Apartment 905

by Sahin, Ned

  Kathleen.

  She is tied up and blindfolded. Accompanied by a Savior next to her.

  This is all my fault.

  I try to get back to my mission. It’s not the time to let emotions control me. I should continue executing my escape plan.

  I realize the rope is about one floor short. I must have miscalculated the height of the lobby floor. The ceiling of the ground floor is higher than the resident levels.

  I have to loosen the rope and let gravity do the rest of the work. I throw the backpack carefully to make sure it lands on the dog park.

  It doesn’t make a sound as I anticipated. I hope I will be as lucky as my backpack and land on soft ground. Three, two, one...

  This hurts. My left ankle strains, but it’s nothing I can’t deal with. I can still make it to the cabin in three days. It will be just a more painful walk than what I planned.

  Despite the pain in my ankle, it feels good to be outside of the building. I check my mask to make sure it is still tightened after the jump. The last thing I want is to die from the virus in the first few minutes of my grand escape.

  I walk to the corner of the building quietly and check out the west side. This side opens to a smaller street. There is less chance of coming across a Savior this way.

  After making sure no one is around, I run as fast as my left foot allows me. I reach the alley entrance behind the nearest condo. I look over my shoulder to see if anybody is watching me. It’s all clear. I am safe.

  “Going somewhere?” says one of the guys holding a gun pointing to me. They are a few yards into the alley. I recognize the Saviors badge on their jackets. The two men left with the truck must have radioed to request a new patrol in this area.

  My initial shock fades away after a few seconds, but I still don’t know what to say.

  There are about twenty feet between us. They are within range of the bear repellent spray in my right pocket. I consider using it, but I quickly abandon the idea of spraying them. Even if I pull it and point toward them fast enough, at least one of them would fire their gun. I buy some time to come up with a better idea.

  “I am just going on my way,” I say.

  “Drop your bag on the ground and step back!” he yells. This is a good sign. They just want the bag. I am willing to exchange the bag for my life.

  I wish Leyton were here and appear from the other end of the alley to save the day.

  I drop my backpack and step back while raising my hands in the air. He blinks toward the junior-looking guy to pick up the bag.

  This is my last chance to attack. The other guy is only a few steps away from me. I can disable him with the spray in a split second.

  I remember the fight-or-flight principle I had once heard in the company security training. I don’t choose the “fight” option in this situation. I am outnumbered.

  I let him pick up the bag and walk back to his friend.

  “If I see you again around here, you won’t be this lucky that time,” says the senior Savior.

  I am not sure why, but I feel like I am in a position to make a request.

  “Can I at least get my laptop from the bag?” I ask.

  I have no idea why I asked for it. Having a laptop near me in my entire childhood and IT career, my subconscious must have felt insecure without it.

  They pause for a second and glance at each other.

  “Your what?” says the senior one.

  “My laptop. Can you please leave it?” I ask.

  They pause again. Then they burst into laughter. Too loud that other Saviors around could hear.

  “He wants his laptop,” says the senior one, looking at his friend.

  He must have seen the desperate look on my face. He gives a curt nod to the junior, gesturing permission to take the laptop out of the bag.

  The junior pulls the laptop up and brings it to me while still scoffing and enjoying my desperation.

  This is the chance I missed twice. I can pull out my spray now and use his body as a cover before the senior Savior points his gun back to me.

  I choose the “flight” option again. I don’t know how much they are trained and how far they can go.

  I take my laptop and turn back, hearing them walking away with joy.

  It is going to be a long walk to the cabin. I am glad that I put two energy bars in my jacket for easy access. My phone is also with me. I charged it with my portable solar panel at home. It should have enough battery to show me directions to the cabin on the offline map, as long as I don’t forget to turn it off after checking the map each time.

  Chapter 3

  I am surprised about finding a gas station on this country road.

  After walking all day yesterday, I am finally away from the highway and big towns.

  I am also surprised that the gas station store still has something to eat even though the only things left are chips. They are not in my favorite flavor but being picky about food is not an option in this post-apocalyptic world.

  The beverage refrigerators are all empty, but I find an open juice bottle behind the counter. The cashier probably didn’t have enough time to finish it when the rioters broke in. I grab it hoping that the virus on the bottle already died if there was any.

  I have two more days to go. I need to find more food and drinks if I don’t want to make another stop. It would be great to find some kind of blanket as well. The last night in the neighborhood park had been chilly.

  Nice. I see cigarette cartons on the floor behind the hot dog stand. Just what I need right now! I don’t even smoke, but I put them inside a plastic bag anyway. Leyton will be happy to see them. We can also use them for bartering with other survivors. I wish there were hot dogs instead of cigarettes, though.

  As I scan the back of the store, I hear a vehicle stopping in front of the door. I crouch behind a shelf.

  “Go check inside while I fill the tank,” a man with an accent says. From his voice, I imagine him in his 50s.

