Zombie in my life

"

Great coffee!" exclaimed a group of young people enjoying coffee in the middle of a long vacation. I and 6 other young men gathered in a cottage in the Pondoan village area.

The natural atmosphere, the mountain scenery that pleases the eyes, the cool air, the friendliness of the local people make this villa our choice for every vacation. We are really lucky because we don't have to look for a commercial villa, you could say this is a "free" villa.

I say free because this villa belongs to our friend who moved out of town, rarely used, we also use it every vacation. Just come and occupy without having to spend deeply. At least we gave enough "thank you fee" to the villa keeper.

The villa, which is quite simple but natural, is not very big, the building is made of bamboo, contains only one room, a small kitchen that can be used for cooking experiments, a bathroom and a living room.

At the back of the villa there is a 5x5 pool, but it is not used. The location near the mountains makes the cell phone signal difficult to reach, lack of facilities, no TV, lights are also not too bright.

But this is what makes us feel comfortable vacationing here, isolating us from the outside world, a world crowded with activities, crowded with problems. We often feel euphoric to the point of doing crazy things. Playing cards naked at the edge of the back pond, to the point of hunting geckos with an air rifle belonging to the villa guard haha, it is natural for a group of young people to gather together to release fatigue and stress.

"Rif where's my lighter?!", called a friend to me. Rif, that's my nickname, oh yes I haven't introduced myself yet, my full name is Syarif, and the one who called me earlier was named Alwi. "I don't know, I didn't see it"

. I exclaimed, because I didn't take it, for the record here if there are matches lying around carelessly get ready to lose them. A bad habit for the majority of us smokers. "Come on, that's my only lighter," Alwi whined. From inside the room came laughter.

"Hahahaha, so don't let your guard down!", . Bager's voice is indeed nosy. "Hahahahaha didn't realize he was aware hahahaha!" accompanied by Nizar's chirp. "Bastard, give it back, it was a gift lighter from my brother". Alwi did not accept it while rushing into the room to check Bager, and Nizar.

This is how our silliness has been since day one, this afternoon on day six there is still always silliness. I took a cup of milk coffee and a cigarette to the living room right in front of the room which was busy with the commotion of Alwi, Bager, and Nizar's silliness.

I went to the back porch near the pool, lying a young man with an annoying snoring sound, he was Ragol, his job was to sleep, from the first day most of his time was filled with sleep.

I sat leaning against an old, unused cupboard, enjoying the blend of coffee and smoking cigarette. The scenery in front is quite relaxing, on the edge of the pool there is a stretch of green leaves, yeah it's really delicious. "duh, lost signal again!". A voice from the top near the pool behind our villa. the sound was heard all the way down to where I was sitting relaxed. "Why mo? Let's have coffee first!", I shouted.

Then Mo came down to the terrace to sit next to me, with a thick blue jacket that he never took off, he took a cigarette from his jacket pocket. "What's wrong with the signal? Yesterday I called and it was fine," Mo said while lighting a cigarette. "Who did you call?" I asked.

"Usually, I call my girlfriend", Mo said. "Can't you call your other girlfriends?" I asked because Mo had a lot of female friends, yes, you could say he was the Don Juan between us. His face was not very handsome, his appearance seemed old fashioned, but there was something that made women attracted to him. "Same thing, still can't do it, the signal is getting worse", mo said.

From the direction of the kitchen came the smell of fried chicken which was quite tempting, "come on guys, let's eat!" shouted Fadil, he was the most diligent in terms of cooking. Mo and I rushed to the kitchen, followed by Bagir, Alwi, and Nizar. Coincidentally, we all hadn't eaten yet. We took a portion of chicken with vegetables. Eat together in the living room. While joking with laughter.

"Ger ate a lot so you wouldn't get worms". Nizar joked to Bager. "Look at me bro, I feel like I have a body like Ade Rai", said Bager unacceptably. "Fellow bodybuilders don't fight, eat first". Alwi joked along with our laughter. Bager and Nizar are indeed thin. "Eh, Ragol didn't wake up?" asked Fadil while waking Ragol. Fadil and Ragol are related. Naturally, Fadil was very concerned. After eating, we all prayed Maghrib in congregation. "Come on guys, get ready after this we go home". Nizar said.

Actually we are still having fun, still comfortable in this villa. But many of us could not linger, because we had to continue our routine activities. Most of us are already working. So a week is enough for us.

"I can't use the network," Alwi protested. "Cell phones, WhatsApp, can't work, internet too". Nizar agreed. Everyone seemed to be complaining about the signal network, we were about to go home, wanting to inform our families and relatives in Boyo City, the city where we live. But from the morning the signal was bad. Can not access the internet, social media, and others. Indeed, this villa is located in a remote rural area, signal is often difficult to get. But in the last 3 days, especially today is so different.

"It is indeed in a mountainous area, maybe later we go down to the bottom the signal is already there" I said. ". I packed my stuff, picked up and folded the t-shirt in the front yard of the villa that I dried on a hanger and a pair of junkies jeans. I walked into the room, there was Ragol who was fresh from the shower, it was rare to see him fresh, mostly he sleeps a lot and looks lethargic. In the kitchen Nizar and Fadil were busy cleaning up, washing dirty dishes from our lunch.

Alwi and Bager cleaned the living room together, sweeping the living room floor which was full of cigarette ash spills. In the room Mo rearranged the folding mattress, which we used to sleep on, I also helped him return the pillows, blankets back to the small cupboard in the corner of the room.

