DJ we were off and the three of us headed to our homes.

Since we all lived in the same town we walked home together. Ever since we were kids the three of us were stuck with each other. Jelo was kind of like the brother I never had, growing up we would always play together and pretend to be all kinds of stuff, knights, soldiers, pirates, you know the typical game of pretend. Jelo and Thea got along since then but I wasn't that close to her when we were little kids. That of course changed after the incident.

While walking I couldn't help but notice it was quiet. The silence was eerie, it was as if everyone was afraid of making a sound. Either that or we were the only people here.

When I couldn't take it anymore I stopped walking, "Okay, I know I am not the only one that noticed but I'll be the one to say it out loud, it's too quiet! And it's creeping me out!"

"What's wrong with quiet?" Thea asked while texting, then she looked up and slid her phone into her pocket, "I find it calming and relaxing. The only sound I hear is the crickets chirping."

"It's relaxing alright but don't you think it's unnatural? I mean, look around you, the town volunteers should be doing their nightly rounds by now but we're the only ones who seem to be walking the streets. It kind of feels like we're walking through a ghost town!"

"I- I don't know Lanz, what do you want me to say?" She said, sounding defeated.

Jelo yawned then glanced at Thea and squinted his eyes. Upon seeing the worried look on her face he asked, "What's wrong?"

"What? Oh. I'm not entirely sure. One of our friends texted me something cryptic and with all that's been going on, I couldn't help but worry. It's probably just the usual level of weirdness they seem to possess and I'm just overreacting. Can we just go home now?"

We started walking again, I hadn't even taken five steps from where I stood when I heard growling from behind.

Grrr

I looked around trying to see where it was coming from but because there was only one streetlight that was on, it was hard to see.

"Lanz, what are you still doing there?" Jelo shouted.

I ran towards them but looked back a few times. I couldn't figure out where the sound was coming from, but I was certain it wasn't a dog.

When we got to the end of the street we said goodnight to each other and entered our homes. Thea's house was on the right side of mine. Unlike ours it was more modern, that is if you can call a white colonial revival style house modern. My room was right in front of her crafts room, I often see her doing crochet there. Jelo's place was next to hers. A two-story house in the style of Tudor architecture. Like I told you before Valens is a place where the past and present meet, and the past is more prevalent here at Arbor Town. Most of the houses here have been standing for centuries. Take our house, for example. It's an old three-story Victorian house that was built in the 1890s and has been in our family for generations. If you took a stroll around our block you'd see houses from different eras and would immediately notice the modern two-story house of the Hoppers that stick out like a sore thumb. I'm not saying it looks terrible, it looks good actually, it's just that it looks kind of out of place.

I closed the gate behind me and walked up to the porch, I took my house key from my backpack's pocket and unlocked the front door. When I got in I called my mom.

"Mom, I'm home!"

I put my shoes away and placed my bag in the living room. Unlike the exterior of the house, the inside was a mix of modern and antique furniture. When we redecorated my mom wanted to modernize almost everything but my older sister wanted to keep the antiques, they didn't want to argue so they agreed and mixed them. I wasn't even asked what I wanted. Not that I had anything I wanted or had something in mind but still, would've appreciated being asked about my opinion.

I was about to walk to the kitchen when I stepped on something on the floor and let out a scream, "Ouch!"

I couldn't tell what I had just stepped on, only that it was sharp, punched a hole into my socks, and poked on my sole. The lights weren't on, the only thing that was lighting up the room was the moonlight that came from the open window. I hopped in pain to the light switch and flicked it. Nothing. I tried flicking it again, but still nothing. Come to think of it, there didn't seem to be any house with a light on while we were walking home. There must be a blackout.

That's when I noticed that there weren't any candles lit up which was odd because my mom would always put candles in every room whenever there was a blackout. And I don't think I heard her when I called.

"Mom?" I said loudly, but there was no response which worried me.

Then, I heard a thump from the second floor. I breathed a sigh of relief. My mother was just probably busy doing something and didn't hear me come in. But since I figured it would be hard to move around if I hopped all over the place, I sat on our old chesterfield sofa and reached to the bottom of my foot. My eyes widened as I realized what it was, a shard of glass! I scanned the room looking for where it came from. The swaying of the curtain caught my eye and as the cold night breeze swept in it lifted the curtain revealing the broken window.

My worry became fear. I immediately stood up, withstanding the pain, and headed for the stairs. When I got to the second floor something jumped in front of me.

"AHH!"

Meow

"Huh?" It was only a cat, and if I'm not mistaken this is Thea's cat Rat. Don't ask, I didn't name him.

I looked in the direction he leaped from and saw my sister's oil painting on the ground. Rat probably knocked it down causing the loud thump I heard from the living room. I picked it up and put it on her easel again, luckily it wasn't damaged.