  “Okay,” a woman responds. I sneak a peek through the bottom corner of the aisle, and I see two women approaching the front door. Their red SUV is behind. I can’t see the man anywhere.

  The women look like a mother and daughter.

  I scan through the store to see if there is a back exit. There might be one, but I don’t have time to wander around to find the door. I decide to stay behind the aisle and hope they don’t walk to the back of the store.

  “I will check the drinks section, Mom,” the younger woman says who is possibly in her early 20s.

  Her mom walks toward the counter. Both are away from where I am. My hiding spot seems to be safe for now.

  I keep an eye on the mom since she is closer to me. The daughter will probably spend some time checking each fridge.

  The mom looks through the cigarette cabinet. I am not sure if it’s good to have three cartons of cigarettes in my plastic bag. This is probably what she is looking for right now. She seems disappointed already. Her hands are empty. She walks back toward the front door.

  I breathe out. They will leave me alone.

  “Show me your hands!”

  I freeze. I can’t believe that I got caught two days in a row.

  The younger woman is steadily holding her gun pointed right at my head a few feet away from me.

  I stand up and raise my arms in the air with my right hand holding the bag that was stuffed with the laptop, chips, a juice bottle, and cigarette cartons.

  “I… I’ve been just looking for some food... I wasn’t planning to hurt you,” I say.

  The mother runs to where we are. “Miguel! There is somebody here!” she yells toward the front door. It looks like I will meet the man too. He is probably the husband.

  He enters the place with an M16. This is the assault rifle I see often in the movies.

  “Who are you?” he asks while pointing his rifle to me.

  “I am Matt... Just on my way to the mountain. Pleas
e let me go, and you won’t see me again.” I hope he doesn’t take my bag.

  He pauses for a few seconds. It seems like he is checking his options.

  “I am on foot and you have a car,” I continue to say. “We probably won’t come across each other ever again. Just let me go... I am not with the gang or anyone else.”

  He looks at the corridor behind me. “Go to the restroom and stay there until we leave,” he demands.

  I am lucky, I guess. He doesn’t seem to care what I have in my pockets or my bag. They are just a family trying to stay away from danger and get to wherever they are headed to.

  I slowly step backward while my body is still facing him. I glance at the daughter and mom to make sure they agree with his decision. I see a little kid with wondering eyes in the back seat of the SUV.

  Acquiescing to his request, I enter the restroom, which is beyond filthy with human urine and feces spread all over the floor. The closet pipe must have pushed back after the city pumps lost electricity. It’s hard to bear the smell. I hope they get in their car and leave as soon as possible.

  Shortly after, I hear the car doors slam. The SUV’s engine roars as the driver hits the pedal to the floor. They must be in a hurry to get to their destination.

  Maybe they are running away from something.

  Chapter 4

  It’s around noon. I am dehydrated after walking all morning. The juice I found at the gas station yesterday is already gone.

  I spent the night in the woods and drank water from one of the creeks nearby. I know that it’s not the best idea to drink unpurified water, but desperate situations require desperate actions.

  Knowing that I am very close to the cabin keeps me motivated. Our safe location with a stockpile of food and water is less than a mile away now.

  There are no cars and people around here. Even the road ends way before approaching the cabin. There are only trees, creeks, bushes, birds, and everything else that I am too exhausted to pay attention to.

  While walking, I dream about cooking rice and canned beans at the cabin. Among grains, veggies, and dried fruits, we also have a lot of comfort food, such as chocolate and candies buried near the cabin.

  I turn on my phone one more time and check the map. The cabin should be around here. I can’t wait to see Leyton’s familiar face. The last three days have been tough.

  I hear someone chopping woods. This must be him. He must be cutting wood to fuel the cooking fire.

  I walk toward the sound and see him.

  He is facing the cabin. His hunting rifle is on the ground right next to him. He must have gone hunting for rabbits in the morning, and now he is getting ready to cook it in the cabin’s wood-burning oven.

  I stop a few yards away from him. He still faces the opposite side.

  “What’s up, bro!” I call out with a wide smile.

  As soon as he hears me, he reaches to his rifle and turns back. He pauses for a second.

  “Go away!” he says with a threatening voice. It looks like he didn’t recognize me. I should have uploaded some recent photos to my social media account.

  “It’s me, Matt!” I say.

  “I know who you are. Get out of here and don’t come back!” he says.

  I have no idea what’s going on. This wasn’t the plan.

  “What are you talking about! We made a plan to stay here together!”

  “Plans changed. You are not allowed here,” he says while slightly raising his rifle. He is not joking.

  The cabin’s door is open. I see a young girl standing at the door and looking at us with scared eyes and bruises on her cheeks.

  “Who is she? What the heck is going on here! This is not what we agreed on. I found this fricking cabin! I stocked half of the food... You can’t just steal my plan and my stuff!”

  “I can and I am. I won’t say it again. Go away!” he says. He points his rifle at me.

