I’ve learnt so much about these so called ‘bugs’ since they first started causing mayhem on earth. The way they breed. The way they possess a human’s body. The day they took my brother as their own has never left my mind. We lived in an apartment together on the outskirts of Seoul, South Korea.  I stood in the kitchen of our house with my brother. We were discussing some things we had seen on the news. The usual war crisis in the Middle East, political things that never actually caught my attention. But most importantly, ‘zombie’ riots in Africa and now reaching Europe and Asia. It had been said that people were acting morbidly and inhumanly. Supposedly, according to media, it started with loss of emotions, which were then replaced with rage. Frenzies of fury were displayed in extreme actions resulting in severe injuries but never death. It was said that the bodies of the injured were either converted or they went missing. Allegedly, the infected died just days after being reformed. The media had named the zombie-like creatures ‘Morbid, unintelligent apparatus weapons’ for publication reasons. The news spread as the abbreviation MUAW. After spreading worldwide, paranoid countries began to rebel against rules, resulting in riots.

I understood that media was dramatised but I had a gut feeling that wouldn’t leave. My brother had said I was being too gullible; that the media are liars. He said that seeing as I was his little sister, there would be absolutely nothing to worry about. He would protect me anyway. I didn’t want to disagree with him so I left it at that. Trying to forget that these traumatising events were happening so close to home was troublesome. After sometime of panicking I decided to shrug off the idea. I cleared my mind by trying to bring up a new subject to converse with my brother. I brought up the bug problems in summer. Jokingly I said they looked as if they were mutating, seeing as they were getting so big. My brother had laughed at my silliness but then agreed with me in serious tone. I would have chuckled at his quick change in emotions if it weren’t for the distracting movement beside him. An uneasy feeling flowed through my body as the movement stopped in the blink of an eye. I stiffened and went to open my mouth to speak but no words escaped. I felt fear creep up my back, making me close my mouth. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on the feeling of panic. I tried to settle it until the feeling felt physically literal. I quickly opened my eyes and stood straight shaking my jacket from my body. I threw it to the ground viciously. As it hit the ground, a small, almost shining bug crawled out from underneath. As it scurried away I grabbed a knife that sat beside me and threw it at the bug. It hit one of the legs of the fugitive bug. The bug made a mechanical shriek but quickly scampered away ungracefully with loss of balance.

I turned to my brother and saw him trying urgently to get something from his back. He moved awkwardly, but crucially. He made a brief screech, sounding like my name. Before I could react he dropped to the ground unwillingly. Random spasms moved all around his body, starting from his feet until it reached his head. He laid on his back as the seizure began to calm. Small movements still occurred as a white froth escaped from his mouth. He then lay lifeless in front of me. I ran to him in a state of fear and regret. I sat beside him and began weeping until there was a small movement of his hand. I looked and then quickly grabbed his hand. I called his name quietly, still sobbing. He slowly opened his eyes and looked straight up to the ceiling. I looked into his beautiful orbs that now looked almost lifeless. He sat up slowly and then stood. I stood up with him; confused as to if he could actually hear me. I stepped in front of him and wrapped him into a tight embrace. I continuously asked if he was okay; though, there was no answer every time. I stepped away as I felt his body shutter slightly. I looked at him as his face showed signs of discomfort and anger. I stepped away slowly as I felt something was out of place. Suddenly he ran towards me with great speed. I unskilfully dodged his fearful attack.  I stumbled over my own feet but saved myself from greeting the floor by grabbing onto the kitchen bench. I looked back at him and saw a small blue light radiate from the back of his neck. As he stood still I cautiously but carefully advanced to him. When I reached his neck I saw one of the shiny bugs clinging to it. With what looked like a scorpion’s stinger plunged into his neck. I tried to get a better look but he quickly turned around and uncaringly sprinted towards me. I turned around and ran out of the house only to find riots of people smashing through windows, stealing food as I moved down the streets.

I heard people yelling, “Zombie!” I turned to see my brother quickly stumbling towards me. His movements were careless but swift. I ran in the opposite direction, attempting to escape him. I ran down unknown alleyways for long-lasting minutes. I could no longer hear footsteps behind me so I slowed my pace. I leant against a wall, trying to recover my irregular breath. As I looked around at my surroundings, I realised I had ran quite a far distance. In all direction unfamiliarity showed. I knew I wasn’t safe staying in a dirty alleyway. As I walked I tried to let my head catch up to my feet. What I experienced must have been a MUAW conversion, but no one ever mentioned bugs. They seemed to have been the cause of my brother’s misfortune. At the thought of my brother I felt my knees grow weaker. I stopped walking and fell to the ground painfully. I began sobbing again as I heard sounds of uproar echo down the alleyway. I knew I needed to get somewhere safe but I didn’t feel emotionally stable. Why wasn’t I ‘infected’? How did it not reach its destination in the time given? I felt regretful that I was unable to save my brother. I continued to sob until my head began to ache. I went to stand but instead my head pounded, making me fall back to the ground. I wrapped myself up in a fetal-like position, caressing my head in pain. I held my hammering head until consciousness was no longer in reach.