Around 8:00 in the evening I had searched the entire house for any object I can use as a weapon. I feel so screwed with what I have gathered. A spring bar that I took from Donny; a pair of Kali back in my high school days; an edgy looking rusty nail hammer; a broken chair leg that I hammered some nails to it; my old man's rusty machete that I just used to dig hard soil, now I'll be digging skulls with it; a combat knife with a partially serrated blade that also belonged to my old man; and my favorite chopping tool, a cleaver. There's a durable metal shovel outside but it's heavy and it requires a lot of force to swing. Sure, it's effective but not that usable unless I can lift it like a feather. Even with a wide arsenal and great brute force, it's pretty useless when you don't have any formal training. I had planned to take out zombies during the cover of the night but I got to scrap that idea for now. I need to at least train, if only Frodery was here he could teach me few martial arts. But then again, my dad tried to teach me Karate but I didn't listen nor followed. What does he expect from a 7-year-old girl? But still, I should've at least tried. Darn it, me and my stupid ass.
Luckily we still have power even though it should be one of the first things to vanish. I went up to my room to check my gadgets that plugged in to charge. My phone is full; my laptop is also full; the three power banks are almost full; the flash light's battery indicator is still red, and lastly, the mosquito-killing rack is still charging. I then looked at my bookshelf. There are plenty of unread fiction books to kill time. There are also medical textbooks resting atop. There are some other science textbooks like chemistry, calculus, and physics which I didn't have any use for. I just have them from my senior high school years but I never really opened them. Maybe at this new age, I'll finally have use for them. I then went to grab my towel and went downstairs. When I saw Lolu toggling with his phone I asked him if he's going to sleep alone in his room.
"Where else would I sleep other than my bedroom?"
"I think you should sleep in the master bedroom, with mom and me."
"And why?"
I paused for a second and turn my head to look at the front of the house then again at him.
"Have fun staying up all night," I smirked.
After having a small talk, I went to the bathing room. I took the slowest bath of my life. Like any other human being, I played multiple scenarios in my head of possible things that may happen during this outbreak.
My family and I live in a highly-populated area, any chance of escape is slim. And as I think about it, even if we escaped the suburban area that we currently leave in, we still have to pass through densely populated cities; there's Pasig City, Antipolo City, Quezon City, Manila City, etc. Sure, my mom is a good and swift driver but I can't make a senior citizen with asthma and high blood pressure drive like a Tokyo-drift driver. Next is me, I can drive but if that day comes will I have enough energy for long drives? I'll likely do all the fortifying and defending. And that leaves Lolu, the only one who doesn't drive in our family.
"Damn you whoever had a brilliant idea to start a stupid zombie outbreak!" I cursed under my breath.
As I wash the soap off of my body the lights suddenly went off. The surroundings had silenced and I can very much hear a water droplet drip down from the faucet. I felt chills go down my spine and all of the hairs on my body stands up. Everything was pitch black as shadows dominated the room. I had to quickly rinse my body clean. After completely washing the soap off I walked my way to the door where my towel is hanged up. I had my arms outstretched and walked slowly to avoid slipping. If anyone with night vision goggles sees me they would crack up uncontrollably on the floor, I looked like a zombie myself; a suspiciously clean zombie. It did not take long for my hands to feel the smooth plastic surface of our bathroom door. I swayed my hands until one of them land on a rough fluffy cloth that is my towel. I unhung my towel from the hook. I pat my face dry first then my hair and then my body. When I'm dry enough I then wrapped myself within the absorbent cloth. I open the bathroom door and the darkness welcomes me. Slowly my eyes adapted to the lack of illumination.
I slowly went up to my room. I navigated with my hands up until I get to my room. I run my hands on surfaces until I felt something cold and metallic. I palpated the object more and confirmed that it's my phone. I clicked the power button and blinding light sprouted from its screen. I grabbed the phone so I could get me fresh clothes from my drawer. I then put on some comfy clothes and afterward, I grab the flashlight before going downstairs.
I shined the light around the interior of the house, there was no one in the living room. I then peered at the window to see any change of behavior in the zombies during night time. What I saw was weird, the zombies are just standing still like statues. It reminds me of one of my mom's plants where during the darkness of the night all of its leaves were standing erect.
