[ UNWRITTEN #1 - 09/11/2022 (DAY 01) | XION ENTERTAINMENT ] 

 

An hour before. 

Avah Juanita Liwanag could only sigh as her head producer, Riley, is unnaturally running late for the first time in such a long while. She offered pa naman to let the girl stay in her place after the big party last night courtesy of that jock from their univ days, Mikael Adonis Ylagan, but the girl declined. 

Just so happened na naging late pa ang babaeng iyon sa araw na malaking client ang hahawakan nila; the very backbone of this company, someone who's increasingly annoyed every second na hindi pa rin dumadating si Riley. 

Reia Adeline Hontiveros. The model who raised Xion Entertainment from the ground, now venturing into a singer, and Avah knows na ilang minuto nalang magiging dragon na ang babaeng ito. 

"Where is Riley, Juanita?" Reia says, and Avah freezes up as she hears her second name. 

Oh, she's mad. 

Like mad mad. 

"A-Ah, Reia, she's not answering my calls or my texts but I'm sure she'll be coming—" 

"We've already been waiting here for an hour, Avah. A lot of things could have been done in an hour and yet we're sitting ducks here—" 

Natigil si Reia sa monologue niya nang makarinig silang dalawa ng malakas na pagsabog galing sa labas ng building, at dali-daling binuksan ni Avah ang covering sa bintana ng studio ni Riley, the one that provides a soundproof function, and through the tightly locked window they could see the chaos from buildings and cars alike. 

"What the …?" Reia says, and just as a lot of questions appear in her head ay bigla nang nagring ang cellphone nilang dalawa. 

Opening it, they saw a notification from the local government unit (one that had never sent such a rushed warning up until now) glaring at them upon their lockscreens. 

[ Warning: Emergency Martial Law

Residents and Citizens of Etereo, the city mayor has declared a martial law to take and seize control of the city that had fallen under chaos. Stay in your homes and residences until further notice and do not let anyone in. May God help us all. ] 

"Well… the last sentence certainly is jarring." Pag comment ni Reia habang binitawan niya ang phone niya, still staring at the window where smoke are coming out of the windows at parang walang tao sa mga daan—

From the fifth floor, Reia widens her eyes  as she sees such a horrifying sight she never thought she would get to see in her whole life, like a movie come to life. 

Yung mga tao sa baba, nagkakagatan, the others chasing people who are running away with incredible speed and practically throwing themselves to the people trying to escape—some crash into cars and stand up na parang walang nararamdaman na sakit, at masyadong marami ang mga umaatake to the point that any survivors down the roads were wiped out instantly. 

Blood and gore were everywhere that Reia thanked all the gods she didn't get out of this studio minutes earlier kahit na nabuburyong na siya sa tagal ng head producer nila.

", what do we do?" nagpapanic na tanong ni Reia habang ibinalik na muna ni Avah yung soundproof covering sa bintana, at pinaupo muna ng producer ang model na nanginginig na sa takot. 

"Maupo ka muna diyan, Reia. Let's think of something, pero kailangan sundin muna natin yung sinabi ng emergency message." Avah says, and Reia sighs as she tries to call someone, anyone that she can call to see if they're still alive—

", no coverage. Malakas naman signal dito ah—" 

"Nagstart sila ng Martial Law, Reia. Part of that is shutting off the city para hindi magcause ng panic sa ibang mga city na katabi ng Etereo, so they'd cut off anyone who might try to contact outside." sagot ni Avah habang inaayos niya ang mga gamit niya, and Reia raises her brow as she watches the girl's actions like clockwork. 

Shoving some files here and there, opening one hidden drawer underneath the tables and grabbing another bag and shoving the contents inside: food, medical supplies, water, even a blanket and a change of clothing or two. 

"What… tangina, ginawa niyo bang apartment itong studio niyo?" Reia asks, amused as Avah just chuckled at her while continuing what she's doing. 

"Riley likes staying up late, so nagpagawa ako ng hidden drawers to hold food and some supplies tsaka pinaconvert ko din iyang sofa into a bed. The big boss doesn't know though, so I'd like for you to keep it a secret—" 

"Honestly, I don't think any of that would matter now, Juanita. Tsaka malay mo, nakagat na pala si boss or si Riley—" 

Reia's mouth clamped shut as she uttered those words, Avah tensing up as she shook her head and smiled despite the fact that it could indeed happen, that their friend might be roaming around the streets of Etereo in her undead form, and that they might be meeting her anytime soon.

“Malakas iyon, si Riley.” Avah says, as if she’s also assuring herself that their friend would survive, “I’m sure she’s still alive. Tsaka ibinilin ko siya kay Mikael, so I know she’ll make it.” Avah says, and she could see Reia raise her brow with the name mentioned.

“Mikael? A boyfriend, perhaps?” she asks, and Avah chuckles at that, then shaking her head while she gives the lighter backpack to Reia who takes it and puts it on her lap. 

“Reia, you know well who Riley likes—”

Naputol na ang usapan nila nang may malakas na kumalabog sa labas ng studio nila, and Avah is reassured that if there are zombies here they would not be able to open the door because it’s locked by a pin code—

But what if the zombies are in sheer numbers? What would they do then?

With held breath, Avah finds Riley’s spare laptop still attached to the wires at the big machine they have in the studio, at pinapanood lang uli siya ni Reia na nagtataka kung bakit sobrang nagmamadali ang babaeng ito. Avah boots up the computer and types in a f