by M. D Khamil
"Claire catch!" She caught the balls.
"Where did you get this?! Oh!"
"No time to explain! Just do it!" She threw it to Victor and activated the new Gravity Wave. Another sixty seconds for me.
"What the fuck is this?! Release me! Grrrahhhh!" Victor was madly going all out like a monster. I tried entering the codes again, this time I changed the "O" to "0". Entering code now, "X-7-7-0-N-M-V-I-R-U-Z-0-8-8-X", "Crink!", "Access Granted." The vault door opened and there sat a device looks like strange generator, small size about as big as a car battery. It has one button on top of it in red. I took the device out and put it on the floor.
"Travis thirty seconds left!" Claire was panicking. The future is under my responsibility now. I have the hidden weapon right in front me now. It’s time to end this once and for all. There was a button and a key hole. I pressed the button, inserted the key that we got from the pendant, igniting it and a spark of a massive bright blue wave came out from the weapon, spreading to all direction and passed through any solid material around the area.
"You fool! Noooo!" Victor screamed and soon left froze to death, as the blue wave has deactivated the virus from inside his body, and eliminate it for eternity. Claire and I were both lying on the floor in relieved that it was over now. Sarah ran in the dark looking for Claire and Claire quickly reached for her and embraced her.
"It’s okay now, it’s over."
I took the weapon on the floor with me, then get Claire and Sarah and we went out from the museum. Claire went to the truck with Sarah, I stopped at the front door turn back and took a last glance toward the door. I talked to my self, "Roger, justice has been stood upright. May you rest in peace, little brother." I walked away with a heavy heart and soul. It was hard for me to lose someone so important right now. I saw a bright future coming closer to Roger but if God wanted to, he would take someone He loves sooner from us. We planned all the things, but He was the one who decided it.
"I am glad it is all over now." Claire expressed her relieved and mixed feelings from what had just happened. Sarah interrupted in the middle of Claire’s speech.
"Is Roger going to meet mommy and daddy?"
"Honey, yes. He’s gonna tell them that how brave you are to fight with your fears."
"But I’ didn’t do anything." replied Sarah.
"Sweetie. Not many young girls can experience what you had experienced back there. The fear, the traumas and phobia, you are resistant against them, because you believed in yourself."
"Is Roger gonna tell mummy and daddy to come pick me up?" Claire hesitated to continue her conversation with her but decided to say something more helpful.
"They’re now in heaven. They still love you. You just have to make sure you pray for them every single day. They would hear you and will be watching you from up there. There’s no need to worry about them. Your parents asked me and Travis to take care of you now. If you’d love to, you can call me mommy and Travis your daddy." Sarah seemed livelier after hearing those words. She held Claire tightly and soon fast asleep.
I was driving my truck and for every few miles I would stop and took out the weapon and activated it to kill of the virus in the area. I do this for several places from where it should be done. Claire said the blue waves travel for at least thirty miles coverage. She used the satellite to view from her personal tablet device. Along the journey back home we saw no more wanderers, most were lying dead on the ground and roads. Even the corpses were cleaned from the virus. No black blood, they all turned back red.
All I want to do now was back home, have good rest and sleep, and enjoy bunch of food and drinks to celebrate our victory. We can’t go back to our previous way before, the dead bridge, as it was destroyed by us earlier. We had to go straight from the blocked road, and we only have to bombed the blockage and get free. Time showed 16:20 hours in the afternoon, almost sunset but the sun shone brightly as if it brought new hope for us. We arrived at the blocked road around 16:47 hours, we plan everything out to clear out the road from stacked of cars and rocks being put as obstacles. I have few extra grenades with me and Claire had one more ball left that I handed her earlier during the fight. It turned out to be a Gravity Push Wave, wave that expelled any obstacle including humans and animals. Knowing this, I do not need my grenades to do the job. We set out some distance far from the road blocked. Claire put the ball inside my sniper rifle’s bullets case, she took aim, eyes sharp like a hawk, with confident she shoot the block of cars and rocks at it most weakest point. A huge deafening sound was created from the ball as it activated and produced an almighty pushed sending those cars and rocks flying some few meters from its place. The road was now free and we were able to cross it happily.
