October/21st/2012
7:00AM
Location: Cabin, in the woods.
View: Jason's point of view.
I woke up in the bed, hard springs, terrible feeling in my gut as I wake. The entire world is shit. Is funny how a simple day can turn into a nightmare after a small amount of time passing. What happened? Why did it happen? These things I won’t ever get answers to possibly ever. I listened as the sir flowed through the curtains a bit. The makeshift curtains of plaid shirts we cut into strips to make it was great to make, not like we can run out of clothing. Last time we went into town, we almost got over runned by the Dog monsters. They swarmed like a hornet and a nest after you interrupted the nest.
The day it all happened was unexpected, it changes us all, it changed this entire group. A group that used to be a group of just some highschool kids and common teenagers problems sorta learned to mature real quickly, real fast. It was unbelievable, by how many people can die quickly.
I listened the whistling winds and the morning rising through the curtains. The Day seemed light, clouds are around but a small ray of the sun still shines through. It’s off how even when the Apocalypse have happened that you can still find beauty in things. I slowly sat up, moving the leather like blanket off of me. My black hair dripped down in front of me as I breathed in a bit. “This is gonna be a long day again, isn’t it?” I said to myself as I sighed and throw my feet in front of me, off of the bed. The hardwood floor was frozen cold, but that is what we get for not riding the bike for 2 hours and only an hour. Better tell Red that so he can handle Aiden and all. There is just the 4 of us that lives here; Azaki, Red, Aiden and I myself that lives in this cabin. It has been 5 years since the incident, since we all got thrown into this living hell. I placed my foot firmly on the ground, breathing a bit as i stood up and held my weight onto my legs. The flooring creaked a bit, as usual. Cabin been here for I don’t know how long, but it been here for quite a while and after renovating it, I have found out it had a basement. We put our canned good and emergency rations in there just in case we need to move, but is unlikely. I take a few steps, grabbing my military boots and coat as I eyed my Rifle I put away.
The assault rifle I had I had for a while, been a bit honestly and handling the recoil after a while was Hell as a kid, but in all goodness it came in handy in our worsts moments. Still had the 4 claw marks of a Rat monster that has grabbed it once and almost took my head. Almost like a trophy, some things need to be put away. As I got ready, I heard Aiden snore loudly in the top bunk of my bed.
Aiden, the blond haired blue eyed sniper boy we have. Random in what he does and say but is always positive, even after everything, almost like he never changed. I watched for a moment as I smiled and moved to the bedside, pushing it a bit to startle him. “Aiden, hay, wake up man.” I said as Aiden woke up looking groggy and tired still. Looked at me as he turned around and spoke a bit in a muffled tone.
“Man it’s too early in the morning man… why do this to me? Just 10 more minutes man.” Aiden said. I looked at my phone that was nearly dead by the space heater. 7:58AM. It’s fine if he rest for just a bit more. Not like we are under attack. I started looking around the room, looking at the bookshelf and how it’s holding books of cells, native trapping, animology biology, medications and chemical reactions to the human body. I sighed as I already read all of the Cells and Biology books, some chemist but that’s basically it. Found the books in a store that was, would ya guess it, was selling books. Thankfully though I did not use a single cent for it because everyone around that area was turned or dead. Turned or infected people gain mutations, grow inhuman features and their conscious minds get overcome by this virus. We have confirmed it has phases.
Phase 1, you develop rashes or body malfunctions such as muscle pain, aches, and sometimes increase in the amount of food you eat. Weight gain and some random actions may occur but it seems it has to do with calories and how much your body is burning trying to fight the infection of sorts. Mostly you’ll be drinking or eating more calcium type foods which will be explained later.
Phase 2, have high fever, less care for yourself and a headache that may put you in bed if your young and it has ahold of you. Such more can occur such as random muscle compulsion and being quite lazy of things.
Phase 3 is the morbid part, it revolves with body and bone marrow moving and growing new things from access calcium you ate the time you were hosting this parasite and create you into a dog monster or a rat monster with aggressive behavior and foul elements of poison or rabies that may come with what the parasite already done to you.
