Gregory turned and began walking towards the door. Before leaving he turned to me and said.
“Pleasant dreams, from all who reside within The Compound to you, my new friend. With the help of each other may we endure whatever storms the world may throw at us in the future. After all, if we can’t rely on each other in times like these, who can we trust?”
Chapter 4
I was awoken suddenly in the night from the sound of rustling in my room. I quickly sat up on the cot and looked around. The noise stopped but I knew whatever had begun the ruckus was still here with me. I reached for my flashlight and gun, which I had made a habit of sleeping with on my person at night. I also had learned to keep one eye closed to preserve my night vision. This was to ensure that no sudden presentation of light would obscure my vision, ultimately leaving me vulnerable to attack. I pointed the flashlight towards my clothes, which I had laid out on a chair near the wall. When I turned on the flashlight I could see a small figure huddling near the chair. I got up out of the cot and turned on the light in the room.
“What are you doing in here?”
There was no answer.
“What are you doing in here?” I repeated.
Still there was no response.
“What were you looking for? You better not have taken anything. What’s the matter with you? Answer me!”
“I…I’m sorry, Mister…I didn’t do nothin’ wrong. I was just curious that’s all.”
And then it hit me. Had this dismal existence made me that callous? An empty shell of a man fighting for survival, void of the emotions he once felt? Cowering in front of me was a boy dressed in tattered clothing. His dark brown hair growing onto his shoulders was messy and unkempt. Judging by his gawky appearance and cracking voice I would say that this boy was no older than twelve or thirteen.
I lowered my weapon slowly and began wondering why no one had responded to my quarters. Clearly they could hear what was going on.
“What are you doing here? And why are you going through my things?”
“I was just curious that’s all. I haven’t seen a new person come here in a long time. I…Was just curious.”
“Whatever you took of mine you best put back or else.”
“I didn’t take nothing Mister, I swear. I was just curious that’s all.”
“Where are your parents? Why hasn’t anyone come looking for you? I’m sure most of the people in the building are awake after the noise you’ve created here.”
“I ain’t got no parents Mister. And no one here cares for me. I’m on my own.”
“How is that possible? How old are you?”
“I’m thirteen, Mister. And I don’t need nobody to take care of me. I can take care of myself.”
“Where are your parents?”
“My parents are dead, Mister. Them and my sister didn’t make it.”
At another point in time it would have broken my heart to hear this from a kid his age. But situations similar to this had become so common. Kids his age had become orphans in an instant. But, unlike the other poor kids, this one made it to sanctuary. Such demons he must live with on a daily basis. To be alive in a world like this at his age with no family.
“I’m sure someone here takes care of you. Where do you live?”
“No one here cares about me, Mister. They have their own problems. I’m on my own. I stay wherever I can. I sleep on the street if I have to. I used to sneak into the dining hall at night but they started locking up the doors. I don’t care for the people here and they don’t care for me. But it’s okay Mister I’m a tough kid.”
Has he really been taking care of himself all of this time? I’m curious as to why the people here have shunned him. I had to be careful not to be too trusting of anyone here. But there was something different about him that separates him from the others. Maybe it was because I saw a little bit of myself when I looked him in the eyes.
“My name is Barrett.”
“Well nice to meet you Mister Barrett, my name is Jesse.”
“I’m sorry if I scared you. Surviving out in the world is much different than being in a place like this…”
“It’s okay Mister Barrett, I’m sorry I was going through your stuff. It won’t happen again I promise.”
“Please, just call me Barrett.”
“Okay, Barrett, I’m gonna get goin’. The sun is gonna be up soon and I need to find a place to get some sleep before the night guards find me out!”
Jesse turned around and began walking towards the door. I thought for a moment and then asked.
“You could stay here for tonight if you’d like, as long as you promise not to go through my things anymore.”
The boy turned to me with his eyes wide opened and proclaimed, “Really Mister?! Uhhh Barrett! You mean it?!”
“Yea, yea sure, that’s fine.”
“I’ve never slept in one of the rooms before! I really owe you!”
“Don’t mention it, just get a good night’s rest, that’s all.”
I laid back down in my cot and watched Jesse curl up on the floor. The room was bear and there wasn’t much to offer him in terms of comfort. I grabbed my pillow and turned to Jesse.
“Hey kid, here, take my pillow.”
But there was no answer. He had already fallen asleep. Peering out my window it looked as if it was getting close to daybreak. So I suppose it was time for me to do the same with the few hours I had left in the night. I rolled over and went back to sleep.
In the morning I woke up to find Jesse was no longer in my room. But this didn’t come as much of a surprise to me. Like me he didn’t seem to be planted to one specific area for very long. But who was nowadays? Obviously other than the people who had settled The Compound. I’m sure I would be seeing him again. I was still exhausted from the events that took place only a few hours ago. I pulled myself out of bed and prepared for the day ahead of me. I needed to meet with Gregory to find what work he had in store for me.
