Chapter 1: A One of A Kind Reunion

It was just a week after new year,when Michael's family received an invitation an annual family reunion once every two years.

Michael's father was at the table,drinking his coffee,his mother who just finished hanging their laundry at their backyard,got in the house and joined him at the table.Michael's father showed her the invitation card.

"David,usually,it should be around May or April,why the rush?"She asked as she took her seat beside him.

"Turns out,my great grandfather,whom I never heard about,is not doing great,and he's on a wheelchair and can't eat solid food.I think they want everyone to meet him before God takes him.After all,he is my dad's father."

She chuckles and asks..

"And your dad has seven other siblings,the venue is going to be filled by all of us again.When is the exact date?"

"Tomorrow.I actually got the card two days from now but knowing they changed the venue to my parent's house,I figured it shouldn't be a problem,but the road is probably muddy and slippery because of the weather this month."

"It's just a few miles but that's a problem,we should ride a van and not a bus then."

While they were talking,a teenager and two kids,a girl and a boy that are clearly twins,in their identical pajamas,joined them.

"Where's Michael?"

Their dad asked..

"Probably asleep,bet he got up all night playing on his phone."

The teenager replied..

"Don't you do the same thing too sometimes,Shane?"

At that,Shane just patted his head and got a carton of milk from the fridge.He poured milk on three cups and gave it to the two kids,and they slowly drank them,and then went to where their parents were seated,who embraced them.

"Good morning you two."

The two kids greeted heir parents good morning with their warm and cute embraces.

Shane stepped out of the room with his hands scratching his head,and it was clear to see that he got up all night as well.

"Arcie,Archie,do you want to see granddad and grandma again this year?"

Their parents asked them and they shouted with a lot of yes accompanied with little jumps of joy.

Their father gave a smile..

"Great,we'll pack some clothes tonight,but you better behave when get there tomorrow,okay?"

The two nodded their heads at the same time and gave out wide smiles.

Five in the morning,the parents woke their children up and started their breakfast,then they took turns to the bathroom.When they were done changing their clothes and putting on their shoes,they went to the bus and van terminal.

They got in a van and by eight,they reached their father's parents' house,it was located miles away from the cities,a few towns surrounding it.The road was pure rock,dirt,and puddles,but the place was surrounded with trees.Inside the house,they saw the two elderly couple having breakfast with David's siblings,who had arrived earlier than them.They were greeted with smiles and waves,the four siblings went to pay respects to their grandparents and greeted their aunts and uncles.

Michael and Shane got out of the house,yards away from the venue,and looked for a quiet place to sit.

"What's the point of a family reunion anyways?"

Shane asked...

"I know,we just see them once every two years,and its really awkward when you run into them."

Michael replied...

It was already ten,the sun was up and not a cloud in the sky.Stairs were fixed on the wooden floor,facing a stage with a tent fixed up to provide shade,with bamboo and plywood for support,a thick metal rod was fixed in the middle.The supports were decorated with flowers and linen to cover them and were fixed to make ribbon designs.They just finished introducing each family,the adults were enthusiastic and eager to introduce their sons and daughters to their relatives,while the kids were all mostly shy.

Never knew mom and dad were distant cousins.

Michael thought...

After the introductions,games were held for everyone.Michael was bored so he sneaked out and went to where they were with his brother this morning,layed on the rock covered by the branches and leaves of the nearby oak tree,fixed his earphones and listened to music as he closed his eyes and found himself lost in his thoughts.

This place is nice,its calm and the air is fresh.You get to do things you want,and the internet speed here is great,hehe.

He yawned and soon,he didn't notice that he fell asleep.He woke up to hear something eerie,and just by hearing it,he felt the chill in his spine.He could hear people screaming from where the reunion was held.Michael stuffed his earphones and his phone in his pockets and then went to where the people are.

He could see people covering their eyes,some their mouths,as if they'd puke,while others were pulling the children to a distance.At the center of the commotion was a scene Michael had only seen in movies and games,six men were holding down a woman who was bloody and had her left arm broken.Just a few meters from them was a man with half of his neck torn apart,blood was gushing out,like water from a hose,only this had a trachea coming out of it.

Michael felt as if his breakfast was going to come his throat so he covered his mouth and put a hand on his stomach.

At that moment,eyes were turned to where a shriek was heard.A woman that seems to be in her twenties came to the scene with blood on her dress,shouting and screaming,her hand was bitten and her back looked like someone ran their nails on it,four lines of blood were made on her back.

