The promise

(Ray)

The screaming hadn't stopped.

As the two of them entered Meghan's room, they heard the clamor coming in through her open balcony. The noise was nauseating. It seemed like it was coming from everywhere. A consistent barrage of tortured cries that hung in the air like thick smoke. Ray wished it would stop. He didn't want to think about what was happening to all those people. After having lived through that frightening ordeal mere moments ago, he needed a few moments to himself. To think. To collect his thoughts. To strengthen his resolve. There was more work to be done. Ray was constantly reminded of that, thanks to the banging coming from the main door.

Meghan walked up to her balcony door and closed it. The noise faded to a certain extent. It wasn't as jarring as before. Ray was thankful for that. It helped him relax, albeit a little.

He closed his eyes, mapping out their next move.

Ray knew they couldn't stay here. They were safe inside Meghan's house for now but he didn't think that would last for very long. It was only a matter of time before the loud banging attracted more of those creatures towards them. Even if they somehow got rid of the deranged woman at the front door, it still wouldn't guarantee their survival. He saw how quickly the security guard turned violent after being bit. It hardly took a few minutes. Taking everything he had seen into consideration, Ray approximated that within the next few hours the whole apartment could get overrun by these things.

They had to leave Prime Gardens.

Ray could not see how they were going to survive if they stayed behind. Fighting one of those things was bad enough. Having to fight off an army would be next to impossible.

But where would they go? And how were they to even get out? The main gate was most likely swarmed by now. Trying to escape on foot was suicide. What if they had a vehicle? They could probably drive through the horde and force their way through.

'Damn,' Ray thought, 'Dad took the car…'

Ray's eyes widened. His parents. Where were they? Were they safe? What if something had happened to them?

Meghan noticed the sudden reaction on Ray's face.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Your parents" he answered, "have you heard from them?"

Meghan seemed to realize it too, "No…" she said weakly, "Shit! I have to call them."

She quickly unlocked her phone and dialed in her mother's number. The phone rang several times but there was no answer.

"No… no, no! Pick up!" Meghan muttered, getting steadily more nervous with each ring.

After a few seconds, an automated message played and the call got disconnected.

Meghan looked at Ray crestfallenly, "She didn't pick up."

Ray took a deep breath. He was feeling really uneasy as well but he tried not to show it. For some reason he felt like he needed to put on a brave front.

"I'll try mine" he replied calmly.

He called his mother's number and placed the phone on speaker mode. The two of them watched in silence as they waited, silently praying that someone would pick up the call.

They didn't.

Ray and Meghan looked at each other apprehensively. They did not know what to say. The words got caught in their throats. They both dreaded what this could have meant. Neither of them, however, wanted to be the one who voiced it. After what seemed like an eternity, it was Meghan who finally spoke.

"Ray, do you think they might be…"

"No," he replied quickly, "No. I don't think they are."

"But they aren't answering…"

"They aren't dead, Momo" He cut her off, "They can't be. They're just preoccupied with something. They'll call us back when they can. I'm sure of it."

Meghan didn't look very convinced but she nodded and didn't push the issue further.

Ray sighed loudly and sat at the foot of the bed. He placed his hand over his face and stared off into space. Meghan looked at him with concern. She moved to his left and sat down next to him.

Ray's tensed muscles seemed to relax a bit. He was glad that Meghan was beside him. She didn't say or do anything but her presence alone was enough. He instinctively held her hand. It wasn't as much of a solace to her as it was for him. He was just glad he got to her in time. Though he didn't want to, he couldn't stop himself from thinking about the worst-case scenario. The scenario where he was too late. The scenario where he had failed. This baseless guilt had started welling up inside him ever since they came into the room. But now, having her hand in his, feeling her warmth against his palms, he knew she was alive. He knew he hadn't failed her yet.

"We'll make it through this," he said to her.

Meghan nodded, "Yeah, we will."

Just then Meghan's phone rang.

The two of them jumped. Meghan scooped up the phone from her bed ungracefully, almost dropping it onto floor. She fumbled it in her hands while Ray winced, half-expecting her to break it.

After a short struggle with herself, she managed to answer the call.

"Hello?!" she said and turned on the speaker mode.

A woman responded. It was her mother's voice. There was a lot of disturbance coming from the call, they could just about make out her words, "Meghan, are you ok? Are—safe?"

"Oh god, ma…" Meghan said in absolute relief, "thank god! Where are you both?"

"Still at—hospital… Things are looking bad. Infected patient—went crazy… All of us—isolation room."

"What?" Meghan asked, "You're breaking up."

