CHAPTER 5: Zachariah 5: 1-2

"Kai's POV"

"DADDY!"

"CHIEF!"

Everyone was in tears inside the crew room after the door was closed. Bryan was losing control, trying to get out, so his fellow police officers were restraining him. The sound of zombies running towards where Edward was could still be heard.

Jimmy and Kai were too stunned to react. In his anger, Kai punched the wall with his left hand, now both fists injured from hitting the wall. Even if they wanted to lose it, it wouldn't change anything.

"It's your fault! THAT'S WHY MY DAD DIED!"

Bryan shocked everyone with his words. He pointed fingers at Jimmy while Jimmy's group just watched in silence. Bryan blamed all of them.

Yanna hugged Selene tightly in fear.

Bryan kept repeating, "It's your fault," to everyone. No one could stop him.

Then, Jimmy pushed him abruptly.

"DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT YOUR DAD SAID TO US?"

Jimmy shouted angrily at Bryan, who sat on the floor, still holding the shotgun that Edward had carried earlier.

"MY SON... MY SON... HELP HIM..."

Police officer Dennis approached Bryan and put his arm around him.

"Brother..." Dennis couldn't bring himself to say the painful truth. But Jimmy spoke again. He knew he had to say it all.

"We all knew from the beginning that once we entered here with the zombies following us, we wouldn't be able to leave. We knew that, deep down. Because those monsters' minds work that way. The food is here. All of us are here. But what did your dad do? Even though we held him tightly, he pushed us in the other direction so that the zombies would follow. As a human, do you think it's that easy to make that decision? He knew that if he didn't do that, we would all die, including you! And he disregarded everything for you!"

Jimmy's shout sent shivers down everyone's spine.

"HE WAS THE FIRST PERSON HE THOUGHT OF WHEN HE GOT BIT ON THE ARM! THAT'S WHY WE WERE CARRYING HIM! HE THOUGHT OF SAVING YOU FIRST, NOT US!"

Everyone's eyes widened upon hearing this. Bryan cried even harder, remembering that his father's arm was bleeding profusely. He wanted to punch Jimmy, but they restrained him. He couldn't accept it. He sat on the floor and sobbed.

Everyone fell silent for a moment. They couldn't forget what had happened.

While Bryan was crying, Kai suddenly approached him. William wanted to intervene, but Kai's face remained calm.

"I'm sorry. But what's your dad's name?"

It was a question that puzzled everyone. Bryan didn't know if he should be angry about that question or just ignore it. But he chose to answer.

"Edward."

Kai turned away and approached the Malaysian kid and the dog, silently telling himself.

"I'll never forget your name... Old man."

Jun, a CCTV operator, was crying alone as he looked at the monitor. He was shocked and his eyes widened because he could still see Edward running and being chased by zombies.

"Chief!!!"

His heart was shattered. He closed his eyes. He didn't want to see Edward anymore, and he didn't want to let others know. Even with tears in his eyes, he turned off that monitor for one CCTV. He couldn't bear to watch Chief Edward anymore. He just couldn't.

___________________________

"You're losing again, idiot! Hahaha!"

"Too close, bitch!"

"You guys cheated! I've been losing consecutively!"

Carl, Bobby, and Patrick, who were playing 'Lucky Nine' at the back of the bus, were having a blast. Even though the crying students were giving them strange looks, they ignored them. All the windows and even the front seat with the driver's area were covered with curtains to avoid attracting the attention of zombies.

They couldn't see their fellow students walking, already turned into the undead.

"Are you guys cheating on me?" Patrick asked as he applied powder to his face and his friends' faces, which he got from a bag.

"You're only ten losses in! I've had twenty-six layers of this powder on my face, and did I complain? Ask Carl why he hasn't applied it to his face yet!" They both turned to look at Carl.

"You haven't lost yet! Maybe you're cheating since you're a boatman!"

"Hey!"

After Carl responded, someone suddenly tapped him on the back from behind.

"Hey!"

A large, burly guy named Dambo, accompanied by three backup members from the baseball club, did the tapping. They were the ones who used to bully Carl, the guys who gave him black eyes and bruises.

"Why?"

Carl stammered in surprise. Although he was scared, he remembered what Kai had told him, "Never be afraid."

"Why?!"

He shouted the question to Dambo, who was standing up with Bobby and Patrick.

"What do you need?"

Even though Bobby and Patrick had powder-covered faces, Dambo's group couldn't help but be intimidated when they saw their angry expressions.

