Monica's Borough

It happened no later than 1:30AM. The collapse of the SB-Bridge—something that no one on both the east and west side of Abdomania expected. People were just going about their daily lives, trying to get to work regardless of the high winds and the drizzling rain that were relentless when it came to keeping them back. However, when life strikes, no matter where someone may be rushing to or how important they think their task is, they have no choice but to hit the brakes.

Right above the Potomac River was the SB-Bridge, the one that took its residents from the boroughs of Summitville to Brookside and back. For the crew on the cargo ship, it was supposed to be a relatively easy task navigating regardless of the winds and drizzle that came their way. The Chief Mate was well experienced, and was expected to handle and monitor the crew efficiently. Did that happen? Well, let's take a closer look and see.

On the cargo ship, the Chief Mate was coughing a lot, so much so that some of the men on the deck began wondering if he had some sort of infection. One of the crew members on the deck walked up to the Chief Mate and asked him if he was alright.

"Sir, you're coughing up blood." One of the crew members said.

The Chief Mate didn't reply as he was still trying to cough out whatever was holding him back.

Another man from the deck strolled by and handed the Chief Mate some napkins.

"Thank you..." The Chief Mate replied.

As the Chief Mate wiped his mouth and nose with the napkin, he looked up and saw the disgusted expressions of his crew members.

"You need some treatment ASAP. Your eyes are completely red." One of the crew members said.

The Chief Mate took one last breath of fresh air, looked into the sky as if he were looking up in Heaven, and started falling backwards. The men were quick to catch him, but who knew that their quick act would lead to their quick demise.

The Chief Mate woke up and took a large bite out of one of the crew member's neck, infecting him.

The other crew members retaliated instantly. They turned around, and went to alert the others, but to their surprise, the door that led to the bottom deck bursted open, and three of the engineering men leaped at the deck crew—their bloody teeth showing.

It had been a massacre. The entire deck was beginning to be tainted with a mixture of blood and water. Sadly, by the time anyone else on land realized that the cargo ship was turning in the opposite direction, it was already too late.

The cargo ship had hit one of the columns underneath the SB-Bridge and caused it to collapse. From afar, it was a very slow collapse, but nonetheless, it was still a collapse.

Somewhere around thirty vehicles were on the bridge during that time, and it is very unlikely that any of the citizens in those vehicles had survived.

...

Monica's phone was ringing. She was tired—so tired that all she wanted to do was sleep. The noise, especially the noise outside, didn't really help with that. Her phone kept on ringing, and so, with her eyes still closed, she reached for it on the table.

Monica picked up her phone and looked at the time: it was 2:03AM. She was about to close back her phone, but then, she saw a missed call from the notification section of her screen. It was from Jessie.

It's probably another one of her trauma dumps. Eh, why not call her back? Although, I'm so tired...

Monica was about to call Jessie back, but Jessie had managed to call her again first. She quickly answered and put the phone to ears.

"Girl, why are you calling me at 2 in the morning?"

"MONICA! GET UP RIGHT NOW AND LOOK OUTSIDE...LOOK OUTSIDE—DIDFBDUFFJFFB...." Jessie started.

Monica frowned.

"Hey, Jessie, HEY?" Monica said, sitting up.

Jessie had hung up.

Monica quickly removed her covers and hopped off the bed. Barefooted, she walked towards the window and quickly pulled the curtains to the side.

Outside of her apartment building, chaos reigned supreme on the streets. Cars were on fire, citizens were lying on the ground, and gunshots could be heard. It couldn't be true. No, it couldn't be.

Why were people trying to eat other people? To Monica, it looked like something similar to the start of a zombie apocalypse.

Holy shit...holy shit...holy shit...

She listened out for anything in the halls outside of her apartment door. For all she knew, anyone could be infected with this disease. Right now, it was best for her to stay inside and barricade. After that, she would call all of her parents.

Calm down Moni. You got this.

She quickly put on some comfortable slippers and moved around some furniture, specifically in front of her windows and her main door. Based on what she had seen outside, the infected could crawl up buildings to get their prey, so there was no use in escaping. There was also no use in calling for help because that would probably attract more of the fuckers.

After setting everything up, she sat on her bed and immediately did a collective Face-Time with her mother and father. It was probably about 6 in the morning for them in London.

They'll pick up. I know they will.

She waited for them to pick up her call and they did. Her mother was the first one who picked up, then, her father joined.

Mom: "MONI? Is everything alright over there?"

Dad: "Are you there Moni?"

Monica covered her mouth and shed a tear as she heard a loud thump on the other side of her bedroom. It was probably in the hallway. Then, she slowly began to speak.

Moni: Yes, I'm here. Mom, Dad...please pray for me. There's chaos on every block over here, and I—don't know if I'll survive...can you please tell me everything is going to be alright."

Mom: Just STAY on the line okay. Don't even try to leave your complex.

Moni: Yeah, I know.

Monica was now listening more closely to the sounds coming from the hallway. Someone or something was struggling to breathe—probably struggling to walk too. As time went on, the sounds got louder, and Monica found herself getting up from her bed and going out her room to check the locked and barricaded door.

