What Remains (Book 3): Epidemic

by Barrett, Tyler

Evans found canned food that had been picked over, yet still a few remained. Finding food in stores was risky since everyone had panicked and tried to grab supplies as they escaped the city. People only grabbed what they could normally hold, leaving behind some but not much. Most stores they had looted, only finding enough food for them to last about three days, splitting the food into three meals a day.

  This store was no different, as most of the food had been picked over, but they grabbed everything that wasn’t nailed down. Evans looked around at the shelf behind her, seeing old, dried blood smeared all over the shelf, and the ground below it. Her stomach tightened, and she had the sense that something wasn’t right.

  “Hey-” Evans started, attempting to warn Meika.

  Her senses were right as a scream let loose from the other side of the shelf. Evans dropped her backpack on the ground. Running, she grabbed her pipe, drawing her knife once more. Sliding on the tile, she came around the corner, looking down the aisle, spotting Meika grappled by one of the creatures. Rushing to help her, she ran, using herself to push the infected off her friend.

  Evans was successful in splitting the pair, and each of them went flying backward, opposite of each other. The infected flew back into the shelves behind it, unable to correct its balance. Evans swung her pipe, aiming for the creature’s head, and felt the blow reverberate through the pipe. The sound was a sickening thud, as Evans’ blow crushed the infected person’s cheekbone.

  Evans let her pipe drop as she drove her knife toward the infected person’s spinal cord. The creature was stunned from the earlier blow, and it gave her the perfect window to end the infected person. Evans felt the blade pass into the flesh, and the twitch as the blade severed the one thing that gave the virus control over the host’s body.

  “Thank you!” Meika exclaimed.

  Evans pulled the blade out, wiping the blood and spinal fluid from the weapon on the infected person’s clothes, “I tried to warn you, but it was too late.”

  Meika breathed heavily, still in shock, “I wonder why it didn’t make any noise when we broke in…”

  Evans inspected the body, finding that its throat had been torn out, “It looks like its vocal cords were severed when the person was attacked.”

  “Just when you think those things couldn’t get any deadlier, you come across another one like this,” Meika said, pointing disgust.

  Evans felt the tension release throughout her body, “Well, by my count, that’s what? Four times now, I’ve saved your life?”

  Meika smiled, sighing, “You just love to remind me how helpful you are, don’t you? Besides, If I remember correctly, I also saved your life once.”

  Evans smiled back, “I think I’m still in the lead.”

  “Whatever, let’s just hurry up here. I’ve had my fill of the infected,” Meika said, grabbing her bag.

  Evans returned to her aisle, noticing when she had dropped her backpack, its contents had spilled out. Sighing, she got on her knees and began to grab all the canned items she had packed earlier.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  They made it back to Meika’s apartment just before sundown. Evans threw her backpack down as soon as they entered, moving toward Meika’s couch, which now served as Evans' bed. She flopped down on it, allowing herself to rest for a moment.

  “I’ll take inventory,” Meika said, emptying both of their bags onto the floor.

  Evans watched as she separated out the food, making two piles. After a few minutes, it wasn’t long until Meika was done, and their final haul was before them. Evans sat up, sighing.

  “That isn’t much. I was hoping for all that effort we went through there would be at least twice that,” Evans said upset.

  “Well, I have something that might make you feel like it was worth it,” Meika said with a mischievous smile.

  Evans raised her eyebrow, “What did you find?”

  Evans’ mind raced with ideas; a burger sounded good, pizza… she felt her mouth water at the thought. Knowing none of these were plausible, she could still dream.

  Meika pulled out a chocolate bar, carefully, as if it was made of gold, “I found this right before we left. I figured you could use a pick me up.”

  Evans’ eyes went wide, “You. You are the best, Meika!”

  “I know!” she said, unwrapping the chocolate bar, offering it to Evans.

  Evans grabbed it, breaking a piece off. It melted in her mouth, sweet and smooth, moaned as the flavor exploded her senses.

  Meika laughed, “I guess that means we are even now!”

  Evans smiled, “We already were. You’re my only friend.”

  Evans offered Meika the other half of the chocolate bar. Meika giggled, grabbing it with speed Evans didn’t know she had. Meika smiled while shoving the chocolate in her mouth. They both laughed together, enjoying each other's company and friendship.

  Chapter 27

  Amonth had passed since Evans and Meika had first met, and they were inseparable. Evans and Meika tried to find the joys in life, whether it be finding a stash of food, or a board game to play. Meika read books to Evans, translating them from her native language. However, they had cleared out a large portion of the city around her apartment. It was getting to the point where they were risking traveling at night in the dark to find supplies.

  Neither one of them wanted to be out at night, because it became increasingly harder to maneuver the streets without drawing attention to themselves. Evans looked at the map every time before leaving and when they returned. She kept it accurate, marking off the block they had searched. By her guess, they had maybe three more runs before they had to go so far; they couldn’t return in time before nightfall. This worried her, not only for her safety but for Meika's.

