Pandemic

Chapter 1 - Adventure time

Within hours the power will be gone.

The darkness will swallow the last pieces of sanity left.

Within hours panic will break free in all its pride and glamour.

You're Aria. You're seventeen, eighteen next Monday. You have a little sister and a baby brother. Your mom is gone. Blood. Your mom killed your dad. Blood. You don't know what happened, but they are both gone. All your siblings have left is you. And you are losing your mind.

Someone drags her up from the bathtub, shaking her violently whilst commanding her not to leave this world. But she doesn't want to stay in a world that is falling apart. It's already settled. People die. She has read the books and seen the shows. When the power goes out everywhere, it's over. There will be nothing left, but a collapsed nation and community.

'I found one! She's alive,' a male voice says and keeps shaking her. Doesn't he realize that the last thing she wants is to be shaken like a rag doll? 'What's your name? Are you there?' The voice keeps asking questions. She can barely see him.

'Aria,' she mumbles and tries to get out of his arms. She now sees that he's a boy and not a man. The thing that made her think of him as an older guy is his deep voice. In reality he looks like a twelve year old. She hates him and his contrasts already.

'Don't touch her! We don't know how this sickness transfers!' A girl this time.

'I didn't hear you complain when I touched you. She's no different,' the guy says and lifts her out of the bathtub. He is strangely strong to look so young.

Aria reaches for a towel. Her make-up is a mess. She has been in the tub for three days straight. Waiting to die. Hoping to die.

'Leave my home,' she spits and meets the eye of the boy.

'No. We are searching for survivors who can help us out. Nearly everyone has died out there. It's sick. The town is going dark in like three hours, and teens are raiding stores, and we need many people to get past them... There's a lot of jerk faces out there.' The guy doesn't even give the girl a side-glance when she taps his shoulder. He keeps digging his eyes into Aria. 'I'm Matt, by the way. Short for Matthew.'

'Look, I don't care. Everyone could be dead out there, and I wouldn't give a crap. This world is going down harder than Titanic,' she whispers fiercely and shoves Matt in the chest. Her voice is hoarse due to her not saying anything for days. The last time she remembers speaking was when she told her sister to go away. He backs up a few steps even though she isn't nearly strong enoguh to really push him.

'Come on, Matt. We don't have time for this... Please?' The girl looks pleadingly up at her friend, but he doesn't seem to care the least. She touches his shoulder again and Aria sees something awaken in her eyes.

'No, Claire. She's the first sane one.'

Wow. Aria blinks a couple of times, trying to let it sink in. How bad it must be out there when she is calculated as the sane one.

'So, what if I agreed to come with you,' Aria starts. She takes a deep breath and feels the pressure of two human's attention at her. 'Would it make any difference? Do you have any plan? Any suggestions to what is going on and why people keep dying?'

They both stand there in silence for a couple of seconds before Claire opens her mouth, proceeding to close it again.

'Yes, yes and no,' she replies. Then looks over at Matt. 'Right?' Aria feels sick on how much this Claire seems to depend on her friend. Nauseous.

'We need people. Fast. The biggest groups are already robbing food and supplies, hurting and threatening each and everyone who tries to take anything.' Matt takes a step away from Claire.

'Get out of my house. Right now,' Aria says coolly. She hopes to sound dangerous, but she doesn't look like the common threat. 'I have no reason to trust you, and you don't have a plan.'

'The plan is survival,' they both say at the same time. It's clear they have some kind of connection beneath what Aria can see.

If she went outside, there would be no guarantee she would survive. In the end, everyone will die anyway, and staying inside her parents' apartment won't keep her alive. The risk of going outside could either be bigger than the reward, or not.

'If I'm going outside ever again, it won't be with you two nuts,' she laughs and walks out of the bathroom with an attitude her mother would have slapped her for. Her parents and siblings sneak into her thoughts again. Mom is dead, and so is dad, she heard and saw it. There was no way to save either of them.

'Please,' Matt goes after her and places a steady hand on her shoulder. 'Just come outside and see. Maybe you'll change your mind?'

'Don't bother, Matt. She's playing hard to get, but she doesn't realize that she is hard to want.' Claire heads for the door.

'Who lit the fuse of your tampon? At least I have realized that I won't survive out there just because I've watched a couple of apocalyptic TV shows,' Aria snaps right back. Claire stops and turns around, with one raised eyebrow and parts her lips.

'Girls, stop bitching and focus on the real problem!' Both of them stop. Aria's fists are clenched and all she wants to do is go give Claire a real good slap across the face. No, she has to keep her cool. These people might be her only chance to get into a group, if only for a couple of days. She isn't exactly known for being an easy person to work with.

'Fine. I'll come with you,' Aria says quickly before she can regret it.

'Sweet! Pack what you need, we leave in five,' Matt says and dismisses both girls with a simple hand gesture. He walks off and starts looking through cabinets and shelves. Aria thinks about stopping him when he puts her dad's collector knives in his big bag, but she decides not to. Her dad is gone. Leaving good knives behind would be a total waste anyway.

The lights start blinking and for about ten seconds the whole apartment is in darkness. Aria feels a little lightheaded, but she supresses the need to sit down. There isn't time. Soon the power will be gone, forcing everyone to wear at fleece and at least three coats. The world must do more than go down before Aria wears fleece.

She has no idea where her brother has gone, or if her sister is still alive, but she doesn't care. This world is going to hell, and she would rather have them in a grave than as witnesses.

'Ready to go?' Claire asks and nods towards her bag. 'Is that everything you're bringing?'

'It's not like we're going to live for so long,' Aria shrugs and scans her backpack. It simply contains the most necessary things for survival. Food, sleeping bag, water bottles, clothes, and underneath everything, deeply hidden, a panda teddy bear. For comfort.

'Not with that attitude,' Claire mumbles.

'Come on, let's go on an adventure,' Matt smiles, grabs Aria's hand, and drags her out of her home.

Dedicated to Hilde Christina, because without her I would never have dared to post anything online. Without knowing it, she has saved my seconds, days, months, years and life. Thank you!