Being Invisible in the ApocalypseCh1 - How it started

Chapter 1

When it began, he wasn’t in the city. xfIi56

Whether it was his luck or his misfortune, Su Yichen would never know.

***

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It was a rather small event—the beginning of the end.

Unlike all the movies and tv shows where the world came crashing down within seconds, the beginning of the end was more of a slow, torturous strangulation. KcX3mU

It was a small segment on the news, nothing ground-shaking. In fact, more people were interested in the stock market crash than the small paragraph on a chemical spill in the middle of nowhere. Perhaps that was the problem.

Su Yichen sometimes wonders if anything would’ve changed had the world cared then. If the world saw it as something more than just another environmental awareness opportunity—if they could have seen it as their world’s undoing. 

Then again, that probably wouldn’t have changed anything. The end would’ve still come nevertheless.

***

Sw2Xoz

The media announced it to the world as an accidental chemical spill in the Antarctic and that was that…

Until they started getting reports of animals and people in the surrounding islands falling ill from a type of food poisoning. It was a strange epidemic that no one could begin to make heads or tails.

There was no pattern that doctors, pathologists and other biological specialists could identify. At first it was observed that only the elderly and those with weak constitutions, like the sick and younger children, would be easily affected—common in every other disease. This observation was overruled when they found over three hundred and forty cases of healthy adults being diagnosed with the disease while their children, healthy or otherwise, remained unaffected despite being in close proximity with prolonged amounts of exposure.

They analyzed the bacteria for a long time, and tried to find ways to kill it, but it was overly tenacious. clM0DF

The World Health Organization finally announced it as a severe pandemic known as the “Ignis Virus Disease” when it crossed over into the upper continents. It took them a while to realize that the virus was spreading via marine life. Many countries tried to confiscate and recall all seafood products imported and exported after the contamination period, and tightened the inspection on foreign marine goods. But by then it didn’t matter anymore. Over half of all Earth’s biomes were already infected.

In the beginning, most specialists said that its symptoms were similar to the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) and that it was likely another mutated strain. However, unlike the EVD it was slow-acting. Those who contracted the virus showed symptoms of a slow growing fever and rising heart rate that went past the limits of the human body. The highest record publicized was a body temperature over 50°C with a constant heart rate of 230bpm. Despite the growing number of people being infected and the life-threatening symptoms, it was not until six months after the very first known case that a patient with the Ignis Disease died.

If asked, most people would say that the end of the world began on the day of the global outbreak, a month after the incident. However, some would still say that it began on that day—in a general hospital on the island of Country Z.

A few minutes after the patient was declared dead, she rose up again. z4bVXK

While for those who contracted the disease through ingestion suffered slow-acting symptoms, those who were bitten by the infected experienced an almost instantaneous reaction. Within a few hours, the entire hospital was infested with walking corpses. Whether it was anticipated or due to pure luck, Country Z’s emergency response teams were able to achieve containment around the hospital parameter and limit the damage.

It was released to the public as a tragedy caused by a delirious patient suffering from the Ignis Disease. A mass killing event caused by despair. A singularity.

The United Nations imposed a global lockdown. After the incident, all air and land borders were closed, and all forms of commercial travel were cancelled.

World Governments began segregating the people: those who had been infected, and those who weren’t. dtwEbh

Some countries secretly began fortifying military facilities; created multiple bunkers and shelters outside major cities; and emphasized an increase in emergency evacuation drills amongst their citizens.

Some countries poured all their resources into the creation of a cure or vaccine.

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Some countries began carrying out covert genocide.

*** S9gWzj

Whether it was by fate’s design, or his mother’s paranoia, the Su family was nowhere near the city when the first outbreak began.

Su Yichen’s mother, Chen Hua, was a woman who loved to make conspiracy theories. It was a common occurrence in the house where Chen Hua would construct an incomprehensible theory that would be shot down with infallible logic by her husband. Unlike Chen Hua, Su Yichen’s father, Su Lan, had his feet planted firmly on the ground; they were a good match.

Su Yichen remembers the conversation beginning like every other between their parents. He still vividly remembers the furrow of his father’s brow and the hard grimace of his lips. He still hears his mother’s voice marred with a tone that bordered on hysteria. He still feels the soft brush of his grandmother’s fingers as she comforted him.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

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***

Unlike most people, Su Yichen’s world didn’t end in the first wave (although most days he wishes it did).

For Yichen, his world came crashing down in the second wave of outbreak that came almost two weeks after the first global wave; when the Ignis Virus mutated and became airborne. 43hnAq

***

The new strain was more volatile than the first and had a shorter incubation period that lasted a week instead of several months.

It was his younger cousin who was infected first.

