A lot
of people seem to think that everything in the world is for granted. You just
wish for it, and you get it, however it seems destiny had other plans for the
world. It’s the year 2666 and everything in the world was peaceful, no war, not
pain, no suffering, until a few weeks back. Out of nowhere zombies started
appearing. These drove the world, or those that survive at least, into
different communities. This also drove two interesting young figures into a path
of solitude, until the day they are destined to face one another. And it just
so happens it’s sooner than later...not far from Paris a young girl is
traveling with a little boy near her.
The monotonous noise of the train has been drilling
my brain since we got in it. I’m tired and though I have tried to sleep, it is
impossible, because of all the human heat. The train is crowded with people who
left their shattered homes and are searching for a safer place to stay. Like
me, they aren’t able to sleep. Some of they are crying or crawling in fear,
mothers are trying to feed their kids with some of the food they recollected
and some are staring blank (probably thinking about the ones they lost).
But for Johnny, that really isn’t a matter to stop him from sleeping all this time since we have entered the train. I glance at his dreamy face and it reminds me of how lucky he is for being here, still alive. Poor kid, losing his parents in such atrocious way… Comparing what happened to him, my misery doesn’t seem that bad. But, that day… it’s still printed on my mind, as it had just happened. A painful emotion flows back to me, making me shiver. The horror that surrounded us made a change in our life that is going to be hard to forget. My poor family… I can still remember their faces, struck with horror, the way my parents looked at me and my siblings, a mix of worry and despair and how, without having any possibility to survive, they tried to face those gruesome, nasty creatures that crawled into our field. I was there, paralyzed, my mind blank, without being able to help. I feel so awful… It was because of me they almost died! If I wasn’t that afraid, if I were brave enough I could have stayed with them… But I think it was the best choice, for me and for them, to leave. At least, they are still alive. Or that’s what I hope.
I founded Johnny in my way out of the town. He was in front of his house, looking at how a bunch of zombies ate his parents. He was standing there, frozen in fear, without being able to do anything. He reminded me of myself somehow so, despite of my promise to be always alone since the moment I left the town; I took him with me and took care of him.
In that moment, I wasn’t sure were to go. In every corner, there was small groups of that monsters, wandering around and waiting for some preys. It was horrifying but I decided to keep calm and think about the situation. We stopped in a small shop to take some supplies and to think how we would escape. I took some can food, bottles of water and juice and put them all in my back pack in a disordered manner. Just the necessary to survive until we arrived at the next town. Of course I took a small portable camping gas to cook and a medical kit, it was small but there were the most necessary things. My backpack filled quickly and it was quite heavy to carry but I made an effort to bear the pain in my shoulders. Suddenly, I felt something touching my back. My heart bumped so hard I almost fainted. I turned back, scared it might be a zombie, but I calmed down when I realized that it was only Johnny.
“Kali, give me some of that food, please. I’m
starving”.
I took a deep breath, just to calm down my
nerves and explained quietly the plan to Johnny. “Look Johnny, we are going to
do a big travel, we will walk a lot through deserted places where won’t be any
food nor stores to buy it so we have to be very careful how we spent our
supplies.” I made a pause to make sure he understood what I was saying. “We are
only going to eat three times per day, ok? Only breakfast, lunch and supper.
Breakfast is very important so we will eat a can and a juice, for lunch a big
can and for dinner we are going to have a small can. Rationalizing water will
be more difficult but try to drink as few as you can. And… I think that’s all.
Have you understood it?”
He was
looking very disappointed but I insisted in that matter. It was only to
survive. “But it’s unfair! I’m starving!”Johnny cried.
“Shhh…Be quiet Johnny, we don’t want
anybody…anything to hear us!” I whispered trying to calm him down.
But it caused the opposite effect and he started
whining more loudly. I thought he would stop when he had found some candies but
his voice suddenly sounded more frightened than before. I realized something
was wrong and I rushed to him, only finding out what I feared most: A small
group of those nasty monsters had entered the store and they were rounding the
young boy. My heart started to beat faster and faster, my body was paralyzed
again of fear. Johnny’s watery eyes were looking at me, praying for help but my
body couldn’t react. My mind was telling me to move fast, pick up the boy and
get out there as fast as the sound but my legs didn’t listen to it. The zombies
were getting closer to him and some of them were approaching to me. Suddenly, the
picture of my family returned in my memory. And those feelings, the impotence
that I felt was returning… But I didn’t want it to stay.
I opened my eyes quickly trying to think fast in
that situation. What should I do? Sly the monsters or avoid them and escape
with Johnny? The zombies weren’t waiting for the answer and they were standing
in front of the youngster, ready to eat his brain. I saw how its jaws opened
and some bugs came out of it. For me, that moment lasted an eternity. It felt
like it was in slow motion: how the disgusting mouth was getting closer just to
bit his face, and my body, slowly reacting, rushing into the zombies without
trying to avoid them, picking Johnny up, almost dragging him through the exit.
