3 Chapter 3

Sounds of rustling can be heard as Nikolai gradually woke up. His eyes burned from the light coming through the window and his mind was still groggy. Trying to get used to the bright environment, Nikolai recalled the dream he just had. To him, his childhood in Russia was the worst time in his life. Always restricted by his parents and the people that knew his parents, which was about everyone. It was only until he moved to America, a place that no one knew him or his parents, that he felt somewhat free.

The sound of rustling can be heard again from the left side of him. Slightly shifting his head over he can see one of the maids switching out the IV water bag. Her light brown hair was put into a ponytail while her maid outfit had not a single crinkle. She was softly humming to herself, her pink lips in a closed smile. When she finished setting everything up, she gave a little glance to him, only to jump a little when she noticed he was conscious. Quickly she calmed down before saying "Good afternoon Young Master Nikolai."

Nikolai gave her a nod before looking at the digital clock next to him. In boxy green numbers, it stated 6:00 in the afternoon. On the corner of the clock's screen, it stated it was Saturday, March 25, 2023.

"I was asleep for a week..." Nikolai thought as he cast his eyes back to the waiting-maid. "Parents?" he asked after taking out the tube from his mouth.

"The Agin family went to New York on the 20th to attend the Masters business party. It's only you, I, and five other maids that remain." The maid said smoothly. Nodding his head Nikolai finally settled down. However he still felt like millions of horses were racing in his head, while his body felt like it was hammered on repeatedly. His throat was parched from the tube being in it the whole time, making it difficult to breathe. Seeing that, the maid hastily left and came back with warm temperature water in her hand. Slowly sitting up he did a hand motion singling to the TV.

Understanding, the maid handed him the glass of water, before turning on the flat-screen TV hanging from the wall. She flipped through channels until she suddenly stopped as something caught her attention. Looking up from his water, Nikolai saw the woman dazedly stare at the TV. Following her sight, he saw "Deathly Virus" on the screen with a serious-looking black-haired man in a suit next to it.

The man went into great detail as explained on the 21st many hospital patients that were there for minor things started becoming deadly sick. The visitors that also visited the hospital obtained the same results as the out of nowhere sick patients. The disease soon spread as the visitors that became sick without realizing spread it outside. The man continued saying the symptoms of the sickness were trouble breathing, coughing out blood, red eyes, headaches, constant sweat, alongside others.

"A virus?" Nikolai thought as he watched the TV.

Nikolai was pondering over what he just learned when the other person in the room took a shaking breath. Looking suspiciously at the maid's directions, he saw her carefully taking looks at the symptoms then giving him uncomfortable glances. It was not hard to know what she was thinking as her body unconsciously moved further away from him.

The maids in the mansion have been busy for a couple of days. They possessed no time to look at the TV or their mobile phones. They had to frequently stay at the community servant house that maids and butlers could spend the night at. The community house had no TVs, and the signal was poor as it was built in the worst part of the whole area. Thus, it was only now that one of them got information from the outside world.

The personal maid looked pale as she quickly said farewell before quickly scurrying out the room. Nikolai looked at the now-closed door, then at the TV. The TV was currently showing patients that looked somewhat like him currently.

"Do I have this unknown virus?" he asked gently to himself. His sharp eyebrows furrowed, and his hand clenched as he saw the death count so far on the screen.

Downstairs the maids were in a panic after hearing the news. Each of them finally turned on their phones, having messages from their families and friends gradually flooding their phones. Looking through the voicemails and messages, each of their faces gradually grew paler the further they read and listened.

"We have to go home," One of them said. She was the oldest among them and one of the few maids who worked here the longest. Her voice had a sternness in it while her eyes remained on the message from her husband.

"What about young Master Nikolai? We have to take care of him," the maid that came to tell the news said. She kept glancing in the direction of Nikolai's room as if she was afraid he could overhear them.

"What about Nikolai? Didn't you say his sickness was similar to the symptoms of the virus? I don't know about you, but my family is more important than this job," The older woman said sternly before turning around to gather her things. The younger maids looked at each other before one by one they followed the more elderly maid to collect their items as well.

The younger maid watched all of them go, her eyes glancing around as if not knowing what to do. "Nikolai is 18 years old, Savanna. He will be fine," the last maid that stood by the young maids said before following the rest.

