Chapter 12: Secret Room

One Month ago...

It's been a week since I woke up as an 8-year-old, and Roseann keeps clinging to me! Ugh! She's just a kid but acts like she owns me! Well, I know I'm a cute little boy and very charming, but can't she wait until we grow up?

Finally, I can breathe. I'm hiding behind the warehouse, using the kitchen back door so Roseann can't find me. As I look around, the small walls catch my eye. They're about 7 feet tall with electrified wires on top. About 5 feet away, there's a boundary line to keep everyone away from the walls. I lay down in the grass when I hear a noise. Is that digging? I hide in a big rock and saw Peter?! He come out under the walls and have a cage with a Dog?! Isn't that a Zombie dog?! What the hell is Peter thinking?!

It's a puppy but it's still a zombie! Zombie dogs is much more dangerous than human zombies. Then suddenly the zombie puppy got out of the Cage

" F*ck! No! " Peter ran towards my direction. I can't let that zombie puppy attacked the survivors. I stand up and took a rock in my side and ran straight to the Zombie Puppy!

"No, Az! Get away! You can't take it down!" Peter shouts. The zombie puppy jumps at me, but I dodge and kick its belly. It hits the wall, and I dash over, jumping to build up momentum, then smash its head with the rock, blood splatters on me.Just as I'm about to strike again Peter pulls me away and swiftly kills the puppy with a knife. I drop the rock, breathing heavily, and stare at my bloody hands. I really need to train more.

"What the heck, Azriel?! Why did you do that? What if it had bitten you? It's not a real puppy, so don't just run towards it like that!" Peter shouts, gripping my shoulder. I wince in pain

He's so angry

" U-uncle, It's h-hurt " I said and he let me go shock in what he did

" I-Im sorry Azriel, Please don't do that again. " Peter hugged me , He's crying?

I should be the one crying idiot!

" B-But what is that Uncle? You told me before that You'll bring a puppy for me " I said acting innocent , Yes he said that before.

" Well, Uhh how should i say this? " He said wiping his tears

And I tilted my head looking curious

" Hmm? Uncle Peter? " I asked

"Before that, I need to take care of this," Peter says, burying the puppy where he found it. Then he carries me to a small fountain and cleans me off, taking off my shirt and his. After washing my clothes and hanging them to dry, he uses his shirt to wipe me down.

"So, Uncle Peter, what was that? It looked like the dogs in the comics you gave me," I ask, knowing I have to press him on why he brought a zombie inside our base.

"Yeah, it was," he admits, sitting down beside me. A cool breeze blows by. "It's a zombie. I'm sorry you have to learn this at such a young age. It's my fault." He said scratching his head

" I'm planning to control it that maybe I can tame it "

I roll my eyes.

FLASHBACK END...

"That's what happened," I finish telling them about Peter bringing in a zombie puppy, lying that it attacked me, and then being forced to explain about zombies. Of course, I don't mention that I hit it first with a rock.

"So Peter gives you comics too?" Ariela asks angrily. Ariela looks scary when she's mad.

"But I never see you reading comics, Az," Geo adds.

"Hehe, actually, Uncle Peter and I read them up on the walls. Please don't punish Uncle Peter, Mom, Dad," I say, giving them puppy eyes.

"He even took you up on the walls?" King questions. Oh-oh, better hide, Peter.

"That's how I already know what's beyond the walls. So Mom, Dad, when I grow up, can I join the expedition and help our base?" I ask seriously. They exchange concerned looks.

"Why just you? I want to go on the expedition too, no matter what it is!" BJ suddenly bumps into me. What's wrong with her?

"I won't let you win, weak Az!" she whispers.

I'm shocked! Does she see me as her rival?

"I-I also want to join, Az," Roseann stutters. Seriously?

"You really like Az, huh, Anne? Even after seeing that monster, you still want to go out?" Rose teases, and Roseann nods.

"Yes! I really like him, Mom!" Roseann declares, making everyone laugh.

