The Virus (Draft)[]
It all started with Avery coughing in class. The rest of us thought nothing of it. One measly cough is a normal thing to occur, and for all we knew she had choked on her own saliva or had a tickle in her throat.
Avery coughed again. Yet again, We ignored it. But suddenly, she started to continually hack, over and over again, and with more force with each wheeze. We turned around to look at her, worried. She then screamed, and dropped to the floor. Copious amounts of blood came out of her mouth. The class screamed, as the teacher rushed over to check her pulse. My best friend and roommate, Sara, and I called 9-1-1. Soon, we heard the sound of sirens, and the ambulance workers came in with a stretcher. The police also came, and asked some questions.
We each told our part of the horrid events, recalling each and every terrible moment of that tragic day. We watch as Avery is carted off the stretcher, her once healthy skin now pale, gray and sunken. I look away, and cry on Sara’s shoulder.
The teacher, sweating, and distraught cleared her throat, and dismissed the class. Thank goodness it was the end of the day, the last class. College was hard enough, and I don’t know what I would’ve done if it was in the morning.
Sara and I trudge down the hallways, to our dorm room we shared. It was in silence, not a word was spoken. I think it was better that way, to be honest. Suddenly, Sara’s phone dinged, and she looked at it, and her face dropped.
“What?” I ask, worried.
“Avery’s dead.”
. . .
I have officially pulled an all-nighter. I couldn’t help it. My mind just kept wondering about Avery, now dead, and the blood pooling out of her mouth, in a crimson puddle next to her, as she lay. And the way her skin looked-… I shook my head rapidly to maybe get rid of the “Avery” fiasco. I looked at the time. 6 in the morning.
I sigh, and get up from my bed. I grab the remote, and turn on the TV. The morning news was on. I decided I could see the current events, I haven’t in a while.
“Breaking news! A new virus is plaguing the world by storm. So far in America, there have been 103 cases, and 100 have died over the range of 24 hours. Symptoms include having a cough, followed by screaming, then immediately passing out, with then large amounts of blood emerging from the mouth. Skin afterwards usually is sunken, and gray. Infected usually die 10 minutes after first cough. The CDC recommends wearing masks, avoiding crowds, staying at home-…”
I shut the TV. I couldn’t handle seeing anything more. I didn’t even notice Sara, who had woken up, and who had seen enough to know what’s going on.
“What… what do we do..?” Sara stammered out.
“We… we have no choice but to go. We have to be careful, I… I think I have some masks in the bathroom drawer.” I mumbled in a quick, panicked pace. I mentally thank my mother for giving me some masks, "just in case", as she had said. My mother was a famous doctor, and was very specific and strict when it came to good hygiene, being up-to-date with vaccines, and the sort. So it was only natural that she would make sure I have masks at hand.
Sara comes back with two masks, and we both put them on. Grabbing our stuff, we open the door. Immediately, chaos was invoked. Sirens were blaring non-stop. People randomly would scream that god-awful scream, followed always with passing out and the blood leaking out of their mouths. People were dropping down left and right.
A few minutes later an announcement on the loud-speaker was heard. We all had to go to our dorms, and quarantine. Sara and I started to pack our bags. We then heard them a scream in the loud-speaker, followed by a thud. I wince, realizing what had happened. The secretary just got infected.
We had no choice but to go to our dorms, and Sara and I walked, once again, in silence.
. . .
It’s been 2 weeks since we have started quarantining. Most of the human population has died. Sara and I have been doing rash-ins with our food. Every so often, our food stash will be completely gone, and we would have to scavenge. That’s what we call food finding. Food has been hard to get, because the people who produce the food are most likely dead. So we have to go around every nook and cranny to try to find at least one can of beans, or one moldy loaf of bread. Yes, moldy. It's either moldy, or starving.
Clothes are hard to get to. Sara and I had to wear what we had till it was rags. Then, we had to try to find some more clothes. There were plenty of bodies out there (the clothes companies stopped manufacturing like the food companies, so there weren’t any clothes OR food), so we had to strip the dead of their clothing. It was pretty common to see a decaying body with dried blood pooling from their mouth, and no clothes. I sometimes smile, thinking about that old saying, "Rest in Peace". We really don't follow that saying anymore, now do we?
Nobody picked the dead anymore. If you were dead, you stayed where you died. Seeing decaying corpses was a normal thing to go by now. Everything was so apocalyptic, you just have to survive. That’s what you focused on. No dreams. No future. Just survival.
Sara and I reeked. We haven't had a proper shower in a long time. Our hair was filled with lice, and knots. We also don't have tiolet paper, so you could only imagine what we probably smell like. B.O., and shit.
