“How about cravings?” I asked. Malak looked at me.
“Cravings?” Muneera took in the word. “I don’t believe it’s uncommon. Body changes trigger the need for certain elements it may lack.”
“What is that black part over there?” Malak pointed at a dark corner at the very end of the laboratory. A sign-less, black matte door that soaked up all the light from the bright surroundings and hid it.
Fahad and Muneera exchanged worried glances. Fahad exhaled deeply. “That leads to an incinerator room.”
“You mean…” Malak searched for the words to complete her sentence but couldn’t.
“We will be down here for some time.” Fahad clasped his hands behind his back. “We can’t take that risk.”
A man marched in with urgency in his face. He approached Fahad and saluted. “At ease,” Fahad replied.
“The message you are expecting was delivered, and it has been confirmed the target is secured.”
“Excellent.” Fahad grinned. He turned to us. “I have great news for you, girls.”
“What?” I stepped forward.
“Your dad has been located and informed of your location. He is well and safe. You girls can talk to him tomorrow morning.” He smiled.
“Daddy,” Malak said. She held my hand. I held a tear.
“I will escort you back to your room,” Fahad said. “You need to rest. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.”
We walked back to our new home. Fahad took us back another route to see more of the facilities, passing a children’s playground, a prayer hall, and a learning center. “This place is huge,” Malak said.
“You are a journalist,” Fahad said. “You can start writing about this place as soon as you’re up to it. We have a sector exclusively for that under the communication department. I am sure they would love to have you.”
“I’m already taking notes,” Malak said.
“Some zombies recognized their names,” I said. A few children ran past us giggling, unaware of the displacement. “How is that possible?
“We have a strong association with our names. Our brain is exposed to it every day, seeing it hundreds of times, hearing it, saying it, writing it. That could be why.” Fahad opened the door for our sector. “But the brain still holds a world of mysteries within it, only time will reveal.”
We said our goodbyes and parted ways. As I walked close to the door, two cups filled with a milky liquid became clear. A yellow sticky note hung on our door next to the code pad. I pulled the slip. “Call me at my extension: 185.” I flipped the note. “My little brother wants to meet the girl who will save the world and the girl who changed mine.”
Malak picked up the two cups and brought one closer to her nose. “Smells like coconut and—”
“Piña colada?” I asked.
“Yes. That's what it is.”
“Rakan.” I smiled.
“Are you two a thing now?” Malak asked. I wanted to lie about the possibilities but saw Deema behind Malak, coming down the hall and heading toward us.
“Sara. Malak,” Deema said and stood next to Malak. “I’m sorry. Please let me explain.”
I glanced at Malak, who gave me a quick nod. I turned around, giving them both my back and entered the password. The door clicked open. I stepped aside and took a deep breath, remembering a saying my dad said. “Whoever seeks a faultless friend remains friendless.” I looked over my shoulder. “Well, are you just gonna stand there?” I said, looking at Deema.
Consequences don't see motives; it only sees who causes them. If someone made you drink poison, the toxin won’t understand and come back to kill those who forced you. No, it will kill you. You take responsibility for the actions even if they were caused by others. Deema smiled while sobbing and ran inside.
“You’re not as tough as you let on.” Malak batted her eyelashes. She poked the tip of my nose and followed Deema in.
“Hey wait! I need to tell you how I went all Chuck Norris on those people in the hotel.” I closed the door behind us.
Chapter 1
(The end and the beginning)
In my new room. At my new home. I curled up on the sofa, wrapped in a crisp blanket under layers of concrete hidden from the moon, stars, and sun. The light could not penetrate this far down, it could not reach me. It would hit the surface and scatter, absorbed into darkness. But there was light here. Hope. Rakan sat at the edge of the sofa, watching his little brother play with a puzzle on the ground. He turned to me and smiled, slipping his warm hand in mine. May’s ring rubbed against my skin. Malak and Deema were in sight a few steps away from us at a dining table, eating popcorn. Plumpy flew over to the table, stole a few pieces of popcorn, and flew on my shoulder. Crunch. Crunch. No movie?
We survived. But we did not in any definition win. We lost everything. Our families, our civilizations, our identities. We merely live-ived. Morals and principles would be rewritten. Gender roles would shift. Everything we once thought we knew would soon change. What defined us would slowly fade. But the real question remained; would we adapt to the change? Would it alter us completely? Would we be able to recover an attack such as this, or would the Saudi identity become obsolete? Maybe I would fit into this new society. Maybe it would fit me. Maybe we’d both meet on common ground. I thought of something my dad always said. “You can’t change or control the wind, but you can adjust the sail.”
We were now forced under by the different threats facing us, forced to sink below ground, buried. But soon would rise. It was a new dawn. A new era was emerging.
Am I ready?
Are you?
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Zombies In Saudi Arabia Page 36