Clementia
Something has occurred. I'm locked in an elevator with my colleagues, and something awful was happening outside. We attempted to contact the police, but it was unsuccessful, so perhaps that implies they seemed to be also aware of what was going on. I'll phone each of you as soon as I finish this. I adore both of you.
Trying to read it again, I realized it ended up sounding like a farewell. I didn't want to worry them, but I wasn't sure whether I'd be able to walk away from this situation.
“Now what?" Marina asked as she passed her phone to Daniel.Peter drew his arms across his chest and gave us three a punitive expression.
"All we need to do right now is sit tight and wait."It ended up taking twenty-eight minutes for the screaming to end, and by then, my mind had barely registered that it had been already finished, yet the noises were still resounding in my ears. We had all decided to sit by and endured it out, without hearing a single word from our near and dear ones outside the building."Is it over?" Marina asked in a faint whisper.I was the first to stand up, my limbs sluggish from staying in the same posture for so lengthy. I walked toward the doors and pressed my ear against them, listening. Hardly anything."I do not even hear anything," I said as I backed away from the doorway."We should try to get out now.""What? Are you crazy? What if it isn't over yet?" Daniel hadn't handled the last half-hour very well.I couldn't exactly say I blame him. I believe it altered us all, however, he was trembling and appeared to be sick."We must try. We can't just remain here indefinitely, and I honestly believe that if we were destined to be rescued, it ought to have occurred already by this time."We couldn't keep on waiting anymore for the aid that wouldn't be forthcoming, so Peter acknowledged and rose from his seat on the floor.He did not even look in my way as he took a posture at the opposite section of the automatic door. I assumed he was still attempting to make sense of things."You're absolutely correct, and I can't handle it any longer," Marina murmured, untangling her hands from Daniel's clasp and fumbling her way to something like a standing posture, tugging at her skirt."It's Daniel and Peter. Stand up," Justine said."Alright," Daniel said as he and Peter stood and reluctantly followed me to the door."Fully prepared? Marina, you and I will take this side, and you two will consider taking the other," Justine remarked, motioning to Peter and me."One, two, three..." we slipped our fingers through the doors, grabbing a solid grip on either side.The initial warping only pushed the doors a little bit open about four and a half inches. It took us about five minutes and the majority of our strength to crack the first set of shutters open."Oh, holy shit!" I cursed in frustration.The excellent news was that the bottom of the fourth-floor entryway was actually much closer to our elevator than we had initially imagined. The bottom of the entrance doors was at my waist level, and also being a five-seven in my one-inch kitten stiletto heels meant the situation could have been worse. The unfortunate thing, however, was that there was a chasm.The gap between the bottom part of our lift and the facade was wide enough just to trap a foot. Worst-case scenario..."Don't look down; simply do this movement while maintaining a close eye on your shoes."Peter nearly snarled at us. To get to the entryway, we all gravitated out of the elevator. We strained to hold our separate doors while maintaining our feet as far away from the border as feasible. Marina was also too petite to acquire any traction and therefore had to step on her toes all the time."One, and two, keep on doing, and three..." we wrenched on the doorknobs, but still nothing transpired. Justine made a curse. This time, we were unable to get our fingertips between the panels."What's this slick?" Marina murmured, moving her hands away from the bit she could grasp. Her fingertips were scarlet as she returned her hands to the elevator light sources. "Oh, God! Oh, Universe Creator!"Marina attempted to brush her hands on the sidewalls of the elevator, smearing blood stains on the stainless. When it didn't work, she proceeded to clean it off with the hem of her skirt."Oh my dear Lord," she continued saying, wiping her face repeatedly and again."Marina, stop doing that," Justine said as he grabbed for her.She took a step away from him, withdrawing to the elevator shaft rear. She was still brushing her hands on the hem of her skirt when she glanced up at us, terrified."Would have been that blood?" she questioned, her voice shaking as she tried to gather herself."Don't think about it," I replied."Just don't go there right now. Let's get out of here first, okay?"Marina flashed me a curt nod and took a long breath before trying the doors again. Even as she stepped back into place, she kept brushing her hands on her garment."Hold on a minute," I said as I crouched down and removed one of my heels, passing it to Justine."What are you doing?" he inquired, his eyebrow arched at my stilettos."Try using the stiletto to squeeze a crack sufficiently for our fingers to penetrate. You're the tallest among us," he nodded and proceeded to move the narrow heel between the panels until there was just about enough room for us to maneuver with."Thanks," Justine said, passing me back my shoe."No worries," I said, slipping it back on and resuming my stance. Don't ponder about it."One, two, three..."We were fortunate to pry the door open just a few inches at this moment."Alright. Let's do it again one more time. One, two, yeah, once more, three," my right hand slipped down on the automatic door by yet another two inches. There was something moist on my skin.Don't even consider it. Just yank. We yanked and wrenched until the doors opened wide sufficient for us to fit in. I took a breather and brushed my hands on my jeans without even glancing at them. Instead, my gaze was drawn to the corridor ahead of us.We could only see the off-white divider of the corridor just a few feet ahead of us from where we were standing. The puddle of blood covering the floor at the elevator doorway was the sole indication that something terrible had occurred. The blood flowed across the pavement, out of visibility to the left."Who would like to go outside first?"I was drained, mentally, physically, and emotionally, but I was volunteered to go first for some reason. My hands landed in the puddle of blood when Justine, Peter, and Daniel hauled me up. They continued to push, causing my hands to fall forward. My body collapsed to the floor as my knees crossed the boundary. I was drenched in blood. As the coppery odor touched my nose, I could feel it seeping into my garments. As I forced myself up onto my hands and knees, I had to fight the want to gag. I took in what was around me. To my right was a painted wall, and to my left was a terrifying red trail that continued for a few feet before veering off in the direction of the offices. I turned around and extended my hand to assist in pulling Marina out next. She hesitantly looked at me. "I... I can manage on my own." "Sui
