My first book. My first writers community |
It's 2020 and all I know is I'm laying in bed. Annoyed with the world beyond all belief. We've all been contained to our homes but are waiting for things to be worse. By worse we mean the law stepping in and things getting crazy and by we I mean all the other people who don't trust the government. As I lay in bed I realize it's really quiet. Like Sunday in a small town quiet. That's odd since I now live in the city again. I stop thinking and listen a few more seconds...not even one car has driven by. I bolt out of bed and look out the window. There's not a single person walking around. Curfew isn't until well after dark so there should still be a decent amount of people still having to gather food and get help. There isn't though. Did I miss something? If we were on total lockdown I would still hear my neighbor playing video games at an ungodly volume downstairs. I search for my phone and dial out to my boyfriend. Rings,rings,rings. Weird because he usually answers by the first. I decide to throw on a pair of editor style leggings and a black crop top, throw my hair up,grab sunglasses and shoes then proceed downstairs. I reach the bottom floor of the bilding and get a nasty dark feeling in my stomach and by the time I reach the door my body is trembling. I've always had the absolute best intuition. Not to be confused with the constant need to be right either. It's more like I've gotten myself into some situations knowing someone else was wrong when my intuition was right. Not me. I'm rarely right nor do I try to be. Just makes my world a whole lot easier. Just as the thoughts of it weave through my mind I open my complex door to see a car crashed into the pole just up the street heading south. I run over immediately while searching for others. I grab my phone out to dial 911. Once it's dialed it rings and rings without an answer so I switch it to speaker phone as I approach the vehicle. I peer through the window as nobody continues to pick up. At 911! Our emergency line! To my surprise there's nobody in the car. I look all around and see no sign of an injured person leaving. I hang up with the unanswered 911 call and keep heading up the street. I figure I'll walk up to the gas station at least before curfew while I'm out here and get a cold drink and possibly cigarettes. I've been trying to quit but today just doesn't seem right. As I walk I try to glance in windows as I pass for any sign of life but not in the creeper way. I'm just another paranoid citizen way Right? I make it to about a block away from the gas station and realize I still have not seen a single car pass. Not anywhere. I'm in the parking lot and see the normal cars for the Chinese Restaurant next door are all accounted for. I laugh out loud. Like "Omg J you really are a paranoid mess." You thought the world ended? Everyone left without you maybe? Ha! That's pure gold and not out of the norm for a girl with her head in the clouds a lot. I reach for the door handle and walk in as the door gives the usual beep and I look around. "David!" I yell. Nothing. I stand there no shit fifteen minutes before I decide to just leave. He must be in the bathroom. Who knows. I reach for my phone to call my sister. She'll get a good laugh out of this but as it rings and rings, I keep walking only to discover a whole line of wrecked cars. Not a cop car or ambulance in site. Not even a victim I'm seeing as I approach closer. "Okay" now i really know something's up. I start running towards Broadway in a panic. Everywhere I look is just empty. I finally reach Bradway and Alameda only to find it a total ghost town. Broadway is legit where everyone goes. Even during the curfew period we've had there's still been a small bit of people but there isn't anyone. Every restaurant window is still flashing open and there's still some cars parked in some places. It's starting to get grey and a little windy. I notice I'm thirsty and walk into the burrito place my boyfriend worked at before the virus. I get to the front of the building and reach for the door, it opens easily. It's dark inside so I start up the flashlight on my phone so I can get around. Suddenly there's a fairly large amount of light and I begin to search for a cup. After I find one behind the register I walk over to the soda machine and turn it on. No ice obviously but there's still lemonade pumping from a few months back and I must say it isn't bad compared to the cold water or tea I've been stuck drinking the last few months. While drinking the tart drink I start to wonder just how much food was left behind here and decide to grab a few bags and head back to the cooler. I keep my flashlight on to not draw too much attention. I opened the first big cooler. "Holy Fuck!" My god that has to be the absolute worst smell my nose has ever smelled in my entire life. It was a blend of rotting chicken and steak. The rest was old sour cream and dairy products. This is super shitty considering I've been surviving off beans and rice and packaged tuna for the last month of the virus lockdown. I close the heavy door as quietly as I can but it still makes a whoosh sound and some more of that terrible smell leaks through. One last time through these tiny hands anyways. I walk over to the small cooler and this time I shine my light onto the thermometer. It reads well below freezing. Twelve degrees to be exact. So I reach for the handle and pull. To my surprise most of the cooler had been gone through but there were still a few items and sections left. Almost like someone had organized it for their next trip specifically so I decided to hurry. I begin to feel a sense of urgency rush over me as I start grabbing a few pounds of frozen chicken and three steaks. It was almost some insane primal urge to get this meat because I could almost taste it as I bagged up the last bag I knew I'd be able to safely carry back to my apartment. I tie all the bags together then stepped out of the cooler back into the dark restaurant. All I can think of now is getting home and dethawing a fat ass steak. I look down to my shoes with my flashlight and make sure my shoes are tied. They are. I tug on my hoodie strings around my face and decide to head out the back way. I reach for the gate and open it then step down into the alley, |