A woman gets close to her,holds her,and asks,

"What happened?!"

Before she could reply,the woman immediately fell to the ground,shaking and growling.The other woman who was held,had the opportunity to bite a hand of one of the men,tearing the skin,he screams as he rolls on the floor.People were panicking,some were on their phones,most likely calling for help from the police.

The first woman lunged on the men and started to devour their flesh,when the screams from the surrounding her,distracted her and thus,made them her targets,while the other with the bite on her hand,did the same.The people ran,some to their cars,while the others,to the house,Michael,got in the house.He rushed to the second floor and opened a window to see the venue,what he saw was carnage.

From there,Michael could see a handful of people visciously attacking others,who couldn't even get their car engines to start.They broke the windows and got in.Bodies were on the floor,with what looked like animals on top of them,feeding on their flesh,tearing them to pieces.He even saw one of them who was getting eaten alive,his stomach torn open with his organs out,he was screaming as someone was eating his guts.Below him,Michael could hear the others,locking the doors while the women cry.Some were yelling as they tell the others to call for help.Then,Michael hears a yell from a distance,he saw a buffed man with white hair,wearing shorts,with his left arm completely torn off,only half the bone was present.The man ran as fast as he could to the door,with some of the bloodthirtsy people chasing him.He pounded on the door but Michael could hear the others below saying not to open the door.

"That's my husband you jerks!Let him in!"

A woman cried...

Michael remembered tem from earlier,the woman,a cousin of his mother.They finally opened the door before a dozen of bloody hands could reach him.Those outside were banging on the door and pushing it,but couldn't break it.

Michael hurriedly locked the window and got down to the stairs.From there he saw,the white haired man,with his wife holding him as they cry.But those cries turned to silence.The white haired man started shaking,groaning.He was gritting his teeth,looked down then suddenly screamed with blood coming out of his mouth.He held his wife,his nails going in her skin,gripped her and chewed on her neck.The others screamed and backed off,then the man changes his target,he lunged at the closest person and started devouring her.Michael reluctantly ran up the stairs,tried the first door but was locked,same with the middle door.Luckily,the last door was unlocked.Michael quickly got in and locked the door and pushed the cabinet behind it.He turned his back on it,panting as he sat on the ground.He was startled to see a girl on the corner of the bed,covering herself with the blanket.At that moment,Michael remembered again the couple,when they were on the stage,they told the others that they had a little daughter asleep in the house because she had a fever.

The sound from outside the door got Michael back to reality.He heard a woman try all the doors when one of those things grabbed her.She screamed at the top of her lungs and with that,the little girl with Michael screamed.Michael hurriedly covered her mouth and put his finger infront of his mouth,signaling her to not make a sound.She was shedding tears so Michael just hugged her,hoping she would stop.

Minutes passed,the girl stopped crying but they could still hear the thing eating a corpse.Michael noticed that a window was opened so he got up,the girl held his shirt but Michael slowly gave her a pat and put a finger front of his mouth.She released her grip and Michael slowly walked to the window.From there,he saw a bunch of them outside wandering,slowly walking around.He thought for a moment.

What the hell is going on?What the hell should I do?I can probably sneak out the back but I have a kid with me.I can ditch her--no,what the hell am I thinking.From the looks of it,it's kinda like a zombie virus.Well,it might not be but atleast i have a theory.Wait a minute,mom!dad!Shane!the twins!

Michael held his head as tears fell on his cheeks.He couldn't believe what he thought,what about his family?He then slowly got up again and slowly positioned himself at the right side of the window.He couldn't believe his eyes with what he saw.By the side of the stage,he saw his little twin brothers' corpses,getting devoured by what looks like a familiar figure,he focused his vision and he realized that was his mother.

Michael turned his face to the wall as he cried,making sure the girl doesn't see him.What about his father and brother,there might still be hope,he thought,but that hope was gone when he saw his father turned into one of those things,and he was devouring his brother!

Michael couldn't control himself,he turned his hands into fists and cried as much as he can,but not making a sound.He slowly made himself sit on the floor as he covered his eyes with his right palm.

Why?Why is this happening?What the hell is going on?I'm dreaming aren't I?That must be it,this is a nightmare.

Try as he might,Michael slowly understood that this was reality.Something really is making the people go mad savages.

