Chapter 17

The blurry neon lights hanging over the street lamps swayed festively with the chilly winter wind, sketching the outlines of the figures scrambling all over the scene of an accident.

Dilapidated cars toppled over one another as first responders rescued survivors of the devastating accident, aiding them as they sent them off to the hospitals.

He wished he was the one lying stiffly on the cold hard road, blanketed in organization under white body bags. They remained unattended as accident survivors in need occupied the busy responders.

For hours, he knelt before the two forlorn body bags before him, one smaller than the other. Stains of red tinted the white fabrics as the pool of blood grew overtime. Responders ignored the behaved man as he showed no signs of tampering, proceeding to ensure the safety of the lives that weren't lost.

Illuminating the streets, the vibrant colors sent away the silhouettes of ambulances, welcoming the advent of the angels who served the public. New responders arrived to supply the need for manpower, their crossing shadows stretched out by the myriad of lights.

Overtime, distressed families of the deceased surged towards the parallel row of bodies bags that had lost their fair share of attention.

A freckled young man grieving in anguish succumbed to his desire to pamper in his lover's warmth, embracing the body bag of a young woman tightly. The frigid corpse has already experienced the effects of Algor Mortis and the freckled young man felt it. But his embrace never loosened as he embosomed his deceased lover ever more securely. Intending to never let go, it took several police officers to restrain the freckled young man and drag him away as he bawled in despair, reaching out towards the soulless corpse showered under the vivid lights.

But the kneeling man never paid attention, his muted background muffling his surroundings.

He was a soulless statue. He never made a noise. He never looked away. He never moved.

Frozen in the fiery winter night, the man eventually reached out his hand.

The world around him began to spin and shift as his outreached arm entered the vicinity of the body bags. He wanted to caress his beautiful wife and lovely daughter once again.

A bead of tear trickled down the corner of his eye as his fingers touched the material separating him and his family.

"I'll never leave you behind honey. You'll always be by my side."

As the graphic scenery around him dissipated like a concluding hallucination, Idris has grabbed hold onto his Mona Lisa— the clumsy picture frame on his table.

He has made it to his desk without alerting the nearby zombies.

On the other end of the story, Theodore has made his way towards the emergency exit, yet they unfortunately discovered that somebody had jammed the door shut from the outside with a chair.

"Which bastard did this shit? Once I find him I'm gonna fuck him up!" Theodore growled in anger, suppressing the urge to kick the door open. He knew that Idris was still making his way towards the office table, and that their ruckus would alert the zombies to their location, possibly ruining Idris's chance of survival.

"Damn Theodore. You're rude as fuck." Qi Rui rolled her eyes, flicking her finger towards the employee elevator, which was next to the emergency exit. "Easy. We improvise."

"The fuck we are we supposed to do? Press 'down'?"

"Why is that a bad idea? The employee lift is designed to not make any noise." Confused, Gary poked his head out carefully, interjecting with an odd question.

"Oh my god you're an idiot. The power is out Gary. The whole city went dark." Theodore flicked his manager on the forehead, leaving a burning red mark. He eyed at Qi Rui, chuckling softly. "Almost forgot, your lights were shut off while doing some shady business. Right Mrs Qi Rui?"

"Jealous that you haven't gotten close to a beauty like me?" Qi Rui stared at Theodore's eyes alluringly before she crept towards the employee elevator. "Tone down the hate towards Gary. His low IQ just hasn't processed the situation."

'That explain why you picked him for a breakthrough.' Theodore hid his thoughts, following closely behind Qi Rui to observe what plans she had in mind.

"Help me pry this door open. You'll see what I'm trying to do." Qi Rui jabbed her chopping knife into the gap where the two panels met at the middle, creating a tiny opening to slip their fingers in.

With the help of two grown men, they managed to pry open the door by selecting intervals when the fax machine rumbled the loudest, concealing the noise of their actions.

Prying open the elevator door configuration, an empty elevator shaft was revealed before their eyes.

They couldn't tell whether the elevator platform stalled above or below their floor as either direction led into an endless abyss. As their eyes adjusted to the dark, they could vaguely see the mechanical components and electrical wires tucked behind metal frameworks. In the middle of the elevator shaft passing throughout the 60 story high skyscraper were sturdy steel wire ropes, attached onto both ends of the unknown abyss. Surrounding the base of each story were aligned ledges, wide enough for one person to stand. Drying oil cascading down the shaft hardened against the bare walls of the elevator shaft, evoking a sense of unease.

"Okay shaft expert, what next?" Theodore teased.