Once it Has ahold of you and enter your blood or body, it’s over. It’s like the Flu but worse. If we see anyone with these symptoms and all we end them as soon as we get the chance. I know what you think, how can you be so certain? We know when we see one of us act in such ways. If Tylenol does not work or giving them 300mg of it does not work, it’s best to shoot them once they change, better to die then endure that suffering. It is not showing up in cells or anything till it’s active and all, what activates it is unsure by what we know. There used to be 8 of us but we whittled down into just the 4 of us now. A buddy of ours became sick and gotten poisoned with a bacterial infection that spread from his leg. By the time he told us it already grew too far to amputate and died by staying behind by him slowing us down. Another one of us died due to being mauled by a pack of them.
Our life has been nothing but hell in all honesty, but seems like that’s life. I walked over to the door, opening it by pulling it’s handle. The hall was empty but the smell of something was cooking was around. Possibly rice and chicken again. I walked out as my boots stomped down the halls with a clunk sound and a creak per step. Pictures of the original family of this household was strung up. I noticed each household and picture tells a story.
The people who lived here before the apocalypse and all was 3 brothers, one of them named Ron and he created this cabin after buying the land. Used the river up north of the cabin to get fish whenever he was hungry. Least that what we gotten from the pictures because they had some tapes too like some man versus wild stuff.
I gotten to the end, looking at the wooden stools and the table that was polished and created with screws. It was dulled down by its age but can still hold our weight though. I manage to stumble onto one of the stools, feeling it’s cold morning air against my skin, I know I need to get the bike going so the heat can be turned on. I stood up, a bit annoyed as I heard a female groaned a bit outside.
Taking a look, I saw Azaki outside, attacking the hay dummy we made for her. Azaki was attacking it with her sword, still in its sheath by the way, as she still seemed stern. I don’t know why but the innocent and sad Azaki I know of was never this aggressive, was always kind and loving. I didn’t understand why she kept her hummingbird necklace on and angry attitude, but then it could be the fact she has not mourned for quite some time. Maybe anger is the only way she could vent right now after everything that has happened. Maybe the death of Alice was far too much on her, almost like I can’t even have a conversation with her like we did years ago.
I decided to let her be, walking away from the window, having Azaki have her alone time training as I make my way towards the back door. I passed through the kitchen as I walked on the wooden floor and past the small cobblestone like fire stove the brothers made. It was made out of stone, mud, and a few other things that made it work like a stove. All you had to do is put the wood in it, start it up, put the metal grate on it and start cooking. Honestly we barely gotten any food at all since our last visit to the city because of the increase of monsters and monster types throughout the years. I gathered enough information about them to take them down one by own and get food, but it also risks our own area being tracked down and destroyed. Recently Red made this area that we all put up our guns, take out bows and go primitive for survival, making a few rules too.
Rule 1, Do not ever make explosives, fire a gun, or make a bright fire more than 5 feet tall and 3 feet in diameter. To make sure the monsters do not hear us, see us, or smell us in a long distance from where we live.
Rule 2, You must not leave alone and must go in pairs to avoid one another getting lost and potentially dying without anyone knowing and always report to Red.
I always disliked the rules but it worked, the electricity and the bike give us our training for cardio and farming gives us resources we do not need from the city really. The sink in the kitchen works, but we still boil it and filter it for safety reasons. We are all not allowed outside past 10 because that is when the rat like creatures are more active. Since we can not use our guns to protect ourselves at night due to the noise, we can’t hit them by their agility and acrobatics.
Let me get this to you straight, each monster has its reasons of upsides and downsides yet we don’t know them all. The Rat Monster, as we titled it, Has extreme mobility and is ravaged of disease through it’s saliva however it is not tough at all so you can easily body shot it and kill. Same with the Dog Monsters and all, not so fast really but is great in defensive maneuvers and communicate well in groups, ambushes, stuff like that. There are many more that are out of our league in knowing what they are capable of but I guess we just need to carry on.
I went to the back door, checking the forest clearing as I went out. Watching the Cow stumble around as Red was at its udders, squeezing them as he then threw the bucket and shouted a bit in frustration. Red’s annoying cocky voice always annoyed me as him and me never got along. “Fucking Infected bitch!” he yelled as he have the milk splashed about a tad, onto the leaves.
“Hay, what is going on Red!?” I yelled back as I approached him with some aggressive level of behavior. One thing to note, Red is a very temperamental hot head when things came to it. One time, things didn’t go as planned as Tatuke died by Red’s pistol.
