Generation Zombie

Chapter 10: Bulldozed.

If you see an eerily empty house, there are zombies in the basement, or the attic. If you see an eerily empty store, there are zombies in the storage room.

In anything zombie-related, two things are for sure. One; you will find zombies in the most unlikely of places, whether you check, scan, search for them or not. Two; someone will scream, or something will make a noise that would definitely awaken said zombies found in inconvenient places, at inconvenient times.

Is what Arthur likes to call the “Universal Zombie Rule.” Plus in a game, it adds to the cliché-ness of it all.

Opening the storage room was factor number one, and Ruby’s scream was factor number two. But her scream had been a natural human response to fear. So was taking to her feet. So was forgetting to slam the door behind her shut in a panic, and barricade it to stop the zombies from piling out. So was crashing into a trolley filled with water bottles and spraining her ankles.

But continuing to scream while still on the floor in the center of rolling water bottles as the zombies rasped, moaned, snarled, and got closer to her was plainly ‘un-Ruby-like’.

Arthur grabbed onto her shoulders and lifted her up; the duffel bag he had been stuffing discarded a few feet away. “Get on my back.” He instructed, trying to support her sprained ankle and get her unto his back at the same time.

“I’m gonna die!” Ruby yelled, distraught, with her focus still on the zombies. She imagined how painful their bites would feel. How gross their decaying skin, teeth and fingernails would be on hers. It made her brain itch and her body shake. But still, her limbs refused to move an inch.

“Ruby!”

This is real. The thought melted the ice that had grown in the muscles of her limbs. This is real. ‘I could die’. The fear no longer shut down her system. Ruby scampered to her one good foot and scurried onto Arthur’s back, keeping a death hold around his neck like all hell was about to break loose.

Arthur didn’t waste a second in sprinting towards the exit. Ruby’s weight was negligible —like carrying a pouch of nuts, so she didn’t slow down his fear-induced marathon. The zombies followed behind them like water gushing out of a tap. Suddenly, Ajax dashed into the mall through the exit door, running even faster than Arthur. He yelled and motioned something, but Ruby and Arthur understood without even having to decipher his words. There was, after all, a hoard of zombies barreling into the mall through the exit.

“They called their town-friends! We’re all gonna die!!” Ajax shrieked as he zoomed past Arthur and Ruby, practically flying deeper into the mall.

They were trapped in like flies in a jar.

The size of the panic in Ruby’s chest grew to the size of anxious elephants. They were going to die. Ajax tried the tiny door on the extreme end of the mall that was supposed to be a restroom, and found it lock. They were going to be eaten by zombies.

In his head, Arthur began to calculate the probability of being reincarnated or respawned. They should have more chances, more lives before its game over, right? At least three. But what if the game had chosen god mode for them?

Was this truly the end?

The sound came at once; the roar and rumble of a heavy engine coming to life. It drowned out the snarls and moans of the zombies as it got closer to the building, and then the damage began. The building shook and quaked as it came tearing apart under the blades and caterpillar track of a massive bulldozer.

Arthur, Ruby, and Ajax’s screams united as one high-pitched, ‘we’re-all-gonna-die’ voice. Now the fear of being eaten had turned into the fear of being crushed.

Rubbles fell in heaps and all three of them did their best to squeeze against the wall; holding on to each other, eyes closed and hoping they don’t get buried alive.

The zombies squashed with numerous squelches, being crushed and flattened either by the bulldozer or the rubbles. Their desperate dying moans became a symphony along with the loud hum of the bulldozer’s engine, and the trio’s screams. Limbs detached from bodies as they turned to pulps of pulverized zombies.

The bulldozer stopped; the sound dying as fast as it had began. It took a minute for the three of them to realize that the worse was probably over, and another minute to stop screaming.

A greater percentage of the zombies were dead. Those that weren’t, —yet, half of their bodies were mangled under the caterpillar tracks and wreckage.

Miraculously, all three of them were unscathed; bathed only by the dust of the debris, and further traumatized by the experience. They climbed over the ruins and stared at the person who had bulldozed their way into the mall; saving their lives yet almost killing them.

A slightly plump lady of average height and glowing, light bronze skin bathed in the glaring sun rays stood on the bulldozer with both hands on her hips. She had on a rumpled black suit and trousers that had very obviously seen better days, and a white cloth wrapped tightly around her face, covering her hair.

A small golden nose ring shone, wedged into her nose piercing. Her foxy, elongated eyes ran over them. “So you’re the trio of barn owls that are screeching louder than the bulldozer and the dying zombies.” Her voice was musical like a singer’s, but commanding like a sergeant’s.

The three of them stared at her stupidly, too stunned to say anything.

She crossed her arms and c****d her head to the side. The sunlight bounced off her large forehead. “I’m guessing y’all got sucked into the game too?” She inquired, raising one dainty finger to count them. “Where’s the fifth player?”

Arthur shrugged. He didn’t have any words. He had so many questions. He felt exhausted. Ruby had slid into shock. She clutched Arthur’s back, and simply stared at thin air, blinking blankly.

Ajax still had the ability to talk. But as usual, no one expects him to ask the right questions, and of course, he never disappoints. “Why are you wearing a blanket over your head?”

The lady glared at Ajax. “It’s a makeshift hijab, you idiot.” She replied rolling her eyes. Even in a video game, she had to deal with ignorant idiots. Sure it wasn’t the best fabric at the moment, but a girl’s gotta use a chopped up hotel blanket as a hijab when a girl’s got no other alternative.

Ajax paused. “We’re inside a game, don’t you think it’s a little impractical to wear it here?” To him it was a reasonable argument.

“Do me a little favor dipshit. Can you... can press your temple?” She motioned to her own temple with a finger and practically showed him what he should do.

He raised a finger to his temple. “Like this?”

She narrowed her eyes. “Yeah, just like... that.” A semi-transparent bar appeared, hovering over Ajax’s head; his personal gameplay guide, showing life meters and other valuable informations. She squinted her eyes to look closer at it. “Huh, three full bars...”

And then she slid out a Glock 19 and c****d the g*n; aiming it at Ajax’s chest and pulling the trigger.