Soon the maghrib call to prayer was heard from the mosque not far from the villa. Signaling maghrib prayer time and our time to immediately leave for home. After praying Nizar, Mo, Ragol, and Alwi heated up the motorcycle engine. I sat in the living room with Bager, and Fadil. About 20 minutes later Mr. Rohim arrived, a middle-aged man, wearing a shabby shirt while carrying a hoe, indicating his work as a farmer.

We all said goodbye and thanked Mr. Rohim, not forgetting to give him money for our gratitude, after using the villa that was like ours. I wore a jacket, not forgetting to wear a mask to comply with health protocols, I was ridden by Nizar, Bager with Mo, Fadil with Ragol, while Alwi rode alone. To relax on the road enjoying the trip home, I wore earphones listening to the song list from my cellphone.

The seven of us walked hand in hand at a speed of about 60 km / hour. The night air was quite piercing, fortunately we all wore thick jackets and sweaters. Nizar and I were in the center, in behind Mo and Bager, Fadil and Ragol, and in front of Alwi. There was not a single vehicle on the road, the road was very quiet even though it was around 7pm. Maybe it was still the post PSBB atmosphere. About an hour into the trip, Fadil honked at us "guys, go to the gas station first". We all followed him, looking for the nearest gas station.

Coincidentally, we all had to refuel even though there was only half of the fuel left. About 18 minutes later we found a gas station. "Is the gas station closed?", Fadil wondered. We all stopped and got off our bikes. It was a little strange that the gas station looked deserted, we saw from the outside that there was no activity at the gas station. There were no officers either, which was strange. Previously on the way, it was also quiet, as far as I remember there were only seven of us, no other riders were seen.

"Duh, I have to fill my gasoline, it's not enough to continue the journey" Fadil explained, indeed his motorbike was the most wasteful among our motorbikes. "Let's go in first", said Nizar. We also entered the gas station area, it was strange that there were no people around, not a single officer was seen, as if it was deliberately left behind. "Where the hell is this officer? Hello mas!" shouted Fadil. I looked at the tank filling machine, it was still on, not locked. That means this gas station is still in use.

We were still standing near the tank filling machine in a state of confusion, after all our motorbikes had to be refueled. To continue the journey to find another gas station is not sufficient. We continued to look for gas station officers around the area, Nizar and Fadil walked out of the gas station area, maybe the officers were outside the gas station. Bager and Mo followed Nizar and Fadil but in the opposite direction. Me, Ragol, and Alwi in the gas station yard while watching our motorbikes.

I entered the gas station office room, the glass door happened to be open, Ragol followed me while Alwi maybe he went to the mini market next to this room. After entering it turned out that the lights were off, I looked around the room for the light switch and there was none. "Let's just use our flashlight" said Ragol while turning on the flashlight from his phone which I then borrowed. After some light, I could see the lobby room.

On the hanger next to the table there is a security uniform with the tagname "Budi Andrianto" I check the uniform, at first maybe there is nothing special and not too important but my instinct tells me to check it, even check all the rooms maybe I find information why this gas station seems abandoned.

After I reached into the uniform I found a key. Maybe this was the key to the room above, right in front of me was a small staircase, I climbed the stairs, Ragol below was muttering because I kept insisting on going up.

I was indeed curious. At the top was a door with a signboard for the manager's room. The key I found from the security uniform below was probably the key to this manager's room. "Hei Rif", it turned out that Ragol was following me, maybe he was afraid of being in the dark and alone. I opened the door. Inside, it was cramped and dark.

Some papers were scattered on the table, around the floor were documents, tape, and boxes. "Come on, let's go down" Ragol pleaded. I ignored him, I was still curious why this gas station seemed to be abandoned and there seemed to be something strange. I still wanted to find info, I checked the locker cabinet beside the table, it was empty, but there was something on the locker door, there were paper stickers, and photos.

"AAAaargh!!!" Ragol yelled while pulling my jacket, until I almost fell down.

"Why?!" I asked. "There's a big rat...!!!" whined Ragol. "Duh you better get off first" I ordered. But Ragol remained standing behind me while looking under the floor in case the rats were still hanging around.

I looked back at the locker door and saw a picture of a 5 year old girl, next to it were some newspaper clippings with headlines, "Beware of the COIT 20 virus, the spread of this virus is very fast", "There is no cure or prevention for COIT 20", "Victims must be isolated, avoid physical contact, used food with sufferers".

". Hmmm Yeah I had heard some time ago, but at that time there was no news about the spread of the virus until now to Indonesia. There are also some clippings below "recognize the symptoms: 1. the patient starts coughing 2. the first week the patient has a very high fever 3. the second week the patient starts to weaken and vomiting blood, the final stage of the pen..." the rest cannot be read because it has been torn. Maybe the photo of this little girl is the daughter of the manager of this gas station, it could have caught the virus, I don't know.

"duk-duk-duk", came the sound of someone climbing the stairs towards our room. "Rif there's someone!" whispered Ragol. the sound of feet stopped right in front of our room door. The person started knocking on the door with a rather loud knock. I didn't lock the door, so why didn't he just open it. I ventured to open the door "tskreek..." the door opened, I pointed my flashlight at him. The figure began to grin and hiss "hhhhhhh.."

"Aaaaarghhh!!!" Ragol screamed in terror. He ran backwards and fell down as she tripped over a collection of boxes scattered on the floor. "Hahahahahahah!!!", the figure laughed out loud seeing Ragol fall down. The figure turned out to be Fadil, he scared us, followed by Nizar's laughter behind Fadil. Ragol tried to stand up, I helped her.