Of Su Yichen’s extended family members, those that also sought refuge at the family home were his father’s cousin (Grandma Su’s nephew) and his family—his wife, and his eight-year old daughter, Xiao-Mi. 6GaJwl

Those first couple of weeks at the cottage were exciting. Su Yichen didn’t have siblings, so he treated Xiao-Mi as his younger sister. They would play by the nearby rivers and come home sopping wet (his cousin was voluntarily so; Yichen was merely collateral damage).

When his cousin started coughing, they had thought it was a result of her river escapades. The weather had just started getting warmer, the switch in seasons often made it easier for people to fall sick.

“It’s just a small cold,” his aunt said confidently, “No need to get our knickers all twisted up.”

His uncle agreed and parroted, “She’ll be right as rain in a couple days.” VnKPBE

But her cough didn’t subside, and her fever grew with each passing day. On the morning of the third day, his aunt took her daughter to the local clinic. His aunt called a few hours later stating that she needed to take Xiao-Mi to the nearest general hospital in the city—the clinic was filled with people.

At first his uncle was worried and wanted to tag along, but she persuaded him otherwise. She persuaded him it would be faster if she left straight from the clinic.

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Su Yichen realizes later that his aunt was probably lying. He knows how much they loved each other. His aunt probably didn’t want to risk her husband’s life. Not that it mattered in the end. Su Yichen still wonders if it would’ve turned out differently if his aunt told his uncle the truth.

His grandmother started coughing in the afternoon. GEqK3f

Unlike Xiao-Mi, his grandmother hid her sickness well. It wasn’t until she fainted from a high fever spiking past 48°C that anyone noticed that she was sick. His father wanted to send her to the hospital like Xiao-Mi, but his uncle wouldn’t allow it.

That night, Yi Chen couldn’t sleep. His thoughts kept his eyes wide open and when he heard the loud hum of his uncle’s voice, he got up. He carefully sneaked out of his room on the second floor and perched over the stairs just enough to see his father and his uncle in the kitchen.

“It’s been days since we’ve heard from Ah-Yan,” his uncle argued ,”I’ve tried calling her cell, it’s turned off.”

“I’m sure she just hasn’t found time to call you yet,” his father reasoned, “but that’s no reason to keep Mother here, she’ll die at this rate.” kfj2Iz

“No!” his uncle stressed, “They’re keeping ’em there. You’ve heard the things they’ve been saying on the radio, Ah-Lan—I know—it’s the Ignis thing. I’ve heard talk—read articles on the net about how the government sends ’em to isolated camps. They don’t let them back out—they put them in cages and kill them so the virus doesn’t spread—”

“Be reasonable Wan-ge! All that’s on the internet is rubbish! The reports on the radio only cautioned us against any rash actions. This is Country A we’re talking about—even if there’s a pandemic going around, our country’s not going to abandon its citizens like that. Plus we don’t even know if this is Ignis, what if it’s a flu, or worse, pneumonia? We can’t keep her here, we need to get professional help.”

“NO!” his uncle put down his foot, “You may think that she’s just my aunt, but she raised me too Ah-Lan. And I will NOT hand my mother over to her death!”

“No—instead you’d rather shoot her yourself! Because that’s what you’re doing Zhuo Ruwan, you’re killing her just by keeping her here.” That was the first time Su Yichen had seen his father so angry. ydbCAW

“Enough you two,” his mother interrupted and jumped in from the side when it looked like his father was about to use his scrawny arms to knock out his uncle’s teeth , “Mother and Xiao-Chen are sleeping and you’ll scare them awake at this rate.”

His father and his uncle fumed in silence, not looking at each other.

“It’s late, why don’t we get some sleep,” his mother suggested, “We can discuss this tomorrow. It’s not like we can do anything at three a.m. in the morning.”

His mother started steering his father and uncle out of the kitchen and towards the stairs. Yichen quickly and soundlessly sneaked back to his room. He laid awake in bed, listening to the sound of the adults’ footsteps retreating to their bedrooms. He waited, almost holding his breath as he waited for the sound of their footsteps to disappear. lF5qvL

He didn’t remember actually sleeping; only realizing that he must’ve fallen asleep at some point because he woke up to the sound of his mother calling up that breakfast was ready.

It was awkward at the dining table, his father and uncle ignored each other the entire morning. Su Yichen tactfully feigned ignorance. After quickly eating his breakfast, he slipped away from his seat and took his basketball out to play by himself in the backyard.

***

The feud lasted a couple more days with his father and his uncle playing the silent game. His grandmother’s condition slowly deteriorated and on the night of the third day of the feud, his grandmother started coughing up blood. Sm3oXO

After that his father couldn’t handle it anymore.

Su Yichen wasn’t there when it started, he had been in his room reading. His concentration was destroyed by the loud sound of something falling onto the floor. He ran over to the source of the sound in his grandmother’s room. There, he found his father and uncle gripping each other’s collars and shoving each other back and forth while shouting incoherently at the other’s faces.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

“Stop—f—fighting!” his grandmother wheezed, “St—stop…”

His mother had tears streaming down her face as she clutched onto his grandmother’s feeble figure, struggling to support the older woman’s weight on her. Dahi4F

“Ah-Lan—Ruwan-ge—please… please just stop,” she begged, her voice thick with tears.

