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The outbreak day started just like any other.
It was a sunny day in the port and I was having fun with my family. We were on a boat ride along the coast, for the millionth time. I enjoyed it so much that they indulged me whenever they could.
The cold breeze on my face and the hot sun on my back were the perfect companions. And the ocean, everywhere I look. Endless, deep, mysterious.
First we heard the sirens of the military ships that were always on guard. When we saw the cruise ship on the distance I stood up and waved, happy to see a ship that big.
I loved cruise ships and the incredibly variety of people that came down from them looking around in awe at the different colors on the city. My mother was a tourist guide, so even though I was a child, I knew every route to the most famous attractions. And some more.
The cruise ship was approaching faster than I’ve ever seen before, and that was thrilling at first. But then we heard the ship sirens all around.
The passengers on the boat we were on went from taking pictures to fidgeting and looking at each other, nervous.
The boat suddenly increased its speed and I was pushed back. Soon, we were all holding to anything that could give us a sense of safety.
The cruise ship looked bigger by the second, and it wasn’t slowing down.
A girl started to cry and her mother was unable to sooth her. I was so nervous that I couldn’t move an inch.
The waves formed by the cruise ship caught our boat and we were seconds away from turning over, but years of sailing treacherous waters had gave the captain an expertise that saved our lives.
We all saw with horror how the cruise ship crashed right on the port. The loud noise that accompanied it was something that no one could ever forget.
“Ok, everybody! Listen up! We’re gonna go to the next port, please be patient and hold on tight” the captain’s voice faded away and the chattering was replaced by gasping.
The port was on fire, and miniature dots could be seen descending from the cruise ship to the land.
“Look! The passengers!” a man said and we all looked at them, so far away that we could only imagine what was happening.
“What if they’re infected?” said a plump woman that was fanning her face with a hand on her chest.
“Don’t be stupid, what are you saying?” her husband scolded her.
“Well, it’s possible, right? Right?” she said asking around and the uncomfortable look on others faces ended the conversation.
I remember hearing in the news stories about infected people on the streets, but that was on the other side of the world, besides, it wasn’t the first time we heard something like that and it always turned out to be fake. And after all, people didn’t really believed in what they saw on TV.
This was a horrible accident, nothing else.
“We’ll be arriving in five minutes” the captain announced.
My mother was holding me tight and my father was making some calls, apparently without too much success.
The port was almost empty and we quickly went to find a way to get home. I heard dozens of sound notifications around me as people started to get signal again.
The reaction was always the same. First worried, then shock, and then a look of utter horror.
“Come, quick” my dad said after checking his phone. He worked for a small branch of the government, so we were surprised to see an official looking car waiting for us.
“Whoah!” I remember exclaiming.
I was so entertained checking all of the buttons and little compartments that I failed to see the tense look among my parents.
“Where are we going?” I asked when I saw that the car didn’t take the usual route to our hill.
“Sit still and be quiet, please. We’ll be there soon”
I obeyed. It wasn’t like my dad to be this serious and secretive. His phone was constantly receiving messages and he was typing non-stop.
I wanted to see what was happening on the port, but the car didn’t even come close. We drove for a long time, and suddenly I noticed that we were on the route to my dad’s office. I immediately felt anxious and happier. It’s been a long time since the last time I was there.
The tall trees that ran along each side of the road were always a delight to see. And after a couple of minutes, we reached my favorite section of the road, a place where the abrupt lack of trees revealed the gorgeous hills covered in flowers and life all around us.
“So beautiful” I said pressing my hands on the window. And then, when the road made a sharp turn, the ocean appeared in all its glory. The view was simply majestic. But I was the only one enjoying it.
When I look back at that moment I can only imagine what my parents were feeling.
Dad’s office was almost empty, except for a couple of guys that were waiting for him, Carlos and Alex.
He told us to wait and that we could go everywhere inside the facility. I wanted to see everything, but my mom took me to a waiting room.
It wasn’t so bad. There was a huge picture window that looked out on the ocean. I could see the smoke coming from the port, and what seemed to be people running on the streets, towards the hills.
“Are those people ok?” I asked my mother and she looked at her phone.
“Yes, it was a terrible accident, but don’t worry, they’re ok”.
Of course she was lying. The look on her face betrayed her, but I didn’t care. I was still happy and started playing with the videogames they had for visitors.
The sirens startled me, and then my mom’s phone emitted a horrible alarm sound, the same sound that was coming from my dad’s office.
“Mom?” I said looking around for any sign of a tremor, which was the only time I’d heard that alarm before. But there was no movement.
“Honey?” my dad said from the door and my mom nodded. He looked pale.
I didn’t even tried to ask, instead I started to examine their body language while I pretended to play. My mom was trembling and my dad tried to quietly calm her.
