Happiness depends on ourselves
-Aristotle
~.~
I hold out my rifle and shoot at whoever's coming at us. Their heads blow, shoulders break, and they fall on the ground at the impact of the bullets. Eric imitates me and shoots in all directions. But we are outnumbered by hundreds, and even the fallen ones rise to their legs right in front of us.
We step back while shooting at the people. And suddenly, we hear the roaring of a vehicle. Within a few seconds, in front of our eyes, a vehicle smashes over the infected ones and stops in front of us. Its door flings open in front of me.
"Get in!" someone shouts from inside.
Without giving another thought, I get into the vehicle while shooting at the infected ones who are still coming after us. Eric gets behind me, and we close the door. The pounding in my heart drops as the door closes, putting a barrier between the walking dead and us. After calming down, only I look around the vehicle.
The inside of the vehicle is too dark to see anything, but I can feel someone next to me who's not Eric.
I hold my rifle tightly in my hand and struggle to breathe. My mind gets fogged up with the images of the infected ones. I killed a lot of people today. But I can't say for sure whether they are human or not.
The vehicle drives on for a while, and no one speaks a word. That's when suddenly the lights inside switch on, and I can see Eric sitting in front of me. I look around in alert and look at the man next to me.
That's how I meet him—my to-be-lover. And my eyes get captured by him the moment I see him next to me. He's the most handsome man I've ever seen.
He spares a slight glance at me and looks away. I've heard with beauty comes the ego. Still, I can't keep my eyes off him even when infected ones are outside waiting to kill us.
"Hiyaa. Are you two okay??" A girl's voice asks from the front. I notice the one who's driving the vehicle is a girl, and there's a guy sitting next to him in the passenger's seat. He turns back to look at us and smiles at our shocked faces.
"Y-yeah. Who are you guys?" Eric asks them.
"Some survivors. We didn't know we'll find more survivors like this." the girl replies. "By the way, how did you guys get those weapons? Share the location as a thank you for saving you!"
"It's not like that," I mutter. "We are from another country."
"Hah!" the ones who are at the front exclaim, but the handsome man next to me keeps silent. "I think we have a lot to talk... right there."
It becomes silent afterwards, and I keep on looking out of the dark windows at the blood-stained streets and ruins. I spare a glance at the man next to me before clearing my throat and looking out of the window again.
And I see the vehicle entering a dark tunnel. It comes to a stop after a while, and we hear a door closing sound. I look around and realise it's a secret passageway to some kind of place.
"What is this place?" I ask the handsome guy next to me.
He looks at me and eyes my face. Without saying anything, he gets down from the vehicle. Oh, that stings.
Everyone gets down, and the girl comes to us. She reaches out to us, but before she can touch our hands, the handsome guy stops her.
"They might be infected," he says to the girl.
"We are not," I say.
"How can you be sure?"
"I don't feel pain anywhere," I say with bitterness in my voice.
"Neither do I." Eric agrees.
"We can examine their bodies later. Let's take them inside for now," the girl says, linking her arms around mine and Eric.
She leads us inside through two doors, and we come to a dimly lit place that is jammed with all kinds of things. One could spot books and all kinds of electronic devices in this place. I look around in wonder at the jammed place.
Then my eyes meet with two more people, a guy and a girl, in front of us.
"Who are they?" the girl among the two asks.
"They say they are from another country." the girl who has her arm linked with mine says. She leads us to a small area where there are broken sofas and old cushions.
"Take a seat." the passenger seat guy says.
We take seats awkwardly and wait for the new ones to ask us questions. Eric looks kind of uncomfortable with all eyes on us while I look at each of the new ones.
"I am Sasha." the girl who drove the vehicle says. She points at the other girl, "This is Bailey." then she points at the passenger seat guy, "Henry." points at the other guy, "Derrick." and finally points at the handsome, rude man, "Ivan."
"I am Andrea Foster. This is Eric." I introduce ourselves.
"So... what you said about coming from another country... Is it true?" Bailey asks.
"Yeah. We are from Ocasta." I say.
"Oah. How are you here? And wearing like you are ready to fight?" it is... Henry, who asks that.
