I decided to stay with Jinx. I guess it was because he offered me a mattress to sleep on, and some clean clothes. And more of those, so called, burgers. And I offered a helping hand in taking care of his cabin. I was always sweeping and dusting all day, trying to not let the damp weather cause any mold.
But one day, when Jinx came back from the village, he didn’t have his usual warm smile on his face.
“What’s wrong?” I asked immediately, as soon as he stepped inside the old door.
“It’s the village”, he mumbled. “It’s in lockdown. The virus is spreading a lot. And fast, too." He took his bag off his shoulder and took his old shoes off. I watched him walk into his bedroom, closing the door quietly. I sighed and walked up to it.
“Why’s that such a big problem?” I asked him. “You can just go to another one, right?”
“Yeah, but then I have to go through the village to get to a new one”, Jinx mumbled behind the door. “And if I can’t buy food and stuff at the market, we’re kinda dead.” I froze and put my hand on the rotten wood. The word dead gave me chills, and I looked down at my feet, biting my lip now anxiously.
“Well…”, I mumbled. “Can’t we move?” He suddenly opened the door, startling me, and I took a step back.
“Move?” he asked. I nodded quietly, as his gaze really frightened me. He suddenly smirked a little and leaned onto the old door frame.
“Do you know that we’ll have to walk, like, far away from here?” he asked and looked down at me. “Sure, we can move, but then we’ll have to walk through the forest for days. I mean, we’ll have to get our own food, survive the weather, all the animals…” He sighed a little and crossed his arms. I swallowed hard and looked down again, putting my hands behind my back.
“Sorry, it was a stupid suggestion”, I mumbled, and expected him to slap me. But he just patted me on my head and smiled warmly at me.
“I told you, I’m only three years older than you”, he said. “I won’t hit ya’. So, do you think you can do this?” I looked up into his hypnotizing blue eyes and nodded a little.
“Yeah”, I replied quietly. “I promise not to disappoint you.”
“How on God’s green earth can you disappoint me?” he chuckled. “Man, kids these days…” He rolled his eyes and went back into his room. He came back and handed me a bag.
“We better start packing”, he continued, more seriously this time. “We’ll have to leave tomorrow, before the townspeople come out here and infect us, or kill us.”
We packed the little stuff in Jinx’s cabin. Our clothes, which we shared, the food, the very few utensils he had, and some weapons.
“I’ll give you your gun back now”, he sighed. “I don’t have the guts to shoot anything, or anyone. You’ll have to do that, okay?” He handed me my gun, and the bullets. I nodded and put them in my pocket, feeling my throat tighten up a little. He packed his knives and bats, and then put the backpack on his back. I grabbed my bag and took a deep breath, looking up at him.
“Okay”, Jinx said. “Let’s go, then…”
“Are you…okay with this?” I asked quietly. He smiled a little at me and nodded.
“Yeah”, he replied softly. “This isn’t my first time running away from people… I’m just worried the townspeople will eat us alive, so let’s go!” He headed over to the front door, and I followed him. But suddenly, I heard yelling from a few meters away. Jinx froze and hesitated from opening the door. He glanced down at me, clearly panicking. I held my breath and listened to multiple footsteps walking around the cabin.
YOU ARE READING
Beloved Apocalypse
Adventure"I never thought this would happen. Ever. Especially not to me. Never in my life did I think that one day, everybody I loved would die. And definitely not the way they did. If I had known what would happen, I would've just killed myself, like I plan...
