With blurry vision, I stand teetering on wobbly legs staring up at my childhood home. My uncle could have been a bit more modest for a quaint neighborhood. A grand paling green three-story home loomed over me. Completed with a stark white wrap-around porch encasing it entirely. As the sun begins to lower calmer wind starts to tickle my skin. Tiniest shivers run the length of my spine. Tighter and tighter my lungs constrict as I find myself grasping for air. Imagine an elephant sitting on top of a city bus balancing on top of a boulder being placed across my chest. That kind of weight nearly brings me to my knees, but the panic I feel has my feet firmly planted here in the front drive. I don't know if I am strong enough to face the potential horrors that lurk behind the closed front door. My body yearns for the family group hugs, even though a part of me knows I'll never have one again.
My eyes lock on the old wooden two-seat rocking chair, the one grandfather built for my parents as a housewarming gift. Oddly the annoying creaking noise it makes when the wind gently moves it back and forth, the noise I used to find kind of haunting, is starting to be comforting now. Perched on the immaculate wooden boards of the porch, it looked like it could be the perfect spot to curl up and forget the present. As a young child, I would spend many nights out here slowly rocking while watching the stars above me. Always feeling a smidge of jealousy. Those stars were completely free up there floating about, meanwhile, I sat here trapped in my own personal hell.
'Okay Kai, it is time you moved your damn feet. Let's go please.' I try to urge myself to start climbing the front steps. If I am going to meet Jax on time there cannot be any more dilly dally out here. 'Just get it over with.' Inching my heavy feet up the dreaded stairs, it becomes clearer that the front door has been tampered with. Splintered oak around the door frame leaves it slightly ajar. As if someone busted through here with urgency, the amount of urgency I should have had earlier. Sweat begins to bead anew across my forehead.
"No... Oh god please..." Agony drips from each of my words.
Giving the old solid door a shove I cautiously walk in. It feels wrong walking in without taking my shoes off at the foyer, each squeak of my tennis shoe causes me to cringe a bit. Quickly it becomes apparent the house is engulfed in unnerving silence. Peering around every corner, behind every closed door, no one else was here. Empty. I was all alone, something that is not foreign to me. That doesn't stop the pit in my stomach from hitting the floor. I think a part of me hoped to find my parents sitting at the dinner table laughing, or Ollie chasing a ball through the living room as Dad shakes out a slobbered hand. Finding solely nothing in such a big house just felt odd.
Refocusing my mind back onto the task at hand takes a second. Quickly I snatch my old tattered school bag off of the black leather living room couch. Dumping the contents all over the floor in front of me feels wrong. It's a good thing no one will ever see the mess I made. Not once have I ever packed so light, but I have a strong suspicion a rolling suitcase won't be allowed to accompany me this time. Filling the backpack with only the essentials, a few sets of clothes, a couple of cans of beans, and my toothbrush, helps me regain some composure. Before I turn and leave my bedroom, I can't seem to take my eyes off of one nonessential object. Reggi my teddy bear lays against my only pillow. He propped there, almost begging me to grab him. He's slightly discolored with age, flattened from countless nights of squeezing him to fall asleep, and smells a bit like old bed sweat. However, there is zero chance I will be leaving poor Reggi behind in a home that is about to be abandoned in a world of chaos. Wrapping him in one of my t-shirts I stuff him down to the bottom of the backpack. A small sense of comfort washes over me knowing I will have Reggi by my side.
I look around the upstairs one last time before I begin to close the bedroom doors for a sense of finality. As I grab my parent's doorknob carefully, closing it, a familiar sound stops me halfway. A quiet whimper makes my eyes grow wide in realization. How could I be so stupid? I give my leg a little pat, "Here boy." Ollie comes bursting out of the cracked closet. Tongue flapping he throws his big paws up onto my waist. "Hey, Ollie." I feel a smile tug at the corner of my lips. Poor Ollie must have been terrified left here all alone amongst the chaos. "Let's go, buddy." With a scratch behind his ear, I loop his rope braided leash around his neck. I have no doubt he will stay by my side, but better safe than sorry I suppose.
Running side by side down the staircase we both burst out the backdoor slightly out of breath. Jax was leaning against the shared white picket fence with his tanned arms folded across his chest, eyes staring down at his feet. When he heard the sound of my footsteps on the back patio his head snapped up. As we lock eyes, I see the tears trickling down his cheeks. Slowly he shakes his head. His lips slightly quivering.
"She's gone." His voice was barely a whisper. The blood drains from my face as ice fills my veins. He doesn't need to say her name, I know he's talking about Nova. No one else would have caused him this much pain. Jax looked as if his entire world had just come crashing down around him. "I see you found O." He nods down at Ollie laying in the uncut grass.
"Yeah, he was hiding in my parent's closet. Must have heard the commotion and got scared." Ollie seemed so oblivious to the sadness surrounding him. Every couple of seconds his snout would snap at the air trying to catch a lone fly. His tongue flopping side to side as he awaits for it to come close again.
"I saw your front door had been open when we first got here. I'm surprised he stayed in the house. Did you find your parents inside the house?" His voice became cautious as he asked his question.
"No, it was empty besides Ollie." I begin to feel the sadness and worry creeping their way back into my mind. Pain from my fingernails digging into the palm of my hands helps ground me. "I'm worried, Jax. What if..." My eyes fall to my feet fighting hard against the tears starting to reappear. Maybe I was lucky not to find my family zombified, maybe there is a chance they are alive. Something inside of me screams it is false hope, but I will take that over having no hope at all.
"Hey," Jax reaches over the fence to place his hand on my shoulder, "Come on now, let's not focus on the what ifs. We need to find a safe place to sleep now that our homes have been compromised. I might have an idea of where we can go, but it will be a hike to get there. I kind of doubt we will be able to stay more than one night there as well." Pulling his hand back he taps his watch. "It's about a three-hour walk from here..." The wheels start to grind in his pretty little head. "Did you check your garage for a vehicle? Maybe your parents left their car behind?"
"Jax, neither of us has a license. I'm not sure driving would be the best idea, nor the safest." His eyes turn to those of devious glint, "I already checked, the garage was empty. What about bikes? That might be a better option?" Jax sighs.
"Bikes won't work with Ollie. I guess walking is our only option for now."For now? He hops over the fence like it was nothing for him, and begins leading the way back out to the deserted street. "I will need to make a couple of stops on the way."
"What kind of stops?"
YOU ARE READING
Infectious
Science FictionIn a world that has become grossly overpopulated, the government has decided to take matters into their own hands. A quick and deadly disease is spread amongst those in all sectors. Two young adults, Kai and Jax, must work together to find a way to...
