Bab 4 – Relocation
Morning arrived with lingering haze in the sky. Dim light crept in through the window gaps, illuminating dust particles dancing in the stuffy apartment air. Luce, who had fallen asleep in a stiff position on the table, jolted awake. His neck felt stiff. For a moment, he forgot where he was, until his eyes caught the figure on the sofa.
Parvez was still fast asleep. His hair was messy, covering part of his face which looked peaceful—an unreasonable luxury in the midst of a crumbling world.
"Hey... wake up," Luce tried to rouse Parvez.
"Hng... tomorrow..." Parvez mumbled, turning his body to face away from Luce.
"Fine, whatever you say. Then let me use your kitchen. You have food, right?"
"Hm... Yeah, take it..."
Luce stepped into the small kitchen. There, he found three packs of instant noodles still tightly sealed. A treasure. He shook the thermos in the corner of the table—still had water inside. Skillfully, he opened the noodles, sprinkled the seasoning, and poured water from the thermos.
Luce froze. The water that came out was cold. A small but fatal mistake in this situation, yet he could only sigh in resignation. He covered the bowl with a small plate, hoping for a miracle that room temperature would soften the noodles.
Parvez finally woke up, sitting on the edge of the sofa while trying to gather what little consciousness remained from his dreams. "What are you doing?"
"Cooking noodles," Luce answered curtly.
"But there's no hot water," Parvez replied while yawning widely.
Luce turned with a flat stare. "...Yeah, the water in the thermos is cold. Better this than starving to death."
Luce brought the bowl to the sofa. "Move."
"Hey, this is my sofa!" Parvez protested irritably.
"Is it not allowed?" Luce shot back with a thin, sassy smirk and a sharp stare, making Parvez fall silent.
"...Fine," Parvez muttered while shifting over, his face showing a strangely annoyed expression.
Parvez reached for his phone. The screen showed 78%, but what made him panic was his power bank. "Hey, what about this? Only 23% left!" He stared at Luce with a desperate face, as if his world would end if that thing died.
Luce furrowed his brow, feeling both weird and pitying seeing Parvez's pitiful expression. "Do you have a solar panel?"
"No," Parvez shook his head weakly.
"Then find one. Use it to charge your battery."
"Where?" Parvez asked weakly.
"How should I know! Geez..." Luce massaged his temple. "Stop looking at me with that face. It's disgusting."
"Tch." Parvez turned away, showing an annoyed expression. However, suddenly his spirit ignited from who knows where. "Then let's go look now! We'll search everywhere!"
Is it just me, or is there actually fire blazing in his eyes? Luce thought inwardly, amazed by the drastic change in the man before him.
——
Luce peeked through the door hole, making sure the corridor was clear of those horrific figures. "No zombies. Let's go quickly."
They walked quickly down the silent hallway. Midway, Parvez suddenly stopped. "Uh, wait."
"Huh?"
"I remember something. I once saw a resident on the 4th floor, right below my unit, installed a small solar panel on their balcony. We can take that."
"...You're useful sometimes."
"Huh?"
Then they moved down through the emergency stairs. At one corner, Luce suddenly raised his hand, signaling to stop. Parvez peered curiously. "Wow, zomb—"
𝘔𝘔𝘗𝘗𝘏𝘏! Luce swiftly covered Parvez's mouth. Luce's face showed restrained annoyance, while Parvez could only stay silent. After the zombie moved away, Luce removed his hand and they continued toward unit 415.
They arrived in front of unit number 415. "Here?" Luce asked Parvez.
"Should be here... Let's go in before any zombies come."
They entered. The room was similar to Parvez's place, but felt colder. Then they headed straight to the balcony.
There, a solar panel was installed on the railing. Its size turned out to be slightly larger than Parvez had imagined.
"This isn't that small, you know?" Luce said, pointing at the panel.
"Hahaha..." Parvez laughed awkwardly. "By the way, how do we remove it?" Parvez asked, confused.
