The Monster In Me

Raining

“Aaah! Children, hangin! As much as possible press their necks with your arms!” yelled Danita who is now trapped between zombies and the wall of the Cakrabuana Playground snack and drink center. His face was already covered in wounds and fresh blood from being continuously hit by the asphalt as he fell down because of being chased by a bunch of zombies. And although the young teacher had tried very hard to save himself, he still ended up trapped because it turned out that the path he had taken led him to a dead end.

Automatically, the students who had been following his direction were also stuck in the same situation. Karsa continues to try to avoid the attack by dropping several vending machines to block the movement of zombies. However, the sheer number of zombies began to overwhelm him. Moreover, both ears must also be tormented because Trisha who continues to scream behind her.

Meanwhile, Evan and Abian's situation was not much different either. Abian is now on the roof of the food booth. Survive up there while continuing to push the zombies that are trying to climb up using a stick that is not long enough. Evan is a little lucky because he lives on the roof of a truck that has been modified to sell sandwiches. At least, the place stands sturdier than the tarpaulin roof that Abian occupies.

“Completed already! We're gonna die here! I know it!” abian shouted in despair. Tears had long since flowed down her cheeks. Moisten his clothes that already have a variety of shades of brownish red. “In every horror movie, no matter how great the players are, they will still die if surrounded!”

“Be quiet, Bian!” reprimand Evan while creeping his own hair. Hopefully, he will be able to think more clearly. “Rather than keep complaining so, you better find a way to jump in here! That tarp won't hold you much longer!”

“By the way, easy! How can I jump that far? You don't know that my Penjaskes value is so bad?”

“You think we're all going to die? In that case, it is better to die while trying to jump than to die from falling from the tarp roof!”

“I don't want both!”

“Abian!”

Evan massaged the base of his nose which felt painfully throbbing. He really did not understand why he wanted to travel with a fool like Abian. Not to mention Danita, Karsa, and Trisha, who instead of helping her, are trapped down there. Even Evan could not see the position of the three of them clearly, so many zombies surrounded them.

“Truly useless! Can they only survive here?” evan grumbled in his heart. Regardless of the hands of the zombies trying to grab his feet from under the truck, Evan stood up and circulated his gaze around once more. “Actually, why are they all gathered in this place? Do they still have any consciousness left and come to the exit gate to leave here?”

Evan's forehead frowned as he realized something. “And again, why does it feel like the zombies here look more ‘clean’ compared to the zombies I met elsewhere? I mean, a lot of them don't have a lot of injuries.”

The young man shook his head to shake the useless question. He then stared at the large, tightly closed gate not far from where he was. Both eyes squinted at the sight of the big shot lock as well as the padlock attached there. Recalling how hard he was, Karsa, Danita, and Trisha attempted to break the key.

That was their chance. From the gap of the big gate Evan had seen that the situation outside the gate was quite quiet without any zombies in sight. Looks like the undead are not up to the parking lot of the Cakrabuana Playground.

“We just need to break down that gate and run out. Stealing any vehicle we first saw. Then go,” murmured slowly. “Easy it! I can even sacrifice some people if there are zombies to intercept us! But in fact, none of my plans worked! If until I lose them all here, I will no longer have the weapons to defend!”

“Anyone will not be able to get out of here,” thought the young man. “If there are still people who survive, they should be heading here. But so far I haven't seen anyone. Is there another gate?”

Evan breathed a heavy sigh. A sense of frustration had filled his mind as he watched the roof Abian occupied begin to drift. It seems that the zombies managed to push the support pole to make his friend now have to hold on to survive.

The undead around him seemed to be writhing in pain. Some of them who still have intact limbs appear to press both ears each. They let out a terrible scream while running to and fro in an uncertain direction. Until it ended up slipped by the slippery road, both by blood and water from the rain that began to fall.

The roar that scratched the heart made Danita grimace along. However, he did not have time to pity the strange creatures. Although the current sound of lightning continued to be heard in just an interval of a few seconds, he did not know when all of it would stop. Danita immediately ran to find her students, and found Karsa standing with Trisha.

“A-what is this?” ask the young man. His two eyes did not stop widening, wide open resembling his gaping mouth. He really feels confused.

Karsa was ready to accept his death, when suddenly all the zombies around him left.

“Mother doesn't know either,” Danita replied while embracing Trisha who was still sobbing. “We don't have time to think about it. Come on, get out of here! Have you guys seen Evan and Abian?”

“I'm here, Mom!” Abian shouted from his position hanging on the end of the tarp roof. He whined because he could neither go down nor go up. “Please! I'm scared!”

“Just take your hand off!”

“No want! Are you crazy?”

Karsa shook his head. He intended to kill Abian, but suddenly the sound of lightning was no longer heard. The rain had not yet come down hard enough, so the atmosphere around again sounded quiet.

The zombies that were originally dissolved in their respective suffering now turned their heads towards the survivors. Karsa, Danita, and Trisha who realized that then shouted to Abian to immediately go down.

Evan who watched everything then clucked annoyed. He easily jumped down from the roof of the truck and ran towards the location of Abian hanging. Without feeling he kicked every pole until Abian fell and sat on the ground.

“It's not high enough to make you hurt. Come, wake!” order Evan.

The two of them immediately ran along with the other three survivors.

With a heavy heart they passed through a gate that should be able to deliver them to the outside world. However, before that, Evan suddenly stopped at a free drink booth provided by the playground. The booth appeared to have been quite damaged, but the beverage storage refrigerator still stood in fine condition. Evan picked up a few bottles and put them in a bag. A satisfied smile was on his face as he ran back to catch up with his friends.

***