She’d seen no police to stop them. Then the dogs came, fighting and dragging the bodies, it was all so obscene to her. Her brain began to shut it out, and she stopped going to the window. The stench in the building began to move its way into her apartment, like a deadly and invisible fog. She could hear thousands of flies, their buzzing unrelenting. She’d tried to put cotton in her ears, but she could still hear it, just outside her door and outside her windows.
She sipped at the Pedialyte. It was helping, she could tell. Flynn had made chicken soup from a can and she’d nibbled at crackers. Her stomach was beginning to accept the food. She’d vomited her earlier meal, cramping. After drinking the Pedialyte, it helped and she kept the soup down. She felt stuffed, for the first time in weeks. She’d lost track of time. It all seemed like a distant nightmare now, the death count on TV, the videos of pyres, built from the dead stacked up high, as other countries tried to get a handle on the growing number of dead. When the banners came up and the people stopped talking, she knew it was the beginning of the end.
She’d tried to call her family, but no one answered. She tried to call her friends, no one answered. Then the phone service went out, then the power went out. Then her food ran out, then her water. She’d managed to get water from the rain, but it had let flies into her home. She’d spent hours chasing them and killing them, the sound of the buzzing driving her crazy.
“You okay, Xandra?” Flynn asked softly, raising up on his elbow to look at her in the semi-darkness.
Xandra let out a long breath, she’d been nearly hyperventilating.
“Yeah, I was just thinking about being trapped in my apartment. It was a nightmare, a horrible nightmare.”
“You’re safe now. I’ll do everything I can to keep you that way.” He said and gathered her in his arms. She laid her head on his shoulder and looked out into the night sky. It felt weird to be in someone else’s home, while they lay rotting in their beds, but this was a new and different world. Nothing in her life had prepared her for this. Nothing. Even the movies she’d watched, were nothing like this reality. She shuddered and felt Flynn hold her tighter. He was a good man. She’d been on the fence about dating him after the first couple of dates. He seemed slightly immature, though they were the same age. He’d been sweet and seemed to like her.
When he’d come to her, she’d been so grateful, she’d have sold her soul to him. He’d been a valiant, stand-up guy and had not taken advantage of it. He’d helped her and took care of her and guarded her when she couldn’t do it herself. He’d didn’t have to come back for her, after all, they’d not known each other well. But he had, and she was grateful and it would seem that they’d both grown up.
“Did either of the trucks work?” She asked after a long moment of silence.
“Yeah, they both did. The one truck had well over half a tank. I also found two gas cans in the garage. A five gallon one and a two gallon one. Both full, so we can take those with us. Tomorrow, I’ll repack the truck and also take some of the stuff from here. Pillows, blankets, towels and so on. Also, a couple of pots and pans, along with cooking stuff. That way, we don’t have to eat our stuff cold. These people had a couple of cases of water in the garage as well.”
“It’s sad, but I’m glad we stopped here. It is amazing how much better you feel when you’re clean.” She sighed.
“Hell yeah. Christ, it was as though I had a coating of grease and dirt on me.”
“I hope we can find a place to stay. I hope we can learn out to survive. I don’t want to feel that helpless again.” She said and wiped at a tear, sliding down the side of her face.
“Me too Xandra, me too. I promise, I’ll do my best to make sure we do survive. No matter what.”
Ӝ
Casper walked back and forth in front Franklin Institute Science Museum. He could hear wolves howling, he’d seen them over in Logan Square. Flynn hadn’t come back and it was nearing midnight. He walked angrily back and forth, the brothers in the shadows, watching him. They were his ever-faithful companions. Unlike Flynn, who’d been his best friend in the before, it seemed was no longer. The bastard had abandoned him, and left the city. He’d thought that Flynn had given that up, he’d been wrong. He wanted to kill him now. Tear him apart for the betrayal, but Casper had no idea where the man had gone. It was a wide-open world out there.
He’d not waste his energies in looking for the little coward. He had to stay here, in the center of his universe, else it would spin out of control. If he ever saw Flynn again, he’d kill the man. He turned and went inside; he could waste no more energy on Flynn. The brothers followed behind as the wolves lamented the night.
Ӝ
BJ held the plywood in place while Brian screwed the galvanized screw in. Brian had let his batteries charge in BJ’s trailer. They had plenty of juice, for now. The storage shed was nearly complete. He and Brian had also picked
