Sweeping the school had been nerve-wracking. The only person left with guns was Qiyu and Joon Woo. The rest of them had bats, scissors, you name it. As long as it could slam into the head of a zombie, it was a usable weapon. 

Aqra had been lucky to find a metal pole in the atrium that used to be part of a table leg. It was bent out of shape by the impact of a movable whiteboard but that worked too. Gripping it in his left hand gave him a sense of security. Their group had been small - just him, Qiyu, and another woman. With shaking knees and palpitating hearts, they had swept the left block of buildings that housed the labs and a cafeteria on the ground floor. 

Most of the labs were locked. So they checked out the cafeteria. Benches and tables were stacked high, blocking the path to the adjoining bathrooms and the food supply storage room. They had eyed the barrier with silent concern but did not dare venture closer. 

On the plus side, they had hit gold with the food stalls. The other woman, Devi, scrounged up a few cans of food. A careful inspection of one of the stalls also revealed a working fridge with some desserts and canned drinks. 

When they returned with their stash, all the survivors’ faces lit up with hunger. With Ah Long, the big supply runner with fierce eyes, overseeing the distribution of supplies, everyone got their fair share. The empty cans and bottles were placed out in the rain to collect fresh water. Bats and hockey sticks that Joon Woo and his group had gotten from the gym were handed out as well. 

With everyone’s bellies sated, Ah Long announced that they would have a discussion in thirty minutes about their next steps. In the meantime, people were free to do whatever they wanted. Aqra watched as the survivors split off, some of them retreating to a quiet place to mourn for the fallen, some falling to their knees and bowing their heads in silent evening prayer. The wounded took the time to rest and heal, the remaining people wandered off, maybe to satisfy the call of nature.

Aqra noticed Joon Woo in the middle of the atrium, talking in low tones with Qiyu and Ah Long. He hadn’t apologized to his friend yet for his harsh words earlier but it wasn’t the right time. Instead, he walked to the drop-off point and looked out at the desolate scene. The downpour was turning into a deluge and with the white mist descending on them, he could barely see past the front gates.

He sucked in a deep breath, relishing the smell of the rain. Now that he was alone, he dug out his PalmComm. Luckily, it had still retained some charge. He checked the signal strength. Two bars.

Clicking his tongue, he tried calling anyway. It took a few seconds before the connection was made. The dialing tone sounded for almost half a minute before his mother picked up.

“Aqra?”

“Mak, it’s me,” he replied in Malay.

His mother’s murmured prayers could be heard over the phone. He waited patiently until she had thanked her God for his safety. “How are you, my child?”

“I’m fine. Mak, Zone 0 is down.”

She gasped. “Where are you now? Are you safe?”

“I’m sheltering with other survivors in a school.”

“Wait, Aqra. Let me tell your father.”

Rustling sounds echoed over the speaker. Then, a gravelly voice came on. “Aqra? What happened?”

“Pak, the shield went down in Zone 0. I managed to escape with other people to a nearby school.”

A rattled sigh came down the line. Aqra pictured his father stroking his beard as he thought. 

“Aqra, Singapore is not safe. Come home to us.”

He gulped. Despite the sense in his father’s words, the young, fiery spirit in him yearned for independence, away from his parents. But he found it hard to reject his father’s command outright either. He said, “Are you sure it’s safer over there?”

“Zone Rakyat has increased its protection radius. And with all the dense vegetation and large forests in Malaysia, there’s plenty of places to set up new zones.”

His mother’s voice echoed in the background. “And we’re getting a plasma shield from Eden too.”

“Yes, as your mother said, we will be very well-protected. Once we have the shield, we can allocate our guard manpower somewhere else.”

Aqra sighed. He placed his arms on his hips and looked out at the misty scene. His father was right. There was no point sticking around in Singapore anymore. The thought of leaving his birthplace behind brought a pang to his heart. But this was the right thing to do.

“Okay, pak. I’ll make my way to Zone Rakyat.”

“Stay safe, my son.” His father uttered a prayer for his safety and well-being and hung up despite his mother’s protests.

Aqra stared at his PalmComm before pocketing it. At least his parents were still safe. Whatever had happened to Zone 0 seemed to be a one-off incident. Lines creased his forehead. How was he going to get to Zone Rakyat though?

Deep in thought, he headed back to the atrium. Everyone had gathered around like a group of scared teenagers around a campfire. He joined Joon Woo, offering a little smile as he sat cross-legged behind the ex-idol. It seemed he was a little late because Ah Long was already in mid-speech.

“-we need to decide our next destination with care,” Ah Long ended.

Devi raised her hand. “Why don’t we go to Zone 2 in Paya Lebar?”

“Or Zone 3 in Pasir Ris, to be safe. I heard they have more weapons and helis there,” another man weighed in.