"So, tell us about these humans, Uncle King!" BJ demands, pushing me again. Ugh, this girl!

" If my friends are going t-then! I'm going to! " Thame

"I'm glad you all overcame your fear," King says, patting Roseann , Thame and BJ's heads. BJ smiles at me proudly. I furrow my eyebrows.

"King just pats your heads. Don't be so proud about it!" I think to myself.

"Right! Tell us more!" Reed steps up beside BJ. he's acting like a guard? Does he like her?

"Please," Zach adds, stepping up beside me. What's with these kids?

"I'll help you, Az," Zach offers. Who's talking? Acting like a hero or something , I sighed.

"I like your kids, guys! Hahaha, okay, come here, let me show you around," Dr. Will says, and King bids us farewell as he goes to find Peter. Poor Peter.

We follow Dr. Will, but BJ looks at me angrily. What did I do to you?

"She's just jealous of you, Az," Zach explains, and I look at him in shock.

"And why is that?" I ask.

"Well, because you get all the attention," Zach says matter-of-factly.

Just because of that? Of course, I get attention! I'm the leader's son, you know? If she wants a war, I'll give her one!

Just for that reason! Of course I have the attention! I'm the leader son you know?! If she want war then I'll give it to her! Tsk. Better listed to Dr. Will now.

Dr. Will introduced us to the specimens sealed in jars. They were body parts of zombies. Even though BJ and the others were scared, they managed to look at them. Dr. Will explained what zombies are, why they're dangerous, and why the walls were built to keep us safe inside.

"Wow! They eat humans?! They're so scary!" Thame exclaimed, hugging her father.

"You guys said you're shooting guns and setting off fireworks because we're surrounded by water and can't go out. There are sharks surrounding us, and you're going out to find someone who can help us, You really played it well Uncles and Aunties " Zach said

" Hehee we got you kids right? " Dr. Will said making Bj and the others pout.

They removed all the curtains, revealing the specimens sealed in larger jars or cylinders. Something caught my attention. I approached a cylinder filled with water and someone inside.

"That zombie looks different from the ones we saw earlier," Zach commented.

Dino , He's inside and I feel a pang in my chest seeing the hole in his forehead. I close my eyes intently.

"He's my Sister friend ," I open my eyes and it's Ariela, now standing beside me.

"Sister? Ms. Ajena?" BJ asked.

"Oh, Ms. Virgin? That's your sister, Auntie Ariela, right?" Reed said, irritating me. Why did king have to tell the kids my nickname?

"Isn't Ms. Ajena Uncle King's lover?" Roseann asked.

"Supposedly," Ariela said, holding my hand. I could see sadness in her eyes.

"Mom," I called to her, and she weakly smiled at me.

"But why is he in there, Auntie?" Roseann asked.

I looked at Dino again, I didn't know they hadn't buried Dino.

"We're researching using his blood and tissue samples. You see, kids, Dino is a very special zombie," Ariela explained with a smile.

"Dino? A special zombie?" Reed asked.

"Yeah, Dino can understand humans and doesn't eat human flesh," Ariela said, looking at Dino.

"So he's on our side?" BJ

" Yes "

"But why is that Zombie different from the others?" Zach asked.

"You see, kids, Dino was my sister's friend. From what I heard from Kho and Pwat, his real name is Dylan and he has a brother named Dykon," Ariela began, her words stirring up painful memories for me. If only the Zombie virus hadn't taken over my body when I was still Ajena.

"Wait! Is this a true story, Auntie Ariela?" Roseann asked eagerly.

"Hmm? Where did you hear it?" Ariela nodded, curious.

"I heard the story from Brother Kho and Dad. It's my favorite, even though it's the saddest bedtime story I've heard," Roseann said.

"Me! I want to tell it, Auntie Ariela!" Roseanne exclaimed, raising her hand. Ariela nodded in agreement.

"Let's all sit down, guys! This is a very long and sad story," Roseanna said excitedly. She pulled me to sit beside her while the others gathered around on the floor. Ariela stayed back to talk with the others.

