CHAPTER 4: Hebrews 13:16
"GIVE ME THE WALKIE-TALKIE, AND CALL THEM!"
Jimmy shouted angrily when they all heard the news. Everyone was trembling with anxiety. Jin couldn't move or follow due to the shocking news she had just heard. So, Mario took the Walkie-Talkie and took charge.
"Kai, what if something happened to Bobby?" Steven asked Kai, who answered while staring at Jimmy.
"Evil forces die hard; don't worry."
She replied seriously.
"I'm worried about Carl."
Kai added.
"What happened, Aiko?! Where are you?"
Jimmy asked with deep breaths. He looked visibly angry, as Mario could tell.
"J-Jimmy!!..."
Everyone fell silent at Aiko's sobbing.
"WHAT HAPPENED?! IS THAT TRUE?!"
Jimmy yelled in anger. Aiko struggled to speak, but she forced herself.
"W-when we got out of the Airport... And were about to get on the bus... Some men hijacked us...!"
Jimmy clenched his fist tightly. Even Mario, Kai, Steven, and William were engulfed in anger as they listened to Aiko.
"Some of them were passengers at the Airport! Even some of the Airport Police didn't help us! They just wanted to survive...
But they didn't think about the children... Jim!!"
Aiko cried profusely as she recalled what happened. The students inside the bus, who were listening to the story, were also in tears. They were carrying the trauma with them.
"We tried to fight them with Mr. Hisashi's guards... But we couldn't..."
Aiko's tears flowed even more.
"... I'm sorry, Jim... We're just not strong enough! There are only... Only four professors left here!!!"
Jimmy looked down. There was only one way he could think of. He knew it was the wrong timing, but he said it anyway.
"You all go ahead... Aiko."
But Aiko cried even harder.
"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND, JIM!"
She shouted back.
"W-WE'RE SCARED!!! WE'RE ALL SCARED THAT YOU WON'T BE WITH US HERE!!!"
Jimmy seemed deafened by what Aiko said next. He couldn't bring himself to say anything more after hearing it all. Jin, William, and Steven froze, unable to believe what they were hearing.
The first and second buses died simultaneously inside, bitten by the infected students who forced their way in. The third through sixth buses never even made it inside their vehicles; they were wiped out before they could board. The seventh and ninth buses were hijacked by unknown assailants.
Everyone was in disbelief that everything happened at once. Only four buses of students were left, and each one had its own story. The survivors inside the bus were almost in tears; they had no place to go now.
Even Mario and Kai fell silent at those words. Moments later, while they were listening to Aiko's cries, Kai suddenly turned to the crew room, along with Steven and William. Jin and Mario did the same.
"Is Mr. Hisashi still alive?"
Jimmy asked.
"Yes, he's in the other bus. He can hear us through the Walkie-Talkie."
Aiko replied, slightly calming down.
"What about the two buses? Which professors are left?"
"My students are communicating with them through Radio Bus. They're talking to the people on those buses, and Larry, Robert, and Benjie are guarding them..."
Jimmy felt relieved hearing Aiko's calm voice. Especially when he realized the bus had its own Walkie-Talkie.
"Listen to me, Aiko..."
Jimmy glanced at the clock hanging in the crew room to check the time.
"At 9:10 pm, I'll call you, so be alert. We have something to take care of. Be careful..."
"I WANT YOU TO BE SAFE, KAIRO! BECAUSE YOU'RE TALLER!"
"SHUT UP!"
William shouted angrily at Kai as he carried her on his shoulder and reached for an air conditioning vent. They wanted to remove the grating but were surprised to find that it was already unscrewed.
"It's already unscrewed!"
Kai said after William dropped her on the floor.
"YOU IDIOT, ARE YOU BORED WITH LIFE OR SOMETHING?!"
Steven burst into laughter as he watched the two of them playfully argue. He wanted to join in, but he hesitated.
"Maybe a little laughter is enough for us right now."
Steven whispered to himself with a smile.
"Because there might come a time when we get tired, and we can't laugh anymore."
He added, throwing towels at William and Kai to join their silliness.
As the three of them ran around, Kai suddenly stopped in her tracks when she heard a sound from her pocket.
"A Walkie-talkie?"
William asked.
"Where did you steal that from?" Steven inquired.
"Carl gave it to me earlier..."
*Radio Static
*Radio Static
*Radio Static
("ARE YOU STILL ALIVE, YOU BITCHES?!")
Kai, William, and Steven nearly screamed when they heard Carl's voice.
"HOW ARE THE TWO HEAVYWEIGHTS? ARE THEY A BURDEN TO YOU?"
