Revolution: The New World

June 24, 2075

1026 CDT

Inside Generic Clothing Store, Central Winner

Teresa Young's Point of View

“Are you guys, ok?” Our savior asks as he quickly locks the door behind us.

Huh, he’s just a kid like us. A redheaded boy who’s wearing the same uniform as us and appears to be having a similar shitty day based on how much blood is on his outfit. Still, there’s a chance that he’s an enemy despite his identical outfit and the fact he risked his life to save us. It’s freaking dark in here, but I think we’re near the back of some clothing store based on what I can see in this hallway. Several worn-out cardboard boxes are scattered randomly throughout, some filled and some empty, with a few clothes inside of them, damaged posters of fashion models on the concrete walls, a doorless frame that most likely leads into the shop, and an ominous-looking large closet stands at the end of the hallway.

“What the fuck?!” Our rescuer yells out in confusion as Duy and Luke jump him.

“Confirmation code! Now, asshole! Luke, check him for bites,” Duy orders with authority.

“Why can’t you check him, Duy?” Luke questions in annoyance.

“Because I’m the motherfucking captain, and as your superior, you have no choice but to follow my orders,” Duy rudely explains.

“I can’t see shit in here,” Luke responds in frustration. “Let’s take him somewhere brighter.”

How can they be so cool and so stupid at the same time?

“You fuckheads. I could’ve just left you out there to die, assholes!” Our new friend rightfully complains in anger as he gets dragged away into the shop.

I was correct, this place is a clothing store. Most of the clothes are missing or have been ripped to shreds, but there’s two large windows located in the front of the store. A wooden counter where the cash register most likely was is right next to us and the doorless frame. Even the torn window curtains are blood-red, but there’s a dim ray of sunlight shining through them. Winner Tower is located directly across the street, but countless zombies stand in between this shop called Generic Clothing Store and the rendezvous point. Heh, the only things that are creepier than the undead are the (gulp) mannequins in the shop. Did people really pose like that? So weird.

“He’s clean. No bites,” Luke says as he finishes inspecting the man.

“The code is 0-6-2-1,” The man explains in anger as Duy releases him. “My name is Connor Idinex of Squad Dolos. You assholes are welcome by the way,” he introduces in rage as he sniffles.

“Thank you, Connor, now shut up. What happened to your squad?” Duy responds, frustrated.

“The same thing that’ll happen to every squad, they fucking died! Connor explains in rage.

How sad.

“I understand how you feel, man,” Duy says sympathetically.

“I doubt it,” Connor quickly denies.

“This nightmare is almost over, though. Winner Tower is within our sights,” Luke explains in optimism as he scratches the wound he received from the Headhunter on his back.

“You must be fucking stupid!” Connor blurts out.

“Hey, shut up before they hear you!” Duy yells back.

“Shhh!” I say.

Why are boys so aggravating?

“What’s your problem, Connor?” Luke asks.

“What do you think is going to happen at Winner Tower?” Connor angrily asks Luke.

“We’re going to regroup and come up with a plan to defeat the zombies,” Luke answers in a sudden stern voice.

“You are fucking stupid because only idiots still believe that we can defeat the zombies,” Connor says. “If there was a way for humanity to defeat the zombies, do you think we’d be living such fucked up lives?”

He’s right…

“I guarantee that everyone in Winner Tower is hopelessly sitting on their asses waiting for someone to end their suffering because this plan and our lives suck! And since we failed our mission, then that means that every person in Battalion A, including our bastard General, will be slaughtered as well! This big, glorious battle for resources is a complete joke!” Connor continues to vent aloud.

“We have to keep fighting. Giving up is never an option,” Luke responds in determination.

“Keep fighting? What’s the fucking point? Even if we do win this battle somehow, there are just more zombies waiting for us. Pfft, and they expect us to do this shit for four years? Our lives are complete bullshit,” Connor says in a fed-up tone as he sulks by a wall. “This is it. This is life for us.”

“I don’t know what the future has in store for us, but I do know that we can make it to Winner Tower by playing possum. It’ll be smelly and extremely horrifying, but it’s possible,” I say.

I don’t care how bad things are or how scared I am. I’m not dying without seeing Ruby and the others one more time. I still have an extra bag of ammo, so maybe someone can develop a good plan.