The young maid was still indecisive until she heard the sound of a notification coming from her phone. Unlocking her phone, she saw a message from her parents asking her to quickly come home and how worried they were. Savanna stared at the message before sucking in a breath and quickly joining the others.

Nikolai was still watching the news when he heard a knock on his door. When he said a rasp enter the maid that exited 45 minutes ago was now back with bags on each side of her and dressed in casual clothing.

The maid stood there in silence. Her anxious eyes on the floor beneath her and her mouth opening and closing like a gasping fish. She closed her eyes before opening them to look at Nikolai straight in the eyes. "I'm sorry Young Master Nikolai, but the other maids and I are leaving. We want to be with our families during this dangerous time, and I hope you can understand. The rest already left so I just came to tell you that no one will be here except you and the cat. Again I apologize and God bless you," She did a quick bow before picking up her luggage and quickly turning away.

Nikolai laid there, in ominous silence with only the sound of the man on the TV speaking. He can hear a faint opening and closing from downstairs before a car engine followed.

Nikolai predicted this would happen, but he didn't guess it would be this soon. He was still sick. He was unable to stand up properly no less than having to go downstairs just to be able to eat. He once again felt stuffy, and the feeling of mild irritation bubbled up but he swallowed it down. His head started pounding even more and the frail body that somewhat was bearable became like it was forcibly breaking and rearranging.

Taking a shaking breath, he got out of the blankets and forcibly moved his unstable legs off the bed. Using the IV silver pole next to him, he slowly stood up. His legs became wobbly instantly from being unused for a week. His head pounded even more as he gradually walked out the door. Scooting the IV equipment until he reached the stairs, he looked down the long windy staircase. His legs couldn't help from wobbling at the uneasy journey ahead of them.

Picking up the IV he set it down on the next step before his legs followed. He maintained this process all the way down, before stopping. His legs were about to give out as they trembled regularly. His violent headache became more dominant as the feeling of vein pulsing was felt entirely over his head.

Shaking off the overwhelming urge to sit down, he continued moving in a snail speed manner. The whole house was extremely quiet making the sound of him panting louder than it was. It took him 15 uncomfortable minutes to reach the desolate kitchen. Walking up to the big fridge, he slowly opened it to see all the items in the cold department.

The fridge was stuffed with fresh items, all of it calling out to the teen's stomach that made a growling sound in response. Not wanting to irritate his stomach, he took out an already made tea, before shutting the fridge again. Scooting over to the cupboards, he took down the honey from within.

Scooping up a glob of honey and slowly mixing it in the tea he placed it in the microwave. Waiting for it to finish, he tried distracting his mind from the overwhelming pain.

"Baby, baby, rock-a-bye

On the edge you mustn't lie.

Or the little grey wolf will come.

And will nip you on the tum,

Tug you off into the wood.

Underneath the willow-root."

Nikolai sang softly to himself. The Russian lullaby made him light-headed and calmer by the time he finished. The sound of the microwave finishing brought him back to the present. Getting his drink, he took a couple of puffs at it before slowly sipping it. The soft warm taste instantly calmed his nerves as his throat felt immediately better.

Finishing it, he placed it in the sink before taking the trip upstairs again. The trip was harder than it was going down. Once he reached his room, he instantly collapsed onto the bed. After taking a couple of breathers he maneuvers the IV pole closer to him, as he gets back into the bedsheets.

Turning off the TV that was still playing the news. He grabbed his phone that laid there untouched for a while. Turning it on, he saw many messages from his family. Not bothering at looking at them, he scrolled through his apps before settling on one of the shooting games on it.

He passed his time quietly like this. His miserable body started relaxing while his eyes shifted through the screen killing the other players around him. He was about to enter a new round until a screeching noise that made one's ears hurt was ringing loudly inside his mind. The phone slipped through his hand as he collapsed backward onto the bed.

A hoarse groan slipped through his cracked lips as he placed his languid hand on his burning forehead. His body began hurting more and more as time went by. Tears slipped through his clenched eyes while his burning hand clenched the flimsy sheets underneath. His parched throat felt like it was burning while his stomach growled from having not eaten much of anything.

He opened his eyes to a bleary vision of what he thought was sweat running down his battered body but blood. Dark purple lines that looked like ancient text appeared on his body. It moved like it was alive rushing all over him, bringing a terrible burn behind. His heart that was already beating fast began beating faster from the sight.

