Chapter 1
“Hassan!” A voice called from another room. A woman in her late 40’s wearing an apron stood in the kitchen, holding a spoon and twisting it to make the tea absolutely perfect. She had upturned eyes and thin eyebrows. The apron she wore was previously bought for her by her son for her birthday, and she’s worn it around the house ever since. She was a kind woman, used to being at home taking care of her three kids, though most of them had moved out recently, and she didn’t see them as often as she was used to. Her husband was still at work, and her son and son-in-law were at home with the kids while their wives visited them that night. Hassan and the three women were about to have their usual late afternoon tea together, which she was really looking forward to. It had been a week since her daughter and daughter-in-law visited, and she wanted to have a long chat with them about what was going on in their lives.
“Yes, mom?” He called from the room, poking his head out. Hassan was a feminine looking boy who had just turned 18. He was applying to colleges outside of their town- he wanted to explore the world despite loving his family. It would be tough for them to live without a man in the house, something they’ve been very used to until recently. Though he wouldn’t classify himself as a ‘man’ perse. In their culture, a man was supposed to be strong, be assertive, make the rules in the household and hold everyone accountable for the rules- this came with the women feeling safe, protected, and secure. They worried about cooking and cleaning and taking care of the children and nothing else. It was a balance they were all used to, and never really questioned. He was scrawny, never going out much and never really cared about his appearance- he’s never dated anyone (he would have to wait until his parents found him a suitable match), so ultimately none of his appearance really mattered. He had messy matted black hair which he combed every morning for hygiene and a large pointed nose, similar to the rest of the family- it was a distinct characteristic of being Arab.
“Come have tea with us, it’s going to get cold and you don’t like it if it’s cold!” She yelled, and Hassan huffed as he walked over, not liking that she was distracting him from his video games. They were wealthy by typical standards, their dad an engineer at the oil field and making plenty to keep them satisfied. The house was large, with a grand kitchen with a marble island and Persian carpets that were hand-made for years covered their floors, a way for them to demonstrate to their friends and family how wealthy they were. There were gold accents everywhere, and a prayer room contained beautiful ornate swirls covering the walls with the word “Allah” written in paint in the centre of the room. The Quran sat in the centre of the room in front of a small carpet, which was knelt on by the family members during their daily praying sessions.
Sharifa had brought out the good mugs, something she only really did when guests were over- this made Hassan suspicious. “Why did you bring the good china out?” He asked as he sat next to her on the carpet. They had a long wooden table in the centre of the dining room, and the family sat around it to have meals every night, typically with their hands rather than a spoon or fork- this was due to the fact that most of their meals was sauces they would dip their bread in, bread that was freshly made by Sharifa every morning.
“We haven’t had guests in so long, I thought it would be nice to use something different for once.” She replied as she set the table, which was filled with many delicious delicacies, from flakey cakes made with pistachios and saffron to Arabian cotton candy, which melted in your mouth in merely a few seconds. They all went perfectly with tea. As the two sat down, Sahar and Suzan approached, sitting down next to them as well. Sahar was the middle child of the family, she was a mother of 2 young children and very vocal about her opinions. She was very caring, and loved to take care of the rest of her family, being trained at a young age how to be a proper woman. She had long smooth black locks that hung at her shoulder, and she loved showing off her cleavage, though she mostly hid this from her family in fear that they would judge her and inhibit her from going out- although she was already married with children.
Suzan on the other hand was the wife of the eldest in the family. She had a child of her own as well. In their culture, it was tradition for the woman to enter into her husband’s family, abandoning her own for a new one she would also be responsible for taking care of. She was okay with this of course, because it was the only thing she’s ever known. She was the joker of the family, more goofy and daring than the rest of them and the tallest in the family. She liked being in charge of the household, and she was elegant in appearance, with an upturned nose and beautiful long lashes.
“Oh, mama you shouldn’t have.” Sahar said, smiling gently.
