Still breathing | Original story

Chapter Five: Nothing

Word count: 2315

We drove mostly in silence. We passed a person in the street. He looked like a hitchhiker, there was no blood on him so he hadn't been in a fight but it was noticeable that something had happened to him. He had tear stained cheeks, his hair was a mess and his clothes were slightly torn. We didn't stop however, we kept going. When I watched films I used to get upset and angered by these people. The ones in the cars I mean, how they never helped anyone... but at the time, I felt no remorse. No anger or sadness, I felt numb. We had all lost something, we were all in the same battle but we were also fighting it alone. Jack drove around him. We were constantly swerving, either around people, the infected or abandoned cars. After ten minutes of driving, it became a nice routine.
Ella had convinced Jack to go to the shop for Logan, Jack had convinced her to go back home afterwards. I didn't contribute much to the conversation, I just wanted to be somewhere far away.
We had to go the long way round towards the shop as barriers blocked the quicker route which I usually walked through, and we had to drive at twenty miles an hour or less because of all the mess in the road. In hindsight, we should've waited. Not stayed at home forever like Jack had suggested but at least stayed another night, waited for things to die down (damn that pun!).

I looked out the window and my stomach flipped over as I saw a man with his intestines being eaten right outside my metal safety bubble.
Being in the car made me feel like the outside world was a TV series. Like it wasn't real. As if the window was a TV screen and everything on the other side was just really really good acting and if something were to smash into the car I would congratulate the amazing 3D effects. Which would turn to the new 4D as I had to fend the infected off. I shook me head, I was getting off track. I needed to stay focused. All too much had daydreaming got me into trouble, sure not the "infected are going to attack me if I don't pay attention" trouble but trouble all the same.
I rested my head against the door so I could look out the window without craning my neck and being upright. The car vibrated and my head bobbed up and down along with it. I banged my head a few times, but it was a dull pain so I didn't move.
Another two minutes rolled by when the car suddenly lurched a bit, the ride felt less smooth. Then the car slowed down, it felt like it was crawling almost.
"Jack, what's happening?" Ella was the first one to speak, and soon after she did the car stopped altogether.
"Dammit," Jack yelled and hit the steering wheel with the palm of his hand before banging his head against the outer part. Being careful to miss the horn I assumed.
"Babe, what's wrong?" Ella questioned, concern filled her voice.
"The petrol." Jack leant back up again. "I... I didn't fill it up"
Are you kidding me!? I wanted to yell at him, the first thing you do when you bring a car into the apocalypse is top it up!
"Are you serious?" Ella asked, trying to keep her voice steady.
"Well, I'm sorry that filling up the tank wasn't the first thing on my mind! I was more concerned about these... things outside!" He yelled suddenly. Ella was taken back, I heard her gasp and lean away from Jack.
"What should we do?" I spoke up.
"I don't know Remi, what would you suggest? You're always making out like you're the smart one so why don't you put your brain to use for once in your life and come up with something!" I saw a vein popping out of Jack's forehead as he turned to face me. I didn't know what to say, he seemed so angry that anything I said would probably make him more furious than he already was. It was probably for the best that I didn't say anything because just a moment later he swung the door open and started making his way up the street.
"Where are you going?" Ella hissed, from the 'safety' of just outside the car.
"Nearest gas station," he replied, not looking back.
"I'm coming too." She began walking towards him hurriedly.
"Suit yourself," he grumbled. With that statement, I opened the door, grabbed my backpack and was hit by a cool breath of air as I raced after them.
We hadn't been walking for all that long when the air began to seep into my bones. I hadn't realised when I first got out of the car how cold it was but suddenly the world seemed made of ice. I could hear Jack and Ella's hushed voices in front of me but ignored them as much as I could. It was quite easy, I ignored Jack's boring voice anyway so I was used to closing my ears to their conversations. Instead, I began to think; about everything. Allowing the dangers of the new world to put me on high alert. But there was nothing. No movements. No life, or death.
"Isn't it odd?" I spoke up, seeing the white air form with every breath I took.
"Huh?" Ella questioned me.
"Look around," I spoke up. "There's... nothing. It's so bare." Ella and Jack surveyed the area too, confusion evident on their faces. "There was chaos before but here it's empty, shouldn't there be infected people everywhere? What about the SWAT teams? People like us?" We were no longer in the centre of town but I had expected at least a few people to be around.
"What does it matter?" Jack butted in. "Let's just be grateful we're alone and keep moving before that changes."