Entry 14 ~ Escape! And More Questions

2015
19 August 2014
Location: Apartment 0

Reflections: Human beings are the only species capable of creating conspiracies.

~~~

I spent four days in captivity. Food was delivered twice a day by Face in the Window. All attempts at conversation were blithely ignored, as he backed me away from the door with a gun and set the tray down. There was a toilet attached the the room, much to my pleasure and surprise, though it came with barred windows.Sounds of gunfire erupted

Yesterday night, the routine was broken when Older Man stepped into the room after my meal. By then, the battery of my tablet had ran out, and I am now transcribing the interview from memory:

• Older Man: Hello. I am sorry for your nasty experience the last few days. It was necessary though, so I trust you haven't much to complain about everything.

• Me: I'm not sure what's going on, mister. All I know is I'm out looking for fellow survivors of the Problem. Is there a reason for my captivity?
• Older Man: Why yes, yes. I apologise for the rough handling. We had to ensure you were not infected by the zombies. All precautions must be taken to keep us safe.
• Me: Fair enough, I can understand that. How many of you are here? I'm amazed to have found you, honestly. I was worried I'm the only normal human left.
• Older Man: Some of us are of the same family. We bumped into fellow survivors and established our base of operations here. It was a bit of a shock to have found you. Tell me, how did you survive?
• Me: (Some caution must be exercised here, I haven't a clue who these people are). I am not much of a people person, and basically when the authorities said to stay home during the curfew, I stayed home. It's just me now.
• Older Man: I see. It is heartening to see another healthy human. I hope you will enjoy joining our group.
• Me: Uh, was that an invitation to join forces?
• Older Man: *chuckles* You could say that. Though you will have to stay in this room for the time being.
• Me: Wait, am I a prisoner?
• Older Man: Good heavens, no! Why would you think that? It is just for your safety for now. 

At this point, the interview ended, and Older Man left the room and closed it behind him. I don't really care what he said, but it sure sounded like I was being kept a prisoner. But, prisoner for what? It was not as though we were at war with each other, seeing as how the other side were basically zombies. Humans should be sticking together. I suppose they could be keeping me in quarantine in case I was infected, but if so he should have mentioned it. My spidey-senses were tingling.

My belongings were still with me, even my pistols, so that was heartening. I had previously tried knocking on the door, only to be ignored so I was not sure if there was anybody on the other side. I tried again this morning, no response.

I did not fancy remaining a forced guest in the mosque (I had peered out the window of the toilet by painstakingly straining my arm muscles to pull myself up to reconnoiter the surroundings). There was an uneasy feeling of paranoia that surrounded me.

My first meal arrived as per usual. Once again, I tried to engage Face in the Window in conversation and had no luck in eliciting any response other than a frown. Determined to leave the room, I left off eating my food as late as possible so I would have strength for what I had planned when my second meal was delivered.

Belongings packed, I consumed my rations an hour before the usual evening delivery. When Face in the Window knocked on the door and told me to back to the side, I backed to the side...of the door. The door opened and the muzzle of a gun, I was pretty sure it was a rifle, appeared and he stepped in. Before he could notice I was not in my usual place, I grabbed him and pulled him in. Then I placed the barrel of my six-shooter to his head and told him to keep quiet if he valued his life. I know, very Hollywood of me.

I made him put the food tray down and hand me his gun, warning him that any overt noises would result in a loud bang. Taking a chance, I backed us both out of the room, him in front of me, with me holding on to the collar of his shirt with one hand, pistol aimed at his head in the other. The corridor was empty. I made him open the main door and was glad to see that my car where I had left it. The engine was off but I was confident that it had died after I was taken away from the car with the keys in my pocket. It was one of those nifty security features of the Vellfire where the car died if the key was not in close proximity to the vehicle. Of course, it might have died from running out of fuel after I left it idling, but life was about taking chances. The grounds around the mosque was clean, belying the fact that the last time I saw this place, we were about overran by zombies.

Taking a leaf out of the movies I've watched, I clubbed him at the back of his head with the butt of my gun. Unlike the movies though, he did not collapse unconscious, just stumbled away from me. I apologised to him and kicked him in the nuts. I felt bad, really, but I was worried what these people had planned for me.

I ran for my car, got in and pressed the ignition button. It revved to life. Gasping in relief, I sped away from the site of my incarceration without looking back. I've had enough of my fellow humans, especially this group.

During my escape, I kept an eye on my rearview mirror, making sure nobody was following me home. I arrived at my Headquarters without incident, and hurried back home. My furry companion greeted me with an exuberant welcome and I settled down to recover from my capture and to analyse the incident.

Who were those people? That they had wanted me alive was no doubt, but what did they want with me? And why did they feel the need to keep me imprisoned instead of as an active pair of hands to help with their...whatever they were doing? Should I continue looking for fellow survivors?

End log.

Entry 13 ~ Be Careful What You Wish For

1940
14 August 2014
Location: Unknown

Reflections: Sometimes, you have to bear in mind that even though you are happy to meet someone, the feeling may not be mutual. Many unwanted guests thrive by ignoring this.