What is this?A virus?Apocalypse?I can't know for sure,but I have a kid with me.I must find a way to get her out of here.Staying here might mean the end of the both of us.But where should we go?Maybe if we could reach the nearest town,we might get some help.

Few minutes passed,Michael thought of distracting them with sound,that is if they're like the ones from movies and games.He saw a glass cup from the desk near the bed,took it and aimed for a rock a few meters from the front porch.The glass exploded with a loud crack,and those things heard it and headed for the direction of the sound.Michael then threw a mug a little bit farther away.

Michael gave out a sigh of relief,slowly opened the door to see if there's any outside the room,he couldn't see anything,aside from the two corpses outside,they looked like a bear hunted and ate them.He went back inside and locked the door.He slowly opened every cabinet door he could see.He found a small bag of paper money,hesitated at first,but thought that he might need them later.He took the bag and found a backpack at the foot of the bed.Inside,he saw clothes for a little girl and a lady,looked at the little girl and whispered.

"Hi,uhm,what's your name?"

"Callie,"she replied

"Hi Callie,I'm Michael,I'm your cousin,is this your bag?"

"It's my mom's,where is she and dad?

Shit.Shit.Shit.I can't tell the kid her father ate her mother's face off,come on think..

"Uhm,they are-uhm-they are waiting for you by the road.Something happened and they said you all needed to go home.They told me to bring you there."

Callie raised her hands and was going to shout hurray but Michael covered her mouth before she could.

"Everyone is playing hide and seek,so let's be quiet okay?"

Callie just gave off a nod.Michael removed all the woman clothes and found his grandfather's knife,the blade was as long as hid palm,with its sheath.He fixed it in the pouch at the side of the bag.He took a tissue roll and some rubbing alcohol.

Why does grandpa take this wherever he go anyways?Never mind that.I should make sure she doesn't see anything of what happened.No one knows what happens to a kid when they see their parent's-no,relatives' dead incomplete bodies.

"Uhm Callie,part of the game is that the kids should put on blindfolds.Let's fix one on you,don't worry,I can carry you,okay?"

"Okay"

Callie sat obediently as Michael got a handkerchief and made it a blindfold for her.

"Remember,not a sound."

"Mmkay"

Slowly,Michael carried Callie on his left hand and held an alarm clock with his right.

She's heavier than I expected.Wait no,I'm weaker than I thought.

Michael opened the door and crept down the stairs.He was horrified at the scene at the entrance of the house,disfigured bloody corpses were scattered.He slowly turned towards the door and threw the clock as far as he could.Those things ran after the sound and Michael slowly locked the door.He then crept to the living room,found a liter bottle of water and put it in the bag,he also took a bag of cookies.

Michael proceeded to the back door,checked before he got out to see if there are any of those things.

So far so good,but we'll have to walk through the trail that leads to the road.

Michael the whispered to Callie that she sits on his shoulders so that he can move faster.He then slowly carried her up the trail on his shoulders.They didn't meet any of those things.Thinking about it,Michael remembered everything that he saw.Tears then reappeared flowing down his cheeks.He couldn't help but feel sorry for them.

Everyone,I'm so sorry.Why is all this happening?God why?Why the the heck is this all--

His thoughts were cut short when he heard something moving towards them from the main road,slowly walking while groaning.The thing was losing its lower jaw,the tongue could be seen,dangling like a leaf petal.Michael wasn't sure if it saw them,or heard them,but it was now charging towards them.

Let's see if the brain is their weakpoint..

Michael quickly put down Callie behind him and drew the knife.He quickly held its head before it pinned him to the ground,and stabbed it a few times at its skull in quick succession.

They really are zombies,but infected sounds better,but it's better to get Callie out of here.

He got Callie and before he could start walking,a pair of infected was behind them,the one upfront had half of its face torn off,the skull clearly seen,while the other one behind it was missing both of its arms.Michael ran and they gave chase.

Fast,they're damn fast.

One of the infected managed to grab Michael's shoulder,who stumbled.Michael then grabbed the knife and stabbed it skull,it died on top of him.As soon as he pushed it,the other one arrived and tried to gnaw at him.Michael had the knife between its jaws,he then used his left arm to hold on to its neck and positioned his right arm with the knife,planting the blade at the side of its head.Michael pushed it ontop of the first one,took the knife and fixed it in the bag.

He was panting as he sat,he found Callie sitting like a statue,without the blindfold.

Crap,did she see that and got terrified?

"Uh Callie,are you okay?"

He asked her,but she only responded with tears.

