Recurring Problems (2)
1868 Words
“Where are the undead?!”
The stadium that is full of undead is almost empty and desolate. Aside from dead, unable to walk and some few undeads. Nothing remained.
Even Yuslan, who was usually playful, shut his mouth and got up from his seat.
“Check the doors!” He quickly said and his order was abided quickly.
“Sir! We found this!” The man said and opened his camera view on the big screen.
The door was wide open.
“How the f*ck did that open?” It was an automatic door with key card activation. “Zoom in the Key.”
“It was tampered with, sir.”
Macord scowled and answered. “Yes, I can see.” The key card line burst open and some wires were hanging.
‘This is bad.’
“Tract the video. See you who did thi—”
“Sir! An emergency call.” Another one had to stand up and show herself up from the cubicle.
“Connect it.” Macord repositioned his earpiece as the call connected.
“Report.”
“*Bang* bang* bang* Sir! A wave of undead is attacking us. W,we *Bang* can’t pass through.”
The background noise was loud, it was evident that there was a current shooting happening. Though faint growls were also heard.
“Open everyone's GPS.”
“Sir.” Hesitant on complying
“Now!”
“Yes sir.”
On the screen, it displays the road map with red dots continuing to appear.
“Ready the Camera Lines. Deploy the drones. Monitor their vitals.” Though he looks calm, Macord loosens up the button of his uniform as he monitors everything at once.
He pressed the earpiece and said, “Go around. Use 60% light and lure the undead.”
“Sir, we are ready to go online.”
“Macord, if you open the camera, the system will be more vulnerable,” Yuslan reminds him.
Macord turned to a man in the corner. “What about the hacker?!”
The man immediately connected himself to another line before answering in a strained panic tone. “Rebooting and tracking will take another 30 minutes, sir.”
Even with no words, Macord’s expressions say it all. He is cursing internally.
“The drones?!”
“Sir, they have been deployed. From the walls it will take 25 minutes to arrive.”
‘25 minutes.’ he repeated and then he looked over the clock.
“Sir, the video from the Stadium.”
“Play it!”
The video showed Apollo, the blacksmith, from Gabrielle’s group was seen hanging around the area but then after it was only shown that he touched the lines and went on his way. Macord looked at the date and time. It was around the time when Gabrielle's group arrived there. Fast forwarding, the night when their group is supposed to be dead, hours after they are considered dead, a small explosion happened in the key line and then slowly the door was forcefully open.
He crumpled his expression watching it. He is fully aware that the reinforcement and installation of things like this door on pre-apocalypse buildings is not perfect but considering the lack of material and resources of the players, it will be impossible for them to open it. Clearly he didn’t think someone else would be getting involved.
The door opened.
“Another angle.” Macord said.
On the other side of the door, it showed Apollo’s side profile. He threw something to the floor. The camera switches to see the rolling thing and when it stopped, Apollo’s hands were on his pockets but then the small ball item started shining not brightly but it was enough to gather attention.
Like a domino effect, some undead were immediately attracted and started moving forward towards it and as other undead growled, the rest followed. The level 1 undead was the first to reach the ball. At the end of the hall is Apollo. He walked out leisurely, when one undead kicked the ball, the undead walked toward it, they walked and walked until they went out of the door. Waiting at the end of one pathway is another lighting ball.
By that time, the undead are wandering around the stadium. Apollo was the last to exit from their group and left the gates open.
Giving it one last look, he sees a silhouette of the walking undead.
His last act was to leave a set of balls in front of the entrance. Inside his pocket was a button. By pressing it the balls give different colors, like a disco ball.
He let it play as they walked out.
Seeing it, Macord’s head starts pumping hard. He bit his lips.
He can’t blame anyone since he gave orders to focus on the ongoing game instead. It wasn’t monitored. It was his big mistake.
‘I should’ve checked it the moment I saw them alive.’
“.!!” One problem after another. He looked over the date and time, going 12x faster than the original, the video was fast forwarding. It has been days since the undead was released. The stadium became empty.
Clenching his molars, he looked over his watch.
05:45 am
‘Dammit!’
“Open the camera lines now! Where are the drones?!” Macord rushes.
****
On the part of the walls, particularly on the ongoing construction of Wall 104. The builders are yawning their early shift. The sun has barely risen, but they are getting ready to work. Some are preparing the equipment. Loading cement and some are still having their coffee leisurely.
