BRAD, ADAM, SHANE AND Kara walked through the Shilin Night market amazed at all the lights and good smells. The sun had just set and the market became lit with thousands of bright colors. Kara wanted to stop at each vendor and look for jewelry for her granddaughters. Jennie made her Nai Nai promise to get her something sparkly, pink and glittery.
Suddenly, the group was hit by a highly potent repulsive smell. They looked at each other in disgust. Brad reared his head back and laughed, “that’s stinky tofu!” He said with delight. They stopped at the stand and Brad insisted they try it. Adam and Shane gagged helplessly and spit the morsels out. Seeing this, Kara politely and humorously refused to try it. Brad had filmed their reactions and sent the videos to the family chat titled, "R4E" -- an acronym meaning Richards for(4) Ever. He expected to see a picture of the girls on the Ferris wheel. Brad dialed Chelsea. It was not normal for Chelsea to not answer. Brad began to worry in a way he hadn’t for quite some time.
CHELSEA WOKE AND SAW her daughters Jennie, Elise and Violet huddled together on the bench in front of her. Elise had fallen asleep in spite of Violet’s screaming. The 1-year old was hungry; and though an infant, she could still sense that something was deeply wrong. It was dark out, and the box had filled with a green fluorescent light that rimmed the whole of the ferris wheel. When the girls saw their mom stir, they ran to her. They had been sitting there for too long wondering if their mother would be okay. The girls were exhausted and hungry from so much crying.
Chelsea, after getting her bearings, had the courage to look down again. Between her feet she could see her phone still sitting on the top of the box below. She turned her gaze and saw that there no longer was any movement on the amusement concrete patio. Not a person was in sight. To her surprise not even the corpse of the ferris wheel operator was there; only the stain of his blood on the concrete remained. The whole patio was illuminated with carnival amusement bulbs and flashing signs.
Chelsea saw that other people were still marooned in their box cars. The thought of what she needed to do occurred to her — but she pushed it away with the hope that someone would come to rescue them. Everyone was starting to become dehydrated. As Violet’s cries became more shrill — she let the thought take her full focus — ‘I must climb to my phone.’ Contemplating leaving her girls was enough to almost make her faint again. The thought of falling and her girls being stranded alone disturbed her deeply.
Chelsea said a silent prayer to herself. She was filled with a resolve that brought blood back to her head and finger tips. The thought — ‘you’re going to survive’ — washed over her mind like a tidal wave. She knew she would be okay.
Reassuringly, she said, “Girls, I’m going to go get my phone.” As Jennie and Elise began to protest vehemently, Chelsea thrust her arm out the window and unlatched the door from the outside. She knew she needed to act fast — her courage could vanish in an instant. Before she could pull her arm back in through the window — the door swung open. She grabbed the side of the box with her other arm just before being pulled out. Terrified, the girls ran to the opposite side of the box.
When Chelsea pulled her arm out of the window — the wind slammed the door fully open. Though firmly planted, when Chelsea looked down she felt a slipping sensation. Her stomach twisted and she nearly vomited. Immediately, her hands and feet felt extremely dry and cold. Her nerves reacted as though paper was being faintly slid across her palms and the soles of her feet.
Chelsea turned and laid down on her stomach — the bottom half of her legs now hanging over the edge out the doorway. She slid down to her hip, connected eyes with her daughters, and said, “just like climbing monkey bars. I’ll be okay.” The girl's pleading faces disappeared as she slid down and let her full weight fall into her hands.
CHELSEA HUNG FOR A moment, and in spite of her terror — she felt grateful for a strong grip. Her head now below the cart, she could see the bar she needed to grab next. She swung forward, reached out her right arm and grabbed the bar. In succession, her left hand clapped firmly onto the bar. The momentum swung her body forward slightly — her shins smacked sharply into a bar below. Wincing in pain she pulled her legs up and placed her shoes firmly on the same bar.
Having her weight fully supported, she looked down and saw that she already was fairly close to the next box. She felt giddy at how far she had already gone.