("HEY, WHO ARE YOU CALLING HEAVYWEIGHTS? WE'RE STILL ALIVE!")
Patrick and Bobby quickly replied.
"Just kidding, of course! We're happy you're all still alive!"
Steven replied with a grin.
"Yeah, because we'd have to kill you if you got bitten!" William added, causing everyone to laugh. They could hear Carl's laughter on the other end of the line.
"Where are you guys?"
Kai asked.
("We're here in the bus with Ma'am Aiko... At the back... We're just the noisy ones!")
They heard Bobby's response clearly.
"Okay, we'll talk later! King-kong is calling us!"
Kai said.
("TAKE CARE, BITCHES!")
As Kai tucked the Walkie-talkie into his pocket, the three of them smiled and walked quietly toward Jimmy. For them, they had lightened the hearts of Carl, Bobby, and Patrick. They didn't let the memories of what they witnessed weigh them down. Hearing their voices and laughter was enough.
Jimmy pocketed the Walkie-Talkie after talking to Aiko. Jin and Mario were waiting for his instructions. When Kai, William, and Steven arrived, he began to outline the plan.
"Here's the plan..."
________
It had been 20 minutes since they entered the elevator. Yanna sat quietly, her friends not eager to speak either, as the five women who had let them in were sobbing.
"Big brother..."
Yanna whispered to herself, feeling sympathy for the crying women. She was about to close her eyes, tears nearly escaping, when a sudden wet sensation on her face made her jump.
"Waaahhh!"
She quickly covered her face, startled by the dog's playful licking. The dog, Rocky, was clearly delighted, and in their brief encounter, it was as if they had known each other forever.
One of the male Airport Police officers who had let them in watched with amusement. He recognized the dog, especially when Synthia and Heisly offered everyone some food.
"Wow, relief goods. Thanks!"
One of the male passengers joked, causing laughter among those inside.
The little girl and her mother were especially grateful, repeatedly saying "Thank you!" to everyone, especially Yanna. The mother was on the verge of tears, and although Yanna didn't want to speak further and stress her, the little girl gently grabbed Yanna's hand.
"Thank you."
Yanna smiled at the child, appreciating the formal "PO" she used, even with a different tone.
"What's your name?"
Yanna asked, smiling.
"Sophia..."
The dog, Rocky, couldn't resist licking Yanna's face again, somewhat dissipating the sorrow in the room. The crew was amazed at how Rocky, who had been living in the airport for two years, had become so close to Yanna.
"Do you know that Rocky is usually quiet like this? He's been here for years, but he's only been this lively recently."
One of the Airport Police officers said to Yanna, while Rocky continued to nuzzle her.
"Your name is Rocky! You're so cute!"
Yanna hugged Rocky tightly, and even Selene began calling the dog by his name.
The male Airport Police officer smiled.
"You know, ever since his owner, Ronny, passed away, Rocky became a bit difficult."
Yanna was surprised.
"Really?"
"Yeah, he was taken care of by Ronny for a year. They were always together during their shifts. But when Ronny died, it was like a part of Rocky died too."
He explained seriously.
"Sometimes, he wouldn't eat. He would get into fights. We even tried to find him a new owner, but he refused. He wouldn't listen during training. I didn't realize dogs could get depressed like this."
He patted Rocky affectionately.
"He licked your face the way he used to do it with Ronny every time they met. Hahaha. That's why I'm so amazed at this dog."
He lowered his head.
"So, I hope you'll make him happy with his new owner, Rocky..."
Everyone fell silent after hearing his words. Yanna wanted to cry but held back her tears. She was overwhelmed with happiness as she hugged Rocky and thanked him.
"By the way... in case you didn't ask, I'm Miko, and this is Ken. We're partners as airport police. These ladies are Ara, Siza, Leah, Jade, and Leona."
The man introduced himself, and Yanna and her friends introduced themselves as well.
Yanna couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with joy. Even Selene hugged the two of them.
_______
"Stay one foot apart so you don't push each other!"
Jin shouted as William, Kai, and Steven climbed ahead into the concrete ceiling's air vent. They were hurrying, trying to enter before the door broke down.
"Hurry up!"
Jim urged as they made their way up. They could all hear the loud noise coming from the door as the zombies pushed against it. Jin and Mario managed to get into the vent after reaching the metal rods that served as makeshift weapons.
"Almost there! You're too slow!"
Kai yelled at William, who was leading the way.
"Left or right?"
William asked.
"Right."
Jimmy replied.
"Weren't you listening earlier?"
Kai teased.
"I didn't think you were scared, Jimmy!"
"What did you say, King Kong?!"
"You're lucky I'm not beside you; otherwise, I'd drop you back down!"