  Evans had trained Meika on how to better handle herself against the infected. The first thing she taught her was how to break a grapple if they had ahold of her. Meika had used this technique several times now, knowing she wouldn’t have made it out alive if she hadn’t learned it. They constantly owed each other their lives, and their bond had grown strong and only grew stronger with each day.

  Taking a break from looking over the map, Evans watched Meika lying down, quietly reading her book. Evans knew that she would need to talk to her soon. They were running out of places to loot, and that meant leaving the safety of Meika’s apartment. They would have to move on and start somewhere new, somewhere unfamiliar.

  “You know I can feel you watching me, right?” Meika asked without looking up from her book.

  “Sorry, I just…” Evans started, rubbing her neck, “I’ve been thinking. Looking at the map here, it won’t be long before we run out of places to loot.”

  Sighing, Meika got up, moving toward her, “I know. I may not be as detailed as you are with the map, but I know the area. I thought that we could search those last few places, then we leave.”

  “Do you know of anywhere we can go?” Evans asked earnestly.

  “I grew up in Tokyo, and you told me how horrible it was there. I only know the two areas,” Meika said with a shrug, “Besides, I think it would be nice to get out of the city for a while, don’t you?

  Evans thought about it. She had been in the city since her arrival over a month ago, maybe a change of scenery would do them both some good. They would have to go somewhere no matter what, why not enjoy somewhere else?

  “I know where we can get a car, the problem is I don’t know where to go. Its either we stay in the city and hope we find another untouched area, or we go out into the countryside and risk not finding any supplies,” Evans said, rubbing her eyes.

  “Actually, you know what, I do know a place we could go. My dad used to work for a company that only dealt with distribution. I remember he took me on a tour if the place, it was enormous. Filled with all kinds of goods, food, water, other supplies we could use to survive while we travel,” Meika said excitedly.

  “How far away is it?” Evans asked.

  “A bit away, but if we had a car, mayb
e a few hours, maybe more with the way traffic is.”

  “How about we leave tomorrow morning?” Evans asked, standing up and moving closer to Meika, “But for now, how about we rest. I’d like to hear what you are reading.”

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Evans was awake just before dawn, watching the sunrise as it turned the sky from black to a greyish-blue. She got up, moving into the small kitchen space, grabbing two cans of beef soup, opening them, and then placing them on the metal rack above the flame. They had found a catering warmer and used it to cook their food. After lighting the canister underneath, she knew it would take a while before it was warmed up. After almost starting a fire the first time, they had tried to light one of the canisters they had found, Evans made sure she had a metal plate they used to put out the flame nearby.

  Once the food was warm, she carefully spooned it into two bowls, one for each of them. After double-checking to make sure the flame was out, she moved to wake Meika. Evans moved into her bedroom, noting how simple her furniture was, yet how it felt homey. Adorning her dresser was pictures of her mother and father, both smiling, arms around Meika. Evans knew that more than likely, they were both dead now, and she wondered if Meika had accepted that fact.

  “Rise and shine,” Evans said quietly, as to not startle Meika.

  “Uhhhhh, is it morning already?” Meika asked, trying to hide her face deeper into her pillow.

  “Yes, and I made us food. We need to get a move on if we are going to grab a car.”

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Evans stopped alongside the red and yellow bar she had spotted on her trek from the base to the hospital. She poked her head out and looked around, trying to make sure she didn’t overlook anything. There were two infected in the street, far enough apart where Evans knew she could take them.

  Meika squeezed Evans’ arm, “Is it just the two?”

  Evans nodded, “I will take care of them, you watch my back.”

  Evans moved slowly, creeping toward the first creature. It was facing them, which meant Evans would have to be quick. While it wouldn’t take notice of Evans until she got closer, if Meika made too much noise, it would hone in on her. Evans looked at the virus-ridden person in front of her. It had once been a man, Evans guess in his early twenties, but it was hard to tell. The man was missing a large chunk of his right arm, dead muscle exposed to the elements. Evans didn’t think of the horrid smell emanating from the infected, watching the man's eyes. The black depths in which she wondered if there really was anything left behind them. Honestly, the answer didn’t matter, she had to make sure Meika was safe.

  Evans shoved the man down, quickly using her pipe and knife combo to end the man's suffering. Without skipping a beat, she turned to look at the second infected, which had stopped and begun turning to see what had caused the noise. Evans was a phantom as she moved close to the second creature and swiftly used her knife to stop it.

  The street was quiet once more. Evans moved toward the building on her right, hoping they wouldn’t have to spend all day looking for keys and its corresponding car. Not only would they have to find a working car, but gas to fill the tank. Evans tried to look inside the windows, but they were blacked out on the outside. Moving to the door, she opened it with ease, as a doorbell rang throughout the store.

  Jumping in surprise, she wondered how the sound had occurred. At the top of the door and door frame was a small magnetic doorbell designed to ring if the door was opened. Evans stood in the doorway, waiting for any infected inside. None came, and she moved deeper into the building in search for her prize. Meika stayed at the door, as Evans moved into the office behind the front desk.

