CJAY was oblivious of his effect to the information desk staff. He never cared how scared he was about his presence too. It had been minutes since the staff announced through the mall pager that Natalia was being summoned by Cjay to the information desk, but up to this moment, she was still not showing up. The staff panicked when Cjay took the microphone, pressed its red button and irritably screamed.

"Natalia! Come to the information desk this very minute! What is taking you so long in the toilet?" Then he remembered to introduce himself before his jumble of thoughts made him babble, sounding nonsensical. "This is Cjay! How about you go home on your own instead?" He suddenly calmed down and lowered his tone. "We'll wait for you for twenty minutes. Akira's already getting worried."

They waited.

"That's it." Cjay gave up on waiting in front of the mall's information desk. He ignored the slanted smile from the staff at the other side of the desk, who was praying deep inside for Cjay to go away already. It was just, this staff had never been this high strung and extremely cautious in his life. Having to deal with Cjay nicely, while knowing the fact that he's a zombie that might fancy to eat them up, sucked a lot of energy out of him. It was worse than holding your own pee.

Akira's brows furrowed as he watched Cjay limp away from the desk while the staff sighed in relief as he stood in the middle of his station instead of sitting at the high chair close to the desk.

"Let's go home," Cjay told Akira without even looking at the soldier.

"But sir, you just said we'll wait here for twenty minutes."

"Exactly!" he blurted, facing him.

"It's been only ten minutes."

He groaned once more. Cjay was just too tired to keep waiting. Why did he have to anyway? Was he concerned for Natalia? Concerned that his father might scold him for losing his assistant? Was he afraid to be blamed and accussed of intentionally getting her lost or scaring her just like what he did to the assistants that left him?

Since when did he even care by the way?

He was about to complain when he suddenly remembered something. Cjay put down his closed fist that he just had lifted up when he planned to complain. Then he raised his hand again and pointed a finger to the sky.

"I know now!" His know-it-all eyes sparkled. "Earlier, that woman kept asking about the San Laurel Hospital incident, right?"

Akira immediately picked-up what he was trying to imply. "Natalia possibly went there."

Cjay met his gaze. "That's right." Then he stared off to the front to monologue. "That gossip."

He began limping forward, slower at first because he wasn't sure what to do about his new theory about Natalia's whereabouts. Gradually, his pace moved faster. His body swayed due to his hurried steps.

On the other hand, Akira bolted back to th information desk. He picked up a form and wrote the blank space on its back using the ballpen tied to a penholder. Then the bodyguard handed the paper to the mall staff.

"In case Natalia Valencia approaches you here, tell her to give me a call." Akira did not wait for the staff's answer. As soon as he took the paper, he rushed back to Cjay.

Cjay was already in the middle of rambling beneath his breath when Akira reached his side. "I really can't believe that woman. If she really went to that hospital, then there must be something wrong with her head! What's the point of going there? Later tonight, she's going to hear every juicy scoop about that hospital on the news!" He paused to breathe before continuing in his same irritated voice. "What? Does she want to see a regular zombie? In action? While devouring humans? What does she think of zombies? Made for entertainment purposes?"

Akira averted his eyes from him and focused to the front. At this point, the shopping bags were not held by him but simply hanging on his arms. He was already holding his gun to his waist up, ready to aim and fire when the situation called for it.

***

PRESIDENT Carlos De Aguirre clucked his tongue while he was seated in his office inside Malacañang Palace. On both sides of his desk, two armed guards stood aside from the five others that scattered in every strategic corners of the room. One guarded the window and peeked through its dark-tinted glass. The other two stood on opposite sides of the door. The last two stood in the middle of the room and anyone who wanted to get to the president had to get through them.

President Carlos was busy on his smarth phone, talking to the officer-in-charge for the current operation of Lawin Special Ops. The operation that they were talking about had something to do with the incident at San Laurel Hospital.

"Your go-signal is all what we're waiting for, Mr. President," Commander Nico resumed. While talking to the president, he wore his gray uniform with medals that hung on its chest part. He was safe and sitting pretty inside an armored military vehicle, a few meters away from the crowd of people that surrounded the hospital.