“Pfft, why? We’re all gonna die anyway. That’s why I had to do it,” Connor chuckles.

What?

“What do you mean do it? Do what?” Duy asks in suspicion.

“What did you do?” Luke questions in a similar tone.

“Wh-what happened to your squad exactly?” I ask.

“The same thing,” Connor begi-

Fuck! Let go of me, Connor!

“…that’s going to happen to you and every other Squad in this pointless battle!” Connor threatens as he pulls out a pistol.

Shit! He’s crazy!

“Oh god! Help me, guys!” I say.

“You son of a bitch! Let her go!” Luke and Duy demand in unison.

Gasp! The zombies are banging on the windows! We’re making too much noise! They’ll bust through the glass at any minute!

“Hopeless, this is all so hopeless,” Connor laughs like a creep as he pushes the gun against my temple.

My day just keeps getting worse and worse! I thought that my life would end with a zombie bite, but instead, it’s going to end with a bullet to the skull by my own species.

“Everything about our lives is a horrific nightmare. We live inside our bubbles for eighteen years, just to die a gruesome, miserable death for our pathetic kingdom. All we’ve done and will ever do in our short lifespans is sit around on our asses and wait until we’re the next victims. There’s nothing positive about our lives, and the fact that we inevitably get attached to people just makes our lives that much more painful. Everybody eventually dies, and there’s nothing we can do about it. So that’s why… when someone in my squad got bit, I decided to save them,” Connor spews in craziness as he sniffles his nose.

He’s fucking crazy!

“Save them? What exactly did you do?!” Duy asks angrily.

“What happened? Tell us the truth,” Luke requests in a calm, yet serious tone.

I don’t know if they have any ammo left, but even if they did, I don’t think they’ll risk taking a shot! The only advantage we have in this situation is that Connor has to kneel down to hold me hostage! Heh, my size is helping me once again. If he kills me, then Luke and Duy will be on top of him in no time. But the longer this goes on, the more dangerous it becomes. Once again, I’m a liability to my friends, and I can’t stand it! I don’t wanna die without seeing Ruby and the others one more time! I’m so scared! I’m gonna pee myself! Wait a second.

If I die right now, then all of my pain will be gone! I won’t be scared anymore. I won’t suffer anymore. Yes, maybe death is the only logical solution for someone like me. If he kills me then, I’ll be able to see Julie and my parents! We’ll be able to live in peace like the families in the Old World! But. If he kills me, then I won’t be able to see Ruby and Kiko and the others. Damn it, Kiko! You were right! I should’ve taken things more seriously! Writing down the wrong answers on purpose is the dumbest decision I’ve ever made! It’s my fault I’m here! I reap what I sow, after all! Connor, being a liability, and the zombies aren’t even the scariest things about this situation! It’s the freaking mannequins! They’re so creepy! I would’ve devoured more candy if I knew things would be this bad! Wait. I-if I die right now, then I won’t be able to enjoy my feast. Heh, but on the other hand, heaven might have an endless supply of candy.

Decisions, decisions.

“We ran through that same alleyway the three of you came from,” Connor calmly explains. “I was fed up with this shit the moment we stepped inside. They wanted to play possum as well, so that’s when I decided” Connor snickers. “I had to save them! I had to save them from this excruciating pain! So I pulled out my gun on them and ordered them to go into the closet, and anyone who talked back or threatened to retaliate caught a bullet between the eyes! I didn’t do it because I was some kind of monster or evil. I did it to save them! Don’t you get it?” Connor maniacally explains.

What a lunatic.

“We’re in hell! This life is our hell! The real monsters aren’t the undead,” he continues to snicker like a clown. “It’s us! The Royals abandoned Earth because we’re God’s ugly fucking creatures! We’re not supposed to be here! We’re supposed to die so we can move on to our next lives! They would’ve never understood, so that’s why I saved them! Shot them all right in the fucking head! They’re not suffering anymore, because I saved them!” Connor screams like a lunatic.

“You’re fucking crazy!” Duy shouts in anger.

“You murdered your friends for no reason!” Luke yells in a similar tone.

