Ex animo, p.13
Ex/Animo, page 13
part #1 of Ex/Animo Series
He fell onto his knees. He sobbed harder than he ever did. He felt disgusted with himself as he pummeled the ground with his fists. He ignored the pain it caused. The rain added to his tears and dripped down his face. He cried for a while.
He felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked behind and saw Aron standing by him.
“I couldn’t,” Martyn cried. “I couldn’t save even a single person. I don’t deserve to live! I am not helping anybody!”
Aron remained silent.
“She asked for none of this!” Martyn continued sobbing. “She deserved none of this! Why? Why wasn’t she allowed to live a happy life with her parents? Why was fate this cruel to a child? Why do I feel so damn useless?”
“Bud,” Aron said. “It’s okay. You did the right thing.”
“And what was that?” Martyn snapped.
“You protected us,” Aron fought back the tears. “You didn’t let them suffer for long.”
Martyn looked behind him. Sherry wiped the tears off her face, Selena appeared forlorn. Martyn sniffed.
“Get up,” Aron urged gently as he pulled Martyn onto his feet.
Aron hugged him as Martyn broke into sobs again.
“Come on, we owe them a proper burial,” Aron patted him on the back. “It’s the least we can do.”
They searched behind the house and found a patch of fresh dirt that appeared recently dug. They speculated it was Zack’s grave.
They found some gardening hoes and pickaxes in a closet at the back of the house. They dug two graves beside Zack’s. Martyn stopped abruptly. He looked over the moonlit cascade; it bubbled with energy from the heavy rain.
“It’s unusual for it to rain like this,” Aron stared up at the sky.
“This place is a paradise,” Martyn murmured.
“Yeah,” Aron nodded. “It is.”
“They were lucky to have each other,” Martyn said. “And an angel of a daughter.”
“Yeah,” Aron looked at Martyn. “They were.”
“More the reason we end this nightmare quickly,” Martyn wiped his face with his arm.
“I think they’d like that too,” Aron nodded.
Having dug the graves, they went inside and brought Charla and Irene’s bodies. They carefully lowered them down to the graves. Martyn reached inside his pocket and took out the pack of cards.
“Now I know we cannot play the game as I promised,” Martyn spoke. “But if there’s a life after this, let it be heaven or a new beginning, I’ll definitely come, find you… and we’ll play a few rounds–I promise,” Martyn paused for a while. “Why don’t you hold on to this until then?”
Martyn bent low and placed the cards in Irene’s hands. She appeared at peace. Martyn took the gardening hoe in his hands.
“May these souls put to rest by our hands find peace and salvation in the world to come,” Martyn prayed.
“Amen,” Aron said.
They covered up the graves and went back inside. Sherry and Selena were waiting for them with towels.
“How are you feeling now?” Sherry asked as she dried Martyn’s hair with the towels.
“Hmph,” Martyn forced a small smile. “If we’re talking about you drying me–it doesn’t feel so bad.”
“Is that so?” Sherry cracked a small smile.
“Can I get some of what they’re having?” Selena dried Aron’s hair.
“Nope,” Aron put it bluntly. “Ow!”
Z Day+2; The Church of What Now?!
Sunlight poured in through the windows, shining a radiant golden. Sounds of birds chirping could be heard among the trees. A squirrel or two scurried along the dirt path, stopping every now and then; their heads turned at the sounds coming from the log house.
“So, where to now, boss?” Sherry sipped her coffee.
“Take a look at this,” Aron placed the tablet on the table
The others leaned in.
“You stole it from those soldiers, right?” Martyn turned to the girls. “He hardly ever took his hands off the damn thing.”
“Well,” Aron shrugged. “It’s large enough to play OverRapid properly.”
They stared at Aron in silence.
“Moving on,” Aron continued hastily. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s got a private operating system.”
“Meaning?” Martyn raised his brow.
“The tech is unconventional,” Aron said. “It’s like a blend of systems–in a single device.”
“So, in short, this thing isn’t available on the market,” Martyn said.
