Dead Air (English Version)

Chapter One: Part Two [1]

"We need to clean your wounds." Aaron stood slowly and pulled out his smartphone. "Oh fuck, now we don't have service. It's only a matter of time before we lose electricity too." He shook his head in disappointment. He then used the light on the screen to check the boxes around them.

"What are you doing?"

"Checking if there's anything helpful here for your wounds. I'm also thirsty and hungry."

He realized he hadn't eaten or drunk anything since his mother woke him up. His throat was dry and his stomach was growling. He was worn out. He doesn't have a shirt; no shoes or even slippers. All the energy he used that day, powered by his adrenaline, affected him at that moment. He felt like he was tortured all day long. Since he can't move his body without hurting himself, all he did was watch Aaron search the box one by one.

"What's inside?"

"Some kitchen utensils..." Aaron answered without glancing at him. He was focused on checking the contents of the boxes. "There are knives in here. These are useful." He took out the blades that were properly covered with thick paper and placed them near his feet. "I think the owner of this car is moving out to their new home. Sad, they didn't get the chance to live in it." He heaved a sigh and moved to another box.

"What's in there?"

"These are women's stuff." He took out a red scarf. "We can use this."

He opened another box and his face lit up. He took out the bottled water and some biscuits. "Thank you, strangers, for bringing these." He instantly brought them to him. "Here...have this."

"Thank you." He accepted it. Slowly he opened the bottle and drank the water. The pain of his wounds doesn't matter anymore for he was hungry and thirsty. Feeling the liquid flow through his dry throat, he could say that it was the only good thing that happened to him that day.

While he was consuming the biscuits, Aaron juggled eating and searching for supplies. After minutes of opening boxes, he found two flashlights, batteries, a lighter, shirts, shoes, and luckily, a first aid kit. Aaron came back to his side bringing the kit, a pair of high-cut Converse shoes, and a black shirt with a minimalist design. Aaron helped clean and dress his wounds, and let him take morphine for the pain. He was pretty good at it, which made him think that he was probably a trained life-saver. He wore the black shirt and the shoes that were unexpectedly just right for him; not too tight, and not too loose. They moved the boxes aside and they lay on the floor as they decided to spend the night inside the van.

"Did you hear that?" he asked while facing the ceiling of the vehicle. The deafening silence amplified their hearing. He can hear the screams and inhuman roars from somewhere, along with the explosion, gunshots, and screams of people. It was horrifying, it was like there was a war happening around.

"Yeah," Aaron whispered. He was also staring at the ceiling. "But it sounded far from us."

"Do you think we'll be like this, forever? Or do you believe this will end and we'll get back to normal?"

"Nigel, I don't think everything will be back to normal. If this is happening on a national scale, imagine the number of those beasts roaming our lands. Us, teenagers and kids, how are we supposed to fight them back without weapons and answers? For now, all we can do is hope that this is only happening here in our province, so we can definitely have a rescue party from other regions."

He was right. Even if this nightmare ends, there's no way everything will just turn back to normal. He doesn't have his mother anymore. How will he live...all alone?

"What do you think is the reason why this is happening?"

"Maybe a failed government experimentation? Or maybe this is the experiment and our province was chosen. Just like in the movies."

"That's fucked up."

Aaron yawned. "But it could be true. Who knows?"

"They're like zombies," he added. "Zombies are dead that came back to life differently, right?"

"Yeah, you're right...they're like zombies." Aaron rolled to his side. "I'm heading to sleep now, Nigel. How about you?"

"I'll stay up until I feel sleepy. You go ahead and take a rest. I'll be on our lookout for tonight."

"Okay, 'night."

"Good night."

••=••

THE SUN ROSE to the east and the light and heat penetrating the window woke Nigel up. He took a deep breath and he noticed his wounds don't hurt that much anymore. He can finally manage to move his body lightly but still, enduring the sharp pain. His movement woke Aaron too; he yawned, sat back up, and stretched his arms. They both looked outside and saw no presence of any person or any movement. The road seemed abandoned.

Aaron pulled out his phone from his pocket. "It's six in the morning, we need to get moving. We'll have breakfast on the way. How are you feeling?"

"Not fine, but I'm confident I can move." He watched him stand and head to the backpacks placed in the corner of the van. "Where are we heading?"

"We need to go find a secured place that has supplies or is close to a supply source and contact for help. Or find a place away from the zombies. There's got to be a safe place." He took two backpacks containing the supplies they needed and handed him one.

He accepted it and realized it was so heavy that he almost dropped it."How do you know so much about this? I'm curious." He slowly stood and carried the backpack.

"I'm a fan of survival movies and I'm a senior scout," he answered and handed him a knife which he gladly accepted and smiled.

Aaron pulled the window open and peeked outside. He made sure they were alone and no zombie was waiting for them. Confirming there was none, he pulled the sliding door open and stepped outside first. He quickly searched the area again. When he glanced back at him, Nigel walked outside too, and welcomed the fresh air and the daylight. It was silent. It was like the world finally had the break and peace it deserved but in the most terrifying way. It was indeed a disturbing silence. He didn't see anything, even his mother was nowhere in sight. He sighed and just followed Aaron as to where he was heading.