A survivor’s story
The first thing I did when I got down to the ground was to check the safety of the road. I wasn’t looking out for cars coming at me, I was looking to make sure there were no infected people. I mean, I haven’t seen a car on the road in weeks.
If they see me, I can run into a house or something to disperse them, but until then, as long as I’m in sight of the infected, they can follow me anywhere. That’s why when I run away, I first try to get out of their sight at a corner, and then look for a place where they can’t find me. This is why I choose to take routes with bends in them when I move.
However, being able to escape the sight of the infected at a corner means that I can’t see them at the other end of the corner. So I had to be careful when moving, not to make a sound, and to be cautious around turns and vantage points.
Like the special forces in a movie, I would stick to the wall at a corner and stick out half my face to make sure there were no infected people. Over the past three months, I had become much more adept at this kind of thing.
Once I was sure that there were no infected, I proceeded cautiously, trying not to make any noise. The infected have human-like hearing, so unless you make a lot of noise, they won’t find you. But you never know where they might be, so you have to assume that they are everywhere.
I don’t run when I move, because it makes noise, and more importantly, it drains my energy. If they find me and I’m too tired to move, I’ll be food for them. So I was careful to move quickly and try not to run if not necessary. Many times I have seen people running in front of their destination, trying to get there as fast as possible, only to be caught and killed because they made noise and were too tired to move.
My destination was a supermarket across the street from where the woman had just been killed. Large areas such as the main street have good vantage points, so the infected can spot you from a distance if you are moving. Only in these places, there is no choice but to run and move to reduce the risk of being discovered.
I looked left and right along the main street to make sure there were no infected people, and then jumped out from behind the abandoned car I was hiding behind. I ran as fast as I could, with legs that could run 50 meters in six seconds, but what was only a few dozen meters felt like hundreds. Just as I began to feel like I was making slow progress and the thought of being found began to form in my mind, I crossed the main street and slipped into the shadow of an overturned trailer.
From that position, the supermarket was literally a stone’s throw away. I cautiously walked into the supermarket where all the windows and automatic doors were smashed.
The inside of the supermarket had been wrecked as if a typhoon had just passed through. There must have been some looting, but surprisingly, the goods were still there. A mob had attacked to loot the store, but the infected who had sensed the commotion had come and attacked the mob. The town is almost uninhabited now, so there probably weren’t many people who came back to take the remaining goods after the looting.
However, the goods left behind are also getting fewer and fewer because I’ve come back several times to get them and consume them. I guess I can only rely on this supermarket for a few more weeks. If I run out of supplies here, I’ll have to get them from elsewhere. The apartment was pretty good for staying in, and I don’t want to leave it if possible…….
The shelves in the food section were empty; I had moved them when I arrived earlier to prevent other survivors from taking them away. I didn’t want to give away my precious supplies, and I’m sure the other survivors didn’t either. The food in this supermarket is too small to share.
I walked over to the checkout counter and stuck my hand under the sixth register, where the plastic bags were stored, and pulled out a few bags with contents. Inside, there were several bags of water and food sorted by category, but there was no sign that they had been taken. I took out about a week’s worth of food and water, which I thought I would need, and started to put them in my backpack.
Looking at the checkout counter, I saw that several cash registers had been broken and cash was scattered on the floor, probably taken by the rioters or survivors who attacked the place. Nowadays, goods are more important than money, and lives are even more important. There are no stores that will sell you things if you give them cash.
The Japanese government, which guarantees the value of cash, is now in ruins, and I hear that even in the communities where the survivors gather, bartering is the only way to survive.
When this fiasco is over and the currency becomes effective again, the people who stole the cash will be very rich, but I don’t see such a peaceful future coming.
I packed the canned goods in my backpack with a towel to prevent them from vibrating, and was about to zipper it up and carry it on my back when I saw something move at the entrance. I quickly lowered my posture and looked at the entrance from behind the cash register.
Someone was coming into the supermarket. There was one person, but I couldn’t see their face due to the backlighting. Could it be an infected person or a survivor? I grabbed my crowbar and Maglite and waited for the figure to approach me. The Maglite can be used as a baton, but it’s only a light, so it’s not meant to hit people over and over again. So I used a crowbar to knock down the infected. The crowbar was a reasonable length and weight, not too heavy to run with, just right for wielding, and quite powerful. I can see why they are often used in crimes as «crowbar-like objects» in the news.
The figure seemed to be carefully checking the inside of the store. If it was infected, it wouldn’t do such a complicated thing, and since infected don’t have the intelligence left to check anything in the first place, it was probably human.
But just because they were human didn’t mean they were going to be careless. In this lawless world, there are probably many people who would kill for fun. There may be many more who would attack people for the sake of survival. You can’t let your guard down.
The shadow was moving towards the food corner, looking around. The fastest way to get to the food section was to pass by the cash register, so the figure was getting closer and closer. I waited for the figure to pass just in front of the register and stood up.
«Who is it?!»
I asked in a low but audible voice and flashed the light. I shine the light on the figure. I heard a «Kya!» and saw a figure slump over.
The person in front of me was a girl of middle school age. Her black hair was cut short and she was wearing a sailor suit that looked like a school uniform. She was slumped on the ground with her skirt pulled up, but I couldn’t see her underwear because she was wearing shorts underneath.
…..I don’t think it’s a shame!
«Oh, who are you ……?»
The girl said in a shaky voice. I turned off the Maglite and kept my crowbar in my hand in case I am attacked, although it’s unlikely.
«Who are you? Are you a resident of this town? Where did you come from, are there any other survivors?»
«Well, I fled here from somewhere else. The place where I took refuge was attacked…….»
«Are you alone?»
The girl nodded when I asked that. I had heard that if you keep asking questions without giving the other person time to think, he or she will answer without thinking, but I never thought I would have the chance to see it.
MtlEnjoyer 