The Virus

Chapter 1

I turned the key in the old rusty lock for the millionth time that week. I was thankful that it still opened, seeing as the snow could make it freeze shut. My fingers were frozen and I could barely get my hand to turn the key completely, so when I finally did and heard the satisfying click, I let out a breath of relief.

The door opened with a loud creaking noise, making me wince and hoping that nobody heard it. I stepped inside but the temperature of the closed store did not make a difference. My breath still made small clouds in the sky and my toes were still curled from the cold.

I quickly walked to the register where I turned on the light and looked for something to eat. I knew there probably wasn't much but I remembered hiding some food in the second drawer the day before.

I prayed that no one had come in and stolen the food, yet I knew deep inside I wanted to know if there were others. I hadn't seen anyone in months, at least no one that was still alive.

An old muesli bar lay exactly where I had left it. I opened it quickly and ate it as fast as I could, trying to silence the growling in my stomach. The food was almost gone and it scared me. I would have to move towns and find a new place to stay, where there was warmth and food.

In the back of the store was a small heater, old as can be but it still worked. Shuffling around the store, I slowly made my way over to the one place I knew warmth would be.

I slowly turned the knob on top of the heater and felt it warm up, up until the point where I could feel my fingers and toes again.

I stayed there, my jacket wrapped around me as tightly as it possibly could, and my head on the floor that had partially warmed up due to the heater.

I closed my eyes and then remembered I hadn't locked the front door so carefully, I stood up and walked back to the creaky old door. But I stopped in my tracks when I noticed something odd. The light at the register was off. I knew I had changed the batteries not long ago so naturally my heart started pounding in my chest. I tried to calm myself by thinking that the batteries were old and could possibly be dead, I went over to the register to try and turn the light on again.

And it went on.

The flip of the switch had been turned. There was no one but me inside that I knew off, but I felt like someone was watching me.

I was absolutely terrified. I tiptoed around the store, making sure not to step on the wooden planks that I knew made sound. When I came closer to the front door, I instantly felt cold. My head popped up and looked at the front door that I had closed, yet hadn't locked. The door now was wide open, letting in the freezing cold air that made my body shake with goosebumps.

I swallowed thickly and walked over to the door. I tried to spot anyone outside but couldn't see much due to the darkness that lured there.

My hand touched the cold doorknob and closed it silently, afraid of whoever opened the door.

It couldn't have been the wind. No wind made a door open that easily and quietly, nor turn off a lightswitch. And even if the wind could do that, why not knock over some stuff inside the store too?

Thankfully, the door closed without making any more sounds and I locked it twice, just to make sure it really was locked. No sounds came from inside the store so I figured whoever came in left already. My footsteps quickened as I walked over to the register. What if they took something important?

I opened all the drawers and tears flooded my vision when I noticed all the food was gone.

I had nothing left.

I would have to leave before sunrise if I wanted to go to the nearest town and I would have to find a new place to sleep.

But what if whoever was came inside the store was still here?

It wasn't much warmer inside due to the lack of heat that had been this way for some time. But it was warmer in one place. I walked back on my toes towards the warmth, feeling by body shudder with adrenaline and goosebumps. But a breath of relief left my lungs as I saw no one near the heater. My stuff lay there the way I had left it and heater hadn't been turned off or anything.

My heartbeat slowed down within a couple of minutes and I put my hand on top of my hair, scratching my scalp. I closed my eyes for a mere second yet opened them quickly when I felt warmth radiating through the air. A gasp left my mouth when I saw a blur of a person in front of me. I couldn't scream. My tongue was tied and my body frozen. Just as I saw the blur, whoever was there ran past me with incredible speed, knocking me down the floor as he or she did so.

My body hit the ground with a loud thux and my shoulder flared with pain. Loud sounds were coming from the rest of the store, as if someone was tearing it all down. I got up quickly, flung my stuff over my good shoulder and let out a cry when I bumped into something.

My feet carried me to the front door and I got out as quickly as I could, carrying the key with me as I left de door open. I ran out of the street, making sure not to walk in the middle of the street but rather close to the sidewalk. I prayed to God that no one would hear or see me, because I was in no state to fight and running wasn't something I'd ever been good at.

I could feel my heartbeat in my shoulder by the time I had slowed down to a jog and later to a slower pace. My shoulder burned and ached like crazy, but I could move it a little bit, indicating it hadn't popped out. It was pitchblack outside now, and guessing by how high the moon stood in the sky, it was close to 2 am.

My stomach rumbled and I shushed it quietly, knowing it wouldn't make a change anyway. I had a small backpack with me that I usually left in the store. I was incredibly happy I hadn't hidden it or I wouldn't have been able to grab it as I left the store in a hurry. Inside of it was a lighter, an empty bottle of water and a teddybear.

I'd carried the teddybear with me everywhere since I was about eight years old, and now, almost ten years later, I couldn't leave him. My teddybear gave me a sense of comfort and strength. He made me feel like I wasn't alone.

I slowly stumbled through the streets I had memorized perfectly. There wasn't a corner I didn't know. Which was a good thing, yet incredibly unfortunate.

The good thing was that whatever would happen, I would always know where to run. But, on the other hand, I also knew there wasn't a single place in this city with either electricity, food or water. I was terrified to go back to the store, and I knew I couldn't after all my leftover food had been stolen.

I was never much of a fighter; always more of a runner. I don't know why. Maybe it had to do with the fact that I had always been alone, and scared of the unknown. But who was to say what I was scared of. I didn't even know.

A soft gush of wind blew my hair out of my face, and send a shiver down my spine. The wind had gone away for the most part, but was still freezing cold whenever it even touched you as gently as it could.

I checked behind me as I walked through every street.

My footsteps were muffled by the soft thick snow that lay around everywhere. Soon, I finally reached a large board, with had HAMPDEN written on it in large letters and a red stripe across it. I was about to leave the only toen I'd ever been, and who knew what was happening in other cities or who was there.

I took a large step on the deserted road that led me away from my hometown. Off into the unknown. Off to a new adventure.