It was a short time until the creatures realized that we had escaped so they
chased us. We started to run away from them, even though we didn’t know what
our destination was. We were on a rush, but I could see that there were no
living souls in the street and I was afraid nobody could safe us.
I was getting tired so I thought of turning in a
corner to mislead the zombies, but it turn out to be a cul-de-sac. The zombies
didn’t fall for the trap -not for their intelligence but their instincts- and
they continued chasing us. There was no exit in the end of the street, only a
big gate, closed by the inside. I tried to wrestle it but it was impossible to
open. Johnny was babbling trying to say something to me. I turned around and
saw a bunch of zombies rounding us. This time, there was no way to escape
running. We were the perfect preys they could have: a little boy and a young
girl, exhausted from their efforts, surrounded by gruesome creatures ready to
eat their brains.
The panic returned again but this time I could
control my emotions and think coldly at the situation. There were five monsters, five meters from us
and walking quite slow. What do I do? I thought. Then I remembered something.
Something that He gave to me once and
had a specific use. And that moment was just the perfect situation to use it. I
took the scythe cautiously not to hurt Johnny and put in a defensive position.
Luckily, I knew how to use it as my father, who was an agriculturist, taught me
how to reap the crops and I could, somehow, use it to reap zombies head. I
ordered Johnny to stay back and not try anything dangerous, and for the first
time, he didn’t complain and did as I said.
So it was finally the time to face those nasty
things. They were closer, just the perfect distance for my weapon. I hold it as
my dad told me once, graving with both hands the stick, the right one was
closer to de blade and the left one graved the lower part. I pulled the scythe
back, to make an impulse. I gathered all my strength and stroke rapidly those
zombies. Badly, it didn’t touch his heads but it divided in two their bodies.
The dismembered parts were still moving - still very undead. This time, it’s going to the head, I thought,
so I prepared my weapon again, pointing the tip of the blade to one head. Then,
I let the instrument fall in the zombie. Bingo! It had crossed his left eye and
arrived at his brain and definitely killed him. But it was one down of five,
and they were closer than before, they could almost touch me.
All of the sudden, I feel something touching my
back and dragging me. I shut my eyes thinking it was the end for me and Johnny.
My head was bumping really fast and I almost couldn’t breathe.
“Don’t worry girl, you are safe now” an old
voice said quietly to me. I slowly opened my eyes, realizing that we were
behind those gates, sitting in the floor of the train station. I looked around
and saw Johnny drinking an apple juice that the old man gave to him.
“Thanks for helping us, sir.” I said, trying to
catch my breath again.
“You are very lucky, kids. Just now has arrived a
train to evacuate the town and take us to a safer city, free from strange
creatures. You better hurry or it will go without you!”
I glanced at the train and thought it was the
only way to go. I put my scythe in my back again; graved Johnny’s hand and we
entered the train.
Yes, we were lucky to find that train, ready to go.
“I’m hungry, Kali…” Johnny complains while he wakes me of from my reminiscing. He also wakes me up from my memories, that are hurting me more than I thought...
“We have already talked about this. We are only
going to eat three times every day. We don’t have enough food so we have to
rationalize it” He doesn’t seem to realize the seriousness of the matter so I
try to persuade him. “Look all these people, Johnny, they are starving as well.
If they see our food they will all surround us, just like those monsters.” The
kid glances at me frightened and he finally resigns. I guess now he is too
scared to ask me anything.
There is a large pause so I try to break the
ice. “So… Have you sleep well? Did you have a sweet dream?”
Johnny looks deeply at my eyes and makes a small
smile. “Yeah… It was a good dream. Mom and dad were in there playing with me…”
A tear drops from his eye and that breaks my heart. That poor little soul is
having a hard time and I’m sure a lot of kids are in the same situation or,
probably, worse. I make an effort not to cry. I take a deep breath and calm
down. I think of giving him a hug, to comfort him but I don’t want to reinforce
our relation because I strongly believe that, one day, either one of us is
going to die, and I don’t want him, or me, to suffer. Not anymore. The pain he
felt… I don’t want him to feel like that never again so I keep an emotional
distance between us.
To comfort him, I pat his head and I tell him to
go to sleep again, promising that when we arrive at our destination, we would
eat.
I start looking through the small train windows,
looking at the landscape. It’s a dense forest so I sense that we have just
crossed the frontier and we are going through the Pyrenees. Even though it’s
very cold, the monotonous green of the leaves makes me close my eyes and I fall
sleep.
No comments:
Post a Comment