The wind rushed past and her hair blew into her face. She heard the girl's cries above her, and for a moment looked beyond the ferris wheel. In an instant, seeing the vast heights, she felt her courage begin to fail. Before it depleted fully, she turned her gaze away — grasped the bar below, and climbed another full body’s length down to the next set of bars. When she dropped down, her feet hung just above the top of the box by a matter of centimeters.
Holding onto the bar she dangled helplessly, and attempted to press her toes onto the box. Doing so caused the box to rock slightly. The phone had been kept securely positioned against a row of bolts. Swinging her toes, she accidentally kicked the phone down the box further. She hung there and watched the phone slide closer towards the edge — stopped by friction alone.
The screen suddenly lit up as Brad’s calling contact flashed across the screen — the vibrations carrying it closer to the edge. Her grip loosening, she decided to drop down — letting her heels fall flat. She let go. As soon as her weight dropped onto the box — it tipped sharply. Landing too far on one side of the box set the whole thing off balance.
Chelsea, landing on her feet, immediately fell backwards — slamming her back and head onto the roof of the box. She thrust her hands out as she slid towards the edge — catching a rod on the side of the roof. She quickly pulled herself to the center. She wrapped around the axle connecting the box to the metal wheel framework. She held the axel firmly and stopped screaming. She sobbed for a moment and looked for the phone in spite of it having slipped off.
Chelsea suddenly heard Chinese being spoken beneath her. She looked over the edge into the box. Seated in the cart was a frightened Taiwanese family. Chelsea got their attention and they scurried towards her. They spoke through the window. They assisted her into the box as best they could. Closing the door behind her, without hesitation — she asked if she could borrow a phone.
BRAD HAD BEEN TRYING to reach Chelsea. Concerned, they had sat down at a table underground. The ceiling was low and food vendors stretched for an unknown great distance. The place reminded Adam of a subway.
Adam got up from the table and looked down the aisle of the food court. Just before turning back to the group, he saw someone bolt across the aisle at an intense speed. He watched as 2-3 other people trickled behind just as quickly. Adam knew something was wrong.
Screaming began to rise just barely above the hum of chatter and the banging of dishes. “Dad, Mom, Brad. Something’s wrong — we need to go.” Brad rose to his feet and saw more people running. “Let’s go!” Brad affirmed to Shane and Kara. They jogged up the stairs quickly. Everything appeared normal in the market.
Following Brad, the four continued at a quick pace winding through the alleys. Adam looked behind himself often and observed his parents doing their best to keep up. He could tell his dad was already experiencing great amounts of pain.
Walking past a vendor, a woman tried to shoot the gap behind Adam. Adam shifted his weight onto his back foot at the same time, to look back for his parents. The woman tripped over his heel and stumbled into the store. She tried to recover in 3 steps, but the forward momentum and downhill slope launched her into the floor. She tried to catch herself with her hand and immediately broke her wrist.
Adam, horrified, approached her. The woman was embarrassed and angry. The woman began to cry and panic as the store owner began tending to her. Adam felt that trying to speak to her in English would make things worse. He felt helpless, unsure how to help. He looked out of the store to get his family’s attention, and watched as his parents unwittingly walked past the store front. Adam rose to his full height and called out their names. They didn’t hear him.
Screaming started to become barely audible again over the bustle of the crowd. Adam left the woman without a word.
Walking into the crowded street Adam saw the back of his dad’s baseball cap. Adam quickly caught up to them.
Brad had begun to cross a busy street — Kara followed closely behind. Adam passed his dad to catch up to his mom. Almost to the end of the crosswalk, Adam and Kara turned to see Shane — crossing as quickly as he could.
Time seemed to slow as a bus flew straight towards Shane. The back of the bus was engulfed in flames. Kara cried out, getting Shane’s attention. Shane saw the bus in his periphery and at the last second maneuvered his body so as to just miss the corner of the bus by inches. Shane felt the air of the bus pull him slightly back as it passed by — the heat of the flames singeing his arm and neck. Brad turned in response to Kara’s cry — and saw the last moments of the incident.