"What, they're plants now?" I thought to myself.
I want to see if they would react to anything like sound, heat, or touch. I want to test all of that but I don't want to draw their attention to me. Our house does have steel gates but I'm not very certain that it will last.
Suddenly I felt a hand on top of my shoulder. My instincts kicked in and instead of flight nor fright my brain instantly put me into fighting mode. I grab whatever blunt object nearest to me which is old wooden furniture. I raised it above my head and quickly spun around and shines my flashlight behind me. I heard a yelp as I spun around. When I heard the voice my muscles went stiff. Luckily it did because I would have smashed a living person's head like cracking a walnut. I sighed and put the furniture to where it was resting before turning to my brother, Lolu.
"What?" I asked the calmest way I can.
"Mom was worried about you. The electricity suddenly died out." He said to almost a whisper.
I looked at Lolu and thought that he looked pathetic. His arms were crossed covering his head. He's almost crouching down. My brother and I are just the exact opposites like water and oil. He is as afraid as I am brave. It always feels like I'm the one that wears the pants in this household.
"Lolu, never creep up behind a person pumped with adrenaline."
"I'm sorry, ok?!" he snapped and quickly stood up to his feet.
"Shush!"
"No! Don't shush me!"
I quickly jumped and covered his mouth with my hand. I then hid the two of us behind the door. He was squirming frantically trying to free himself off of my grip.
"Shut the fuck up! You might get their attention!" I angrily whispered.
He stopped moving, I can feel his face heating up and my shirt damping. Against the skin of my forearm, I can feel him sweating coldly.
"Stay put, I will look out to see if they heard you," I whispered calmly but with authority and urgency.
I let him go and he went on all fours. I then peeked at the window. My heart beats faster and stronger as I look outside.
"Pheene? What's wrong." I can feel Lolu's shaking next to me.
"Go to mom."
"What? Why what's wrong?"
"Just go," I ordered.
He did not ask further and he crawled his way to the master bedroom. I was left there still looking outside. Anyone who sees what I'm currently looking at right now, would either scream and run or faint like an old lady. The zombies' heads were facing our house but their bodies were as stiff as stone pillars. Even me who's got a strong mind finds this disturbing.
I slowly brought my hand to close the window. Their eyes were locked on me but they weren't moving, not an inch. After closing the window, I drew the curtains down and slowly backs away from the wall.
I stood there alone in the darkness and took a deep breath. I hate to admit it but my right hand was cold, sweaty, and shakey. God, I was terrified of what might have happened if Lolu or I made any more noise. I tried to calm myself down because I know fear will rob me of a good night's sleep. I then went to the coffee table where I left the weapons I readied. I picked up the combat knife and brought it with me to the master bedroom. When got there, mom shone me her phone's flashlight.
"Pheene, what happened out there?" mom asked worriedly.
"Lolu caught their attention."
"Oh no..." mom cried.
"Let's just hope they will leave this house alone eventually." I tried to calm them down. "Tonight, let's get some rest."
I then went to the bed with mom. We all said our goodnights to each other. But it wasn't easy for any of us to trust ourselves in the arms of sleep. Getting a shut-eye is impossible, especially for me. The first one to fall asleep was Lolu despite being the less worked up. Mom was the next to fall asleep as she was afraid. Her fear was the reason she had a hard time catching up sleep yet it was also the reason that drained her energy. But unlike me, fear kept me pumped up.
For hours I have rolled and rolled on the bed. And also because of the electricity being down, it was hot and it's making me sticky. I occasionally got out of the room to cool down in the living room. I would lay down on the couch and at times fall asleep. But sleep is always cut short by nightmares of losing my mom to those monsters right outside of our gate. Oh, how I greatly wish Frodery or Donny or at least Etah was here and we would take turns to keep watch and have my back.
As hours go by, my body is starting to succumb to fatigue as the effect of adrenaline in my blood is fading away. And as it does, I went to the master bedroom again. But this time I did not lay down on the bed. I instead went to sit down behind the door with a pillow at my bottom and back. I held my dad's SPE(Seal Pup Elite) knife up.
"At the break of dawn is where true survival starts."