The End Of Nothing And The Beginning Of It All

Chapter Fifteen: Hope

I got kid dressed ready for school with the new clothes that had been left at the bottom of our beds. I continued to reassure him that everything was going to be ok. Even though I was trying to convince myself of that too. Once we had reached the school, despite kid clinging onto me as always, he eventually went inside. Now it's time to get some answers. I walked around having another look at my surroundings. Until I came across Henry. The only person I had actually spoken to since being here. Maybe he could answer some of my questions? I ran to catch up with him. He seems surprised that I had come and found him.
"Hope, are you ok?" he asked kindly.
"Hi, yes thank you. I wondered if I could ask you some questions. Are you free?" I asked.
"Yes of course" he answered happily as he redirected me inside to sit at a table. "What do you want to know?" he continued.
"Where to start? " I laughed. I continued before we had chance to speak " So about 2 days ago I woke up from unconsciousness in the middle of what looked like a war zone. Rubble everywhere. People screaming and fleeing from their homes. Apart from my name I don't remember anything. I started to try and find other people but there was no one around. This camp was the first human life I had found by which point I had ran out of food and perseverance. I had seen those creature things and became more confused about what was going on. Please can you help me remember?" I explained in desperation.
"Wow I had no idea. No wonder you had given up when we told you to leave" His face frowned. "So you can't remember anything about what happened?" he clarified. I shook my head in reply.
"Well... In the beginning there were hundreds of mini explosions all across the globe. No scientist or politician knew what caused them. They were completely unexpected. It killed thousands of people and emergency warnings went out. The government was unsure whether we were going to war or not. They urged people to remain calm but thousands more started to become sick. Women more than men. They began to cough up blood, lose weight and their skin would start to erode. The government still didn't know what it was. Their best guess was some sort of virus that had been released in the explosions. This caused people to panic and start running to find somewhere safe away from the infected. With time, the infected would become worse losing all sense of humanity and become the creatures you saw out there. We call them Flukes. We don't know what they can do but we know that they spread infection through direct contact. So we set up this shelter to protect as many people as we can from them and keep them safe. I hope that explains your questions" he finished.
I sat there in silence trying to process all the information. That explains a lot. I must have been near an explosion site when I lost consciousness and injured my leg. And those creature things are humans that were infected with an unknown virus, which affects women more explaining why their are more men here.
"Thank you for explaining everything, things make more sense now. How long have you been here for?" I asked in return.
"Only five days. I was one of the first to come here. Everyone has the same goal of survival" he explained.
"I appreciate what you've set up here. It's an amazing idea but don't you feel trapped? The same routine everyday. Unable to explore outside of the barrier?" I asked, unsure whether I could trust him with this risky remark.
"Wow you don't hold back do you?" he said in shock. "I mean I haven't ever thought of it like that. It's only been 5 days and it's much safer here than what's out there after all".
Henry seemed to love this place. I felt like he had been coerced into some kind of cult. I mean it wasn't that severe but the rules and ways of living felt restrictive. Yes it was safe but what happened when food started to become sparce or friction between people started to develop. It was a pressure cooker environment about to explode and I trusted no one.
"Do you not like it here?" he asked.
"I don't know it well enough yet. I'm just not sure how well I can cope with the controlling nature of this place" I replied trying to tone down my true opinions.
"Give it a few days and you'll grow to like it. I'm here if you need anyone to talk to" Henry smiled.
He was being really friendly to me. Maybe I just wasn't used to people talking to me and being nice. After all I don't remember much of my life and so far the only socialisation I've had is with a quiet, strange little kid who thinks I am his mum. I think anything would top that. Don't get me wrong, I still didn't trust him, but I felt comfortable around him. And that's all that mattered at the moment. At least until I've made up my mind on this place. I'll give it a few days to prove me wrong...