Chapter 6: Visitor

Exhaustion seeped through me as I scanned the white screen of the television. Was the brightness dimming? It's probably from the flare of watching the illuminated display for too long. I blinked, turning away from the screen.

  The current time was 2:03 P.M. and yet, the living room was shrouded in partial darkness. With our current predicament, I thought it prudent to curtain all windows and only use light sources when absolutely necessary. Mil seemed to agree with me as did the TV.

  The shivering statement from, whom I later learned from Mil to be the police chief, made me introspect. "Do not allow strangers into your house."

  Humanity and societal values dictate that we should help others in need. So, when your city's police chief, who is supposed to serve the citizens at the highest stage, encourages isolation, it raises some concerns. 

  Is the virus that serious? Do the ridiculous claims of zombies walking the earth have any substance? I shook my head. I was roiling with the ideas for the past couple of days now. 

  The barest glint of light escaping from the curtain to my right attracted my attention. I stared at the muffled flash of gold splayed behind the white fabric. The embroidery adorned over the curtain seemed unfamiliar. It was quite intricate, but I don't remember Mil ordering them.

  I sighed. The TV screen continued its vanity. After the massive meltdown on BNN, most 'live' channels immediately went dark. The entertainment  channels which probably ran on a schedule also went dark after 8 hours.

  Now, they all displayed the same message.

  "Regular program schedule will return shortly." The ambiguity of the sentence frustrated me to no end.

  The internet has been entirely unhelpful. With scores of videos popping up online about 'zombies', it became increasingly difficult to pick out the real ones from the reel ones.

  Though, I still don't believe the actual 'zombie' theory. I did manage to gleam a vital piece of information. It seems that this isn't just localized in NYC. Reports of 'zombie' sighting, fake or real videos, spanned across the major states. 

  Footage of zombies was the most unreal stuff on the internet right now. Were zombies these slow creatures that just liked to trudge after humans? Or were they actually able to run and do parkour?

  Somehow most of the videos containing these claimed 'sightings' of the elusive creatures were taken down by the day's end. Was the Government taking down these videos to avoid mass hysteria? Unlikely but possible.

The sudden ring of our doorbell startled me. I jumped in my seat and the smartphone in my hands slipped from my fingers. The aluminum slab dropped with a resounding thud, making me cringe.

I whipped my head around in unfettered panic almost expecting to be tackled at any moment. But the tolling bell faded to silence.

Before I could exhale in relief, heavy fists rapped the main door. The loud bangs filled my heart with cold annoyance.

"Is someone there? Please! Help!" A man cried from our veranda. I slowly rose from my chair to avoid any sudden sounds.

The hallway seems darker than before. I hope it's the flare from the TV. I walked over to the doorway and gripped the cemented frame tightly. The pounding in my chest grew unbearable as I peeked.

The door shook with another set of violent knocks. Through the curtained window by the door's side, I could easily make out the shadow of a man. My throat parched at the shaking sight.

I remembered with a start that Mil was upstairs taking a shower. She was sure taking her sweet time. That left the decision up to me. 

Well, there wasn't really a decision to make. There was no way I'd be opening the door to some random stranger.

The knocking turned incessantly louder. "Hey kids! It's me. Mr. Klum. I seriously need your help guys. Please! My family is dying out here." The man's hard voice cracked with choked sobs.

Mr. Klum was the guy who owned the house opposite ours. We weren't on the best of terms with him, but our relations weren't sour either. In normal circumstances, I would have opened the door without a second thought.

However, the scenario now was entirely different. There was just no way to trust his words. And even if I did trust them, there were about a hundred scenarios where this could go horribly wrong. I wasn't risking it.

I prayed in silence for the man to go away. Another set of knocks rapped across the door. "Please kids! My daughter is dying." I could almost feel the man's fist dragging hopelessly against the door's frame.

The newly revealed fact had me gulping in guilt. Ada turned six this year. The wooden flooring suddenly grew colder under my soles. The knocks stopped and awkward silence once more settled upon the house.

I could still see the light silhouette of the man moving outside. The door thudded lightly, and a loud rustle slid down its frame. 

Is he camping outside our door? My annoyance peaked at the man's stubbornness. The situation must be dire for him to behave in such manner. And yet, my decision remained. He was not getting into our house.

Loud wails erupted from our doorstep. "Ada!" The loud yell made me cringe. "My love. Why did you leave us!?" The sobbing grew louder.

Once more, a loud fist banged against the door. "I can smell you; you know." My blood froze as I heard the statement.

"You s-ssme-mell of so-ap." Broken words filled his throat. I could hear my needy breath race faster against my pounding heart. The sound of faint crunches filled our veranda.