Everyone above was bickering while hanging on the bars, but Jin quickly stopped them due to the noise. She began to crawl forward, and before William turned at the crossway, he hesitated.
"Why?"
Kai asked.
"D-didn't you see something earlier?"
Yanna noticed that William had paused and was looking left, where they hadn't passed yet.
"What is it, Mario?"
Jimmy asked when he saw William deep in thought.
"N-nothing."
Mario looked back at the left side they hadn't traversed yet.
"Earlier, I saw something," Mario spoke up, and everyone listened attentively.
"In the first air vent we entered, I noticed blood... I thought someone might have passed through here."
Mario's response was serious, and it left everyone in thought.
"Maybe it came from another room."
Silence fell over them, and the worry that they might not be alone lingered in their minds.
"Why are you telling us now?!" Kai retorted in an annoyed tone.
"Weren't you ahead of us? Didn't you see it?" Mario quickly shot back at him.
Steven and Jin, in the middle, felt the tension between them rising again due to their similar reactions.
"Both of you, stop bickering like children! Don't waste our time!" Jim shouted loudly, causing everyone to move again. Kai's eyes widened in surprise before he began crawling again, all because of Jim's shout.
As William turned slowly, he suddenly stopped.
"WHAT'S THAT?!"
He shouted in terror as he heard rustling noises from where they were crawling. He turned to look at it slowly, then
"ARRHHHHHHHHHHHG!!"
William screamed as he saw two people lying on the ground.
The shock spread to everyone when they heard it, and they began to back away. The four of them retrieved their guns, which they had prepared but hoped not to use.
"Hurry back!"
_____________
"Chief! Don't! There are only eight of us left here!"
"I'll only take two."
One of the Airport Police officers, Bryan, tried to restrain their Chief Leader, Edward. This was happening in the Control Room where they planned to pick up Jimmy's group from their descent.
"They should have come down a while ago. But we've been waiting for them on the monitor for a while now, and there's still no sign of them. Flores and Dennis, let's go!"
Edward shouted.
"Sir, hurry! The people coming down have encountered zombies! It seems something bad is happening upstairs!"
"SON OF A...!!"
Edward quickly opened the door, bulletproof vest on, and a gun in hand. Bryan tried to stop him, but it was too late.
"DAD, PLEASE DON'T!! ..."
_____________
"Kai's POV"
"BACK!"
William shouted at me from the front, clearly agitated. He was about to shoot, but I was startled by what I heard.
"WAIT, DON'T SHOOT!"
The gunshot misfired as I swiftly grabbed his arm.
"ARE YOU DEAF!!?!"
I yelled loudly after that shot, which had left us all nearly deafened. It was so loud that it hurt our ears, and we were temporarily stunned.
"Why, Kai, what happened?" Jim asked me.
"William was about to shoot a person."
"Wait a minute! We're sorry if we scared you!!"
The two men crawling towards us cried and apologized.
"GOOD LORD!"
William was nearly gasping for breath.
"Why were you just lying there? Are you going crazy?!" ┻━┻ ︵ヽ('Д')ﾉ︵ ┻━┻
I asked, extremely annoyed. They were wearing flight attendant uniforms.
"We couldn't descend because we were too scared, so we decided to take a break!"
"That's why the air vent in the crew room had no screws, it was you guys!"
Jin was about to lose his temper, listening to them.
"Hurry up and get them in! Because of that gunshot, the zombies downstairs are going crazy! It seems the dead can still hear!"
Jin shouted as he looked downstairs. I immediately slapped William and looked at Jimmy behind him.
"Are you okay there, Jim?" I asked because I noticed he seemed uncomfortable.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Hurry!"
He replied. While William was helping the two crying men, they expressed gratitude for our arrival, saying, "If it weren't for us, they might have died upstairs without being able to descend."
I pondered their words and chuckled.
"It looks like we're in trouble this time." William suddenly said as he stood in front.
"Why?!"
"The place we're going down to is full of zombies!"
We all stopped and could feel the heat. The once cold air vent had been replaced, and we were all sweating profusely.
"It's too hot! I'd rather die as a zombie than dry up here!"
Jin joked from behind me. Steven was lying down, choosing to rest. Marten and Jimmy were taking care of the Walkie-Talkie, which had suddenly started making noise.
("DO YOU COPY?!")
We all jumped at the man who shouted at us.
"YES!!?"
("What's your position?! You should have come down earlier!")
A deep voice with heavy breathing asked.
"We can't come down. We'll look for another way. Is there anyone else there?"
Jim replied quickly. There was no immediate response, and we could hear what sounded like zombies on the other end, as if they were being beaten and shot. We could also hear gunshots from below.