They watched the flaming bus smash into the oncoming traffic. A horrible pile-up commenced in front of them. Cars flew into and over each other at intense speeds. The violent smashing of metal and the screeching of tires rang so loud it hurt their ears.
Kara screamed in terror. Shane rushed to the other side of the street as Kara grabbed his arm. Shane and his sons were instantly grieved. Their instinct was to run into the fray to try and help.
Adam looked to Brad wondering if he would go. Adam started to move into the intersection — when Brad caught eyes with him. Brad’s eyes flicked from Adam’s to the market across the street — just behind his brother. Adam watched as Brad’s demeanor of sadness and determination melted into terror. The group turned to view the market.
The joyful bustling scene had turned into a massacre. They watched as an elderly vendor got tackled onto the ground by a frenzied local. The vendor put up his hand to stop the man — but had multiple fingers instantly bit off. The man yelled in pain and thrust his spatula into the neck of the thrashing man. Nursing his hand he rose to his feet to only get smashed in the back by a speeding moped. The couple flew off the bike and smacked onto the asphalt — it was clear the driver had broken their leg on impact given its unnatural twist.
Similar disarray swelled throughout the market. Limbs were being torn off, chest cavities were shredded into, heads smashed in. Brutal violence ensued.
Before running away they watched as the manic aggressors in the crowd, covered in blood, began smashing every light they could around them. Biting bulbs, snuffing out flames with their bodies, smashing hands into the glass lights. The possessed had no regard for the severe gashes they inflicted on themselves.
As more and more bright signs and bulbs burst — the alley market became darker at a frightening rate.
THE GROUP RAN INTO a large IKEA store. The place bustled as normal. The wave of terror hadn’t hit the store yet. Kara and Shane did their best to keep up with Brad and Adam. Brad opened the elevator, and by the time Shane and Kara reached it, the door closed just behind them. Brad selected the highest floor.
The group caught their breath as the elevator ascended. Brad hoped they wouldn’t be stopped on their way up. Getting to the top, they ran to the furthest corner of the floor. Patrons watched in shock as they blasted through the maze of furniture using the employee doors. Getting to the end of the floor, they discovered an office looking entrance.
They charged in the vacant room, and slammed the door behind them. Suddenly, a large boom shook the whole building. It felt as if an explosion had gone off in the floor below. “What was that?” Kara said through heavy breaths. Brad replied, “I don’t know,” as he and Adam began barricading the door with everything that was in the room: desks, heavy storage bins, Etc. Shane and Kara leaned against the wall and sank to the floor, they looked out the large window towards the glowing city. They were wheezing and no doubt in great pain.
Brad’s phone rang. He looked down at the unknown number and answered without a thought. It was Chelsea. Brad fell to his knees. Adam could make out Chelsea’s voice as he stood next to his older brother. Adam felt to embrace him, but restrained himself.
Brad kept her on the line and explained to the others that she and the girls were stranded in the ferris wheel. Kara gasped.
Brad said with great resolve, “I’m going to get them and bring them back. You stay here,” Kara and Shane nodded their heads. Adam asserted, “I’m going with you.”
Brad looked at him with great intensity. Like before, he understood Adam — and was grateful.
Kara interjected desperately, “honey no! My dream! You’re going to get lost. Brad needs to go — it’s his family. He knows the city — you don’t. Please don’t go, Adam. Please don’t go!”
Brad, observing his brother’s dilemma, declared, “Adam, I'm leaving in less than a minute with or without you. You have to decide.” He put Chelsea on speaker and opened the maps app on his phone.
Adam knew he had seconds. He felt more torn than he ever had in his whole life. He wasn’t entirely sure why he needed to go, but he knew he did. It hurt him deeply to see his mother so distressed — he wanted to calm her and give her what she needed and wanted so badly. Adam prayed. He told God he was going to go, that he wanted to and needed to know if he shouldn’t. In an instant he felt a deep peace rush over him; Adam knew God wanted him to go, and that he would be okay.
Assuming gps could go at any moment — Brad screenshot the map route to the Miramar Ferris Wheel. He rose to his feet and began to move the barricade. Adam helped him move the last few heavy pieces. Grasping the handle to the door, Brad airdropped the picture to Adam.