~~~

The last few days have been uneventful, it seems adequate that they were summarised in a few quick paragraphs before I proceeded to the meat of this log entry.

Following the interlude, I rested a couple of days to regain my strength. At the same time, I managed to attach a loudspeaker to the roof of my MPV, with a pre-recorded message in Malay for any humans to reveal themselves or to proceed to the safe house I prepared. I had to choose Malay as there is a limited message length to be recorded and it was the language that most people in Malaysia would understand. I hope. I've changed my mind about directing any potential survivors to either of my hideouts, so I set myself to secure the Sri Serdang Police Station as a safe house. Although I had previously broken the lock, I managed to keep the doors closed by curling a chain between the handles of the double front door. Simple enough for a human to undo, yet reasonably zombie-proof. Inside, I prepared a cache of supplies: food, water and weapons in the form of golf clubs. Naturally, I removed the corpses of the zombies and set them on fire.

The last two days, I have been driving around random areas closest to home with the loudspeaker playing my message. Thus far, nothing significant had occurred. I had decided to start slow and to increase my patrols from there.

Today, I ventured out of the Seri Kembangan area and made my way to Cheras. There were a lot of residential areas here and I was leery of going into uncharted territory. But it had to be done. Cruising around Taman Segar,  I spotted one of the armed escort vans usually accompanied bank security officers in reloading the ATM machines. Hmmm....

Coming to a stop, I turned the loudspeaker off and stepped out, hoping for stuff to scavenge. Gravel crunched beneath the Timberland boots I had appropriated from their outlet in The Mines. The sound was unnaturally loud in the silence of the dead neighbourhood. Before any scavenging activity, I ensured that no unpleasant surprises awaited me by making sure all the corpses were rotting and that no movement could be seen from the horizon. I reasoned that there was no sense in blaring my horn to startle any zombies, my looping message should have alerted anything alive or undead of my presense anyway.

The security van looked largely intact, though I could see dents on the side where something or somethings had obviously been pushed against the frame. The window on the driver's side was smashed and there was the dark brown of dried blood on the seats. No bodies though. I knocked my club against the side of the van to see if there was any answering sound from within, and opened the back door of the vehicle. The pungent odour of rot wafted to my nose, concentrated from being kept in the air tight compartment. I retched at the side noisily. Any creature that would have attacked me at that time would have found me easy prey.

I shone my torch into the interior of the van, and found a dead officer. Much to my delight, I also found a shotgun, much like the one I inconveniently broke against the face of a zombie a few weeks back. Holding my breath, I retrieved the gun, and grave robbed the dead body for ammunition. I found shotgun shells and some bullets for my revolvers. Weird, the former security officer did not have a revolver in his holster. A search of the van also failed to unearth any other weapons. Nevertheless, the shotgun was a capital find. With the 6 shells I already had at home plus the dozen or so that I had just liberated from the van, I had reason to feel happy.

I loaded the shotgun, and kept it in the passenger seat of the car. I had no experience firing a shot gun and there will be need to practice, in the safety of my headquarters anyway.

I continued my journey, and it was at Taman Len Sen when I decided to stop in a safe, open area for lunch when I heard a faint noise. The loudspeaker and closed windows had all but ensured I would not hear it otherwise. The sound was familiar, but very vague and too faint for me to recognise it. Hastily gobbling my food, I started my engine and promptly lost the noise. I would have to drive towards it and hope I can find it.

The loudspeaker was off this time, as I did not want to risk not hearing the sound, yet was too paranoid and unwilling to keep my windows rolled down. Minutes later, I caught the sound again and realised it was the Azan, the Muslim call to prayers. A quick glance at the clock showed that this was no time for prayers, which meant someone had to have set the Azan playing outside of the appointed time, or was singing it in person. Depending on the mosque, the call to prayer could be live or pre-recorded. Either way, this could mean that there were fellow humans out there.

