Apocalypse Bohol

CHAPTER 5

4:15 pm.

The armored van rolled onto the gateway and stopped. The subdivision's walls were showing signs of battle. Decapitated bodies or dead zombies with bolos (a Filipino sword, now used as a gardening tool) sticking out of their heads were lying everywhere in the ground. Blunt tools like sledgehammers or metal rebars littered the ground. Impaled bodies of still living zombies hung against the fences, while a few tattered remains of fresh human body parts and organs were sprawled all over the subdivisions green grasses.

The violent scene certainly looked fresh... but there was an eerie silence that blanketed the neighborhood. No moans, no hisses, no shuffling.

The whole area was devoid of zombies. Or life for that matter. Not even stray dogs survived the carnage; their lifeless bodies fallen alongside those who had fought to defend the subdivision as best as they could.

"Nobody get out." Carlos told them as he shifted into first gear. The truck rolled forward slowly. The vehicle was like a virtual tank in this case. No amount of zombie claws could scratch through the truck's hardened nickel-and-chromium steel plates. Everyone was quiet, even Daryl, as they surveyed the damage.

Jeb gripped his gun tightly as Carlos maneuvered the truck slowly.

"Strange." Ervan commented. "There should be a horde of zombies rushing towards us right now... but it's like ghost town."

"Turn here." Daryl interrupted, pointing to the left. "Her house should be the fifth one from this street."

They drove towards her house. It seemed largely untouched save for a broken window and what seemed to be a circle made out of blood. Carlos drove the car in reverse, trying to park the rear of the vehicle as close to the front door as possible.

Jeb and Trish opened the rear door and got off. "We'll check the rooms. Ervan, try to see if you can find anything useful we can bring back home here." Trish said.

"And steal from our teacher's home?" Ervan asked, indignant.

"No, you idiot. If she's alive and manages to get to our place, then at least some of her personal items will be there waiting for her. If she's not..." Trisha didn't bother to finish her sentence.

Ervan jumped down. "Ill check the ground floor, You and Jeb check the rooms." He said.

"Guys, hurry. We need to be home before it gets too dark." Carlos called out. "You have ten minutes to search the house, and after that, we're leaving, ok?"

"Okay!"

Jeb and Trish ran up while Daryl accompanied Ervan to the kitchen. There were boxes of food stacked neatly on the side. Ervan and Daryl looked at each other and grabbed them. They were too heavy to carry alone, so they lifted the box together and brought it to the car.

Meanwhile, in the second floor, Jeb and Trish discovered a gruesome screen. Fresh blood on the rug, and some numbers written on the floor.

"Look! Mrs. Rheena's phone!" Jeb said, pointing at the phone. It had landed on the bed. He grabbed the phone and inspected it. "It's locked." He said.

Trish studied the bloodied writings on wall. "4... 5... 2..." She walked over to the broken windowsill and saw the circle. "O? Or zero?"

"4520-? Whats—oh, I got it! It's her phone pin." Jeb said. "her camera app is open." He opened the app and played the video. "What is..." He stopped the video. Suddenly he grabbed Trish's hand and started dragging her out of the room.

"We have to get out of here now." Jeb said.

"Jeb – why? Let go!" Trish said.

"No. Now, Trish, before anything else comes back!" He said. He was shaking, nervous. "Mrs. Rheena's dead."