Chapter 2 - Please Believe Me

“Is this for real?” tweeted anonymousxxyz.

“Ofc not u idiot” replied IAmHer.

“Of course its real. How could a live broadcast be fake?” posted Getyourfactsright.

“idc if its real lol, lockdown means free stuff lol” said trollguy_123.

Posts like this were popping up everywhere, along with clips and photos of the broadcast. I put my phone down and sighed. ‘I didn’t see wrong and this isn’t another crazy dream,’ I thought to myself.

I ignored Detective Maurice’s call, too afraid to answer. He brushed off what I said as watching too many movies but the moment it comes true, he calls me. I hope I’m just over thinking things.

“Rina and I have locked all the windows and doors,” my mom said as she sat down, letting out a sigh of relief.

“I doubt anyone else remembers what you said so don’t worry too much about it. It’s all just one crazy coincidence. And besides do you know how many stories people in those professions hear on a daily basis?” Rina said as she tried to cheer me up.

“But you and mother remembered. And the detective called too” I mumbled.

I wasn’t always like this. I had always looked on the bright side of things and tried to highlight the positives, even if the negatives outweighed them. A straight ‘A’ student whose dreams were as vast as the ocean. But after I left school that bright, cheery life was behind me, all I was met with was failure and disappointment.

Becoming an author was always my dream. I thought it would’ve been easy, but I thought wrong.

“Come on you dumbass, stop getting all depressed over nothing!” Rina said as she hit me behind my head.

I rubbed my head and glared at her, “But it’s true! Everything that I saw is happening. Why won’t you believe me?!”

“Because its nonsense May!” my mother’s angry voice exclaimed, “It’s impossible for a person to dream something so horrid and it comes true. I mean a zombie apocalypse? Really May?” The disbelief in her voice was crystal clear.

I looked at Rina and as always, she supported whatever my mother said “I only panicked because your incident was so recent. Its my fault you’re all riled up, sorry May, but your mom is right. All we saw is what could’ve been one elaborate prank.”

I don’t know why I’m surprised. Maybe its because I was hoping that for once she’d be on my side. All I could do was roll my eyes at the two of them and stomp upstairs to my room, a room that I was surprised to learn still existed.

‘Why chase me out of the house if you’re going to keep my room and everything?’ I questioned as I locked the door and slid down to the floor. “Why do they never believe me…?” I didn’t mean to say that out loud. But as the words left my lips a sharp pain erupted in my head.

It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!

A wave of agony washed over me as I held my head, tears streaming down my face as I curled up on the floor.

‘This is just like the time where you were attacked. Your head was bashed in but your mouth still worked. You could’ve screamed if you wanted to, but you gave up on being heard a loooong time ago’ it was me. I said these things to myself as I laid there in excruciating pain.

Hugging her legs to her body as she sat on the floor was me, May Zepher, with skin as white as a sheet and hallowed eyes with a creepy hallowed smile that stayed even as she spoke. Her voice had an echo to it too, ‘No need to worry about that anymore since I’m here now. I look forward to the choices you make from here on out.’

With that she disappeared and my screams of agony surfaced, just as she said they would.

Footsteps thundered toward me and my door burst open to reveal my mother and Rina. They rushed towards me, their lips moving to show that they were speaking even though I was deaf to their voice as my screams got louder and the pounding in my head persisted.

------

Darkness. It felt like it was there for a long time but it was merely a second as it was replaced by a strange scene playing out.

Another gruesome scene. Another scene where I am forced to watch everything play out, unable to move or avert my gaze.

But maybe this time they’ll believe me, right?

------

I jolted out of my sleep gasping for air, but unlike last time my mother wasn’t here and Rina didn’t walk in the room with a doctor in tow either. I woke up scared and alone. ‘Why is this happening to me?’ I asked myself. ‘What did I ever do to deserve this?’ I continued.

But no matter how much I pondered, I couldn’t find the answer. I don’t know why I keep having these nightmares but I pray this one doesn’t come true. It can’t be true.