"We just wanted to check on Carl! And maybe join your card game?"

"Really?"

Patrick asked skeptically.

"Yes! The truth is, Carl and I have been haggling for a long time because of Boss Kai! We've known for a while that what we were doing to him was wrong."

The four suddenly remembered their battered faces from Kai.

"Okay, you can join us!"

"Yesss!!!"

Carl could only shake his head in disbelief that the bullies he had once feared would now be playing cards with him. He couldn't forget the times he had been bullied, but he also couldn't forget that every time he saw these guys, they would smile at him.

In truth, it was him and Kai who had beaten up these four. Carl was just amazed that his fists had the power to make faces bleed.

He had learned a lot since he met Kai.

While Aiko was talking to other professors in different buses through the radio, Clyde and Dean approached her.

"Ma'am, it's been minutes, and Coach Jimmy is still not back!"

Clyde and Dean were the Captain and Vice Captain of the Football Club. They couldn't stop worrying about Jimmy.

"If you want, we can go get them?"

Aiko looked at their faces and realized that the Onsen members were part of the football club. The athletes were serious and determined to go find Jimmy.

"No."

Aiko replied.

"Let's stick to the plan. We'll wait for Jim's call. Rest for now."

"But ma'am..."

Clyde and Dean were about to respond, but Aiko's annoyed expression stopped them.

"Don't be stubborn. Let's follow the plan."

"Yes, ma'am."

Aiko's face may seem calm now, but she couldn't shake off her worries about Jimmy. She glanced outside and saw a building with a big clock, which showed the time as 9:11 AM. She noticed two planes passing by in succession, military helicopters, buildings exploding, and body parts scattered on the streets.

It had been an hour, and still, no news from Jimmy.

The zombies were running amok everywhere. She tried to look for survivors, but there was no one left.

She sat back down at her seat when suddenly her radio rang.

...

...

....

(Ma'am, this is Grace... And...)

Suddenly, someone snatched the Walkie-Talkie from the woman Aiko had first spoken to.

(Ma'am, I'm Trixie, the Vice President, there's a problem... W-w-we...)

She was surprised by that voice.

"Why Torres? What's the problem?"

(Mr. Hisashi has a very high fever!)

"Aren't you nurses? Take care of him first because for now, I can't help you yet! Just a little while longer!"

(But Ma'am, he says he's having chest pains!)

After that, Trixie's radio went silent, and she couldn't talk to her anymore. Aiko was about to talk to her, but someone else spoke on her Walkie-Talkie from a different channel.

(Aiko... This is Jimmy!)

Almost everyone, including Carl at the back, looked up when they heard Jimmy's voice.

(Sorry for the delay in calling. We're preparing to come there.)

"W-where are you now?! Is anyone hurt?"

(No one's hurt, Aiko. Right now, we're in the Control Room, and we have something to take care of. The plan has changed, we're just going to escort a mother and daughter to their plane, and...)

Aiko was about to respond to Jimmy's words, but the students in front of the Radio Bus suddenly called her.

"Ma'am, Sir Benjie wants to talk to you."

Aiko immediately approached to talk to the other professors and was instructed to turn on the television. She also told Jim to turn on the television if he had one.

After Aiko turned on the Bus's television, their Homecity was displayed on the screen, with news being reported.

"I thought everything had gone blacked out?"

Everyone was almost shocked as they watched the news, seeing buildings and houses in their hometown being destroyed. They could clearly see that even Veisland University was on fire.

"What's happening?"

Aiko shed tears again as the reporters portrayed a war taking place, with a military stand in their area.

Once again, everyone in the bus cried as they thought about their parents, where they would go, and where they would stay.

_____________

"Kai's POV"

Fifteen minutes after watching everything on TV, the girls were still crying, especially Yanna. I felt sorry for her every time I saw her face. A lot.

I wanted to approach her, but I knew Jimmy was the only one who could do that.

As I looked at Jimmy, I knew that even though he wasn't crying, tears were welling up in his eyes, and he just didn't want to show it to Yanna.

Steven and William were sitting on the side with their heads down. I knew they were crying for their parents. I wanted to talk to them. I wanted to talk to everyone, but...

But I knew I wasn't in the right time and position. I didn't know...

I didn't know how it felt to lose your parents.

Because I've been an orphan since I was a child... I don't have parents anymore.

I decided to go to the back of the room where it seemed there was a place to eat. I looked for something to drink and caught someone looking at me.

