Safe Haven

BCs

Nathan Williams quickly searches through a fridge for something to eat. Without food, there's no chance that he'll survive an attack from one of the bloodthirsty creatures, nicknamed BCs for short.

It's been two years since the initial attack. Little is known about where they came from. Some say they're an alien race with intentions to wipe out all life on Earth, that way they won't have to share its resources. Others say they were living below us the whole time, deep underground, and now they've decided to take back what was once their's. Regardless of where they came from, their objective is clear: kill anything that moves.

"God dammit! There's no food in this house," Nathan says. He kicks over a wooden stool in frustration.

"Pipe down, Nate. Do you really want to deal with a BC right now?" Griffin asks in a stern, hushed voice.

"No, I'm sorry," Nathan apologizes. "Our food supply is low, and the others are getting real hangry."

"The others will be fine, but we need to keep cool. They're relying on us to get them their next meal, and we can't do that if we're torn to shreds."

"You're right. Let's check the next house." Nathan pulls out a map and marks their current location with a red "X." They sneak out the back door and hop the fence into the neighboring house's backyard. Nathan approaches the back door, and looks to Griffin for a cue to open it. Griffin points his pistol at the door and nods. Nathan turns the knob, and slowly opens the door.

"Looks clear," Griffin says. He puts his pistol back into his waistband, and instead wields a machete, stained with the blood of BCs and humans alike. "I'll search the kitchen, you take a look in the other rooms. See if you can't find something useful."

"Alright, be safe buddy," Nathan replies.

"You too. Watch those corners."

Nathan closes the backdoor and clutches his aluminum bat tightly in his hands. He searches every room in the house, looking through drawers, cupboards, and closets, but finds little that could be deemed useful.

"Why am I even doing this? There's nothing left in these fuckin' houses," Nathan says to himself. Just as he's about to return to Griffin, he sees a small hatch in the basement. He attempts to open it, but it won't budge. "Damn, won't budge. Maybe there's a key around here somewhere," he thinks. He searches everywhere in the basement, but can't find it. He finds one last closet that hasn't been checked. "Please let there be a key in here." He slowly opens the closet door, and immediately recoils in disgust. "Jesus Christ!" He yells, muffling his voice with his shirt over his nose. A horribly rotten body lay sat up against the wall of the closet. An empty bottle of pills lay next to it.

"You all good?" Griffin asks as he quickly walks down the stairs. He immediately covers his nose with his arm. "Holy fuck, that is rancid."

"No kidding, we've gotta search this guy though. I found a hatch in this basement, but I can't find the key. I'm willing to be this poor sop has it," Nathan says.

"Well?" Griffin asks impatiently.

"Well...?" Nathan looks at Griffin in confusion.

"Search him!"

"Fuck. Alright," he says, crouching down and reaching for the body. He searches his pockets, and finds a key. "Let's hope this is it." Nathan leads Griffin to the hatch, and successfully unlocks it. He opens it up, revealing a cold, dark shelter. "It doesn't look very big, but hopefully there's something in here." They turn on their flashlights and climb down into the room.

"Jackpot!" Griffin exclaims. The room is lined with shelves, all stocked with canned foods, dried goods, and other nutritional necessities. "We've got jerky, vitamins, antibiotics, this shit'll last us well into winter. Let's fill our bags with as much as we can. We can make another trip if we have to.

Nathan and Griffin empty the shelves into their bags, and fill them up past the brim, barely allowing them to zip them shut.

"Alright, I'll mark this house with a circle on the map, and we'll make another trip to grab the rest. Let's head back while it's still daylight, and we can come back tomorrow," Nathan says.

"Good deal," Griffin agrees. They make their way back to their group.