Shooting his eyes towards his brother, he asked intently, “What is it Adam?” Adam knew it took everything for Brad to even give him the time to ask again. Adam hugged his mother tightly. “I love you mom. I want to go, and it’s right for me to go. I promise you I’ll be okay.”
Brad turned the handle and burst out the door. Adam rose to his feet and with his mother still grasping at him — walked through the door after Brad. Shane pulled Kara back, closed the door and reassembled the barricade.
BRAD AND ADAM WALKED onto the now chaotic floor. People were running and screaming. The two looked into the chaos to glean if there were any attackers. It seemed to be the case that people were only reacting to the explosion. Adam clocked an emergency exit and pointed it out to Brad. The two sprinted towards it.
The brothers ran down the stairs. As they turned the corner they looked through the door of the next floor. Mayhem was everywhere. Brad peered through the glass window on the door. Suddenly, a person was smashed up against the door. Their head crashed through the small window. Brad backed away from the window and watched in horror as the man began to go from being immobile — to thrashing violently. The man, now with a very severed neck — reached through the window, grasping towards Brad.
Adam called towards Brad under the stairs. Brad ran to him. Adam had his hand on an emergency exit that led to the street. Brad shouted, “open it!”
As Adam pushed the door, it was grabbed by someone on the other side and pulled open. Adam stumbled forward and rolled onto the sidewalk. Adam saw that an old woman with no legs had pulled the door open. She began rabidly crawling towards Adam. Brad ran through the door and kicked-dropped her directly in the head.
Brad lifted Adam to his feet. The pile-up in the intersection from before was riddled with bodies crawling into and out of the metallic mess. Brad and Adam shuffled towards the edge of the street — they dodged people as they burst past them. Barely avoiding a tackle from a man whose arm was dangling by a single tendon, the two fell into a dozen mopeds. Brad suddenly got an idea.
Going into the street, Brad lifted a running moped off the asphalt. Adam knew what his brother was thinking and ran to another one close by. Brad sat ready to go on the moped, pulled out his phone, connected eyes with Adam, smiled and yelled, “don’t get lost!” loudly. Brad took off and Adam followed.
The two maxed out the speed of their mopeds within seconds of pulling down the highway. Adam had never driven a moped before — but he caught on quickly. When Brad maneuvered, Adam was a second behind.
Brad took a turn through an alley to avoid a crowd of people. Just before exiting the narrow alleyway, Brad’s front tire hit a potted plant and he flipped over his handlebars. Brad rolled onto the street. His bare arms and legs scraped against the asphalt. Brad quickly rose to his feet and evaded a speeding car.
A crazed man with a jaw barely dangling from his face, ran maliciously towards Brad’s back. Brad wouldn’t have enough time to turn around and defend himself. Adam caught up and dismounted his moped just in time to shove the person into oncoming traffic.
Brad realized what had happened. Before he could thank Adam, he saw four more people charging towards them.
Brad noticed a traffic sign on the road that must have been broken off by a speeding car. He picked it up and swung it at the first two attackers. The sign cut a large gash into the first man’s throat, and then the rod of the sign bashed in the head of the second. Blood spilled onto the sidewalk.
Adam, in that time, readied Brad’s moped and mounted his own. The two rushed off again towards the mall.
Brad, still holding the sign, rested it on his handles like a jousting stick. The sight almost made Adam laugh.
BRAD AND ADAM TURNED the corner to the Miramar Mall. The square was dark and quiet. The light of the mopeds attracted an agitated man with half his head missing. As the man began charging towards them, Brad threw the sign like a javelin. It lodged in the man’s chest — he flew back several feet then laid motionless on the floor.
Brad turned to Adam and said cheekily, “guess all those hours of watching Lord of the Rings paid off.”
They ditched the bikes and ran into the front doors of the mall. It was dark and silent inside. There appeared to be no one there. Brad motioned to Adam to remain quiet.
Brad walked to the still running escalator. The corridor they walked into was tall, and as it rose higher, it swallowed more and more light.