She stared at it while breathing slowly for a long time. While she did that, she thought of getting a weapon: anything. She went straight to the kitchen and grabbed a knife and pepper-spray. She shook the pepper-spray a little bit as she returned to her bedroom from the kitchen.

She grabbed her bag and started packing. Once she had all the essentials, she checked back with her parents.

Dad: Tell us what you see Moni. We turned on the TV, and, well...the SB-Bridge collapsed. Fuckin idiots...made the wrong turn. Moni?

Holy shit. I can't get to Summitville unless I take the backroads. I...I won't be able to meet up with Jessie. God knows the Highway out of here is clogged.

Moni: Yes?

Dad: (Whispering) Someone trying to break in your room?

Mom: Defense. Something Moni something. Please baby.

Moni: I'm trying ma. I...yes, I think someone might try to break in soon...

Monica starts crying a little, but it was a silent cry. At that moment, she heard a large explosion outside, and at the same time, all the lights in her house turned off. She looked at her screen and didn't even get to say anything back to her mother and father because their line was cut off—she had no service. Outside and even in her bedroom, it was mildly dark.

Calm down. Stop shaking...

Monica tried to stop, but she couldn't. She gripped the knife so hard that it had made a marking on her palm. A few seconds later, there was another thump. This time, it was on the other side in front of her main door. She made little to no noise as she snuck towards the barricaded window to take a peep outside.

There was still havoc going on, but not to the level it had been before the power went out. Either way, people were probably suffering and being tortured in silence, and if Monica didn't do anything, she would face the same fate...

No...

Something knocked her main door. It was an abnormal knock, almost as if the person who was trying to knock wanted to punch a hole through the door instead. Monica shivered.

What if there are more of those things in the hallway? I won't be able to take on more than one...

She quickly turned around and began removing the barricades covering the window. When she was about to open her window, the banging was louder.

"OPEN UPPP! OPEN THE FUCK UP! I NEED HELP! YOU'RE JUST GONNA LET ME BLEED OUT?!" He said.

Monica wasn't convinced. She watched too many movies.

"C'MON YOU PUSSY! OPEN UP THEY'RE COMING TO GET ME!" He screamed again.

Based on what Monica saw outside, and on the perron, she made the assumption that she would be relatively safe if she managed to make the jump to the roof on the next building.

He must've come from outside and tried to get into other rooms in this building.

Monica couldn't trust him coming in. If she needed to be a lone wolf to survive, then a lone wolf is what she'll be.

"THAT'S IT! I'M CHARGING THROUGH!!!" He screamed.

Even with the barricades, if he gained enough momentum, Monica was sure he would break through. With her bag on her back, she opened the window, got on the perron, and closed it back. She wasted no time.

Putting her right foot on the railing, she pushed herself forward and managed to land on the next building with little to no injuries. She didn't look back. Since she had no flashlight, she would have to be quick.

Hope these freaks didn't come from the woods. That's where I'm going.

She looked down on the street and began her journey.

...

The woods, and then the backroads. That was her main goal. As Monica snuck through the alleys and around the vehicles on the streets, she began to feel a little dizzy. Moreover, there was smoke everywhere, and it would be hard to find any sort of shelter that wasn't burnt up or is already burning if she managed to get cornered by the sub-humans.

Almost there. Just a few more blocks and I'm practically free.

Still having a firm grip on the knife, she was sneaking past another one of the sub-humans until she accidentally stepped on some glass from a broken wine bottle.

Fuck!

The sub-humans knew exactly where she was, and didn't hesitate to approach her. Monica quickly got up and started raining down the blocks. Out of nowhere, a sub-human tried to grab her, but she evaded the attack. She didn't stop jogging, not until she reached the end of the block.

Wait, are those gunshots?

Monica looked to the right and listened closely. They were gunshots, and they were coming from a truck. Could it have been a military truck?

Perfect.

Monica felt the presence of more sub-humans gaining on her. She couldn't stay immobile for too long—that would simply mean death. Up ahead, she saw the military truck approaching her, and at the same time, she heard a helicopter coming from not far away.

"HEY GET ON!!!" One of the military men said as the truck drew closer until it came to a halt.

Monica approached the man with reluctance, the knife still in her hand. What would they do to her if they brought her back to her base? Would they run multiple tests on her to see if she's infected or not? How would they treat her?

"There's no need to be afraid..." The man said, reaching out for Monica.

Be a lone wolf or risk it all...

"Are you infected?" The man asked.

Before Monica could reply, the man quickly confiscated the knife from her so fast that she didn't even notice.

So they are really military, not just some raiders who somehow managed to get this kind of truck. Just wanted to make sure.

"No." She said.

She hopped on the vehicle and didn't look back, nor did she say anything to the men who were inside. Regardless, she was cuffed like a criminal, but she had survived, and that, she should be deeply grateful for.

Let's see where we're actually headed now.

Monica looked through the thin window inside of the military truck as they drove around the block. She noticed that on the west side of Brookside, there were less infected but more run-down shops and vehicles regardless.

The truck moved past all the chaos smoothly. Nothing could stop it. As they got far enough from Brookside (and the entirety of Abdomania, which made up four boroughs), she couldn't see anything. However, she could see plenty of helicopters gradually hovering over the city in an effort to look for survivors. That was good. At least she gets to leave the city knowing there's still hope for Jessie being alive.