“I have to keep taking care of you or you won’t come back to see me anymore! That new family of yours will take you away forever.” She said, tsking.
“I’ll always love you the most, mama.” Sahar replied, picking up the cup of tea and sipping on it.
“Why didn’t you bring your children with you?” Sharifa asked, concerned.
“They wanted to stay at home playing video games with their father. I don’t understand it at all.” Sahar replied, now dunking the treats in her tea.
“You should tell them to come see grandma, I miss them!”
“Okay, okay. Next time. How about Suzan’s kid? You never ask him to come.”
“He’s a teenager now. He doesn’t want to be with his family anymore.” Suzan said, flipping her hair.
“He should still pay respect to his grandma and grandpa!” Sahar said, still very in tune with her religion and cultural rules- they respect the men and the elders- they know best.
“Okay, okay, Sahar- no need to get all riled up.” Suzan replied dismissively, shooing her away.
“I’m not riled up.” Sahar said hurtfully. Hassan watched the three women, used to their usual banter and talks- they never really talked about anything, just empty conversation that he didn’t want to be a part of. As a form of respect though, he couldn’t not be a part of these chats, so he usually just sat there, sipping on the tea and wanting to leave as soon as he could. He had developed a close relationship with Suzan after she met his brother, but that was something they had in private- as it was completely a taboo that he would be friends with his older brother’s wife. They weren’t really allowed to talk to each other in private at all without supervision. He liked her, she was friendly and outgoing and very funny- he could see why his brother loved her very much. He wasn’t into her in that way, but he liked her as a friend, and liked her company. They weren’t ever going to reveal this to anyone else though.
They chatted for a few more hours, the girls giggling away at their talks about their weird neighbors and family friends, judging people for cheating on their husbands or women going to work when they weren’t supposed to. They were conservative by every means, and liked to surround themselves with only people who were conservative as well.
“Hassan honey, go grab some more cookies for us.” Sharifa said as the conversation slowed itself. It was around 7pm, and they would be having dinner soon, though most were already full on dessert to want anymore food- their culture was used to having dinners at 9pm anyways.
Hassan nodded and got up, obedient to whatever his mother said without complaint- his dad would beat him if he ever heard otherwise. He got up and grabbed the box fresh from the bakery his mother had bought that morning, and was about to head back to the dining room when he heard a weird moan outside the window. “Huh?” He said to himself, curious.
Another moan. He picked up a chair and leaned it against the wall where a window sat up top. He stood on the chair and looked outside. He looked left and right, but nothing was there. “Weird.” He picked up the cookies and went back to his family, “I heard a sound outside our house.”
“What kind of sound?” Suzan asked, curious.
“A moan?” He said, scratching his head.
“You’re probably just imagined it.” Sahar said, but before he could say anymore, another moan echoed through the house.
“See? There’s something weird going on.” Suddenly, the sound of something crashing outside- something large and metallic.
“What was that?” Sahar said, now getting worried. Without saying a word, Hassan left to the front door of the house, looking out the peephole.
“There’s no one there.” The sounds they heard began to escalate- screaming, clawing, the sounds of building material breaking. They could hear sounds of both males and females wailing and screeching around them, frightened and terrified.
The three girls stood up, now hyper aware of the situation. “Why are our neighbors screaming?” Sharifa asked no one in particular. Suzan stood up and picked up the remote, flipping the channel to their usual news station.
A female news reporter stood in front of a video playing scenes of horror- houses burning down, crashing, and what seemed to be figures walking slowly and chasing citizens around as they screamed. “We’re not sure what is happening at the moment.” She continued, “But the creatures who appear as humans have been seen walking out of the lab, and have been infected with some sort of virus. They do not have a pulse and have decomposing skin, and have been approaching humans to bite and scratch them, which transfers to the humans themselves. Government officials are currently advising all citizens to run, to take their car and drive to a safe house as fast as they can. Do not panic, and do not let the creatures touch you.” The sounds of the moaning seemed to be coming from the TV as well. The news reporter, a blonde woman with glasses and a serious expression, turned around to see a creature approach. Her scream echoed in the family’s living room as the newscasting switched immediately to commercial. No one said a word for a few moments, and Hassan started smiling, which turned into a full blown laugh.