Adam turned on his phone light. Seconds later, close by in a store, a screech echoed in annoyance. Brad snatched the phone out of Adam’s hand and turned off the light. They paused, waiting to hear if they were under attack. It was silent again.
“I think the light bothers them.” Brad said in a hushed voice. “Gotcha.” Adam replied.
Adam and Brad walked off the last of the three long escalators. Adam asked quietly where to go next. Brad replied, “I don’t know, I’ve never been here.”
Adam remembered the switch in his perception that happened when he got lost in the city. He promptly started tuning in at that level again. It was easy for him to default to following his older brother. Adam felt that if he didn’t start thinking more for himself, he probably wouldn’t make it. Adam laughed to himself as he realized it didn’t matter if he knew Chinese or not anymore.
Adam and Brad instinctively moved past the movie theater and out onto the concrete patio. Closing the door behind them, the two looked up at the massive Ferris wheel, it was still dark enough that the whole wheel shone with green fluorescent light. However, dawn appeared near; as cold light touched the clouds just beyond the horizon.
Brad pulled out his phone and dialed Chelsea’s number. He held the phone to his ear — but then pulled it away slightly as he and Adam heard another phone ringing in chorus. The simple yet animated tone rang loudly not too far in front of them up by the ticket booth.
Brad’s heart filled with fear as he saw Violet’s baby stroller stashed by the ticket stand. He kept himself from imagining his wife or one of his daughters falling from their box. As they walked closer to the booth they saw the very damaged ringing phone on the floor. Brad went to pick it up.
Suddenly, a very mangled hand reached out and grabbed the phone. It smashed it on the floor until the sound stopped. Brad quickly retreated backwards and watched as the one-armed, legless, ticket-taker retreated back into the shadow of the booth. His stomach was hanging out of his abdomen, and he could barely move. His two eyes glowing in the darkness watched Brad and Adam.
Brad looked up and remembered that Chelsea had called him on a different number. He called the phone. The phone was answered and Brad conversed in Chinese. He broke his focus and pointed to the box that Chelsea and the girls were in. As Brad continued his conversation Adam thought about how they would get the girls down. He promptly ran to a nearby store outside and quietly grabbed 3 backpacks. Brad hung up the phone as Adam handed him a backpack and inquired about who he had spoken to.
“Chelsea used someone else’s phone. She returned to the box above them to be with the girls.” Before Brad even finished explaining, he had begun climbing towards his family.
Adam followed closely behind. Already 30 feet in the air, Adam’s arms were burning. The bars were far apart and scaling each one took a full-body pull-up. Adam could see Brad shaking. “Brad! You need to take a break!” Adam called out from underneath. Brad continued to climb without acknowledging his little brother. “Brad!” Adam shouted again severely.
Brad reached for another bar. He had begun to sweat profusely — his hand slipped off the bar. He dangled by one arm and suddenly fell onto a grate platform just below. Brad cursed, collected himself and began climbing again.
Adam, just below Brad, having watched his fall, shouted — “Brad! You’re no help to your family dead!”
Brad dropped his head in defeat, and slumped back down onto the grate where Adam was. Brad shouted up towards his family, “Chelsea! If you can hear me, I’m coming! I’m right here! I love you!”
Brad looked off to the horizon. Though the sun had not yet cracked over the mountains, the sky tinted even more blue as morning grew closer. Brad's bottom lip began to quiver. His eyes rimmed red as he flexed his jaw and did his best to remain in control of his fear and despair. Through quick breaths he fumbled out the words, “I can’t lose them, I can’t lose them.”
Adam sobered and fought back tears watching his brother’s fortitude begin to crumble. He prayed they were still alive, not knowing how he would console or help Brad if they weren’t.
The green fluorescent lights shut off. The electric hum they didn’t realize was there, ceased, and Brad and Adam breathed heavily in the stark silence. The silence was broken by a horrid screech below. The brothers looked down and saw multiple zombies begin climbing the ferris wheel towards them. Adam uttered, “idiot” under his breath as he realized his yells must have attracted them. The brothers began climbing quickly again.
