The End Of Life

Mark felt someone shake his body and slowly opened his eyes. He noticed it was David who was shaking his leg from outside of the tent. He could see the sunlight outside the tent, it was already morning. He looked at his watch and noticed it was half-past 6. He got out of the tent and asked David, "Did you face any trouble?"

David signaled behind him, and Mark found a dead zombie. It seemed like it was the only one, and David killed it. He nodded and said, "Alright then. I will wake up Suzie and cook breakfast. Can you please take care of the tent?" David nodded and Mark went to Suzie's tent. 

He peeked inside and noticed Suzie was hugging herself and her nails were digging into her skin, making it red. Mark exhaled, seeing this. She probably had a nightmare again. He slowly touched her leg, and she immediately woke up and retracted her leg. 

Mark was shocked at seeing this. Suzie covered herself with a blanket, trying to hide. He slowly said, "Suzie, it's me, Mark. I came to wake you up. Come out." hearing his voice seemed to calm her down as she looked out of the blanket. She noticed him and gave a slight nod. 

She slowly came out of her tent and Mark said, "Close your tent. I will go and get breakfast ready." Suzie gave a slight nod and slowly got to work. 

Mark cooked breakfast for them. Seeing the solar oven, he decided to get a solar stove. He remembered there was a wide release of them by a huge cooperation a few months back and should be available on all electronic stores. With a stove, it would be easier for them to cook. He decided to check the stores of Evergreen city once he was done with his work. 

After cooking breakfast, he looked back and noticed both of them were done with closing their tents and keeping them inside the trunk of the jeep. He said, "Alright then, good job. Come and have breakfast. We will leave once we are done." 

All three of them slowly ate breakfast and then after keeping the oven back inside the trunk, Mark sat behind the wheel and told David to rest. He started the engine and continued to drive through the highway. Once again it was silent in the car with David asleep and Suzie looking out of the window like always. 

After a few hours, he saw the board indicating the city was only 2 kilometers ahead. He stepped on the gas and drove faster. Eventually, he could see the city entrance. He noticed there was a toll gate only a few meters out of the entrance and that it was closed. He shook David awake and pointed at the closed toll gate in front. 

David got down and went inside the small cubicle on the side and checked. He found the machine was done with no electricity and came back out. He went near the barrier and noticed he couldn't budge it. 

They needed to remove the bolts and take it out. David came back to the jeep and said, "We need to remove those bolts and the end of the barrier as the electricity is down. Do you have tools in the jeep"

Getting out of the jeep, Mark said, "There should be a toolbox." and opened the trunk. Luckily, there was a toolbox inside. David took it towards the barrier and Mark got in the jeep. 

David got to work as he loosened the bolts connecting the barrier and made it drop on the ground. He rolled it to the side and got in the car. He kept the toolbox in the back and Mark drove past the toll gate. Passing through the gate, they saw the huge welcome sign. 

Mark drove into the city. Unlike Stargaze city, Evergreen city was more modernized and famous. So numerous hotels were on the streets. He could see hotels everywhere. But the hotel he was searching for was the most famous one called 'Pearl Hotels' he only knew the general location and not the exact location. 

He stopped the jeep to the side and asked David, "Do you know where the Pearl Hotel is?" 

David nodded, and Mark asked him to change places. David sat behind the wheel and continued to drive through the city. Mark turned towards him and asked, "You went to the hotel before?" 

David nodded and said, "Yes, the hospital I work in has its yearly celebration in this hotel. So I come here every year to attend it." Mark nodded and looked out. 

The Evergreen city had way more zombies compared to Stargaze city or Loshin town. It had to do with the number of companies situated in the city. It attracted a huge number of workers and hence its population is more. Mark noticed a small horde of zombies coming their way and told David to stop. 

David stopped the car and both of them got down. Mark gave a nod to him and both of them took out their guns before aiming at the nearest zombies. They continued to shoot bullets as zombies slowly fell one by one. David would miss some shots, making the zombies come too close for comfort. But Mark's reaction was quicker and he would shoot them down for him. 

Finishing the horse, they got back into the jeep and continued to drive through. Eventually, David stopped the jeep to the side and looked ahead. Mark looked at him and asked, " What happened?" 

"The hotel is in the next lane. But I suspect going through the front door would be an option for us. So I am thinking of a way." 

Mark nodded and said, "Then let's take the back route and go through the employees' entrance. I am sure it would be behind the building. So let's go there."

David nodded and took a right instead of going straight and went to the backside of the hotel. They got out of the jeep and looked at the huge wall in front of them. They had to cross the wall to get in and that was not at all easy. Mark looked down the wall and noticed a small steel door to go inside. 

David looked at Mark and suddenly asked, "Do you know on which floor your friends might be in?" Looking at the 10 floors tall hotel. 

Mark didn't know it. He never checked the details of their stay here as he wasn't going to visit. After some time he looked at David and said, "Let's check the registers they would have in the main lobby. I am sure they would write the details of their customers and the room they are staying in their books." 

David nodded and Mark continued, "Park the car in an alleyway. There seems to be a door in that direction, we can you that to get in." David nodded. Mark took out some magazines from the trunk and his sword from his seat. He asked Suzie to get out and David drove it into an alleyway a bit far from where they were standing. 

Mark and Suzie walked towards The steel door at one of the ends. As they reached, they noticed it was well kept and there weren't any signs of rusting. Mark grabbed the knob and tried to open it. But it didn't budge. He kept trying until he felt Suzie tug at his shirt. 

He looked at her and noticed she was pointing at something behind him. He turned around and noticed it was a card scanning machine. Probably used for employee entry. He looked around for something hard so he could smash the machine. He found a rod lying on the other side of the street and ran to grab it. 

Taking it back, he returned and swung it at the machine. The machine broke in one swing and it fell down. The door made a sound signaling it opened, and he pushed it in. He noticed David was coming towards them from parking the jeep. David nodded and Mark opened the door. 

They found a few zombies and the building a couple of feet away from them. They quickly shot the zombies down and went towards another door. This time there was no special lock, and they easily opened it. 

They went into the hotel's kitchen. Mark looked around the huge kitchen. Everything was a mess and looked like there was a fight against zombies in there. There were a few zombies wearing chief clothes. Mark took out his gun and shot them before making his way across the kitchen. Suzie and David continued to follow him through the kitchen. Reaching the other end, Mark exited the kitchen into a hallway. 

Looking into the hallway, he noticed there were a few zombies inside. He took out his sword instead of the gun. The gun would make more noise and they couldn't risk it. He looked back and pointed at the corridor, saying there were zombies. David nodded and Mark went out while both of them stayed inside.