About 18:15 hours in the evening we arrived home in Cornfield Street. My loyal friend Prince already barked excitedly to see me from the apartment. He ran to get me immediately as soon as he saw we arrived home but he noticed something’s wrong. He kept searching the truck and went back to me. I instantly understand what he was looking for, "He’s gone my boy, he didn’t make it." Prince was growling as if to express his sadness. Even animals have the feeling that was sometimes more human than the humans themselves.
Chapter 21
The Last of Us
That night we mourned the lost of our good friend Roger. We prayed for him and for others who have lost their lives recently. The plague has almost wiped the race of all humanity from the surface of the earth but I still believed there was hope and there were still people out there survived, if not many but some. The atmosphere was not the same as before when Roger was still around. We laughed, we fought, we partied and dance all night. Though we have a new member in the family Sarah, the feeling was not as happening as what we have experienced previously. Sarah might replaced Roger, but I still thought he did not deserve to die like that. I felt guilty toward his death. I could have avoided it. I could have forced him to stay with Prince. He was still young but death would not wait. There must be a reason for what happened, and that we learned from our past mistakes. Nothing can change the past but the future. It was up to us to shape our own fate.
We have our dinner around 20:08 hours. Sarah sat next to Prince and I next to Claire. Claire noticed I was a little bit moody.
"Travis, it wasn’t your fault. It was his called."
"I know, but I still feel bad about his death."
"You need to get over it. We all sad about his death, but we need to go on with our lives now."
"I promised him that I would help him."
"You already did, by staying alive. You exterminated the virus. McKenzie would have been proud of you. He thinks of you as his own brother. Viana had already received her punishment." Claire was right. It saddened me more when she brought the brother thing up. I just lost a good friend and a brother. But I believed he was still with us, in our memories and heart.
I could not sleep so I spent the rest of the night reading a book named "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea" by Jules Verne in the library. The book kept me awake, it was fascinating that Jules Verne wrote the book in 1800’s and wrote about submarine, where submarine was not officially invented yet around that century. I always thought that he was the father of science fiction, and everything he wrote seemed to make sense. People might think I'm crazy but all Jules Verne researched about science and geography was almost accurate! And to think that technology was not very sophisticated back then. Someone came into the library and it was Claire. She wore only blouse and short pants wit her hair unfastened.
"You’re still awake?" I said to her.
"I can’t sleep. I saw the light was on in the library so I thought it must have been you."
"Yeah, I think I have insomnia. I decided to take some light reading before my eyes can finally be really tired."
"Can I join you?" she said.
"Yeah sure."
"Thanks. I think I should make some coffees for us. We might stay up late. Be right back."
"That would be
great." She left the room and went downstairs to make us some coffees. We enjoyed the night reading, chatting, exchanging opinions what we thought about books that we have read, we felt really at home, peaceful and like a happy family.
The next day was filled with cheers and laughs. It was a beautiful day. Sarah and Prince play catch and throw Frisbee in the yard, while Claire and I worked together to remove all the traps I have setup before. It was a safe world now. We planned to bring Sarah and Prince out after we finished with our work, we need to go back to Fort Knox and looked out for any survivors left who might still be hiding in the shadows among the buildings in the big city. We were not going to stop, we would keep looking to have our race restored as it was before. Claire invited us to have some drinks and have some rest because we have to go immediately after we took our refreshment.
We went to Fort Knox in separate transport. I drove my truck along with Prince and Sarah. Sarah was now very attached with Prince. She loved the dog very much. Claire drove the Lambo, left by Roger. I thought the car suited with Claire’s characteristic. It just matched her. She led the way and was driving in front of me. Along the way to Fort Knox city, I carefully looked at the landscape around the area. Most of the houses and other buildings were left emptied. People flee from the virus but found a dead end. This left me sad and at times angry about it. I want to see people walking down the street, other cars driving the same road as we were, contractors fixing the road, business men in their suits; anything. I want to see all of them again. That’s my wish and promise.
