Rotting World, Blossoming Love I ONC 2021

Chapter 1

Finding love was never my priority. I thought I had all the time in the world for that.

And then the zombie apocalypse happened.

As you can imagine, that made it even more difficult to find 'The One' when most of the guys were brain-eating zombies.

To be honest, I never even expected to survive this long in the dark new world. Even before the apocalypse, I wasn't good at dealing with everyday problems, let alone something as serious as fighting for one's survival.

Yet here I am, still alive, going towards another safe-haven, another place rumored to be zombie-free.

"Marissa, are you awake?" Jessica whispers.

I want to pretend that I am fast asleep. However, Jessica is close enough to see that my eyes are open.

"Yeah, what's up?" I ask, tired of her never-ending questions.

"Do you think we'll ever find it?" She asks.

"Find what?" I ask.

"That safe place they are all talking about, the zombie-free zone where we can lead a normal life," she says.

"I don't know. I hope so. Otherwise, what's the point of living if all we ever do is run away from those things." I say.

Loud noise has us both jumping off the thin blankets we are resting on. It takes me a moment to register that it's the sound of voices approaching us and not growls. I sigh in relief.

"Professor, we need you! Hurry up!" Jason calls, making my relief short-lived.

I wish I could pretend that I am not here or that I fell asleep, but I know there is no use in doing that. I would just be delaying the inevitable.

If I don't go, Jason will just come and drag me out, by force, if necessary.

Don't get me wrong, he is not a bad guy. He just does what needs to be done to survive. It's not his fault that I am the only one with any medical knowledge in our group.

"I am coming," I say, putting on my jacket as I am still not used to the crisp air outside.

I enter the medical tent in a hurry and start my usual sham, pretending that I know what I am doing far better than I actually do.

"What do we have here?" I ask as if I can't see the people with cuts and bruises sitting on the improvised beds.

"We found these people in a house nearby. They were surrounded by zombies, so we took out the zombies and brought them here so that you can check them for bites, patch them up if necessary." Jason says emotionlessly.

"Really? You did it out of the goodness of your heart?" I ask as I start checking the woman first.

She is twice my age but seems to have much more vigor in her little finger than I do in my whole body. Her bruises are minimal, and the few cuts on her skin are easily treated. Also, the warm smile on her face helps me feel somewhat better in my skin than I usually do.

"They have large supplies which they graciously offered to share with us if we helped them," Jason says.

I still don't believe him since he rarely picks up any strays, as he calls them, but I don't question him further. After all, he makes all the calls, and although I can't see him having any use for the elderly couple, I know that he has struck some kind of a deal that suits his purposes.

Furthermore, I am distracted by a well-built guy sitting on a nearby bed. He is trying to calm down the older man, who doesn't seem too pleased with whatever arrangement they made with Jason. The man also doesn't seem comfortable being checked for bites. However, I pay no attention to their discomfort since it's something we all know is necessary.

The first thing I notice about the younger man is that he is strong enough to survive in this hell of a world. If anyone has been born to live through a zombie apocalypse, it's him.

That also explains why my cousin would help them. We need more fighters if we want to get to the safe zone alive. Especially having in mind that Jessica and I are useless when it comes to fighting. To be honest, I don't think Jason would have taken us with him if Jessica wasn't his wife and if I hadn't had that medical training when I was in med school.

This guy, on the other hand, seems capable of fighting as well as three people. That would explain while the older couple is also allowed to tag along with our group. It's rare for Jason to find good fighters, so he is ready to give far more leeway to this guy than he usually does.

"So what's the verdict?" Jason asks.

"All cuts and bruises, no bite marks," I say.

"Good. Check these two as well. This guy might need a shot. He was cut by a rusty fence." Jason says, pointing at the younger guy's shoulder.

We've learned rather quickly that infection was one of our biggest enemies besides the zombies. Thus, we have realized that we have to be very careful and use all the precautions available.

I want to say 'absolutely' and enjoy the proximity of the first human being I found intriguing since all this started, well, maybe even before that, but I can't do that. Although I never finished med school, I need to try and be as professional as possible.

"We're running out of tetanus shots. I think there might be just two left, and I am not sure when we'll get new supplies," I say.

The reason I am so determined to make it clear that we are running out of those shots is the fact that Jason has chewed me out the last time I used the last one on someone.

"That's okay. My new friend is worth it," Jason says, to my utter surprise.

He must have seen something special in the guy, some unique survival quality that I can't fully comprehend. I mean, I like the guy. However, I don't see what it is about him that would get him special treatment from Jason of all people.

"Okay," I say, uncertainty obvious in my voice as I prepare to administer the injection.

"Have you done this before?" The guy asks, noting my trembling hands.

"As a matter of fact, I have, Mr..." I say, waiting for him to fill in the gap.

"Nathan, just call me Nathan," he says with a disarming smile.

"Well, Nathan, I have done this quite a few times before, but I am still not very fond of doing it," I say honestly.

Then I put all my focus on giving him the injection the right way. I am careful to follow all the steps as I don't want to harm the guy in the slightest for many different reasons.

I am worried that I might accidentally hit a nerve. As I still remember that it can cause the patients a lot of pain or a burning sensation followed by swelling. Even though it doesn't often happen if we are careful, I still worry I might mess up.

Thus, I choose and disinfect the spot carefully and give the injection as delicately as possible while barely controlling my hands, which seem to want to shake forever.

"These are my parents, Marge and Eric," Nathan says once I am done with his shot.

"Nice to meet you," I say.

Before I can even think about introducing myself, Jason is ushering me out.

"You need to help Jessica and the others pack, Professor. We'll have to move out sooner than we planned. Killing those zombies made too much noise; more will be coming soon." Jason says.

With one last look at Nathan, who is waving at me awkwardly, I leave the tent to do what I was told.

I've quickly learned that arguing during these awful times is pointless. It only gives the zombies an advantage, more food for them to devour.

If we want to survive, our best chance is to do as Jason says as he has kept us alive thus far and seems to always know what he is doing.