"Aren't we being hasty now, Commander?" President Carlos replied firmly. "We can't just bomb the whole building. Innocent lives will be lost because of what you are suggesting."

"But Mr. President," the commander protested in his cold, unfeeling voice , "what about the safety of the innocent lives outside the hospital?"

As a politician, he would have no doubt about this solution. After all, it was a quick fix to their problem that could easily be backed up with a reason that would be acceptable to the masses. What else should be a nation's top priority but its security instead of playing nice?

But he wasn't just a politician. Carlos De Aguirre was a doctor first, before a president. He was trained to make people feel better first, before taking on a leadership role that required him to be firm for the sake of the majority, even if it would hurt a few minorities.

"If we bomb the area, we won't be able to record statements from the survivors. Their accounts can help us evaluate the zombies a little better and give us insight on how to further develop the immortality pill experiment."

Commander Nico was pensive for a minute before his cold voice came through. "But can we take a risk for that, Mr. President? We might lose more soldiers. You know that we secretly started recruiting a few minors lately because we are running out on manpower."

President Carlos sat still. His eyes blank, his mind racing.

"We need your decision now, Mr. President."

***

KUYA Rick kept on looking out his window, putting out a hand to wave and holler at the people scattered on the road to let them pass. Then, he closed the car window. It was so hot outside even if it was already four in the afternoon, opening the window let the humidity get inside the car.He took his towelette from the front pocket of his black chaffeur uniform's pants and dabbed the beads of sweat on his forehead and neck.

So, Cjay's convoy stopped in the middle of the road. They could not park it to the side or closer to the hospital because of the crowd that surrounded the building and filled the sides of the road. Add to that the parked ash-gray military vehicles.

Cjay turned to Akira who sat beside him. He wasn't giving him any orders yet but the soldier already opened the door on his side. Akira caught the confusion in his eyes.

"I suggest for you and Kuya Rick to head back to Malacañang. Leave me here to search for Natalia."

Cjay was about to protest when a thought held him back. Why was he so against with Akira's suggestion? It was sound and more convenient for him. What was he even thinking? That he would help in finding Natalia? Set out under the scorching sun and through the humidity? Squeeze himself between the crowd? Show up to the humans to instigate alarm and scandal because he was a zombie? Moreover, his convoy was blocking the road. They couldn't stay here and inconvenience the rest of the people and vehicles that would use this road.

He should really go home already.

"Make sure you'll find her! Ha?" he snarled and wildly turned to face the front. He murmured. "I'm going to be roasted for sure when Dad finds out that my assistant is missing."

Akira showed no reaction at all. As usual, his face was blank like an emotionless robot. His eyes just followed Cjay's convoy until the vehicles took a turn and completely left the vicinity. Once they were gone, Akira turned to his heels and faced the crowd. He lifted his head a little to look at the building, the hospital that was said to be being messed by a zombie.

"How did they even get in here?" Akira wondered, because as far as he knew, the zombies were kept outside Citadel. No one could tell if he was worried or irritated.

Then, Akira shifted his eyes to one of the roaming Lawin Special Ops soldier who was busy monitoring the crowd. He approached the soldier and introduced himself as an ex-Agila Special Ops member, current President Security Team officer assigned to guard the First Son. Next, he took out his wallet and flipped it to the transparent sleeve that showed his ID next to a small family picture. Akira pointed at the long-haired woman in that family photo, Natalia.

"Have you seen her? Did she ask you about what's going on inside the hospital?"

The young soldier, around 22 to 23 years old, with lean physique and slightly sagging gray uniform squinted his eyes. It was the blare of the sun, reflecting against the plastic that covered the photo that made the image hard to make out for him. After checking the photo, he stepped back and slightly shook his head.

"I did not saw her and no one asked me questions earlier, Captain Akira."

"Just call me Akira," he clarified in a tight tone before he quickly shoved the wallet back in his back pocket. "Please, ask your officer-in-charge to permit me to roam around the hospital."

"Why? Is it because of the woman? Why would she even come close to the hospital? Everyone knows its dangerous there."