After that, I made my way to mom's room only to find the state that it was in. It was a mess! My mom's clothes were everywhere and some of her furniture was knocked down. Her folding screen, stool, lamp shade, and even her steel dress form were knocked over!

I immediately checked her drawers, all her jewelry was there except the pearl ring that dad gave her long ago.

I don't understand, if there was a break-in why would my mom's expensive jewelry be still here? It doesn't make sense! Were they looking for anything specific? I checked to see if anything else was missing aside from the ring. Some of her everyday clothes, her carry-on, and the money she'd been keeping in her safe in case of emergencies were gone too!

I get the money, but why the clothes and carry-on? It doesn't make sense unless… Mom was the one that made this mess.

I got even more worried and searched the entire house, shouting and calling her, but she wasn't anywhere. I even checked the attic! I was about to go outside and ask for Thea and Jelo's help when I jumped at the sound of my ringtone.

I quickly grabbed my phone from my pocket, it could be my mom but no, it was just DJ.

"Deej, I can't talk right no-"

"LANZ, WHEN YOU SAID SOMETHING WASN'T RIGHT, YOU WERE RIGHT! BECAUSE SOMETHING IS WRONG HERE!"

Before I could even finish he cut me off and screamed in my ear, he sounded so frightened and got me more worried. I stopped walking to focus on what he was trying to tell me.

"Are you okay? Are you still at school? What's going on there? What happened? And what do you mean something is wrong? Hey! DJ, are you even listening to me? Hello? Deej? DJ Henderson, hello?"

All I heard on the under end was panting and footsteps that seemed to be running, and I don't know if this is because I was paranoid but I think I could even hear a few screams on the line!

"LISTEN TO ME, MAN!"

"I'm listening!"

I heard a door close and something being pushed, I put the phone away from my ear for a second because the sound was like the annoying high-pitched squeal of a chalk scraping on a chalkboard.

"THE REASON WE CAME BACK IS THAT —-- THERE ARE —"

"There are what? Deej, I can't hear you well. The reception isn't good, run that by me again."

"---BIES! THE– A-E —BIES!"

"Bees? You're being chased by bees? You're not making sense!" A lot of things aren't right now.

"AHH-"

Right before the call dropped I heard a loud crash. What just happened?

I tried calling him again but the call won't go through, he wouldn't answer it. What did he mean by bees? Did this guy disturb the hive in the parking lot?! And what was that crash?

I pondered whether or not to go back to the school immediately to help him with his bee situation but I still didn't know where my mom was. What should I do? Help my friend, or find my mom?

I went down to the kitchen and saw some papers on the table. Could it be my mother's? I grabbed them and tried making out what they say but given my terrible eyesight it was I couldn't. I opened the cabinets and found my sister's lemon-scented candle and lit it up.

One of the letters was opened, and the back of the envelope said that it was from the Home Owners Association. It read:

Your attendance is required for the meeting of the members to be held on:

Date: January 15, 2020

Location: Home Owners Association Office Building

Time: 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm

__________

Our local government officials, in the advisory of both the Department of Health and the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, have urged the homeowners' associations of the city of Valens to hold meetings in their areas to discuss a growing concern within our country.

In October 2019, clustering cases of dehydration, delirium, and deterioration of eyesight were common in the surge of patients in hospitals in the capital of Oram. The Department of Health has informed the local governments that these three are symptoms of what experts are now calling the Apethantha Disease which is determined to be caused by the Inmourti Virus, a new type of virus that was discovered during the outpouring of patients.

As of 08 January 2020, 1185 cases are confirmed with 46 deaths reported. 747 of the cases originate from Oram and no case of Apethantha has been reported in Valens.

The meeting will tackle the advisories from the Departments of Health, Transportation, and Tourism.

Again, attendance is required. We look forward to seeing you at the meeting.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Juliette Hopper

President of The HOA

The Inmourti Virus. The Inmourti Virus… Where have I heard that before? It sounded familiar. But that aside, the number of cases from this new virus was shocking! And 46 deaths? Just what exactly is this Apa- Apethe- Apeta- That is a mouthful! How do you even pronounce this?

Then I remembered what Mr. Williams said earlier, we had to go home because of health and safety concerns. Could a case of the Inmourti Virus, that's easier to say, have been reported in Prasinos?

My attention shifted when I heard Thea's voice. I pocketed the second letter and went outside. I was standing in our front yard near the gate when I found her on their balcony looking towards the street. I couldn't make out her expression well since she was a bit far away but from where I stood she looked scared. Which wasn't a common expression on her face.

Curious, I turned my head to where she was looking and my eyes widened in shock as I saw what looked like a man crawling on the street!