"My Dad and Brother Kho told me that Ms. Ajena had to leave them because the virus was spreading in her body," Roseann continued.

"Wait! Ms. Ajena was bitten? I only heard that she's Sky, the leader of Sky Squad, and Uncle King loved her—I mean, supposedly," BJ interrupted.

"Yes, but Ms. Ajena is immune. She had to leave Auntie Ariela in Uncle King's care because she was scared she might turn into a Zombie and attack Auntie Ariela."

"Wow, you know a lot," I commented. Did Pwat and Kho turn my story into a bedtime tale?

"Yep! Auntie Ariela had you in her womb back then! So let me continue, guys! When Ms. Ajena left Dad and his friends because of the spreading virus, she crossed paths with Uncle Tyler's group. When she finally returned to normal—"

"Why didn't Uncle Pwat tell us this story?" Thame interrupted.

"Wah! Let me finish! I'm going to cry if you keep interrupting me!" Roseann crossed her arms and pouted. She was really excited.

"Sorry," Thame said.

"As I was saying, Ms. Ajena returned to normal and going back to Dad's group, but she crossed paths with Auntie Euna's group..." Roseann suddenly stopped and stood up , looks like she realized something.

"Daddy! Auntie Ariela! If this story is real, where is Baby Zomma?" Roseann shouted. My eyes widened in shock.

This was a problem! If they realized Zomma was missing and thought he was loose in the warehouse, the survivors would panic. Ariela and the others exchanged alarmed looks.

"Oh my god! How could we forget about Baby Zomma?" Rose exclaimed, covering her mouth.

"Now that we remember, where did Baby Zomma go?" Pwat asked urgently.

"Ajena locked Baby Zomma in a secret room and forgot to give me the key!" Rose said. She ran to another door and opened it. We all followed Rose. I sighed as BJ and the others ran ahead.

"Who is Baby Zomma, Roseann?" Zach asked as we followed Rose into the room. It was going to be a long walk.

"Baby Zomma is a baby zombie that Ms. Ajena took care of. According to Daddy's story, Baby Zomma thinks of Ms. Ajena as his mother. He's a very special zombie, like Dino," Roseanne explained.

"A baby zombie? Just imagining it, that's so creepy!" Thame said. I was surprised Roseann remembered what Pwat told her.

"Move aside, Rose!" J said as we reached the room where I had locked Zomma before. Rose was trying to break down the door. J took out his gun, and Geo covered my ears while the other kids covered theirs.

Bang!

"Baby Zomma!" Rose immediately rushed inside, and J and the others blocked us from entering.

I tried to see what was inside, where Rose was crying. There was a dead... What was that? It was rotting and smelled terrible. The rotting body was about the same size as Zomma. It must have been one of the animals that Zomma had eaten from the high-tech basement.

"Rose, he's gone," Ariela said, helping Rose to her feet. Rose was crying uncontrollably now.

They must have thought that rotting body was Baby Zomma. Well, that was better, I sighed in relief as Geo nudged me to go back.

"Oh! I didn't see it! What was that smell?" BJ asked.

"I think that baby zombie is dead and rotting," Zach said as we walked.

"Auntie Rose is so sad," Thame said, looking back. Rose was crying as she walked. Then I heard someone else crying too—Roseann.

"-_- Like mother, like daughter," Geo remarked.

"Why are you crying, Roseann?" Geo asked.

"I'm just sad, Uncle Geo. I was really looking forward to seeing Baby Zomma. Wah! He seemed really nice," Roseanne cried.

"I only heard about Baby Zomma from Jerry and Kho. Based on their story, he seems nice," Geo said.

We walked until we were back in the warehouse. Ariela led us back up to the playground outside.

"Let's continue my story!" Roseanne declared, looking determined.

"Since we have nothing else to do, okay," Reed agreed.

"Where was I earlier? Ah, right! Ms. Ajena came back to normal and going back in Dad's group, but she crossed paths with Auntie Euna's group..."