"We are a volunteer group. Not only us two but there are also more of us... there were more of us. However, we volunteered to find survivors and get them out of here to Ocasta." I shortly explain the situation.
"More like you need our help," mutters Ivan.
I continue talking, "We aren't a military-trained crew. We are only here as volunteers. Now that we know there are survivors, do you know more who have survived this whole thing?" I ask Bailey.
She shakes her head, "We didn't find anyone except us." she says.
"Okay. Let's get moving to the borders. We can escape here." I say.
"We can't," Ivan says.
"Why not? Do you want to live with the zombies?"
"Yeah," he says sarcastically with a roll of his eyes. "We stayed back for a reason." Although he's handsome and his looks are captivating, his words are simply sharp arrows dipped in bitterness and sarcasm. And so I feel like slapping or kissing that attitude away. I might choose the latter. No! This isn't time for this! Focus!
"What do you mean? So you guys weren't actually left behind but stayed behind?" Eric asks, confused.
Bailey nods, "We are all a detective and a research group here. It's a long story."
"We have time," Eric says.
"Well... the outbreak of the virus happened so suddenly that the capital of Cargo got infected first. Scientists named it "La Folie Nerveuse", also known as Nervous Madness. But no one had the time for any research to know where this shit started from, how and when. We had no clue. Before we knew it, everyone around us got infected. Everyone fled to other countries."
She continues, "Without knowing how this started, we can't create any medicine, neither can we point out a suspect who started this if one did. We stayed back for investigation, to learn more about the infected, whom we also call 'zombies' and get to know how they became like this and if we can cure them or not."
"I don't think this is curable," Eric says. "They didn't seem human."
"We don't know for sure." Ivan intervenes.
"One thing... It says that a bunch of scientists worked on the case. But they died before anything could be sorted out. Do you know about it?" I ask them.
"Do you mean in the Central Lab?" Sasha asks.
"Yeah. The military told us about that laboratory."
"Hold on a second. Since the military is involved in this... what's the plan after taking us from here?" Ivan asks me.
I take a deep breath, "Destroying the country, it seems."
My words create an eerie silence inside the place. Eric looks at me with wide eyes and mouths, 'Why did you tell them?' to which I shrug and mouth, 'I can't lie'.
"You can go back." Ivan deadpans.
"We can. But you can't. The doors to the border of Ocasta will only open to a smoke signal." Eric says.
"So you are telling us, even if we find everything, they'll destroy this country as soon as you return?" Ivan asks, sounding angry.
"Yeah..." Eric looks at me for help, but I keep silent.
"How much time did they give you?"
"Three months," I reply.
"That's more than enough. You two will stay here and help us with everything. One way or another, the information we find should be delivered to an outer country so they'll be able to find the cure." Ivan says.

Latest Chapter
33. Snowflakes
Happiness is only real when shared -Anonymous ~.~ "Eric only has one last shot of vaccine left. His state will normalize after that." Luke says on the phone. "Okay. When can I visit him?" I ask. "In two weeks will be fine. He reminded me of you. It's too bad you can't meet him. Anyway, he liked the gift you sent." he says. "Aww. Tell him that I love him. And... What is your plan after this? Can he resume his work in the Marine Corps? What about his future?" I ask. "Surely. He'll be able to work as before. But it will take some time. As he's like this due to the mission, the military is under obligation to look after him till the end. So you don't have to worry about his safety and well-being," he says. The conversation ends after a few words, and I sigh in relief. I keep my phone aside and walk toward the sliding window. The clouds huddle in front of the sun, making the sky look gloomier. I watch through the window with a cup of coffee in my hands to keep my hands warm. The we
32. The Dream
No medicine cures what happiness cannot-Gabriel García Márquez~.~When I walk inside, Ivan is sitting on the floor, packing his bags. He looks up when he hears the sound of footsteps. His eyes widen when he sees me, and he gets up instantly. The next thing I know, I get engulfed in a warm hug, and I hug back with tears trying to escape my eyes.It was my first time seeing him after months of absence."Shit. I missed you so much." he nuzzles his nose in my neck and kisses me there. I melt at the closure and breathe in his shampoo scent. That hug makes me feel a bit better."Let's go home," I say.He softly laughs at my words, drawing back and looking into my eyes."I never thought, after everything, there'd be a home waiting for me," he says."I am your home, and you are mine.""Thank you."I smile at his words.Ivan picks up his belongings, and I help him with one."What are all these?" I ask about the two bags."The military gave me clothes and other necessities. And you know... th