“You’re all messing with me right? This is a joke- a zombie invasion, really?” He banged his hands against his legs, laughing further.
Sharifa looked at her son, her eyes widened and pupils dilated, “Zombies? What are zombies?”
“Undead humans that have transformed by a bite. It’s in a lot of video games and movies.” Suzan explained, knowing from all her son’s playing.
“Wasn’t the lab doing some experiments that they wouldn’t talk about?” Sahar asked the group.
“Yeah, government officials that were here for a few years now. They were experimenting with something and mailed a bunch of people invitations to take part in the study for a lot of money. It was for a virus, what was it called?” Suzan said, thinking.
“T-virus.” Hassan finished.
“Yeah, T-virus!” Suzan said, glad someone didn’t think she was crazy for believing all this.
“Do you think…” Before Hassan could finish, they hear moaning once more, and scratching against their door. His body started uncontrollably shaking, and he approached the door step by step, before he could look into the peep hole again, a body started slamming against the door, over and over.
“Oh my god. Allah save us.” Sharifa said, putting her hands together.
“Don’t open the door, Hassan.” Suzan said, though as a woman she shouldn’t be asking Hassan to do anything. He didn’t seem to mind though, as his hands were shaking and he wouldn’t have been able to open it in the first place.
“We should do what the news reporter said, let’s go. We’ll take mama’s car.” Sahar said, the only one that had a clear mind at the moment.
“Should we bring our stuff?” Suzan asked. But it seemed Sharifa was already ahead of her. She went to her room and the prayer room, grabbing the Quran, beads for praying, henna, and the sand she used for rites. She then started rolling up the carpet they used in the prayer room, still chanting away at Allah. The three children started to help her, also deeming the importance of taking all their items of sacrifice more important than their lives.
When they finished taking all the items, they moved to the back door, looking to escape through the backyard and enter their car that way. It was too late though- they had spent too long packing. Bodies have banged through the front door enough there was an arm sized hole through it, and an arm that was partially degenerated and grey in appearance had moved into the door, trying to grab the handle. In the backyard, they could spot a few figures, moaning and groaning away.
“We can’t escape now.” Sharifa wailed, still holding the items in her arms.
“There has to be a way.” Suzan said, looking around. Suddenly, the front door slammed open, and a figure entered. He was tall in appearance, and Arab in background as well, though it was hard to tell with the greying skin. He had a few patches of skin and hair missing, and his beard was in disarray, with fragments of the wall attached to it. He groaned loudly.
“Mohammad?” Sharifa screamed. He was their neighbor from next door. They were
close friends, going there for dinner at least once a week. She gossiped about his wife a lot, but it didn’t mean she didn’t care for them. “Mohammad is that you?” She screamed again.
“Mom, calm down.” Sahar said, as she grabbed her. “Let’s go.” They all ran towards Sharifa’s room, the closest to them. They closed and locked the door.
“We’re going to die, mama.” Suzan said, the fear starting to get to her.
“Not if Allah can help it.” She closed her eyes and started praying again. The rest of the family surrounded her, praying as well. They said sentence after sentence in unison, already so used to praying together. They could hear the zombies approaching little by little, their claws against the wall and their moaning surrounding them. The air smelled rancid, like torn and decomposing flesh. It was more than they could take. Pure fear took over them- if Mohammad, the most religious person they knew, was also turned, how could Allah help them now? Pure fight or flight response came over them. They shivered together, huddled, sitting on the bed. Again, the zombies figured out a way to get to the room- it seemed they had no real thought pattern other than to find as many people as they could to infect.
