Chapter 1: She Was The Other Woman
Violet’s entire body trembled, the small polythene bag she held fell to the floor with a thud, half rotten cucumber and half cabbage rolled out of it.
"What the fuck!? What is going on here?" Violet’s voice shook and the two people before her pulled away from each other.
Liam’s eyes widened, and then narrowed, one of his hands still on Beatrice’s waist.
"Why are you kissing her?" Violet asked, her voice going over the roof.
"Shhhh." Liam pressed one hand on his lips, his eyes quickly moving to the door and back at Violet’s face.
Being loud was a luxury no one could afford. The house they were in was a farmhouse, tucked away from the rest of the world. Only a few people resided here, but that didn’t mean they were free.
Five years ago, the world everyone knew ended. The sky turned red, and an unprecedented acid rain descended from the sky, harsh and angry.
That was the first step. Rapid changes followed, reshaping the world Violet once knew. Governments fell within days, and the news stations that once flooded every screen with updates went silent one by one, until there was no one left broadcasting the end of the world.
Cities that had never slept became the first to die, streets turned to rubble and ash, buildings collapsed under the weight of riots, fires, and the sheer panic of over fifty million people realizing there was nowhere left to run.
Then came the dead who wouldn’t stay dead, rising from hospitals and morgues before anyone understood what was truly happening.
Surviving was almost a myth, Violet couldn’t remember the last time she had a proper meal or took a proper bath. She was always on a scavenger hunt for food and the little she got, she shared with Liam because he was the man she loved- they were in love.
"Then start talking." Violet said, her heart shattering slowly into tiny pieces. She forced herself to swallow and took a step forward.
"Violet, I... " Liam paused and swallowed. Violet gave a slight encouraging nod, tears streaming down her cheeks mixing with the dirt on her face.
Liam pressed his lips together, the look in his eyes fierce, still, he didn’t know how to tell Violet Beatrice was his wife, not because he was scared of hurting her, but because he knew his food source would no longer exist if he did.
Seeing that her husband was quiet, Beatrice pushed her chest forward, and looked pointedly at Violet. "Liam is my husband, what’s wrong with a husband and wife sharing an intimate moment?"
Violet’s stomach dropped and her chest tightened. She blinked repeatedly trying to wrap her head around this revelation.
She and Liam had been in a relationship for the past two years. She never expected to find love during the turbulent times but she did and she had accepted it. Liam had never once mentioned Beatrice.
In fact, Violet didn’t know about her existence until two weeks ago when Liam returned to the safe house with a stranger he claimed to have saved.
Violet did not want to let Beatrice in, with the little they had to eat, they were in no position to take people in, but Liam had insisted and because she couldn’t ever say no to him, she allowed Beatrice to stay and shared whatever she got with her too.
Her eyes moved from Liam to Beatrice, confusion etched on her face. "You’re joking, right? Husband? That’s not possible."
Beatrice nudged Liam’s rib. "Tell her." She said, "let her see how big of a fool she has been." She stared at Violet with unhidden malice, smirking at how broken Violet looked.
"Violet..." Liam began. "Beatrice is my wife." Liam confirmed, his voice flat as though he was telling her the colour of the sky.
Violet’s legs gave out and she grabbed the table to support herself. The table creaked.
Liam went on, something dark flashed across his gaze. "I have been using you. Beatrice —" he held Beatrice’s hand and stared at her lovingly, "is my wife, we’ve been married for ten years and I love her." She was still the most beautiful woman to him, even though her neck now looked thinner, her cheeks were now hollow and her skin had red rashes all over them.
Violet crumbled to the floor, Liam’s words kept resounding in her ears. Her shoulders shook as the realisation that she had been deceived for the past two years settled in her.
It finally made sense, there were some days in their relationship when Liam disappeared with their provisions for days without a word to her and came back with excuses of how he had almost died.
She had believed him without question then. She closed her eyes, clutching her chest, "why? Why would you do that?" Her chest vibrated as she spoke.
Liam lowered his eyes, staring at her as though he just heard the most ridiculous question. "You are smart, you have great survival instinct. You are efficient, if not for you, Beatrice and I would be dead two years ago. When we noticed how good you are at looking for food, I knew you were our ticket to survival, and now, we have a roof over our head and provisions to last for over two weeks."
Each word from Liam felt like needles pricking her skin. "How could you, I trusted you, I saved your life repeatedly." She said amidst tears.
She couldn’t believe she was the other woman. How could I have been so stupid? She kept asking herself.
While she bawled her eyes out, Liam and Beatrice stared at her without remorse.
After a few minutes, Violet picked herself up from the floor and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
She was done being the fool.
"Leave!" Her voice was low but firm. "Get out, I never want to see you again."
Liam drew his brows together, "this is our house. You can’t drive us out."
Violet let out a low, humourless laugh. "Our?" She asked.
"What did you contribute aside from freeloading off me? I found this house. I reinforced the doors, I barricaded the windows. I made this deserted place habitable, and you have the audacity to say it is ours?" She asked, anger twisting her stomach.
Liam didn’t answer, he slowly walked towards her, and in one fluid motion, he picked her up from the floor. "Let me go, what the fuck are you doing?" Violet struggled frantically, hitting her hands against his back.
"If anyone should leave, it’s you. This place is ours now."
Beatrice opened the door and in one swift movement, Liam tossed her out of the door.
Violet pushed herself off the floor immediately and ran towards the door.
Liam slammed the door in her face.
Violet pounded the door with her fist. "Let me in, you pricks." She demanded.
"Liam!" Silence. She called again and again, but the door remained tightly shut.
She looked behind her, the trees danced in the wind. She wrapped one hand around herself, shivering a bit.
"Liam, pleasee." She begged. "Let me in." Her tears had returned.
There was no response.
Then a twig snapped. Violet froze when it was quickly followed by another. Low growls drifted through the trees and bushes surrounding the farmhouse.
Her scream had carried farther than she realised.
Then, one zombie stumbled into view, its jaw hanging loose, its clothes stained with black dried blood. Another quickly followed.
Her heart sank and she resumed hitting the door, more ferociously this time. When the zombies got close, she backed away from the door slowly.
The first zombie lunged at her, she stepped to the side, missing its hold by only a few inches. The second grabbed her hand but she tore free, leaving a part of her clothes behind. She stared at her now-bare arm, fear clawing into every fibre of her skin.
More emerged from the trees. There were too many to count.
Violet threw one last look at the farmhouse before she began running. The earth shook as they leapt after her.
The ground was slippery, thorns flogged her legs. She looked over her shoulder, her heart pounding in her ears.
They were faster and nearer than she’d hoped for.
Her leg was caught by a rope and in a heartbeat, she crashed to the ground. She didn’t get to stand before they all lunged at her.
Pain exploded through her body as they sank their teeth into her flesh. One bit her legs, another her shoulder, taking chunks of her skin.
She screamed, fought, bit, clawed, kicked — she did everything she could, but nothing worked. There were too many.
Violet’s eyes fluttered closed, and just as teeth dug into her face, everything became dark.