“The regular market, maybe,” Aron nodded. “This is some conspiracy-theory-level shit. Like a ‘Forbidden Tablet,’ something the FBI would use to spy on you!”
“The point, please,” Martyn rolled his eyes.
“I miss memes,” Aron sighed. “What I meant to say was, this could be a lead.”
“A lead?” Selena asked.
“Yeah,” Aron said. “I took a peek at what I could find in the frontend and came across the name ‘SILEO.’”
“SILEO?” Sherry murmured.
“Most likely the military organization that has been giving us the chase,” Aron said.
“The military organization?!” Martyn frowned.
“Yeah,” Aron said. “That’s all I could find from it.”
“No, hold on,” Martyn said. “Why would a military organization have anything to do with any of this?”
“Well,” Aron massaged his own shoulders. “It is evident they know something about the whole ‘apocalypse’ deal.”
“And they definitely didn’t look like they’re here to help,” Sherry said.
Aron nodded in agreement.
“How did they track us down?” Martyn asked. “Are you sure it was the car?”
“It seems that way,” Aron said. “Let’s just try not to draw too much attention to ourselves. It was pure luck that saved us last time.”
The others nodded in agreement.
“And with that aside, I know where we should head next,” Aron said.
“You do?” Martyn asked.
“Colorado, Boulder,” Aron flashed a thumbs up.
“You found something?” Sherry asked curiously.
“Yep,” Aron grinned. “Our next member, actually!”
Aron kept the tablet on the table for all to see. On the screen, they saw the picture of a man appearing to be in his twenties. He had messy, dark hair and black glasses on his face. There was a small scar by his throat.
“Doctor… Shayman?” Martyn read the name out loud. “That’s a weird name.”
“His first name is Zeke,” Aron said. “What’s weird is that it says here he’s got six PhDs!”
“Seriously?” Martyn crossed his arms. “Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for that! No one can have more than one PhD!”
“Who knows?” Aron shrugged. “He was on their hit list after all.”
“No way, man,” Martyn muttered. “I don’t buy it!”
Sherry peered at his social media profiles.
“‘I am mad scientist. It’s so cool. Son-uva-bitch’?” Sherry struggled to read. “What?”
“So, he’s a scientist,” Martyn looked at Aron. “You think he’ll be able to cook up a vaccine?”
“Let’s go find out,” Aron grinned.
“I see,” Selena murmured. “When are we leaving?”
“As soon as we can,” Aron said. “It’s eight now. It would take about eleven hours to get there, that is if we don’t make any stops en route.”
“Huh,” Martyn rubbed his chin. “You seem pretty confident that you’d get this scientist to work with us.”
“Nope,” Aron shook his head. “But wouldn’t hurt to try now, would it?”
They took showers. The girls prepared breakfast with what they found in the kitchen.
“No!” Martyn said. “We’re not having cup noodles for breakfast!”
“Oh, come on!” Aron whined. “Why else did we buy ‘em?!”
“Correction,” Martyn said. “You bought them!”
“Wow,” Aron clutched his chest for dramatic effect. “After everything I did for you guys–you reject my cup noodles!”
“The pancakes are done!” Sherry announced.
“Fine,” Aron changed his mind. “Maybe not today.”
They had their breakfast and got ready to leave. Martyn sauntered to the back of the house.
“Thank you for everything,” Martyn bowed his head in respect. “We would have been lost without your help. Goodbye, Charla, Irene...”
***
“You won’t believe my high score right now!” Aron gamed on the tablet.
“So, that’s why you wanted to sit at the back,” Martyn said.
“You sound like you despise driving,” Aron did not take his eyes off the game.
“No,” Martyn sighed. “Just wondering whether you’re ever actually serious.”
“He has a point, you know?” Selena chimed in. “You spend way too much time on that thing! You don’t even bother giving some of that attention to the lady sitting beside you!”
“I’m sorry,” Aron looked around. “What lady?”
Selena punched him on the shoulder.
“Pervert!” she muttered.
“Huh?” Aron raised his brow. “How am I a pervert now?”