"It's still daytime, it's producing current. Ah, is there any black cloth here?"
"What for?"
"To stop the electricity production, obviously! You don't even know that?" Luce answered with a slightly annoyed tone.
"Can we use my jacket?" Parvez started removing his jacket.
"Should be fine. Try covering the surface carefully," Luce instructed. Parvez followed the direction, bending down to cover the panel with his beloved jacket.
Luce prepared to go inside the unit to look for the control system, but he stopped for a moment and turned back to stare at Parvez with a very serious face.
"One thing, Parvez. Don't touch anything, especially don't pull the cables. If you just yank them while the system is still active, there could be sparks or even a short circuit that damages the cells. Understand?"
Parvez swallowed hard seeing that sharp stare. "Okay, fine..."
"Oh yeah, did you bring the duct tape I asked for earlier?"
"Ah, yes. Wait. Here," Parvez tossed the black duct tape he had taken from his pants pocket.
"Ok, hold it there. Don't move." Luce finally entered the room.
The Dismantling Process
Luce followed the black cable path attached to the wall. Under an old dusty wooden table, he found its energy "heart": a charge controller blinking green and an inverter unit humming softly.
Click. Luce turned off the main switch. The hum died instantly. Using a screwdriver he found in a nearby drawer, he loosened the terminal bolts. He carefully pulled the red and black cables connected to the battery.
He immediately took the duct tape he got from Parvez, tore it with his teeth, and wrapped the copper wire ends tightly. With one strong yank, he pulled the charge controller box from its mounting. Crack! The screws tore loose. Luce then carefully took the devices.
"Parvez, pull the panel!" Luce shouted from inside the room while walking back toward the balcony.
Parvez, already tired and sweating cold, tried to pull the panel from the balcony railing, but seemed to struggle due to the awkward position. Luce, arriving, could only let out a long sigh.
"Here, hold this. Carefully," Luce said, handing over the inverter and controller devices for Parvez to carry.
Luce then lifted and removed the panel easily, as if it were just an ordinary board. They quickly left that floor and returned upstairs.
After reinstalling the system on Parvez's balcony, a small success was achieved: the indicator light on the power bank started blinking. Charging.
Parvez sat fiddling with his phone, looking for info on the hidden forum, while Luce stood staring at the tightly closed window.
"Luce... come here. Look at this," Parvez called seriously.
Luce approached. On the phone screen, a new forum thread had just exploded with comments.
[𝘈𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴: 𝘐 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯?]
Comments:
[𝘈𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴: 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵'𝘴 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯.]
[𝘈𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴: 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴?]
"What do you think?" Parvez asked.
Luce paused for a moment. "What about you?"
"I think... this has something to do with that 3-fungus project. The one they said was for neurological treatment, or whatever it was..." Parvez stated firmly.
Luce was startled. "We're thinking the same thing."
"Really? Wow.."
"But," Luce continued, "The scale is too large. Impossible this is just coincidence. Current human technology can't control rain on a large scale. Unless there's a mountain-sized device capable of triggering artificial rain across the entire world simultaneously."
Parvez nodded weakly. "This forum says overseas is experiencing the same thing. This isn't just a local disaster... this could be worldwide."
Luce nodded in agreement.
"Oh yeah, what about our noodles?" Parvez suddenly asked, breaking the cold morning silence.
Luce was startled. "Ah, right!" He immediately rushed to the kitchen and approached the bowl he had left earlier.
When he opened the plate used to cover the bowl, the sight inside made Luce freeze. The noodles had expanded greatly, absorbing all the water until they filled the bowl to the brim. Luce could only let out a long sigh. This was the first time in his life he had to eat cold, swollen noodles like that.
He took a spoon and fork, then brought the heavy bowl to the living room table. "Here, it expanded," Luce said weakly.
"Uwoh.. Oh well," Parvez replied with a flat face, as if it wasn't a big deal.
"Enjoy your meal," they both said almost simultaneously.
