Caged Bird

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Crimson; that’s what haunted his vision. Crimson stained concrete, crimson splattered cloth, and crimson streaked hands. Screams echoed through his mind, ricocheting off the corners of his skull and causing his ears to ring. The sun hung heavy in the sky sending waves upon waves of heat rippling across the asphalt. He felt like he was suffocating, suffocating on the heat, suffocating on the sweat that stained his skin and suffocating on his own memories, choking on the remnants of what used to be his life. The riffle slung over his shoulder weighed him down as if he were carrying the weight of the world. He might as well be carrying the eight of the world on his back. He’s seen things no one should have to see and done things no one should ever have to do. He just wanted to find some place to rest for the night; to slip into darkness and dream of his life before the virus broke out, before everyone he knew and loved got sick and died, before those who died came back. Life was sweeter back then, filled with toothy smiles of his sisters, music that was a notch too loud, and a home that smelt of his mum’s cooking in every crevice. He often wondered if they made it out of Doncaster safely. The last time he talked to his mum she had informed him that most of Doncaster was now a ghost town, considering, and they were going to try and make it to London where there were rumors of safe zones. That was almost a month ago, before the tower receptions died out. With oceans between him and home, he had no way of contacting his family; no way of knowing if they were still alive. He regretted leaving the comfort of his home for the states. He started regretting it the moment he stepped foot onto the plane bound for Florida. Florida was a long way from home, even if he were only supposed to be there for the summer earning student exchange credit for his drama courses. The only good things that had come from his time in Florida was befriending another fellow exchange student, Zayn, and meeting his girlfriend, Eleanor. A hand came out in front of him, stopping him in his tracks and pulling him from his thoughts. His first instinct was to reach for Eleanor’s hand. When the space beside him didn’t react to his extended hand; he sighed, remember the thing he longed to forget. Zayn nodded towards the ground in front of them. Bird carcasses littered the abandoned street decomposing in the blistering Florida heat. Birds, they were the first to go; falling from the sky like rain, dead before they even hit the ground. It was a phenomenon that had puzzled scientist and questions still remained unanswered. Louis remembered walking down the beach hand in hand with Eleanor, relishing the way the sand crept between his toes with each step and the crash of the waves breaking on shore; that’s when the birds started to fall; the first one landing several yards in front of them, startling a woman lounging in the sun, the second one landed in front of them. Every bird that had been circling the sky above them just came soaring back to earth with a dull thud. Those that were hopping around on the sandy shores just fell over. Louis distinctly remembered the way Eleanor had squeezed his hand so tight he had lost circulation as they ran back to their car, desperate to get back home away from the horror that was slowly filling the beach. They found Zayn perched on the couch back at their apartment; the local new cast was covering the event that seemed to be taking place all over the world. Birds dropping off like flies for no apparent reason. Specialists were trying to blame the instance on ‘drastic atmospheric pressure changes’ and Louis wasn’t buying it. It was a mere four hours later when people started to get sick. Headaches, nausea, retching, seizures…death. Hospitals were overflowing with people complaining of those symptoms. They were dying. But those that died just didn’t stay dead. News anchors were begging people to stay inside and keep their doors locked. Emergency numbers remained swamped and by day three, the outside world seemed like a ghost town. Louis hoped that most people had left town while they could and were in a safe zone that the anchors had spoken of. He wouldn’t know for sure seeing as to how the news broadcasts just stopped. By day eight, Louis, Eleanor, and Zayn had no choice but to leave the safety of their apartment. They needed food and hoped they would run into someone that could help them, maybe someone could tell them what was happening. Of course Louis found out that things don’t always go according to plan.