The End (3 page)

Chapter 2: The Hunger

All the
running and hiding have made me sick I can’t go on like this, it’s
impossible, these things are driving me insane, I can’t even stop
for a break, as soon as I stop for too long everything goes to
hell. They are getting more and more by the day, while I am
suffering more each day that darn carnival we should have never
come here in the first place.

Hopefully, our next destination will be safer
than here it’s still a few miles but I can do this, we can do this
we can’t give up here there must be better ways and other
survivors. I miss home so much it’s hard to believe how much I’ve
changed. I changed for many reasons, though anyone can change at
any time that must be very clear to everyone by now. I will be
turning 24 in 15 days hopefully I will be home by that time.

Danny turns around, flat on his back he
covers himself with old flat boxes its rather soft due to overuse
at least it protects against the cold breeze, it’s not much, but it
will just have to do.

William Anderson one of the best real estate
agents in the country, a real professional in the field and really
knows all the hotspots in town and, of course, the areas that might
be the safest of them all, he has high hygiene standards and this
will probably have him freaking out by now that’s if he's still
alive, his not very fast or healthy after a few meters and you
really start to hear his breathing. That’s what smoking will do I
guess at least he doesn’t drink or do any of the epic things like
drugs. He has always been there whenever I needed him, it worries
me dearly every second and it will continue until we are reunited
again, yet I have a strong feeling that this journey will still be
long but until then I have hope.

Danny turns around trying to get some rest,
but the distant moans are extremely frustrating knowing that you
don’t have any protection especially in a small apartment like
this, with broken windows making the sounds even louder. It’s not
the best place to stay but making too much noise by breaking in,
will just lure my death closer and closer.

Screaming in the distance is getting louder
and louder, they are getting closer it’s too much they all will be
killed alongside with me, there is nowhere for me to go I need to
get out but they are everywhere in the street and going to the next
building, anything can happen it might be full of them. I might not
get in what can I do, mmm the only hope I might have is to get on
the roof and hope they pass it is my only hope.

Danny leans out by one of the side windows,
this gutter might be able to hold my weight I will just have to
climb it slowly and watch my step, Danny stands up and pushes his
body slowly through the window carefully not to get cut on the
broken glass, some noise is made when he reached the ground laid
out in paving stone, it’s too soft they won’t hear it unless they
were significantly closer. One step at a time, one step closer to
the gutter, Danny grabs firmly and starts to climb trying to focus
not to put too much pressure on it, reaching the roof he pulls
himself up crawling to the middle laying down so that no one sees
him, it sure is freaking cold up here he thought.

The night is still young, only 10:58 pm I
have to find him even if it cost my own life, after all, it’s my
fault his here in the first place just because I wanted to go to
the carnival that wasn’t even good or as big as a carnival should
be. It was no fun at all, I have no doubt that he is fine but the
faster I find him the better, I can only hope his doing all right
and read through the guide I gave him.

Florida is a pretty dangerous place
especially with the wildlife, I can’t think that we are that far
apart I should maybe try and backtrack to where all the screaming
came from. That could be very risky there must be a lot of them by
now and the screaming stopped, it can only mean two things they are
dead or hiding.

William quickly turns around and starts
walking back to where they split up in the first place 54thSt it’s
his only shot in finding Danny. William sticks to the left in
hoping he will manage without any confrontation from these things
roaming the street, reaching the end of 17thAvenue, William stares
surprisingly down the street as there is little to no activity.
They must have been lured away due to all the screaming at the same
time he notice a dim light in one of the houses with movements
behind the curtains it’s easy to see when its dark outside, William
wondered if he should approach the house or just avoid it, shaking
his head relentlessly.

I better check this out only Danny can make a
stupid mistake like this I will just have to be careful, I will
just have to move slowly and try to avoid the ones that are in the
streets they are far so it might not be a problem for me to
cross.

William bends down slightly it’s hard for a
man of this size to crouch and walk, he walks over slowly. The gate
is only closed with a piece of wire hooked around the palisade, he
approach the house trying to stare through the window to see if
it’s actually a person. He can hear two voices whispering and
that’s his queue to knock on the door, knocking on the door softly
William can only hope they open the door soon, they are approaching
slowly, stressing William opens the door busting it into an object
blocking the door one thing William can brag about is his strength.
Once inside everything was dead silent William close the door
softly and walks into the lounge where 3 candles sit on the coffee
table he knows he's not alone, walking over to the small table at
the far end of the lounge William put his hand against the cup of
tea that was still warm.

Who are you a person asked in the background
William gets a freight and turns around fast before he could open
the closet he was staring at, he sees this old lady with a steak
knife freezing for a split second he tries to explain to her, that
he is only looking for his friend, the old lady wants to know
nothing about it, William tries to describe Danny to her before he
feels a sharp pain behind his head.

It was fast he only felt seconds of pain
before everything went pitch black, “is he dead” the old lady asked
her daughter “no” she replies, he will wake up soon he is just
unconscious, the mother approach the body of William and grabs
industrial tape, that’s strong it should hold him down, its best we
don’t take any chances with this man he can be anything, we can get
more information later and then set him free. Emma starts to roll
the tape around his arms and she isn’t shy to use a lot, she then
does the same to his legs and finally one strip covering his
mouth.

We shouldn’t make so much noise we don’t want
your daughter to get up, we can’t afford to make noise this time of
night, Susan walks over to the door and makes sure its closed she
pushes the table up against it and the rest of the objects it’s not
that heavy, but it has kept three of them out before.

