The Awakening

It happened on a Thursday, the end of life as we knew it. No more lazy Sunday mornings. No more pizza take out with ‘Netflix and Chill’ on a Friday night. No more grabbing a Starbucks latte on the way to work. The pandemic took all of it. Death fell over the city, a city that was once so alive, so bubbling with life.

The awakening happened on the Saturday. The infected, they were named. The few survivors lived in fear, hiding, and hoping for a future that would somehow resemble what they took for granted before the pandemic struck. The city consisted of two sides now, like two chess players in a match. On one side, the survivors fought to see another day, on the other, the infected wanting to spread their infection. Only one side would be victorious. As in chess, it wasn’t a win if both sides were still standing at the end. The end was near, looming closer every minute of the day.

I run as fast as I can manage, my legs stiff from days of hiding. It’s only my desire to outrun the others chasing me that drives me moving forward. They can’t catch me. I simply can’t allow it.  If they do, they’ll rip me to shreds. Things have gone too far for there to be any other way. I look over my shoulder as I hear them closing in on me.

Their eyes are bright yellow in the night, and their teeth reflect silver in the moon light. They have the kind of teeth that look like they can rip through anything in one swift motion. I fight the urge as my mind shares an image of me being torn up by those teeth, limbs falling to the ground, like dead leaves falling from a tree in autumn. It’s hard to make out exactly what they look like, as they all seem to be blurry, like a photograph that was taken with an unsteady camera. I need to keep it together, one mistake now and it all ends here. Nothing would remain of me. The stench that hangs onto them is unbearable, and it fills my nostrils as I run, overpowering all other senses.

There is a child among the others. She has been chasing me for days just like the rest of them. She has long red hair, big eyes, and she carries a white bunny in her arm. She doesn’t belong here, not like this. Children should never have to chase or hide for their survival.

“Don’t stop! We need to catch it now! This is the last of the infected. Let’s get this one and make it all end tonight,” their leader screams from behind me. I can hear them joining in his enthusiasm and it is enough motivation to make me sprint even faster.

The pandemic hit on a Thursday. The awakening started on the Saturday, my awakening. I’m the infected. The others that are chasing me, are the survivors fighting back to rid the city of creatures like me. The pandemic had taken me, just the way I was, but I awoke a new being. The stench that hangs around them doesn’t belong to them, but to me. It is my innards rotting away. I take one last look at them as I head forward, and the scene unfolds before my eyes clearly. Their bright yellow eyes are their flashlights shining in the night. Their silver teeth are the swords they carry with which to fight me. They are blurry because my eyes, like the rest of me, have died. I still have my mind, though, and I can still see a world better than the one we find ourselves in now. A world different from the one we woke up in on that Thursday. A better world is an infected world.

I am the last of the infected that remain. I realize the burden on me is great. I need to outrun them, yes, but so much more than that. I need to consume a part of them, feast on their blood, one by one, and spread my infection. I lick my lips as I picture sinking my teeth into that small child’s neck. I’ll teach her well. She’ll be even better than I am. My protégé and together we’ll spread our infection like red wine on a white cloth, permanently.

The group has become too tiresome to continue, being weak humans. They are setting up camp for the night between tall trees probably thinking the trees will offer some safety. I smile and the sound that comes from my lungs sounds foreign, like that of an animal watching its prey in excitement. I like the sound, I welcome it. They discuss continuing their hunt in the morning. I hear that wonderful sound escaping from my body again. How gullible. Everything will be different by the morning, everything. The child being small in size and healthy of body will swiftly awaken, and together we will celebrate her awakening with a feast.

The campfire glows warmly and proudly in the dark night. The camp is quiet as I approach; only the sounds of soft snores fill the air. I fight the urge to start my attack now, the desire to spread my infection so strong that it’s nearly unbearable, but no, my plan is better than my impulsiveness and I resist. The child sleeps peacefully in the middle of the group. She holds her white bunny tightly as if it a precious treasure. Her long red hair frames her face. It makes me think of the blood that runs through her small body and I lick my lips again. I can hear her little heart beating and the hunger that screams through me is both thrilling and excruciating.  

As I pick the child up and start to walk away with her, she opens her eyes. She doesn’t scream like I anticipated, instead a wide smile runs over her face. She softly says, “Hi, Mommy.”