Timeline: Short Stories from the Apocalypse - A Through Rough Times Spinoff

The Den

October, 19, 2018 (Z-Day+2):
Pyongyang (?), North Korea

The most terrifying man in the world was nothing more than a sweating obese man yelling dry orders at officials too terrified to tell him the truth: North Korea was most likely in its last weeks!

The cessation of shipments of food from China had condemned the country to a famine worthy of the 90s anyway.

If only the Chinese had decided to intervene sooner, maybe the gwisin[1] would not have contaminated the whole north of the country!

The strong measures taken by him, the savior, the only man capable of saving Korea, had prevented the disease from spreading beyond the few backward villages, but strangely the epidemic had also developed on very favorable ground: Manchuria.

North Korea was trapped once again and the slightest sign of weakness would surely mean victory for the imperialist lackeys of the South!

He had not taken so much trouble with the Americans so that all his efforts were annihilated by a few suffering peasants!

He would have them burned as soon as he had the chance, that's a comforting thought.

Kim Jung Un, well sheltered from his bunker, liked to imagine his triumphant return, which he could do as soon as the powerful army of the Korean people would have cleaned the peninsula of all this foreign rotten stench

What sweet dreams...

Well sheltered...
***********************
Author's Notes:
[1] Gwisin is a type of ghost in Korean folkore that lingers in abandoned buildings, forests, and graveyards.

Ice and Fire

November 21, 2018 (Z-Day +35)
Northern Kashmir

The long baton had a reassuring aspect and reminded Corporal Singh of a kind of mythical spear. An excellent defense against the infected...finally only in case if its Chinese Type 56 jams.

The exploration of the Chinese camp on the other side of the border had given nothing more, all the food reserves had been concentrated there by the Chinese soldiers, in anticipation of their passage in India, if only they had known that one of their own had been infected!

Singh still remembered that dreadful night, the cries of terror and their echoes, the flashes of gunfire and the bodies falling into the abysses! All the Chinese had been killed or infected, and the Indian squad had done nothing, more out of fear than by orders. Anyways New Delhi and headquarters no longer responded, leaving the officers fearing the worst. Perhaps a nuclear strike by the Pakistanis? Unless the infection has destroyed all the major cities of the Indian subcontinent.

What followed would remain a stain in the consciousness of the young Indian soldier, the civilians and militias of Kashmir had rebelled resulting in abominable massacres , tanks against car bombs, fighter bombers against civilian buildings, soldiers against militia, and other atrocities too many to name. The blood had flowed much faster than expected and the two sides seemed to have massacred each other so much that no one had managed to take advantage, it was then that the infected had finally arrived, taking advantage of the chaos and lack of ammunition to annihilate all groups, all sides, all squads.

What an irony! While men were at war, the dead had only to settle down!

The corporal had outlived all his friends, officers, and probably his own family, and his weapons had run out of ammunition or more than enough, forcing him to search the desolate camp on the other side of the border. The frozen and stiff bodies seemed to have no life, but they still moved, grotesquely crawling on the ground to grasp the Young Man’s ankles.

What a horror!

The mountain and the small shelter that the corporal had built would certainly be his last home, there was no more war for a border, resources or a region. It was only a struggle for survival, and the corporal was ready for it!

Surabaya Bloodbath

Written by our fellow indonesian friend Goingidle

Z-Day +42
Surabaya, Indonesia

It has been more than a month since the first attacks have been reported in Jakarta and Bali.

"Surabaya, Surabaya, o Surabaya"

Around two weeks after the government declared a state of emergency. Days after the military were deployed to cities across Java, Bali, and southern Sumatra, days eversince the nation's borders were closed.

Not too long after the government was forced to enact (failed) nationwide quarantine measures in response to several provinces that almost rose in rebellions, being prohibited beforehand to enact such measures themselves by the Merdeka Palace ("it's within the responsibility of the national government" "I don't care. Our few hospitals are going to be overwhelmed if we have to wait for Jakarta to properly respond").