I made my way to the dining hall in hopes of finding myself some breakfast to start the day. On my arrival I was met by Gregory and Dorian.
“Nice to see you up so early today.” Said Gregory.
“Just in time for some breakfast before we get down to work.” Said Dorian.
I stood in line with everyone else, plate in hand, waiting to see what was for breakfast. Memories of pancakes and waffles on Sunday mornings ran through my mind. But I had little faith that we would be having any sort of continental breakfast in this dining hall. A guy can dream can’t he?
When I reached the front of the line I stretched out my plate and began receiving my breakfast from the women standing behind the table. We were served starting from the left and moving down towards the right end of the table. It was watery oatmeal with an egg and some meat. I found a table off to the side and began eating. It had to have been the blandest meal I’d ever had in my life. The meat tasted like some sort of bird, which I could only assume was the same bird who laid the egg I was also eating. Sadly enough, it was probably the best tasting thing I’d eaten in a long time. I could feel the warmth traveling down my throat and into my stomach. It was one of the best feelings in the world. Up until now my meals had primarily consisted of whatever canned food I could find or small animal that I could possibly capture along the way. But who had time to hunt for their food when they themselves are being actively hunted around the clock? I wouldn’t say it was so easy to keep an organic diet.
Out of the corner of my eye I could see Gregory and Dorian approaching the table at which I was sitting. They sat down across from me.
“I know what you’re thinking.” Dorian said.
“This food is devoid of any flavor palatable by man. But boy does it feel good going down.”
“You read my mind,” I responded
“So let’s try to get down to business.” Gregory interjected.
“We’d like to start you off with some work, but we know little about you. How old are you? What
is your working background? Any skills you have we could utilize around here? Any information you could give to us would really help us put you someplace where the whole Compound may benefit from your skills.”
These questions, like the questions that were posed to me the other day by the townspeople brought back memories I had not recalled since the world had been turned upside-down on itself. Because I had come to realize that the only way to survive in this world was to forget where you had come from. The memories, for myself at least, were too painful to deal with on a daily basis. And to relive them constantly would have broken my will to survive. It’s funny how the mind will repress memories in order to help you survive; it’s instinct after all. A subconscious wall built to protect you from your own personal demons. But now the floodgates were open and all of the memories were rushing back into my mind. I had no choice but to remember the history that was me.
Chapter 5
Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Barrett, happy birthday to you!
“Blow out the candles honey! Happy Birthday!”
“Happy 21st birthday son, how does it feel to be a man now?”
“Thanks everyone, I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday.”
As I sat at the dinner table with my family I didn’t have a care in the world outside of those four walls. I was very similar to all the other boys my age growing up in the United States. I was reaching the end of my college career; I had a girlfriend and loved to spend time with my friends playing online games. Thinking back, my parents always used to ask me to go outside instead of sitting around on the computer or the couch all day. I guess they were right. I could only imagine how much more prepared I might have been if I took the time to venture outdoors.
I remember looking down at the piece of birthday cake my Mother had just cut for me and how happy I was back then. Poor sap didn’t even see it coming. Who would have thought everything would have ended up this way? If only I could have done something for them in place of myself. If I could go back I would make things different.
I could still remember the taste of the cake in my mouth. It was a vanilla cake with butter cream frosting, my poison of pleasure. But who cared back then? No one remembered where any food came from. It was all from the supermarket. Real, artificial, whole grain, partially hydrogenated, these phrases meant very little to those who were just going with the flow on that roller coaster we called life. I too was a passenger on the ride, but unlike the others, no matter how close to me they were, I was fortunate enough to get off. If you call this new life fortunate…
I looked up at my younger brother Josh who was seated across from me at the table.
“So what did you wish for Barrett?” He asked.
Looking back now I can’t even recall what I had wished for. But I can tell you I’m sure it was some commercial crap that no one ever needed in life. Built to make you think it was something you couldn’t live without, but in reality it was what caused this whole mess. Everyone was so caught up in material objects that they forgot what was important in life; family, friends and the value of being able to take care of yourself. I realize that now. Imagine what the current state of the world might be in if people still valued these things? Maybe there would be other Compounds throughout the world, I didn’t know if there were; I suppose anything’s possible if somewhere out there people knew how to survive in this situation, or just got lucky. Thinking back now, whatever my useless wish was, I know it would have been much different if you asked me today. What I wouldn’t give to be able to change it all.
“If I tell you it won’t come true!”
There was an empty seat at the table where my girlfriend, Vanessa, should have been sitting. But, there was a death in her family back in California and she had to leave unexpectedly to be at the funeral. She wanted me to go with her, but it was too short notice and no more tickets were available for the flight. I hope she wasn’t upset with me. I know I wasn't going to hold it against her for missing my birthday. We had met in our freshman year of college, me living at home close to campus and she living in the dorms. We couldn’t be happier to have found each other.
