𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦

✮6. News Flash✮

Over the next few days, we tried to make ourselves comfortable in the apartment. The view out of the window was nice showing a perfect sunset, except the crashed cars, littered roads and the occasional, roaming undead. Yara still chose to sleep on the couch and I still chose to not tell her about the letter. 

We were surviving on the canned foods which now were about to run out in exactly two days. We made strict food schedules that made sure we're not eating too much. nor too little. We'd lost complete sense of date. The electricity hadn't been back since the day the news telecast but we anticipated the arrival of any rescue operations that might be happening. Yara was desperate to hear from her family, which was all the way in Canada while I was anxious to hear from James and another one of my good friends, Miguel Chen. The last time I saw Miguel was a week before disaster struck, 'cause he was visiting his boyfriend's family in Kansas. 

Day by day, I saw Yara getting weaker and it was not because of or food schedules, but because she starting to lose hope. I often found her crying and the bags under eyes told me she wasn't getting any sleep. I had known Yara to be an optimistic and strong person my whole life but now seeing her this distraught made me feel weak. She was my one ray of hope and happiness through all this, and she now was disappearing. 

I have to make this right, I thought to myself. I was done waiting around, blindly waiting for someone to save us. Our last two cans of food were going to be gone tonight too. I got up from my bed, put on my jacket. I tied my hair into a messy bun, picked up a flashlight and the hockey stick. 

I went out my room and reached for the door knob when I was stopped by Yara, "What do you think you're doing? You know it is a bloodbath out there, right?" "We don't know that, I'm just gonna go to the apartment across from ours, and find any useful supplies." 

I turned towards the door again but Yara put her hand on the door knob, "How do you know it's not locked? Or that someone's not inside? This is too risky..." "Yara, this is our only chance", I pulled out a lock pick from my pocket, "Convenient right? I found it in Dirk's cabinet, don't ask. You have to trust me", I told her. "I'll come with you", she said picking up the hockey stick. "Alright but I'm gonna need you to stand guard at the door." She nodded and with that we went to invade another apartment. 

I successfully picked the lock, while Yara stood with her hockey stick held above her head like a baseball bat, ready to strike if anything came out. "1...2...3-", I opened the door and Yara swung her bat at...nothing. With a sigh of relief, I went inside. It was clear that nobody was home. The apartment was neat and tidy, with a Persian rug, a nice white couch and a clean marble kitchen counter. I might shift here, I thought, that was until my gaze fell upon the pool of blood near the bedroom door. Oh shit. The door was slightly open when I peaked inside, at the grimmest sight I ever saw. 

There was a man, an undead, growling at me, reaching out his hands to get to me. The reason he couldn't reach me however, was because he was tied to the ceiling fan, with a rope around his neck. 

The sight made my heart ache with pain. This man knew what was going to be his fate when he got infected. He had tried to suffocate himself but it hadn't worked. I took a step closer to him, noticing a picture of a little girl and her mother against the bed. The same little girl and mother, I saw getting murdered days before. My heart dropped. 

Not knowing if it was the right thing to do, I picked up my hockey stick. His wish was to not turn into the undead, but he was one, which made me want to crumple up on the floor.  I took another step closer and looking into his grey eyes, I smacked his head with it. That was it. He stopped moving. Several tears fell and I dropped to my knees. I sobbed silently for a few minutes. Here I was, mourning the loss of a family I'd never met. 

Not wanting Yara to find me in such a state, I got up and washed my face with cold water at the bathroom sink. I finally stepped out of the room and found Yara, examining the different articles in this house. "No food, weird right?", she asked. "Ya, weird", I agreed absent mindedly. "Such a beautiful family, I hope they're safe", Yara smiled, innocently. I nodded and looked away. 

I went over to the couch in the living room where I found a bunch of story books, toys and floral dresses. Amongst that, was the golden item I was hoping to find. A radio. I quickly went over to it, calling Yara inside. I sat on a chair while Yara leaned beside me. 

"Let's hope this works", I prayed under my breath while Yara crossed her fingers. I extended the antenna and switched on the button. 

"...If you are in Bay Area, the nearest government rescue mission is soon going to happen in Saeville on 17th July, in three days' time..."