Only V

Chapter 3 - Deep Shit

"How can this be? The parameter was in place", Ishank says horrendously

The view that shattered the sense of security of the boys was one that no one can even dream of. One of the creature diving through the intestines of what appears to be a blood-soaked Oreo, but now seeing him in a situation like this led everyone's heart to shatter.

"Is that Ore...", Akash says

"It's not a time to mourn, everyone run up and call dau ji", says Pratyush

"The zombie is relatively small in size, he is a teen, a skinny one. Maybe, maybe I can take him. Hand over the hammer to me.", Anirudh comes forward

"We can't afford to take that risk, just run for now", Ishank exclaims while rushing through the stairs

A rush ensues where everyone heads over to the top floor.

(Heavy breathing)

"WHY WOULD HE PUT ON A LOCK?", Ishan shouts irritated

"(Shouts)Dauji"

"Dauji"

"Guys, I don't see Anirudh around", Akash puts forward

"?"

"I swear he was following me", Ishank says

"We need to check on him", Akash says

"But our safety is not guaranteed if we step down now", Ishan says

(Loud thud)

"I don't care", Akash runs down

The others follow Akash willingly or unwillingly. But Akash climbs down the stair's way too quickly for anyone to catch up to him.

"AAAAAAhhh", Akash shouts in horror

"Shit. I said this was a bad idea", Ishan says while running down the stairs

Everyone reaches the ground floor and see Akash standing jammed, not moving a muscle.

"What..."

"Umm..."

They see something that often occur as folktales to scare the kids. The only difference here is that the kids are not the only one who got scared.

They see Anirudh sitting over a crushed corpse, panting, catching his breath, soaked in splashes of the darkest shade of red one has seen.

"Told you, easy labor", Anirudh says while catching his breath

"I... How? With this hammer", Ishan says shockingly

"Believe me, it was an overkill", Anirudh replies

"Oh my god, I cannot look at this. I need a minute", Ishank says

"Are you boys, okay?", Dauji asks while standing on the stairs

"Okay, you ask? We would've been dead if not for Anirudh", Akash says

"I had work to do"

"Something more important than the matter at hand?", Akash asks furiously

"Yes. There was an electric malfunction due to which the fences and all the defences were rendered useless. I was making the way for them so that we won't get swarmed. A single zombie appearing is nothing but a blessing in a situation like this. You guys have handled more dire situations than this in front of my eyes, this is nothing. Although, you do not remember any of it somehow, let me also remind you, Hordes, hordes are what you have to avoid", Dauji explains

"Let's talk this thorough tomorrow", Pratyush says

"Be on your guard anyways, I need to finish something", Dauji leaves

The boys gather around in one of the rooms to discuss the situation and their plan of action.

"I feel eerie, it's like my body is warning me to run away", Ishank says

"Okay let's get back to the starting. What do we need to do? What is important for us right now? To ensure our family's safety is the first priority. Me, Ishank and Anirudh's families live close by, we can later be separated and look through.

Secondly, what is wrong with the timeline in our heads, the reason behind not recalling anything. It is genuinely confusing the hell out of me since I have been back. How can literally weeks of memories be destroyed and not from any one but all of us. There seems to be some serious conspiracy behind this.

To put it bluntly, we're in DEEP SHIT", Pratyush continues,

"Also, there is one last thing. There is something we are not aware of us, something that Dau ji is hiding from us. I am not very sure of this, but keep this thought on the back of your minds", Pratyush explains

"What happened right now was not ideal at all. Anirudh or anyone else doesn't have to throw hands all by himself if the situation even requires a direct faceoff. We must avoid physical contact as much as possible. Our knowledge of the disease is pretty limited due to which we cannot take the risk of exposing ourselves this openly. We are unaware of the fact that the disease is pathogenic, fungal bacterial or viral.

However, this faceoff provided us with a very precious gift, this sample. I can probably take him apart and put my existing knowledge into good use.", Akash explains

Akash is pursuing a bachelors in bioengineering. He is the only student with a perfect 10 gpa in the university. His research papers are even read by the professors. With a skillset like this, he has adequate knowledge to perform simple surgeries and tests like these.

"We will need to carry the body over to the lab in the biotech department which is around a 2 km trip.", Akash continues

"Fine by me, let me put it aside for a while, we'll carry him over in the morning", Anirudh says

Anirudh proceeds to reach over to the body when suddenly a buzzing sound starts to come out of the dead corpse's mouth.

"What is this?"

"How is this happening?"

"I cannot bear this anymore"

(slash)

Dauji comes from nowhere and beheads the corpse and the sound stops.

"This is a last resort that the body of this creature produces. After dying, this sound is made after a couple of minutes in order to attract all nearby zombies towards the area. Not all zombies are capable of doing this however, this number is not as low as I assumed. I should have told you but it slipped out of my mind due to its rarity. Also, if I had not beheaded this corpse, there was a high chance it would have exploded killing everything in a nearby radius. However, I don't know if this is all correct. Out of the 2 zombies I have met that followed this behavior, 1 exploded and the other didn't. I am not sure what triggers this behavior", Dauji says on a high note

"Shut all the doors and windows, I am engaging the defence system. Things are about to get real."