Love In The Apocalypse

Robert was sleeping in the bunker. Despite wartime, he was dreaming of his sweetheart his lover Anna. In dreams, he was with his love in his small home on his beautiful farmhouse in his village. All of a sudden his sleep was broken by an ear-piercing sound of an explosion and he felt the bunker was shaking.

He jumped off his bed and grabbed his automatic gun. After spending about two years in the war field, he had become used to such types of situations. He was ready with his gun within no time. The third world war was at its peak. Almost all the countries were involved in the war. The entire world had become the war field. The world was divided into two allies each led by a superpower. Thirst for one superpower for resources, power, and land gave birth to the third world war. His bunker was one of the hundreds of bunkers built on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Thousands of soldiers were deployed to guard the coast.

Soon he got to the firing position. He felt nervous for a moment. This was an air strike to destroy the bunkers by a rival air force. A thought came to him what if the bunker destroy? He didn't want to die. Within a minute the retaliation began. The anti-aircraft missiles began to be fired. The air strike lasted for about half an hour. Two aircraft were shot down. Five bunkers were destroyed and dozens of soldiers were killed in this strike.

Robert had been in the war field for about two years. Ever since he had been facing many dangers and close shaves. He was not a religious man but after enlisting in the army he became religious. He began to take religion seriously. He used to say that God would make everything as it was before the war. The war had been destroying almost everything right from the moral values of the society to the economy of the nations. No end to the war due to the obstinate leadership and fanaticism. Common people like him were suffering a lot in the war.

Robert lost his father at the age of ten. His father had been killed in a terrorist attack. He lost her sister in a pandemic. The cause of the pandemic was a hunger of a nation for extending its territory. Then came the third world war which bring hunger, poverty, death, revenge, and destruction. The war snatched his mother from him. The moments were still afresh in his memory when he saw his home being blown into pieces by a stray missile. He was about a hundred meters away from the home but his mother was at home at that time. His mother's dead body was found in pieces later. He had been left alone. He was not sage even in a small village.

The intensity and area of war had been expanding. One after another nations had to be involved in the war. Then he decided to join the army. He was a patriot and wanted to serve the nation.

During the training period, he met Anna for the first time. She was a nurse in an army hospital. He was alone and wanting for the company of someone with whom he could share his sorrow and happiness. They liked each other at first sight. She was from a city named Stockton. He could still remember the moments of his departing from her to the Warfield when he saw the tears and hope to meet him again in her eyes. And this hope of meeting again was also in his heart.

Now the human race was gradually moving toward the verge of extinction due to the use of biological, chemical, and other weapons of mass destruction.

"What will you do after the war is over? " Philip, his fast friend with whom he shared everything, asked him in one fine evening.

Robert replied with a ray of hope in his eyes and a smile on his lips, "I will make a small house in my village on my farmhouse at my village. Then I will marry Anna and will live my rest of life there peacefully."

Then he looked at Philip and asked, "and what will you do after the war?"

Philip replied, "I have lost everything in the was and came here to take revenge. I don't think about my life after war." He paused for a few moments and then said, "like me, you also have lost everything in terrorism and war but you are lucky to have Anna."

Just then, the siren began to blow. The voice of the officers sounded on his walkie-talkie set, "let's move, there is another attack." This time a swarm of uavs strikes the area. The fight lasted for about two hours. Fortunately, they had sufficient stock of anti-UAV systems. They destroyed almost all the uavs but they had to suffer heavy casualties. Alone Philip was behind the destruction of more than a dozen of uavs. He was happy and enjoying his success by drinking wine. The fire to take revenge always kept on burning in his heart. Seeing the casualties, Robert thanked God for saving him from this deadly strike. He was feeling hungry and weak. After taking a meal he went to sleep. The sleep was far away from his eyes. Philip was now intoxicated and was shouting, "I will kill every enemy." Two soldiers dragged him to his couch and threw him into the couch.

The next day they were attacked again. This time a bigger attack than before. There were volleys of missiles and uavs were dropping bunker busters. One missile penetrated the bunker and the next moment there was an explosion and then fire and smoke all around. The enemy got success this time. Being remained unconscious for hours when Robert opened his eyes he found himself stuck in the debris of the bunker. He was thirsty, hungry, and soaked with blood. He tried to call out for help but due to weakness, he couldn't even open his mouth. He could not do anything except wait for rescue. He closed his eyes and began to think. He didn't want to think about himself for he knew doing so would increase his pain and fear. He wanted to escape from his pain and fear. He tried to think about something pleasant and what would become more pleasant than Anna for him. He didn't know when he fell asleep while thinking. He saw in his dream that the war was over and he was with Anna in his sweet home enjoying life. He saw many dreams and in every dream, he was with Anna. He woke up after sleeping and dreaming for a long time and found dark all around and soon he got unconscious.