Akira meaningfully glanced at the white building. "Because of the crisis we're facing, I bet you have already seen what a person can do out of desparation . . . to survive."

The soldier's forehead wrinkled. "But she won't survive there on her own . . . or are you trying to say thst she came to save someone who got trapped inside the hospital?"

He waited but Akira didn't answer his question. Instead, he turned to face the soldier. "Bring me to your commander."

***

NATALIA walked closer, carefully. Nothing could be seen in her ash-colored eyes that replicated cataracts. The skin on both corners of her eyes stretched upward. Her eyebrows arched sharply along with the lifting of the corners of her lips. Her smirk bared her teeth- pointy, three-layered, and misaligned with sticky threads of saliva slipping between their tiny gaps. She outstretched her arms as she walked, laid out her hands along with extending out her sharp claws.

The zombie slowly turned to her direction. It released a low gutteral groan as it began to stagger, slow at first, then it picked up its pace. Its body swayed while launching to attack her.

They collided in the middle of the room. Natalia got an unfair advantage, thanks to the length of her arm. She grabbed it by the neck. Her right hand's long fingers and nails were enough to wrap around the neck perfectly, holding the zombie up in a chokehold as she lifted it in the air.

She allowed the zombie to flail its feet so that she could pull back her other hand before shooting it forward. Her hands and nails shoved past the skin and reached for the stomach of the creature before pulling its organs out in one swift motion. A long string of its intestines got caught on her fingers and nails so they swung out. Every organ were already rotting and clumps of blood clung onto them. Thick, blackish diluted blood sprayed on Natalia's face, neck, arms and upper torso, staining her torn pink sweater.

The zombie trembled, gasped sharply, and wailed in pain before it quickly froze. It was already heavy when Natalia tossed it away. Then she turned to the organs she was holding. She immediately devoured them.

Her face buried on the meat as she consumed them hungrily while cautiously lifting her gaze every now and then to check her surroundings. She may look like a monster but she acted like a greedy impoverished human who was so scared that the rare taste of comfort she was enjoying would be taken away from her.

Finally, Natalia licked her fingers with her long, slim tongue. Her meal didn't satisfy her yet, so she walked to the zombie and ate the rest of it while still fresh. Its meat juiced with her every bite. Her squishy munching filled the stillness of the room. She could eat more quietly but she couldn't because she was in a hurry. The Lawin Special Ops soldiers might get inside the building any minute now, and she can't be caught by them.

While eating, she noticed a name embroidered at the chest part of the zombie's bloody scrub suit, a little above its chest pocket.

'I am sorry, but I have to eat you because I'm hungry and you might hurt more people.' Natalia shook her head. Why did she even stop eating and apologized to her food?

She resumed eating, but made sure to only take the internal organs of the zombie. Finding out its name just made her feel guilty, so she figured that the least she could do was at least, leave its face and skin alone.

When Natalia had her fill, she was back to th hallway. This time, she lifted her toes as she paced slowly. It was only at this moment when she realized that she had to leave without a trace by making sure that her nails wouldn't scratch the floor so that no one would notice.

Natalia looked around at the dark, lifeless hallways. Some of the rooms' doors were ajar. Some left the lights left open, and some didn't. But most of them got scrambled objects inside, a sign of panic and desire to escape from those who had been in those rooms.

She stopped in front of a nurse station's receiving desk. The lights were out, but the hallway light bulb's illumination reached the area. Papers, ballpens, and clipboards scattered on the floor and desk. At the far end of the desk, she saw a telephone receiver. Its wired handset dangled down, hidden on the other side of the desk. Behind the desk there was a wall-sized shelf full of neatly arranged brown envelopes. A few of those enveloped got sprinkled with red blood, some were smeared by bloody handprints and fingerprints.

Intrigued, Natalia stepped in the nurse station to peer what was behind the desk. She held her breath upon seeing a dead woman there.