We finished eating cake and my parents gave me a surprise birthday present that I was not expecting.
“Barrett, we know you said you didn’t want anything for your birthday this year, but we thought it was important to get you something. After all you only turn 21 once.”
My Mom presented me with a small box she had hidden behind her back. I was a little confused as to what it could have been. I opened the box and looked inside. It was a set of keys, to what I was unsure of at that time.
“Keys are always a good start to a present. But what do they go to?” I questioned.
My Parents told me to close my eyes and brought me outside to the front yard. And when I was able to open my eyes I gasped with astonishment. The keys my parents had given to me were to a car. Not just any car, but I could only assume MY car. The car I had always dreamed of since I was younger watching movies and playing racing games. To others it was probably a hunk of junk. But to someone who loved import cars it was a treasure.
My Dad turned to me and put his hand on my shoulder.
“We know how much you’re into cars like these. It’s going to need a lot of work to get up and running again. But we thought it would give you a project to work on. Just promise us you'll be careful.”
I grabbed both my Mother and Father and gave them a huge hug. I was so excited. I had to run and give Vanessa a call. I knew she would be too! She knew how much I loved these cars and now I had one of my own! But as I thought more and more I realized that it had been awhile since I had heard from her. She hadn’t even called to wish me a happy birthday yet. I guess I was just so caught up in everything that was going on today that it had slipped my mind. She always complained to me that I was too forgetful about important things. I wouldn’t say I was forgetful, I just liked to live a stress free lifestyle. Nevertheless, I picked up my cell phone and called her. The line was busy, which is odd for a cell phone. I tried calling again and sent her a text message. After waiting for 3 hours there was no response. I finally called her cell phone one more time and I was forwarded to a recorded message.
“I’m sorry, the number you have dialed could not be reached at this time. Please hang up and try again later.”
I was extremely worried, but there wasn’t much I could do about it but wait to hear back from her. Interestingly enough, studies have come out that show teens who are away from their cell phones for periods of time suffer from separation anxiety. I guess I was part of that statistic. A product of societies technological innovations. I looked up at the clock on my wall and realized it was already two o’clock in the morning. I had been up waiting all night. I’d better get some sleep because I’m supposed to pick her up at the airport tomorrow afternoon. If I was late I would never hear the end of it.
The next morning I woke up to find a missed call on my phone. It was from Vanessa. But when I called my voice mail to listen to the message she had left for me it was nothing but white noise. And when I called her cell phone back I received the same message as I had heard earlier. She must had been having phone problems. No big deal though, I’ll be picking her up at the airport in a few hours. I sat down for breakfast and lost myself in a daydream. If only I could surprise her by picking her up in my new car! Unfortunately the engine would not be up and running and I would not learn to drive a standard transmission by this afternoon; no matter how much I wanted to. Not to mention I had never worked on a car before by myself, I’d say I might be in a little over my head. I returned back to reality and realized I had better get to the airport soon if I wanted to find a spot to park and wait near the terminal entrance. Maybe I should pick up some flowers too.
I went upstairs, picked out some clean clothes to wear and hopped in the shower. By the time I was all done getting ready it was time for me to hit the road. I grabbed my Mom’s car ke
ys, which she had left for me to pick up Vanessa today, and left the house. I hopped into my Mom’s minivan and was off. I’m sure everyone was jealous of my hot ride. I truly hated driving that car around. But at least it looked like that would be changing soon.
Living in New York had its upside and downside. We didn’t live in the city, so it was easy to live the New York life without so much of the traffic you’d find there. Unfortunately, we still paid the premium associated with living in New York. But my parents had good jobs, my Father working in the city as an architect for new city development and my Mother a department head in one of the more prominent school districts out here on Long Island. So we didn’t worry too much about money.
As I got closer to the airport I realized that traffic was abysmal. It took me an hour to reach the parking lot from the front entrance of the airport. But, I was able to find a spot after fighting with another driver for a couple of minutes. Clearly my minivan intimidated them.
I ran into the airport expecting to see Vanessa waiting for me. I hope she wasn’t mad. But when I got to the terminal she wasn’t there. In fact no one was there. I must have been too late. She must have left the airport already along with the other passengers. I really should have gotten those flowers.
But then I realized, it seemed that no one had gotten off the plane yet. I let out a sigh of relief for a moment thinking I had gotten to the terminal just in time. But then I looked up at the computerized board that listed the flight arrivals. Every flight from California had been canceled. I thought this must had been a mistake. I walked over to the front desk located in the terminal to speak to one of the employee.
“Excuse me, what’s going on with all of the flights coming in from California?”
“Oh, they’ve all been canceled because of technical difficulties they’re experiencing in all the airports along the Western Seaboard. If you look at the other flights coming out of the West you’ll also see that Washington, Oregon and parts of Nevada are also canceled.”
Human Zombies: The Compound Page 3