The silhouette appeared to be struggling against itself. The crackles grew louder, and I stilled at the cold realization. It wasn't the sound of crusty leaves breaking .

I waited in horror, leaning against the hard wall and waiting for a chance to bolt upstairs. If Mr. Klum managed to break through the front door, it'd be the best course of action to secure Mil's room.

Wait. Upstairs? Soap? The consequent answers rapidly filled my brain.

The loud thumping in my chest slowed with each ticking second. The man's heavy footsteps grew distant, and I morbidly make out the direction of his advance.

Without a second thought, I launched out into the hallway. The main door was now silent. I failed to rationalize how the man could climb a story, but my instincts screamed all the same.

I bolted up the stairs and rounded the bend into Mil's room with a loud start. She yelped loudly as I burst into the room. The towel in her hand dropped to the floor in surprise. She squinted at me, but I was lost in my thoughts. 

It indeed smelt of soap, but there was no way a normal human could smell that from downstairs.

Her green eyes grew fearful. "What's goin-" She started but I immediately stepped into the room and pulled her towards me.

Logically, there were two entrances to this particular room from the side of the house. The innocent windows peeked at me with the afternoon sunlight. There was no point in closing the bathroom door.

  Mil struggled lightly against my hold. "What's going on Lar!?" Her desperate yells turned on deaf ear. The door behind me was our safety option. Even if he couldn't scale the walls, I could just lock ourselves into this room. Then, maybe try and think of-

  Heavy footsteps stumbled across the roof, stilling me into silence. He had really done it. The man had climbed onto our roof.

  Wasting no time, I dragged Mil by her forearm and pushed her out the door. In the same moment, I saw a large object flash out the window before it exploded in a million pieces.

  The glass broke with a loud shatter. I heard a fuzzy scream from the hallway. The ragdoll man that just burst through our window downed against the frame of the bed.

  Mil's yelp of fear didn't register on my senses. I was focused entirely on the struggling outline of the intruder.

  I vaguely realized that I was being pulled towards the door. The man crushed the brittle pieces of glass in his violent struggle to stand up. I paused for a moment.

  The struggle stopped, and a figure slowly rose from the floor. The man's red face slowly cleared the bed's frame as he stood up. His blank stare gave off confusion. I could almost hear his accusation. 'Why didn't you help me?'

Sinister lines of blood trailed down his forearm and cheeks.

  My hand shot towards the door. The round spherical knob found my fingers and I firmly tightened my grip around it.

  In the same moment, the creature's face contorted to pure rage. It snarled loudly and jumped. It didn't run, hurtle, or even vault over the bed. It jumped!

  The desperate need marked his crazed features. With the strongest pull I could muster at the moment, I shut the door in its face. It landed with a dull thud against the door, making it bulge from its hinges. Is the door that weak? 

  I turned around and pushed Mil towards the staircase. "We need to run!" I yelled as I pushed her forward. 

She screamed in panic but followed my advice. The two of us immediately took off in a run.

Something was seriously off about this zombie. And I couldn't shake the feeling. The man began hammering against door sharply. Loud smashes of wood and muscle echoed through the passage.

The hallway whizzed past in a jiffy, and we started alighting the stairs. As my feet touched the first stair, a loud boom echoed from behind us.

He broke through the door? My brain fogged at the unnatural thought. Doubling my efforts, I quickly overtook Mil and ran ahead of her. "Hurry!" I screamed desperately as I rushed past her.

There was no time to go for the front door. It was bolted too tightly shut. Our best option was the backdoor.

With an outstretched arm, I hooked my palm against the end of the staircase rails and catapulted myself into the hallway.

A couple steps into the hallway, Mil's terrified shriek stopped me cold in my tracks. The bone-chilling sound of her foot slipping against the polished wooden floor filled me with dread.

The heavy thud of her body falling down echoed in my ears. I turned around violently. 

Mil lay against her side on the floor, groaning in pain and fear. 

Her gaze quickly travelled up the staircase before freezing in horror. Her trembling arm moved quickly to propel herself away.

I stood rooted to my spot. I needed to move! Move! 

Mil is going to die! Move!

The chasing figure leapt from the top of the staircase. The floor quaked loudly in the resulting crash as it landed at the bottom. Mil's efforts doubled as she slid away from the crouching creature.

Its bloodshot eyes rounded her and the sinking feeling in my gut amplified. It pounced on her in a flash, pinning her against his body.

  The creature's snarling face was now inches away from my sister. It moved immediately and arched its neck for a bite. Mil's deafening shriek pierced my very being.

  Watching your own sister get murdered is an unforgiveable sin. A haunting regret that may even send you to the grave.