31. Love Letters
Some cause happiness wherever they go, others whenever they go -Oscar Wilde ~.~ (A/N: the written letters are between the * marks) - *Mon Chéri, To answer your questions, my favourite beverage is coffee, although my stomach doesn't respond well to that. And my favourite song is Warriors by Imagine Dragons. It was in a series I watched. And no, I am not a diary person. I have never written in diaries. So. I am going to get released in two days. It's been seven months since the isolation period, and I am excited yet anxious to meet you. It's never been the same since the virus spread in Cargo, so it'll take me some time to get used to my life ahead. But thank you for writing to me every two days because without those letters I would've been so depressed. I never thought I would say this to someone. I never thought I would fall for someone after everything, either. I think I love you more than you can think. And my heart is beating fast as I am writing this letter to you. I can't
30. Mon Chéri
Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be. -Abraham Lincoln ~.~ (A/N: The written letters are in between * marks) *Dear Eric, You are such an idiot. How could you get bitten like that at the very end?? We were just a second away from being free from the virus, but you decided to let a zombie bite you! Are you crazy or something? Idiot. I really want you to come back and talk with me like before. I want to spend more time with you and get to know you because you are like a brother to me. So pull yourself together, and fight the virus! Eliminate it from your body and come back so we can grab a beer and talk about the zombies with a laugh. Anyways. I hope you get released soon so we can meet sometime. I am glad Bailey found the antidote, or else you'd be dead meat by now. Pull yourself together and stay safe till they release you. I'll come to see you as soon as you are released. Don't you dare die on me! Andrea.* ~.~ Then, I write on the second paper f
29. Crossing The Boundaries
There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved-George Sand~.~Bailey takes out a syringe and stabs Eric's neck quickly. She injects the substance inside, but my heart feels so cold, thinking it may be too late. Just as she does that, my hands get pulled back, and a soldier cuffs me. I turn to him in confusion."What are you doing??" I ask."It's for the safety of others." the tall guy says before turning to the rest of the soldiers. "Cuff them and check their bodies. Take the infected man into a separate lab.""Wait!" I exclaim. "Can I meet your captain? His name is Luke Plowden. One of my friends. And stop handcuffing us! We are not infected!""Right." the rude man says before looking at Eric, who looks sane but in a trance. And the rude man's attention goes to Ivan, who has his arm bandaged. "Show us your arms."I become impatient. This guy is just too much!A soldier walks to Ivan and removes the bandages forcefully, then reveals his fresh marks on the arms."Were
28. A Sacrifice
“The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows it under his feet.”-James Oppenheim~.~As Ivan drives in the other direction, the mindless zombies run after it. We take that as the green light to move. We quickly make our way through the streets toward the supermarket from before. We hide behind walls and sneak around the supermarket. As we come across the parking lot, we can see many zombies lurking among the vehicles."Damn it," Eric mutters."Let's wait for Ivan and proceed. We are almost there." Henry says, looking at the green meadow ahead of us, which is across the parking lot.So we hide and wait for Ivan behind the supermarket. It takes almost half an hour for Ivan to appear. He almost runs past us but stops when he sees us.He joins us and hides behind the supermarket as well."We'll have to make it through the parking lot," he says."Yeah. And there's a field afterwards. So surely, once we are out of the parking lot, the zombies will spot us. We only get a
You may also like
My Dragon Beast System
ECM_MANGA13.8K viewsA Dream Harem Life Built With Superior Firepower
Runaway_Cactuar19.5K viewsAn Important Villain
P. Artim25.4K viewsKingsman Return
Kuraii150.3K viewsSIDEREAE
hey_its_kyle1.5K viewsUNKILLABLE IN ISEKAI: Volume 2
Richard419 viewsGod's mission on earth
Em's1.0K viewsA Cat's Tale (The Secret Desires of Hotaru Nyanko)
Apollo Zen1.3K views