“It doesn’t matter what you guys think, because you can’t deny the fact that they’re not suffering anymore,” Connor replies calmly as he ceases his laughter.

“They’re not doing anything anymore because you killed them!” Luke corrects in anger. “Someone can make a cure, or a weapon strong enough to slaughter all of these undead bastards! Maybe your friends you killed would’ve helped with something like that, but you stole that chance from them! You fucker! You don’t get to decide who lives and who dies!”

“Really? This gun says otherwise,” Connor retorts as he points the gun at Luke. “Witness God’s judgment!”

“Luke, watch out!” Duy shouts.

A gunshot?! No!

“Hands off!” I yell as I elbow Connor, followed by a loud gunshot.

I barely dodged that one! I need to get out of the line of fire!

“Ah, son of a bitch!” Duy seethes in pain.

“You’re fucking insane!” Luke yells out.

Ew, the second gunshot made me pee myself. Gross, I really am just someone who’ll never grow up. I can’t even fight back without a gun, so all I can do is keep my head down, continue to crawl, and be useless, sniff, as usual.

“Insane?! I’m the sanest person in the entire world!” Connor laughs hysterically.

“Teresa,” Luke whispers as we safely reunite. “Are you ok?”

No.

“Yeah, I’m fine, Luke. What happened to you guys?” I ask.

“Duy saved my life, so we’re one-for-one right now,” Luke explains. “But, he took a shot to the shoulder in the process. I hate to say it, but we might have no choice but to…”

“Kill him? It’s the most logical choice of action,” I say.

Huh? Why did I say that? What’s wrong with me?

“Sigh, you might be right,” Luke supports in a somber tone.

“This is the worst day ever. Have you ever been in a situation like this before?” I ask.

“I have, and it didn’t end well. Long story short, Veronica handled it,” Luke quickly explains in slight irritation.

“Connor! Get the fuck out here so I can kick your ass!” Duy yells out.

“I should’ve let those headhunters turn you three into shish kababs!” Connor screams back.

“Fuck you!” The three of us say.

Heh, jinx.

“You know, I think I finally get it,” Connor falsely states in hysteria. “God doesn’t want me to be your savior. He wants his weapons to do it. Yes. Yes! It’s so clear now! I’m not meant to kill you directly! I’m only meant to assist!”

Oh no.

“We’ve been cramped inside here for far too long! I think we could all use some fresh air!” Connor yells as he fires at the windows.

“I’ll see you all in the next life. Farewell,” Connor states with a bright smile.

Don’t put the gun in your mou-

“Stop!” I yell as he pulls the trigger.

Wow. Heh. Maybe we are in hell…

“We need to hurry up and kill one of those bastards and then haul its ass back to the closet!” Duy explains in haste as he prepares to combat the undead. “Playing possum is our only option of escape!”

*

Oh. The bodies smell so bad, and they died with such a gruesome look of betrayal on their faces. People are terrible.

“Teresa, get your knife out,” Duy quickly commands.

Oh. Right. We have to play possum. We start by slicing the zombie’s body open.

This is too easy. Huh? A nametag? Must’ve been an employee from a different store. That’s right. Zombies were once people. His name was, is? Rath Angel? Weird. And his identification card says that he was a resident of Winner, and was born on April 15, 2022, an obsolete time period. Huh. No. Shouldn’t think like that. Maybe Duy and Luke don’t care that he had a name, wife, children, perhaps grandchildren, job, but most importantly, he had a story to tell. A story that’s been lost in the wave of victims. No doubt, we’ll all try to forget this moment, so in a way, his story is meaningless, because his intestines are the only things that are of importance. Huh, maybe we are the monsters of Earth.

Rath’s blood feels gooey and cold. I’m sorry, Rath, for violating you, but I need to rub your blood on me, so I don’t end up like you.

“I’m ready,” I say.

“Ok. We all know the drill, but three things before I open the door. One. We can’t clump together no matter what. We have to move out of their path and stay out of their way. Two. Don’t fall down. Three. Staring too intensely in their eyes will put you in a trance in this situation, so avoid eye contact at all cost,” Duy explains as he very slowly opens the door.

Is this what it’s like to be a zombie? Heh, I guess this is just a free trial, and getting bit is a lifetime subscription…