“We should stick to traditionally protected safe zones,” Shula said, her sharp voice cutting through the placid suggestions. “At least until we find out what happened to Zone 0 and Zone 1.”

“Are you kidding?” Ling, the mother of the ten-year-old kid, scoffed. “After what happened at Jurong Lake today?”

“I agree.” Qiyu cut in, her rifle resting on her shoulder. “The other traditional safe zones are going to be the same. They’re all paranoid. They won’t accept us.”

Murmurs of agreement broke out. Land had always been a scarce resource in the tiny island of Singapore. The traditional zones were small compared to the plasma shield-protected zones and their residents fought hard to protect their little parcel of territory. Only lone and able-bodied survivors were - potentially - given refuge in those zones. Big groups like theirs would not be permitted entry for fear of a takeover. 

“We could split up,” someone else murmured.

“Sticking together is always best,” Aqra said. “If we split up, we’ll die.”

Ah Long locked his gaze with Shula. His voice was quiet but authoritative. “Why do you say we should go to a traditional zone?”

Shula hesitated, her eyes flitting around the group who gave her suspicious looks, including Aqra. She drew in a deep breath. “There’s something wrong with the plasma shields. If only Zone 0 had gone down, I wouldn’t be saying this. But both Zone 0 and Zone 1 in the same hour?”

She shook her head. “No, there’s something more at play here.”

“Well, if traditional zones and shield zones are out, then what?” Joon Woo said, his lips curling up in a smile that bordered on dark humor. “We build our own zone right here?”

The group remained silent. No one had a suggestion.

Aqra moistened his lips. If he suggested they head over to neighboring Malaysia, maybe he could get them to follow him to Zone Rakyat, if it was as safe as his parents said.

“We can cross over the border to Malaysia,” a low, feminine voice broke the silence.

All heads whipped around to find the owner of the voice. Aqra’s eyes widened. It was the woman he had saved from the boot of the car. She had discarded her bloodied jacket, leaving only her black tee and a golden necklace hanging around her neck.

She swept a hand through her shoulder-length hair and surveyed her captive audience. “I have contacts there who can ensure our safe entry.”

“That does sound good,” Joon Woo murmured.

Aqra felt a surge of relief. This suggestion was completely in line with his plan.

“Our safe entry or just yours?” a man seated beside Shula snapped. 

The woman’s lips remained pursed.

“I heard you talking on your PalmComm,” the man said, turning his gaze to the group. “She was talking to her contact in Chinese, saying something about how they can’t deny her entry to the zone if she gives them the things in her bag.”

Gasps erupted. Suspicion burned in the survivors’ eyes as they looked at the woman.

“And what’s more… she said that Eden is after her,” the man concluded, a smidgen of pride tinting his voice as if he had done the group a great favor by uncovering an insidious plot.

Ah Long ignored the growing voices around him and directed his question at the foreign woman. “Is this true?”

Silence fell. The woman looked around, meeting the cautious and openly disdainful gazes thrown at her with a calm and collected expression. She nodded. “Eden is after me, yes.”

“Who are you?” Ah Long asked, the volume of his voice increasing to drown out the clamor that had erupted.

“I’m Sinjin. I’m the creator of a new zombie detection and response technology and founder of a startup in China.”

Aqra strained to hear over the sounds of people demanding an explanation.

“Can everyone please remain calm?” Ah Long boomed. 

The voices died down. 

Satisfied that everyone was suitably silent, Ah Long turned back to Sinjin. “Go on.”

“My technology has been deployed in several safe zones in China and has shown that it can offer adequate protection. It poses a direct threat to Eden, which is the only company in the world dealing with zombie protection.”

Aqra jumped in. “So you’re saying Eden wants to take you out because you have rival technology?”

“Yes.”

The intensity of her gaze as she met his eyes made a shiver run down his back.

“Zone 0’s chair invited me to Singapore to see my technology firsthand,” she continued, now focused on the group. “They were on the verge of signing a contract with my company, which would put Eden at a disadvantage in terms of resources. So Eden retaliated by shutting off the plasma shield.”

“What?!” Joon Woo exclaimed.

The other survivors were shocked, incensed, and in disbelief. Ling pulled her daughter back as if she could hide her away from the mysterious woman. Mei, the doctor’s assistant, covered her mouth and shook her head. 

“How do you know that?” Shula’s calm voice pierced through the exclamations.

Sinjin shrugged. “It’s an educated guess based on what I’ve seen them do in countries like China. They extort as many resources as possible from safe zones, threatening them if they don’t get what they want.”

“So you’re saying we can’t trust Eden?” Qiyu said.

“Not with your life, no.”

Cold dread filled Aqra’s body. His father’s words rang in his head. The Eden shield, the redirection of manpower in Zone Rakyat. His lips turned dry. The safety of his parents was in Eden’s hands.

---