This apparent tranquility was interrupted by my dad’s phone. He answered and listened, his face changing from red to white, and then green. He looked sick, but held his position.
Years later I found out that he was getting the worst news possible. Infected had landed on our port and the streets were already chaos. People thought it was an artistic intervention, and soon every social network was filled with live streams of this infected attack.
It spread so fast that before anyone could realize it, the living population had dramatically decreased. The reason was that most of the inhabitants of the city were participating in social activities to commemorate the founding of the city. It couldn’t have been a worst day to be on the city center. Chaos reigned within seconds when people saw others biting and attacking uncontrollably, and they did it in such a savage way that only a few managed to overcome the shock and run for their lives.
“She needs to know!”
“But…”
I turned when I heard footsteps near me.
“Darling, I need you to listen carefully, ok?”
“Yes” I said looking at him with paying full attention.
“Something bad is happening and I need you to be brave” He stopped to check my reaction and continued when I nodded, trying my best to look as brave as possible.
“We’re gonna have to stay here for a while, and you’re gonna see disturbing things on TV” He looked at my mom from the corner of his eyes.
“It’s vital that you understand the importance of this. You are not to go outside alone. We are safe here, got it?” He stared at me.
“I do. Don’t worry dad”
He hugged me and planted a kiss on my forehead. Then, he went to talk with Carlos and Alex again. They turned the TV on and even though I said I was prepared, what I saw left me trembling and unable to look away.
A month later our lifestyle was completely different to what I’ve come to known in my short age.
My tenth birthday was the last I celebrated and the only call I got was from my aunt, who lived in the United States. The celebration was to eat a chocolate bar and drink a soda. Both were items that had suddenly become so valuable that people traded the unimaginable to get some.
After the port fell and the infected spread to other cities, the supply chain was interrupted and panic for food governed every home.
Families reunited and formed tribes that fought for their own.
Some shared what they had, sometimes they were lucky and found a new tribe to trade goods, but there were also bad people that only cared about their own survival.
Soon trust was a thing from the past.
The day after my birthday I saw a van parking outside the building that was now our home. Three people came down from it, two of them were soldiers, and they were heavily armed.
My dad went to greet them. I saw my mom fidgeting next to me. But I wasn’t nervous, it’s been a long time since I felt that way.
Meetings like that soon became normal.
The self-defense lessons with Carlos were my favorite part of the day, beaten only by the botanical lessons with Alex, who loved to explain in full detail everything that could be useful for survival. I owe them my life.
My journey began the day my parents’ ended theirs.
It was year four after the outbreak and I was hunting with Carlos. We avoided the other hills because they had become a living hell. People had used the geography to defend their territories. Since most of the houses were on top of the hills, they installed barricades to block the roads. It was normal to find piles of infected succumbing at these, since the inclination made it easier for the survivors to finish them off.
The city center was abandoned and in ruins, most of the people that lived there had been bitten or killed by the explosions that followed the chaos.
“Remember this: the position of the wind, the noise your footsteps make, and patience” Carlos said to me before I shoot my second arrow.
I didn’t answer, I knew well those three basics he loved to repeat. For such a large guy I admire his ability to stealth. He could be as silent as a shadow and as strong as a bull, but also careful and funny. He was my best friend.
We were coming back with a couple of rabbits each when he made me a sign to stop. He had trained me to follow silent commands and so I did. I heard gunfire and screams and the rabbits fell from my hands. I ignored the rules and tried to run towards our building, but Carlos stopped me, just as I saw how the infected were eating my parents.
“There’s nothing we can do for them” he said turning his back and taking out his phone. I couldn’t look away. I saw everything, and those images still haunt me in my dreams.
Carlos and I reached a safe point, we were at the highest point of our hill. I walked around in circles, my mind was racing.
The sound of a helicopter took me out of the spiral of doom I was falling into.
“Come, let’s go” Carlos said leading me to it.
Under other circumstances I would’ve enjoyed the ride. But until today I have no recollection of it, nor about the next week.
What I do remember is my new home. A quarantine zone guarded by the military, where my routine had to do with working the land and patrolling the perimeter. Nobody cared about my age, and I wasn’t the only child working alone.
I saw Carlos once in a while now, he checked on me and brought me little presents.
“When are we going to go hunting again?” I asked him one day.
“I’d love that. Maybe next time?” he said with a wink. But that day never came.
I was working on the crops when someone told me I had a phone call. I couldn’t believe it, suddenly the sun came out in this eternal winter I was living. It was my aunt. The last time I spoke with her was on my birthday.
She told me that she had arranged a transport for me. I asked her if I could come with Carlos, but she didn’t answer and changed the subject.