"Don't, wait for us down there. You'll get farther if you go another way. We're coming. Just be prepared!"
Jim said as he listened to the voice on the radio.
And Jim hung up without saying anything more, and we prepared ourselves. The two men were still crawling and crying.
"THEY'RE HERE!" William shouted as we all looked back.
"Get down there!" A man shouted at us.
"GO!" After Jim's shout, William and the two men jumped. We followed, with Jimmy leading the way and in a hurry. The police officers quickly pushed back the two crying men.
"HERE!" Jimmy shouted as we were all looking at the open elevator.
3...
2...
1...
And I saw Yanna's face again.
__________
"Third Person's POV"
When Kai and Mario saw that Yanna was okay, they turned and faced the zombies, hitting and striking them.
"B-BROTHER!"
"HURRY UP!"
"FLORES, LEAD US TO THE CONTROL ROOM!"
Jimmy and the Airport Police wasted no time. William, Steven, Jin, and the two flight attendants assisted the women.
Miko, Flores, and Ken led the way to the control room, taking care of any zombies blocking their path. Jimmy, Kai, Mario, Dennis, and Chief Edward followed to protect the women.
Edward had killed and shot many zombies, and his ammunition was running low due to the constant gunfire.
"OH NO!"
Kai was startled when two zombies suddenly fell on Edward. But Jimmy and Kai quickly went to him and threw the zombies aside.
"My son..." Edward whispered to Jimmy, but they immediately picked him up.
"We're being left behind!" Mario shouted, as more and more zombies were closing in.
They ran not because they might be left behind but because more zombies were chasing them.
Bryan hesitated whether to close the door or go back for Edward.
"MY DAD!!" he whispered to himself.
Everyone's hearts were pounding heavily. Especially now that they could hear the screams and heavy footsteps of the zombies. Bryan couldn't help but close his eyes for a moment, thinking that if the first thing he saw was a zombie, he'd have no choice but to close the door.
Everyone was nervous about who would be the first to come out into the hallway. No one could speak.
"It's my brother!" Yanna cried.
After five seconds, a zombie suddenly emerged.
"CLOSE IT NOW!" a police officer shouted at Bryan when he saw the leading zombie...
But...
A shot rang out, hitting the zombie in the head from behind.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
*BANG
Everyone was shocked by that gunshot. Bryan was about to close the door, but...
"KUYA!!!"
Mario's face appeared... firing a gunshot, followed by Dennis, who was also running.
All of them in a hurry to their runaway from death.
Everyone felt a surge of relief at that moment because of Mario's arrival. Mario and Dennis were the first to enter.
Kai and Jimmy's faces also emerged from behind, with Edward leaning on them for support.
It was strange for Bryan, but everyone was still hoping that they could enter safely.
"HURRY UP!"
Those moments seemed to slow down for everyone.
"Don't give up on us, oldman!" Kai shouted as he ran.
"We're almost there!" Jimmy added.
Everyone relied on every step Kai took. They could see the end of the hallway, though it seemed distant.
Edward closed his eyes in exhaustion.
"I'm getting tired..."
He whispered to the two.
But then Kai responded with a loud shout.
"WE'RE GONNA MAKE IT!!"
Yanna and the others watched, tears in their eyes, as they observed Kai. All of them believed that the three of them could make it.
Even Rocky, the dog, was intensely focused on Kai and howling, as if saying, "I'M WAITING."
"My child..."
Edward whispered, watching his child waiting at the end.
"YOU'VE PROBABLY DREAMED OF YOUR CHILD, DAD! WE'RE GONNA REACH THAT! LET'S REACH YOUR DREAM AGAIN."
Edward couldn't help but be amazed and moved by what Kai was saying.
"Thank you."
TEN.
WITH JUST TEN MORE STEPS, THEY WOULD REACH THE ROOM.
THEY ALL KNEW THAT ONCE THEY ALL GOT IN, THEY MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO GET OUT.
BUT FOR KAI, THERE WAS NO HARM IN BELIEVING.
"Thank you all..."
Edward whispered as they reached the last few steps—one, two, three, four, five.
Kai still had a smile on his face.
Then suddenly...
Edward pushed them inside and turned down a different path before he could get any farther.
Before he could get far, Jimmy heard Edward's shout.
"Thank you... You guys reach your dreams!!"
"DADDY!!"
"OLDMAN!!!"
Before they could follow Edward, Steven pulled them back. Even though Bryan screamed loudly, there was nothing they could do.
Edward had sacrificed everything. Meanwhile, the airport police officers took over, finally closing the door.
"OLDMANN!!!"
__________________________