3015

Sometimes, the stars could be seen shining even through the pollution of Delhi. But not many are alive to enjoy the starry night. Those who are, well, they are too busy trying to survive. Who knew the boring virus could actually bring the Apocalypse. 

Apocalypse, Armadeggon, Ragnarök- It's called by many names. But we have started calling it The Dusk. Because that's when they come out, The Infected. They were not called that when it all started, really. Actually, they had to take precautions and were given priority but they were treated like everyone else. 

Yeah, right.

In truth, the above only happened for two years. But after that the virus started mutating, bringing along a whole new gauntlet of horrors. Scientists, researchers, and anyone who was working for the cure was baffled. The virus was not supposed to last that long. It was to divide and fade out, slowly but gradually. But instead, it created a whole new gene, which resulted in all the previous research going to waste. It constantly changed and hence, even after 996 years, no one could find a proper cure. What they found, however, was worse; The infected could not be brought back after 24 hours of catching the virus.

This led to worldwide Panick. And fear led to hatred and segregation. Those who were infected were shot on sight, bodies disgracefully incinerated, houses

Varun sighed as he ran his fingers through his short-cropped hair, his eyes darting from corner to corner, searching for any sign of movement.

His repulser blaster was ready to shoot any of the infected. His partner, Selene, was trying to find a heat signature with the device in her hand. So of course, she saw the Infected first. 

A loud bang disturbed the sinister silence of the night as the Infected’s head splattered over a sidewalk. 

“Yuck.” Varun said, his voice and mouth twisted with disgust, “Give a warning next time, will ya?”

Selene rolled her eyes, choosing not to reply. As if she had a choice; she lost her voice after she was infected. Luckily for her, they could pull her back to the realm of consciousness before things turned out for the worse. The same could not be said for her fiancée. She still carried her photograph but tried not to look at it.

That’s when she noticed a figure hunched behind one of those old, worn-out houses from the 21st century. She immediately signed her infuriating partner to shut up and follow her lead.

It was a boy. Small in stature, maybe due to starvation, clearly suffering. Most probably in his late adolescence. His breath was uneven, unconscious. Varun slowly approached him. He prodded the figure with the tip of his boot. When the boy did not react, he bend down and searched for symptoms. 

“Fresh” He stated after some time. “There is still hope.” He said looking up. He gently picked him up and slung him across his shoulder. They both jogged back to their jeep as soon as they could without making too much noise and drove to the HQ.

         

“We have a Survivor!” Varun yelled as soon as they entered the lab. “Fresh, requires immediate medical attention.”

Healers present all jumped into action and took the load off their hands. 

After a grueling debriefing, Selene found herself sitting at the edge of the roof of one of the quarters, a half-empty beer can in her hand. 

“HE pulled through.” Veer said, after checking one of their highly technologically advanced gadgets for updates. “We got ourselves a determined one. I call that mission a success.”

Selene just gave him a tight smile. 

“Welp, it’s getting late.” Varun yawned, stretching his body like those animals called felines from the earlier century. “Need to get my beauty sleep, ‘night, Lene.” He clasped her shoulder briefly before leaving.

Selene looked up at the sky. Today was one of those days where you could actually see the stars, even though the Delhi pollution. It somehow filled her with hope. Small, but bright nonetheless. 'There was still hope; Hope is all that's left.' With that thought, she decided to be one of those very few people alive to enjoy the starry night.