More than a week after the government was evacuated from Jakarta to Ambon.

Roughly a week after the Great Panic engulfed the rest of the nation. Five days after news broke out of Indonesian refugee boats drowned by the Australian Navy. Two days after communications between Ambon, Hobart, and George Town (a few refugees that escaped military patrols off the coast of Sumatra were massacred) were reported to be brought to a standstill.

"City of memories, all those memories
Won't be forgotten"

He remembered the moment when he notified his parents that he is going to go back to Surabaya immediately after he heard of the cases reported within the vicinity of his campus ("wait there, let us come to you. Don't go anywhere"), and then on his way home, in his family car, he received notifications on his handphone that classes are going to be cancelled 'until the situation is deemed to be safe enough'.

Classes were going to be a thing of the past.

To this day he still feel unsure about his decision to come home. Surabaya is, no. Was. It was home to around 3 million people. A home to a total of more than 9 million in the whole metropolitan area. Now, maybe, at least a third of those numbers were rising to attack.

"Brother!"

He snapped out of his thought and raised his weapon, a steel crowbar, and looked around. A female infected around his age was slouching towards him from his right side. There are blood all over her black Manchester United shirt, and...whoops, no. He immediately raised his eyes to see her face, the man didn't want to see nor memorize the rest of the gore down below. Had it is just a film he would laugh at himself, since he is pretty sure a sight like that is going to be his daily consumption. But this is not a film, and blood or whatever it is, is not a knockoff. He knows he will feel sick had he stare any longer. However, in the instant he locked his eyes with the infected, he regretted his decision. He knew her.

"It was there, it's right there, in Surabaya
For the first time, the very first time
We met each other"

There, just a few steps away from him, with a white, bloody veil that almost fell off her head, was his childhood friend and neighbour, Rini. There are blood around her mouth, staining her teeth, and he is pretty sure he didn't want to know why there were blood there.

He gulped, still raising the weapon.
Damn it. He knew that he had to put her down ('like some crazy animal', he thought), but still. She didn't deserve this. None of those that infested his neighbourhood, a middle-class suburb that bordered West Surabaya, deserved this. But he and his group had no choice.

He closed his eyes for a while, muttering prayers to Allah, asking for forgiveness for his soon-going-to-be-sin and hers, before swaying the crowbar into his former childhood friend. He felt like he is dying inside. He keep hitting the weapon again, and again, and again until he heard that sound that told him that his job was done. He looked up to check. Sure, the body is still.

He stopped, tears slowly gathering in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Rini"

The boy turned his body, and moved his head to look at the balcony of the large house his group currently used as a base. He met his sister's eyes.

"Thanks for warning me sis. Is there anymore....coming in?"

His sister quietly shook her head. As she opened her mouth to say something, several loud voices from the other side of the building were heard. There are some familiar voices and some other voices he doesn't recognize. But he thought that his group only consisted of just the two voices from the four that he just heard?

"Rama. Tara. We are coming back and manage to find another survivors. Wait, is that...."

"Sorry, mas* Dani." He said, interrupting his other childhood friend, signaling that he didn't want to talk about that. "Who are they?"

The slightly shorter male stared at him for a while, then nodded, recognizing the gesture. "Ah, they are the twins, Yudha and Yudhis. We used to come to the same cram school, didn't you remember? I've checked them and they appear to be 'clean'." He then joked. "Well, don't let their appearance fool you, though."

With blood and dust smeared parts of the male twins' clothes and limbs, Rama understood what Dani implied. He wanted to laugh along, really, but he feel like he can't. Not after murdering his own friend. In the end, he just forced a small smile.

"Disgusting." A girly voice suddenly jumped in. Arisa, his former schoolmate, appeared right beside the twins, her slanted eyes almost closed due to her giggles, further accentuating her Chinese-Indonesian heritage. "It's almost like they didn't take a bath for days!"

"Hey, try to walk in our shoes for a while and feel what it feels like to be on almost constant run." Yudha, the older twin protested. "They are everywhere!"

