Death's Awakening

Part III: The Fifth/Chapter Thirty-Two: The Boy

The boy was hungry. It had been almost a week since he'd last gone out for food and water, and he'd been careful to make it last. He was dreading going back out into the streets.

The screams in the night were so scary. Even when he closed himself in the back closet and pulled blankets over his head, he could still hear them.

How many days had he been alone? At first, he'd tried to mark the passing of the days on an old calendar he found, but he got behind somewhere and lost track.

Two weeks, maybe? Three?

He was used to making due with little food. His mom hadn't always had the money to buy much. But he was so hungry. He wasn't sure how many more days he could go without eating. His favorite pair of shorts fell off when he put them on and he'd had to use a piece of rope to tie them on so they didn't fall when he ran. In the mirror, his eyes looked sunken in and dark. He looked dead. Like them.

He needed food.

With trembling fingers, he pulled the heavy curtain back from the window. He peered down at the street below. The bright sunlight hurt his eyes. He'd gotten so used to the darkness. At night, he was too scared to turn on the lights; afraid they'd see him and come after him.

A man staggered through the barren streets, not concerned with the sunlight. Every once in a while, the boy saw one that didn't seem to mind the sun. One of the man's legs was badly rotted, but he limped along anyway.

One was not a problem. The boy was fast enough for one. It was the packs he was afraid of.

As long as he stayed out of the shadows, he'd be okay. He just had to be back home before it got dark.

The trick would be finding a grocery store that still had food and wasn't infested with the walking dead.

His head turned from side to side as he scanned the street below. Sometimes the infected packed together like bees in a hive. One loud noise and they were suddenly awake and coming for you. They walked slowly, but if there were enough of them, they could block you in. He had to stay alert and be careful. One wrong step and he might become one of them.

Or worse.

The boy sucked in a ragged breath as he thought about the last time he had seen another uninfected human. He wasn't sure how long ago that had been. Three or four days ago now.

He was going to get her attention. To see if she needed a place to stay for the night. But before he could climb down, he saw a stirring of movement from the corner of his eye. The woman had been standing near a darkened doorway.

Didn't she know better than to stand so close to such a darkened doorway without a light or a weapon of some kind?

The boy had chewed on his lip, desperate to call out to her, but unable to find his voice. It had been a long time since he'd had anyone to talk to. He'd held his breath tight in his chest, praying for her to move safely down the street. To be free of that dark doorway.

But he'd only had to wait a breath. A single moment. Then they were on her. A pack of them descended on her like wolves. He'd heard her scream. It echoed through the deserted streets like the wail of a siren.

The infected had swarmed her, lumbering up from their sleeping place in the darkness. Her rummaging must have awakened them. The smell of her human flesh must have stirred them from their slumber.

The boy had turned away as the infected sank their teeth into her sagging flesh. Her red blood spilled onto the sidewalk like a sacrificial lamb. A human sacrifice.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Just the memory of it scared him. He wished he could just stay inside, away from the dark places.

But he needed to eat. His stomach hurt so badly and he felt so very tired.