"We can choose to climb down this thick shaft." Laughing at Theodore's shocked expression, Qi Rui proceeded to taunt. "Are you man enough to try it out?"

Grimacing in defeat, Theodore lowered his head and backed away from the cavernous chasm. "I guess we'll stick to the stairs. I don't wanna climb down 30 stories worth of ledges. Let's wait for Tyler a little longer."

In his peripheral view, he noticed a figure in the far distance away.

It was Idris, slowly making his way towards them with a bulky picture frame inserted fittingly into his front suit pocket.

There was large open area Idris had to clear between the elevator and the office dividers before he could head to safety.

Peeking his head to observe the zombies surrounding the rumbling fax machine meticulously, Idris found the best opportunity to clear the distance. Deciding to seize this opportunity, Idris gently kissed the cardboard picture frame placed in his suit pocket and took a deep breath. Buckling his knees, Idris took his first leap.

However, the trusty old fax machine finally reached its expiry date as it ceased its operation under the wrath of the undead around it. Once the reassuring rumbling of the fax machine halted, Gary, who was leaning against a lavish glass vase situated beside the fire exit door, felt the dreadful atmosphere dawn upon him. In a moment of daze, his weight accidentally toppled the meter tall vase before him. The delicate glass vase struck the ground, shattering upon impact.

Reverberating throughout the quiet environment, agitated roars exploded throughout the sixty first story.

"So long losers! I'll be back with reinforcement!" Grinned slyly, Gary rammed open the fire exit door with his tremendous mass. "Especially you Theodore, I'll kill you first!"

Pulling out a pair of keys, Gary swiftly inserted it into the lock of the fire emergency door, permanently sealing the exit.

"Fuck!" Realizing that Gary has been deceiving them all along, Theodore and Qi Rui blurted out vulgarities simultaneously as they tried their best to force the door open. But with the key to the building, Gary was able to secure all three security padlocks and scurry away.

"Use the ledges Theodore! Pull yourself up!" Reacting first, Qi Rui rushed to the elevator shaft, vaulting towards the ledge on the left. Like a nimble monkey, she grabbed onto the railing brackets, propelling herself upwards with her toned arms.

Jaw dropped, Theodore watched in amazement as she managed to scale herself up the story above, resting safely onto the ledge 3 meters (10 feet) above.

"Hurry up Theodore! You don't wanna die here." Qi Rui threw out some words of encouragement, signaling towards the ledges on the other side of the elevator shaft.

"Tyler! Use the elevator ledges!" Theodore first thought was to share Qi Rui's phenomenal climbing methods with Idris, who was still sprinting arduously with every single zombified office workers in hot pursuit.

"You go first! I need the space to jump!" Idris shooed Theodore to make his move quickly as he fixated his vision onto the eerie darkness that lies in the elevator shaft.

Biting his lower lips in hesitation, Theodore ultimately listened to Idris's advice as he conquered his fear, jumping into the elevator shaft. Balancing himself by grabbing tightly onto mechanical gears that has halted their operations, he gripped onto the protruding railings, barely reaching the ledges on the next floor. Qi Rui quickly offered a helping hand, assisting Theodore who arrived on the ledges safely.

Unlike both of them, Idris had no time to pause for a second and deliberate over choosing the elevator shaft.

His heart was racing, beating at an irregularly high frequency. It has been a long time since his heart had beaten this miraculously hard. He reminisced the two most precious and unforgettable memories ingrained in his soul.

Dreamy memories of him experiencing his first kiss and witnessing his first born replaced the uncanny darkness in the elevator shaft.

"I will live for you." Idris made a promise to the photograph of his family.

Pushing the cardboard picture frame deeper into his suit pocket, Idris realized he was only a few steps away from the cavernous chasm.

"Jump Tyler!"

"Jump!"

Following the nervous shrieks from Qi Rui and Theodore, Idris took a leap of faith.

It was as if time had slowed down. Rumination drowned the noises and movements around him. He had a flawless plan in mind.

Leaping towards the center of the shaft, Idris latched himself onto the dangling sturdy steel wire ropes. Grasping firmly onto the elevator ropes, he felt the rough texture of the fiber core as he slipped down a few centimeters. Brushing aside the blistering pain scorching his palms , Idris planted his feet on the edge of the ledges, forcefully lifting himself upwards as the first mindless zombie plunged into the abyss. One after another, the familiar faces he once knew pummeled down the elevator shaft, consumed greedily by the harrowing darkness beneath.

Despite barely pulling off his plan, Idris has lived to fight another day.