Yichen remained quietly tucked by the doorway, his eyes just peeking out to see all the action. He didn’t understand what was happening, but he could hazard a guess. His parents probably tried to take his grandmother to the hospital, only for his uncle to catch them in the act.

Yichen didn’t see the exact moment his grandmother died. His eyes were peeled on his father and uncle at the time.

It was not until he heard a strangled gasp from his mother that he turned toward her. Even then, Yichen hadn’t registered the sight, he only thought that his grandmother had fainted. His father and uncle stopped fighting immediately and rushed over to his grandmother’s side. PXZvLq

Carefully they manoeuvred her so that she was lying down again.

Yichen watched from afar as they hovered over her with hushed tones as if scared to wake her up. Then there was a pregnant pause, before his mother started sobbing without care of her surroundings.

His uncle was crying too, but it wasn’t until he heard his father calling out, “Mom…” in a tone so fraught with despair that the thought hit home.

His grandmother was dead. Cd985B

His head went blank.

And then she twitched.

At first he thought it was just the tears distorting his vision, but then he saw it again. And before he could draw everyone’s attention to it, his mother realized it as well.

*** UNfImK

“Dear…” she whispered with an incredulous expression on her face. Her husband didn’t look at her; he was still sobbing into her mother-in-law’s arm.

Chen Hua saw her eyes had flickered open; for a brief moment she was overjoyed. Then, her mother rose to sit, shocking everyone else around them; she became terrified.

The older woman’s eyes were white; her irises and pupils were glazed over like she had an extreme case of cataracts.

She was holding her mother’s wrist — and while she had little medical knowledge, she knew where to look for a pulse. GBHM8N

The older woman had no pulse.

“Lan— ”

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The older woman bit off a piece of her husband’s arm.

*** KoPVG5

Su YI Chen would never really understand what happened. All he saw in that moment was red. Even when the screams reached his ears, he hadn’t really understood what he was seeing.

His mother did.

***

There’s a saying: ‘mother knows best’. iImA a

Yichen hadn’t found that to be true in his younger years.

He inherited not only the woman’s small stature and little presence, he also inherited her love for books. His mother was a novelist, and spent most of her time coming up with thousands of incomprehensible theories and plots—her head was always in the clouds.

Yichen still vividly remembers the times when he would ask his mother a question only to be given nonsensical answers—his favourite being when she successfully reasoned that he could use his inconspicuous disposition to double as the superpower of invisibility when he asked her how he could become more noticeable and make friends. 

He believes that saying now. Iz6yvr

***

Su Yichen was running before he realized it, but not of his own volition.

His mother was recklessly tugging him along as she ran at a speed he hadn’t known she could achieve. They were in his room before he could register his surroundings. His mother shoved him into the closet without hesitation.

She stared sternly into his eyes, and firmly gripped his shoulders as if she could somehow staple him in place as long as she held strongly enough. “Stay here, Xiao-Chen,” she ordered with a soft but stern whisper, “Do you understand? Stay here.” y7UmSZ

He must’ve given some positive response, because she murmured a soft okay before firmly planting a wet kiss on his forehead. “No matter what you hear, Xiao-Chen—no matter what happens, stay here, stay quiet, and protect yourself—”

There was a loud banging on the door—his uncle, maybe. His senses were too muted at the moment to really recognize the angry yelling. He could feel the undercurrent of fear rippling across his arms.

His mother brought his attention back to her “—Chen-Chen, Xiao-Chen. Look at me. Hey, look at me.”

And he looked. nqHJZs

His mother’s eyes were filled with determination, and a kind of unyielding strength that laid everything else to rest. They told him that he would be safe; that he was fine.

“Do not—do you hear me? Do not let anyone in, okay? Not unless mommy tells you to, okay? Yichen, can you promise me?”

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

He could feel himself nodding; the first as an automatic response, and then later as affirmation.

She gave him another kiss, before whispering into his hair a soft, “I love you.” dKTynS

Then, “Cover your ears.”

She shut the closet doors tight.

Su Yichen didn’t know when the banging stopped, but he knew the moment that his mother left the room. In the pitch blackness of the closet, he heard the soft click of the door lock turning out of place. The moment he heard the door softly lock back into place, the fear returned.

He wanted to leave. He wanted his mother. diKOhE

Su Yichen lifted his hands and covered his ears.

***

If someone were to ask Su Yichen the question: If you could go back in time and redo something, when and what would it be?

Yichen will honestly answer: the moment that his mother left the room.  radvL8

Yichen still laments over his young self’s cowardice, and often thinks about slapping some courage into his seventeen-year-old self if he ever has the chance.