Wiping my tear-stained face with my sleeve, the bright red glow of my ID watch came into view.

D3 Citizen #3501. Lockdown.

These watches were invented centuries ago as a better way of keeping track of all the citizens in the world. Technology came a long way from what I’ve read about in history books, things like censuses proved inadequate to know how many people were living in the world and the different areas. That’s when someone invented these ID watches. From the moment you’re born up until you die, the government will always know your location. 

It's not like you can take them off either since they embed them into your skin. Though, if you somehow manage to get it off, you’re as good as dead. You no longer exist in the government’s system and you’re treated worse than those in the slums of District 5.

I sighed and got out of my bed, I’ve always hated how the cold and metallic object felt on my wrist, but it’s not like I can do anything about it.

It looks like I was out for a few hours too, all the lights are on. I continued my way downstairs and I heard faint mummering ‘Guests? This late?’

As I entered the living room a familiar face came into view. I’ve never met this man before, but I saw him. I stood there frozen as they carried on their conversation when finally, he saw me.

“Oh? This must be the daughter you were talking about” he said as he greeted me with an overly friendly smile. “My friend here is a doctor. Your mom told us what happened so why don’t you let her take a look at you.”

“That’s right May. You have no idea how relieved I was when she said she was a doctor. And Rina knows her as well. Isn’t that right, Rina?” My mother said this all so happily that it made my skin crawl.

“I’m fine mother. It was just…..a migraine” I lied, horribly at that.

My mother rolled her eyes at me and called me out on my lie “Since they’re offering to help, let them.”

I could tell by her tone that she didn’t want any arguments. Rina was nodding in agreement as well. Seeing that it was okay for her to examine me the woman got up and approached me.

I took a step back, “No” I paused, hesitating to utter these words “They’re infected.”

Everyone looked at me in surprise.

My mother laughed awkwardly as she tried to brush it off “Oh, you. There’s no need to be afraid May. Now stop saying nonsense and behave.”

“It’s not nonsense” I pointed to the guy who was sitting, “He was the cameraman that was with that woman on the news. And besides I saw it! I saw it in my dream, that guy will turn into a zombie and-”

My mother slapped me. I can’t look at people when I talk because I get nervous so I didn’t see when she got up. I was talking one moment and then the next I was interrupted by a sharp pain on my left cheek.

“When will you stop with that nonsense?!” She screamed at me. “I understand that you’re still recovering but enough is enough. These are guests for crying out loud!”

She continued to yell at me, reprimanding me like a mother should. But she was only reprimanding me because I insulted her guests. That’s why she didn’t see it, the look that man gave me. It was full of hate and anger as he clenched his jaw so tightly that you could see the veins on his forehead.

Rina didn’t notice either. She was apologizing to her friend and trying to get me to apologize. Not one of them believed me.

“Let’s go doc” the man said as he got up abruptly. “Thanks for your hospitality ma’am, but I’m not too fond of staying where I’m not welcomed and insulted.”

With that both of them left and it didn’t take long for the sirens in our district to go off.

“Attention. Two civilians have breached curfew. Attention. Two civilians have breached curfew……”

The alarms were resounding over and over again until finally, it stopped. It seems like the authorities found them.

My mother didn’t say anything to me that night. After the alarms quietened, she went upstairs. Rina just gave me a pat on my shoulder with a look filled with pity.

I don’t know when it started, but for the longest while, that’s how she looked at me. The girl who came to me to treat her injuries after a fight had changed.

I didn’t want to, but with nothing left to do I went to bed soon after Rina had gone upstairs to the guestroom. For a long time, I laid there, just staring at the ceiling. ‘They didn’t believe me’ I thought to myself.

‘Well of course they didn’t. When have either of them ever believed you and taken your side. Rina grew up with a golden spoon in her mouth and had parents who actually loved her. She always saw your mother as a second mom so how could she ever think that you were un-loved when she clearly loves her?’

She was right. While my mother didn’t love me, she loved Rina. It was clear to me that she would’ve preferred if Rina was her daughter but she wasn’t, I was. She stared at me as though she was waiting for something to happen or for me to say something, minutes ticked on by and that’s all she did.