Then we all went downstairs, Ragol looked still pale and did not accept Fadil's actions earlier. The gas station was deliberately left, I don't know why", I explained. After leaving the office, Alwi, Bager, and Mo got on and started the motorcycle. ",.

What about our motorcycle gasoline?" I asked. Bager and Mo were silent and smiled. Then Fadil tapped me on the shoulder and said, "relax bro, now that the gas station is empty, we've been looking for gasoline. so we took some". It turned out that they took a few liters of gasoline which was at least enough for the trip home, so I couldn't stop them.

"Let's go", said Mo. Alwi called me and gave me a packet of snacks and milk. It's strange that he easily gives food, usually he's a little stingy. "Isn't it nice?" I asked.

"huehehehehe take it at the minimarket, not bad, hehe", said Alwi while showing a plastic bag containing several snacks and several soda drinks. "no thanks, enough of us taking gasoline without permission, I don't want to steal food" I refused.

"Duh, your style is idealistic Rif Rif" said Alwi while putting the snacks and bottled milk that I refused into the plastic bag hanging on the handle of his motorcycle.

I got on the motorcycle with Nizar. We continued our journey. Along the way, the road seemed deserted, the road was so smooth. It's a little strange because it's not usually quiet like this.

I was still confused about what was wrong with the gas station until it was left alone, as well as the COIT 20 virus that was still raging in my mind, I opened the browser on my phone to try googling to find out the latest information about the large-scale social restrictions that the government had recently launched. Shit, it turns out that the signal is still down even though we are already far from the villa ...

"tulalit-tulalit-tulalit", a sound that indicates that there is no signal to make a phone call. "Why the hell is this signal? Is today the day without cell phone signal in the world?", Mo protested, "Let's just walk first, maybe later until the city border there might be a signal", said Nizar. We continued our journey.

About 20 minutes later we entered the Parong area, the border between cities. There was an odd sight: hundreds of people were crowded together in front of us, like a camp. There were also dozens of military troops complete with weapons. What's going on? We were intercepted by several soldiers, our motorbikes were directed to the left side of the road. We were stopped at a military tent, after getting off the motorcycle, we were told to line up in front of a tent filled with several military officers.

There was a soldier sitting on a chair noting something, next to him two people in medical uniforms, and one person in a vest with the words "National rescue team" were taking notes and observing something on the table. we were all suddenly confused, was there a disaster or what the hell?.

Our feelings were mixed between confusion and fear. "Where are you guys from?!", said the soldier sitting in front of us, he was rather short, stocky, with short hair, and the name on his chest read "Lieutenant Colonel Bambang Murdianto".

We were all still confused and unable to answer. The soldier asked again this time in a loud tone, "hey!!!, answer!! where are you from??!!". Bager ventured to speak, "umm ... anu sir we are from pondoan.", the lieutenant colonel then stood up while approaching us who were lined up.

"In a situation like this, you are even here, where are you going?!!", he asked. "I want to go home sir to Boyo city", we replied simultaneously. Lieutenant Colonel was silent when he heard our answers, and turned to the subordinate next to him like astonishment.

"I'm sorry sir, earlier we stole gasoline at the gas station, I'm sorry sir, we thought there was no one at the gas station, we didn't know anything, we admitted it was wrong, don't be punished please sir," Ragol whined. "Alright, who told you to come here, where are your road papers and vaccine papers?", he asked. We were all silent, I ventured to ask, "Sorry sir, we have just returned from vacation from pondoan, if I may know what happened sir?".

The lieutenant colonel came to me standing very close to me. His stinky breath stabbed my nose. He glared and said, "You don't mess around!!, you should have stayed in pondoan, you're here to be a hero?!", he snapped.

"But sir we don't understand, what's going on, we just want to go home" I asked again. "There are no people in Boyo city, Boyo city is dead, now where are your travel papers and medical test papers", he said. We were still confused, we ignored the lieutenant colonel's orders.

"letters!, I said letters!" he ordered his subordinates to check us and collect our ID cards. "take them to the medical examination room!", ordered the lieutenant colonel to 4 of his subordinates. the seven of us were led to the front of a large bunker. On it was written "POSKO QUARANTINE COIT 20".

The queue was quite long. Some people looked hysterical, crying in fear. I was at the front of the line behind me Ragol, Nizar Alwi, Bager, Fadil, and Mo. I asked the gentleman in front of me, "sorry sir, what's going on?", he replied, "follow the procedure". My hunch was right about the connection between all this and the worsening COIT 20 virus. The gas station we went to was also quiet because all the officers were secured at this post for sure.

We heard the officers shouting, "isolation!", "negative", "isolation!, "negative!". There was a mother who was crying because she was separated from her child. Her child was positively infected and had to be separated. "I want my child!!!," the mother shouted while thrashing and trying to break free from the soldiers holding her. The mother fell silent and fainted after being anesthetized by officers. a heartbreaking scene.

.

Mo went to the soldier standing guard next to our row. "Sir, sir, we are clean sir, nothing hurts, please let us go sir," "shut up!!!", the soldier snapped while pointing a gun at Mo.

"Keep quite mo we just follow the procedure", I told Mo. The queue had reduced and I was behind two people. In front of me was a man with a mustache, in front of him was a woman wearing a face mask. I saw in the examination section a medical officer with a set of IVs and dozens of syringes, assisted by two large soldiers.

