Chapter 14: The heart skipped

Opening his eyes, the blinding lights from the lamps hurt his sight as he was in coma for a week. The sound of the ECG monitor rings his ears for the first time that made him wonder what kind of thing is it. Avoiding the lights, he set his sight downwards at the level of the tables to look around since everything seems unfamiliar; it is not his room. From a distance, not so far from him, a woman dressed in a doctor's gown is standing and doing something on a sheet.

'Why am I here?' is what he asked while wandering his eyes around the room. There are things that are new in his eyes. He might have seen some equipment from Frankenstein's laboratory but he did not give importance to them that is why everything seems new to him.

He tried to stand up but his body is unwilling. The body is weak as he was in a vegetative state. So he tried to utter some words to get the attention of the woman.

'Excuse me' he said in a wavering voice. He can utter a word but not to an extent that he can hold a long conversation. This is the consequence of trying to break the seal.

A sound of a ghost that seeks help fall in the ears of the doctor; it creeps her out that she cannot turn around. She pulled herself together and gathered courage to face the ghost. 'Aaah!' she screamed and said sorry to Vinci when she realized that the patient is awake and it was him who talked.

Jenny is a beautiful woman; she has fair complexion; her hair is golden like Vinci's and her height is considerably tall. Before the apocalypse, Jenny has a lot of men falling for her. And now, this woman is standing before Vinci and taking care of him.

'What happened to the base? Why am I here? Where is David?' he has too many questions. Jenny explained what happened after the zombhulks appearance. She emphasized that he was dead and Frankenstein gave an unverified piece of news about the resurrection flower. As his student cares for him, he went to City A to find it. She explained that City A is a No Zone which is a very dangerous place even for an awakened like him.

As much as he wants to go to City A and find David, his body does not cooperate; he needs to stay on the bed and recuperate. He might still need a week to be able to walk again. The backlash is so strong that it weakens his body. Healing spell does not work either since the glamorous deer already tried it but it worsen the situation. If he will try to cast healing spell, he might fall back in a coma.

Days have passed, Vinci is still on the bed recovering.

'Here is your food.' Jenny handed him a tray of food mostly fruits. But where did they get these fruits? Anyway, he ate all the food in the tray. He was never famished like this before.

Jenny laughed because he eats like it is the end of the world.

'By the way, your body is recovering fast so you might be able to stand and walk in the next few days.' She gladly informs Vinci of the good news. She assured him that she will be there as his doctor to monitor him.

Few days have passed and Vinci is trying to stand. 'Don't push yourself.' General Dan is worried that he might fall. Without jinxing, Vinci's knees are weak and he is shaking; he fell but Jenny caught him. 'What is this? It's kind of soft and squishy.' He realized that Jenny caught her but his head is on her chest. He looked up and saw Jenny's red face.

The moment of silence in the room is deafening as all of them are awkward. He said sorry to Jenny and Jenny assured him that it is alright; it is not his fault.

Everyday, Jenny is with Vinci helping him to stand and walk around the room. They became close consequently that they can even joke with each other. Vinci is so happy experiencing this for the first time.

For the past two weeks that they are together, Vinci noticed that his heart skips a beat when he looks at Jenny. He was worried that the seal is going wild again however, nothing happened to him while his heart skips a beat; he just felt hot and his face is burning. This is a sign of falling in love but he is a one hundred year old virgin so he will never know.

Finally, he was able to walk on his own without Jenny's help. For the past weeks that he was helpless, he felt ashamed that a woman is helping him since he believes that a man should be strong. 'Shall we try strolling outside? Do not worry because I will walk with you to make sure nothing happens to you.' Jenny is falling in love with him but she does not want him to know. You should not worry Jenny because this old virgin will never know.

Nothing beats the smell of the air and the breeze that touch his nostrils compared to the smell of an airconditioner. The sun that hits the skin is lovely; he might be photosynthesising. The chatter of the people is worth listening to than the deafening silence in the room.

As they are walking around, the people noticed that they look good together; some would even say it to them as they pass by. Jenny is shy but Vinci is innocent. He has this look of innocence that says he does not understand or cannot relate.

They walked and shaded themselves under a tree. He thanked Jenny for taking good care of him and even walking with him to monitor him. Jenny gets flustered and said no worries. They talked and had conversations under the tree.

The golden sun is setting and the surrounding becomes colorful; the sky turns orange. The breeze is cold and they shiver as the passes through them. At the moment when the orange sky lights the surrounding, Vinci looked at Jenny and said you are beautiful.'

Jenny does not know how to react at that moment whether she should say thank you or remain silent.

'All I have seen are zombies and older people. I realized that you have a beautiful face.' Vinci added. This old virgin does not know how to coat a statement.

She felt humiliated at that moment thinking that she is only beautiful because everybody turns into zombie and the women around them are mostly oldies based on Vinci's statement. A fluttering moment turned into a joke.

'You can walk on your own back to your room, can't you?' Jenny asked and then Vinci answered yes. She said that she has to go because she has other things to do. The reason is very obvious, she felt ashamed.

At City A

'woah! Who is he? He is courageous to roam in a No Zone area.' Jacque, a strong awakened who roams confidently around City A noticed David in the distance.