Blood of the Living Dead - Episode 5 'Love Hurts'

Episode 5 - Love Hurts

Night falls so quickly. Lamp posts are still on, insects still circle their faint rays of light. I envy these creatures, they seem unfazed by the horror that felled the city, my city. The roads have been deserted, shops are in disarray, like the devil himself rode on his giant horse and squashed the whole block flat. I slowly parked my police car at the curb in front of a mall. Fatigue took its toll from the long driving and fighting that I had this morning.

My commander gave me two teams of cops to fight off the crazy people. We were able to kill dozens of them. But more of them came. My two teams were massacred. I radioed for back-up, but nobody answered my call. They're all dead. All that's left is just me.

But, somehow, I managed to escape. I ended up fighting more of them in a large coffee shop. The people there were shooting some scenes for a movie when they were attacked. I hoped to save them all but I am just one cop. I killed seven -- no, ten crazy people. But I only managed to save one woman, the rest were all killed. What's her name again? Yes, Debbie, I remember her from the magazines. She's an actress. She used to be so hot back in the 90's. I didn't realize she's still into movies.

"Leun...," said Debbie, "...are we stopping?" she held my arm, scared.
"Yes. I'm getting us food for the night... check if we can spend the night here, if it's safe."
"What if there's more of them inside?"

I drew my pistol and raised it up my shoulder, "I got my friend here with me," smiled at Debbie and alighted from the police car.

I cautiously approached the mall entrance, opened its glass doors and fixed my eyes towards the darkness. The usual bright lights were out and I can only see faint emergency lamps hanging on the walls. Inhale... exhale. I controlled my breathing as I entered the mall. I walked past restaurants and boutiques until I reached the supermarket. I reached for my flashlight and trained its rays inside. I can see the bread section from afar. Those are what I need!

THONG!

Wait, is that sound I hear? A very faint "THONG" echoed inside the supermarket, which sounded like a pan hitting steel. It was faint, but the eerie silence inside made it sound louder. My head started to think. Could it be one of them? I cocked my pistol slowly, covering the hammer with my fingers so as not to create a sound. I crouched low and peeped through a shelf.

Shadows seem to dance in the background of the emergency lamps, creating shapes that seemed to shift. Shapes that become clearer as I fix my eyes into the darkness. One shape is unmistakably human! My heart pounded rapidly as I realized there is somebody else inside the supermarket. Hair rose at the back of my head. I slowly went around the shelf towards the shadow. I know how to deal with it. I'm going to shoot it in the head!

As I went nearer the thing, I raised my pistol and leveled it at its head. I was about to squeeze the trigger when it spoke!

"Wait, Leun, wait! It's me, Debbie!"
"Fuck! What are you doing here?! You're not supposed to be here!"

"It's too dark outside, I'm sorry." her voice was cracking. I realized the trauma she's had. Back at the coffee shop, her friends turning into monsters. Her near death...what she saw...it must have been too hard for her.

"Okay, okay. Stay here, I'll go check around if it's safe to spend the night here. We're both tired."

I moved around the supermarket, checked its offices and utility rooms. The place is deserted.

I locked the entrances and exits, enforced them with wood and steel. I made tripwires, traps and cracked glass around the doors. Not one crazy guy can make it here without me knowing it! I passed by the bread section and took a loaf of bread. Took two cans of beans along the way picking two liters of soda, too. This should do it. I wasn't thinking about hunger when I was fighting the crazy people. I was too busy killing!

And Debbie. I got a glimpse of her from my location, maybe ten or fifteen meters from her. She's picking up a blouse from the Fashion rack. She likes the color blue, I thought. She was wearing a blue dress when I snatched her from a crazy guy. Now, she's picking another blue. I smiled a bit as I went nearer, then I stopped. She was slowly undressing her top, her back against me.

I can see from the light of the emergency lamps that she got very fair skin. There are a few black smudges which came from the battle we had earlier, but there's no question that she's got great skin. Great, soft and supple skin. She had completely removed her top now and slowly unstrapping her bra. I can see her ample breasts shining with sweat and her small nipples glistening from the light, erect and moist. My crotch began to quiver, as if it has its own pulse, beating hard against the cloth of my pants. I can see her holding a small towel wiping the sweat from her upper body, taking some time caressing her nipples and massaging the skin from under her breast. She moved a little to the left and before I can even bow my head, her eyes slammed against my eyes, her eyelids closing and opening slowly. Then her eyes went down, staring at my crotch. She stood still for a moment then she started to approach me, still naked from the waist up. I can see her breasts moving as she took a few steps to come near me. She stopped a few inches from me, looking at my eyes as if searching for a lost soul from within. She moved closer and I can smell the sweet breath from her mouth, the smell of her bare shoulders, the smell of her soft skin. Her breasts touched mine, my heart went wilder. The pounding grew intense. My hand moved as if an invisible lever had caused it to touch Debbie's right breast. I squeezed it gently making Debbie shiver a bit. Her skin is soft and warm. My hand slid down to her nipples. I squeezed it even more until I hear Debbie heave up a soft sigh. She reached for my neck and kissed me hard, her tongue entering my mouth. She clutched my crotch and unzipped my pants. She reached inside and felt my hardness...

