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dukeenchiladasThe outbreak had been months ago. The world came to a standstill but time crept along without it. Garth saw the spring melt into a blazing summer, the stench of rot and ruin peaking under a festering sun. Then the summer cooled off. But They didn't. Their numbers had undoubtedly grown, decimating all of Garth's groups of survivors.
Truth be told, Garth hadn't realized there was an outbreak initially. He stayed locked into his apartment for days on end. Holidays and relatives' birthdays skipping over him. He spent the first week of the outbreak gaming on his computer and heating the frozen burritos he kept.
Garth should've known something was up on the third day when the internet had gone out. He couldn't reset the router, and was isolated from his gaming friends. With no access to servers, he switched to the singleplayer, offline games to keep him company. A few days later his computer turned off. Garth was in the middle of a boss fight. Frustrated, he threw his keyboard and smashed his monitor.
Okay, so it was a bit of an overreaction, but Garth figured he could just call for a replacement to be delivered from the electronics store. He went to the breaker and saw that every fuse was active. Nothing was tripped. For the first time that week, Garth actually walked out onto his balcony and surveyed the natural world.
As soon as he took a deep breath to center himself and his emotions, he retched. Nearly regurgitating the last burrito he had eaten, he braces himself against the iron bars separating him from a twenty-foot drop. From his new perspective he can see the source of the odor: Margaret. His octogenarian neighbor from downstairs, she would occasionally bring up some cookies or a home-cooked meal for Garth. Instead of her loving, grandmotherly smile her face turned towards Garth, gray with decay, her few remaining real teeth bared to him like a starving wolf. Her once prim and proper red floral blouse was covered in filth and the lace at her collar was stained brown.
Garth rushed back inside and slammed the balcony door. Looking around, he knew had only two options- stay and die, or leave and hopefully survive. He grabbed his old schoolbag and threw some underwear and cans of ravioli into it. It wasn't much, but Garth would have no use for anything else he had here.
Truth be told, Garth hadn't realized there was an outbreak initially. He stayed locked into his apartment for days on end. Holidays and relatives' birthdays skipping over him. He spent the first week of the outbreak gaming on his computer and heating the frozen burritos he kept.
Garth should've known something was up on the third day when the internet had gone out. He couldn't reset the router, and was isolated from his gaming friends. With no access to servers, he switched to the singleplayer, offline games to keep him company. A few days later his computer turned off. Garth was in the middle of a boss fight. Frustrated, he threw his keyboard and smashed his monitor.
Okay, so it was a bit of an overreaction, but Garth figured he could just call for a replacement to be delivered from the electronics store. He went to the breaker and saw that every fuse was active. Nothing was tripped. For the first time that week, Garth actually walked out onto his balcony and surveyed the natural world.
As soon as he took a deep breath to center himself and his emotions, he retched. Nearly regurgitating the last burrito he had eaten, he braces himself against the iron bars separating him from a twenty-foot drop. From his new perspective he can see the source of the odor: Margaret. His octogenarian neighbor from downstairs, she would occasionally bring up some cookies or a home-cooked meal for Garth. Instead of her loving, grandmotherly smile her face turned towards Garth, gray with decay, her few remaining real teeth bared to him like a starving wolf. Her once prim and proper red floral blouse was covered in filth and the lace at her collar was stained brown.
Garth rushed back inside and slammed the balcony door. Looking around, he knew had only two options- stay and die, or leave and hopefully survive. He grabbed his old schoolbag and threw some underwear and cans of ravioli into it. It wasn't much, but Garth would have no use for anything else he had here.
