The world had officially gone to hell in a hand basket. At least that was the only way I could describe it. Just six weeks ago President Trump had tweeted for the eighteenth time that day, but this tweet said "Massive virus is spreading in N. Korea BIG surprise". For once it was a real truth and not a "Trump Truth".
It was only a week after that someone had anonymously leaked files showing Trump had allowed the testing of a new biological weapon on a target in North Korea. The incriminating evidence that was released enraged the world, protests against Trump turned violent, and riots broke out across America. North Korea would've declared war on the states if the country wasn't already beyond crippled from the virus and the sudden death of Kim Jong-un. From North Korea, the virus (nicknamed Trump's virus and Trump's plague) spread across Asia and into Europe in less than a week, no matter any government actions taken to quarantine the sick. The infected, also known as the undead.
According to the files released, the virus was meant to only incapacitate its host, but somehow the virus had mutated beyond its original form and became truly lethal. It made people violent, turned them into cannibals. At first people thought it was an extreme version of rabies, but that was a gentle way of putting it. Scientists predicted that the virus would reach most corners of the Earth in three weeks.
In the end, it only took two.
It was during the second week that the virus arrived on my doorstep. Quite literally actually. My neighbor had been banging on my apartment door at nearly midnight and I was in the middle of an essay on the endless cycle of cruelty within literature when I heard it. Her name was Brittany or Tiffany, I had never been able to remember which. She was hysterical from being nearly assaulted by some man outside of our apartment building and then dropping her phone somewhere in the bushes.
As she had dialed nine one one on my phone, I heard someone else outside the door. My neighbor had paused her sniffling as we both listened intently. I remember unlocking my door again, then grabbing the baseball bat I kept in my entry. That's what happens when you grow up in the south side of Chicago, you learn to take precautions, and even though I was on the other side of the United States at Arizona University, nothing would ease my fears.
On the other side of the door were two people. One I had immediately recognized as my other neighbor as well as classmate, Ian, and the other a tall man I didn't recognize. There was a stench coming from him, like something rotting, not to mention his clothes were covered in dark stains and littered with holes.
"That's the man from outside." My neighbor had whispered from behind me as her eyes went wide.
"I told you to back off, man!" Ian told the guy, who continued to stumble closer to him even as he retreated back into the wall. "Are you on something?"
"Why don't you listen to him, bud?" I called out, and apparently that grabbed his attention.
The man had turned around slowly, which allowed me to get a better view of his face. His glassy eyes had been sunken into his ashen face and his mouth was in the shape of a snarl. He had made a low, guttural sound in his throat, almost an inhuman growl.
My neighbor whimpered from behind me as had I raised the bat in the direction of the assailant as he started to stumble in my direction. "This is your last warning . . . "
His only reply had been another rumble from his throat as he was less than arms width away from me by then. My fingers had tightened on the bat and I swung it the makeshift weapon like I was taught when I was a kid.
The hollow sound echoed down the white halls.
All this flashes through my mind as I look at Ian's, now dirt smudged, face again. He look's just like the last time I saw him all that time ago, including that little trace of fear on his expression. Just yesterday it felt like decades ago, that day that my world took a complete U - turn. After a few years of being in college I had felt like I could finally let my guard down a bit. The walls I had built up from being raised in a tough neighborhood and being accustomed to fighting my way out of conflicts on the street. But being in a completely different, peaceful environment had made me soft.
At least that was what I told myself as I twisted that same bat, though now I had given it a few modifications, then followed where I had seen him disappear around a corner. But I wasn't the only one following him. He was being tailed by a few others, those things, the walking corpses that were now a part of our day to day life.
Looking around for anything that could make this easier, I saw a sewer tunnel with it's cover pulled to the side. The manhole was perfect. Running towards it, I waved my hands in the air, yelling, "Hey, over here!"
The corpses turned their attention to their new target, me, standing directly behind the large gap in the ground. Ian turned around at the sound of a voice, squinting his eyes as he looked towards me in confusion. I keep making noise until the four corpses are close enough for me to see their bloodshot eyes. It's too late for the first two, and by the time they realize they are falling they can't stop it. The other two stop just in time to keep themselves upright. Pulling up my bat, I dodge them as they claw at me, backing away from them. Aiming towards one's head, I swing, trying to pull the bat back as fast as I can. But as I pull at it, it sticks, not wanting to come free. I know I have only a handful of seconds before the other one is on top of me and my attempts get more frantic. The footsteps only get closer until there is a small cracking noise and what sounds like a sack falling to the ground.
Finally pulling my bat free, I twist my body around so fast that my head feels like it will never stop spinning. But all I find is Ian pulling back a crowbar, yet his eyes are trained on me.
I pause, looking at him for a moment. Really looking, but all I can think about is that day again.
The sound rang in my ears as we watched the man hit the wall then he fell to the floor. The blow only landed on his arm and chest so it hadn't been life threatening.
"Whoa, Char, I didn't know that you played softball." Ian had commented with a nervous laughter as I propped the bat on the wall.
"I think I'm going to be sick." Our other neighbor gagged, then looked at my cellphone still in a death grip in her hands. "They aren't picking up? But it's nine one one!"
"It might be because of the power outages, they took out a bit of the city." Ian had told us. "I'd be careful out there - "
He was interrupted by a noise coming from the jumble of limbs on the floor, and we all watched in fear as the man got to his feet again, not even glancing at his arm that was sticking out at an odd angle. He only came at us again, and the second time I didn't have my bat. I was ready to jump out of its way but then Ian swung the bat, not even trying to aim for something other than its head. The second time there was a crack, and a new stain on the wall as the thing fell to the ground and didn't move again.
"What I was gong to say," Ian took in a deep breath, handing me the bat again with slightly shaking hands. "Was be careful, it's dangerous out there."
I had only nodded silently as I glanced at the bat in my hands, then looked up at Ian. His face had been calm, but his eyes gave away the fear he had felt. The same fear I had been holding. "You too."
Then we all had gone our separate ways.
"I never got to say thank you." Ian's words pull me back to the present, and I focus on him again. The one in the here and now.
Staying still, I look in the other direction, the way I had been going before I got side tracked with this, then back to him. I nod, just like that day.
"Can I at least give you a ride somewhere? I have a truck and some supplies. It's the least I can do." Ian offers.
I adjust the bag on my shoulders, shifting my feet.
"Are you heading to Chicago? You have a long ways to go. And that's the same direction I'm going."
"Who said I'm going to Chicago?" I question him.
"It's where you said you were from, I remember you told me that once." Ian said quietly, and I see the tips of his ears turn pink.
Looking at the empty road, I nod my head then tell him, "Alright. Let's go."
AN: Hey Guys, I really want to edit this some more so feedback and suggestions would be helpful!
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~Estrellita ☆