However, just as Luce was about to pierce that lump of noodles, Parvez with quick movement snatched his bowl. Without guilt, he drank almost all the remaining broth there. Luce could only freeze watching that scene.
Thud. Parvez placed the bowl back on the table.
"Uh.. The broth was delicious," Parvez said casually. "There, the noodles are gone. I'm going to sleep."
"You.. You're not eating the noodles?" Luce asked with a still bewildered face at his friend's bizarre behavior.
"Already did earlier," Parvez said briefly while taking a water bottle, pouring it into a glass, and drinking it in one gulp.
Luce stared at the noodles that still looked intact, only with very reduced broth. Even so, because his stomach was growling, Luce still ate them. Meanwhile, Parvez was now back lying on the sofa in the most comfortable position he could find.
——
A day passed.
Parvez checked his power bank. The battery had only charged 34%. He paused for a moment, then put it back to continue charging. He sat brooding on the sofa, occasionally glancing at his phone which now had 50% battery left.
Luce saw that anxiety. Although he stayed silent, there was a hint of worry in his heart. He stood staring out the window, observing the streets below still filled with the living dead. Suddenly, he saw several people trying to fight zombies on the street. Two of them died being mauled, while the rest fled in panic.
A crazy idea suddenly popped into Luce's mind. He called his companion. "Hey, Par.. Let's go out."
"For what?" Parvez asked weakly.
"You have a spear, why don't you practice using it? Since there are zombies below, I'll help you learn."
"Have you ever used a spear?" Parvez looked doubtful.
"Not a spear specifically, but I've done tent stake practice, trained in kumdo for several years and jodo. So I know the basics a little," Luce explained. In his mind, he felt the long-weapon techniques he had learned could at least give Parvez a chance to survive on his own and lift his mood.
"Hmm.." Parvez stared with a flat look.
"Oh, yeah. Your weapon resembles the one used in naginatajutsu," Luce added to convince him.
"Oh.. Ok."
"Then, let's go out."
As soon as they left the apartment door, they were immediately "warmly welcomed" by the zombies.
"There, attack them, thrust your spear like this then—"
𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘬𝘬! Parvez stabbed that zombie with his spear right in the chest. Black liquid sprayed as he pulled back his weapon. A moment of silence between them, but soon the zombies became even more ferocious. Parvez immediately moved, snatching with his spear.
𝘚𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩! 𝘛𝘩𝘸𝘢𝘤𝘬! The sharp spear wounded those zombies. Parvez then left with a still frowning face, leaving Luce frozen.
"Hey—" Luce chased after him. "You.. Not bad," Luce tried to lighten the mood. But Parvez remained silent without turning. This kid is really... Luce thought irritably.
"Hey, there's another zombie, want to attack it?" Luce tried to spark Parvez's spirit.
Parvez nodded. He ran carrying his spear and charged at the zombie standing there. From a distance, Luce watched with a sudden feeling of pride emerging. Wait, why do I feel proud? he asked himself.
Suddenly, the roar of an engine sounded from afar.
𝘝𝘙𝘖𝘖𝘖𝘖𝘖𝘔! Followed by zombies chasing it.
"Motorcycle sound?" Luce quickly turned.
From a distance, a trail bike sped through, cutting through the zombie crowd. The rider was a woman with golden-brown ponytail wearing sunglasses.
"Th-that's.. That's a zombie horde. Parvez we have to!—"
Parvez just silently stared at the approaching motorcycle. "Wow.. Orange color, really striking.. Right, Luce?" Parvez said with a small smile but still looking lethargic.
"RUN, YOU IDIOT! THIS ISN'T THE TIME TO ADMIRE SOMEONE'S MOTORCYCLE! Even though it really is striking. But this isn't the time!"
"Hah.. Oh.. Ok."
Seeing Parvez's slow reaction, Luce's patience ran out. He lifted Parvez like lifting a sack of rice and ran with all his might.
"Oh?" Parvez realized the motorcycle was getting closer. "Luce.. Is it just my feeling or is that motorcycle getting closer to us?"
