Chapter 1

One afternoon in May, I was walking my way home from my best friend's house. It was a cool windy afternoon when I received a message from NDRRMC. It was a warning saying that all should stay indoors as all cities are going to undergo a lockdown. It says that everyone should stay within their homes until the military has come to rescue us. I don't have any idea what the lockdown was for. I would browse the internet for news but I had no internet, I'm currently in free data. I didn't pay it too much mind because I'm almost home anyway, I'll connect to our wifi once I'm home.

As I walked down the street, I saw a car rushing uncontrollably like no one's behind the wheel! It then hit a big tree a few meters away from me. I went to the car and saw smears of blood from inside the windows. As a medical student, I didn't think twice and opened the door for the passenger seat right next to the driver's seat. Inside was messy like roadkill. An adult woman was strapped behind the wheel and next to her was a little boy about 5-7 years old who was lying unconscious between the two front seats. Both were covered in blood.

"Miss?? Miss wake up, are you alright?" I wasn't panicking but I spoke with urgency.

I doubted the two would still be alive after that impact but I checked for pulse nonetheless. I first went to check the boy's wrist, no pulse; I then checked for the woman whom I'd assume to be the kid's mother, also no pulse. I went to reach out for the purse of the woman lying on the floor of the car at the front seat for identification. As I searched within the bag for a wallet or ID, I saw the boy's finger twitch.

"Boy? Boy, can you hear me? Stay with me kid, I'll get you and your mom help, just hang on tight!"

Suddenly the boy screeched at me. His eyes were milky white and his mouth smeared with blood. The boy moved to pounce on me but I immediately shut the door of the car. The boy was stuck inside and tried to get me but to no avail.

"What the hell?!" I mouthed.

Suddenly, screams of bloody murder filled the air. I look around and see people running from what I assume to be zombies. My mind screamed for me to run and get back home. My blood was pumped up by adrenaline and I swiftly ran to my home which is just one more street away from me. I ran faster than usual as I started to feel worried for my mother and brother who weren't capable of defending themselves. I passed through a shortcut to get back home as quickly as possible.

As I ran more people were being eaten alive by zombies. A few even started to tail after me. But I did not slow down for any second, instead, I ran faster. A couple more houses and I'll be home when I saw my mom come out of our gate to run towards me. There was both fear and relief in her eyes when she looked at me. But behind her was a zombie running towards her. My blood was then given another dose of adrenaline as I ran faster. As I ran I reached for my brass knuckles that happened to be conveniently in my short's pocket.

Before the zombie lay a finger on my mom I had punched the undead guy to the forehead. The hit was so strong that the thing fell back on the ground. With the window of opportunity, I grabbed my mom's wrist and pulled her inside the gate. I then locked the gate with a padlock and I pulled her back into the house. I shut the screen door and the wooden front door behind me. After that, I breathed my first sigh of relief.

"Oh good heavens, are you hurt?" Asked my mom.

I was out of breath and was panting heavily but I managed to give her a reassuring nod. My mom then hugged me as she started crying.

"Oh Pheene, I thought I lost you there."

"No mom, you didn't raise me a wimp."

Mom both smiled and cried at the same time with my response.

"Where's Lolu?" I had to ask.

"Your brother's upstairs contacting our relatives and friends to see if they're alright."

"How's Frodery? Donny? Etah? Are they fine?"

"Your siblings are alright and so are their families."

After knowing that my siblings and their families are safe, I relaxed up a bit. I went to the kitchen to wash my hands with soap and water. After washing them I went to dry them. After drying them I didn't feel secure and disinfected my hands with alcohol. After all, I had direct contact with zombies on my way back. Afterward, I went to check my phone. My phone is automatically connected to our home wifi. And as it does, notifications from my social media flooded in. I first called Etil whose house I just came to visit a while ago. She was paranoid until I assured her that I was safe. I was also relieved that she and her family were safe. I asked her about the two boys if they were safe; Danin, her boyfriend and a friend of mine; and Larn, a childhood friend of ours. Etil assured me that they were safe. After contacting her I dialed Jush's number. We asked each other the same thing and we both assured that we and our families are doing fine. After my inner circle of friends I went to dial several more numbers; Mal, Emmil, Gena, Gus, Franny, Joshy, etc. Most had picked up quickly telling me their fine, some had lost a loved one, but most did not pick up at all.

After calling several people I know, I felt tired and flopped down to the couch. I watched the flash news. It was about the current outbreak.

"...can get infected if they were bitten or scratched. It's not airborne or waterborne but viral. The military will come and rescue the people of Barangay by Barangay. But until then, stay indoors, lock the doors and block the windows."

"Wait until the military arrives, huh. I wonder when that will be." I murmured.

I don't feel any way relaxed with the news telling me to wait for rescue. I had to do something to keep us safe. The first thing I came up with was to fill up empty bottles or any water container with water that we have. So far the water is still up and has a strong current, but I know eventually water supply will be cut. If one thing I learned about films and school, water is the most essential thing for survival. After filling every water container, I went to check for our food supply. Good thing we just shopped for groceries a couple of days ago. But sadly we only shop for one week's supply of food. We've got frozen meat in the freezer, some vegetables in the fridge, and just 4 canned goods. Yeah, we're screwed, most of our food is perishable. We have to find a way to stretch our supply up until rescue arrives. I went to check for preservatives and we don't have a lot of it either. I could only hit my forehead with my palm. I have to make our food last as long as possible. If our goods don't last long enough then I'll be forced to scavenge, ALONE! I then called out for my mom and my brother to discuss our supply. We will be pickling what can be pickled, salt, and dry up meat and fish. What can't be preserved is what we will consume first. And lastly, we will only eat once a day and that is only at noon. At first, Lolu was against the idea of eating only at noon, he demanded that we eat at least twice; in the morning and noon. But I had to reason out with him that we are very limited when it comes to food. He still wouldn't budge and refuse to listen to me, he keeps employing that he is older and knows better than I do.

"When we ran out of supplies, when we started to feel hungry, who would go out to scavenge huh?! Is it you or is it me?!" I snapped.

"Pheene, don't talk to your brother like that, he's still older than you!"

"Mom, he's older but he's more immature! We need to survive with what we got for as long as possible! It's not like we can just order food or go to the store like a typical Sunday afternoon!"

I sighed, after my outburst, I know they finally got my point and agreed with me.

"Mom, Lolu has asthma and so are you. Plus, both of you are not very active. Even though I'm the heaviest one here I am the most active one. Besides, I have no health concerns unlike the two of you. And because of all of that, I'm the most suitable to go out and scavenge."

Both my mom and brother didn't speak another word. The two finally agreed with me. Lastly, regarding our water consumption, I told them that we won't use our reserves until the water supply was finally cut.

"Mom, Lolu, we all need to get in shape..."

"But it's advised that we conserve energy as much as possible." said my mom.

"Yeah, it was just said in the news," added Lolu.

"If you guys don't want to be physically fit then I won't force you." I shrugged. "It's just a suggestion."

"You're the one that needs to get in shape, Pheene," said Lolu.

"I know," I answered.

After our discussion, my mom and Lolu started charging all of their gadgets while I went to the windows at the front of the house to see the size of the herd and observe the zombies' behavior. So far there weren't many of them. The herd wasn't thick but still a few dozen. And based on what I currently see, the zombies move sluggishly when there is no prey in sight. I now wonder if everyone in our neighborhood is dead, hiding, or has escaped.