Red was casually leading the group, running out of bullets and everyone growing thin in our heard. I wanted to go out of the city and so did everyone else but Tatuke didn’t sadly. Since Tatuke was pointing at Red and posing a threat and Azaki was already in distressed, red made Tatuke silenced with a pistol to Tatuke’s head. Red said “Either you are coming with us quietly or you are leaving, you choose.” and tatuke spoke. Worst decision that was ever made as Red fired his pistol the first word that came out of Tatuke’s mouth, his last words was…
“Stop”
I never understood why Red did what he did, but he kept us all safe. Red has lead us in the right direction while also making bad decisions to save us all. I would be amazed he kept his cool, but most likely he won’t and never will.
"The blasted Cow is infected and I bet the Calf is too Jason.” Red said as he holds his head and started trying to breathe and calm down. Right, the calf was about to be born sometime this week and if the animal is infected, what madness could the calf be?
I slowly approached Red and spoke a bit, trying to take control of the situation at hand. “Hay, we could cut her open and see if the calf is still a-”
“Stop with that thought Jason!” Red yelled, demanding as I try to talk a bit more to make him understand.
“Red, it takes about 4 days for it to incubate, if it’s showing early signs there may be a hope the calf is not-” but soon Red grabbed the bucket and pointed it out to me, cutting me off once again.
“See this? It’s curdled black spotted milk with a bit of blood, meaning since the cord from the mother is injected into the child, meaning it is already to late Jason. Get that through your skull and go tend to the chickens.” Red said as I saw exactly what he was talking about.
White milk with small skim like substances floating to the top, black specks and pink like around it with a small like hair like blood splatter drops in the milk bucket itself. The smell was foul, like imagine never brushing your teeth and eat the most disgusting things in the world like the common, Cottage cheese, but rotten. Now picture it hitting your stomach and resting there, not going through you no, just settled there and everytime you breathe it smelled horrendous. Well that was exactly I smelled and saw with the bucket launched at my face and the breeze helped it get taken in.
I wanted to gag or even worse, vomit the only thing left in my stomach since last night left over deer we ate. I quickly shook my head is disgust and started to walk away, towards the Chicken coop as I saw her again, Azaki, in the back by the Chicken coop. After everything, she is still as beautiful as ever. Cold to the touch now, but is still the most beautiful in my opinion with her dark hair and green eyes shimmer like the leaves of summer. I still can not believe after all of this I still have feelings for her but what am I to kid right?
What Aiden said back then was a joke about kissing and all, how can I ever date her as she is like a sister to me. It feels wrong but I know it is not like red would even let me near her because of the ‘big brother’ act. I still don’t like him, even after all of this he still gives me unsettling vibes.
I approuch Azaki, listening to her as Azaki checks the chicken coop. Her hair dark, eyes piercing green. I always wanted to know what happened back then, but also she never found Alice it seems, all those years ago. Seems what is bringing her down is the thought of Alice, then again, we never settled down so maybe Azaki is mourning soon, maybe that why she is extra quiet. She kept the arm patched up, and sure we want to pry but she been just a killer robot ever since that day.
Her sword kept on her back, still in it's leather sheath as she examined the chicks, putting one down and grabbing another just to prick it with a small knife and examine the blood.
I kneel beside Azaki, on the other side of theFemce and Azaki spoke as she just suddenly snapped a chicken's neck with no hesitation. "What do you want?" She asks as Azaki seemed cold, distant and firce likea frozen rose ready to finally blossom from the depths of winter and everlasting cold.
"Nothing, was just checking on you to see if you don't start cutting yourself or go off alone." I said as she puts the chicken in a garbage bag, and wrinse her hands in some water. I didn't want anything of her, knowing she could just easily ruin me in seconds, even if I had a gun.
Azaki shook her head and pricked another Chicken, examining its blood as she lets it go and sighs. "Why would I go offalone, you already know my brother would kill me if he knew at all if I was doing any either of those." Her cold temper grew even more as she stops looking at my direction. "Besides, remember thatone time you missed fired as a kid and took one of our lives? Or the fact that you've grown so naive and believe there is a cure for what nature have done to us. There's not, now do something productive or im going to ring your neck, just like this unfortunate chicken." Azaki said as she grabs the neck of a small hen, gripping its head as it struggles, but Azaki used her biceps and footing to keep it still as she twisted it's neck in different ways. Throwing itin the garbage, she looks at me with the cold stair, a stair she'd possibly kill a newborn child with.
I shook my head a bit, letting out a sigh as I start retreating to the cabin. I need to wake Aiden up anyways, if only Azaki can open up, I'm sure we all can understand.