  Thinking about his past of dealing with murderers and smugglers throughout his prison job, I don’t have doubts about him using the rifle. And without a gun, I don’t have an option to fight him and get what is mine.

  I think about using my bear repellent spray, but he is not in the range. It would be a risky game trying to get closer to him and make a move.

  Before things went south, I had read about the “Lucifer Effect.” It was shocking and disturbing to see how quickly ordinary people become evil when the circumstances change and social order breaks.

  I forget about my hopeless situation for a second and feel bad for the girl inside the cabin. Who knows what she went through and what he has been doing to her. Leyton is not the person I thought he was.

  I should think fast and find a way to make a deal with him.

  “Okay, I will leave... At least give me some of my food stock! I will give you these cigarette cartons,” I say, taking the cartons out of my plastic bag.

  He looks at the cartons briefly. Then he rolls his eyes down to the bag.

  “Why the heck do you have a laptop?” he asks.

  That’s a question I ask myself, but I can turn this curiosity to opportunity. I can use the laptop as leverage.

  “It will come in handy very soon.” I hope he doesn’t see my bluff. Since he is not very good with computers, I know he has no idea how a laptop could be a valuable asset. He might rethink having the cabin all to himself.

  “Why don’t you just leave the cigarettes and disappear now?” he says.

  Lucifer Effect. He is not really a human anymore. I don’t think there is a way of agreeing with him. At least not at this moment. I look at this pitiful human one more time.

  “Okay… Just take it easy,” I say while slowly stepping back. It’s time to retreat. He will pay for this one day.

  He watches me while I turn back and walk toward the jungle.

  At least I still have my phone. The battery is almost dead, but I should be able to turn it back on a few more times so I can check the location of the storage unit.

  My father is a cautious man. He raised us teaching the importance of backup plans. Backup tire in the car, backup battery at home, backup socks during trips, backup of everything.

  I am glad I rented a storage unit nearby to stock about three months of food and water. Leyton doesn’t know about it. I thought about this as plan B in case the cabin was occupied, and our stock was compromised. Apparently, they were.

  The storage unit is near a small town called Old Fort. It’s about a four-hour walking distance. I should be there before it gets dark.

  I hope nobody raided that storage building yet. Thinking about the loitering in the grocery stores, some desperate people probably broke into the rental storage buildings as well. The Saviors might be attempting it in even a more cruel and organized way. If they are, I hope they haven’t had a chance to visit this small town yet.

  Chapter 5

  It looks like a ghost town.

  I walk on the main street of Old Fort. There are only a few boutique shops and restaurants in the town. They either have a “Closed” sign on their doors, or the entire front window is broken in pieces. Several cars are left out randomly on the road. Both sidewalks and the road are covered with leaves, branches, and garbage.

  I have no intention of scavenging in this area. There is enough stockpile in my storage unit. I continue to walk on the sidewalk, making as little noise as possible. The storage building is next to the post office at the end of the street.

  I pass a deer who is wandering around a garbage container. She tilts her head up and stares at me. I am probably the first person she has seen in weeks.

  The storage building seems to be in one piece. There is no sign of a break-in.

  The two-story building has non-reflective transparent glass all around. All the unit doors inside look closed. This gives me relief. My stash should be safe.

  Even though the entire town seems to be abandoned, I approach the building with caution.

&nb
sp; I see a red light on the key panel of the front door. It looks like the building’s solar panels are still powering the security system. After what happened at the cabin, my day may not be too bad after all. If I manage to enter the building and open my storage unit’s door, I can stay here for a while in the safety of electronic doors.

  I enter the passcode. The red light turns green. It was easy. I pass through the lobby counter and go to the stairs on the opposite side of the building. I walk to my unit on the second floor. It’s one of the last units in the hallway.

  There is a red light on my unit’s key panel as well. I enter the passcode they created specifically for this unit. Nothing happens. I am pretty sure that I entered the correct digits. I try it again. The red light stays.

  One of the valuable lessons my IT career taught me is that never do a third attempt if a system is not accepting your password. This attempt may lock your account, which causes a whole new set of challenges.

  The system probably locked itself already after somebody forcefully tried opening units. Otherwise, my access code should have worked.

  The main computer downstairs should be able to overwrite the block and open the unit door. I hope the solar panels have enough energy to power the main computer as well.

  I use the same stairs to go back to the first floor. I look outside through the glass facade to make sure there is no one around.

  The computer’s monitor is powered on, displaying a background image on the lock screen. It’s a sunset view on an oceanfront hill with small village houses painted entirely in white. I wonder how the people in that village are doing now. I hope their community stuck together instead of turning to each other like they did here.

  I press a key on the keyboard, and as expected, it prompts me for a user password.

  From my previous visits, I know that this place had personnel working in two or three shifts. They probably have the password written somewhere for shift changes. I skim through the notepad next to the keyboard and the sticky notes at the bottom of the monitor. There is nothing that resembles a password.