ONE WEEK

Day 1: The Silence Begins

"I was coming back from my school on the school bus. After some time, the bus stopped at my bus stop, and as usual, I started walking toward my house. But today, something was unusual. There was no one in the street; it was completely silent and still..Then I kept going. I saw a man sitting by the road, and he was eating something. When I went to check, I saw that the man was eating a human body. He suddenly started running toward me. My body froze; I wanted to run as fast as possible, but my body wasn’t responding. Then, I gathered all my courage and strength and started running as fast as I could..When I reached my house, I opened the door, went inside, and locked the doors. But no one was in the house. *Then I called my father.

Father: "Hello, hello, Ravi. What’s wrong? Are you okay?"

Ravi: "Where are you? What is happening? Are you all right? Are you okay?"

Father: "I’m fine, and your mother and sister are with me, in a safe house. The army is giving us protection.

Ravi: "help me—I don’t know what to do."

Ravi: "Father, listen very carefully. A virus has spread everywhere in Delhi. It is dangerous. The army will come in one week to rescue you."

Ravi: "But how will I survive a week without food or water?"

Father: "Hello, hello, your voice is not coming through."

Ravi: "Father, father!"

                    :Then the call ends:

Ravi: "Damn, now how will I survive? I should call my friend, raj, for help."

Raj: "Hello, Ravi. Are you safe? Where are you? I am not safe here."

Ravi: "Cool down. I am at home and safe. Try to come to my house, but do it safely. If any zombie bites you, you will also be infected by the virus."

Raj: "Okay, I will try my best to come safely to your house."

Ravi: "Do you have any food or water supplies, any resources?"

Raj: "No, but I have a knife with me for protection."

Ravi: "Good. Please come to my house, but be careful."

Raj: "Okay, I will try my best to come, but there are so many zombies."

Ravi: "If you don’t want to die, you have to come and bring some food and weapons as resources."

Raj: "I wish I don’t die. Pray for me."

After some time, the bell rings: Ding-dong.

Ravi: "Raj, is that you?"

Raj: "Open the door quickly!"

Ravi opened the door and saw Raj.

Ravi: "Are you okay? Did any zombie bite you?"

Raj: "No, I’m safe. I came here through a shortcut."

Ravi: "Oh my god, thank God!"

Raj: "What is going on? Why has everyone become a zombie? Where is my family?"

Ravi: "Everyone is safe because the army rescued them, and they are at a safe house of the army."

Raj: "I want to talk to my family."

Ravi: "Wait, I have the army resident number. Let me call and ask them."

Ravi: "Hello, sir, I want to ask if you have rescued any families from Connaught Place in Delhi."

Army: "Sorry, sir, we didn’t rescue anyone from there. This is a red zone area—it's very difficult to rescue someone from there." (Call ended)

Raj (shouted): "No! My family! My little brother! No!"

Ravi: "Raj, I understand you, but we can’t do anything."

Raj: "No, you can’t understand me. Your family is alive. You can’t understand my pain."

Ravi: "I know, it is hard to hear, but you are alive. You can live for your family. You can achieve your dreams—your parents' dreams. Nothing is over. You can start again. Start it over—come on."

Raj: "No, it's difficult to accept that. I need some time."

Ravi: "Okay, take your time. Go and get some rest."

Then, I started making a plan—how to gather resources, how to collect more information about the virus. After some time,

:Raj came and asked, "What are you doing?"

Ravi: "How are you feeling? Are you feeling well?"

Raj: "No, I can’t even sleep. My head is spinning."

Ravi: "Wait, I’m coming."

After some time, Ravi came with a bowl of food.

Ravi: "Eat this. It will help you."

Raj: "Thanks, but I’m not hungry.

Ravi: "Raj, it’s difficult, but if you want to live, you have to eat."

After some time, Raj started eating.

After eating...

Ravi: "I have a plan, Raj."

Raj: "Which plan?"

Ravi: "We have to collect some resources from a store near my home. Tomorrow, we will drop by some shops."

Raj: "But robbing isn’t good."

Ravi: "I know, but no shopkeeper is alive, so we just have to take some things to survive."

Raj: "Okay, but what about the zombies?"

Ravi: "I have a bat, and you have a knife."

Raj: "I will be waiting for tomorrow."

Then, they both slept. Raj was crying all night, but he was ready for action.

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