“I saw all those cartoon girls’ pictures in your phone,” Selena pouted.
“First of all, it’s not cartoons–it’s anime,” Aron shook his head.” Secondly, don’t go through my stuff unless I allow it, which would be never. And thirdly, professionals have standards.”
“Geez, you really are dense when it comes to girls, huh?” Selena shook her head.
“You should give up, Selena,” Martyn shook his head. “This man is interested only in fictional girls.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Aron rolled his eyes. “Tease me all you want! I’ll get someone for real–one day.”
“How about me?” Selena asked in a sensual tone.
“Nope,” Aron got back to his game. “Ow!”
The team continued their journey westward; they stuck to the schedule and stopped only for food and gas on the way.
THUNK!
“Did you notice the Zeroheads?” Martyn swung his bat at a zombie.
“What about it?” Aron asked.
“Their appearance,” Martyn said. “They’re beginning to look greyish,”
“Yeah,” Aron nodded. “Must be their blood doing something.”
“What are you two–the zombie reviewers?” Sherry shot the Zeroheads with her shotgun. “This thing is hard to aim!”
“Make sure you get them on their heads!” Aron told her. “They won’t go down otherwise. And also–use the nails sparingly! We are running out of them fast!”
“Okay, guys!” Selena shouted. “We have a full tank again!”
“Kay, let’s hit the road,” Aron got into the front seat.
“Where we at now?” Martyn got into the back seat with Sherry.
“We passed the New Mexico border about thirty minutes ago,” Aron peered at the GPS. “We are headed toward Clovis.”
“Man,” Martyn sighed. “This journey is tiring! I suggest we take a break!”
“Yeah,” Selena got into the front passenger seat. “I’m exhausted!”
“No, no, no,” Aron pulled away from the gas station. “We need to get to the scientist asap! We cannot afford to dawdle around.”
“Show of hands!” Selena faced the backseat. “All in favor of taking a break!”
Martyn, Sherry, and Selena raised their hands at once. Aron was outnumbered. He faced Martyn and found the same forced grin plastered on his face from the morning.
“You know, I’ve half a mind to go off on my own,” Aron sighed. “But I’m willing to make an exception–this once!”
“Yay!” the three celebrated. “We won!”
“One time!” Aron reminded.
“Yeah, yeah,” Martyn grinned. “Whatever you say, my liege.”
Aron rolled his eyes.
They continued along the route and reached Clovis. The survivors found numerous Zeroheads roaming about the streets. They witnessed the once-bustling life of the city reduced to the state of a lifeless colony, left to housing the bloodthirsty monsters.
“Whoa,” Sherry gawked at the streets.
“Yeah, look at all those Zeroheads!” Aron taunted. “I can totally understand if that changes your minds!”
Aron smirked.
“No, no, it doesn’t!” Martyn was stubborn. “Right, guys?”
“Yeah!” Sherry and Selena nodded.
“Oh well, suit yourselves,” Aron said. “Where you wanna head to, anyway?”
“A mall!” Selena exclaimed. “We can hit many stores at the same time! I’m so hungry I could eat a horse!”
“Seriously?!” Aron scoffed. “Malls?! Those are just glassed thunder domes in an apocalypse!”
“Come on, Aron!” Sherry persuaded. “We could grab some more weapons!”
“Yeah,” Martyn chimed in. “And stock up on nails too!”
“Fine,” Aron gave in eventually. “Let’s go.”
“Really?!” Martyn raised his brow.
“What? You didn’t expect me to give in to your whining?”
“Truly speaking–yes,” Martyn smirked. “You have a strict policy of not having fun.”
“I’m only concerned about the safety of my team,” Aron sighed.
“Team?” Martyn looked skeptical. “We’re your friends!”
“Yeah, it’s just-”
“Chill out, okay?” Martyn said. “It will be fine.”
“Okay then,” Aron nodded slowly. “Let’s have some fun in the middle of an apocalypse, shall we?”
“That’s the spirit!” Martyn grinned.
The gang pulled up to the parking lot of the mall. They found a few Zeroheads staggering about on the lot.