"Alright, alright, guys." Rama interrupted. He didn't want his friends to cause too much noise that may invite more of the infecteds to come at their hiding place. "Just...come inside and take a bath. We have to continue re-stocking our supplies and maybe strengthening our perimeter. I'm sure there are some clean clothes inside."

The others nodded, and went inside the house. Dani stopped for a while, glancing at the corpse behind Rama's body, sighed, and patted his right shoulder. "You are doing a good job. Uncle Harun and Auntie Sri must be proud of you." The older male whispered. Then, a little concernedly, he asked. "Do you want mine and Arisa's help to take care of the body?"

"Later." Rama whispered back. After watching what appears to be her first genuine smile after the camp was overrun, Rama felt like he didn't want to sour her mood that soon. After all, Arisa was really close with Rini during their high school years, from what he observed. He didn't know what to do if the girl broke down.

Dani just stared at him in silence again, then the male nodded. He patted his left shoulder before going towards the gate, gesturing his hands at Rama to go inside. Rama glanced at him, and then sighed, before joining his friend.

As he was helping Dani locked and placed the added barriers at the gate, his eyes went unfocused for a while. Deep down, Rama is still wondering where his parents are. They were separated when their refugee camp, that was located on a hill outside the neighbourhood, were overrun just three days ago. He barely managed to escape with his sister and met with Dani and Arisa inside their old neighbourhood. From then on they decided to survive together as a group.

"Then I remember 'bout the old days
A thousand souls, a thousand hearts
United as one"

His friends and him are all just teenagers, young adults who are separated from their family. They are forced to keep fighting to stay alive. Sometimes, it's not just the infecteds that they have to fight.

"Rama?" Dani asked. "Come, let's go inside."

As he stepped his foot at the door, following his friend who already walked before him to join the others, Rama began to get lost in his thought again. Dani's previous words about his parents reminded him about their unknown whereabouts. Silently, Rama hoped that wherever it is, they are safe. He feels the hope of finally able to meet them again is what makes his days worth fighting for.

"Surabaya, in the year of forty five
We were all struggling, we were all fighting
With our lives at risk"

__________________

Author's Notes:
*mas: An Indonesian honourific, usually reserved for an older male, but also can be used to refer to a younger male in a polite way. This term is mostly used among the people of Java.

Hello, Hello Bandung

Written by our fellow indonesian friend Goingidle


Z-Day +36
Bandung, Indonesia

Dewi ran through the street blindly. Tears were streaming down her face like twin waterfalls, obscuring her sight.

("Why? Why?")

Instinctively, she dodged around the hands that were reaching to her form from inside the cars in the eternal traffic that now graced Simpang Dago. Her breath hitched. She had been telling him that they shouldn't be there.

The girl had known that this is going to be fruitless.


"Hello, hello Bandung,
the capital of Priangan*"


All around her, the once bustling street laid completely abandoned, the living who once crowded the cafes and shops on both sides were replaced by their former shells. They were lurching around towards her, their bloody arms raised, their moans echoed throughout what was once one of Indonesia's liveliest cities.

She resisted the overwhelming urge to scream, to just stop here and mourn, to just go back and surrender to what seems to be her ultimate fate.

Their ultimate fate.

But then, Dewi felt a cold hand on her right arm. She tried to shake it free, but the grip is too strong. In panic, she swung her (his) bloody golok to it, hitting the deathly pale hand again and again with the sharp blade until thick, reddish substance bursted out and her arm was freed.

That act shook her to full consciousness. She looked at the bloody stump that still tried to reach her from within a black Xenia that seems to know better days. She blinked. The owner of that hand is snarling at her, leaning his upper body out of the driver's seat to reach her, but his safety belt and the car's door managed to hold the infected's body back.

The girl decided to not waste more of the moment. She ran. From the corner of her eyes, she could make the forms of stumbling infecteds from both sides of the street that are approaching her location. The multitudes of abandoned, sometimes still smoking vehicles all around her worked in her favour in halting the advance of the walking horde, but it's not going to do for long. She have to immediately cross this street to reach Tubagus Ismail, where their friend is waiting.