“Oy! Donald. Lucas, that t**t, he sure not coming back?” A man with a belly sticking out called mockingly to Donald. His plate says ‘Allen’
“He landed a good job in the inner walls…sir”, Donald tried to sound respectful.
Allen scoffed as he shoved the rest of the bread inside his mouth. “Oh. Really?” pieces of his bread were spit out as he continued to speak. “I bet he died somewhere. Hahahahaha”
“H,he is living well! … sir.” It was disgusting that bread and saliva was sticking in to his face but he had to endure it for a little longer because Allen picked even the tiniest reason, so he could just start bullying.
“Did you just raise your voice to me?! Huh? Huh?” Allen starts slapping Donald's head multiple times.
‘What do I expect?’ Donald held it in. He is just a bully.
Now that Lucas is gone, he is now subjected to this kind of treatment. Why? Just because.
“Oy, kid. Did that brat show you how he is living, huh? Huh? How could you be sure?!”
“...”
“What? Cat got your tongue?”
He closed his mouth tightly just like Lucas had always done.
“Allen! Come here for a sec.” Someone called him out.
“Yeah!” he answered back and gave one last smack on Donald’s head.
As Allen walks away, Donald is thinking, ‘Lucas, how could you live this way?’ It was so frustrating.
“What is it about?” Equally big as Allen, the man asked not far from the frozen Donald.
“Just some kid who keeps lying. Tsk tsk.”
Donald couldn’t hold himself. “I am not lying! You damn pig!”
It took him only a second to realize his mistake.
“What did you say?”
Now he will be beaten. Allen strode back to him. “What did you say?”
“I, I—”
Allen’s face was raised up and Donald closed his eyes, ready to be punched or whatever violence was coming.
*Swish
“HEY!! YOU CAN’T DO THAT!” Someone shouted and it made Allen halt.
Not far from them, on the side still under construction walls, there is someone stuck in between the unfinished erected skeletal part of the wall. Though the other side was finished with cementing it, this part was far from being finished, there were some problems with constructing it and so, in the meantime, a blue and white sheet cover was placed above it.
“Hey! I said you can’t do that! If you messed it up. It will be on my head!” The assistant of the construction head shouted as he strode to the man who was stuck in between the skeletons. Only a part of his body was peeking through the heavy sheet covers.
“Another stupid person,” Allen spews, then walks out.
It did not garner much interest, since shouting, beating and small rumbles are normal on a daily basis, not only here but in the outer wall district but… for some reason, Donald was having a hard time, looking away.
“What are you waiting for?! The morning is already up! Move it t**t!” Allen shouted from a distance.
He gave one last look at the man before looking up. It’s dawning already. There are a small number of people on top of the wall but he sees they have gathered in the corner of the unfinished side and pointing at something from afar.
“What are they–”
“ARGHHHHHH!!! AHHHHH!!!” A shout made everyone stop.
Donald looked at the source, the assistant and the stuck man, who had gone under. There are some violent movements inside the sheet but everyone hesitates to move.
*Swish
The sheet parted a little and the assistant's face was shown. He is crying.
“Hel—-p! Please help me!” Then his eyes rolled up and passed out. For some unknown reason, the sheet continues to move and growling sounds are heard.
“AHHHHHHHHHHH…T,that! That!” A woman nearby slipped on her back. Breads were thrown on the floor. She was shakingly pointing at the ground.
“B,blood!!!!” She shouted!
The blood was pooling underneath the passed out assistant.
*Thud
His body slipped off the sheet and everyone who witnessed it gasped. He is covered in blood and parts of his body were mutilated.
*Thud
Another bloody leg had passed through the sheet. It was the stuck man. His head was down but it was obvious that the growling was coming from him.
It made Donald’s eyes tremble and his heart was beating out of his chest.
The now freed man stopped in front of the passed-out assistant. There were two men that approached the man. Donald was too far away to hear it but it was given that it was to arrest this man. The other man checked the pulse of the assistant but he shook his head.
“Are you onto something? Killing in broad daylight. Its prison fo- *munch*
The killer bites the flesh out of his neck…
*Thud
And start eating…
‘Eating?’
“WHAT THE f**k!!!!!”
The eating killer looked at the shouting sound. Half of its face is melted beyond recognition and it’s mouth is dripping with blood and flesh.
“KWARRGGHHHHHHHHH”
It jumped off the other body and attacked the other nearby man.
*BITE
“AHHHHHHHH! Undead!!!!”
- Writer