“Come on.” Hassan said, interrupting the praying. They ran into the master bedroom’s bathroom, locking the door and leaning as many boxes as they could against it. If the zombies didn’t give up now, they would be dead. It was just any moment now. The girls rejoined the huddle in the corner, frightened out of their minds. Hassan, as the man, tried to gather as much bravery as he could. The girls huddled closer and started to cry. It was Sahar first, then Sharifa as she saw her daughter’s tears, and even the bravest -Suzan- began to cry. Hassan ignored them and tried to compose himself. In and out, in and out, his breathing was heavy as he shook.
Suddenly they heard screaming from the zombies, they moaned and wailed as gun shots sounded in the air. After a few seconds of silence, the door of the bathroom fell down with a large bang. Despite Hassan’s composure in the last few seconds, the bang made him lose control, his urine soaked into his pants and dripped down onto the floor.
“Come on, hurry.” A voice sounded. It was deep and serious, but flowed smoothly. A woman stood at the door, adorned in a tight leather suit and long leather boots. She had short red hair on the right half of her head and was bald on the other half. She had a serious but cool expression, like nothing in this situation could faze her in any way. She had two guns strapped to her back and a few knives embedded on her belt. She had a few grenades as well and a small shotgun.
The four members stared at her, not saying a word. She stared at them back, looking at each one of them up and down. “What are you looking at me for? C’mon!” She screamed at them. They continued looking at her, not moving an inch- they had no idea who this woman was, what she was doing there, and why she had her hair out for them all to see- especially Hassan, a man. This was extremely illegal in their country. Which meant they immediately didn’t trust her. There was no way someone who was doing an illegal act would be there to save them.
“If all of you want to live, you need to follow me right now. There’s more and more coming and they’re not going to wait for your stunned expressions to go away. You need to come. NOW.” She looked at them holding their religious items, “Drop your items, they’re going to slow you down. Do you want to live?”
They exited the bathroom, looking around by instinct. They could see collapsed bodies on their floor, their blood and guts oozing onto the carpet- a sharp contrast to how it usually is, Sharifa not allowing any dirt on the ground whatsoever- it was her responsibility to clean the floor every day. Before they could faint from this disgusting site, the women went to action and grabbed their hijab and abaya, Suzan and Sahar borrowing Sharifa’s veils. Sharifa goes to grab the turbah (a stone put on the forehead for praying) she had in her drawer as the woman taps her foot impatiently, glaring at them.
“Are you kidding me right now? Is this really more important than your life? People seeing your fucking hair?” She screamed again. She had enough of this nonsense. She was all for saving people’s lives, but not when they were this stupid.
The family members barely registered what she said, they were too shell shocked to do anything than what they were used to, and what they were used to was wearing a veil and hijab before they left the house. Hassan doesn’t bring anything, and walks out the bedroom, looking left and right to see if there are anymore zombies. The woman turns to look at him, glad there was one person who was in their right mind. “Hey kid- I’m Ada.” She said, looking at him while holding her gun. She reaches for the small pistol in her belt and hands it to him. “You know how to shoot?” She asked.
“Errgh-” He could barely get the one syllable out. Ada understood; she could remember years ago when she was in her first battle, not knowing what to do and completely shell shocked as well. The fight or flight response really gets you going. He shook his head instead.
“It’s okay. I’ll be here to protect you.” He never thought a woman would ever be saying those words to him. “Okay look, all you do is to pull the slide back back to cock the gun and then pull the trigger. Let me know if you need to load it and I’ll do it for you. Don’t aim it at anyone you don’t want to shoot, okay?” He nodded at her, completely perplexed.
As the women approach, they all run to the front door together, trying to wear their shoes. Ada stares down at their bare feet before grunting, listening for sounds outside, “Listen, we don’t have time anymore. Forget your shoes- let’s go.”