Natalia immediately went to the dead woman whose head faced the desk. She had to look closely or else she wouldn't see that almost nothing was left from the victim's face. Her flesh and skin were chewed off. Her eyes were left open and frozen with one still in its socket and the other hanging out. It was as if she wahsed her face with blood, followed by the exposed flesh on her neck. She avoided looking at the name tag on the scrub suit this time, or else, she might completely lose her will to continue eating human flesh out of guilt.

The telephone handset dangled over her left hand while her other arm was torn off and left beside her contorted legs. Natalia could only imagine the way the victim writhed in pain and twisted during her convulsions before dying.

Natalia slighlty rocked back and forth as she walked a little farther. The narrow spacing between the nurse station's desk and shelf of envelopes limited her movement, add to that her monstrous form. She picked up the cut-off arm that had a few flesh left on it. Then she lowered her head and sniffed it.

It smelled safe to eat.

She bared her teeth and bit a little flesh off the arm. While chewing, she shifted her gaze back to the ruined face of the corpse and became pensive.

At an early age, Natalia learned to accept who she truly was. What kind of a monster she was. But still, it was inevitable to feel the knock of conscience in her chest everytime she consumes corpses, especially those that she had no idea about the history, or the way they lived their life before. It would really help and make her feel better to know if she was eating the corpse of a notorious criminal. Because even if she was this strange creature, a bal-bal, the other side of her would always be human. And as a human, she got values instilled inside her like decency and respect, especially for the dead. When she dies, she wanted her body to be given the same respect too, not like what she was doing to the corpses.

Worse, this corpse was killed in the most gruesome way possible. It was so hard to stomach that aside from being wolfed down by a zombie, it would also be pigged out by her . . . a bal-bal.

'You probably have a family. A special someone. Acquaintances or friends. But one thing is for sure, someone loves you, cares for you,' she thought, as if the corpse could hear her. Then she lowered her eyes in shame. 'You must be an honest person who loves serving people. An obedient child. Someone's best friend or loving girlfriend.' She peeked past the arm she was holding. Sadness dawned on Natalia's grayish-white murky eyes. 'Someone must be waiting for you to come home, to come back in their arms.

'Sadly, I don't know how to bring anyone back to life. Not even you. Your fate isn't up to me. The only thing I have control is my own life . . . So, I have to do what I have to keep living.'

She took a bigger bite at the corpse's amputated arm. Tears were beading on both corners of her eyes.

'What am I supposed to do? I need to live. Your life has ended before I found you here. So, maybe, the least you can do for the ones you left behind, like poor me, is to satiate my hunger since I didn't even kill you. I am just here . . . to clean the mess that your killer has left behind.'

Natalia flinched, shut her eyes tight.

'Fuck. I think I made the wrong decision.'

Because of her late realization, she could not look at the corpse whose arm she was chomping. She bit, flicked her head to the side to give the flesh a tug to rip it off the bone.

The flesh slowly slid inside her mouth until they filled it in. Her set of sharp teeth flashed. At first glance, she seemed to be grinning but the slow movements of her mouth proved that she looked that way because that's how she chews her food.

'I was born like this. Like you, what I came out to be isn't my choice. So, just think that . . . a dead like you is more fortunate than the living like me. Because now, you don't have to hide anymore. You don't have to pretend. You don't have to keep trying to be strong. You finally have nothing to worry about.'

When Natalia was done, tears rimmed her eyes. She felt doomed at the sensation in her body, flooded by her heightened desire. A taste of fresher corpses has reactivated her appetite for it. She felt like quitting drinking for so long then suddenly going on the bender, getting an elevated high more life threatening than she had experienced before. Her hunger grew more insatiable . . . more dangerous. More horrifying.

She raised a hand, her nails shining because of the faraway light that hit it.

Shing!

At one stroke of her nails, the head of the corpse rolled away from its body. It only stopped when it hit the foot of the shelf full of patienr charts slipped inside their brown envelopes.

Natalia walked slowly to pick up the head with an unrecognizable face, covered in blood and chewed off by the front which made it look like a partly deflated basketball. She carefully set the severed head on the table and minutes later, she draped the bloody uniform of the nurse over it.

After that, Natalia hid behind the desk again and finished eating the remains of the corpse.