The New Dead World

Chapter 16: Blue Monday

We went into the makeshift hospital. The floors and walls were clean from grime and dust. It could be the cleanest place in the new world. There was a small waiting room with 6 airplane seats, some with a little bit of char on the fabric. They must have scavenged seats from a crashed passenger plane.

A small coffee table with a stack of assorted old magazines with various names on the subscription sticker. There were some about guns, cars, mothers-to-be, and celebrity scandals, who was cheating on who, and who was getting canceled then. Probably the thing I hated the most about the old world.

They even had one of those colorful maze toys for kids with wires and beads. There was a small receptionist's office with a handwritten nameplate in red crayon--ALPHA, written in bold caps.

Alpha walked ahead of us and pushed open the door. A man crawling on all fours came rushing in.

"A Freak?!" Wren yelled, getting behind me.

"Aw, come here, boy," I smiled and kneeled down to pet the Freak.

"What the hell?" Wren said, filled with confusion.

"What's the guy's name?" I asked.

"Diego," Alpha said.

"Diego? But he's Korean," I said.

"That's what we said too. He had his wallet on him." She pulled out an old ID card, the edges fraying. Diego Sook was printed on the ID, with a small picture of him before becoming a Freak.

"Huh. How about that," I said and handed back the ID. Diego started to lick my hand and pant excitedly.

"Can someone explain what the hell is happening?!" Wren said, standing on one of the airplane chairs like there was a rat on the floor.

"Oh, sorry, this cute guy here is a rare breed of Freak. A Licker," I said.

"Licker?" she asked.

"Normal people who got bit and mutated to have a mindset as a dog, super weird, but since dogs are extinct, this is a warm welcome when something doesn't want to eat you," I said, scratching behind Diego's ears.

"Wait... dogs are extinct?"

"Oh no..." I said quickly, standing up and turning to her. Her face was already contorted to cry. "Oh no... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to break it to you like that," I said and immediately hugged her.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She started to cry.

"It's not exactly easy to tell someone their favorite animal is extinct," I said, rubbing her back.

"What happened to them?" She bawled.

"Uh... I don't think you want to know," I said.

"Tell me!" She yelled as she bawled.

"Well... a lot died in the first few months from staving or being caught by Freaks. And the others...." I said, not wanting to break the news.

"And?"

"And... the dogs, still with their families, got eaten when the families ran out of food," I said. She burst into painful sobs. "I'm sure there are a few... wild dogs out there... that will probably attack us."

I held and comforted her for a bit longer until she regained her senses. She blew her nose on my shirt and wiped off her tears at the same time. "Thank you," I snarked.