“Okay,” Aron said. “Got your gear set, right?”
They nodded.
“Cool,” Aron said. “Now, you memorized the classification as I told you?”
“Yep,” Sherry read from the book. “
‘AMBLER’ is for the deadpan Zeroheads–short-sighted, slow, and have the least intellectual capabilities among all types.
‘RAGER’ is for the more aggressive ones–having a better sense of sight, smell, and hearing. Depends heavily on primitive instincts.
‘ZUMAN’ is for the mutative Zeroheads… High-level intelligence added to cannibalistic instincts. And finally,
‘BIG BALUSHA-’?”
The three stared at Aron.
“What–you guys never heard of Big Balusha?!” Aron narrowed his eyes in disbelief.
They shook their heads no.
“Okay,” Aron nodded. “It’s a tale about Balusha–a beautiful witch who retained her beauty through eating–children,” he said. “But one day, she mistakes the child of a goblin for a human and eats it. She gets bloated and becomes hideous to sight and was driven into the nearby forest. There she preys on children that wander the forest,” he stared at the three. “She eats the kids, one after the other, ceaselessly–tirelessly, in hope to restore her old beauty, but she never turned back. On a full moon night, you could still hear the howls of the Big Balusha, echoing deep in the forest as she mourns her lost beauty,” he narrowed his eyes. “The witch is always on the hunt.”
The three stared at him in silence.
“What kind of a stupid-ass creepypasta is that?!” Martyn frowned.
“Yeah, it’s not even that scary,” Selena shrugged.
“Ye-Yeah,” Sherry nodded furiously. “Wi-Witches don’t exist!”
“It’s not a creepypasta,” Aron shook his head. “Big Balusha is real.”
Sherry clung to Martyn’s arm. Martyn rolled his eyes at Aron.
“How about we call it Zomboss?” Martyn asked. “You know, like a boss-enemy from a video game?”
Sherry and Selena nodded approvingly. Aron shrugged.
“That works,” Aron opened the door. “Now, let’s get this over with!”
The survivors grabbed their backpacks and got out. Martyn took the keys and locked the car. The four proceeded toward the shopping complex; shots rang out as they made quick work of the Zeroheads.
“I really need to get my hands on a machete,” Selena smiled creepily. “It would be so fun!”
Sherry turned to Martyn with a frown on her face. Martyn shrugged cluelessly.
“Well, grab one since we’re here,” Aron said. “Remember, we’re here to stock up on supplies and then grab a bite. Not for entertainment!”
“Dude, really?” Martyn scoffed. “Get a life for once!”
“Hey!” Aron walked in through the sliding glass doors. “I didn’t vouch for the apocalypse either! Moreover, there is literally nothing here-”
Aron was interrupted by the heavy metal blasting from the speakers overhead.
“Damn, son!” Martyn exclaimed. “That’s some real shit!”
“Apocalypse or not,” Selena said. “This place is grooving!”
“Yeah, it doesn’t seem that bad!” Sherry said. “Even the Zeroheads appear to be throwing down!”
“Attention here!” Aron shot at the Zeroheads. “This is not some funky bonus level that lets you gather EXP and items!”
The team hurried over to the customer service desk. They found a map of the mall pasted on the wall.
“What do you guys wanna get first?” Martyn asked. “Food or weapons?”
“Never thought I’d be hearing those two things in the same question,” Sherry laughed.
“Weapons,” Aron said. “Are you even paying attention?!”
“Food,” Selena and Sherry said.
“Food it is,” Martyn grinned. “Let’s go!”
“Uh-huh, I see how it is,” Aron said. “Hey! Don’t walk off without me! Wait up!”
They dashed for a café nearby and found it abandoned. Not a Zerohead was in sight.
“You guys pick a table,” Selena said. “I’ll go see what I can find at the back.”
“Sounds good,” Martyn nodded.
“Need any assistance?” Aron shouted after Selena.
“Nah,” Selena waved her hand in the air. “I got it!”
“Cool,” Aron muttered.
