The Monster In Me

Tracing Songs

“Aaah! What is this sound?” Adira gave a great shriek when she heard a loud voice that was ringing with great pain. The girl pressed her ears with her hands firmly. I hope his actions can lessen his suffering a little. However, it cannot. The sound kept penetrating until it made his head seem as if it was about to explode.

“What did you say?” Firda who could not hear him continued to move closer together with Aron. The boy himself had now cried loudly while hugging Firda tightly.

Realizing that her voice would not reach Firda's ears, Adira could only shake her head. He looked back and forth, trying to find a place that was closed enough for them to avoid the sounds. However, what he saw was precisely the zombies that were thrashing violently a few meters away from where they were.

The zombies looked extremely tormented as they continued to twitch on the asphalt. Not a strange sight, because Adira and Firda themselves often meet with zombies that are busy rampaging themselves. Only, this time not only one to two zombies did that, but almost entirely.

Adira stared in horror until she forgot her own suffering. Both of his eyes widened as he watched the undead claw their faces and most of their own upper bodies firmly. At that moment, Adira only realized that the zombies could still bleed if injured, like ordinary humans. Though according to the story of Abian first, the body of a zombie is just a human body that decomposes. So, is it possible that Abian has misinformed?

Not long after, the sound stopped. Adira and Firda immediately breathed a sigh of relief while Aron was still a little whining even though he no longer buried his face in Firda's clothes.

Ever since Adira took off all the cloths covering Aron, the boy had started to get quite used to seeing the horrifying scene including the zombies. Beyond a doubt, Aron is also very agile and shrewd in hiding. Adira will never admit it, but she thinks taking Aron with them won't be as troublesome as she thinks.

“Have stopped,” muttered Firda slowly. “What was that?”

Adira shook her head, still while looking around. This time he saw the zombies that returned to roam quietly although occasionally still twitching in place, as usual. After that, Adira looked up. And saw a lot of loudspeakers mounted on top of a tall pole. Spread out at some point. “Entahlah. Maybe all the speakers are broken,” replied the girl finally.

Suddenly, another voice sounded like music. It sways slowly, barely caught by the ears. Adira, Firda, and Aron who were alert were able to hear the voice clearly.

Until the voice changed again, this time it became the voice that the two girls recognized.

“Sial! Which one should I turn on? The button is too much!”

Adira and Firda stared at each other. “Evan?” ask them simultaneously.

They should be relieved to find one of their friends alive. Even most likely Evan still survives with other friends. However, the problem is the background sound that was also heard along with Evan's curse earlier.

The sound of the roars of many zombies and the screams of women.

Even Adira was sure that he also heard a sound like a lot of iron falling on the asphalt.

“Where can Evan broadcast his voice like that?” Adira asked with wide eyes. Urged Firda to immediately answer his question.

“A-I don't know either,” Firda replied in a panic. It was obvious that he was also beginning to think a no-no about the situation that Evan might be facing right now.

There is no need to think hard to know that Evan is desperate. Unlike the position of Adira and Firda who already understand very well how to avoid contact with zombies. They just have to be patient waiting for the right moment before settling in. Hiding from one ruin to another.

Adira knows that there is something suspicious behind the sound of buzzing and Evan's voice. Therefore, he wanted to immediately find out the position of the young man. Not out of worry, but purely out of curiosity.

Since the first night of the zombie attack, Adira has decided that she will not worry about anyone, except Firda who is indeed continuing to be beside her. Aron? Adira is still considering it.

“Dir, it looks like Evan deliberately broadcast this,” Firda said as she patted Adira's shoulder which instantly stopped reflecting to herself.

Adira frowned. This time the typical song of the Cakrabuana Playground sounds loud with a carefree tone that is very contrary to the atmosphere of this night. Adira herself recognized the song very well, as she had several times found a broken doll that played the same tone. And one thing Adira realized continued to happen every song was heard.

The zombies seemed to be very interested in this theme song of the Playground.

“The lifeforms are directly approaching the nearest speaker.” Adira squinted her eyes in order to continue to observe closely. “Did they like that song so much? As far as I am concerned, their interest in sound would not last long if it did not come from humans. Turns out wrong.”

“Votes that keep ringing consistently are also usually ignored, right?” Firda frowned and subconsciously tightened his grip on Aron's hand. Aron who understood just kept silent, not wanting to disturb the two girls thought.

Suddenly Firda widened his eyes before patting Adira's shoulder furiously. “They move again!”

Adira followed the direction Firda pointed to using the eyes. At once his expression imitated the expression of the friend. How not? This time he saw the zombies moving regularly as if they were marching. Walking in the same direction even though their ranks are chaotic occasionally because there are zombies that fall or convulsing in place.

With all her abilities, Adira tries to sharpen her hearing. He even deliberately closed his eyes for a while to reduce the distraction. Trusting his safety to Firda completely.

After finding out the possible cause of the strange behavior of the zombies, Adira opens her eyes again. “Some loudspeakers near here are off. Those zombies must have gone to where the song sounded clearer.”

“Where?”

Adira bit her lips for a while while thinking. “Entahlah. Where did Evan manage all this? Oh!”

“What? Wh why? You think of something?” ask Firda spirit. Even Aron was now staring curiously. It seemed that the boy was starting to not stand by just standing still on the spot.

“Where will we go if we get lost or lose something?” Adira asked back without really looking at her best friend. He was busy digging up his memories of the recently lost Playground map. “I think I know where we should go.”

***