As she approached the intersection that would led her to said street, the dead bodies - or parts of them - that littered the location forced her to stop running and walked cautiously, tried to not step on any of them. Even in this time and situation, Dewi still believed that that would be disrespectful. These were once people like her, Urang Bandung** who have tried to escape the disease that consumed the West Java Provincial Capital, but failed, and now served as a reminder to the survivors how this cool city have turned into a literal living hell. She could feel her eyes watering once again. Wira now had become one of them.


"Hello, hello Bandung,
a city full of memory"


Dewi silently muttered a prayer to God, hoping for Allah to forgive his friend's sins. To be honest, she didn't know if she still believed in any deity, after what have happened in this past month, but she knows that Wira still held onto their Muslim faith strongly. That's the last thing she can do to pay her respect to him.

Near a deserted bakery that was broken into, Dewi spotted a baton and a riot shield that lay discarded near the remains of a police barricade. It seems like the original horde that now infested Simpang Dago and IR. H. Juanda Street were coming from this area, and the police had been trying to protect the throng of refugees that tried to escape the city to nearby Lembang up in the mountains north of Bandung. She took the weapon and protection device, putting the baton inside her bag, and proceeded to walk into Tubagus Ismail Street cautiously, with a golok and a shield on each hand, avoiding the dead bodies that are lying around her. She hoped that this area is going to be secure.

As she walked through the eerie silence of Tubagus Ismail, occasionally looked behind to see if the infecteds were following her, she noticed that most, if not all of the shops around her seems to have been looted. Not just the obvious minimarkets, but also the small eateries and kiosks - for God's sake, is that a looted barber shop? Why would people.... - that are located on both sides of the street. Either those were the works of local survivors, or the remnants of the looting spree that took place in cities across the country once the Great Panic hit a few days ago.

It seems to Dewi that her hope was granted. Through the rest of her way to Sekeloa Park - their meeting location - she just have to put down three infecteds. From afar she could make out a grey wagon that waited by one of the trees in the park. She then ran towards it, and just barely avoiding stepping on some dead bodies that were lying around the car. Then out from the car came their friend Flo. The taller girl is holding a gun, but relaxed once she realized that it was just Dewi. They hugged.


"For so long already,
I have not met with you"


"I'm glad that you finally managed to get here. Look at the bastards that I've to shoot when I was waiting for you both. Wait, where is Wira?"

Dewi tensed in her arms. She just shook her head, tears once again threatening to come out.

"Oh....." Flo muttered. She sighed sadly. "I....how? May God have mercy on him."

The two girls were silent in their position for a while, before Flo patted Dewi's back and told her to come inside the car. After putting her bag and things - including a riot shield, to Flo's bewilderment - at the back seat, Dewi sat beside his friend and the car drove on. The two girls sat quietly for a while as the car passed by several abandoned cars and buildings at Sekeloa, before Dewi decided to break their silence.

"We are going to make it there....right?"

Flo just shrugged. "We have to try. I think Wira was right in that, we have to try to get out of this city while we can, you know? The whole valley of Bandung is just full of those things, and the military have said last night that they were giving up on evacuating stranded civilians in this city. We need to get to that military safe zone at the Padjajaran University campus in Jatinangor on our own."

"So they have abandoned even that large safe zone at the GBLA Stadium?"

"I don't know," Flo answered. "But even if they are not, GBLA is farther to the south from our current location, and from what I've heard, the streets to that location were blocked. I'm not sure if we can survive on the streets for a long time, fighting God knows how many infecteds."

By then they have entered Sadang Street. Smokes are rising from some of the buildings, and they have to swerve around some infecteds that were wandering around the road. The girls were silent when they passed by a burning high school building complex, masses of the infecteds were pouring out from it. Flo began to ramp up her speed once she saw at the rear view mirror that some of the infecteds were following their car.