On the left was a metal door, on the right was the same door. "Isolation!", shouted the medic. The woman in the mask at the front of the queue was led by soldiers into the room on the left. When the door was opened, I desperately went forward to take a peek inside the room. Inside, hundreds of people were lying on the floor, roaring "aaaaargh.. aaaargh", "let us out!".

I could see a woman with a pale face, red eyes, wet lips full of saliva crawling out of the room, crawling slowly towards me. the soldier behind me came forward and knocked her out with an electric gun. how horrible!.

"hey you! Get back in line!", a soldier pulled me up. I was still shocked by what I had just seen. "oi rif, what's in there?" Bager asked me. "I don't know, just a bunch of sick people, but strange..." I said.

"God if this is the end of the world, I repent, I promise not to drink and play with women anymore." Ragol prayed and cried as she leaned her head on my back.

The mustachioed men in front of me entered the metal door on the right. Then it was my turn. "Put your hands on the table mas..." the medical officer said to me.

I put my hand on the table, my hand was smeared with alcohol, then a needle was injected, my blood was taken a little and put into a small tube. the small tube was taken by the medical officer next to it and a little purple liquid was given.

The medical officer checked it through the microscope.he said "negative!". The big soldier led me to the metal door on the right. The door opened and there were dozens of people inside but this time it wasn't as creepy as the room on the left. This time it was filled with people who seemed to be clean from the virus.

I went inside, "you're here now!", said the soldier who escorted me. the door was closed. The room was dimly lit all around, and there were rows of bunk beds on the ceiling. The room was hot because it was crowded with people. "Hi mas, come here mas!", I was called by someone. It turned out to be a mustachioed man who was in the queue in front of me earlier. I went to him, while stepping over and avoiding the crowded line of people.

"I'm Boy, this is my friend Ismail", the mustachioed man introduced himself and also introduced his small, skinny friend. "oh, yes sir, my name is Syarif", I introduced myself while shaking hands. Behind him lined up 13 people looking like thugs greeted me, they were also friends of Mr. Boy. Soon Ragol entered this room, followed by Nizar, Alwi, Bager, Fadil and Mo. I looked relieved that they were okay, clean from the virus. I introduced them to Mr. Boy and Ismail. We told them that we had just been on vacation from Pondoan village, not knowing about the development of COIT 20 which seemed to be getting worse.

"I feel sorry for you guys, coming back from vacation to be faced with something like this," said Mr. Boy, then Mr. Boy explained the development of COIT 20 and why there was suddenly a shelter camp like this, we all listened.

"In big cities, including Boyo city, this big city has been completely paralyzed, there is no electricity, satellite networks are paralyzed, victims infected with the virus are almost 85% of the city's population", said Mr. Boy. We were all shocked, almost unable to believe that the city where we lived was completely paralyzed.

We were all suddenly overwhelmed with worry, what would happen to our families there? "So sir, what about the people in Boyo city?", I asked. "Well, I don't know yet, there is no clear news.

All I know is that the government sent military troops, special teams of doctors, rescue teams and others but in large numbers. The rumor is that the military was overwhelmed, the government had thrown up its hands, then they totally isolated Boyo city, the borders in and out were closed, so it was cut off from the outside world.

Citizens who have not been infected are being massively evacuated, but we still don't know where they are being evacuated to", Mr. Boy's terrifying explanation left us gaping. confusion, fear, anger all mixed together. We wondered how our family was doing there.

"How long will we be detained here sir?", asked Nizar to Mr. Boy. "Well, you don't know, after Boyo City the virus has spread to the cities around Boyo City. Since yesterday there has been this post, residents here and residents who enter the direction of parang-boyo city are held here, "said Mr. Boy.

One by one, people entered the room, old, young, men, women, detained without knowing their fate. The room became more crowded and full, the screams of mothers and the cries of small children adorned this room.

Suddenly the door was opened again, this time not by the citizens, but by three armed soldiers. "please calm down everyone!!!", then someone entered the room, it turned out that he was the lieutenant colonel who had interrogated us earlier. "well all have been collected, all of you who are here you are all clean, you will be our responsibility, we will provide food, for hygiene we will provide a place to bathe and clean clothes, keep yourself sterile. No one is allowed to leave this room unless they get directions from us.

Later we will arrange a schedule for eating, bathing, and a schedule for going in and out of this room, you will remain here in this quarantine bunker until an unspecified time," said the lieutenant colonel.

Suddenly everyone panicked. "heaaam!!, calm down everyone!!, you are safer here than out there, you are under our supervision, you remain here until further notice from the government!", the lieutenant colonel continued.

"That's all the information from me, good night!", then he left the room accompanied by the three armed soldiers. "clack, clack", the door to this room was locked, an iron door that confined me and my friends and hundreds of other residents. "Noooooo!", shouted the angry residents, angry at being locked up without any clarity.

I saw around people looking silent, complaining, angry, crying, various kinds of emotional expressions. some had fought over the mattress, understandably the number of people here is almost hundreds, but there are only 50 level mattresses. I saw Ragol who was crying leaning on Fadil's arms, Bager and Mo trying to comfort her. The seven of us sat side by side. Next to us were Mr. Boy and Ismail.

Alwi was visibly upset. He then hit the floor and said, "ah no way, I don't believe it!". "We'll follow the procedure," I said. "We have to get out of here!" said Alwi.

Mr. Boy was listening to our conversation. "Do you want to get out of here?", he asked. We all said yes. "Can we?", I asked. Mr. Boy smiled and said, "just wait after dawn", Ismail next to him laughed in a shrill and unclear voice.