She sniffs the air a few times outside, smelling for rotten flesh. She then looks around, her eyes narrowing in the dark. A figure approached her slowly, then grunted loudly before jumping on her. “Argh.” She said as she shot it before it got to her. She looked around a few more times, and then waved the frightened family forwards. They follow her, unable to do much else.
All four were purely driven by instinct now. This was the most exhilarating experience of their lives. They had never experienced anything like it- the greatest thing they ever did was visit Europe that one time for a week to visit some family. Their hearts beat loudly and quickly, and the hair on their body completely erect, their fighting response taking over. All they knew was to follow their saviour and listen to whatever she had to say- because she knew what she was doing, and it was clear now she was trying to save them. They travel from house to house, looking around as they see the devastation. The houses that the children grew up around were completely destroyed, and fire sizzled around them as it burnt down playgrounds and meticulously planted gardens. People screamed as they were chased, and they saw a few being attacked, completely bombarded with a pile of zombies no one could possibly escape from without a proper weapon.
Undead children approached them, and Ada shot them without a second thought- to her, they weren’t real children anymore. As they were approached by more and more crowds of zombies, she instructed Hassan to shoot as well. He did, though mostly missed, and closed his eyes everytime he did it, not wanting to see his bullet kill anyone he knew. It was way too much for him, and after a while, he could barely gather the strength to pull the trigger anymore.
“Everyone’s dead.” Sahar whispered to herself. Ada heard her, and looked at her sadly, not wanting to say anymore. She had more important things to deal with now, no matter how much compassion she felt.
Soon, it was too much for even Ada to handle- she was almost out of ammunition (she had no idea it would get this bad) and they wouldn’t stop coming. It was clear the people of this village had no idea how to take care of themselves. She shot a few zombies that were closest to them, and with a few clicks, she was completely out.
Hassan noticed this, his eyes widening completely, “What do we do now?”
“We’re going to die!” Sahar screamed, hugging her mother as they fell onto the floor together. Ada looked down at them, thinking. A helicopter suddenly arrives, its loud motor running high above them as it descends lower and lower onto them as the zombies surround them more and more. They were walking faster now, eager to get new flesh into their bodies. There were 5 fresh bodies, and they were excited.
One finally reaches them, and Ada throws her gun aside to punch it in the face. It screams as the punch causes his brains to fly out, the skull already weakened greatly by the virus. She does the same to the new zombies that approach, and Hassan looks around as he realizes his sister and mother don’t see the ones that have reached them.
He shakily reaches for the gun he abandoned mentally and aims it directly to the zombie’s head. He breathes in and out, in and out, and then presses the trigger as he closes his eyes again. It gets her. The zombie screams as it falls onto them. Sahar and Sharifa scream as well as the guts and blood fall on top of them, coating them completely in mucous and dead tissue.
Ada turns around when she hears the gunshot, and see Hassan make the kill. She woops loudly and swings her arm in the air, “Good job kid! Look at that! You just save their lives.” She approached and patted him on the back, and despite being scared out of his mind, Hassan blushed at the compliment.
“This is so thrilling. I’ve never had to fight so much at once. It’s exactly like a stimulated battle arena. God my blood’s boiling.” She grinned, speaking to no one in particular. The helicopter finally reached them, its ladder falling down in the middle of the field as Ada waved the family over, letting Sharifa and Sahar get on first and then Suzan. Finally, she nods at Hassan and then she gets on herself. They climbed the ladder slowly, which made Ada slow as well. She looked down to see more zombies approaching, and kicked a few of them onto the floor. They died at the impact.
Finally, they were all safe inside the helicopter. Ada looked down to see her slaughter- hundreds of dead bodies all over the floor along with zombies still approaching, looking for their next victim. She hoped that she hadn’t missed anyone. She had called out to many houses with no response. This was the only family she could find by following the zombies- it seemed they had a great sense of smell for people who were still not infected. The virus was very clever, being able to use human bodies to multiply over and over again, getting as many bodies to host it as possible. It made humans immediately want to hug and be with their loved ones, which immediately infected them as well. It also took only a few moments to get into their brains, which meant it escalated in just a few days, to the point that the village was completely destroyed.