"How should I know!"
The motorcycle approached, matching speed with Luce who was running carrying a load.
"Get on!" the woman, Shawari, shouted while braking suddenly until the rear tire screeched.
"Wow.. She's the one from earlier—" Parvez said.
"Just be quiet!" Luce had no choice but to trust this woman now.
Then Luce grabbed the back of Parvez's collar and his belt. With one powerful swing that made his arm muscles feel like they were nearly tearing—𝘏𝘜𝘗𝘗, he launched the man precisely onto the back seat of the motorcycle which slowed momentarily. Parvez flew for a moment and Luce almost toppled from Parvez's weight.
𝘛𝘏𝘜𝘋!
"Ouch!" Parvez's chin accidentally hit the motorcycle body. Luce also immediately jumped on behind.
𝘝𝘙𝘖𝘖𝘖𝘖𝘖𝘔!
Shawari immediately twisted the throttle hard, leaving the zombie crowd that could only bite air. They stopped at an alley beside a restaurant to catch their breath.
"Whew.. That was close," Shawari said while wiping sweat.
Parvez stared at the motorcycle with sparkling eyes. "It's a H*nda, right? I thought it was a KTM, the color is so orange."
Shawari removed her glasses and smiled proudly. "The original color was red, but I custom painted it orange. If you want to see a real KTM, it's in my house garage."
"You have a garage full of trail bikes?" Parvez asked, mouth agape.
"Of course. You don't recognize me? I'm Shawari Alesh. Three-time consecutive National Champion, and I'm also a motorcycle collector. My face used to appear on TV a lot, you know," she said with pride.
"Wow.. You're cool," Par's face lit up.
"Of course," Shawari said proudly.
Luce massaged the bridge of his nose. "In the middle of an apocalypse, you two are discussing career history and motorcycle color aesthetics..."
"Hey, Handsome," Shawari teased while putting her glasses back on. "In this broken world, pride and hobbies are important so we don't go crazy like those creatures."
"Alright. So.. Please explain what you were doing earlier? You almost made us their meal," Luce asked, trying to hold back his emotions.
"Oh.. That. I was cleaning," Shawari answered casually.
"Cleaning?" Parvez asked in wonder.
"Yeah, because around my house there were so many.. And I also ran out of food, so what else could I do," she answered while resting one hand on her cheek. "What were you guys doing here? Looking for food too?"
"No, we were here because of him," Luce said pointing at Parvez.
"Me?" Parvez was surprised.
"Yes, you.. Because you were lethargic and just frowning inside, so I thought your mood would improve if we went out under the guise of spear practice for you."
"Wow.. You're handsome and caring too.. Don't tell me you're the tsundere type~?" Shawari teased.
"Huh? Seems like you watch too much anime," Luce answered coldly.
"Sun?" Parvez murmured confused.
"Oh yeah, you said earlier you were looking for food, right.. Do you want to come to our apartment?" Parvez asked.
Luce was surprised. "No way!"
"Why not?" Parvez asked. "Yeah, what's wrong with me coming?" Shawari chimed in.
"What if zombies come because of your motorcycle noise?"
"So what? You said invite me to practice, if there are zombies we can practice," Parvez answered innocently.
"Besides, it's my house, I'm the one who decides."
Those words silenced Luce. "...Fine, whatever."
"Ow.. Don't frown like that, you'll lose your handsomeness. Come on, get on, I'll take you guys!"
They then sped toward Blue House Apartment. "Hold on.. We're heading to Blue House Apartment!" Shawari shouted enthusiastically.
"Yeeaay!" Parvez cheered.
"Hey, don't shout!" Luce tried to calm things down.
They zoomed toward Blue House Apartment on that orange trail bike. However, unbeknownst to them, from behind a window of an apartment they passed, a pair of eyes behind glasses was watching. The thin-bearded man closed his curtain back into the dark room filled with mysterious papers stuck to the walls.