The Silver Plague

Friends are Dangerous

The third week was starting to end, and I realized the food was starting to rot. The bag I made sat readily by the door, and I spent my time listening to the radio and televised broadcasts that warned everyone and everything within the world. No wars would be fought until the pandemic had ended. I had learned that it was aboard planes and there was nowhere truly safe from it now, as no one could know where it was or who was infected.

Then, there was a knock on the door. I stood up, revolver in my hands, and walked to the door slowly.

"Who is it?" I yelled. No reply, but the knocking continued.

"Is anyone there?" My voice echoed through my empty house, and so did the enceasent knocking. Just as I turned to sit back down, the door was shattered into woodchips. There stood my dad, with grey and decaying skin. Behind him stood a beast of a man, similar in both condition and complexion.

In no time at all, both were almost upon me. I shot them, but nothing happened. I shot them both in the heads, and the bigger one was oozing a blue, glowing liquid, yet my dad linked closer. I emptied my rounds into his head, and with the last one, he matched the other one. I decided that that was my clue to leave.

Grabbing my bag, I reloaded the gun and put it into it's holster. I jumped out my window, it was just above the ground, and dashed to my dad's truck. I set my bag in it, and ran back to load it up. Plenty of food and water, and the shotgun my dad hid under his bed. I had extra room, so I decided to grab anything else that may be of use, such as tools, scrap metal, any extra food or liquids that would last (I doubted that anyone would care now if a teenager drank), a mask to hide my identity, any sanitation supplies and antibiotics (to get rid of any disease), and almost anything else that could be considered useful. With all of the extra ammo for both guns in the back, and the keys in the ignition, I was off.

I drove to my old city. The radio reports said that it was left mostly untouched by bombs, and they were right. When I made it, the city was full of people, and everyone had to get checked before they could enter. I glanced around when I got to the entry point, and recognized no one. I parked the truck, locked it up, and went in. I was clean, and I got through with my weapons and mask unquestioned.

The city was bustling. There were people talking, shouting rules or wares, there was little to no sitting room, everyone was confused and about. There were signs everywhere of what not to do, why you're safe here, everything else that may be good public knowledge. I made my way through the crowd to a less crowded alleyway. No one was here except for a few guys who were smoking, and I decided that I would be safe with my revolver in my hand. That was until someone was behind me with a knife to my neck.

"Alright, drop the guns, mask, and anything else you got," a strangely deep voice said from behind me. I dropped my revolver to the ground after putting it in safety. "The mask!" The voice barked. He startled me, so I startled him.

In a flash my hands were on his, pushing the knife well above my head, and I elbowed him in the gut, causing him to double over. I then turned and kicked him, and he landed face-first on the pavement. I picked up a nearby box and broke it over his head, knocking him unconscious.

The others had scattered when the person appeared, so my revolver was still at my feet. I picked it up and put it in it's holster, then turned to inspect the body on the ground. He was too short to be an adult, so I thought maybe he was a punk from my old school. When I turned the bruised and slightly bloodied body over, I saw that it wasn't a punk, but a desperate old friend who hadn't recognized me. I took his knife and threw it into the ground next to him, took off my mask, then poked him with my foot until he woke up.

When he did, I slapped him. "You stupid ass, morherfucker," is how I kindly greeted his awakening face.

"Ace? What are you..? Wait, were you..?"