Taman Len Sen was not a place I am familiar with, and it took me a while to locate the mosque. There was definitely somebody playing a pre-recorded call as it was going in loop, much like my own message was. I honked loudly and continuously at the mosque, not daring to alight from my vehicle. After a minute or two, the Azan was cut off. I waited in the Vellfire for the door to open, and after some time. a head poked out of a window on the upper floor of the mosque.

I wound my window down and asked if he was still human and healthy. In retrospect, it was stupid question. The youth, or boy really, responded that he was indeed human and healthy, and apparently not all too delighted to see me. That struck me as weird, though I was elated to see a human face again that was not trying to eat me.

We continued our conversation, from car window to mosque window. Here is a transcript of the conversation:

Him: What are you doing here?

Me: I'm looking for fellow survivors, of course. Are you the only one there?

Him:No, I'm not.

Me (to myself): Not very forthcoming, is he? You'd think that in current circumstances, he'd be happier to see a fellow human and not be so reticent.

Me: I'm really happy to hear that! Do you need help? I haven't met another human for a long time! Is it okay if I came in? (Under normal circumstances, this would have been a horrible faux pax, as I was not a Muslim and I understand it is frowned upon for non-believers to enter a Mosque for no reason. But these are hardly normal times, eh?)

Him: No, go away! You shouldn't be here!

At this point, the head disappeared and the window closed. Nonplussed, I sat there in consternation while pondering my next move. The call to prayer startled me out of my cogitations and I noticed that there were moving figures coming towards the mosque. A lot of them. This could be a Problem.

Deciding rashly, I grabbed most of my gear, sans shield and shotgun, and left the Vellfire. I ran to to mosque and started hammering on the door, demanding that they come out. My vehicle should be enough to save them and get away.

My cries were ignored, and one of the faster moving zombies had caught up to me. I backhanded the zombie (that hurt!) from me and broke its jaw with my club. Fuck, I didn't have my shield with me and there were at least another four of them between me and my car. It would be ironic that I would meet my end while trying to save my fellow human. I backed up until the door was right behind me, and took a ready stance. Before the zombies managed to get within striking distance, I felt the door open and shots rang out beside my ear. Rough hands grabbed my shoulders and pulled me into the mosque before shutting the door.

I saw the face from the window glaring at me. An older man said something to me but I was still deaf from the shots. I shook my head and tried to speak. There was a sharp pain and then darkness.

I had just awoken in a small room, which smelled musty but appeared clean. My belongings were still with me, with a piece of paper saying to not speak, make noise or attempt to escape, for my own safety. The back of my head hurt from the cheap blow to it. I have no clue what I had gotten myself into.

Heeding the warning on the paper, I settled down to wait and extracted the spare Surface from my backpack to draft this entry in case something were to happen to me. Both the tablets have copies of previous log entries so at least they would still have access to my information even if they decided to kill me.

End log.

Entry 12 ~ Interlude

2030
6 August 2014
Location: Apartment 0

Reflections: Doubts can paralyse you. Sometimes, it is necessary to simply pull a Nike and "Just Do It!"

~~~

I have spent most of the previous week sick at home from a bad batch of cans. Boy, was I glad there was no botulism involved. While down with the bug, I had the opportunity to plan my next moves. There had to be a careful balance between finding fellow survivors and to ensure that no harm came to myself by letting stragglers in. I had no illusions about the kindness of my fellow human beings when resources are scarce and the fact that my prowess in self-defence was not on the top of my list of abilities.

I had decided to extend my forays in the open to cover as much ground as possible. To spread the message that I am a healthy human to other potential survivors, I needed to obtain loudspeakers to attach to the top of my MPV, and also spray paint to leave messages at various areas. Both of these were easily obtainable from another trip to the Mines.

The problem here was destination. Where should I direct the survivors to meet up? HQ Alternate was going to be my little secret, so the only available option now was to clean up the apartment on the 20th floor that I raided and prepare it for visitors. This way, I can maintain a barrier between the refugees and myself.

I made the trip to The Mines today and obtained the equipment I required, as well as additional food supplies without incident.  To avoid exhaustion from my sickness, I limited myself to designing placards to place at the lift lobbies of my apartment complex to direct people to the unit on the 20th floor. My next step would be to clear the corpses and store some supplies in that apartment, hereby designated Refugee Home.

Once my strength is up, I shall begin my exploration to see if anybody else survived the Problem outbreak.

End log.