The sickness that usually came with hunger had passed as well. Her entire body was tired.
They continued to walk for some time. The sun was high up in the sky and it had gotten warmer.
Lucy removed her jacket, putting it back into the bag.
“Where is everyone?” Lucy asked.
No one had driven down the long road.
It was completely empty.
Abandoned.
When they did pass a car, just a carcass was left, burnt and charred, clearly having been set on fire in a previous life … one before all of this.
As the sun started to set, Sasha tried to contain her panic. Just as she was about to completely lose it, they came to a stop at the end of a dirty road, and up ahead was a house.
She looked toward the house. With the gun in her hand, and her sister holding the other, she made a decision. The silence in the air was deafening to her.
Biting her lip, Sasha led the way to the house, listening to see if there was life inside. She thought about knocking, something that seemed “normal” in an otherwise abnormal situation.
Lucy released her hand and went to the windows.
“No one’s there,” Lucy said.
Tapping the gun beside her leg, Sasha blew out a breath. “No one?”
Lucy shook her head.
“Stay here,” Sasha said. She tried the door handle and sure enough, it opened up.
“Why is it so quiet?”
Not a single noise was there. No airplanes, no cars, no buzzing from garages.
Nothing.
It was like the entire world was dead.
Lucy moved up behind her. She closed the door, and then went to every single room she could find. It was completely clear and looked like it hadn’t been lived in for a long time.
As soon as she realized how empty it was, the next stop was the kitchen. Everything in the fridge was spoiled or moldy. The stench was so disgusting.
Going to the cupboards, she found several cans of food. Lots of it. Grabbing down three whole cans and a saucepan, she quickly opened them up, poured everything inside, and began heating it up.
The gas was working and she wasn’t about to question how it was. Lucy stood by her side.
Rather than wait for bowls, Lucy found two spoons and they stood at the kitchen counter, eating.
“This is so good,” Lucy said.
Sasha didn’t say a word. It had been too long since she’d eaten anything. She took her time, though, recalling a starvation topic from her health class in school. If she rushed after being away from a lot of food, she would throw up. It wouldn’t be good. So she took her time and watched as Lucy devoured the rest.
“Sasha?” Lucy asked.
“What is it?”
“Where is everybody?”
“I don’t know.”
“It’s so quiet. Dad always said that the world could never go quiet unless people were dead.”
“Or they’re just really busy,” Sasha said.
“I’m not a child.”
She didn’t want to fight with her baby sister. All she wanted to do was to take care of her.
Glancing around the house, she saw a nice-looking sofa, and there were a few locks on the door.
“I think we should stay here for tonight.”
“It’s still light out,” Lucy said. “Let’s go and see if we can find some nice people.”
“Nice people?”
“Yes. Those men were bad people. We need to find nice people so they know they’re not alone.”
Before Sasha could stop her, Lucy was already out of the house.
“Shit!”
Grabbing the gun she’d left on the table, she took off outside of the house.
Lucy was already at the end of the dirt road. Gritting her teeth, she ran, trying to keep up.
Just as Lucy made another break into the main town, Sasha paused. There were cars parked down the main street of the town.
Lights were still on, but she saw by looking in shops that no one was around.
Lucy started to bang on doors.
“We’re here. You’re not alone,” Lucy called.
Was her sister being struck by the virus?
She couldn’t recall her parents going through that. They’d been sick, not demanding attention.
“Hello?” Lucy said.
When no one answered, she pushed her way into a house.
Seconds later, Sasha ran in to follow her sister.
The stench of decay was heavy in the air. Covering her mouth, she found her sister standing in the living room, staring at two dead and decaying bodies on the sofa. Covering her sister’s eyes, she pulled her out of the house.
“Don’t you ever do that, do you hear? Don’t you ever run off like that. It’s not safe. Not for you. Not for me. We’re not safe. What if that had been a man, Lucy, or something else? What would you have done?”
“There’s no one, Sasha. No one.”
She pulled her sister into her arms, holding her close.
“There are people, Lucy. We know there are. We’ve just got to be careful about finding the right ones.”
Chapter Seventeen
Survival of the fucking fittest