“Sit, rest.” She commands them as they frantically look around at the new situation. Noticing there was a man around (the helicopter driver), all three women began fixing their scarves, making sure he wouldn’t be able to see any part of their hair or their bodies. They listen to her and sit down, surrounded by weapons and equipment.
“What’s up?” Ada says casually, leaning her body against the driver’s seat and picking at her nails.
“Are you fucking crazy?” He yells at her as he turns the helicopter left at a rapid pace.
“Huh? What do you mean?” Ada said, pretending to be confused.
“That mission took way too long, you could have killed yourself. They told me multiple times to just leave you behind. I almost did as well.” He scoffed at her. He had short brown hair, glasses and military attire, his boots matching Ada’s.
“Hah, you think you could really leave me?” She laughed.
“Listen, you’re one of the best soldiers we have. We need you. Don’t fucking sacrifice yourself for a few civilians, do you hear me?” He yelled.
“Shush they can hear you.” She whispered back.
“I don’t care. You do that again and I’m really leaving you.”
“Okay, okay. Calm your balls.” She replies, patting him condescendingly on the head.
The family members try hard to listen to the conversation, but exhaustion has set in. They settle into each other in an embrace, not saying a word and fell asleep on their way to the military base, completely not knowing what to expect next.
Chapter 2
“Aw, look at that.” A voice sounded, waking them up. Ada stood with her arms on her hips, looking at them and smiling.
“Huh?” Hassan said, rubbing his eyes.
“You’re all so cute, sleeping together like that. I know you’ve all been through a lot.” The four of them blush. It was unusual for someone to compliment them like that, let alone a stranger. It was also completely unacceptable for them to embrace like that, especially with a male in the picture. They had no control over it though- all four being exhausted, frightened, and needing some kind of comfort, which they got from people they knew their whole lives.
It had been a few hours after the incident, but they still didn’t really know what was going on or how to act. They were still shell shocked, and none of them said much as the helicopter landed onto the platform. The girls look around in confusion, studying the weapons around them that they’ve never seen before. Ada had dropped a blanket on them, and they held onto it as they looked at each other. After a few moments of silence, Hassan decided he would have to start asking questions. The women expected this of him- he was the only guy around, and without their husbands and his father, he could have to take charge in this situation. He tries to say anything, anything at all, but he had no idea how to start.
He grunts a few times, and Ada sits in front of him, waiting for him to say something. He coughs, “Um.” She nods at him, wondering if he was planning to continue. “Um.”
Being impatient, Ada begins explaining without him. “Hey, it’s okay. I’ll explain. I know you’re all still scared right now, and I’m a stranger, I know. I’ll take care of you though, I promise.” She could feel them sigh in relief as she spoke in a gentle tone. “A few days ago, an experiment went wrong- we don’t know what they were trying to do exactly, but a lab that was okayed by the American government studied a virus they were afraid would get out. A crazy scientist decided that it would be okay to start studying people, testing the virus on that. No one okayed it, but he paid off a lot of people who were too poor to realize what was happening. The people infected by the virus went crazy- we don’t know a lot about it yet, but it’s bad. They escaped, and started to infect more and more people. Your village was one of the first ones that were hit.” She paused to let it settle in.
“They sent me and a few others to come and scout out the situation, giving us plenty of ammo but not expecting it to be this bad. I tried to look for anyone else that was alive but…”
Sharifa gasped out loud and started crying, she had known a lot of people from the village, and this was too much for her to take. She was born there, grew up with a lot of them, had kids with a lot of them. They were her friends, companions, and now most of them were in the dirt or not themselves anymore, hunting down others to infect. She couldn’t believe this was real- none of it had settled in yet.
