Yuki's eyes snapped open at the sudden cry of a baby she was holding. She almost jumped in surprise, momentarily forgetting she didn't have a baby of her own. As she was about to stand up, still cradling the baby, she realized she was only sitting atop a high wall, leaning against Deiji, her roommate. She glanced around, taking in the surreal scene before her.
A nightmare unfolded before her eyes, something she never imagined could happen in real life—zombies, a horde of them, clamoring to reach them. And then, a flashback surged into her mind, piecing together the events leading to their precarious situation.
Michelle let out an exasperated groan as she switched on the TV in their apartment, only to be greeted by the frustrating message "no signal" during the airing of her favorite anime series.
"It might be the antenna," Michael, her twin, tried to reassure her.
"You're here again, Michael, despite the rule that boys aren't allowed in the dorms," Deiji teased the male twin.
Their residence was a girls-only dormitory, yet Michael often found his way into their room, much to Deiji's amusement.
"It's Ate Deiji always teases me," Michael retorted, adjusting the TV antenna to indulge his sister's desire to watch.
Yuki listened with amusement as the trio bantered while getting ready for work. She worked as a hotel keeper not far from their dorm and had been there for four months now. She enjoyed her job; the pay was good, and it helped her save money, especially she can also sent gifts to her family outside Sitio De Villasarza.
Her husband also had a stable job, and they managed their finances well. They wanted to support each other, especially with their growing children and the absence of savings.
"Don't mess with my stuff, please," Yuki half-jokingly warned the twins, who had a habit of rummaging through her belongings when she wasn't around.
"It's Michelle who always wants to raid your drawer because she thinks you always have chocolates hidden there," Michael pointed out, nodding towards his sister.
"You're just as guilty. You take bigger bites!" Michelle retorted.
Suddenly, Deiji let out a scream of frustration, catching everyone's attention.
"What's wrong?" Yuki asked, concerned.
"The WiFi has no signal. I tried both my SIM cards, but nothing," Deiji complained to Yuki.
They all looked at the TV, still displaying the "no signal" message. They hurriedly grabbed their phones to check the signal.
"I don't have any either," Michael reported, still fiddling with his phone.
"Me neither," Yuki added softly.
The four of them turned to Michelle, who wore a puzzled expression. She shook her head slowly.
They left the room to inquire with others, only to hear a loud explosion from outside, accompanied by various screams from people.
The residents rushed out of the dormitory to see what was happening. They were all clueless about the unfolding events.
"Michelle, hold my hand," Michael suddenly said, sensing something was wrong.
Michelle gripped her brother's hand tightly as they followed Yuki and Deiji out of the dorm.
"What's going on?" Yuki asked their dorm mates who had exited first.
"We don't know. People just started running," Madrid, one of the dorm residents, answered, a helper of Nanay Pasing when preparing their food.
She pointed to the terrified crowd running towards their direction, seemingly from the direction of Sitio De Villasarza's gate.
Deiji approached a stack of hollow blocks and climbed on top of them.
"Be careful, Ate Deiji. You might fall," Michael reminded her, still holding onto his sister's hand.
The height of the hollow blocs concerned him. He didn't know that Deiji, growing from the squatter area outside Sitio, was Deiji's advantage into climbing walls and trees.
From her vantage point, Deiji surveyed the scene. She wished she had just peeked from the third floor of their room instead of going down and getting involved down here.
She saw people running towards them, desperately avoiding something. She was puzzled to see someone with an unusual appearance chasing a woman. She squinted to get a better look.
Her eyes widened in shock as a man suddenly leaped from the side, biting the woman's neck. Deiji's legs grew weak, and she almost fell. Thankfully, the twins and Yuki supported her.
"What's wrong?" Yuki asked her friend.
"R-run... zombies..." Deiji stammered, trembling. Everyone in the dorm looked puzzled at her behavior.
"Run!" Deiji shouted, pulling Yuki and Michelle's hands while Michael still held onto the other.
Though bewildered, the three of them had no choice but to follow Deiji's lead and run.
Confusion painted the faces of the trio as they sprinted alongside Deiji.
The residents were equally perplexed by Deiji's scream. She peeked back to see the others still standing, looking at them in bewilderment, wondering why they were running.
The three also halted and looked at Deiji before turning to see what she was looking at. They were slightly farther away now. Their eyes widened simultaneously when they saw people who seemed to be losing their minds, attacking their fellow dorm mates.
"What the hell?" Michael exclaimed, his voice tinged with fear.
Their fear escalated as they witnessed bloodthirsty individuals attacking others indiscriminately.
The chaos unfolding before them left them dumbfounded, unable to comprehend the sudden turn of events.
As they ran, Yuki couldn't help but think back to the events leading to this nightmare. It all started with a simple problem with the TV signal, leading to a chain of events that seemed straight out of a horror movie. Little did they know, their lives would never be the same again.