I looked at my watch and it was 1:15 a.m. We had been in this bunker for three hours. Ragol, Fadil, and Mo were asleep. I couldn't sleep at all, I couldn't calm down. The cell phone signal can't be used. I can't contact my family, or find out more info about Boyo city. Next to me Nizar, Bager, and Alwi must also think the same as me.

"Duh, what a bad luck," Bager complained. "I had a bad feeling when the road was so quiet and the gas station was empty", I explained to Bager, Nizar, and Alwi that I had seen something odd since I entered the managerial room of the gas station.

I told them the newspaper clipping on the side of the manager's locker. The newspaper clipping was about the COIT 20 virus outbreak. I didn't have time to look at the date on the newspaper clipping. But I could deduce from the order of the newspaper clippings and the news, that it was published in the early days of the outbreak.

About 3 months ago at that time, it was the beginning of the emergence of the COIT 20 virus until the regulation on large-scale social restrictions launched by the government.

I didn't expect this virus to spread so quickly. The government had already blockaded the city and isolated it from the outside world. Fuck, I can't take news like this. I need to see for myself what it's like over there.

"I'm still not convinced by what Mr. Boy said earlier," I said to my friends. "We've only been out of town for a week, the last time there was still fairly safe, only the PSBB was in effect, is it possible that in a period of 5 days Boyo city can completely die", I said.

"Yes Rif, I also feel that our family there is still fine" said Bager. Suddenly Alwi shouted angrily. "This is all just a trick of the corrupt government. We all shouldn't be locked up here, we are negative, we are clean, we are healthy!" Alwi passionately explained his opinion while standing on a chair.

Inevitably, the room highlighted Alwi. Then a stocky man admonished Alwi. "Hey young man! Don't talk carelessly!, we are not in a cage but this is a quarantine process for our own safety". "Uh sir, I actually feel sorry for the people in this room, we are locked up until we can't do anything, we are all just tricked by the military and corrupt government!", Alwi replied with rage

Me, Bager, and Nizar tried to reduce Alwi's emotions. Well this is how Alwi panics easily, carelessly, always acts or says without thinking. "Already wi, don't say that!", said Bager.

"wi watch your language, we are still following the procedure, not in detention, just in temporary quarantine, please don't talk like that again if you hear the guards we can get punished," said Nizar while holding Alwi's shoulder. "ah biarin!, I'm not afraid, do you want to stay here? You idiot!", Alwi then went to the bunker door and started banging on the door. Alwi's actions sparked more reactions from some people. "hey come here you son of a bitch!", the stocky men began to approach Alwi.

Alwi ignored him and kept banging on the door while shouting. Me, Nizar, and Bager tried to pull Alwi. Some people were also annoyed with Alwi and started approaching him. Then a stocky father pulled Alwi's shirt roughly.

Alwi fought back by elbowing the father, suddenly the others ganged up on Alwi, my friends and I tried to calm the situation, but it got worse, many people who were already angry ganged up on us. Suddenly Mr. Boy, Ismail and some of his friends helped us. They tried to break up the fight. Suddenly some more people appeared to add to the commotion.

We were cornered, I saw Alwi being ganged up on by several people. Luckily he was helped by Mr. Boy and some of his friends. As a result of the uncontrolled commotion and noise. Two guards entered and fired warning shots. "Bang!, bang!". Instantly the chaos stopped. "Who's the culprit?!!!", shouted the guard.

The stocky man who was arguing with Alwi opened his voice. "Sorry sir.. we didn't mean this, it's all because of this group of stupid young people!", while pointing at Alwi, Nizar, Bager, Mo, Ragol, Fadil, and me. "Yes sir they are troublemakers!", "you rebels!", "kick them out!", the sound of the cacophony of people who cornered us. "diaaaam!" shouted the guard. One of the guards came up to us. He looked at us one by one with a cynical look. "Are you really the ones who made the noise?!", asked the guard curtly.

None of us dared to answer. Then I ventured to speak. "Sorry sir, we are just confused young people and we are in a panic, we just need clarity on our fate", I explained the situation modestly.

"Lies!, they are rebels, they just want to escape from this bunker!, I was suspicious from the start!", said the stocky father. Then we did not accept Nizar also defended himself, "we don't mean anything, let alone want to run away!". "Lies!", expel sir, just punish these punks, "shouted the people cornering us again. "Shut up already, let us, the officers take action!", said the guard. Then he turned to us, "all of you come with me!", the officer forced us.

"No sir!", Mr. Boy suddenly spoke up. "They did cause the ruckus, but not you!", Mr. Boy suddenly defending us. "indeed they triggered the commotion but it's not absolutely their fault, they just had a dispute with one of the residents which ended up provoking each other's emotions, but actually the one who was wrong was me, I made them panic. They don't know anything, they don't know the condition of the city where they live, I told them about the Boyo city incident, they panicked and didn't accept it, so it was my fault, sir," explained Mr. Boy, who intended to defend us.

"Hmmm, is what you say true?", asked the guard. "Yes sir, I am a witness sir", Ismail defended with a slurred and unclear voice. the guard was confused by Ismail's voice. "This is my friend sir, sorry his speech is not clear, but he and I are witnesses", said one of Mr. Boy's friends. Followed by 13 of Mr. Boy's friends who agreed to be witnesses that the seven of us were innocent. "Just take us sir, let this young man stay here", said one of Mr. Boy's friends.

After a few minutes of thinking, the guard finally let us go. But they arrested Mr. Boy and 13 of his friends. Ismail was not detained, perhaps because the guard felt sorry for Ismail's short, skinny physique and "strange" voice. We also felt bad for Mr. Boy who "sacrificed himself" so that we would not be arrested.