Suzan looked at her sadly, and then at Ada, “What about my husband and children?” She was almost afraid to ask.
Sahar continued, “And mine?”
Ada shook her head, her eyes cast downwards, indicating her condolences, “I don’t know.” She replied, knowing that was not what they wanted to hear.
The woman looked at her, both of them with tears welling in their eyes. “I can’t believe it.” Suzan said. Hassan was still speechless.
“We will be arriving in a few minutes. You’ll be staying in a military complex that is housing all the civilians we can save from the Middle East.” The family huddle together at this, and pray some more, hoping as many people they knew would be safe as possible. Ada stared at them, completely foreign to this strange behaviour. She didn’t want to judge them, but she couldn’t believe in a million years that some kind of supernatural being like God would come and save anyone from this kind of disaster.
The helicopter finally lands, the sounds of the fans echoing in the air stopping finally as it sets onto the ground with a bang. “Let’s go.” Ada said gently. They followed her, looking at the man driving the helicopter one last time as they stepped down the stairs onto the ground. They were situated outside of a building, but it was the middle of the night, and they could barely make it out other than how dark it was. As they entered it and had proper light on them for the first time, the family members looked at each other, and gapped at how dirty they were.
Their clothes were ripped and bloody, their foot completely bare and covered in mud and blood (their own from stepping on the ground and the zombies’ as well). The women’s veils despite adjusting constantly were barely covering their hair anymore, and they fixed it again for each other, religion still very ingrained into their behaviours. The family move in unison behind Ada, the women try to hide themselves and appear small as they see all of the strangers around. They were not used to strangers being around them, and were used to staying at home and being with their family and husbands. This was completely out of the blue for them, and all they wanted to do was hide and never come out. To be at home with their families and know everyone was safe.
The institute was large to say the least. It was similar to any military base they saw in movies, a light green colour on the walls and many trucks and helicopters parked around them. There was a small hallway they followed Ada on, and men and women in uniform walked around them despite it being so late at night. The lights above them flickered overhead and they could hear multiple announcements being broadcasted above, though didn’t understand most of it as it was generally in code. She tries to reassure them by smiling gently, but Ada was not used to dealing with such frightened people, and she usually used humour to deal with situations like this- but they didn’t seem like the type of people that would appreciate her type of humour.
At the end of the hallway, Ada stops at a room, and lets them in. They sit in a waiting room with a few vending machines, though none of them had money on them. The seats are old and rusty, and it was empty except for the 5 of them. She ushers them onto the seats and explains to them that they’re in the civilian assembly room and that she would go talk to her superiors and come back so she could figure out a place to stay for them. They nod at her, not knowing what else to say.
As she leaves, they look at each other, not saying a word. “I hope everyone’s okay.” Sahar says to herself.
Hassan looks at her, but doesn’t say a word. Sharifa takes his hand into hers, and strokes it a few times, smiling gently, “Thank you for saving me and my sister, it was really brave.” He smiled back, but he didn’t feel brave. He felt extremely foolish and like a little girl. Ada was much more superior than him, and she was a woman. A woman that could destroy him anytime she wished. And yet, she was kind, and accepting. She even saw that he had peed himself and didn’t say a word about it. He wished he could be strong like her, but knew it was crazy. He knew his family was judging him for not being a proper man, and he couldn’t explain the enormous guilt he felt everyday that he couldn’t be that.
They’re tired, and extremely exhausted mentally and physically. For what felt like an hour after Ada left, Suzan and Sahar fell asleep. Hassan was getting worried and impatient. She said she would be right back, and she left them. What if she didn’t come back? What if she abandoned them for someone else to take care of? He was already dependent on her, and he wanted her to tell them what to do next. He decides he needs to do something, so he gathers his courage and heads out the room, looking around for anyone that could help him.
A girl with braided hair walks by, and he walks to her submissively, “Hi.” He said, the first word he could properly utter in hours.
