First 12 Chapters - How I Became A Crazy Cat Lady To Survive A Zombpocalyse

6

Chapter 6

(A/N – only 830 words of this chapter count since most of it was a flash fiction I wrote over the summer. I changed a few details and added others from this story, like Bab's falling into depression, finding Bill, and the Baltimore locations stuff. I also changed the POV from first person to third, but it is pretty close to the original "Pandemic Five" of a person discovering they missed the end of the world. Hope you enjoy.)

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Babs sunk into a deeper depression as days turned into two weeks. She had called every hospital and urgent care clinic until they stopped answering her calls. Bill was nowhere to be found and she grieved that he was dead. She couldn't even go to the hospital in person because that was forbidden. The news blasted out the alerts that the whole world was housebound again. Quarantine level two restrictions were expected to change to level one soon. Babs spat the last of the toothpaste in the sink then muttered a curse as she watched the foamy mess go down the drain, barely listening to the warnings.

"Under the tightening protocols, the Federal Quarantine Department has announced that all residences and businesses marked with a blue index card sized notice are considered contaminated zones and should not be entered under any circumstances. The FQD has..."

Babs worked in isolation as the sole library on-site staff for months, so the Federal Quarantine Department's latest lockdown restrictions meant nothing to her daily routine of caretaker of the books of Enoch Pratt Library. She could order anything she needed from Amazan delivered to the library, but she didn't order her groceries from them, because her therapist told her she needed to leave her home once per week. She wondered if her therapist would call next Thursday. It wasn't like Dr. Merced to miss calling like he had this week or last week. When he called, she could tell him her weekly requirement to get out of the library was met. She planned to retrieve her groceries and medications without having an anxiety attack. It gave her a goal for the day.

While the announcer droned on in an overly serious tone, she opened her kitchen cabinets. Today was her day to pick up a grocery order, meds from the pharmacy, and enjoy an hour outside. She had a package or two of ramen noodles, small can of organic bean soup, some crackers, and a half-eaten box of fig newtons. She couldn't even make more noodles because she was out of flour. After checking the security cameras, she shrugged into her coat and put on her mask and gloves, determined to go out anyway. People went out all the time during the last four pandemics and she needed her orders or tomorrow she would starve. She was shocked to find two cat hairs on her sleeve.

Sighing, as she walked, she hoped the grocery had coffee and creamer or tea this time. She was tired of instant powdered coffee-flavored drink. It was cold but she would endure it just to be outside again. The wind blew between the brownstones and leaves tumbled and twirled in spiral dances down the street as she walked. The bright sunlight didn't warm her at all. When she got to the pharmacy, the door was unlocked, but the store was empty.

"Hello? Mr. Ocampo?"

No one answered and she wondered if he had gone out to make a delivery and forgotten to lock up. Shaking her head, Babs pulled what she wanted off the shelves, including a new box of fig newtons and some toothpaste, then she used the punch code for the button lock on the counter door, and got her prescriptions out of a labeled bin. After she scanned her purchases and paid with a card, she put them in her backpack. She was grateful for the overnights she spent as a cashier to make extra money for her student loan debt. Walking out, she noticed a blue index card on the door. In the back of her mind, Babs vaguely remembered something about them on the news.

Ignoring it, she headed to Lerling's Grocery Basket. In the distance she heard popping sounds. Their rapid staccato sounded like drumsticks on metal far away. As she walked, Babs noticed more blue cards. Lerling's Grocery was closed with no lights on. She guessed the owners hadn't found anyone to work after Bill died and she wiped away a tear that he didn't make it. Since she couldn't pick up her order, she trudged back north and over a block. Pulling her scarf tighter around her face and neck, it seemed colder than the weather forecast predicted. She decided she would just have to get what she could at the Asian Market on the way home.