Sara started grabbing a mask, and turned to me.
“I’m going to go out and scavenge. It’s my turn. Anything specific?” Sara asked.
“No, not really. Just the normal things. Food, fresh water, toilet paper, clothes. But specifically food.” I told her. She nods, and walks out.
I just stare out the window. Electricity doesn’t work, so we can’t be on our phones, or watch TV. Sara found some books and a deck of cards, and that was our entertainment. I usually do solitaire as a form of fun while Sara was gone. When we weren't scavenging, we played War, Poker, Rummy, and Crazy Eights. We get kinda competitive, and its kinda fun. It also made us forget that we were fighting for our lives, which was a plus.
An hour went by. Two. Three. I tap my foot, waiting. Four. Five. I started to get worried. Scavenges usually take up to 2 hours, at most. Five hours is… a little too long for my liking. Finally, the door opens, and here comes Sara, with some clothes, and food. I stand up, and walk to her to help her.
“What took you so long?” I asked, worriedly.
“Uh… I wanted… uh… to have a larger amount of supplies! Yeah, y’know, so we don’t have to go out that much…” said Sara. I looked at what she had gotten. It was the normal amount of food, it wasn't doubled at all. On top of that, she was obviously nervous. If this stupid virus wasn’t here, I would’ve questioned her, as she is blatantly lying. But right now, I just don't have the grit and strength to fight with her.
She takes her mask off, and puts away the stuff from the latest Scavenge. Suddenly, she coughed. I freeze. My heart starts to beat out of my chest.
“Sara… did you just… cough?” I ask, cautiously.
“Uh! Um, it was.. I had a tickle in my throat. Yeah, a tickle! Heh…” She said, and you could see the sweat gleaming off her face. I slammed the can of beans that Sara had found, and she flinched.
“Are you sick?!” I yell, livid.
“Uh, n-no I’m not! Um, I-I’m fine I promise-” says Sara, before coughing again.
“YOU FUCKING LIAR! WHY?! Why…” I sob, as tears start to run down my face. “You can’t leave me, why, why did you get sick, please Sara, I have nobody-... how? Did you get it I mean.”
Sara looks at me, then looks down.
"Maybe I didn't feel like living anymore."
Sara started coughing again. Those wheezes became more rapid and violent. I wail, I can't lose her. She smiles through coughs, as she heaves, struggling for air.
“Thanks… for being there… for me….. I do-don’t know… what I'd do… without you…” She said, her volume becomes less and less, and her last words became just a whisper.
She screams. I became hysterical, sobbing violently, as I watched my best friend, my other half, my sister from another mister, fall to the floor. And like a bomb, there comes the blood. I run to her limp body, as I shriek from grief, and I hold her, begging her, please don't go… please don’t go. I bawl my eyes out, holding the now dead body of the only person I loved, the person who was there for me. I weep uncontrollably, and I feel my tears fall, down my cheek, to my neck, and sometimes on Sara’s face.
I cry myself to sleep, and I’ve never felt more pain than what I felt right now.
. . .
I am the only last living person on this earth. All the food is gone. I have resorted to cannibalism. Sara’s body is still in our dorm room. I can now see her skull, and maggots and other larvae have creeped in her insides. Her eyeballs have rotted out, and the smell is terrible, but I don't mind. I can't bring myself to eat her. Nor can I seem to bury her. I can’t live without her. So I’m over here, watching as Sara’s corpse rots away. I don’t care if it's just bones.
Sometimes I talk to Sara. Maybe that's another reason why I haven't eaten or buried her. I talk to her, and I know she won't answer back ever again, but there is just this sense of security to talking to the corpse. Maybe its because it makes me feel more sane than I am. I find talking to yourself is just to close to madness. Maybe it's of equal closeness to insanity, talking to dead bodies and talking to yourself, but I don't feel that there is any.
One thing is for certain, I can't get any answers to my questions. I have so many questions. How did the virus abrupt? How come we couldn't find a cure? Was there no cure? How did Sara get the virus? Did God not care for us anymore so he got rid of us? I have no idea. Never will. Maybe when I die, I can ask in heaven, if I do go to heaven, my questions. I wonder if there is a heaven. I wonder if there is a afterlife. Will I be able to see Sara when I do die?
It feels so lonely. The winter is so brutal without heat. The cold air and the emptiness of this earth is just so depressing. I shiver. I want my mom. I want Sara. I close my eyes, as a tear runs down my face. At least I know I will be with them soon. I smile at that thought.
I cough.
Buddy You Aint Got That Style (talk) 23:14, 13 October 2023 (UTC)Buddy You Aint Got Style
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