"What's happening to me," Nikolai groaned. He can vaguely hear noises of tearing from next to him. Looking over he saw what used to be his hand now was a deformed cat paw.

"What the fuck." Nikolai thought as he passed out.

"Niko?! Niko! Are you okay? Wake up!" Hazily Nikolai can hear the sound of an older woman by his side. The feeling of something tugging gently can be felt while something soft kept tenderly patting him on his face.

Cautiously opening his eyes, Nikolai carefully made out a fuzzy shadow that was about five feet tall. When his sight came into focus, what appeared was a large feline that was similar to that of a lynx.

"Niko! Are you alright?!" The feline asked looking down at him. Her blues eyes shined with worry. Nikolai laid there in silence. His mind wasn't catching up to the strange situation and honestly didn't know if he wanted it to.

"Don't you recognize me? It's Lily, your cat," The feline carefully said.

"Lily?" he asked feebly. Seeing the feline nod its head, it finally came to him the very alike appearance the two felines shared. The feline in front of him he realized, was practically a bigger version of the family's pet. "How... How did you get this big?" He said slowly.

The feline gave a merry laugh as she walked up to him cheerfully. Laying down and putting her head on his lap she joyfully said "I don't know! I was sleeping when all of a sudden I grew hot all over and heard a ringing sound. The next thing I knew I grew this big!"

"Ah," he said softly as he finally sat up. His body creaked all over while his head felt better than it has been. His ears he noticed were strangely sensitive as he could hear the sound of Lily's slowly wagging tails and the sound of the grandfather clock downstairs. His eyes were equally the same as he could see the little amounts of dust from across the room. The smell of blood was pungent causing Lily to sneeze many times but still didn't move her head from the blood-covered sheets that lay on him.

He thought about this new circumstance before shifting his gaze to the massive feline that still laid on his lap.

"Probably it has something to do with Lily's new appearance," Nikolai thought. Gently moving Lily's head, he slowly stood up to test leg strength. Seeing they can stand up perfectly fine, he took out the IV that was still attached to him. Blood soon came out of the little hole. Not bothering with the small amounts of blood, Nikolai picked out some clothes before entering the bathroom to take a shower.

The water came rushing down as he stepped in. The crusted blood on his body slowly slid off and into the drain. His muscles became relaxed while moving forward so his whole body can be engulfed under the water. He stayed like this for a while before grabbing soap to properly clean himself.

When he exited the bathroom, the fog came out from behind him. He was drying his sleek hair with a towel with one hand while the other handheld a detangler brush. He looked attentively around the room as the large Lily was nowhere to be seen. While he was about to sit down continuous sounds of hurrying steps were coming fiercely up the stairs and soon after he saw a hurried-looking Lily enter the door.

"Niko, something is happening outside," she said urgently. Her head kept carefully looking behind her as if she was being followed. Nikolai's brows furrowed as he gave her inquiring eyes. "I went downstairs to get something to eat and all of a sudden I hear screaming and gunshots. I went downstairs to take a look and saw the front neighbors rushing outside with a human chasing them. The human chasing them looked weird, so I took a closer look only to see that human bite the neck of Mrs. Kane," she said.

Nikolai, who was brushing his hair, froze mid-action. He looked at the big cat before standing up and quickly going stairs. When he reached the front windows what stood there across the street was a pale middle-aged man-eating the organs of Mrs. Kane, his front house neighbor.

The scene was bloody as strings of ripped organs were being torn out from the main body. Bones were visible due to his enchanted eyesight along with the hearing of crunching and gulping.

"Oh my..." Lily said, while Nikolai instantly covered the window curtains. He stood there for a second before hurriedly going upstairs. Reaching his room, he grabbed the remote and turned on the TV.

The first words that popped up were the word "ZOMBIE" in bulky red letters. The news reporter was not the black hair man but a blonde lady who looked paler by the second as she read her report.

"A zombie outbreak has appeared all over the world. Please stay out home. Turn off all sound. Keep your windows covered and don't panic, help is on the way," The lady kept repeating this even though she doesn't seem convinced. She was about to repeat it once more before a sound of crashing came out of nowhere.

