CHAPTER 4 - Rising and Falling

*****

A YEAR AGO BEFORE THE APOCALYPSE

Eden is still there in the apartment, sitting by her desk and writing in her journal about everything that had happened until she came home but then her head snapped up upon hearing noise from outside.

She slowly stood from her chair and walked to the windows, moving the curtains to the side a little so that she can peek and look outside.

Eden saw much to her stunned shock and horror that fires were breaking out from some of the buildings and other areas that she can see within her sight range and she can hear echoes of sirens from the police and ambulances running around trying to deal with the chaos that had broken out that very night.

She knew very well what kind of chaos they'd be dealing with and knew what was to come so after pulling the curtains close over her windows, she went around her apartment and barricaded herself inside it just in case.

She put a strong-made wooden chair with its back against the doorknob to prevent it from being opened from outside, then she placed two heavy boxes on top of that chair by the door to increase the weight of her locked entrance.

Then she moved the large square table carefully from the dining room and put it up to stand on its side legs and the flat wooden top to cover the windows to provide additional cover and shield against anything that might break and impact her windows.

Then she went around her apartment again to make sure and double-check there aren't any openings or gaps for someone or something to get inside her home.

After that, she started to prepare some necessities just in case she needs to leave the apartment when something else happens that might be more dangerous for her to stay.

She had some clothes ready and packed them in her backpack and used the same bag to place some non-perishable food and drinks inside it and then placed it next to the chair that is barricading her door.

Then Eden thought of something and looked around to see if she had a weapon of some sort she can use to fight and defend herself against the dangers outside and in the city itself.

She decided that the kitchen knives will have to make do as her weapons of choice and took the sharp and long ones out from their place. Then she grabbed her broom from the cleaning closet, removed the end part, and made herself a make-shift spear with double blades duct-taped firmly on each end.

Then she made another spear from a plastic-stick mop that seemed to be breakable, but Eden used it anyway as she removed the mop end and then tightly duct-taped only one sharp knife at one end.

With her weapons ready of two spears, one blade, and two blade types, and 2 large long sharp knives and 2 short ones, she packed the knives inside her full-bulging backpack except for the large ones she placed on top of the closed bag so that she'll carry as her side-weapons. And she placed the two spears next to the backpack.

After Eden finished her preparations, she slowly turned and looked at the journal that is still on the desk, open in the pages where she was writing before.

All she has to do now is finish the entry that she was writing on it and then take a break for herself to think clearly and plan what to do.

She went back to her desk, sat on her chair, and continued writing, her mind instantly going back and remembering what had happened before she returned to the apartment.

*****

JOURNAL ENTRY: 7TH DAY, 1ST MONTH JANUARY, YEAR 2XXX

I kept on sobbing and crying to myself as I was sitting down on the floor at the back of the grocery store, with my back against the locked door and the sounds she's now hearing is that the screaming and yelling had stopped and what was left were the sickening sounds of someone eating and munching loudly from behind the door.

I muttered and prayed silently to God for forgiveness and salvation for what I did before, running like a coward like that but I know that I couldn't help my reaction when faced with something horrifying such as that.

I never thought that there would come a time so terrible for cannibalistic monsters to emerge from whatever hell they had come from.

Just as I kept on mumbling to myself and praying uselessly, I was startled when I heard noise from the back that was going to burst in I had thought that it was those monsters from outside and found a way to the back.

Before I could defend myself with whatever weapon I could grab as I hurriedly stood up, it was the managers of the store who had come back from whatever errand they were on, and one of them is my superior supervisor.

Both men are holding rifles and shotguns at the ready in their hands and they were shocked to see me there just standing there by the door and staring at them silently.

They snapped out of it and asked urgently from me what had happened.

I told them the truth and I broke down crying in pitiful sobs again when I was telling them about how I ran away and left the people outside to be eaten by the carnivorous things outside.

I can feel myself about to hyperventilate all of a sudden and my superior came at me and slapped me hard on the face.

I thought that I was being punished for what I did but then my superior barked at me to snap out of my hysterics and man up.

I reacted like a private soldier being reprimanded by his drill sergeant. I quickly controlled myself and calmed down and wiped away my tears, trying to put on a brave front.

My superior manager was impressed a little that I'm instantly being calm and brave then he told me what he and his partner manager had seen and found out from outside when they were on their previous errand.

It turns out that the monsters outside were zombies. And it looks like it's the start of a rising of the undead and the beginning of a sudden apocalypse.

The two men managed to escape some zombies that were about to attack and munch on them too but somehow they were right next to a weapon store when they were walking back and they went inside and grabbed the guns and they killed them before the monsters could.

I realized that his partner the other manager was carrying a long rucksack that is filled to the open brim with guns and was a bit shocked and impressed that these two guys managed to carry all of them even with the heavy weight-lifting.