Their arms burned like fire as they neared the box. Neither brother looked behind. The staggering heights and the threat of the zombies was not lost on them. Fixating on it at this point likely would paralyze them, as opposed to helping them climb faster. They zeroed their focus on what mattered most and pressed forward.
As Adam thought of little Violet smiling and laughing at him, and his heart felt it would burst. Sadness began to creep up his throat, and tears flowed effortlessly down his face as he climbed. The brothers' souls caught on fire — nothing would stop them from reaching that cart.
The girls saw Brad through the transparent floor as he neared the cart. Chelsea saw him as soon as they began cheering and crying. Brad and Adam climbed into the small space. They shut the door. The family’s gratitude swelled larger and more staggering than the highest reaches of Taipei’s tall skyscrapers.
CHELSEA CLOCKED THE ZOMBIES now drawing closer to their box. Adam simply pulled out the spare backpack and handed it to Chelsea. Fear flashed across her eyes as she realized what she needed to do. She grabbed her fear by the throat as she put the bag on her back. Brad placed Violet in Chelsea’s backpack. The 1 year old protested vehemently. Brad reached into his pocket and pulled out a phone charger from his pocket and tied the zipper closed on the bag, leaving a tiny space open for air. Violet’s screams bounced off the walls of the small cart, muffled only slightly by the bag. Elise was placed in Adam’s bag, and Jennie in Brad’s. The three began their descent.
Chelsea veered away from the group by a few feet to see if the family that helped her were safe. To her horror the cart was stained with blood. The zombies had gotten to them. Just then, the woman whose phone Chelsea used, now possessed and foaming at the mouth — wildly slashed at Chelsea. She cut Chelsea’s arms slightly with the tips of her finger nails. Chelsea panicked, but didn’t release her grip. She kicked the woman backwards and watched as she smashed into a series of bars below.
Brad, hearing the altercation, began climbing towards Chelsea. He could see that she was attracting the attention of most of the zombies — due to Violet’s piercing screams. He grabbed a zombie by the foot and flung it away just before it could sink its fingers into Chelsea’s leg. Adam, seeing this, climbed to their aid.
Just when hope began to fade from their hearts — the sun burst over the mountains. A rare occurrence for Taiwan, given the almost constant overcast.
The zombies became so agitated by the light that they began flailing and falling off the ferris wheel. Adam watched as nearby, one zombie began gouging out its own eyes as it fell.
The group scaled the rest of the way down in comparative ease. Most of the zombies hidden around the small carnival patio emerged from their darkness to climb the wheel. Their bodies laid smashed and twisted on the concrete — most inanimate. However, some laid merged with the concrete still twitching and writhing.
Chelsea paused for a moment just outside the mall doors by the movie theater and vomited. Brad held her hair back. She wiped her mouth and took Violet out of the bag. Soothing her, the group were able to walk quietly down the escalators and out the front doors of the mall without being detected.
The adults mounted three mopeds and began their ride back to the IKEA where Shawn and Kara were left secured in the room. The phone service had now gone completely and the gps was down on Brad’s phone. Brad, Chelsea and Adam prayed in their hearts that Shawn and Kara were okay and that they would still be there.
The sun rising cleared much of the chaos. Zombies fled from the sunlight and dwelled in the dark alleyways and buildings. However, some having damaged their eyes were no longer bothered by the light. They used just hearing and smell to find their victims. It wouldn’t be long before all the zombies adapted to the daylight this way.
THE GROUP ARRIVED TO IKEA. Entering through the same emergency exit proved to be more discreet. Though the stairway’s lights had been deliberately damaged by the creatures, none of them were currently dwelling in the dark stairwell.
Entering the top floor, the group swiftly and quietly bounded back to the office doors where Kara and Shane were left.
Brad went to the door. He knocked softly to let them know it was him. There was no response. Adam watched their backs for any threats. Brad went to knock harder. To Brad’s shock his knock was enough to open the unbarricaded door. Brad swiftly swung the door the rest of the way — revealing a completely empty room. Shane and Kara were gone.
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