The once preserving reporter now started screaming as she quickly scrambled up from her seat. She was about to run but out of nowhere a bloody human jumped on her and with a quick motion bit her neck. Blood squirted everywhere as the identified zombie ripped her neck in shreds like a savage dog.

Nikolai's hand clenched as he turned off the gruesome news. The room that used to be full of the woman's screams, was now filled with deadly silence.

"Well aren't we in a pickle," the feline beside him said lazily. The teen gave her a side glance before moving his brown eyes back to the tv as he hummed. "Who knows this might be a good thing. Maybe the bastards you call parents can die," she said jokingly. That made the teen give a faint smile as he turned around to grab his phone.

The black phone laid unresponsive on the ground where it was dropped. Nikolai put it on the charger and waited for a while before the phone brand appeared on the screen. It took a minute before a general landscape wallpaper showed up on the screen. Unlocking his phone in quick familiar movements, he searched up news from the internet. Lots of new articles, live broadcasts, and even civilian videos showed up. Clicking on one of the civilian videos, what appeared was a man standing on a black burnt car repeatedly saying "God has left us," or "We disappointed God".

Zombies can be seen behind the man. Their speed is similar to a light jog. The man spouting out his grievances was instantly bitten despite people telling him to watch out. What happened after was a teenager similar to his age running up to the zombie. Using the silver bat that was in his hand, the teen directly whacked the zombie's head. The teen repeatedly struck down onto its head until it was no longer responsive. The teen was breathing hard as he looked up to the camera, craziness can be seen in his eyes as he shouted "To kill them, hit the head or separate it. That's their weakness point!"

After that, the video ended. "Are American teenagers all like that? Crazy yet courageous?" Lily said as she came over a little bit before the crazy man died. Her Russian dragged out lazily but hints of surprise can be heard in between syllables.

"More like just stupid," Nikolai said in an equal lazy tone as he switches to a government news article that was frequently being updated. What showed up was places the military will appear to come and rescue people at. A map of Southern California was shown and next to it numbers symbolizing how many days it will take to get there. Searching throughout the map, he saw that his location had the number meaning the army will be coming tomorrow.

Checking the time and date that stated it was March 27, 2023, 8 pm, he placed his phone down while going to his closet to grab a sports bag. He placed clothes that were hard to break through and also moveable. He went to the bathroom to grab his toothbrush and toothpaste before also picking up his detangler from the bed.

"Really? You have cannibalistic dead people outside, and you're packing a toothbrush and a hairbrush? I have realized this since you were a child but your priorities are... um, how do I say this kindly... fucked up," The feline spoke. Her body laid lazily on the bed while she listlessly watched him move about the room.

The teen gave a little pause before continuing to pack them. He glanced at the cat before going downstairs. He went directly to the basement where many weapons lay around as if they were toys. Most men have a collective hobby. It can be cars, shoes, and even playing cards. Andros, Nikolai's father, collective hobby were guns and blades. Nikolai didn't look at the guns as they made too much noise. He directly went to the blades and selected the familiar double long handle axes.

All the male Agin children were required to learn a weapon. The pistol was mandatory while picking up two others remained the person's choice. His choices were a sniper rifle and the double axes.

Picking up the two 2ft axes, Nikolai turned back around to head back upstairs. He took a glance at the sniper rifle, but he knew that the gun was too big to move around with. Putting the two axes in his bag, he went back downstairs collecting the foods that won't spoil during the journey. By 10 pm everything he needed was packed. He decided to leave the axes out to make more room in the bag as well as keep his weapons accessible just in case.

"Now only one more problem left," Nikolas thought as he stared hopelessly at the feline that was similar size if not bigger as a male tiger. Lily was currently cleaning herself when she felt his stare. She stopped what she was doing and looked back at him. Her head tilted in confusion before quickly catching on after seeing his packed bag.

"I can adjust my size. The smallest I can go is around being a newborn kitten size and the tallest is my current size," she said while slowly morphing to the size of a 3-month old kitten. The teen's frowned eyebrows relaxed as he gave a nod.

Going around the house to make sure everything is locked and secure, Nikolai went back into his room. Turning off the lights he made his way to bed. The moment his head touched the plump pillow, his tense body from today finally relaxed. In the dark, he felt a small fluffy figure bury its way close to him before once again stillness resounded throughout the room.

"Goodnight Niko," Lily said quietly.

"Goodnight Lil," Niko responded softly.