[ UNWRITTEN #2 - 09/11/2022 (DAY 01) | OLYMPUS HOSPITAL ] 

It was supposed to be a normal day, at least to Loren Julianna Hontiveros’ standards. 

She was two weeks away from completing her internship at the most prestigious hospital in Etereo City; Olympus Hospital where she got a recommendation from a kind senior who, as far as she knows, is in the military as a medic, but that is another story for another time.

Pumasok siya sa ospital as usual, earlier than everyone else so she can work with the thesis na final requirement nila before graduation—on days like these she’s usually holed up in the hospital slash university’s library, pero it just so happens na naging swamped ang emergency room with patients and all hands are needed on deck.

Long story short, she’s now treating her tenth or fifteenth patient for the day (and it’s only ten am) and the patients are all suffering small injuries from who knows where. At the sixteenth patient she suddenly finds a familiar face.

“Oh? Ate Kai?” pagtatanong nito, at nanlaki naman ang mga mata niya nang makita niyang ngumiti at tumango ang babae although she’s staring too long at the girl, somehow not recognizing her because she’s grown too tall and her hair is longer than before—she remembers that she’s seen this girl already ten years before, and a lot has changed since then.

Kailyn Erika Asuncion, she remembers once as her older sister’s former flame and now a retired military officer, one who clearly does not recognize her because of her changed features from when she was just eleven  years old. 

“Who are you…”

“It’s me, Ate. Loren Hontiveros? Kapatid ni Ate Reia—”

“Oh, LJ!” nakangiting sabi ni Kai nang marealize at maalala na niya kung sino ang babaeng nasa harapan niya ngayon, Loren immediately cringing at the childhood nickname she hadn’t heard ever since she outgrew her childhood phase, pero ngumiti pa rin siya at nagbow sa harapan nung babae.

“Oh, so doktor pala pinili mong profession? That’s nice, LJ… sorry, we met at an extremely awkward time.” Natatawa nitong sabi habang itinuro na niya ang pasyenteng nakahiga sa higaan kung saan siya nakatapat na nakatayo, and Loren panics as she immediately checks on the patient.

“Nakita ko siyang nakahandusay sa lapag nung airport so I dealt first aid on him kasi may sugat siya sa paa niya. He felt faint on the way, and his pupils are blown—”

Nanlaki ang mga mata ni Loren nang biglang magkaroon ng epileptic state ang dinalang pasyente ni Kai at bigla siyang naging maputla na halos kita na ang mga ugat niya sa balat—parang pumutok na rin ang iba mula sa loob, causing a similar state to internal bleeding or hemorrhage to occur upon the skin. 

Agad niyang tinawag ang senior doctor at supervisor niya for the internship who immediately took action, pero nang lumingon si Loren sa buong emergency room ay puro ganun ang nangyayari sa mga pasyente, overwhelming the doctors who tried to handle every patient who were nearly close to flatlining as the epileptic episodes caused a mess.

“Loren, , you have to go alert the higher ups!” sigaw nung supervisor niya habang tinulak niya si Loren paalis ng emergency room, but before Loren could even walk away from the scene ay napaatras siya dahil yung dinala ni Kai na pasyente ay biglang hinila ang supervisor niya, suddenly taking a bite upon his outstretched wrist that caused the doctor to cry out in pain.

“What the —”

“LJ, we have to go!” sigaw ni Kai na kanina pa pala nandoon at nakita rin ang mga nangyayari, and she quickly pulled on Loren who’s still dumbfounded and out of her wits, at parang gusto pang bumalik ng doktor sa emergency room pero pinigilan siya ni Kai na naghahanap ng pwede nilang puntahan. 

In a blink of an eye, na overrun na ang front entrance ng ospital with zombies looking for still alive humans, but for just a moment Kai could see a girl wearing a suit, looking infected and yet still very much in control. 

She looks like a conductor, her hands waving and the zombies would immediately go to where her hand is pointing at, and her eyes are blood red—

Loren stares too hard at the girl who smiles at her and Kai, wondering why that girl felt so familiar. 

Pero bago pa man siya nakapag-isip ay hinila na siya ni Kai papunta sa inner workings ng ospital, searching desperately for some place they could hole themselves in and think about their next move—

"Here!" 

Nauna nang tumakbo si Loren na mukhang nagising na mula sa pagkatulala nito, running towards the open doors of the pantry habang may ilan na pilit itinutulak ang mga zombie na nagpipilit pumasok. Kai and Loren makes it before the zombies swarm them, one of the guys inside using the stick as a makeshift lock. 

"N-Nakagat ba kayo?" biglang tanong nung isang matandang lalake sa loob, looking so cruel and strict habang nilapitan niya ang mga bagong pasok sa loob nung pantry. 

Nanlaki ang mga mata nito nang makita ang dugo sa damit ni Kai, dahilan para itulak niya ito papunta sa pinto na pilit itinutulak ng mga zombie sa labas. 

"What the —" 

"Nakagat ka, ano? Palabasin niyo iyan, nakagat iyan!" sigaw nung matanda, at mukhang naniwala ang ilan sa mga nasa loob habang ang ilan ay hindi sigurado sa dapat gawin. 

"Sir, wala naman pong kagat itong kaibigan ko—" 

"Ikaw siguro meron, ano?! Mga kinagat sila ng mga halimaw sa labas, palabasin niyo na sila!" nagpapanic na sigaw nung matanda, pero hindi ineexpect ni Loren ang sumunod na nangyari. 

May isang lalakeng itinulak palayo ang matanda mula kela Loren at Kai, pero lang bumunot