Crouching in the waist-high grass, Aqra eyed the crowded square warily. The undead milled around, some wearing the green camouflage uniform of the army. Flashes of his army days returned to him in vivid bursts. Raucous laughter and barking orders rang in his ears. The sharp scent of gunpowder tickled his nostrils and as he drew in a breath, the musky smell of the soft soil underneath him brought back memories of groveling in the mud on a rainy day.

A faint smile flickered across his lips. The dirty faces of his army mates brought on a wave of nostalgia. He looked out at the square. How many of them were still alive today?

He gulped past the lump in his throat. Tearing himself away from the ghosts of the past, he looked to his left. Joon Woo laid flat on the ground, chewing away on his bottom lip like it was gum. Another sign of his withdrawal symptoms. 

He nudged Joon Woo. “Hey. If I see any cigarettes, I’ll pick them up for you.”

Joon Woo broke into a wide grin. “Really? Thanks.”

“For Christ’s sake, don’t do that.” To his right, Shula hissed. “He needs to get clean.” 

“Stop meddling in other people’s business,” he snapped. 

“Cut it out, all of you.” Ah Long’s voice sliced through their argument. “The truck should be coming any time now.”

Aqra exchanged a glare with Shula before hunkering down. A moment later, the fire truck came right on time, its bright red exterior a sharp contrast to the surrounding gray buildings. As it screeched to a halt in front of the square, the listless zombies perked up. Junming poked his head out of the driver seat’s window. He yelled, his voice carrying across the square. “Come and get us, you filthy idiots!”

A trail of expletives followed until all the zombies were suitably riled up. The growls increased in volume as they surged for the truck. Junming ducked back into the vehicle and sped off with the zombies hot on his tail.

Muffled chuckles broke out from Joon Woo. “I didn’t know Junming could be so colorful. I should get him to talk dirty to me.”

“There won’t be a next time if you keep talking,” Qiyu growled beside him.

Ah Long gestured to them. “Move.”

They crept out of the long grass and onto the silent square. The five of them raced towards the gated entrance of the camp. Ah Long pressed his palm on the reader. All male citizens were required to enlist for national service and their biometrics were stored in a central database that allowed them access to all camps. If the reader still worked-

A loud beep rang out, earning a wince from all of them. Ah Long pulled at the gate and they slipped in, single file. The car park was desolate. There was no movement as far as the eye could see except for the slight swaying of the branches and stirring of the leaves. Ahead of them was the camp - a cluster of buildings with red roofs laid out in a straight line with an open walkway connecting the two wings. 

As the gate swung shut, the group divided into two. Qiyu and Ah Long stepped to the left, surveying the two connected buildings that housed the officers’ mess and boarding. Before Joon Woo could join them, Aqra pulled on his shoulder.

“Joon. Are you sure you can’t switch groups with me?” Aqra stole a side glance at Shula who had her eye on the surroundings. “I would rather not be with her.”

“Come on, man. She’s fine once you get to know her. You know this is the best arrangement. Only Ah Long and you have access to the camp’s interior. And we need Shula to-”

“I know. Charge the vehicles in the garage.” Clicking his tongue, Aqra glanced at Ah Long. “He should be the one going with her.”

“He needs that medicine for Pei Wen.”

“I could get it for him.”

“Aqra.” 

“What?”

Joon Woo flashed him a smile, his eyes twinkling. “Give her a chance.”

Aqra turned away. He hated it when Joon Woo turned on that charm of his. He forced out a reluctant grunt.

Soft laughter broke the tension as Joon Woo skipped away to join Ah Long and Qiyu. “And don’t forget my cigarettes!”

Aqra’s lips cracked into a smile. The man was incorrigible.

“Are we getting to work or are you going to stare at Joon Woo’s back the whole time?” Shula’s voice snapped him back to attention.

Anger flared in him but for Joon Woo’s sake, he calmed himself down. “Follow me.”

He brushed past Shula and stalked towards the right wing of the camp. When they reached the small block attached to the main wing, Aqra pressed his palm on the reader. The black shutters rolled up, revealing a half-empty garage. Shula inched towards the yawning entrance, her bat held up high. Behind her, Aqra waited until she gave him a thumbs-up sign.

Together, they entered the garage. With the shutters open, sunlight streamed into every corner. None of the armored vehicles were left. Only three dark green trucks occupied the large floor space. They swept the area for a tense minute before declaring it clear.

Aqra walked to the metal table at the back of the garage and retrieved three sets of keys from the board hanging on the wall. He tossed them to Shula who clambered into one of the trucks. As she went about her business, he surveyed the area again.

“Are you hunting for more survivors or more zombies?” Shula sniped.

Aqra glanced over his shoulder to see her emerge with a charging cable in her hand. “Can’t it be both?”

“We don’t need more survivors.” She slotted the cable into the truck and walked to the charging station with the other end. “Hell, we already had too many last time.”

Bristling, he couldn’t prevent his rage from seeping into his tone. “Is that why you didn’t bother using your sound bomb before that? Because you wanted them to die?”

Shula jammed the cable end into the charging station before marching up to him. Her shark-like eyes bore into his with the intensity of a pissed-off predator, sending a shiver down his spine. Despite being six inches shorter than him, her murderous aura overwhelmed him.

She thrust her baseball bat up until its knob grazed his chin and hissed, “Look here, you idiot. I intend to survive this fucking apocalypse one way or another. If that means some people have to die, then so be it. I couldn’t give a shit if you want to play hero but your ridiculous actions are jeopardizing the whole lot of us. So wake the fuck up before I throw your ass out to the zombies.”

Puffing out his chest, he glared at her. “Why don’t you try and do that then?”

