Cookie Chronicles

Kitty and Kuromi

2023

"Hey Rachel, I'm about to clock out. Are you going to be okay from two to three on your own?" Noah asked Rachel out of concern and respect.

"Yeah I'll be okay! Joe is comin' in right now, remember?" Rachel confirmed.

"Oh yeah that's right." Noah smiled and turned to gather their belongings before clocking out of their shift. They made their way to the break room, which was a confined room located in the back of the business they worked in. On a table, laid their items; a backpack with clothes, a water bottle, keys to their truck, and their phone. Noah grabbed their phone and unlocked it using facial recognition. The employees at this company often used an application on their phones in order to clock in and out of their shifts. Noah opened the app and attempted to clock out. No response. "Thats odd, there is no service." They thought to themselves. Opening the iphone settings and scrolling through to find a solution reaped no benefits. Noah made their way back to Rachel to ask her if she was experiencing the same issue. "Hey Rachel! Is your-" Noah was cut off by loud alarms, which were emitting from the iphones. "Whats going on?" Rachel shouted with anxious undertones. Noah grabbed their phone and read the notification aloud: "National Emergency: A virus with no known cure has caused mass violence across the globe. Do Not leave your homes. Do not interact with other humans. Arm yourself. Do not go out to get supplies."

"What does that mean?" Rachel grabbed Noah's arm as she wondered, a terrified look in her eyes. "Get Joe, we need to leave." Noah demanded. Joe was in the back of the store preparing for his shift, but when the National Emergency notification went off, he headed to the front to see if Rachel and Noah knew what was going on. "Hey y'all whats-" Noah grabbed Joe's hand and cut him off. "We are leaving, get in my truck." Noah commanded strictly, yet kindly. The three of them loaded into Noah's truck. No one peeped a word. Noah backed out of the parking spot and began to drive. Around them sirens were heard. Crashes and booms. Horrific screams and deathly cries. As they drove, Noah came up on the main road. "Hey you two, we have to stick together. Right now we are going to pick up my friend Kaia. Once we all have a general idea of what is going on and how to be safe, we will find our other friends. Understood?" Noah sought compliance from the other two in the vehicle. They both nodded their heads in agreement.

Once on the main road, chaos ensued. Cars were crashing left and right. Blood stained the road. People were getting out of their cars to flee. Others were getting cannibalized by infected individuals. Noah's truck was swerving and weaving through the catastrophic death and destruction. Moving at high speeds, Noah did their best to avoid causing any casualties. However, at one point, and seemingly appearing from thin air, an infected jumped in front of the truck. Noah remained at full speed, plowing through the individual, their blood splatting on the car engine and on the windshield. Noah turned on their windshield wipers to wipe the blood away and clear their vision. In front of them, two cars engaged in a head-on-head collision, causing the earth to shake and a delayed 'boom' to hit them like a shock-wave. Noah reared off the road into a field. "We're gonna take a quick shortcut." Noah said mysteriously nonchalantly. Bumping and rushing through the fields, the three of them were on a quick course to their destination. "You two see if you can get your cell-service to work." Noah requested of Rachel and Joe. "Good idea." Joe agreed. Eventually they came up on the place they were headed, Noah's friend's house. They were there to find a girl named Kaia. Noah put the truck in park. "You two stay out here and keep trying to make contact with people. I'm going to grab Kaia and come back out here. " Noah told Rachel and Joe their plan before heading towards the front door of Kaia's house. Noah noticed, as they approached the door, that it was wide open. Noah slowed down a bit. "That's odd." They thought to themself. Noah tip-toed into the home. The blinds were down and the atmosphere was eerie. It was shadowy and a dark blur filtered the home. Silent and attentive, Noah snuck through the home. A crash. Then a scream. Noah knew who that scream belonged to. Noah put their hands over their mouth, stopping themself from screaming. Their chest pumping as they attempted to silently gasp for air. Quietly hyperventilating. Something or someone was in the house, something or someone was hurting their friend. Noah took a deep breath and, like a mouse, scurried to the kitchen. Crouching behind the counters, Noah grabbed a steak knife from the knife holder. A crunch. Someone was in the living room. Noah peered over the counter. A man, dressed in black, carrying a large bag, was stuffing items of worth in his bag; pillaging the house. Noah observed the man and eventually noticed his hands. They were covered in blood. Immediately a heat flooded Noah's head; their fists tightened, their blood pressure rose. Noah saw red. The moment the man's back turned to Noah, they vaulted the kitchen counter, leapt to the couch arm, and off of the couch arm towards the man. While in the air, Noah clutched the knife with both hands, holding it above their head. They descended onto the man, feet digging into the man's back, Noah used all of their strength and in one swoop, sunk the knife into the back of the mans head. The man fell, face-forward, onto the floor; Noah was crouched, knife still lodged into the mans skull, on the man's back. Noah stood up, leaving the knife where it was, and ran to Kaia's room. In the doorway Noah stood, paralyzed with anger and grief. Kaia's body lay dormant on the floor, gently resting in a puddle of glistening, maroon liquid. Blank-faced and lacking all emotion, Noah left the scene and made their way back to the truck. Exiting through the still open door, Noah's eyes leaked of dread and anguish. Disgust seeped from their spirit. Rachel and Joe watched Noah, head down and eyes piercing the concrete path, approach the truck. "What happened to Them?" Rachel wondered allowed. "Their hands are covered in blood." Joe noticed. The driver car door latched open. Rachel and Joe felt a slight fear and intimidation from their typically kind and light-hearted friend. Noah sat down, put on their buckle, and turned the key to start the car. "Lets get to safety." They said softly. The three of them set out to start anew.