The Fox, the Hound and the Virus

The Fox

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Chapter Two

The Fox

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Rule 2. Never take more than you need.

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Will woke with the sun just peaking over the horizon. It warmed the roof tiles and soaked into his fur. He stretched languidly, Zoe's snuffling snores telling him that she was still asleep. The pack from the night before was gone, leaving the town looking empty and peaceful once more. Will padded to the edge of the roof and watched with his ears cocked as a doe and her fawn strolled quietly down the empty street. They stopped at an overgrown flower garden and helped themselves to the soft purple and white blooms that grew haphazardly out onto the footpath.

Zoe yawned and stretched, coming over to her brother to look about. They sat together, grooming their fur and watching the sun rise in pinks and pale blues. Whilst he missed many of the human creature comforts of their old lives, Will could appreciate these quiet moments in nature where they could just... exist.

Once they were absolutely sure the pack of infected were gone, they climbed back down onto the balcony and headed into the house. They were able to have coffee and stale cereal for breakfast. Powdered milk was nothing like the real thing, but they couldn't really stop down at the shop to pick up more, so they had gotten used to it. The cereal was livened up by several dried fruits they found in the pantry.

'Eww!' Zoe said as Will put more dried apricots in his bowl.

He stuck his tongue out at her. 'You don't have to eat them,' he chided.

She snorted. 'Of course not. I have taste.'

'You ate a rat last week.'

'So did you!' They grinned at each other when Zoe's gaze slipped sideways to the large television in the other room. This house had power and it was still quite early.

'Do you think... do you want to see if there's any news?' she asked. Will bit his lip. They both still had their phones. They charged them when they could and kept them permanently on low battery mode. They had deleted all non-essential apps and had them on silent. They checked them as often as they could. A few of their friends had stayed in contact, but it was always a depressing prospect to count the days between texts and realize that someone or another had dropped off communication. News was hard to come by and Will could admit they should probably see if this house still received a signal. They hadn't had proper news in weeks.

Zoe grabbed the television remote and turned it on, quickly muting it in case the noise attracted anything unwanted. They watched anxiously but there was just static. Zoe tried flipping through channels, but nothing came up.

'There was an aerial on the roof. Maybe it was damaged in a storm at some stage?' Will suggested.

Zoe sighed. 'I guess it doesn't really matter. The city is still our goal. Even if its been overrun, we'll have to stop there for supplies. We are running out of towns between here and there,' she pointed out. Will ate his cereal and didn't reply. It was hard to guess where it was safe anymore. Would they have been better off in the city? Will wasn't so sure. For them personally, able to become foxes and disappear into the underbrush, it had been the right move to leave when they did. Will didn't regret it. Those first few weeks had been nothing short of hell on earth as everyone tried to leave on en masse. That was when most of the deaths occurred. After a while, the news broadcasts stopped giving the exact numbers.

Will and Zoe had seen several of the burial pits in their travels. The officials couldn't keep up with the bodies. It was like something from a war, trenches dug out and refilled with the dead. The smell was strong enough to sicken them from well over a mile away. It was going to be a hot summer too. Will couldn't help but wonder just how much of the human population had shrunk in the last two years. Those overpopulated areas were hit hard enough with COVID-19. This new virus couldn't just be washed away with face masks and hand sanitizer. How many people were left? Was there a cure yet? A vaccination? Will and Zoe had no way of knowing.