Kris had been hiding inside the huge AHU room, crouched in the innermost corner behind the darkness. The fans no longer work causing her to perspire profusely. Her blouse wet with sweat, it sticks so close to her skin. Her hands oily and dirty as she held a greased iron bar earlier to defend herself from a zombie. The body still lies beside her, giving out an unbearable stench. She had smashed its head leaving the skull open with its brains scattered on the floor. She never dared to come out since that time. She has seen all the horrors a young girl could ever see. Back in the escalator, zombies ride the steps clutching severed, bloody heads -- munching the brains to their delight. At a fastfood, bloodied service crew growl at each other over a baby's stomach. In the bowling alley, customers treat themselves with a palate of intestines and guts, spurting blood as they break arteries after arteries. She is already losing hope. Without Jason to defend her, she knows it's only a matter of time before the zombies know her location and eat her.

But she has to live. She has to go back home. She knows her dad -- her family -- will protect her from these people. She must summon all her strength, all her courage. She has to live.

She picked up the iron bar and stood up. She slowly moved towards the AHU door. She peeped at a small crevice and panned her vision outside. There are about three -- no, four zombies in the hallway. She has observed their movements previously and knows they move clumsy. She knows she can sprint past them and reach the exits. All she has to do is to find a vehicle in the parking lot with its keys on the ignition. She has driven before. Her big brother had taught her before how to back up and move their sedan forward. That would be enough. If she finds a police car, she'll tell all the things she saw. They will come for help and maybe, just maybe, they'll kill all the zombies.

She gathered all her strength. Her hopes had given her more strength, replenished with a vision that she will survive all that is happening. She approached the door, her body shaking. She gave it a strong kick. She gave a forceful grunt as her foot sprang her towards the hallway. Zombies turn their heads to her. To them, she is good food. They dropped the bloodied membranes and moved towards her direction. But she is faster. She is determined to leave this hell. In her mind is her mother. She will soon see her. Her dad will protect her and they will find Jason later. He has got to be alive. She knows at the back of her mind that Jason had escaped somehow. He might be injured, but he will live. She knows it.

She made many turns until she can already see the exits. She can see through its glass doors the street lamps shining brightly. It is already night, but she believes there are still people outside. The thought made her run faster. Suddenly, her vision caught something familiar. Someone familiar! It's him! It's Jason! HE IS ALIVE!

"JASON!" she called out his name.
"JASON, YOU'RE ALIVE! I KNEW IT!" She rushed to him, crying but smiling. Her body shaking as she ran towards him. She is ecstatic to see Jason.

But as she went nearer, she noticed something different. Jason was moving clumsy. He seemed not afraid of the zombies walking close to him. His nose is already gone, dark blood oozing from the wound. The street lamps shone on his face and she can no longer see Jason's sweet brown eyes. They are now gray. He stares blankly at her.

She stopped running. Jason seemed to move quicker towards her, his mouth open, saliva drooling from the sides. He groans, "HRRRRR!"

Kris closed her eyes. She remembers the day she first kissed Jason. They were sitting at a bench outside the church where they first met. Jason held her by the hand and whispered to her, "I love you". She remembers how happy she was that time. Jason held her chin and kissed her cheek. She looked at Jason's eyes and she saw they were brown. Soulful, searching and staring, adoring her. Jason kissed her lips, tasting its sweet scent and in return, Kris kissed back, harder -- and embracing Jason moving her body close to his. Her head goes blank, clouds seem to envelope her senses.

Her hands are now shaking, gripping the iron bar even harder. She opens her eyes and she sees Jason face to face. No more brown eyes, just plain gray eyes. Angry and fierce. His lips are gone now, replaced with just a black hole and yellow teeth, his cheeks now a gaping wound. Blood oozes from his forehead, his neck showing bite signs he suffered previously. He raised his hands and held her shoulders. His mouth opened wide and bows his head to bite Kris.

CRACK!

Jason dropped to his knees, his head smashed from the side. Kris saw a man in police uniform from a short distance, moving his lips, telling her something, but she cannot hear. He is waving at her, signalling her to run to him. Next to him is a woman shouting at her, crying. They seem to move in slow motion as the man in police uniform lunged at her and pulled her hard. He dragged her and gave her hand to the woman beside him. The man points his pistol behind her and fired. Kris turned her head and she saw scores of zombies rushing towards them. One by one, they fall. The man's pistol roaring as spent shells went wild, dropping to the floor. The woman has taken her outside beyond the glass doors. She pushed her hard inside a police car while yelling at her to keep her head down. She shut her eyes and obliged. Later, she felt the car come alive as its engine grunts. She can hear the man shouting as he slams the gears, the woman shouting even louder. Air rushed in, touched her face and blew her hair as the car sped off.

Kris opened her eyes and threw a quick glance from behind her. Her eyes rolled widely searching for Jason, hoping to see him for the last time. But he cannot see him. Tears flood her eyes, her chest about to explode. Jason is no more.


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