Damn it I am freezing out here its 3:46Am I
haven’t been able to get any sleep, it’s impossible in this cold
the screaming have stopped hours ago I need to do something, I can
only hope for the best, I need to go look for him, he can’t be far
from where we split up.

Danny crawls to the edge of the roof to
inspect the street, it’s clear and nothing can be seen, if I go
look for him now then there might be no return, all consideration
was taken I can leave now and he might arrive or we can pass each
other with as much as one street without me or him knowing of one
another’s where about or he is in trouble and if I go now I might
be able to save him, even worse he could be dead.

Danny crawls over to the gutter and slides
his legs down first his feet firmly pressing down he starts
climbing down slowly, reaching half way he thinks to himself if
it’s a good idea, he continues with his plan and climbs down, he
crouch down close to the fence and starts walking to the street,
double checking that the street is clear before he continues to run
down 49thSt until he reaches 27thAve before he can make the right
turn he pauses in shock and fear the hundreds of them roaming the
streets.

The airport is close by and so is Miami
Springs that must be it, the airport must be infested with them,
infested with all the people that tried to escape, I can try and
slip by to at least reach 95thSt it looks fine from where I am
standing but anything beyond that, they could be everywhere. I
can’t waste any time thinking about this if I can go down 95thSt I
can take 17thAve all the way to the street where we split up in the
start.

Danny crouches and moves fast between the
cars seeing that there is more on the corner where 17thAve meets
with 95thSt it will be impossible to give them the slip without it
going unnoticed. Danny sneaks to a house where the door is left
wide open even knowing that it could be dangerous it’s the best
option he has to avoid both groups.

Staring through the window for a few minutes,
Danny can see this will take some time, time he doesn’t have, after
closing the door he moves freely in the house looking through some
of the other windows in hopes there might be another way through
but there is some roaming at the neighbor’s and three more in the
garden, taking the chance is too risky, there is nothing to do but
wait.

It's 6 Am and those things just got more,
least there is a gas stove and a few packets of minute noodles,
still for some reason it feels like I am starving, it’s a pretty
irritating maybe it’s because it’s a cheaper brand of noodles mmm
it is noodles after all. I will just get food as soon as possible
or at least after I find William maybe then we can have a good meal
together, we’ll first have to find some that won’t be a problem
there is still a lot of resources here and there. This is
everything left that people couldn’t pack up or what thieves didn’t
steal before everything went really bad. Least it’s nice and warm
in here it's a very comforting heat its actually making me tired, I
could possibly sleep since it’s not getting better outside, yes
that sounds good since I can’t do anything else, it's horrifying
outside.

I will grab a blanket and sleep in one of the
rooms, will have to take some objects and cover the room door as
well or, at least, to some extent, don’t want to make too much
noise, don’t really know what grabs their attention the fastest,
though better safe than sorry.

It looks all good I used the headboard of the
bed it’s not heavy but with the bed against the door as well with
my weight, not like I can say anything, at least, its heavier and
will be harder to move, it’s so relaxing and warm, after some good
sleep maybe then I can make my move and continue the search for
William.

My head hurts even my neck I feel so drowsy
what happened, what’s this, why am i tied up, Emma responds in a
friendly calm manner but talks fast like she was in some stress,
morning, you will be ok and the pain will be gone in three or four
days give or take one. All this is a simple safety precaution,
besides you should know not to just bust into a strangers home like
you did, of course, there would be some type of consequence. You
should be more careful next time you never know what might be on
the other side of the next door you break open.

I didn’t break anything , the door wasn’t
even locked to begin with William replies softly, I am looking for
a close friend and I thought he could be in here beside you can see
movements from a distance why wouldn’t I look here.

Emma doesn't know what to say to that, it
doesn’t matter I would cut you down, but you give me no possible
reason to proof your case of innocence, you will have to give us
time, it's only normal for me to take high priority of safety we
are after all just women here myself my mother and my daughter so
you will just have to wait until we figure something out until then
try and get comfortable.

If you need something to drink just ask and I
will help you, William knows there is nothing he could say or do to
make her think otherwise, I will have to wait here maybe it won’t
go on much longer I can see it’s still early morning it’s still
pretty dark outside. When the sunrise at the brightest through that
window, I will try and convince her or them and if they still don’t
want to let me go then I will find a way even if it means by using
brute force, I need to find Danny.

What is this pain, it’s unbearable, I can’t
afford to get sick now not in a time like this where there is no
safety maybe it’s meant to be maybe it’s the end, after all, no it
can’t be I am overreacting here, there must be more to life than
this. Danny curls into a ball holding his stomach, sweating
furiously, moving around causing, even more pain, the pain it can’t
be hunger pains when I already had something to eat not even long
ago, it’s still dark outside, Danny calms himself.

Danny wipe the sweat from his face, breathing
fast and intensely it feels much better now though he still feels
hungry I must have caught a tummy bug, I can find painkillers and
medicine later today after I find William. I just know his alive, I
can’t be wrong, I have a very strong feeling about it and I need to
follow this feeling until proven otherwise.

Having the last packet of noodles dry, Danny
gets up and stares through the window in the lounge, the streets is
covered with these monstrosities the garden looks clear, I can move
from house to house still this doesn’t mean it’s safe there can
easily be more of them in the gardens, I will have to try and make
a plan once I do encounter any of them.

Digging in the cupboard for something warmer
he only finds a jersey its old and smells like moth poison a smell
Danny really hates, at least it will keep him warm. Opening the
front door quietly Danny leaves the house back into the dangerous
streets, hard to miss and first thing he realize besides from being
more of them, there are a few dead ones among them, I will stick to
my first plan and move from house to house, that way if I do get in
trouble I can always make my escape into these homes and block some
of the doors.