I am a prisoner.

A dove trapped in a cage.

Convict of expectations.

Shackled to discipline.

Choked with moral and values.

A slave of love.

Like a whore to please others more than to fulfill one's own happiness.

A tug of war between the conflicted mind and heart.

I am a prisoner.

A prisoner to oneself.

Everything's fucked up. From an experiment that was supposedly will "change the world" to purging the world and ridding it of human existence. I guess that's what we get for going beyond the laws of nature. Because of one stupid mistake, the Z virus that my colleagues and I created got out of the lab. It kept spreading faster than the speed of light. From people to walkers who are swift as hell looking and searching just to feed their needs. I think I'm the one here now that is still normal. I'm hiding at our storage room trying my best to control my breathing and keeping still so that they won't sense me but it's difficult when you hear them outside moaning, scratching and slurring gibberish words. I don't know how much time I still have left before they find me.. and I'm feeling kind of woozy.. and hungry now.. One of my  colleagues got... infected and grazed his teeth... on my arm as we were running. I've gathered every bit ...of strength left in me to write this so here goes. I want to inform... whoever will get to read this. Run the fuck... away from this hellhole... Don't ... turn your back... and just go. And please ..don't do the...  same mistake as we did. But there is still hope... There is a... cure. It's in the

Life's amazing. The swish of the winds calms my soul, the feeling of content whenever I hear the happy chirping of the birds in my arms knowing that I have given them a home, and that wonderful ball of bright light up above that shows I can still go on for another day. Now, as I lie here seeing a strange creature just took me off from where I stood for what feels like a millennium, I kept thinking I would never feel it again but in the end, I am optimistic that I still have a glorious purpose. I hope I bring joy to these creatures that would make use of me. I hope one day I'll see that bright ball of light up there when I am reborn as a different form.

Master! Let's play!

Please!!!

I've got our toys here!

Master?

...

I'll just wait here till you wake up.

It’s a gray day today. The sun is nowhere to be found and the clouds flood the skies, giving the town a gloomy feel. It’s the kind of day wherein you want to curl up in a blanket and read a good book but this day is special. It's the day of our anniversary. My S.O and I have been together for 2 years now and I treasure every moment we're together, may it be an uphill or a downfall. I was lost in thought when I received a text from him asking me to meet him by the bench near the docks for our date.

"Hey beautiful, meet me by the docks, the usual bench, for our awesome date! See you at 9. Love you!"

He would always make me smile by just the little things.

"Okay love, see you in a while. Love you more! xoxo"

After I replied to him, I immediately got ready. I put on a nice cozy purple sweater and matched it with jeans and brown boots that reached just below my knees. I sat down in front of the mirror and applied light makeup in my face. I also wrapped a black scarf around my neck just in case it gets too cold outside. For the finishing touches, I wore an amethyst stud earrings and the necklace my S.O gave me for our first anniversary. It was a gold ring with our initials engraved on it.

As I go out the door, a cool breeze greeted me. Good thing that I chose to wear a sweater and scarf today. Since the docks is just near my home, I decided to walk to get some exercise and to warm me up as well. As I got near the bench, I smiled as I saw my S.O already there waiting for me but my smile was replaced with a worried look when I saw him looking like he’s troubled or something.

Immediately, I didn't feel good and my palms started to sweat even though the weather’s cold. I walked towards the bench, sat beside him and started to rub his back in circular motions as if to soothe him.

“Love, what wrong? You seem troubled.” I asked.

“Hey baby, nothing’s wrong… Don’t worry.” he said as he held my hand tightly.

By the looks of what I saw a while ago, that’s just not ‘nothing’ at all.

“Love, you know that you can tell me anything, right? You know I’ll listen to you no matter what it is.”

I squeezed his hand for reassurance.

His lips twitched as if trying to smile but it didn’t reach his eyes. This just made me even more nervous and the weather’s condition today just made it worse. He closed his eyes for a good 5 seconds then looked my straight in the eye.

“Do you trust me, baby?” he asked.

“With all my heart.” I replied.

He started to fidget. Now I’m anxious. What the hell is going on?!

“It’s just that... I want to say this to you for a long time already… but…”

“But what?”

“I don’t know how… and I’m afraid you might not fathom what I’ll say to you…”

I was already annoyed at this time but I kept my cool.

“Just tell me, love. I assure you that I’ll do my best to understand whatever you’re going to say to me.”

“Well… how would I put this…” he trailed off.

“Just spill it already.” I cracked.

“Well… here goes…”

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

“I’m Batman.”

I stared at him then the next thing I knew, all hell broke loose.

It’s just 6 in the evening but the night is already as dark as it can be. You can clearly see the stars twinkling in the jet black sky. The moon is at its fullest and it shines down the sleepy city below, naturally illuminating the streets. My brother and I thought that it would be nice to play hide and seek in the garden at this time because it would be more challenging since it’s really dark outside and the only thing that makes things visible is the moonlight. I volunteered to be the ‘it’ to prevent my younger brother from babbling why he shouldn’t be ‘it’. I went to the tree, turned my back, and started to count. As I count, I could hear my brother running around to find a good hiding place.

“One.”

“Two.”

“Three.”

“Four.”

“Five.”

“Six.”

“Seven”

“Eight”

“Nine”

“Ten. Ready or not, here I come!”

I turned and looked around. I was trying to listen for any movements but all I heard were the crickets who were playing the song of their kind. I walked around the garden and went immediately behind the big apple tree to see if my brother’s there but only to be disappointed. Next, I looked around the bushes and checked if he’s there but still no sign of him. I even went to the playhouse but still I haven’t found him. 15 minutes already passed but I haven’t seen or heard my brother. I was getting annoyed already.

“Where are you?!”, I shouted.

Only the crickets answered back.

I looked around again and saw our tool shed. I immediately went over there, thinking it’s the place where he hid. I opened the shed and darkness covered the whole area. The only illuminated area was the cabinet in front of the window due to the moonlight. I flicked the light switch on then it dawned on me that the lights were still busted and dad wasn’t able to fix it yet.

“Just my luck.”, I whispered to myself.

I made my way through the shed, grasping the things in front me to prevent myself from stubbing my foot in any tools or equipment in there.

“Are you here?”, I asked even though I know I wouldn’t get an answer.

Suddenly, I heard a noise by the cabinet. Ha! I got him now!

I immediately went over the cabinet and saw my brother sitting by the floor.

“Found you!”

He didn’t answer me nor did he protest that I would always find him wherever he hid. He only smiled at me.

“Kids, dinner time!”, mom was calling us.

“Come, let’s get inside now.”, I said to my brother as I held him and pull him inside the house.

Inside our house, I could smell the delicious aroma of roasted chicken. It made my mouth water. As we make our way to the dining area, my brother stopped.

“Hey, I’m going upstairs for a while.”, he said to me.

“Hurry up or I’ll get the good parts!”, I jokingly answered.

A bit later, mom, dad and I started to eat without my brother because dad was already hungry.

“Where’s your brother? I thought he was with you.”, asked my mom.

“He went upstairs. I think he did some number 2 business in the bathroom, if you know what I mean.”, I answered.

Just then, my brother came running to the dining room covered in sweat and dirt.

“Hey! I thought we were still playing! Why did you leave me outside the garden without saying anything! I was patiently waiting for you to find me under the stairs by the door. Now I stink.”

I immediately went pale, my mind went blank and at that moment my vision started to get blurry.

Who… went… upstairs then…?

The last thing I heard was my mom shouting something like 911 as my face hit the cold hard floor.