Living Dead's

Chapter 34 - He Zhao

On the 6th floor of an apartment. A teenager was focusing his gaze on the remote controller in his hand. The scene captured by the drone camera is transmitted directly on the mini monitor that is in the remote control.

On the screen, several people wearing military camouflage were looking at the drone.

He controlled his drone to attract the attention of those people, in hopes that they would help him from this hell.

Bang out! bang

The sound of a bang on the door of his house came several times. Even though she had already blocked him from using the refrigerator, he was still worried.

He Zhao glanced at the door for the umpteenth time. Every time the door was knocked down, he felt his age was diminishing. It's been more than a week that she's been stuck in this apartment room. The supplies he had were no longer enough, only able to last for 2 days.

He Zhao sighed in fear, still watching the movements of those people. Hopefully the sign he gave me is clear enough.

He began to remember the beginning of this tragedy.

At that time a thunderstorm was brewing in the sky of city F. The electricity went out, and the city was submerged in darkness for a long time.

He Zhao was sitting on the edge of the living room sofa, still wearing his school uniform. He looked into the darkness, waiting for his mother who had not come home until 9pm.

His mother was a nurse at the hospital, and his father was dead. Her mother would usually be at home by 6. He was very worried because it was raining outside.

Thunder clouds shot out bright white streaks that were interconnected. The first burst of thunder rang out, the lightning that struck illuminated his pale and anxious face.

A loud sound of thunder rang out from within the dense clouds, black clouds and bright lightning rolled about in the night sky. The phone call came at this time.

"Mother, how long are you home? Heavy rain outside, do you want me to bring you an umbrella?"

"Xiao Zhao!" His mother screamed anxiously at the other end of the phone. "Something happens in the hospital! Mom's gonna be home in a minute. Okay?"

"alright. I get it."

The sound of thunder was heard again. He Zhao hung up his phone and picked up a glass of water in the darkness. He sat back at his study desk, and used a flashlight to light up his job assembling the drone he had just bought.

His mother was a nurse and often there were emergency events that made him late to go home, He Zhao was used to it.

He Zhao's mother had already tried to go home, but there was a traffic jam along the way that caused her to be delayed to return home.

At 12 p.m., the electricity was back on. The whole room lit up instantly. He Zhao's eyes had difficulty adjusting to the sudden brightness, so he was forced to narrow his eyes.

He Zhao turned on the television, wanting to see the night series while assembling the drone, but there was only white noise on the screen. He furrowed his brows in confusion, replacing the television channel. But the result is the same, there is only a static screen with white noise. He Zhao then turned off the television. Downstairs, a distant ambulance siren was heard passing by.

The phone rings back. He Zhao picked it up. The noise had already disappeared inside the phone line.

He heard his mother's voice ask frantically, "Xiao Zhao, are you okay?"

"En, I'm in the house right now."

His mother's voice sounded extremely trembling, "You, you stay inside the house. Don't come out no matter what. If someone knocks on the door, never open it."

He Zhao realized the panic in his tone, "Mother, what's wrong? Did something happen?"

His mother sounded breathless like someone who had run a few hundred meters, "Wait on mom, mom will be home soon."

He Zhao did not ask again and replied, "I understand."

Outside the door was a terrible scream. He Zhao gasped in shock and immediately stood up from his chair. Slowly he got up and walked to the door. He looked through the peephole. The corridor was completely dark, there was nothing to see. But the darkness gave him an inexplicable fear.

"Please!" A woman cried out miserably, the sound of a door slamming could be heard.

He Zhao's heart trembled as it was startled by the sound. He reflexively took a few steps back from the door.

He Zhao took a deep breath, fear began to appear within him. He Zhao stood up, putting his hand on the doorknob. He tried to listen, there was only silence on the other side of the door, no more crying or shouting.

Inside He Zhao being in conflict would open the door or not. Finally, he decided to sit at the door.

Moments later, a rhythmic beat rang out, it was a typical knock when his mother came home. But there was a terrible roar afterwards.

"Mother." He Zhao turned to face the door.

He Zhao reached out his hand and opened it. With the existence of a door safety chain, it only provides a small gap and the door does not open any further.

His mother was right at the door, she shouted in panic, "Don't come out! Don't come out, Xiao Zhao!"

He Zhao stood at the entrance, the door shaking from being hit by something. A purple rotten hand, stretched out from outside the door and tried to grab it. But the hand was immediately pulled out by his mother. "Close door!"

He Zhao closed the door. His heart raced wildly.

Then he could hear her mother's agonizing scream coming from outside.

He Zhao flinched, he banged on the door with both hands, "Mother!"

"It's okay..." His mother's voice was trembling. "Don't look at the peephole, stay inside."

"Mom loves you..."

After which he heard a shout again before it became a deadly silence.

He Zhao's body trembled violently. He struggled not to see through the peephole, yet he still saw it.

Through the peephole, he sees his mother being eaten alive by a monster. They eat the flesh of their arms, legs, and stomach.

He Zhao's eyes widened with dripping tears, slowly he slumped down helplessly on the door.

He fell down, covered his mouth with both hands. Her tears flowed, passed through her palms and fell to the floor. As he sat down, he saw thick blood seeping through the crack under the door. He Zhao flinched to his feet.

It's his mother's blood.

He Zhao continued to cry silently, not daring to look at the scenery that was outside anymore.

When she woke up the next day, she realized that she had fallen asleep at the door because she was crying too much.

Without looking through the peephole again, he painstakingly pushed the refrigerator in the kitchen to block the door.

After that day he began to live in this cramped apartment room. Vegetables in the refrigerator began to rot and the food began to thin. At least the drains didn't die so he could use them for drinking.

For days he saw things outside using his drone. He saw many humans being bitten by the monster, and the city fell into an endless inferno.

He sought help by attaching the SOS mark to his drone. But no one survived anymore.

The drone battery can last up to 8 hours. He can recharge the battery with solar cells, but the sun in October is not so hot, so the battery is thinning.

He began to lose hope. Maybe he should have died with his mother instead of dragging his life around like this.

As he began to pessimize, he caught a scene from his small monitor screen. He saw some people dressed in military clothes were looting a supermarket.

He controls his drones to follow them and try to grab their attention.

This was the only chance he had of surviving.

He Zhao's dim eyes began to light up with hope.