"Where's mommy and daddy?"

Crap.Should i tell her?But what if she cries?She might not listen to me,I guess I shouldn't tell her yet huh?

"They might have went to visit the next town,I'm sure we'll find them there.Come on,wipe those tears and we'll go lool for them,okay?"

Michael drew closer to help her wipe her tears off.Michael rested for a few moments before they went their way.

A few hours passed,they've passed multiple rice fields and vegetable patches before they reached the nearby town.

It's quiet,too quiet.

As Michael was thinking,they heard an incoming car.Michael was thrilled to hear this,so they stood at the side of the road,the car seems to be coming from the road going up the hill,left from the road they took..They saw a pick-up truck racing towards them,it slowed down and stopped infront of them.The driver lowered the right window.

"Uncle Fiehl?"

The man simply looked back and said.

"Get in,theyre coming."

Michael helps Callie get in and he was about to get in himself,he heard a lot of footsteps coming from the trail,a bunch of infected were racing down the slope,some were slipping and stumbled and rolled down,three of whom,bumped their bodies at the side of the truck.They immediately got back up again and clawed on the truck.

"Get in,"Fiehl shouted.

Michael threw himself inside,then closed the door.Fiehl stepped on the glass and off they went.They went for a kilometer,the mood calmed and Callie fell asleep,Michael holding her..

"Long time no see kid,how was the reunion?"

Michael was lost in thought as he remembered everything that occured.After a moment of thought,he looked at Callie,making sure she's asleep.

"The reunion was one of a kind."

Michael said with a sigh and a frown.

"It was horrifying,everyone---everyone is dead.What about you?What happened to you?"

Fiehl looked at him,seeing the fear in his eyes.They were both wearing bloody clothes,there was even blood on Michael's face.

"Before going to the reunion,I just wanted to see an old friend.The night was good,but the next morning,something happened.My friend's uncle came to the house with a bite on his left hand,he was going to explain when he started to groan loud,he was moving like someone getting exorcised,then he---he chewed off my friend's cheek.I rushed to push him then locked the door.His wife and son came from the kitchen,I told them to make him calm while I get cloth and water.The minute I came back, he---he was eating his son's stomach.He looked at me and lunged at me,I pushed him,ran to the kitchen,then stabbed him at his heart,but he was still alive.Stabbed him a couple more times until i hit his head,then he stopped moving.I got out and reached my truck,next thing i know,I was surrounded,but luckily,they don't know how to open the doors.Drove through a curve then down the slope,that's when I saw you."

Michael got a wipe from the bag and started to wipe Camille and his face.

"What exactly happened to you kid?"

"They were playing games when a woman tore someone's throat off with her teeth.Another came and did they same,I ran to the house with a bunch of the others right behind me.They let a man in,he bit his wife's face and I ran upstairs to the only door that was unlocked and found her."

"Who is she?Looks familiar."

"Her name is Camille,I didn't tell her that her parents are dead yet,should I?"

Fiehl thought for a moment before he spoke.

"Do you know if her dad's a buffed guy with white---"

"White hair,mom is a woman with a scar on her left hand."

"I see,so the man who bit his wife's face?"

"The one and only."

"Holy crap,there were no others with you?"

"I'm not sure,but I didn't see anyone else who wasn't like them.Everyone else was infected."

"Virus huh?Guess we have the same thinking.What about Dwayne?John?Dave?"

Michael looked down,clenching a fist.

"They're all dead,even dad."

"I see,sorry you had to see all that."

Ending their conversation,silence took over them.A little while later,the silence was broken with the sound of a helicopter above them.

"Head to the city a kilometer on your right!Go to the safe zone!Make sure not to make any form of contact with infected individuals."

"Pilar City,huh?"

At this,Fiehl took a sharp right turn,waking a confused Callie.

"Mom?Dad?"

Fiehl looked at Michael with the rear-view mirror,then fixed both eyes on the road and saw a gate with a handful of cops and soldiers.

They stopped the truck and asked Fiehl to open the doors.They aimed their guns as one of them yelled them what to do.

"Nobody move!Were any of you bitten?"

Fiehl replied with a no.The officer was to inspect then more when more cars arrived,continuosly pressing on their horns.

"Go quickly,and don't make any stops,go to the safe zone!"

Fiehl was about to ask what's happening but he had to follow what the officer said.They were not far when they heard gunfire from behind them,followed by screams,they dared not look back.

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