  The room was small, quickly spotting the safe that would contain the keys for the cars outside. Luck was on her side as the safe was open, car keys were strewn across the floor in front of it. It seemed someone who had worked at the dealership decided to flee as well. Evans thanked whoever had done so because they now had a way to move on from the city. Reaching down, she picked up a few pairs of keys.

  A minute later, they were both outside trying to figure out which keys went to what vehicle. There were three cars and one truck in the lot, and Evans moved to the closest one. She opted to try each set of keys in the door to see if it would unlock. The second set of keys proved to be the right ones as she heard the lock click, and she opened the door. Evans took a seat behind the steering wheel, sliding the key into the ignition. She carefully pushed the key forward into the first notch, which gave power to the car without starting it.

  Evans studied the gas gauge as it slowly lifted, moving past the third way mark. She prayed that it would keep going, and her prayers were answered as it stopped almost perfectly at the three-fourths tick. Evans left the key in the ignition and walked back over to the building. Stopping at the door, she hung the extra keys from the lip of the small mailbox that was fixed to the wall next to the entrance. If anyone else was alive, they would be able to easily grab the keys and leave without having to worry about clearing the building.

  Evans turned around, “Feel up to driving?”

  Meika smiled, “I’ve only driven a few times before, but sure, why not!”

  They both got into the car and made sure their seatbelts were on. Meika turned the key further, attempting to turn the car on fully. The car sputtered for a moment that made them both grow concerned, but quickly roared to life, with a hearty growl.

  “Alright, let’s see…” Meika said as she applied the brake before putting the car into reverse.

  “Are you sure you know how to drive?” Evans asked with concern.

  “Don’t worry!” Meika exclaimed as she tried to turn the wheel too sharp as she reversed, scrapping the car next to theirs.

  The alarm went off on the parked car, blaring loudly.

  “Shit! Go, it's fine, we need to leave before that draws infected!” Evans exclaimed at Meika.

  Once the car was in drive, they took off down the street, putting distance away from the loud shrill beeping of the car alarm. Evans looked in the rearview mirror, seeing that already a few infected that had been around the corner of the dealership were making their way toward the car.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Five hours had passed since they had first started their journey with their newly acquired car. After having to reroute a few times to get past car wrecks, general roadblocks, or infected hordes, they made it out of the city and were now moving in and out of the abandoned cars on the highway. Everything blurred together as they passed mountains in the distance, and more cities nestled in the valleys. Eventually, they decided they needed to stop and try to find a safe place to make their own, realizing that their journey to where Meika’s father worked would be longer than they thought.

  Hoping to find a safe place to rest for the night, and then tomorrow, they would work on finding somewhere more permanent to stay for a while. They drove off the highway and were now on the streets of whatever city they were in. Evans noted that there was little difference in how the streets looked here compared to where they had left. It was as if they had driven in one giant circle and had ended up where they had started.

  “Where are we now?” Evans asked curiously.

  “We should be in Hamamatsu,” Meika said with some doubt.

  “I guess that’s far from where we were?”

  “Normally, it would have probably only been a few hours’ drive, however with all the detours and such… But, yes, we are a couple hundred kilometers away.”

  Evans sighed, “Well, this looks like a good area to start searching for food and other supplies.”

  Coasting down the street, they looked for a suitable spot to claim as their own. It wasn’t long before Evans spotted a small store that had a red fading sign on it, but she could make out outdoors painted across.

  “What about there, we could surely find some useful stuff inside there!” She said, pointing.

  Meika turned the car into the parking lot, making sure to swing the car around,
facing the street in case they needed to make a quick exit.

  After shutting the car off, they both moved to the door of the building, finding them sealed shut. Using a crowbar, they were able to pry them open, sliding them along their track. The store was a gold mine, it was completely untouched. After a quick sweep through the back and office of the building, they deemed it safe.

  They both let out a quick cheer in excitement, “Yeah!”

  “Look at all this stuff!” Evans exclaimed.

  Overjoyed, they began to make the place a fortress that the infected couldn’t get into. They moved the shelves, using them to make a blockade against the large wall-length single window and the main entrance to the building. It wasn’t long before they were settling in for the night, deciding they would finish tomorrow.

  Chapter 28

  Aweek later, their new home was spacious, and they had gathered quite a stockpile of supplies across the board. They had only hoped to find this much food and water while at Meika’s apartment, as well they had all the camping supplies within the store to make themselves more comfortable. The only thing missing was a proper bed since only having sleeping bags available, Evans didn’t mind as much as Meika. Their spirits were high, laughing and joking as if a weight had been lifted off them.

  The second day after their arrival at their new shelter, they needed to find some food to tide them over for a few days. Deciding to use the car while it had the gas, they searched well beyond the nearby stores of their new home. This was mainly to save time finding supplies they could find for later, giving themselves more time to establish their roots. As they set out for their journey, they didn’t make it as far as they thought they would have to find a food source.

  Meika artfully drove the car around the abandoned vehicles in the street, using the main highway through the town. Their journey had only been a couple of minutes when Evans spotted something that piqued her interest. In front of them sat a large delivery truck, with its back open. Evans and Meika stopped, moving closer to the back of the truck.