"Sir, why are you defending us?", I asked. "Shhh, just shut up". Mr. Boy whispered. "Hey, sir, why don't you take those young troublemakers with you?", protested a stocky man who didn't accept that we would not be detained by the guards.

they stay here", said the guard.

"Sir, he's also the one who made the noise," said Mr. Boy, pointing at the stocky man. "Hey, don't you accuse me, it's clear that these kids are the ones who messed up!", the man didn't accept, he grabbed Mr. Boy's neck. "Hey, that's it, you come with me too!", the guard also held back the stocky man.

Mr. Boy and his friends, as well as the stocky man were escorted out of the room by the guards. We were somewhat relieved that the stocky man was also detained because he was the provocateur. I don't know what would have happened if he was still here with us. Maybe we could have been mobbed by the residents due to his incitement.

Alwi was wrong, he acted carelessly but now he has calmed down and is quiet. The atmosphere in the room became dark for us. People looked at us sarcastically. As a result of the dispute earlier, it seems that the people here seem to be consumed by the incitement of the stocky father, or indeed they are angry because of Alwi's scathing comments earlier. And I wonder what the soldier did to Mr. Boy.

Maybe Ismail knew something. "Hey Ismail, what about Mr. Boy and the others? Are they being punished?" I asked. "It's okay, take it easy," Ismail replied with a grin. The time has shown three o'clock in the morning. Bager, Nizar, Alwi, Ragol, and Mo were all sleeping. I still can't sleep, still can't calm down with what's happening now. Suddenly Ismail aroused me "wait a little longer", he said. I was confused as to what he meant. Then Ismail banged on the door

The guard outside opened the door, Ismail said he wanted to go to the toilet, the guard escorted him to the toilet. 15 minutes had passed and Ismail had not come yet. The room seemed quiet because almost everyone was sleeping. Suddenly I heard what sounded like gunshots and explosions from outside. What was that? What's going on?

Soon the door opened. Ismail and one of Mr. Boy's friends called out to me, signaling me to follow him outside. I woke up my friends. "Hey, where are you going? Where are the guards?", I asked. "Follow me", said Mr. Boy's friend. restless. . When we went out, some people tried to stop us. But we got out first and locked the door.

Outside it looked quiet, the medical officer who was previously in charge of checking the residents was not there, nor were the military guards. "hey where are all the soldiers?", asked Nizar. Ismail and his friend did not answer and signaled us to follow him. After getting out of the bunker, Mr. Boy's friend signaled us to escape through the forest opposite the post. hey where are you going?", I asked "you run first, follow this path to the forest on the other side, Ismail will take you".

said Mr. Boy's friend. Ismail led us slowly to the back of the post. After passing through the post, we saw dozens of soldiers engaged in a shooting situation. What happened? We were all scared and confused.

"Let's go this way", Ismail led us around the road, we ran slowly while ducking behind the cars parked on the side of the road. We ran to avoid the attention of the soldiers. When we had almost passed the back area of the post suddenly, "hey, where are you going?!!!," shouted the guard. Shit, we were caught. "RUN GUYS!!!", shouted Nizar. We all ran. "Stop, or we'll shoot!", shouted the guard while pointing a gun at us. We all continued to run as fast as possible without looking back.

"bang-dor!", the soldiers fired at us I kept running as fast as I could, in front of me Ismail ran quite nimbly. I looked behind Nizar, Bager, and Alwi also ran as hard as they could. I didn't see Mo, Fadil, and Ragol. "Where are the others?", I asked while running. "Don't stop Rif, keep running, the others will follow behind!", said Bager. Bager, Nizar, Alwi continued to run forward following Ismail. I turned around, I wanted to make sure that Fadil, Mo, and Ragol were also following.

I looked for them near the large field where the soldiers were having a firefight. I sneaked cautiously behind the parked cars. Two soldiers ran past me, they didn't see me. The soldiers were after Bager, Alwi, Nizar. I hope they are okay.

"bang-dor!", shot after shot kept coming. It was a tense atmosphere, my heart seemed to want to fall out. I slowly slipped away.

When I turned my head towards the field where the shootout was taking place, I saw some of Mr. Boy's friends shooting with soldiers. It was hard to believe that it was Mr. Boy and his flock who had triggered this riot. They were armed. They were shooting at each other with the soldiers. It was a sight that astonished me, I usually saw this scene only in movies and television. bullets were flying everywhere. Suddenly someone's hand grabbed my shoulder.

"Hey, why are you still here? Run to the forest!". It was Mr. Boy. Before I had time to sigh because of the tension, Mr. Boy pulled me to hide behind a pile of wood and iron scraps. "You have been instructed by my men to run to the forest, why are you still here?", he said. "Yes sir, some of my friends have gone to the forest but the other three are separated".

"Oh yeah? Where?", asked Mr. Boy, I explained the situation when we ran secretly following Ismail to the area behind this post and finally we were caught by the guards. and we ran as fast as we could and that's where I lost Fadil, Mo, and Ragol.

"Stay here and don't go anywhere!", Pak Boy told me to stay hidden. But I didn't want to stay still. Mr. Boy ran towards the side of the field, I followed him while keeping my distance. Mr. Boy came up to one of his men who was shooting at soldiers, from an unseen spot. Mr. Boy was instructing something then his men stopped shooting and left. Maybe Mr. Boy told his men to look for my three friends.