"Anyway, Dewi." Flo said, breaking out the silence in the car after they have passed several burned out wreckages in Cikutra, having lost the infecteds for some time.

"If....it's ok, may I know the full story on how Wira...?"

Dewi sighed. "It's okay. I think I need to let it out anyway."

"We were fighting our way out from Wira's apartment in Dago, there are just too many of those creatures." She said, eyes downcast. "We were a team of four, two of Wira's neighbours decided to flee the building with us. However, soon we lost them to the infecteds that appeared from the other streets and buildings when we were trying to get to Simpang Dago."

"When we arrived there, we could see that the street is blocked by many abandoned vehicles. We were about to walk into the street when suddenly a large number of those creatures appeared and attacked us from both right and left sides. Wira gave me one of his goloks when my weapon was jammed in one of them, but, because of that, he got surrounded." Dewi grimaced, tears falling down her face. "I was about to help him, but he shouted at me to go. I should have ignored him, but there was something in his voice that made me turned to run. Then I heard his screams. I turned to see one of them already bit him. He was still trying to fight but soon the rest of them overpowered him." Dewi sobbed. "I didn't turn around and keep running."

Flo doesn't know what to say. She was torn between expressing her own sadness and consoling her friend. In the end, she decided for the latter. ".....Wi, this is not your fault."

"It is! If I have-"

"No. Dewi, listen to me." Flo glanced at her, her hands gripped at the drive wheel hard. "It is....his fate. He decided it himself to save you, even if he could have just ignored you and survived." She smiled sadly. "However, the Wira that I know was stupidly brave and selfless. In the end, he must be glad that he managed to save you. If anything," Flo paused. "The fault lies on those monsters. They are the ones who killed him, Dewi, not you."

For a while, Dewi doesn't respond. She sighed. "I still think that had I done anything it could have been different, Flo."

"Dewi," Flo said gently. "It could have been different, yes, but that difference could also mean I have to lose my other friend, too."

Dewi just looked at her, teary eyed. Flo smiled.
"There is a box of tissue on the back seat. You can use it if you want to wipe your tears."

"Thanks Flo." Dewi said mutely, reaching for the box behind. Flo just nodded, her eyes returning to the street in front of them.

The rest of their journey was filled with silence. Dewi gazed at the car's window, looking at the city that they passed by and saw a mix of fortunes and misforfunes that befell the local survivor's holdouts. That famous campus on their route, for example, belonged to the latter. They could see huge mass of infecteds shambling towards the buildings as its upper floors began to catch on fire. On the other hand, there are several other buildings whose defenses proved to be more successful, but under heavy siege. Those are where they have to be extra careful, as avoiding the growing masses of infecteds around these places on the streets that are often filled with wreckages (thankfully not completely blocked) could be a lot of work of maneuvering.

Once they reached the Cibiru roundabout then they began to see another running car. It seems like they are not the only ones who are trying to get out from the city.

"Flo," Dewi decided to break the silence between them. "I'm just wondering, isn't the military division there one of the only ones who have yet to go on offensive to 'restore the order', as they said on the radio?"

"Yeah." Flo answered. "I've been wondering about that too, but perhaps because their previous attempts have failed, such as in Jakarta and Bekasi just days ago, they decided to save what remained of their resources. Or maybe, they are trying to try for a new tactic."

"Hmm....you are right. Wait, Flo, aren't those military planes?"

"Where?" Flo suddenly looked at the car rear view mirror. By that time, they have passed into the district of Cileunyi, well outside the city limit. "I didn't see it - oh, there are helicopters flying towards the direction of the city too. Are they planning to resume the evacuation?"

Not too long after, their question is answered.

Several bright, fiery explosions rose above the city, followed by huge black smokes.


"Now she has become a sea of fire,
Let's reclaim her back, friends!"


The car in front of them went to the side of the road and stopped. Some of its occupants stepped out, looking at the city, transfixed.

"Oh my God." Dewi muttered, horror laden in her voice. Meanwhile, Flo just keep stealing a look at the rear view mirror, shocked. They barely noticed that they have just passed the sign that said they have entered the town of Jatinangor, their ultimate destination.