"Range not good here." She said, "We're in an isolation room. Something horrible is happening. People are being attacked. The police are here too, they aren't letting us leave."

"Not letting you leave?" Meghan asked, shocked. "Why are they keeping you there?"

"Your dad—finding out. We're trying our best to get out as soon as we can and come home."

Ray instantly jumped to his feet and waved him hands from side to side, indicating that it was a bad idea.

"No, don't come back here" Meghan said, "Things are horrible here too. Some people came into Prime and are attacking everyone. They aren't even acting like normal humans. Anyways, it's not safe here anymore."

"Oh god… Meghan please stay at home and be careful. Lock the doors and windows. We'll come as soon as we can."

"Mom! You're not listening! It's not safe here. You shouldn't come back right now."

"What do you mean? What will you do alone? We can't just leave you there."

"I'm not alone. Ray's here." She said, "We're both hiding out in our flat."

Ray waved to get Meghan's attention. He motioned with his hand for the phone and mouthed, "Give it to me."

Meghan told her mom she was putting Ray on the line and handed the phone over.

"Aunty, do you know where my parents are? Are they with you?"

"I saw them—while back… got separated. I think they're in the isolation room too. Can't see—too many people."

Ray nodded. If they were somewhere in the isolation room then that meant they were still alive. Ray wanted to shed a tear of joy but he held his emotions in.

"If you find them please tell them I am safe."

"Okay, Ray" she replied.

"And also tell them not to come back for me. Momo is right. Prime is not safe at all. It would be a very bad idea to come back right now."

"But what will you both do?" Meghan's mom inquired.

Ray looked at Meghan before replying, "We'll come to you."

Meghan raised her eyebrows in mild shock.

"How will you do that?"

"We'll need a car…" Ray began. At that moment he remembered something, "Aunty, is your car still in the basement parking?"

"Yes, mine is still there. We took our other car to come to the hospital."

Ray's eyes lit up. For the first time since he witnessed that gruesome scene at the main gate, a positive emotion welled up inside him. It was hope.

"We'll get to you aunty, I promise" he vowed, "No matter what happens, I'll get Momo back to you safely."

"But..."

"Aunty," Ray said sternly, "I promise. You can trust me."

There was a noticeable pause before her mother spoke again.

"Okay Ray, please be safe, both of you."

"We will. Please tell my parents the plan if you see them. We're cutting the call now. It might be better if you don't call us for a while. We might not be in a situation to answer."

"Okay… Is Meghan there?"

Ray handed the phone over to Meghan.

He figured her mother probably had things she wanted to say before cutting the call. He quietly left the room, signaling to her that he would be right outside.

Meghan nodded.

Ray closed the door quietly and walked towards the living room.

He noticed something.

The banging had stopped.

Had the woman left? Perhaps she realized the futility of her actions and just gave up. Ray didn't think they were that fortunate but a small part of him remained optimistic and prayed for that to turn out to be true.

He had to check.

He slowly creeped up to the door, making as little noise as he could. He was barefoot so his footsteps were hardly audible at all. He was more concerned about his thumping heart. He could hear it beat against his rib cage like an animal trying to escape an enclosed space. He placed a hand over his heart instinctively. He didn't know why he did it. He didn't think it muffled the sound or helped him relax. But it felt right. That was enough.

As the door came within touching distance, Ray moved much slower. His breathing grew heavier and his pulse started racing. He took a deep breath and moved towards the peep hole. He closed an eye and peered through the circular gap.

The woman stared back at him.

Ray flinched and recoiled backwards.

"Fuck…" he whispered as he started gasping for air.

That almost gave him a heart attack. He wasn't naïve enough to think the woman had left entirely but he certainly wasn't expecting her to be waiting right outside the door, staring at it ominously like a menacing mannequin. He had seen numerous jump scares in horror movies but this one frightened him the most.

"Crazy bitch," he cursed at her silently, "Almost scared me to death…"

Ray walked back to the living room and plopped onto the sofa. He placed a hand over his face yet again and tried piecing together an escape plan.

They could use Meghan's other car to drive out of Prime. They needed to get to the basement for that. Using the lift was out of the question. It was a death trap. Taking the main stairs was a bad idea too. There could run into unwanted company on any of the floors. Ray figured that the best route would be to take the fire exit. The door was heavy, hopefully too heavy for any of those monsters to use. That meant it was very likely to be empty and safe. They had to climb down 15 floors but what other choice did they have? The fire exit was their best bet.

"We'll just have to adjust." He told himself, "Now for the difficult part."

He looked towards the main door.

"What do we do with you?" he asked.