#Postapocalyptic #zombies #kickassfemale #DarknessFalls
Phoenix
“The CDC is
recommending everyone to stay indoors until further notice. We will have round
the clock updates on the situation for you. There have now been more than two
hundred and fifty confirmed cases of the virus in the state of Nevada alone,
and a small number of cases in both California and Arizona.”
I throw my head in my
hands. “What the hell is this thing?”
Ike’s response is not
one I am expecting. “You don’t want to know.”
“Are we going to
survive this?” I’m not sure that I’ve ever been portrayed as weak, but if I
have, this is it.
Ike glances over at me
with a tight line forming at his lips.
“They are emptying out
the prisons in an attempt to have set check points for the uninfected to check
in and be protected by the military. Two of the four state prisons have already
been evacuated, with the other two to follow shortly.”
I can’t help the gasp
that escapes my lips from the information being relayed through the radio.
“What are they doing with the prisoners?”
“My guess? With this
epidemic they have going on currently, prisoners are the least of their
worries. They are putting them on the streets,” Ike answers, unusually calm and
collected.
“Are you fucking joking
me?” I can’t help my outburst. “The world is literally going to shit.”
The only saving grace I
have is that the prisoners are branded with barcodes on the back of their
necks. If I make sure to check every person we encounter, it won’t be a
problem. But I think that is going to be easier said than done.
Ike clicks off the
radio abruptly, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“You have anyone left?”
Ike asks as we drive further into the darkness. It is barely 4:00 p.m.
according to the clock on the dashboard, yet the sun set nearly an hour ago. And
now, there is no radio to drown out the awkward silence.
“Just my little sister,”
I answer, my eyes fixated on the stars twinkling idly by. They are so
deceivingly beautiful, and out during the ugliest of nights.
“What’s her name?” Ike
asks, turning the a/c up a bit.
“Rian, but I like to
call her Ry. She says it always makes her feel special.” I feel a pang in my
chest. I hadn’t realized just how much I had been missing my sister until the
rest of my family was lost.
“Have you tried to get
ahold of her?” Ike asks, glancing over at me.
“I don’t even know
where to begin.” Ike gives me a strange look in response to my confession.
Silence falls upon the
car as we continue driving without further explanations from one another. And
that is how we leave it for at least another ten minutes. I think we are going
to remain that way—in muted silence, when Ike surprises me by asking another
question. “Where is she? Do we need to go pick her up somewhere?” The
suggestion makes me feel like a bad sister.
“It’s not that easy,” I
begin. “My sister is away at boarding school.”
Ike looks at me quickly
with a somewhat shocked expression.
I shrug my shoulders.
“She got into a lot of trouble…I probably wasn’t the best role model.”
I remember when my
parents made the decision to send her to boarding school, I was so relieved. I
knew that with her being in a completely different state, it made my Uncle’s
access to her nearly impossible. While I hated the thought of her being alone
in a new place without me, I was thankful she would have a safe environment to
grow up in, somewhere she would feel safe.
We continue to drive in
silence for a few more minutes before Ike decides to speak up again. “Where is
she, Phoenix?”
“Florida.”
“How old is she?” Ike
continues to try to make conversation.
“Thirteen.” I sigh, not
wanting to talk. Ike doesn’t seem to notice.
“My baby was just seven
years old…such a tragedy,” Ike chokes on the last word. I glance over at him
just in time to notice him biting his lip and a tear trickling down his cheek;
instantly feeling guilty for having any sort of attitude.
“Is she one of the lost
souls now?” I find myself asking; not sure if I am overstepping boundaries or
not.
He doesn’t answer me,
just silently cries while staring out the windshield.
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