One Monday, the world ended. An infection was let loose globally, turning humans into mindless flesh eaters- you can call them Zombies if you like. Philip Ademola is an average Nigerian and he is unprepared- like every other Nigerians- for the new realities of the apocalypse. This is his story of survival.
EPISODE ONE
And so it begins…
Mr. Oladeji murdered his wife two days ago. We lived in the same compound and they lived in the apartment next to mine. He had smashed her head with a pestle. I lost sleep because of this. Mrs Oladeji was a very nice woman and very beautiful too. The man loved his wife; the woman loved her husband and I have never seen them quarrel. How could their love turn sour? Was it because she had been unable to conceive after 3 years of marriage? Had he been bottling up anger within himself? Or did she have someone else and her husband had found out? My questions couldn’t get appropriate answers except speculations and theories.
I was sad. I could hear him screaming as the police whisked him away. He sounded evil and psychotic. I hated him for it. I wanted to hurt him for what he had done.
The world is evil and anything could happen. I knew the sky wouldn’t cringe at the brutality of man, it has seen the width and the depths of human cruelty.
Monday seemed dreary because of what had happened, the dark clouds also aggravated my gloom. I couldn’t concentrate. I worked at the customer service section of a courier company. One needed a clear head and a stable mind to work in the customer service section something I lacked at the moment.
The death of Mrs. Oladeji was reported in the news, Mr. Oladeji was said to be violent and rabid in the police custody biting anyone who came in contact with him and had been transferred to the psychiatric hospital at Yaba- the murder of his wife had probably turned him crazy. The story of Mrs. Oladeji’s murder trended on Facebook and Twitter; giving social media commentators something to chew. Online feminists wrote about the evils of the patriarchal system that had silenced and bounded women into subservience.
I took a break. I left my cubicle and headed for the mess room to get a cup of water. There I saw Cynthia of Accounts department and Hakeem of IT making out- lips locked. They separated as I stepped in. I ignored them as went to fetch water from the dispenser. Cynthia walk out of the room slightly embarrassed. It was the second time I was walking in on both of them. They’d be fired if the boss found out about the two of them. The boss was a staunch Christian- he made everyone believe that. And he’d probably axe me if he found out that I smoked two sticks of cigarette in the bathroom every day. He seemed to prefer morality to expertise.
“I hope my secret is safe with you, Phil.” Hakeem said pocketing his hands.
“We all have secrets; there is nothing to worry about.” I replied before putting the cup to my lips. I wasn’t a tattletale, I would have been hypocritical for me to rat him out.
“I’m going to resign very soon. Just for her.”
He was going to leave the job because of the big backside the chick had- damn Cynthia had a big arse, something to kill for not something to resign for. He was clearly not sensible though I couldn’t tell what connections he had because in a country like mine connections paved ways and opened doors.
“That’s interesting.” I smiled at him.
“Don’t you notice that some of our staffs are kinda sick today? Cough and catarrh… strange isn’t it.” Hakeem was the king of small talks and I didn’t feel like talking. I just came for a cup of water.
“No, I didn’t notice anything like that.” I replied before turning to leave. I could feel his gaze burn through my back.
A shrill cry from one of the cubicles startled me and slowed my long strides. The cry continued as I followed others towards the cubicle.
I couldn’t see what was happening; my colleagues had crowded the scene.
“What happened?” I asked Ifeanyi. His cubicle was beside mine.
“I know no o…” he answered in his usual annoying drawl.
There was another scream among the crowd. I caught a glimpse of blood on the face of someone.
“YEEE! My hand, he bit me.” A woman screamed. There was a struggle within the crowd.
I cursed under my breath as I hurried to get the HOD to report what was happening, Ifeanyi followed. There were more screams.
“What the hell is happening?”
There came another horrified scream.
I got to the HOD’s door, the secretary was absent from her desk. I knocked the door twice then opened. The HOD’s huge back was turned to us. He was clawing at the wall behind his desk, and it appeared as if he was snarling. He was an eccentric man and could act crazy sometimes. Ifeanyi stepped from behind me. He had no chill. Before Ifeanyi reached the HOD, the big man had turned his head. He looked pale and his eyes had no iris. His yellow teeth were snapping.
“Christ.”
“Oga, something is…”
The HOD yanked Ifeanyi close clamping his teeth on Ifeanyi’s left cheek. He yelled in pains. I rushed over, I trying to pull Ifeanyi free. The HOD had pulled a chunk of flesh from Ifeanyi’s face. Blood poured from Ifeanyi’s lips as he screamed. My eyes widened in terror.