I was surprised to see her just pop up in front of me, her body in the opposite direction of mine. I should’ve feared her because she looks like a creepy version of myself but I didn’t, for some reason I knew she was harmless to me. What do I even call her…..it?

‘I am you, and you are me. We are The End.’

Is she crazy? There’s no way we’re the same, and The End? What the hell even is that? And I didn’t say that out loud either, so how…?

‘While you’re wasting time running in circles in your head, the consequences of your actions are unfolding.’

She disappeared. After leaving those words of foreboding she just disappeared. I’ll have to see if anyone else can see her next time, it would be nice if all of this was just one big dream, or nightmare. With this as my last thought I fell asleep.

------

Loud banging on the door startled me awake, it seems like these days that’s how I’ve been waking up.

“May get out here now!” came my mother’s screams.

I was getting out of bed as she appeared, standing in front of the door.

‘Why don’t you take a look at your phone first.’

I couldn’t even question her as she disappeared immediately.

Dread filled me as my mother kept pounding on the door, yelling for me to come outside. Hesitantly, I picked up my phone. There were a lot of notifications from the different news channels and publications that I was subscribed to, but all had the same headline.

The Girl Who Spread The Disease.

My breathing got quicker and my heart thumped loudly in my ears as I clicked on the top video.

“Good morning, everyone. My name is Edward Viola, I’m Henrietta’s younger brother and cameraman. After fleeing from D5 all the way to D3 I was desperately in need of shelter. I’m sure you all heard the announcement about lockdown so you know why I was desperate. After finding someone kind enough to give me refuge for the night, I was called a zombie by her daughter. I was upset at this but it was understandable so I left. Not long after however, my companion told me a story that she heard at the hospital she worked at. It was about a girl who dreamt of a zombie attack and everything she described is what happened to my sister and I that day. I was skeptical at first so I did some digging and found out that this girl is indeed the cause of my sister’s death. Everyone, please be wary of this girl, her name is May Zepher, and I will be confronting her.”

My heart dropped. Aren’t people normally supposed to think you’re some kind of prophet if something like this happened? So why is it that people are saying I only knew what happened because I was the cause?!

That doesn’t make any sense, all the comments are exaggerated and untrue. It’s like someone is purposely instigating them!

My train of thought was broken when everything became silent. I didn’t realize the banging had stopped. This should have made me feel relieved but it didn’t. And I only panicked more as I recall the dream from earlier.

I quickly scrambled out of bed and grabbed a bag and some clothes as my hands trembled.

‘It can’t be true.’

Trying to fit everything in my bag I was startled when something crashed loudly against the floor.

‘It can’t be true.’

By the doorway stood my mom, an angry mob and the man from last night. They had used a crowbar to wrench the door from the hinges and kick it down.

‘It can’t be-’

“You ungrateful child! I raised you to be an upstanding person and you spread a deadly disease?!” She knew it wasn’t true but she had always hated me. Now she was given a reason to get rid of me, and she grabbed onto it.

‘It was true.’

My mother sold me out to those people. She never believed anything I said but the moment someone else tells her something, she believes them.

For the second time, my dream had come true. I tried to stop it, I tried to warn her. She was my mother and even if she didn’t love me, I loved her. But she sided with people who want to harm me. She believed their nonsense over me.

This was it, the last bit of love I held for her just disappeared.

I was already close to the window. I moved quickly, it seems like they didn’t expect me to try and run because they were slow to react.

My mother was about to say something but I interrupted her “At least I tried to warn you, mom.”

Then I jumped. I wasn’t athletic like Rina or at all for that matter, so even if it wasn’t a high fall I still managed to dislocate my shoulder. Just as I got up to run I heard a scream.

They were all about to die. Edward Viola had turned into a zombie and would go onto kill everyone in my room.

I shut my eyes tightly, I didn’t want it to be true. But it was and just as I took off I heard her, my mother screamed for me to help her and I didn’t look back.