Barely aware that she just opened her mouth, Flo stated what have just passed in both of their minds.

"The military is firebombing the city."

__________________

Author's Notes:
*Priangan is a cultural term used to refer to a geographical region in West Java that encompasses roughly half of the province. The word 'priangan' comes from 'parahyangan', which means 'the abode of hyangs (gods)', and the region is known as the traditional homeland of the Sundanese people, the largest ethnic group of the province.

*Urang Bandung is the Sundanese term used to refer to the citizens of Bandung, with its English equivalent would be Bandungite.

The Indonesian Files

Written by MCPO-MagicalGeek

Date: October 20, 2018 (Z-Day, Zero Hour)
Location: Merdeka Square, Central Jakarta, Jakarta

The bloody heat isn't bearable, especially if one is wearing a Riot Suit, luckily everyone is wearing their Dark Green Mechanized Infantry Berets instead of those hot Riot Helmets the coopers are all wearing in their Riot Kit, in fact if one would look around they would see more Soldiers and Military Policemen than Police Officers, all armed with Assault Rifles.

One might wonder why there is so many soldiers, well Central Command has raise the alert level and for some reason mobilized everyone they can, this includes all the Infantrymen and Reserve Formations into active alert is unusual but no one is questioning, but the fact that everyone is standing under any shade is still sweating shows how hot weather is.

One Soldier with Sergeant Stripes painted on his Riot Armor is leaning on an Army Komodo Recon Tactical Combat Vehicle with the Platoon Lieutenant inside of the jeep listening to the Radio as Command does a check of all units in all locations all around Jakarta from Police to Military which was unusual but he's not going to argue.




Indonesian Army Pindad Komodo Recon​

<<Unit 5-53, check clear, situation normal.>> The radio cackled as units continued to check in one by one, the Sergeant is playing with the strap of his SS1 Assault Rifle slung across his chest with his PASGT Combat helmet hanging off his drop leg pouch, idly listening to the vehicle's radio.

He was drinking from a bottle of water when the radio cackled again. <<Unit 13-413, check clear, situation... SITUATION IS NOT CLEAR! REPEAT SITUATION IS NOT CLEAR!>> The panic tone was enough to spooked him and spit out the water he was drinking getting the attention of anyone nearby.

He turned at look at the Lieutenant who is also looking at him, the look of shock is similar on his face as on the Sergeant's face, in fact he recognized that number, it's a Raider Recon Platoon currently based on the West side of Jakarta, near the Puri Indah Mall, what is it, Terror Attack? Bomb Attack? The thoughts race through their minds.

<<HOSTILES ARE UNDEAD! REPEAT THE HOSTILES ARE UNDEAD!>> The radio continues to cackle as gun fire is heard in the background. <<Body Shots aren't doing anything! Headshots only!>> The radio continued. <<Understood Unit 13-413. All units on this frequency this is not a drill, I repeat this is not a drill. Situation is Red, start mandatory evacuations and prepare for combat.>>

The Sergeant starts running out shouting everyone, both police and military to get ready for battle as the Lieutenant used the Platoon Net to immediately send out alerts.

<<All units to Contingency Plan Zulu-10 Romeo, all units prepare for combat with Biological Weapons with Rabies like disease, head shots only.>> The Radio continue to cackle as everyone load their rifles, Machine guns being chambered and the police rushing to get the barricades ready. <<All units on this frequency this is not a drill, I repeat this is not a drill. Unit 13-413 has made contact with Romeo Zulu type Hostiles, all units on this frequency this is not a drill, prepare for combat with zombies.>>

For everyone this is something they aren't ready for, sure they've fought similar types of enemies in the jungles, but most of them are usually terrorists high on drugs and are rushing your position with stolen weapons and some machete if they don't have a gun, but this is the first time that the Indonesian Armed Forces is going to face an enemy where in the movies, overrun armies bigger and more well equip them them.