The day of my departure was getting closer and I hadn’t been able to contact Carlos. His phone had been dead for a while. I looked at my notebook and felt butterflies in my stomach.
“Salt Lake City”
I’d always wanted to visit my aunt there, but I never had the chance.
The day before my flight Carlos showed up. He looked thinner, but he smiled at me.
“I got you one last gift” he said taking something shiny out of one of his endless pockets.
“Close your eyes” he said and I obeyed.
I felt something warm and heavy on my hand and when I looked at it, I saw a golden locket. Inside it had the pictures of mom and dad.
I hugged him tight, unable to express in words what I was feeling inside.
“Be safe, kid. You’re tough”
“You taught me well”
It was a bitter goodbye, and I will never forget his wide smile when he waved farewell.
My aunt’s house was huge. She lived in a secluded place and she had every accommodation needed. Her husband was a general, but I never really understood what he did.
My cousins were living in a world that didn’t exist anymore, and I couldn’t get them to learn survival skills with me. They looked at me as something lesser than them. And I didn’t care, in fact, it was best this way because I was free to do whatever I liked. And what I liked was to learn.
Their library was impressive, and I spent most of my time learning about different topics. Days went by slow, and I had the feeling that nothing was wrong outside.
“Don’t let your guard down”
Carlos’s voice reached me and I felt uneasy. I needed to go out, to do something useful.
Four years I lived in that house, and on my fifteenth birthday I felt ready to face the world. I had heard about a militia group called the Fireflies. They were working to find a vaccine, and I wanted to join them.
I planned my escape with extreme care. I had everything I could possibly need to face the outside world, or at least that’s what I thought.
It was raining, and that worked perfectly for my plan. I left the house as silently as possible, leaving a note to my aunt. She had been good to me, but she didn’t want to do anything that could menace their way of living.
When I reached the wall, I faced my first problem. It was higher than I thought, and it took me a lot of time to find something to climb on. When I finally did, I looked from the top to the streets below. They were deserted.
I jumped down and immediately felt more alive than ever. I needed this.
The sound of hooves made me alert and I hid behind the trees. Two people were riding fast on the streets. Once they were gone, I left my hideout and looked around.
I knew where the Fireflies where, and I also knew that the best way to avoid infected and military was to use hidden streets. I had a map that I drew from old satellite pictures. I just hoped they were reliable.
The first time I took one of those hidden streets I ran into a group of infected. I was running for my life when I was suddenly lifted from the ground and onto a horse. I instinctively grabbed for safety as hard as I could.
After a while we stopped and I felt nervous.
“Are you ok?” a woman asked me.
“Yeah… thank you”
She stopped the horse and we looked at the road.
“Were are you going?” she asked me.
“I’m looking for the Fireflies” I said bluntly, and then I scolded myself for being so careless.
“Oh? And what for, if I may ask?”
“I want to join them” I said with full honesty.
She didn’t say anything for a long time and I started to feel nervous.
“All right, let’s go then” she said and started to gallop.
The ride was long, but I felt safe. We reached a huge place and when we slowed down I heard her again.
“The headquarters” she said and they opened the gates for her.
People were going around doing different things, and I immediately felt that I was exactly where I needed to be.
“Ok, wait here. Someone will come see you” she said as she helped me climb down the horse.
“Thank you” I said and she nodded and left me waiting.
Time passed and I was alone, looking around and feeling extremely anxious.
“You!” I heard a woman’s voice calling me. “Come here” she motioned me to follow and I did.
“I was told that you wanna join us…”
“It’s true”
“Do you have any skills?”
“I think, but I love to learn and I can follow orders”
“That’s an interesting combination” she said with a smile, which made me smile too.
We reached a tent that looked modern. Inside there were people doing different things.
“This way” she said and I followed. We reached a sort of office and she started to rummage in a drawer, until she found what she was looking for.
“You need to read this carefully. Then, come find me” she said giving me a piece of paper that had a long list. It was the beginning of my life as a Firefly.
Years passed and I was known as “the southerner”. I liked it, made me remember where I came from.
One day, exciting news reached our headquarters. There was a girl that had been bitten and didn’t show any kind of infection. Only a small group of people knew at first, and I was among them. My job was to protect the hospital where they were going to do the operation.
I didn’t know anything else, so I volunteered immediately. This was something I always wanted to do. Something that would really matter.
The day of the operation arrived, and here I am writing my story to pass the time. I feel sorry for the girl, she looked so young. But Marlene told me that she wanted to do it, and that made me admired her. There is hope for a better future.
The alarms are sounding and I need to go check what’s going on. I hope nothing serious, I want to see what happens with the vaccine…
Minutes later, Joel Miller entered the building, killing everyone in his path. One of them was a southerner that didn’t have a chance to ask or say anything. He took the girl and left the hospital, destination unknown.