Then Mr. Boy took something out of a bag that was lying on the ground, maybe the bag belonged to his men earlier. Mr. Boy took out several objects the size of mangoes, I didn't really see them clearly because I was quite far behind Mr. Boy, and also the atmosphere at that time was rather dark. Mr. Boy pulled some kind of trigger from the object, wait, Grenade!, he threw 3 grenades directly towards the center of the field where there were dozens of soldiers.

BOOOOM" a powerful explosion. I covered my body to the ground. I couldn't see my surroundings because dust and sand were blown everywhere by the grenade explosion. I tried to open my eyes, even though it was a little painful, I could faintly see someone running towards me and helping me up, carrying me and leading me to walk.

My eyes began to see around, the figure carrying me was Mr. Boy. "Don't stay here, let me take you to the forest," he said. I let go of Mr. Boy's hand that was carrying me, and stopped. "Wait a minute, I'm not going anywhere until I meet my three friends", I insisted. "Don't be stupid, it's time for you to run, your friends are already looking for my men", said Mr. Boy.

I heard some soldiers shouting from the direction where Mr. Boy had thrown the grenade. It looked like the soldiers were chasing us. Mr. Boy and I ran, and he pulled me to hide behind an SUV. "Stay here and don't make a sound!", said Mr. Boy. He pulled a handgun from the back belt of his jacket-covered jeans. Where did he get these weapons? Who is this Mr. Boy anyway?

The soldiers who were chasing us started to close in on the SUV where we were hiding, there were three soldiers. Mr. Boy took aim. "Bang!, bang!, bang!", three shots to the chest, the three soldiers were killed instantly. I was dumbfounded with my mouth gaping, I had never seen a shooting or killing scene like this in my life.

"Let's go!", said Mr. Boy while reloading his handgun. I still couldn't move, still in shock. My curiosity made me ask Mr. Boy, "sir, who are you?". Mr. Boy just looked at me while silent. "There's no time to explain, it's time to run, come on!"

He said.

We both ran, Mr. Boy tried to take me towards the forest to run away. But I didn't want to run, I wanted to make sure Mo, Fadil, and Ragol were safe. "Sir!!!", someone called from behind, he ran after us. "Report!", said mr. Boy's men. "The three boys have been caught, sir!", said Mr. Boy.

"What?! Where are they?!", I suddenly snapped, I accidentally snapped because I was shocked, how could my three friends be arrested. "You just shut up, let me take care of it", said Mr. Boy. I'm not calm, not that I'm not sure about Mr. Boy's help but I want to make sure of the three of them myself...

" The three young men are being held at a military post 200 meters from the quarantine center", said .mpr. Boy's men. "You go there, call Coy and Roy!", Mr. Boy ordered. "Ready!", Mr. Boy's men immediately ran to carry out the order. I took a stupid action, I took the handgun from behind Mr. Boy's belt and ran. "Hey!" Mr. Boy shouted and chased after me. I ran as fast as I could, I ran towards the military post where Fadil, Mo, and Ragol were being held. I wanted to save my three friends.

I ran and ran, I looked behind me and saw that Mr. Boy wasn't there, maybe he stopped chasing me because he was tired. I reached the military post where Mo, Fadil, and Ragol were detained. I saw that there were about 10 soldiers. I kept my distance and hid to avoid being seen by the soldiers. I hid behind a bush about 8 meters away from the post.

The soldiers were gathered and on alert. My heart was racing my breath was coming in gasps my right hand holding the handgun was shaking. Silly me, why am I doing this? I can't deal with a situation like this, I should have followed Mr. Boy, let his men save my three friends. Shit, now I'm in grave danger. I was silent, tense and sweaty, not knowing what to do. I could only pray that Mr. Boy's men would help me if I was caught.

"clack!", the sound of a rifle being cocked, right behind me. I turned around slowly. A soldier with a rifle was aiming at my head. "Put down your weapon, stand up slowly!" the soldier snapped. I was nervous and tense, I threw away my handgun

and stood up shakily. "Hands above your head!", the soldier shouted.

Then I was led into the post. Once inside I saw Mo, Fadil, and Ragol handcuffed to a pillar in the corner of the room. "rif!", shouted the three of them, with shocked expressions. i was also handcuffed to the pillar, the pillar next to the pillar they were handcuffed to. i turned to Mo, Fadil, and Ragol, they were battered. Mo's eyes were swollen. "What happened to you guys?", I asked.

The three of them didn't answer, just gave me a listless look. "Hey, you guys are friends, where are your other friends?" a soldier asked me. "You're also in cahoots with that rebel gang right?!!", he asked again, rebel gang? Maybe he meant Mr. Boy and his friends

I just kept quiet. "Answer!", snapped the soldier, I was still silent, I didn't want to divulge any info. Because I'm sure Mr. Boy's men will save the three of us. "Bug!", the soldier hit me, my mouth was bleeding. "You want to get beat up too, huh?", he snapped again. "Bang-dor!", came the sound of gunfire from outside.

"Sir, there are rebels outside!", reported a soldier. "How many are there?", replied the soldier interrogating me, apparently a sergeant. "About 3 people sir!", replied his subordinate. "Well, capture them dead or alive!", shouted the sergeant. Boy they're on the move!", I was relieved to hear. Gunshots were heard one after another from outside.

The sergeant turned back to me. This time he took out a dagger from a drawer in his desk. Then he walked towards me. "We don't want to take the law into our own hands, but the situation is different now, we don't tolerate rebellion!", the sergeant threatened as he pressed the tip of the knife to my neck. Shit, he looks like he's not afraid to hurt.

