Population Zero

Chapter Twenty

My eyes open but I don't hear a sound. My vision is blurred and I feel very dizzy. I check my ears and quickly realize my hearing aids are gone. I start patting myself down and sit up to start checking the grass around me. No use. I am deaf. I rub my eyes and try to make out what's happening. I glance over and see Renzo standing over Fabian shaking him and dragging him around trying to wake him. He looks panicked. I try to stand but my legs are sore and I feel bruised on my hips and back. Renzo looks towards me sharply and starts waving his arms around. He starts running towards me shouting but I can barely make out what he's saying. He gets right up in front of me and I finally hear a faint voice.

"Run! Run! Run!" He is shouting at me and I stand up fast and push through the pain. In the distance I see an ATV barreling through the brush and I realize what's happening all at once. I stand there frozen for half a second with thoughts rushing through my mind. Is Fabian going to be OK? Should I stay and make sure? Renzo is screaming run so incessantly I feel as if I have no choice. I turn toward the woods and take off fast. I run so hard my entire body hurts. My lungs burn from the wind hitting me deep down into my throat. It's dark and I can't see so I hold my hands out in front of me to block the branches and thicket from hitting and scratching me as I pass. I run for what feels like an eternity until I hit a root sticking out of a tree and trip, taking a nosedive hard into the ground. I lay for a there moment trying to steady my breathing and stop my chattering teeth. I hold my jacket tight around me and listen hard for any sounds around me. The world is silent. No birds singing. No crickets chirping. No sound coming from the fallen leaves beneath my body. Under normal circumstances I would have welcomed the silence but at this moment I really wished I could listen out for any signs of lurking danger. I finally pushed myself up off the ground and found a nearby tree to sit under. Once I was certain I hadn't been followed I let out a deep sigh of relief. Now I felt strangely peaceful sitting in the quiet darkness. I felt but didn't hear my stomach growl and reached into my secret pocket to pull out a granola bar I had swiped from Van Whittle's office. After eating the bar very slowly, savoring each bite, I pulled out the stolen keychain flashlight and tried to shine it into the distance but the light was too dim. It's pointless to keep going in this darkness, I thought, so I try to rest but the hours pass by and sleep never comes.

As the sun finally begins to rise and the light touches the horizon I feel the warmth return to my body. In the distance I see a small cottage and I feel a burst of renewed faith. If Renzo were here he would say "Thank God!" and tell me this was all a part of His plan and maybe he was right. I wouldn't have made it much farther in my current condition and I feel like the jig is up at this point. I might as well turn myself in and get back to the adult compound to check on my friends. A silent prayer for Fabian runs through my mind again as I rise up and slowly trudge my way to the small cottage door. It's set up right in the middle of a clearing. There's a pile of rubble in the front with various metal pieces and loose tools, screws, nuts, bolts, hammers and screwdrivers tossed all around as if someone had started a project and long since abandoned it. A carport attached to the side of the small building had a run down shabby looking boat sitting beneath it. Spider webs covered the front porch and the wood looked moldy with a strong musty scent to it. I wondered idly if my sense of smell had increased to make up for my lack of hearing. I knocked hard on the door unsure of how loud the sound was. After a while with no answer I knocked again harder. I finally decided to turn the knob and to my surprise it opened. I stepped inside the small dwelling and the smell hit me hard. The whole place was a filthy mess. Bowls and plates left out on the kitchen table. A pitcher of milk sitting out, rotting, and no doubt contributing to the awful smell that was attacking my nostrils. Piles of newspapers stacked up all over the living room. On the sofa was piles of old clothes; jeans, pants, button down shirts, socks and underclothes. All over the counter dishes sat out with meals half finished and flies flew around mercilessly scrounging down every last bite. I was careful as I stepped over each piece of garbage that cluttered the floor before I came up to what looked like a bedroom door. I knocked. Knocked again harder, but nothing. I turned the knob and pushed the door open to find a man sleeping on his bed with no blanket. Completely nude. From the foul smell I begin to worry that this man could be dead. I walk up slowly to him, again careful not to trip on any of the garbage that littered the floor. I tapped on his shoulder. Nothing. His chest rose and fell so I figured he was alive but I couldn't shake off my concern. I grabbed his shoulders and shook him hard and he awoke with a fright. I heard a faint scream and he jumped out of bed and fell to the floor quickly rising back up and looking fiercely angry. He shouted at me but I couldn't make out what he was saying at all. I tried to motion to my ears to sign that I couldn't hear but he wasn't paying any attention. He backed me out of the bedroom door into the living room and out the front door and he slammed the door in my face. Back on the porch my heart beat fast in my chest. How was I going to explain to him my situation when I couldn't hear anything he was saying? I had to think fast. In my jacket pocket I pulled out a small pocket notebook and pen, another prize from Van Whittle's desk drawer, and began scribbling fervently.