Silence.
Joshua froze for a while.
The spoon, an inch away from his mouth.
He glanced at Jeremy, his brother. The latter was not someone who'd joke about something like that.
"I'm glad you gave him his last meal," Jeremy said, adding to whatever Joshua was feeling at the moment.
'Father is dead'
The word played again in Joshua's mind. It sounded like multiple bells being rang at the same time.
"We need to pay our last respect to him by burying him," Jeremy said, his voice heavy yet firm.
"I am not interested," Joshua replied and stood up to walk away.
"Joshua, stop there!" Jeremy said. He had never used this tone on his brother before.
Joshua, on the other hand halted, surprised yet calm.
"It's the last thing we can do for our father so we must bury him. You and me," Jeremy said, rising to his feet as well.
In the end, Joshua did not give Jeremy a direct answer but the latter knew he had agreed to join him in burying their father.
The rain started to pour when Jeremy began to dig a grave at the back of their house. It didn't stop and continued to fall even while they were burying their father.
At the end, the man was laid and the grave was covered.
Standing beside the grave, the two boys stared in silence. A lot wanted to be said but none of them could find the right word to use. The man did nothing for them... He held no special place in their hearts. The reason Jeremy did this was to have a good conscience and nothing else.
In the end, they returned to the apartment afterwards. But they didn't speak a word to each other until after Jeremy decided to broke the silence.
"So, tomorrow... We'll be leaving, right?" He asked Joshua who glanced at him in silence. "I mean, don't you want to come with me again?" He asked with a slight frown.
"Can I ask you a question, Jeremy?" Joshua asked without answering Jeremy's question.
"Fine, go ahead," Jeremy replied.
"What if we get separated? I mean... We get separated for a long time."
Jeremy narrowed his eyes. He didn't know where the question was coming from but he knew it meant something to his brother. But even at that, it was unlike Joshua to ask such question.
"I don't know why you would ask me such question but my answer is... No matter how long we get separated, we'll always come back to each other."
Joshua smiled faintly after hearing his brother's answer. "Right, I should've known," he said. "Well, I don't know why but I keep having a bad feeling about something."
"Something like what?" Jeremy asked him, narrowing his eyes. "Don't tell me you are thinking of going your separate way."
"No, far from that one. I just feel something bad is going to happen but I can't place my finger on it."
Jeremy sighed. It was not like Joshua to express an emotion and seeing one on his face... He couldn't help but also feel uneasy.
"The feeling is creepy," Joshua whispered, adding to Jeremy's uneasiness.
"I hate the way you are sounding right now," Jeremy breathed. "But whatever it is, whatever happens... I promise... No, we promise to always be there for each other. No matter where we go, how long we stay away... We will always come back to each other. Don't you agree?"
Meeting Jeremy's bright eyes, Joshua forced out a smile though it was brief and faint. "Definitely."
"Good. So you have nothing to worry about," Jeremy said and was relieved to see that Joshua was better than before. "Well, it's almost morning, we need to sleep because tomorrow, we'll be traveling."
"Yes, you are right," Joshua said and rose to his feet. "Goodnight, brother."
Jeremy nodded his head and watched his brother retire to his room. He didn't go to his room immediately, instead, he went outside, to the place where they had buried their father.
There, he stood, staring at the grave in silence. There was no much thing for him to say but it was obvious that his heart was heavy. They were now orphans... Children left with no father and mother — Not like they were better off while their father was still around but that things were now worst than it used to be.
He clenched his fists.
So much to say but none of the words were coming out.
"Father, rest on."
With a sigh, he walked back inside after mumbling some words and then went to his own room.
The two brothers left that night... Unaware that something huge was about to happen in their lives.
---------
The next morning, the two brothers woke up and then opened their doors. But just as they stepped outside of their room, they stepped into another dimensions.
Two different world entirely.
"Jeremy!" Joshua called, looking around. The world there seemed to be still at nighttime as the sky was still dark with stars spreading across it.
"Joshua!" Jeremy who was in another world called out to his brother.
The two of them were in separate worlds at the same time.
Jeremy's world seemed to be in the middle of chaos — the people were running around. Screams everywhere. Blood all over the place. Scattered buildings and properties all over the place.
He watched as people who he thought were dead rose to their feet, head bent sideways, some legs broken but still had to the dragged along. These horrifying things gave chase to these who were still alive.
"What's happening? Where is Joshua?" He mumbled, not sure of what to do.
While he was still yet to take in the things happening around him, one of the creatures sneaked behind him and bit deep into his skin.
With all his strength, he pushed away the creature but unfortunately, it was too late as the creature had injected into him, a substance that was about to change his life for good.
[Ding]
[You have been beaten]
[Congratulations on becoming a zombie]
[Your first mission is to survive]
[You must not become a zombie!]
[If you fail, you die!]
After the mechanical voice died down, everything began to fade around him and Jeremy found himself losing sight of everything in his surroundings. He didn't know what was happening or why it was happening to him but one thing was clear...
He had to survive.
Meanwhile, at the same time.
Joshua was walking along the street, looking around and taking in his surroundings. Nothing looked familiar to him. The people there glanced at him but no one said a word to him — every one there seemed to be minding their own business, not wanting to meddle in things not concerning them.
As Joshua reached a particular place, someone carrying a lamp happened to be running towards his direction. Just as the person was about to run past him, they tripped and fell. Unfortunately, Joshua just happened to catch the lamp before it reached the ground but that particular act caused him a lot.
The moment he brought the lamp to his face, a loud scream escaped his lips and he immediately flung the lamp away.
'What's happening to me?' He thought inwardly, unable to understand the meaning of what had happened.
"Monster!" The person who fell near him screamed and when he looked at them, the person was pointing at him.
"Wh—"
"Monster! Stay away from me!" The person yelled and ran away.
"Monster? What monster?" Joshua mumbled, rubbing his face. Nothing seemed to be wrong with how his face felt in his hands. He glanced around and saw a piece of glass on the ground. He went over and picked it up. He was curious as to why he was being called a monster.
The moment he oicked the glass up and looked at his reflection, he gasped and the glass dropped from his hands.