Dance to the Sound of a Heartbeat

She was electric. Her feet shuffled in a clumsy glide to the beat of the song, her hands rising to clap along with the singer. The stale beer she had found lodged between two wooden planks sat on the dusty bar, half of it drank and now sloshing around on her empty stomach.

I hear the secrets that you keep

When you’re talkin’ in your sleep

The speaker was crackling as “Talking In Your Sleep” by The Romantics desperately tried to keep playing. The joy that she felt listening to music was a refreshing change from the hellscape she was trapped in. In this moment she didn’t have to run away from the decaying bodies of someone’s loved one, she didn’t have to fight back against other survivors who wanted to rob her. The bar was a safe haven she never expected to find; having a working radio capable of playing its melody above a soft whisper was a luxury. Her hands wrapped around the warm beverage and took a swig.

You tell me that you want me

She uses the bottle as a microphone as she slides across the wrecked floor, a sticky mixture of old liquor and sawdust making her feet stumble. 

You tell me that you need me

Her eyes flash over to the old band poster that was half visible and she points at the mysterious singer as if serenading him. The man had kind eyes and lips that weren’t calloused and cracked, with soft hair that she ached to feel between her nimble fingers.

You tell me that you love me

If only that poster would wink back at her, better yet if he would materialize out of the poster and wrap his arms around her waist. The feeling of another person holding you close and the warmth of their body was a mere memory that she couldn’t even find the energy to recall. 

And I know that I’m right

There is a lull in the music as the speaker steadily becomes more garbled and her own singing is louder than the radio’s. 

‘Cause I hear it in the night

As if it was planned, Ramona’s moment of normalcy was jeopardized by the sound of shotguns and raised voices in the distance. Not wasting a moment, she quickly moved towards the collection of rubble, beer still in hand, as she tucked her frail body as far back and hidden as she could. She positioned herself in a way where she could lift her head up to view the entirety of the room or lower it to remain unseen. The bar looked as if it had been abandoned for around the same amount of time since the apocalypse had occurred. It reflected the chaos of the day that it happened, when an unknown virus spread throughout the U.S. after a failed experiment, infecting over half of the population and leaving survivors to fend for themselves. The virus would infect the body over 72 hours. First came the restlessness within the first 24 hours, progressively worsening until your veins glowed with a deep purple hue during the final hours. She had seen hundreds of bodies during her journey and it soon became difficult to tell the difference between those alive and dead. So, when she found relics of the past that used to provide joy and entertainment, she clung to them in an attempt to escape the current reality. But, like all good things, they come to an end. The door flew open, the hinges creaking in protest and drowning out the music for a moment. 

I hear the secrets that you keep

“I haven’t heard this song in so long,” a raspy voice chuckled. “Makes you remember those nights bent over a bottle.”

A more lively and crispy voice laughed at the comment, their boots causing the floor to groan. “Honestly, I feel like I’m back in the city with my buddies.”

Ramona bit back a gasp as the two individuals’ faces revealed themselves. There was a dark coating of dust and grime that coated their faces, their eyes devoid of life, as they shuffled around the room just like she had when she first came in. 

“How in the Hell do they have working speakers?” The raspy one asked in awe.

“More importantly,” the younger one spoke as his eyes scaled the room slowly, “Who was playing music?”

Sweat rolled down the side of her face as she held her breath, breathing shallowly through her nose. She should’ve been more cautious, she should’ve known people would find the building, but she lost her reason to care. 

“Hello?” One of the voices called, their eyes flickering to her hiding spot.

Before he could move closer to inspect, the gruff one grabbed the man’s shoulder in a small warning.

“If,” he began slowly, “someone was here before us, I highly doubt they would be eager to let us live. There ain’t nothing here except for the music and we’re wasting time trying to prove otherwise,” he gave the room a lookover. “The only reason a person would be here is if they got a death wish.”

Ramona flushed her back against the corner and shut her eyes, the sound of her blood roaring in her ears. The two men had gone quiet, save for the creak of their boots as they moved across the floor back to the entrance. As soon as the door slammed shut, she poked her head out and cautiously moved forward. 

I hear the secrets that you keep

Her hand was in a crushing grip around the coolness of the bottle as she shakily raised it to her lips. The amber liquid flowed down her throat, the bitterness a welcomed sensation against her dry tongue. 

When you’re talkin’ in your sleep

Immediately, a cough racked through her body as she attempted to swallow more and she pressed her hand against her mouth. The rattling in her chest subsided as she pulled her hand away. The red splatter that covered her hand only made her sigh in defeat. She let her gaze wander past her hand and onto her arm, purple veins extending up towards her shoulder. 

I hear the secrets that you keep

She let the tears fall as she placed the bottle back onto the bar. Her feet were still moving and she looked down at her legs. The jeans that she had found months back were ripped to shreds and her pale skin shone brightly through its cracks, more purple lines etched across her thighs. It was her final day, and she knew that the moment she let the speaker play. But what better way to die than to live in the beat of the music.