Thea ran inside their house and popped out of their front door a few moments later bolting towards the person with a first aid kit. I dropped the letter I was holding as I realized that the man had a huge open wound in one of his arms but oddly enough, it wasn't bleeding as bad as it should've. Instead, a weird yellow substance was leaking from it! And his leg, though it was there, was barely attached at all, it looked like it was hanging by a thread! I even recognized who he was, it was Mr. Paris Hopper, an architect, and the HOA President's husband!

I faintly heard the growl from before. The first time I heard it was in front of the Hoppers' place, and now here it was again. It was coming from Mr. Hopper…

And then it clicked. Like the missing cog was put on a machine to work, I slowly realized what was going on.

I knew why the Inmourti Virus sounded familiar. Yesterday at the convention a man used the PA system and caught us all off guard. He said something along the lines of "Beware the Imourti!", not knowing what it meant I asked one of our friends to explain it to me or if it was even a word at all. And it was. The word inmourti was Latin for the undead!

That's when DJ's call slid back to my mind. I don't think he was talking about bees… I think he meant ZOMBIES!

Oh no.

ALTHEA!

I quickly ran inside and grabbed the frying pan on the stove and ran back outside towards Thea, who by now was only a few meters away from the Inmourti. I didn't think about anything else, I just knew I had to do something and fast! I had to get to her and get her away from danger! I wasn't even wearing slippers!

"THEA GET BACK!" I shouted but she didn't hear me.

"THEA GET AWAY FROM HIM!"

"ALTHEA!"

She stopped running and looked at me only noticing me now.

"Lanz? Hey! Over here! Help me!" She pointed towards Mr. Hopper who was slowly crawling towards her, "Uncle Paris needs help!"

"UNCLE PARIS IS ABOUT TO EAT YOU!"

She furrowed her eyebrows, "What are you- AHHH!"

Thea lost balance and fell to the ground when he grabbed her leg, she was scared and confused about what was going desperate to cut loose. I ran as fast as I could and threw the frying pan at him which didn't do any good. When I reached her I tried to pull her leg from him but he had a tight grip. It was taking me all my strength just to keep her foot away from his mouth!

"JELO! JELO CAN YOU HEAR ME?!" I cried out, hoping this guy was still awake, "GET OUT HERE AND HELP US!"

Thea and I continued to struggle, she pulled her leg as hard as she could, "UNCLE PARIS, LET GO OF MY FOOT!"

While we continued to play tug of war with Thea's foot, I heard a door open.

"Lanz? You called?" I heard Jelo's voice say somewhere on my right, I took a quick look and saw him at the front of their house. Our eyes met and he looked so confused at what he was seeing, "What are you guys doing?! And, isn't that Uncle Paris?!"

"YES, IT'S UNCLE PARIS! NOW THAT WE'VE ESTABLISHED THAT GET OVER HERE BECAUSE I THINK HE WANTS TO EAT THEA'S LEG FOR DINNER!"

His eyes widened and acted immediately. He grabbed a long shovel and ran towards us. He hit Uncle Paris hard enough for Thea to cut loose!

We helped her up and moved back.

"WHAT JUST HAPPENED? WHY IS UNCLE PARIS LIKE THAT?!" Thea shouted, demanding answers.

"Well, he isn't bleeding out of his arm and his leg, which looks like it could fall off at any minute, and now that I see him more closely he also survived an ice pick to the head-"

"LANZ, NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO START MUMBLING! I ASKED YOU WHY IS HE LIKE THAT NOT HOW BAD HIS CONDITION LOOKS! WHAT IS HE?!"

"A ZOMBIE THEA! HE'S A ZOMBIE!"

"IF THE BOTH OF YOU ARE DONE I SUGGEST GRABBING WHATEVER YOU CAN TO DEFEND YOURSELVES! PREFERABLY, SOMETHING LONG TO KEEP THESE- THEM, AWAY!" Jelo shouted, getting our attention.

He was right, this wasn't the time for this.

I hurriedly grabbed my frying pan and realized what a poor choice I made grabbing this. How would I defend myself using this?! Thea took the rake that was outside their gate, and Jelo tightened his grip on the shovel and was ready to defend against Uncle Paris.

Wait a minute, what did he mean by them?

He took a deep breath and looked us both in the eye, "Uncle Paris isn't our only problem."

"We've got company."

Company? I wanted to ask him what he was talking about but I stopped myself before the words could even come out of my mouth because I already got the answer, and I dreaded it.

I was horrified at the sight of the horde of Inmourtis that was headed our way! They were familiar faces, people I knew ever since I was a child. I was always happy to see them but now I trembled, fear crept up, and I could hear pounding as if it wanted to escape my chest cavity.

My mind and my heart were racing.

What happened to our town?

Why was this happening?

And how will this night end?

But even then I had a feeling, that it was only the beginning.