Chapter 1
Chapter 1 – Encounter
12 Adere, Year X762 – 1 Week since the Outbreak- Sinon Onigawara
It’s been a week since the disease that wreaked havoc upon the world had spread. The disease mainly affects the mind of those infected, brainwashing them of their memories and turning them into mindless cannibals. Or zombies, as we call them.
The majority of the population has been infected, and there are only a few of us that are left. My brother and I are one of those who are left.
We ended up getting taken in by a group of people who took shelter in an old school. They took care of everyone, but we all had to do our part as well. My brother took up work as a medic and I began work as a scavenger. Basically, I search for food.
Today, the team of scavengers and I search the area around what used to be a supermarket. Most of the food’s already gone when we get there. The team leader, Susanne Parker, tells us all to split up and gather food from the surrounding area and meet back here in half an hour.
I choose to walk in the direction of the restaurant that has a sign hanging on top of the door, which reads “Nova”. I make my way towards the restaurant with my gun armed and loaded. I am ready for any zombie horde that may attack me.
The restaurant’s glass door is still partially intact, half of it is lying in bloody fragments on the wooden floor of the restaurant. Tables and chairs are either overturned or completely broken in half. Shattered porcelain is everywhere on the floor, the remnants of the last meals served here.
I make my way across the room to a small wooden door behind a desk, which I assume was a pantry. I swing my body across the desk and over to the other side when suddenly, I hear a loud thump.
I spin around on my heels and hoist my gun up. I scan the room. Nothing seems out of place. Thump. Thump. There it goes again.
This time around, I spot what’s making the sound. A figure with gray hair and torn clothing sits in the corner of the room, continuously hitting the wall next to him in a constant, steady rhythm.
The wall next to him has something written in blood. “Don’t kill me.” It reads.
Why would I kill him? He’s obviously injured, to kill him now, would only be cruel. I put my gun back in its place, hanging on my belt, and move towards the figure sitting in the corner of the room.
I can tell the figure’s a boy by the shape of his jawline and build. His head tilts upwards in my direction.
Slowly, I crouch down in front of him. His head follows my movement as I do so. Now, I can take a good look at him. He has pale skin, white hair and striking yellow eyes. He wears a blood-stained shirt and jeans.
I reach out to touch his shirt. He flinches, but he doesn’t resist. There is a deep gash in the middle of his chest. I grab the bandages from my first-aid kit-everyone is armed with this-and wrap them around his wounded torso.
I get up and wrap his right arm around my shoulder to help him stand. He does accordingly. He’s a bit weak, but he should be able to walk back to base.
We stumble across the room and slowly, but surely, make our way towards the half-shattered glass door. I pull him under the part of the door that’s still intact so he doesn’t cut himself on the broken glass (any further blood loss right now would be fatal for him).
We continue to stumble down the restaurant’s front steps and across the road back to the supermarket, where I see our team leader and the rest of the team standing there. Susanne looks up from her gun and rushes over to me.
“Sinon!” She shouts. Her eyes dart to the boy I am currently helping stand. “Who’s this?” She asks me.
“I don’t know. Found him lying unconscious on the restaurant floor. He looked like he needed help, so here he is.” I answer.
“Sinon, head back to base with him, but don’t tell anyone I sent you to take him to the infirmary. The rest of you, stay here with me so we can gather more food.” Susanne commands.
I look at the boy. He looks as if he’s about to die. “Hang on tight.” I tell him as I swing him onto my back and switch into a full out sprint as I swing him onto my back and switch into a full out sprint.
He hangs on tight around my neck as we tear down the streets towards the old school we use as a base. Soon enough, we reach the front gates of the school.
A man armed with a rifle on the other side of the gate notices my arrival and opens the gate. Just as its open just enough, I dash through the gap and into the building.
I recall the way to the infirmary in my head. Down the hall, turn right, then left, then right again. Go up the stairs and turn left. First room on the left is the infirmary.
I push the door open with my left foot and plop the white-haired boy down on the bed in the infirmary. Nobody’s here though, they’re probably off treating someone else. I guess I’ll have to treat him myself. Armed with my basic knowledge of medicine, I begin to treat him.
After treating him and letting him change into a new set of clothes, the white-haired boy fell asleep straight away on the infirmary stretcher.
I sigh. He must’ve been separated from his loved ones amidst the chaos of the past week. I wonder what his life was like before all of this happened. Before the world was plunged into never-ending chaos.
A knock at the door send me out of my reverie and back into harsh reality. I head to open the door but then remember what Susanne had said earlier, “Don’t tell anyone I sent you to take him to the infirmary.”
I still wonder why she wouldn’t want me to tell anyone, but I still run to close the curtain around the boy’s bed anyway. Afterwards, I rush towards the door.
I push down the handle and open the door. It opens, and there stands little Emmy Owens.
