I Have Lost My Humanity

Arriving At My Girlfriend's House

Bang!

A jaw-breaking sound rang out as the infected crashed to the ground from the blow.

I was well aware we could also use the battle QUAX arm in close-quarter combats fight because of how strong it was.

Finally, I caught a glimpse of Bella's blue roof, which differentiated her house from the rest. It was her mum's favourite colour and her father had painted the house that way to suit her.

Without wasting time, I yelled Bella's name and shot at another infected whose head opened like a tulip.

BJ took out another one that had gotten closer as well. Looking back, I shot at the infected getting closer while continuing to scream Bella's name.

As soon as I greeted another infected's head with a punch from the battle QUAX arm, I heard a groaning sound behind me.

"BJ, let's go!" I shouted, but he was in a battle with an infected that was trying to embrace him.

He grabbed hold of the infected head with his battle QUAX arm and slammed it into the ground.

We quickly dragged ourselves in.

I caught a glimpse of Bella's relieved face as BJ and I fell to the ground, tired of our struggles.

Before I could get up, I was enveloped by a familiar scent, which was my mother's, and I peeked to the side to see Emma getting hugged by his parents too.

The skies were already completely dark at this point, and we were so glad we had survived such a hellish day.

We could hear the sounds of snarling outside, but we were safe inside, and together… for now. ====

Immediately the news broke out about the outbreak of the toxic gas, the military hadn't been deployed at first.

No one thought it was going to spread as the government thought they could control it in the first city it got into.

However, it got worse, and the outbreak spread to other countries.

The other governments immediately deployed their military to help, but success hadn't been achieved.

They hadn't been able to contain it and were barely managing to resist them.

As a result, they tried to set up barricades around the cities and towns and patrolled the streets to look out for any infected activity.

The military was up and doing, trying their best to clear out any infected-infested areas.

They armed their troops with the latest technological weapons to deal with this sudden plague.

Medical facilities were also being set up to treat any injured survivors. Despite all these, it was nothing compared to what the toxic gas did.

Anyone an infected bit turned immediately, and half of the world's population was almost gone.

In my city, the military was armed with fully armoured battle QUAXs, and their sole mission was to clear the threats off the streets.

Using helicopters to patrol the skies and using tanks to patrol the streets, they dealt with the infected as best as they could.

The creation of Battle QUAXs almost two hundred years ago hadn't been in vain. The robotic suits of armour allowed the soldiers to move quickly and with ease.

Equipped with an array of weapons, the soldiers effectively eliminated the threat in their line of sight.

From long-range guns to close-quarter blades and even explosives, the soldiers handled the encounter with the infected.

With the help of the battle QUAX internal calculation and AI, they accurately aimed and fired destructive shots at the horde of infected in different parts of the world.

When the infected got too close, the soldiers were forced to switch to blades. Most of the battle QUAX were also equipped with sharp blades that allowed them to take well-aimed swings.

The QUAX's strength ensured that the soldiers could hack away at the infected and rip them into two halves easily.

Also, they were protected as the infected couldn't bite into the metallic covering... yet.

In some cases, the soldiers made use of their laser weapons, which cut through the flesh of the infected with ease.

Explosives were also placed near a horde of infected, which detonated, eliminating them in one swoop.

Multiple streets were already littered with the remains of the infected.

However, that was only the beginning as the number of infected kept increasing. After a group was defeated, another came up as if they had been waiting.

=====

Barricading the house environment against the infected was a lot of hard work and preparation.

Nevertheless, no one complained as it was to our benefit.

We were thirteen; my family consisted of three while BJ's family was up to five in number since he had three other siblings. Bella's family included her parents and younger siblings.

As I thought, there was strength in numbers, so we were able to work on it.

To start, Bella's father, Mr Kings, advised us to inspect the house and identify the weak points that could be exploited by the infected.

The house was large but it wasn't so enormous that it would make it difficult for us to inspect.

"We've blocked the doors and windows, but I believe the chimney can also be a problem," I said to Bella's father as we stood in the backyard.

The area was inviting with its garden filled with vibrant shrubs. It was perfect for outdoor gatherings, but with the present situation, if we weren't careful, it could turn into a site for bloodshed.

"Hmm, do we block it from above or within the house?" He asked.

"I think we should block both," I replied as I wanted to make sure every possible entry point was secured.

Fortunately, with our numbers, we were able to do the needful.

BJ climbed to the top of the roof with Samuel, who was his elder brother, and they blocked the chimney from above while I headed into the house to block it from within with Bella.

Next, we had to secure the fence. It was a high one, but if the infected stacked upon each other, there was a possibility of them getting over it.

We had the CCTV cameras and monitors to look at what was going on, but for real-time inspection, I went upstairs, where I stood on the balcony and saw infected shambling around.

Some loitered in front of the gates as if knowing that people were inside. I left before any of them noticed me.

The fence was secured, but Bella's dad made sure to set up alarm wires around the perimeter, which could alert us if anyone was approaching.

There were some cases where a few of us unknowingly stepped on them, and we had to rally up, but it was only a false alarm.

As a result, we made sure to properly inform everyone where the wires were to avoid accidental triggers.

On the day BJ and I arrived, we had a lot of questions thrown at us relating to how we even managed to make our way across the city with the current predicament.

The instant I raised my right arm upwards, everyone understood. They recognised the arm of a battle QUAX, which was amongst one of the highest military-grade technology.

Since I and BJ worked in a battle QUAX branch, they believed we must have gotten it from there.

They were still a bit surprised.

My mother then explained how she encountered the infected for the first time.

"I forgot some of my stuff at home, and I had to return to get them," my mother said.

She was a yoga instructor and was still dressed in her pair of fitted yoga pants and a long-sleeve shirt.

"On the way, I met people biting and…" She closed her eyes as her facial expression changed from the recollection of the awful memories.

"I just knew I had to reach your sister in school, and I realized there was no way we could stay alone, so we came here."

Mrs Egby, BJ's mother, spoke next. "I was teaching the kids at school when Rupert called." She gestured at her husband beside her,

"He said he was presently watching the news when there was a ruckus in the newsroom, and the reporters got ambushed by a couple of people with purple skin,"

"The news was talking about a toxic gas that is turning human beings into monsters when the reporters encountered the same monsters they were reporting about," Mr Rupert shook his head with an expression of pity.

At that moment, I was glad we were all together. That way, we could keep tabs and also protect one another.

The only issue at hand was not knowing when the situation would successfully be dealt with.

"They should just take all of them to one place and kill them," Collins, Bella's youngest brother, who was nine, said.

Beside him, Bright, older by four years, knocked him on the head.

"It's not that simple, Sherlock. Those were once people too," Bright voiced out.

The two began to argue, and we were also pulled into it.

By the end of the day, we established that even though the infected used to be people, if they came after us, we had no choice but to save ourselves using any means possible.

As a result, we gathered all the supplies available within Bella's home and made calculations on how long they were going to last us.