When we arrived in Fort Knox, we checked every buildings, shops, apartments and even alleys. We spoke through our radio and enhanced our voice through a loud speaker. We told them to come out and show themselves if they were still out there and that it was okay to came out now as the virus has been exterminated. We received no reply; it was all silent, the type of silent that broke your heart. We tried again, I would never stop until there was someone out there came out and answered my called. Then Prince started barking from the truck. Sarah tried to make him quiet but he barked even more. There was only one reason for that, Prince can sense someone’s presence if he could hear and saw something. Dogs usually have keen vision and hearing, even in the dark.
From my left side of the building, there came out two elderly couple, followed by five little children, two girls and three boys. How I was glad to see them, then another three from the nearest block. Claire shouted to me telling there are some survivors at her side as well. We were so excited to see them, though they looked weak and ill. I asked them if there any cars nearby that they could use. I wanted them to follow me home. They just nodded and quickly packed some stuff and get the cars. There were many cars at the basement from where the elderly couple lived; it seemed to be an underground car park. Most of the survivors did as what we told them and prepared to go home with us. I have a bigger plan for all of them. I almost break up looking at the scene how they respected and trusted both Claire and I that we sincerely wanted to help them. We went out from the city, all cars lined up behind us just to see the joy on their faces again. It was as if I led them all marching to a new hope and future, away from sadness and misery.
Chapter 22
New Life
So far we have fifty-five followers with us. Thirty men and twenty-five women, including children. If added four of us Claire, Sarah, Prince and I, that makes us fifty-nine people altogether. We lived under the same roof, my apartment, enough to keep all of them. Besides I have extra rooms and everything for them, so there’s not much to worry about. Some of these people were teachers, business men, a doctor, a chef, musicians, police officers, authors, architects, entertainers, factory workers and last but not least two of them were ex-scientists from Newton Corp. Everyone of them played important role to start a new beginning. We planned to search for more survivors on a bigger scale across the region. But before that we do what the best both Claire and I know about the virus, tell them how would they spread and affected someone. There were more places that we have not covered where the virus was still active. We recruited them, along with the helped of the police officers in the group, to train them to be able to protect themselves from the walkers.
In the mean time I came to meet and discussed with the two scientists. Claire and I had decided that we need more of the virus exterminator weapon created. They were also agreed with this and ready to cooperate anytime. We took them to Greendale where the Newton building was. All equipments, apparatuses and machines were still working fine and this made it easy for them to do their work. Time passed by in a blink of an eye. Within three months we already had more than thirty of the weapons. We had more followers then, we have about three hundred and sixty four people with us. Some of them live in Greendale, Fort Knox and Brooksville. It was a safe place to live now, everyone working together to clean up the city and town. Some of the corpses lying about anywhere were cremated and buried. Everyone was motivated to build the world they knew before from scratched to what it was supposed to be. The strength in believing a better future was the key to success.
30 Years Later
People now were more confident to live their daily life. I was very happy and grateful for this, as this was what I wanted. More scientists were hired, police men, military, teachers, businessmen, farmers, fishermen and many more. Schools started to be opened I see children happy to meet new friends. My eyes were already wet. I have all of them under my watched and command now. All houses were filled, shops and malls were crowded and offices were busy. The world I knew before came back to what I had hoped for. I thought it was still a dream.
"My love, it is almost dark, we should go inside now."
"You can go to sleep first my dear, I want to stay here for a while and look at the sunset."
"I love you Travis. Thank you for everything."
"I love you too Claire. You are my first and my last. Thank you."
I married to Claire and have two sons whom I name Roger after my late friend and David after my late father. I have much bigger responsibilities to keep my country living in harmony and prosperity, for my people had chose me to be their leader, their most beloved president for the last 30 years. My story ended here but my future generation would continue my legacy for all eternity.
THE END