SERGEANT AIDEN
The sun rose high in the sky, reminding him of how miserable his life in the army was. Not only did the memories of how he would crawl under the scorching sun on broken bottles and blades of grass wash over him, he also remembered seeing some of the men at top level conniving with people he never would have thought. Talk about General Steven being friends with Newton, one of the most corrupt politician who is still being investigated for embezzlement of public funds. Three of his colleagues hoarding drugs in a storage house and the top level officer lying against him so he would be sent away before he had the chance to reveal their evil deeds.
"Aiden, I can't believe you did this." He remembered one of the officers he most liked and trusted telling him.
"Yvonne! Yvonne, hear me out!" But he was being dragged by the guards outside the gate as Yvonne walked away.
Her disappointed look was the last thing he remembered of her.
Aiden was tired and parched so he yearned for a bottle of cold water. Carrying a heavy rucksack that held all essentials except the ones he needs at the moment, he increased his pace. He was just a block away from home.
"Hey, Officer! Aren't you supposed to go find out what's going on over there?" An old half-balded man asked him as he tried crossing the main road.
Aiden paused. Anyone could have approached him that way over menial issues. He was still wearing his uniform, a cap and his boots still covered in dust. His stature spoke of authority. Without turning his head, he replied the man.
"I didn't enlist in the military to meddle in petty matters." But it got worse.
Many other people scurried past, pointing towards a road and looking at him, fear written over their faces. He removed his hat, wiped the glistening beads of sweat that had formed on his forehead and stopped a woman.
"Hey. What's going on? Why is everyone running?"
"Everyone has gone crazy!" He could barely hear her as she spoke with all her breaths at once. "They...they...just help!"
It no longer seemed like a petty matter and at once, his military instinct kicked in. As soon as he was dismissed, all weapons had been seized from him. He missed how he would have swung a pistol from his holster and began shooting. But he could only rely on his speed and skills.
Turning around a corner where people seemed to be retreating from, he was met with the most gory sight ever. Ten years in the army but he has never come across something as nightmarish as what he now saw.
For a while, he froze, standing on a spot.
Cars ran into poles as the drivers were thrown into despair and fear. The wires flung everywhere and as they hit shops, the buildings caught fire.
Aiden was thrown into confusion. He didn't know what next to do.
"Help." A weak plea beside him. It was a kid under a fallen ice cream booth. Her face was covered in blood so much he could hardly make out the colour of her skin.
His heart clutched at the sight of this little girl in pain. He rushed to her side.
"I'll get you out of there. Just calm down and breathe."
The girl nodded. Her lips were dry and cracked. Her eyelids swollen and red. She was in severe pain. Aiden rushed to the booth and made an attempt to lift it amidst the craziness that had taken over the whole road.
A siren was heard from afar. Looking at a couple that stood on the road, he could hear their silent sigh of relief. He did let it out himself but he was shocked as the approaching police vehicle cleared the couple out of the road, running into a building in the end.
Aiden straightened, his mind gobbled up with what is going on. It was like a festival of madness. One that took lives and tossed them about like ragdolls. Everything moved in slow motion. He was in an island of insanity, madness and pandemonium.
His ears blocked out all the noise and he was overwhelmed with ptsd. Gunshots, screams, painful cries and helpless breaths. Heart palpitating, blood toppling down the streets, covered in sweat and vision blurry. He felt like he would almost pass out.
"Hey!" A voice stood out amidst the screams. "Hey! Get out of the way!"
But he could not move. What the hell is wrong with him? He was meant to comport himself. Shaking his head, what came into sight was a blinding light from a lorry.
"Shit."
But a force pushed Aiden out of the way, making him bang his head against a wall.
"Argh!"
"What the hell were you thinking standing like that?" His vision cleared and he could see a man with long brown hair hovering above him. "We've got to move."
"Yeah...yeah." Aiden blinked away whatever reverie he must have been in and stood up gallantly. "That kid."
But brown haired man grabbed his arm. "Forget about her."
Aiden yanked his arm away, looking at him in disgust. "She needs my help, can't you see?"
"Well, you'll decide that after she tears your head off your shoulder. I'm sure you don't want that to happen before you believe." For a whole, Aiden stood contemplating.
He looked back at the booth and saw that the child was finding it difficult to breathe. Her tiny fingers outstretched, her eyes were shutting, pupils dilating.
"What the fuck!?" Brows knitted, he stepped forward ignoring brown hair's cry for him to run.
The little girl's head bobbed backwards in an awkward manner. Her eyes popped open, her teeth grinding against each other, her neck still bent—it was too bent he thought her throat would cut open and blood dripped from her eyes.
"Are you just going to wait until she escapes the booth? This isn't a fucking cinema, let's go!" Her pupils dilated and suddenly it was quiet again.
He heaved a tired sigh, wondering if he could live the guilt of watching a little girl die when he could have helped. But he was wrong. Shuffled movements that caught his attention increased but the silence was soon replaced with snarls.
Aiden was nothing but shocked. She was like a moving corpse. Mortified face and bleeding eyes that had turned black.
"Let's go." He rushed past Carl who flashed him the i-told-you look.
For a while, they both walked by parked cars, buildings that can cover them and even under vehicles to avoid the other roaming corpses. Aiden couldn't get past the screaming of both children and adults. It's a pity he's incapable of helping them. At this point, he was helpless himself.
"Hey, look." Carl poked him as they both hid behind a car.
Aiden followed the direction where he tilted his head. There was a store with glass doors. How could they escape the raging eating corpses that had crowded the streets to enter the building.
"You're not possibly thinking..."
"That's our only chance. I'll rather die hiding in there than have one of those fuckers bite the shit out of me!" He argued, his eyes widened.
Aiden does not want to chicken out but their chances of being alive trying to get to the store was critically way below possible.
"Alright," after a defeated sigh. "But you have to let me clear the area before we move. It's damn crazy here."
The noises were getting worse. Fire hydrants had gone off, car alarms made things worse as they attracted the fuckers to their areas.
Aiden slid to the rear end of the car where they were hiding and peeked around. On one side of the street, where the fire hydrant had gone off, the rotten corpses hovered around. On the other side, the cars beeped endlessly.
He turned back to Carl who looked at him questioning. Aiden exhaled.
"There's no way out, buddy."