"Bastard, kill me!", Fadil suddenly shouted. She wanted to distract the sergeant from me. The sergeant turned to Fadil. "You bastards, you don't deserve to wear an army uniform!", Fadil shouted again.

fadil shouted again. "Hahahaha, you kid trying to play with my emotions?", the sergeant replied with a sardonic laugh. "Dil, don't act stupid!", I shouted.

"I challenge this rotten soldier, if he has the guts! He can only hit us and not kill us!", Fadil shouted. The sergeant went to Fadil who was handcuffed and helpless. He pressed the knife to Fadil's neck with quite a bit of pressure. I could see a little blood oozing from his neck from the scratch.

"Who are you to dare play games with me and question me, killing is easy for me, let alone killing people like you, I'll mutilate you and lose track of you," the sergeant said in a low voice. The knife was still pressed against Fadil's neck. Fadil was going to be killed, and I resigned myself to seeing this horrific scene.

"Let's kill him!", Fadil provoked the sergeant. with Fadil's words, the sergeant became even more angry. "Dil, what are you doing, do you want to die?!", I said. The sergeant then raised his knife above Fadil's head. "I once killed someone outside my duty hours", the sergeant's horrifying words added to the tense atmosphere, I couldn't do anything. I shook the handcuffs tied to the pillar. I wanted to stop the sergeant but I couldn't. "hehehehe, pathetic boy", said the sergeant as he glared and raised the knife even higher above Fadil's head.

"Dhuuiiih!!!", Ragol suddenly spat, his spit sticking to the sergeant's face just as he was about to pull a knife on Fadil. The sergeant turned to Ragol with a scary glare. "Dhuiih!", Mo also spat from next to him, once again hitting the sergeant's face. "Haarrgh!", the sergeant became even angrier. Then Fadil kicked at the sergeant's cock, which was standing right in front of him. It was a pretty hard kick.

The sergeant fell to the floor and roared in pain. The knife slipped out of his hand and fell at Ragol's feet, and Ragol kicked it away. "Grab the handcuff key, reach for it with your foot!", Fadil said. Ragol stretched his foot towards the sergeant's body, who roared in pain.

The sergeant then grabbed Ragol's leg as he kicked the key that was hanging from his uniform pocket. "You son of a bitch!", the sergeant said as he pulled out a small pistol from under his boot. Damn it, he kept a gun. "clack" he cocked the small pistol while pointing it at Fadil. Me, Fadil, Mo, Ragol were helpless. I closed my eyes and prayed.

"bang!!!", I still hadn't opened my eyes, but I could imagine Fadil being shot. I didn't dare see my own friend being killed in front of me. "oo..oh thank you sir!", Ragol and Mo's voices confused me. Were they okay? Then I opened my eyes. A body was lying on the floor, its forehead covered in blood from a bullet. it wasn't Fadil's body, but the body of the evil sergeant who intended to kill us. I was relieved that we were safe. In front of us stood a figure with a thick mustache, a figure that was not too familiar to me, yes, he was Mr. Boy. Coming at the right time. Saving the lives of the four of us who were being threatened.

"I told you to run straight to the forest and follow the direction of my men!", said Mr. Boy, while lighting a cigarette. 13 of Mr. Boy's men entered the room. They unlocked our handcuffs. My wrists were slightly sprained, due to the hard grip of the handcuffs. "Now you get out of here, it's safe", said Mr. Boy.

"Wasn't there a lot of police and military last night? And also rescue teams and medical teams?", I asked. "There are only a few soldiers here, it's not too strict, after the medical test and quarantine process, the military, police, rescue squad, and medical team have dispersed".

"I've taken over this sector now, but it won't be for long because in the morning a squad of soldiers will bring clothes and food," Mr. Boy continued. "So what about these people?" I asked, Mr. Boy put out his cigarette and said, "Take it easy, you don't have to worry about it, leave it to us". Mr. Boy's answer indicated that he was not an ordinary person, maybe he was a special agent of the government or something.

The sun had started to rise, it was 5:29 a.m. It was one of the longest moments of my life. I, Fadil, Mo, and Ragol were escorted by Mr. Boy and his men to the forest. We were transported using a military jeep humvee, which was acquired by Mr. Boy's men. until in front of the forest our car stopped.

"Are you sure you want to go back to boyo city?", Mr. Boy asked me. "Yes sir, we want to go home and find our families", I replied.

"Well, I can't stop you, but be careful on the road, don't trust strangers, especially the military or government envoys," said Mr. Boy. Then he got out of the car. "You guys brought this jeep, can anyone drive?", asked Mr. Boy. "I do, sir," said Fadil as he moved to the front seat to get ready to drive.

"Your friends are not far away, anyway they are safe, there is Ismail", replied Mr. Boy.

The four of us were about to leave for the forest, looking for our three separated friends. "You go straight through the forest, you will reach the road on the outskirts of the boyo city border.

"Yes sir", replied the four of us. "Sir, thank you very much sir and the others for helping us," I said to Mr. Boy. Mr. Boy just smiled and said, "God saved you, we happened to meet in the same place, I pray that you will survive the journey and be able to meet your families", answered Mr. Boy wisely and prayed for us.

The four of us set off. Back to traveling, looking for Alwi, Nizar, and Bager.

The jeep we were riding in entered the forest area, I couldn't forget what happened last night in Parang.

Quarantine camps, infected citizens, cruel military, and Mr. Boy with his militant gang. It was like I was in a dream world, coming home from vacation to be faced with such a gripping incident....