Epilogue
Third Person Point of View
_____________________
The military trucks swarmed the shelter heavily guarded by soldiers, machine guns, and whatnot. It was a temporary military base filled with fences and arsenals, which defended the likes of those zombies. Inside those tents were a few hundred families staying put in their make-shift home, caressing each other. The soldiers delivered those survivors inside their base and provided them with basic needs. Those families had no choice but to adapt to their environment and pray for the best of their survival.
It was as if the soldiers had stripped those families of their freedom to choose. But what else could they do besides follow the soldiers? They were the ones who could protect them from the zombie virus.
Thousands of insects had already approached the area, but none of them reigned victorious about their assault. Those guns proved their usefulness as they decapitated those zombified creatures before they could reach the palace.
Some giant and special zombies also challenged the soldiers, but none of them stepped foot inside the camp.
However, those military people carefully laid out their plan and erased the special infected into dust. The shelter also lost some valuable men and even constantly lost resources. But it didn't mean it was the world's end for them.
That military personnel filled the place with survivors, scientists, and the officials of Japan. The soldiers thoroughly inspected each of them before they could admit anyone inside. They let no one willy-nilly breach the place, since the virus could spread within the camp. One infected person could end the shelter and the lives of those innocent people.
These soldiers also armed themselves with knowledge and understood the virus' pathology, which helped them fight their way through these obstacles. Those scientists and their department had just begun their research to find a vaccine for the undead. But without the resources from laboratories, scientists couldn't make any progress.
Within a few minutes, dozens of military trucks entered the area. Those vehicles were the search and rescue team, looking for any survivors in the area. These units also served as scouts to pinpoint the location suitable for eradicating the road. It won't be long until a nuclear blast would end the zombie's life if these soldiers proved survivors ceased to exist in that site.
However, these soldiers must find those laboratories before detonating the place. Those scientists would need some instruments and samples that belonged to the workshop.
The sentries near the fences waved their hands and signalled the soldiers inside to open the gates. With a screeching sound, the doors opened, revealing the trucks outside.
But before the trucks could enter the premises, a squad of soldiers searched the trucks for any virus and infected individual. It wasn't new to them that there were special infected zombies that could camouflage themselves. Those bastards acted like humans and would use their intellectual minds to their advantage.
These soldiers needed to inspect everything before it could reach anyone inside the shelter.
"Everyone, get out of the truck and raise your hands in the air! We have the right to check your skin, blood sample, and your belongings. If we think you pose a threat to the shelter, we will put you on the other side of the camp!" the captain yelled, and issued his men to search the automobiles.
The area that the captain spoke of belonged to the suspected virus carriers. These soldiers tried segregating the people who could harm the innocent ones and took no risks.
A teenage girl kept weeping on the side while hugging her legs. She kept murmuring about her boyfriend's death and saved the girl's life in exchange for him. The lass couldn't accept the reality that she lived while her partner died from the horde.
But despite witnessing that fact, the woman desperately clung to the little hope she had.
The soldiers kept inspecting the people until it was the turn of this college student. As soon as the captain met the girl's eyes and urged her to come down.
The girl nodded her head and left the truck, together with the survivors. Fortunately, none of them had the virus from the infected undead. Those soldiers escorted them inside the base and led them inside a tent.
The captain from before led the march and opened the gates. He offered the survivors some food left inside their container. As luck would have it, the soldiers had remaining stock left inside their vessels. It was enough for everyone for a month. But before famine could even strike, these soldiers must find a way to restock their goods.
Within a few seconds, the college girl sat down and stared at her food. All the survivors didn't have the energy to eat after seeing such a gruesome scene. But the girl made her move and stared at the captain while holding back her tears.
"What happens after this? We lost someone…. Does the military have some plans to do something about it? My boyfriend is out there fighting against those zombies. What are you, soldiers, going to do about it?"
Nobody dared voice those thoughts towards the soldiers. Everyone who got affected by the apocalypse had their fair share of sacrifices and losses. And one of them was the girl speaking on behalf of the muted people.
"Lashing your anger to the soldiers won't benefit you, little girl. Please sit down on the table and make our jobs easier," the captain spoke, as he sat beside the college student. "You have the freedom to speak, but don't abuse it. What's your name, child?"
"I am not a kid, Lieutenant. And the name's Suzuki, Nozomi. You can call me Suzuki," the girl named Suzuki replied, while gritting her teeth.
(Author's Note: Nozomi is her first name. Suzuki is her surname.)
The soldier poured himself a drink and xertzed it down his throat. "It's captain for you. And as I've told you before, Suzuki, the soldiers have a plan before exploding this city. We need to gather all the survivors left in Japan, create a vaccine, and flee to a safer place. You are free to listen to the announcement later on. You could also write the name of the man you love and pray he's still alright. But for now, I am afraid that you're on the same boat as everyone else."
After saying his fill, the captain left the camp and bid the survivors his farewell. The girl's heart left shattered into pieces after hearing those words. She wanted to save her boyfriend, who led her to this camp.
But after hearing the soldier's plan, everything fell apart. The girl also didn't know the condition of her partner. Since the trucks had travelled a few miles before arriving in this place, the lass did not know about her boyfriend. And the environment surrounding the camp was around an ocean, where ships parked on the docks.
The girl finished her meal and did nothing after a few hours. She wanted to retort and go after her beloved person, but the real world hindered her wish.
Just as the girl went outside the tent, a general stood on the stage. He was in front of an army of soldiers armed with rifles strapped around their backs. Beside the general were two captains looking at the platoon.
'It looks like they're going to the city!' the girl mumbled to herself, while watching the scene from afar.
The nearby families did the same thing and observed the scenes outside their tents. Since they had nothing else to do, listening to the latest news wasted their time.
"There are other shelters out trapped around Japan. And your jobs are to bring them here to our military camp and grab the list of materials written by our scientists. But your chief priority is in Ponko Fire Station. Another platoon will handle the other areas and shelter and its laboratory. We need you to return within one week, with the help of these two aspiring junior captains of your team. These twins are your new leader and the sibling of our greatest scientists. If none of you came back alive during those times, we will mark you deceased and honour your deaths."
"SIR, YES, SIR!"
Upon finishing the general's commands, two trucks and fifty soldiers went outside the base to fulfil their duties. Everyone else who watched the occurrence also returned to their tents while mumbling to themselves.
After a few moments, five soldiers went to each camp. All of them held a stack of papers in their hands and distributed them to us. Within seconds, the paper finally reached my waiting hands.
"Please write to the person you've lost on this piece of paper. We will check every identity entering this place and notify you if we found that individual," the soldier explained, while handing me the pen and paper. "I would also like to add that you should not expect anything out of this program. But we still want to help the citizens and give them the little hope that you guys have."
The girl reluctantly took the piece of paper and wrote the name of my love. The boyfriend that protected the college student and offered his life was….
"Kawai….. I hope you're safe…. I hope you're still alive."
(Author's Note: The ending will differ from what I initially thought.)