“Believe me, I would be happy to,” she snarled. “But Joon Woo still treats you like a friend, that fucking fool.”

Aqra smothered a laugh. “What’s this? You have feelings for him?”

“He’s my friend, you bastard.”

Neither one of them noticed the door at the end of the garage sliding open. Or the bloodied human stepping through.  

A raspy voice broke through their fight. “Tolong…”

Aqra’s head snapped around at the plea for help in his native tongue. Shula had her bat up and ready to swing. Aqra was more hesitant. Zombies didn’t talk, not that he knew of. 

A thin, bedraggled man with bloodshot eyes the size of saucers tottered on his feet three meters away from them. His left sleeve was torn, and the cloth was used as a tourniquet that wrapped around his thigh. As the man neared them, the stench of sweat, grime, and caked blood assaulted Aqra’s nostrils. 

His nose crinkled. The man must have been recently injured. Possibly even a survivor from Zone 0 or 1. Shula gasped, her eyes wide. 

“Faizal?” she said.

“Help me…” the man croaked.

Dropping his pole, Aqra lunged forward as the man toppled over, catching him in his arms. Aqra slowly lowered him to the ground. Up close, he could see the man’s parched lips and sickly complexion.  

“Shit. We should get him to Dr. Yu,” Aqra said.

“The field generator…” The man crooked a finger at the truck as a filmy glaze settled over his eyes. “Dah letup ke?”

“What?”

Shula crouched down by his side. “Faizal, what do you mean?”

“I did my job.” The man let out a hacking cough. “When are you bringing me to Malaysia?”

Aqra shook his head. “He’s delirious as hell. We need-”

“Didn’t you hear what he said?” Shula snapped. “He asked whether the field generator had exploded. He must have something to do with the plasma shield going down. I know him. He’s one of the power technicians.”

Before Aqra could stop her, she grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt. Her voice was low and guttural. “What did you do, Faizal?”

Faizal’s eyes rolled up. Aqra felt the man’s body go limp. 

He shook the man. “Hey!”

Pressing a finger to the man’s wrist, he felt the pulse weakening. And then, nothing. Sorrow blanketed Aqra’s mood. He whispered a prayer, closed the man’s eyes, and gently placed his head on the concrete floor. 

Aqra stilled. 

Faizal’s body twitched.

“No, no…” 

He scrambled backward on his hands, frantic to get away from the reanimating body. A loud thunk echoed in the garage. Aqra’s chest heaved as he watched Shula bring her bat up and swing it down again on Faizal’s head. A sickening crunch made him turn his head away. 

Seconds passed in deafening silence. Aqra’s gaze flitted back to Faizal or what remained of him. Gulping past the bile rising in his throat, he looked up at Shula, his wide eyes meeting hers as she lifted the bat, its barrel dripping with blood. 

“You’re welcome,” she deadpanned. 

Irritation crawled beneath his skin. He bit back a retort, mortified that fear had overcome him. He slowly got to his feet, hoping that the tremors in his legs would not be apparent. As he made his way back to Shula, his features contorted into a puzzled frown.

“What are you doing?”

She extracted a PalmComm out of Faizal’s pocket. “Finding out the truth.”

As she thumbed through the PalmComm, he strode towards the open door. An empty corridor lay beyond. He stared past the reaches of the sunlight and into the darkness that stretched far down. His fingers tingled with trepidation. Repressing a shudder, he closed the door and, noticing a chair in the corner, wedged it below the handle just to be safe. Then, he walked back to join Shula at her side. “What are you looking at?”

“Conversations between Faizal and these guys, Hamed and Karthik.” Her face had turned grim. “Looks like they were out to sabotage Zone 0. They planned to take down the field generator and slash the tires of all our vehicles. But why…”

Aqra blanched as he recalled all the punctured tires he had seen on the scout cars during his escape. He looked down at Faizal’s dead body and felt a tendril of anger coil around his gut. 

“Oh god.”

He whipped around. “What is it?”

“They were after her.” 

Shula showed him the PalmComm screen. His breath left him in a harsh gasp at the sight of Sinjin’s serious face staring back at him.

Shula tucked the PalmComm into her pocket and headed for the charging station. “Looks like the zones in Malaysia want her bot tech. And they’ll do anything to get her. So, still want to go across the border?”

“Of course.”

“Together with her?” Shula snorted. “Might as well put a fucking wanted sign on our heads.”

Rendered speechless, Aqra watched as she unplugged the cable. His gut churned with turmoil. There was no way he would change his plans. But if he was heading in the same direction as Sinjin, that meant he would be facing danger from all sides. Who knew what other people would do to get their hands on her? 

But he couldn’t possibly ditch her and expect her to make her way across the border. That would be against his principles. 

“Facing a moral dilemma?” Shula mocked, her lips curled up in a sneer.

Blood rushed to Aqra’s cheeks. Refusing to answer, he went to pick up the pole he had dropped. When he straightened up, Shula was inches away from his face. Startling, he almost let go of the pole again. He opened his mouth to rebuke her when the dark look on her face made him clamp his lips shut.

“Aqra, when the time comes and we decide to leave Sinjin, you’d better decide whose side you’re on. I don’t want to hear any bullshit out of your mouth. No more of your fucking white knight nonsense to convince Joon Woo. You hear me?”

The malice dripping off her words turned his blood cold. He gulped. “I hear you.”

“Good.”

She turned away and went about charging the other truck. Left alone, he let out a shaky exhale and ran his hand through his short-cropped hair. 

Zombies, he could deal with. But humans with their hidden agendas and desperate need for survival… they were the real horrors. He looked up at the sunny blue sky.

Welcome to the post-apocalypse, huh.