When he came round, he found himself in a hospital. In the next bed, his friend Philip was laying unconscious. The hospital was filled with wounded soldiers. Later he was told that he remained stuck in the debris of the bunker for two days. After the strike, the rescue operation began. He was found unconscious and sent to the hospital along with Philip. He had broken his legs and Philip had broken his ribs and fractured his skull. They had to spend several weeks in the hospital and underwent some operations. The hospital was far away from the war field having minimum chances of being attacked. Now he was feeling a bit relaxed. One evening a nurse told him that a chemical weapon was dropped on the city of Stockton. And hundreds of civilians died and hundreds of wounded in this attack. After hearing this news he got shocked and murmured, "and Anna? What happened to Anna?"

The nurse looked at him and said, "who?"

He began to stare at the window. There was dark outside. He said, "this is a long story. Let's leave it."

During this wartime, each had his or her story and each was busied with his or her own story. He was left alone to think.

Doctors told him that he had to stay in hospital for some more days. Robert didn't know what was going out of the hospital.

Robert tried to contact Anna on his cellphone many times but her phone was going switched off. He was worried about her.

That day Philip was upset. When Report asked, he told, "I got a call from one of my far relatives today morning. As per him, people in city Stockton were turning into zombies as a consequence of chemical weapons." He paused and then said, "we are going to be defeated in the war."

Robert thought for a while and then said, "no one is going to win or lose the war."

Robert and Philip got well but they were found unfit for serving in the army. Robert was sad over his not being able to serve the nation, but on the other hand, he contended that now he would meet Anna and would marry her.

Philip was sad that he would get no more chance to take revenge.

After being discharged from the hospital Robert decided to search for Anna. Her cell phone was still going switched off.

Robert and Philip set off for Stockton in a car. They saw the destruction made by war all the way. After travelling for about twenty-four hours they got to Stockton. They filled with sadness seeing the plight of the town. There was nothing but rubble all around. Seeing this scene one could easily say that no one would be left alive after an attack by chemical weapons. But Robert had still hope of her being alive.

They proceeded to the street where her house was located. The house had been turned into rubble. Only two broken walls were left which were in a state of falling at any time. His heart sank seeing this. Philip put his hand on his shoulders and said, "perhaps she would have gone before the attack. Don't lose hope. Let's carry on the search." Hope against hope. He was ready to follow his advice. He felt someone was looking at him from behind and he turned and saw no one there; he found only a broken wall and rubble all around.

They began to return. When they came out of the street and proceeded to their car, all of a sudden some zombie people rushed at them. They were in an aggressive mood. Both of them had a long experience in the war field. Within moments they were ready for a fight. Fortunately, Robert had a pistol which he took out and fired a shot in the air. This firing in the air did not affect those zombie people. In the next moment, the zombies attacked them. Philip took out his knife in self-defence. He stabbed one of the zombies. At this other zombies grabbed at Philip and caught him and began to drag him away. Robert began to fire shots at them. Two of them got bullet shots and fall to the ground. Unfortunately, Robert's gun ran short of bullets and he had no option but to run away from the scene. But he did not want no leave his friend in the lurch.

Just then he heard a gunshot from behind. He turned and found a lady zombie with a gun about a hundred meters away from him. That zombie pointed her gun at other zombies. Robert immediately dropped himself to the ground. The next moment, she fired a round of shots. Two zombies got the gunshots and fell to the ground. Then came the next round of firing. Zombies began to run away leaving behind Philip. Then the third round of firing. Philip and Robert both were lying down waiting for the firing to stop. She was coming toward them firing the gunshots. When she came near Robert, he turned his head to see his saviour but her face was too deformed to be recognized. He said to her, "thank you for saving our lives."

She said, "can you recognize me? I am Anna." Saying so she moved towards him to embrace him. He cringed back with fear and cried, "No, you are not Anna. You can't be Anna. I know her very well she is a beautiful girl. You can't be....."

She spoke loudly with anger, "try to recognize me. I am your Anna. I lost my beauty and became deformed and later turned into a zombie when chemical weapons were dropped on the city." Saying so she began to weep. He was staring at her face and was trying to make out how would she look before the chemical warfare. She fumbled about her pocket and took out a ring and said, " look, this is the ring you gifted me before going to the war."

Robert looked at the ring and got shocked. This was the same ring that he had given to Anna. Before he could say anything to her, he heard the sound of a gunshot, and the next moment she fell to the ground. Blood was gushing out of her body. Seeing this he filled with anger and picked up her gun and rushed at the zombies. He began to fire his gun indiscriminately. Some zombies were killed and the rest of them ran away in his indiscriminate firing.

When the Rest of the zombies run away from the spot. He returned to Anna and found her dead. The ring was still in her hand. He took the ring and kissed it and wore it on his finger. He looked up in the sky and found swarms of drones heading somewhere to play the game of destruction.