Then my superior offered me that I should go with them to safety and leave the city. But I refused them. Even though I want to leave since this is all happening, I couldn't leave without my stuff from my apartment.

My manager understood a little and then he went and wrote down on small notepaper and gave it to me and told me to meet him and his partner at that address for that place is their rendezvous point and they will wait for her there for three days to take her away and bring her out of the city to safety.

I smiled at him at his kind gesture and nodded understanding and then he handed me a standard-issue mag handgun which I was hesitant to take.

Truthfully, I had never used a gun before and don't know how to use one. But I knew that it is dangerous outside without a weapon and slowly took it.

As if realizing that I don't know how to use a gun, my superior gave me simple instructions on how to use it by just aiming right and shooting and being aware of its safety switch and the number of bullets left in the cartridge.

I nodded and understood when I listened to him and then I went and left first, along with my bag that I had brought to work that night, giving the two managers goodbye and that I'll see them again soon if ever I will come and meet them at their rendezvous place.

The two men nodded and they went to grab whatever they had forgotten and needed from the employees' room, which was the last thing I saw from them as I left was that I noticed that my superior manager's partner had a bandage wrapped around his arm and it looked to be a bad wound with the blood bleeding heavily through the white bandages.

I didn't think much of it at the time as I needed to go straight back to my apartment and I hurriedly went off in a running sprint to get there.

I thought that it was lucky for me that I haven't run into the zombie monsters yet but my luck was instantly short-lived when I turned to another corner and almost came right at a group of zombies that were there at a near distance from me.

I hid on the side of the corner quickly and made myself quiet as a mouse, biting my lips to prevent speaking.

I can hear them shuffling slowly as they walked with small moans and groans and I had to take a risk on looking to see where they are going.

I peeked a little and studied carefully in which direction they were moving and then immediately snapped back to hiding when one of the zombies turned its crashed-side undead head to the direction of wherever I am.

I held my breath and kept being silent, hoping and praying to myself that none of the zombies had noticed and it was very tense waiting there until I heard them leave.

Once I heard no more sounds from them, I peeked around the corner again and saw them gone and once I made sure that they were gone I turned around the corner and went back to running straight to where my apartment is.

The gun I had remembered that was given to me, I took it out from the side pocket of my pants that I had placed there before and then held it in my hands in a good tight grip at the ready to shoot just in case.

I am almost there, I can almost see it in the distance away and coming near it but when I turned another corner, I was suddenly face-to-face with three zombies that were moving slowly towards me.

CRAP!

I didn't think. I didn't hesitate. I just reacted.

I instantly put the gun in my hands right up and aimed at their heads and just shoot.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The bullet shots fired from the gun I'm holding were so loud and there is ringing echoing in my eardrums before I somehow managed to regain my hearing and snap back into focus.

My shots had hit straight on each of the zombies' heads and they all dropped dead lying before me.

I was stunned and shocked over myself that I aimed and shot perfect and true, killing the zombies, but my daze was instantly short-lived when I heard hungry moans and growls coming from behind me.

I didn't turn around and look as I knew what those sounds meant and I ran at a dash as if I were a speeding bullet myself and I ran as fast as I can, heading straight to my apartment which is right there.

I hurriedly climbed up the staircase to where my place is, almost tripping over my feet between running and leaping up the steps. But while I did that, I didn't notice that I had dropped the gun from my hands like it was slippery soap for I was too focused on getting into my safe place when it was nearly right at my reach.

And there you have it. I got home and got myself safe inside and barricaded and locked my apartment up, to be safe from the dangers outside the building and in the city.

Then, of course, I have to prepare and plan to leave in three days when I meet up with my managers of the grocery store again at the address that was written and given to me in the note.

As I write this down while I look at the same time at the note, the meeting place is not that far from my apartment, which is convenient and I have to be mentally and physically prepared once I go and leave to meet up with them.

So right now, I'm staying safe and locked up inside my barricaded apartment. And I'm going to prepare myself and be ready as the city goes falling into chaos and the sudden rising of zombies breaking out.

*****

Eden finished her journal entry with a flourish and sighed tiredly, rubbing her wrists and then her eyes. Then she closed her journal and left it there on the desk, already planning to bring it with her all the way once she leaves the apartment when the time comes in the future.

She went to her bedroom, grabbed one of the large sharp knives from the bag, and didn't bother changing into her sleep clothes and just lie down on the bed and went to sleep. The knife she brought with her is loosely gripped by one of her hands and laying beside her pillow.

Slowly she slept peacefully and completely exhausted as her slumber tuned out the chaotic sounds outside her apartment as the zombies come rising and the whole goes crashing and falling.

*****

*****