She smiles at him, but it looks as fake as it could possibly be. “Hello.” She cocks her head at him, impatient that this random boy was stopping her from doing her work. “How can I help you?”
“Um…” He said.
“Well?” She crossed her arms, tapping her feet and waiting.
“We are civilians from the village that was just attacked. And me and my family need a place to stay. I was wondering if you could help me?” He asked, almost in a whisper.
“Do I look like someone who can help you?” She asked back.
“Um…” Was his response.
“Listen, man. I don’t think there’s any room for you here. And I can’t help you. Just go back to where you were.” She said dismissively, waiting for his response.
“Oh… okay…” He said, accepting it without question. He goes back to his family and sits without saying a word. This wakes Sahar up and she looks at him groggily.
“Did you find someone?” She asked.
“Yeah. She was no help though.” He replied.
“Dammit Hassan you’re always like this. You’re a man. You need to stand up for yourself. How can a woman say no to you like that? Do you have no shame? Your family is exhausted, that woman Ada is not coming back, and we have no place to stay. What do you expect us to do now? None of us can approach the people here, we’re not wearing our hijabs right. They will see our skin.” She scoffed. He cowarded at her screams, knowing she was completely right.
“I’m sorry Sahar, I tried.”
“You need to be a man!” She yelled.
This woke Suzan up as well, and she looked at the both of them. “You’re too hard on your brother, Sahar.”
“You know I’m right, he’s too weak to be a proper man.”
“We’re all scared right now, just stay calm. He’s trying his best.” She smiled gently at Hassan, who smiled back, despite this being forbidden behaviour. Sharifa watched this exchange in silence. She felt she was too old to really care about her children’s behaviour anymore.
At this Ada finally returns for what felt like hours since she left, “Hi, sorry for interrupting, and sorry for being late.” She scratched the back of her neck, apologetic. “Did you manage to find a room for yourselves?”
Hassan replies in a broken tone, “Um, no. I asked someone and she said they were full.”
She crossed her arms, anger immediately in her face, “Excuse me? That’s such a lie. This facility can hold thousands of civilians, that’s ridiculous! Follow me.”
The family gets up slowly, past the point of exhaustion. They followed her like they were used to doing, and reached an office, a man sitting inside doing paperwork. He looked up from his computer when he saw them. “Yes?” His voice drawled. He had a Texan accent.
“I heard there’s no more room? How could that be possible?” Ada demanded.
“You can’t just keep bringing people in here without asking, we’re at limited capacity. You have to get permission first.”
“That doesn’t even make sense, Peter.”
“That's officer Blackwood to you.”
“Okay, Officer Blackwood.” She said, mocking him, “These people need a place to stay, and if you don’t provide it, I’m going to punch you so hard your head will come out the other side of that wall.”
“The new facilities are still being made.” He coughed, pretending he wasn’t scared. “And the ones already finished are being occupied by all the soldiers coming in as well as civilians already rescued- the village you visited today wasn’t the only one that was attacked, you know.” He scoffed at her, like she was a complete idiot.
Ada didn’t like that. She slammed her fist on the table glaring him dead in the eyes. The family members, who were watching at the door, jumped in fright. “Are you telling me that the largest military facility in the Middle East is full from this zombie invasion after three days?!”
“Yes, that is what I’m telling you. It’s worse than you think, Ada.” He replied. The air turned dark, everyone present realizing the extent of the situation. Ada shook her head. She had more things to worry about right now- namely, where she was supposed to put these people she just saved.
“Well, FUCK YOU PETER!” She screamed, and left the room, waving the family forwards. They were completely speechless. They had never seen this kind of behaviour before, especially in their favour. “You know what? The military complex is shit anyways, and as a part of special forces that they need, I get special treatment. I know exactly where to put you guys.” She winked at them, and they followed her in silence as she sauntered into the hall.