Once Was Earth - Chapter Two

Chapter Two

“Bret. Do you know what happened?”

“No. Just all of a sudden news reports started to come in. People getting sick, riots. Oh, those damn riots. So many people died. Not a lot of the infected, but a majority of the human population. Bible-thumpers, end-of-the-world crazies, gangs, they were all very dangerous at the beginning. Hell, it’s pretty obvious that if you killed someone, they’d wake right back up. And come for you. But they just killed anyways. Families. I’m talking fathers, husbands, mothers, wives. Children.”

He laughs to himself, then looks down at his crutch next to the couch.

“Those sick b******s. They crucified people. It only takes an epidemic to set us all back 5,000 years. As the bodies piled up, and with limited time to get rid of them before they woke, people tried to burn them, drown them. Dumb s***s.”

He takes another sip of scotch.

“You burn the infected; the virus goes airborne, for a few minutes, but still airborne. You try to drown them? They just get a little water-logged, and they come back up, hungry. No one thought to shoot the dead right in the head, and put them six feet under? No one? ‘Okay guys, let’s wait ‘til they try to eat us, then, shoot them in the head! Great idea huh!?’ Not even close.”

“Once the undead started to overwhelm what was left of the human population, people started to panic, then band together; after there was only a few survivors left. Me? I just stayed here. Locked my s**t up. Got out guns, power tools, weapons, generators, filled the bathtub, you name it. Beer is food, right? Ha ha ha.”

“No one even thought to rob you? Kill you?” I asked.

“Nope. People tried to come here for help. They saw my home as a potential fortress to get at least a night’s sleep. It looks abandoned, you don’t have to tell me twice.

Families. I gave them the things I had for future support if we ever met again. But as for Brenda, she had nowhere else to go. And it wouldn’t be so bad having some company, right? Oh, yea, Mr. C.I.A.? Why are you asking me what happened? I thought you worked for them government. Don’t you have all the answers?”

“I’m sorry. I do have some, but I want to find out what the hell happened to you! I mean…” I start to bawl. “You’re supposed to be my big brother…”

He motions for a hug. I walk over to him. I hug him gentler than I hugged him before.

“I’m sorry, Goggles. I’m sorry I did this.”

I pull away quickly, wiping tears from my eyes.

“What?”

“That’s right; I tried to shoot myself after I saved Brenda. The feelings of pain in my heart were killing me before I was going to do it myself. I locked myself upstairs in a rage, I was shaking, my hands were sweaty, I quickly tried to grab the gun, but it slipped, it fell to the floor, and the gun went off. It shot me right in the knee. I screamed and fell to the floor. I was in so much pain. And I was bleeding badly. I finally got my wits back, and reached to unlock the door. The lock clicked, and Brenda burst through the door. She took off her sweater, and tightly wrapped it around my leg. It wouldn’t stop bleeding.”

“How did you survive?”

“Brenda’s a smart lady. She grabbed a hacksaw, and amputated my leg right above my knee. I passed out from the pain, and apparently, she had my leg singed, and clotted to stop the bleeding. When I came to, I was lying on this very couch, my bloody stump bandaged up; she rushed in once she saw me up. Brenda, she brought me sweet tea and a peanut butter sandwich. I gulped it all down quickly… This was about a week ago.”

I stood up. Something broke my concentration to my brother. It startled me. Someone was at the door.