It was a lovely September day. The surrounding was quiet as usual and the chirping of birds could be the only sound you'll hear. The sky was clear and blue, with not a cloud in sight. The leaves had begun to turn crimson and yellow, painting the world in the rich colors that Amsterdam was famed for.The summer grass was still green, but a few leaves had fallen, and a guy with one arm was approaching my vehicle window. For some reason, his other left arm was missing. I looked outside my window to inspect his situation, and just like how I saw Josefa, I noticed that he was very similar to her. Only that his eyes were quite... pale yellow.I exclaimed. What the hell on earth was really happening?My brief relief exploded and deflated, leaving disappointment in its wake. When I was still in that building before, I thought that whatever was happening was only limited to our office. But now that I've seen it, it dawned on me that it wasn't the case. While it had occurred to me that what was
Justine pulled over as soon as we crossed the border. Peter gave us each a sidelong glance before turning to face the outside realm. When Peter spoke, the three of us had been inside the vehicle for quite some time."Fuck it. We need to get moving," he remarked as he grabbed something from the passenger seat behind me.To be honest, cowardice was eating me alive. I don't want to leave the security of being in the car. I was nervous, worrying about the possibility of being devoured or what would happen if I went outdoors. I cast a peek down the quiet neighborhood, looking for signals of danger or threats; I don't want to do this. But, at the same time, I know I have to get moving. That I need to take an action.The street was deafeningly quiet, and just gazing at it made you perceive the unsettling vibes and erythematous sensation of being outside, struggling against those flesh-eating creatures.I wasn't sure if the road being quiet and silent was a positive thing or a terrible one, bu
With the passage of time, the beautiful light blue sky has begun to darken. The sun had already set, and the breeze of the air had begun to turn much cooler in comparison to how humid it had been before. The sounds of chattering birds, the cicadas, and the distinct birching of each leaf from its trees have all faded away. And the only thing we could hear was the noise from our automobile. My brow scrunched as I spotted the identical path we'd taken earlier. When I knew I was correct, I tried to look out the window for a clear indication. We’re going back to Old Chatham. In the deep shadows of the trees, I halted and diverted my gaze, inspecting the route we were heading to. Despite the darkness, my 20/20 eyesight allows me to see every patch of grass and sinkhole as if it were midday. The road was deserted save for a few abandoned vehicles and buildings and three rotten in the distance, which was to be anticipated. Of cour
Justine gave me a stern look when I told him that we had to go. He was hesitant at first, but I didn’t even bother explaining it to him because he should know what I meant by now. Justine nodded at me when he realized why I was in a hurry, so he grabbed all the things he got from the counter. The two of us immediately made our way to where our car was parked. “Where’s Peter?” Justine asked when we got to our hummer. I shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s probably still out there,” I paused to gasp some air. “Justine, we need to go,” I continued. He nodded and opened the trunk of the car. He put there all the things we got, while I looked for our surroundings to check if there’s any rotten. When we’re already done putting everything inside, Justine slowly closed the trunk and glanced to where the junkyard was. “I need to go to Peter. Stay here inside the car and don’t come outside,” Ju
I snapped out my thoughts away as I looked at the main entrance and observed the large graffiti with the words 'U.S. ARMY' written on it. It was painted in black and yellow colors, and it was surrounded by a brick wall and standard-size black-picket fences on all sides.Justine smiled at me as he tapped me on my shoulders. “Come on inside, let’s go.”“Yeah,” is the only thing I replied.I followed him inside the base, my gaze wandering everywhere. As usual, Peter was in front of us. The entire place was deafeningly silent, and it appeared that no one else was there except us. I believe we came here to stay and partly because Justine knew someone from the base. But, judging by how things are looking right now, I believe it will be just the three of us again.Staying here doesn't seem too horrible either. I mean, it could serve as a safe haven for us. Who knows? We can stay here for whoever knows how long until we got rescued. Or will any rescuers ever arrive now? I let out a heavy sigh
“What was that?” I asked, looking now all stiff at Justine.He shook his head indicating that he knew nothing about what Peter has said. Well, Peter mentioned something about a man and a woman and that they’re not both infected. And I was thinking, how sure Peter was to say something like that? I mean, we never know. They could be infected, but they’re not yet completely rotten.That’s possible.Justine and I followed where Peter has gone to as we went towards the main gate. The darkness was giving us these eerie vibes, but thanks to the luminous moons above us, it’s giving us some light. The whole place was deafeningly silent and all we could hear was our breath and the fireflies, as well as the noises from cicadas.“Do you think Peter’s right-” I stopped from asking a question when we have reached the main gate.Over there was a blonde woman and a man in his black sando and sweatpants. I gasped when I noticed that the man was being carried by the woman and judging from his dispositio
Gigi didn't say anything anymore after that. She's just there in front of me, both her hands were placed on her face. For some reason, I feel like Gigi and I shared a huge connection with each other. We stayed like that for a moment, and I let her cry. I was holding the band-aid on my left hand, waiting for her to stop from wailing, and when she finally did, I immediately started pouring some drops of betadine on the cotton buds.“How long have you been here?” she asked when she had finally composed herself.I stopped from dropping betadine on the cotton bud and I looked up at her.I smiled. “Probably a week? I’m not really sure. But that’s my estimate,” I shrugged.“With the two of your friends?”I frowned. “Justine and Peter?”She nodded. I smiled at her and started applying the cotto