It was Marten, standing while drinking water. We just stared at each other for a moment before he handed me a water bottle.

"How are they?" He asked, taking a sip. I was getting annoyed.

"I don't know," I replied with a hint of frustration and took a sip of water.

While I was swallowing, I noticed he was still looking at me as if he had something to say. Annoyed, I asked, "Why?"

His face turned serious, and he spoke, "You can't do it either, right? You can't bear to see her cry."

My eyebrows furrowed at what he said. This guy really knows how to annoy me! I was about to punch him, but Jimmy suddenly passed by us.

"Could you two please give some water to the people over there?" He asked.

"Sure," I replied.

"We're leaving soon, just a few more minutes, and we'll be on the move!" Jin suddenly spoke, following Jim and approaching us. Steven and William were with him, both giving me a slight smile. I wasn't planning to talk to them yet, but they suddenly closed in.

"This one's got a runny nose!" I sighed.

Marten was the first to take action, and I followed. We were about to bring water when we bumped into Bryan. We stopped.

"Can I ask for a favor?" He looked at all of us.

"What favor?" Jimmy asked.

"We're short on people, and some of us are newcomers... Maybe you could help us escort the Malaysian mother and daughter to their plane. It's quite simple since Air Traffic Control will guide us."

We all looked at Jim.

"Okay," he immediately agreed.

When we arrived at the Control Room, I quickly handed a bottle of water to Yanna. HAHAHAHA!

"Thanks, Kai, but I've already had a drink."

Wtf. I suddenly turned to Mario and felt like he was grinning.

Annoying.

"BRY! IT SEEMS LIKE WE HAVE A PROBLEM!"

"WHAT IS IT?!"

"I talked to Sir Francis from ATC. It seems there's an issue in the tower because of an incoming plane!"

"PLANE?!?!"

We all looked around, and I was startled by what I heard. I had been hearing radio chatter about an airplane for a while.

"Listen to this!"

______________

Third Person's POV

("123.4... Approach, United 699, ten miles north with Uniform, inbound for landing!!!")

Everyone in the control room heard the strained voice of a foreigner. Jimmy approached the radio to listen carefully to the conversations between the pilots and Air Traffic Control.

("United 699, contact Greyfield Tower on 123.4").

("Greyfield Tower, Cessna One Two Lima, on two-mile final for Three Two Left").

("Cessna One Two Lima, Greyfield Tower, clear to land Three Two Left").

Suddenly, the five operators stood up and headed straight to the adjacent room with a large window that provided a clear view of the airway where the plane was supposed to land. Jimmy, Kai, Jin, Steven, and William followed suit.

("HELLO!!! UNITED 699 PLEASE RESPOND!!")

Francis, an elderly man, shouted over the radio. Panic spread through the tower as the airplane's pilots failed to respond.

"WHERE WILL IT CRASH?!"

Jimmy's immediate question sent shivers down everyone's spine. Selene released her grip on Yanna and approached Jimmy.

"Why?"

"WE'RE REALLY OUT OF OPTIONS, SIR! LET'S JUST PRAY IT DOESN'T HIT US!"

One of the Air Traffic Operators, in charge of the tower, spoke to Francis. He knew the grim reality: the pilots on the approaching plane were all zombies, especially the ones on board.

Jimmy's eyes widened as he saw the plane approaching, completely off balance.

"GET DOWN!"

Everyone immediately scrambled to find cover and hit the ground. They all felt a rush of anxiety about what was going to happen.

In the Tower, people closed their eyes and prayed for the impending tragedy.

"Lord God, guide us in every minute..."

Several seconds passed, and then it happened.

The airplane crashed and exploded with a loud bang that resonated throughout the area.

The explosion was so powerful that everyone heard it. Even Aiko, who was inside the bus, was shocked, along with the other buses outside the airport, as the deafening blast echoed through the surroundings.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!!"

Startled by the thunderous noise, they all jumped up and couldn't help but peek outside. A huge cloud of smoke enveloped the sky.

Carl, Bobby, and Patrick tried to communicate with their walkie-talkies, but they exchanged worried glances.

"No response..."

Everyone was growing increasingly concerned, not knowing what was happening inside. Aiko felt helpless, and the football varsity players were looking at her as if urging her to let them out.

Aiko was now confused, looking up with fear in her eyes.

"Jimmy..."

She held onto the bus seat tightly.

"Jimmy... I hope you're okay..."

______________________