The recording has started…
21 March 2087. It’s been 67 years since the pandemic started; the Corona virus has mutated 15 times and it is airborne with infected spores growing all around. Eli, a 16 year old boy, managed to escape the apocalypse and went into hiding in a bunker with a couple of other people. A couple years ago, the virus mutated and started evolving and turned into a fungus. The spores released by the fungus entered the circulatory system of other living organisms and attacked their respiratory system. The scientists developed a vaccine for it and it made the pandemic worse by further evolving the virus.
Now the infected living organisms started to show hostility, cannibalism and gigantism. Infected people with the average height of 6 feet grew to be 8 feet tall and animals had different effects: snails grew to human size while herbivore species grew large tusks and horns with greater agility. Carnivores were worse; the large cat species grew to the size of a minibus. Healthy humans had to take shelter in underground bunkers and faraway islands. Luckily, sea animals and birds weren’t affected greatly and didn’t show any signs of hostility.
The alarm was set off and Eli took his camera and rushed to see what happened. He went to the control room and saw the CCTV cameras and found out that a herd of moledeers had broken in. The herbivores had mutated and they could dig underground and chew through metal. He stopped the recording and rushed to the armoury, grabbed a crossbow and some quills, rushed to the breach point with other people and attacked the herd. One of the survivors was from the military so it was easy for them. After that they temporarily barricaded the breach and held a meeting regarding the frequent breaches and supply shortage.
Everybody gathered in the common room. While walking to the room, Eli started recording again. He started talking about what they were going to do. They were having their monthly meeting, and he reached the common room and pointed the camera to the survivors, “Ok, so these are my neighbours, Mr. Holtz and Mrs. Holtz, and their son Danny, Benjamin Duke, the military guy, and his little sister, Chloe. She is the same age as me! So, Danny, she and I keep each other company”. The meeting started and they started to discuss the food supplies and the amount consumed . After that, they discussed the breach; they played a couple rounds of UNO cards. Eli stopped recording and everybody went to bed.
The next morning, Eli took his camera and went to the laboratory, “I forgot to tell you about Mr. Sung Jin Woo, He is a scientist/doctor/researcher…. he’s a genius who used to work with some researchers who were working on a similar virus for biological warfare. Mr. Jin Woo developed the anti-fungal spray to insulate your house so the virus’s spores don’t get in your house”. After introducing Mr. Sung, he went to the control room and tried to contact bunker-S-0102; someone picked the call and it was the lunch lady from the school, “Danny! I am telling you for the last time, go complete your assigned work!” Then she heard Eli’s voice and said sweetly, “Oh it’s Eli! I thought it was Danny, he always calls here to bug people and slack off. So, why did you call?” Eli replied “I wanted to talk to my Uncle John and my cousin Ellie.” The lunch lady said, “Ok, I will get them for you.” She left the room and there was a faint cry of her calling their names.
Eli’s uncle and cousin arrived. “Oh hey! Eli, long time no see! So why did you call for?” said Uncle John. “Hey Eli! What’s up! What are you upto lately?” Eli’s cousin Ellie asked. Eli replied to them, “Hey there! We are facing some breaches but mostly it’s fine. I contacted you because we need more manpower to go for a supply run and professor Jin woo will also be coming with us because recently he has established contact with his colleagues who were researching viruses and weapons for biological warfare.” His Uncle agreed to help and then both the bunker’s combat squads started preparing for the big day. His camera’s battery died mid-conversation and he never knew about it.
After the preparations, Eli didn’t take his camera outside because he didn’t want to lose it and then he decided to document it later and it never happened. They set foot from their bunker after such a long time that they didn’t even remember the feeling of fresh air and tranquil greenery. While they were mesmerized a Yalk-rhino came rushing towards them, bellowing loudly with his horns aiming at them. Eli and the squad started running in zig-zag movements and confused the creature. After the encounter, Eli pulled out a map checking the rendezvous point where they were going to meet. It was Calensbury park about twenty to thirty five kilometers away. It would take them about three days to reach there by foot.
While walking, they encountered many creatures like a mountain snail which was a little bigger than a rhinoceros, a hermit spider with long legs and a seashell on the back with large pincers filled with poison and who can forget those big shiny eyes! When Danny was goofing around, he fell into a desert komodo worm's nest. He was saved from being devoured by those creepy fast creatures. They were lucky that the queen wasn’t there or else no one would have survived.
After three days of travelling through a museum of crazy creatures and plants where every single organism tried to kill them, they reached Calensbury park and then Professor Sung Jin Woo said that the lab he made contact with was his workplace and it was nearby. His geography wasn't good so he couldn't figure out where the place was. They waited for a few hours and then the bunker-S-0102’s combat squad arrived. Eli’s uncle and cousin were there too.
After some conversation, they raided nearby grocery and medical stores for some supplies and while raiding Eli found a gun shop full of weapons. They were now fully stacked with supplies and firearms. Then the S-0102’s squad departed and Eli’s squad went to the research facility.
After reaching there, they discovered something terribly horrible. The research facility was abandoned and there was a creature roaring fiercely. There was some discussion whether to leave the place or not; in the end, they decided to stay and explored a little. Prof. Jin Woo found his office and recovered his research papers and other documents as well. While scavenging, they encountered the beast. “It’s the Taurusic centaur! With the lower body of a horse and the upper body of a human with the head of a bull, it’s a crazy atrocity,” Prof. Jin Woo said, “It was a top secret project, they were working on the virus’s vaccine in the form of living beings which can be immune to everything.”
The centaur came rushing through the cramped hallway knocking everything in the air, aiming his two long horns at us with furious red eyes. They started running, looking for a room to hide in. “Up ahead! Turn right!” said Duke, the military guy. They turned right and the centaur was running so fast that he couldn't stop and slammed into the wall leaving a hole there. Unfortunately on the other side, Danny was slacking off and got his legs stuck under debris. He cried for help and Eli and others rushed in to help him out. “He really has a lot of bad luck,” said Eli.
After the adventurous hunt was over, they gathered at the park and soon found out that there was a hoard of zombies coming from one direction and a herd of moledeers, wilder-ceroses, and their worst nightmare, a komodo worm queen and her army with those giant royal guards from the other sides. “ This is quite a pinch we are in,” Eli said.
THE END
“So this is what happened when I was a kid”. “Grandpa Eli, your marshmallow is on fire!” Oh! Oh whoa!...watch out!... water! Bring a water bucket!………. .
