5 - A dream

She shook it off and picked up her phone, "Daddy, make sure you don't stink by the time for supper." She jabbed, scrunching up her nose at him before running off, putting Ms Linda's behaviour at the back of her mind.

A few minutes later, Bella was already in her bathtub - feeling the warm water soothe her aching body. This was the only time that she had been fully relaxed for the past three days and it was also the only time she felt safe and not being followed or watched.

She closed her eyes añd soon fell asleep in the bathtub. Some time later, she felt her body become light and a warm material wrapped around her, yet her tiredness had overwhelmed her.

With the knowledge that she was in a well secured barracks and her father was a room away, she subconsciously connected it to her paranoia.

She soon fell into a deep sleep.

She walked alone in the streets, a gentle smile on her face and she held on to an Ivy protectively.

She looked around and the familiar streets she grew up in looked the same, yet strange.

The normally buzzing streets were too quiet, and solemn, this might be the new reality for the outside world but not the barracks. There might be lesser crowd in the barracks but definitely not abandoned, yet she couldn't pay attention to this, she was enjoying the peace and quiet too much.

A few moments later she heard a sound of something breaking, she furrowed her eyebrows as she followed the sound.

She soon arrived at an alley, unlike the rest of the street, the alley looked dark but that was where she was hearing the sound coming from.

She carefully walked in, trying her ebest not to make any sound. She was so quiet that she could hear the sound of her heartbeat.

With every step she took, the pounding off her heart became louder and the chills on her neck weren't helping.

For some reason her surrounding also became colder and the familiar feeling of being watched appeared again, she turned around but the street was still as empty as before.

She turned back to the alley and she noticed something in one corner, or was it...…someone¿

She bravely continued to enter the alleyway, the closer she got, the clearer the figure became.

She soon noticed it was a human crouched in the corner, the realizing did nothing to calm her, instead her fingers started to tremble lightly, she had to clutch them into a fist to stop the trembling.

A few steps later, she could clearly see the outline of the person, he was wearing a military uniform, but that wasn't strange as they we're in the barracks.

The sound of breaking which she now realized was rather the sound of someone eating became louder and louder as she took more steps towards the figure.

"Why would someone hide here to eat, in this dark, cold alley" she thought holding the Ivy which stem she had crushed unconsciously, close to her chest.

She immediately felt some warmth and comfort from her actions, heat enveloping her, reducing the biting cold environment.

A fishy smell pervaded the air, as a Medical Doctor herself, she could swear that it was stage scent of blood.

"Was the figure wounded?" Considering how thick the smell was, it was definitely a deep and fata wound.

When she was just a few steps away, the figure suddenly stopped what it was doing and got up.

"This figure?" She murmured. " I know him" her heart skip a beat as she finally put a face to the figure.

"Dad?" She called out, unsure if she had gotten it wrong, he father was very disciplined and would never 'slouch' or eat in such a place.

The figure immediately rose his head when her voice fell and the cracking sound from hat action made her heart skip a bit, the warmth disappeared and the biting cold returned.

The figure slowly turned around…..too slowly…..too stifly. The seconds ticked on and what she would swore had been a century later, she finally came face to face with the person.

The face automatically bought a smile to her face, but in the next second her smile froze and her face became pale white.

She noticed the fully black eyes and blood covered mouth hanging wide open and jacket, it too was covered in what looked like human internals, " no!" she screamed internally. This was the look of an infected - a Zombie.

Her entire being became stiff and she could hardly process what was before her.

Her father had gotten the virus, he was now a Zombie - a mindless creature who's only instinct is to eat, eat and eat humans.

The figure rushed towards her and lunged on her body, it's mouth already wide open before her face.

"Daddy, no!" she screamed out as she sat up straight in her bed.

She could feel her chest beating heavily and her entire body shook, the thin comforter on her was already wet with her sweat.

What made it worse was that, since her father was a military man who personally leads soldiers out to clear the streets off the infected, there was a very high chance that he will get infected.

The knowledge of this made her heart drop down to her stomach and she placed her hand on her chest trying to calm herself down.

She looked around her and realized that she was still in her room - safe from the madness outside.

She closed her eyes trying to calm herself but the images from her dreams would just flash before.

She gulped down the water that was beside her bed and tried to shake off the images.

"Maybe, I need to see dad" she whispered and immediately hopped off the bed.

A cold breeze hit her skin and her eyes bulged out, she subconsciously placed her hands on her chest and the sensation of skin of skin made her scream out.