Red Eyes

Part 3: Underpass

The streets were never busy in the med center. No one really wanted to spend too much time near possibly diseased blood. Especially if that disease could slowly eat away at their brain if it gets in the blood. Or, take it over. Either way, the virus could transition a person from "I'm a vegetarian" to "I eat brains" over a day or so.

Sun glistened off the windows of the old hospitals and into Devyn's eyes as they walked down the street. Some of the buildings continued to show the state of the world with broken windows and sparse greenery falling from the opening. The Council wanted to renew the hospital system as needed leaving an area that once bustled with over 160,000 people a day to a sparse few thousand.

A few cars went by slowly, making Joy sigh. "I wonder what it would be like to drive," Joy stated after a pause.

Devyn shrugged. "Jim doesn't seem to think it's that exciting. We probably could have learned if we wanted."

"I'm sure we could have handled it. But, where would we go? I can easily get to my house, comic store, and work by walking and taking the trains."

"Your priorities are always on point."

Joy snorted while rolling her eyes. "Whatever. It's probably a pain. The potholes here are historically horrible and the reason I don't like to bike."

Devyn smiled as they stopped at the crosswalk and looked both ways. Not seeing any cars, they walked across the street to the old light rail station. The two scanned their wristbands and waited for a train to take them further into town.

"We both know you don't bike because you don't like to sweat," Devyn stated.

Joy snorted. "If that were true, then I would be driving everywhere."

Devyn fluttered her eyes mockingly at Joy. "I promise I wouldn't judge you if you broke down and got a car."

"Please, you would just have me drive you everywhere."

Devyn shrugged and smiled as the train pulled to a stop in front of them. "Seems like an equivalent exchange for being your friend."

Joy swatted at Devyn's brown ponytail as the two walked onto the train. A salt and peppered-haired lady sat in the first seat with her Pomeranian sitting beside her. Joy moved to pet the dog, but it snapped at her.

"Sorry, she's not used to other humans yet," the woman said while petting the tiny puffball with ears and teeth.

"It's okay," Joy whispered, following Devyn to sit a few seats away from the old lady with the devil dog.

The two sat silently as the train moved out. Devyn let her mind wander as the familiar building passed. The next stop allowed a few young doctors on. A curly, brown-haired doctor's eyes lit up slightly on seeing Joy, making Devyn look at her friend. Joy slightly nodded to the green-eyed doctor, who seemed vaguely familiar to Devyn. Was this one Gabe or Paul? Many people looked familiar when the population had been cut by at least 50%.

The forward movement of the train jostled them slightly in their seats, and they moved on to the next expected stop. Devyn mildly clocked who got on and off at each stop. A long-term side effect of living in her family: paranoia. But, maybe, everyone had their own inherited paranoia after the first three waves. Joy said she found a great book in the archives about hereditary trauma.

Maybe the addiction to the trauma is why we kept the Main/Fannin cages active so long. Devyn mused as the train reached the Wheeler Transit Center stop.

Joy got up first and glanced back at Mr Green Eyes to give him a small wave before they exited.

"Who was that?" Devyn hissed at her as the train doors closed behind them.