A Volatiles Claim

Close Call

"OW FUCK!" I hiss.

The redness around my ankle glared at me when I prodded at it, sending pain up my leg which caused me to cry out. Other than the inflammation and slight purple hue over the affected area, my right ankle was definitely sprained and out of commission. And it couldn't have been at a more inconvenient time!

I look at the last of the sun's light wave 'goodbye' at me before it disappears over the horizon and officially labels the day as night. Why do all bad things happen at night I'll never know, maybe I'm just never supposed to venture out or close to the nighttime? I can hear the howlers let out small cries throughout Old Villedor, signaling to the other infected that it's safe to come out and hunt.

My stomach sinks when I hear a chorus of responding howls from virals a few buildings away from the roof I was on, and there seemed to be a lot judging by how loud it was. My hands scramble to my side where my pack is and bring it in front of me and quickly look for my radio. I shuffle all around the small interior even using the faint green and red glow of my biomarker to look around but to no avail, my radio was not there. I pat around my waist to see if I clipped it on the waist of my pants. Nothing. I check my pockets. Nothing. I look around the roof I was on to see if it somehow fell from then I landed. Nothing except the small amount of plant life found on and inside every building.

A small beeping noise draws my attention to the infection tracking device on my wrist. The green light was at 75%, meaning that if I don't get to a safe house soon or something to calm my infection, I would turn into an infected monster before the moon has a chance to reach its highest point.

I look around to make sure I'm free from danger and after spotting no movement, I silently rummage through my pack. The two UV bars I always have on hand are broken, snapped in two, or light bulbs shattered from when I landed wrong and fell on my pack. My mind immediately goes to the UV mushrooms I picked on the way back to the Bazaar.

"Please, Please, Please be okay..." I mumble to myself as I pull out the pouch I stored them in.

I nearly yelled in frustration but didn't because of the fact that any loud sounds will immediately draw all of the infected attention to me and then I'll be a sitting duck. All of the mushrooms were smooshed and had the faintest glow to them. So, while I could eat them, they would barely fight off my infection long enough for me to, hypothetically, make it back to the Bazaar. I picked them growing in a dark space between these two crates in a rooftop grove as I was leaving Barney's hideout. I was going to test out a slightly different way of making immunity boosters by adding slightly less water when boiling the mushrooms and letting them boil for longer on reduced heat. Even if it doesn't work out, it's still effective because as long as the UV-infused liquid gets into the lungs, it will start fighting against the virus instantly so you can't go wrong when making these. Most survivors leave the making of immunity boosters to the 'medics' because of the psychological comfort of knowing that it was made exactly how it should be and not by some shady person.

"Fuck, no radio and not enough UV shrooms to keep me alive long enough to get to the morning..." I utter, completely defeated.

I know I have one last resort, one that could either save me or have me killed within a few minutes. Every survivor has a makeshift flare gun for moments exactly like these, if anyone is out at night and is unable to get back to safety, all they need to do is send up a flare. And when the nightrunners were still alive and together, one would be guaranteed to survive as they were everywhere. But ever since they disappeared one day, not many venture out a night anymore, especially to save others, the risks were just too high. So, I can either signal for help and hope with every fiber in my being that someone is out and able to help, give up and kill myself because I refuse to turn into an infected creature, or try and make it somewhere with a UV light. And judging from the still throbbing pain in my ankle, I'm only left with the first two options because even if I could stand, I wouldn't be able to jump and climb up ledges.