Silence
The first thing I did after emerging from the apartment building was to check the street. I wasn’t checking to make sure there were no cars before crossing, but rather, to be sure there were no infected in sight. I don’t think I’ve seen a car running in nearly a month.
If there were any around, I could easily hide inside and wait until it’s clear or exit the building through a different door. The most important thing to remember is that the infected will pursue you as long as they know where you are. If spotted, the first thing you should do is try to find a corner that you can take to break line of sight. Which is why, when I move through the city, I approach any intersection by hugging the wall and moving towards the corner.
The obvious risk with this tactic is that I can’t see if there are any infected around the corner which is why I remain as quiet as possible. There’s no foolproof way of avoiding detection. All you can do is minimize the risk.
Reminiscent of a special forces unit from a movie, I carefully crept towards the corner with my body pressed against the wall. I peeked around the corner to make sure the coast was clear. This is how I’ve managed to survive the last three months.
I moved forward after confirming there were no infected in sight. Still trying to remain silent, I made my way across the street to the next corner I spotted. The infected have the same level of hearing as a human, so it’s unlikely that any of them would be able to hear me unless I made a lot of noise, but I can’t know if there are any lurking in a nearby building or around the next corner, so it’s best to assume they’re everywhere.
Running also isn’t an option. It would obviously make more noise, but it would also tire me out faster. Assuming I don’t draw the attention of any of the infected while running to my destination, I may have made it there quickly, but I’ll be exhausted and easy prey for them.
My destination was a supermarket located not far from the area I saw that woman being eaten. It’s across a main road, which means there are plenty of long, unobstructed sightlines from which the infected could easily spot me. These areas are one of the few times I’ll break my rule and sprint across them as quickly as possible.
I checked both sides of the street before finally making my decision to sprint out from my hiding place behind a flipped over car. I ran full force with the speed of a high schooler that ran a six second fifty metre dash. The total distance I needed to run was only around thirty metres or so, but it felt like over a hundred. I was certain I’d be spotted as I made my dash to my next cover, a crashed semi-trailer.
The trailer was only a few feet from the entrance to the supermarket. It had tipped over off the side of the road and now lie partially on the sidewalk, blocking off one side of the front doors. I carefully stepped through the shattered glass doors and made my way inside.
The interior of the market resembled the open apartments I’d passed earlier. Most of the shelves had been cleared while cans and bottles covered the floor. There was a surprising amount of products left considering the place had obviously been looted. My best guess is some of the infected interrupted whoever was here before me. This town is all but deserted now, so even with there being relatively few infected remaining here, it’s not likely that any survivors would come to grab the remaining supplies.
However, the supplies were beginning to dwindle with me making several trips here over the last two weeks. There’s potentially a few weeks left of supplies here before I’ll need to find a new source of food. The apartment I’ve been living in is an ideal shelter so I’d hate to leave it unless necessary.
The shelf containing all of the food was barren. The first time I came here I moved anything useful out of sight so other survivors wouldn’t take anything I need. There’s too little food here to be split up.
I made my way to the back counter and reached underneath cash register six and pulled out the plastic bag of supplies. There were several cans of food and bottles of water. From what I can tell, there’s no sign of anything missing. I took out a week’s worth of supplies before returning the bag to my hiding place.
Several of the registers had been broken into and loose change was scattered across the counter and floor. Whatever survivor was here cleared out most of the registers, but I don’t understand what purpose they would have for money at this point in time. Supplies are more important than even gold and your life’s most important. What purpose does risking your life for money serve?
I heard reports from the Japanese government that they’d guarantee the value of any cash once the outbreak was contained, but that same government is now in ruins. The few communities that do exist exchange goods rather than using any currency.
I guess it’s true that if mankind makes it through this and everything returns to normal, the people that stole and hoarded cash will become rich, but I don’t see such a peaceful future ever happening.
I wrapped everything in a towel to reduce noise before placing it in my bag. Just as I was getting ready to pick up my bag and leave, a hint of movement near the entrance caught my attention. I got down low behind the counter and locked my eyes on the entrance.
There’s someone in here with me. From what I can tell, there was only one figure, but due to the light flooding in from outside hitting them from behind, I couldn’t make out their face. Is it an infected or a survivor? If it’s just one, I should be able to handle them.
I grabbed my crowbar and maglite and readied myself. The maglite can be used as a baton, but it’s too light to be used to beat someone over and over. The crowbar is my go to weapon for that. It’s long and reasonably heavy, but it’s also easy to carry when I need to run at full sprint.
The figure appeared to be carefully checking the shelves. If they were infected they’d have no reason to do this nor would they possess the intelligence to confirm what they’re looking at anyway. It has to be a survivor.
Just because they’re human doesn’t mean I can let my guard down. In this new world, there are plenty of people that will kill other survivors just for fun.
The person slowly made their way toward the direction of the food aisle. The only way for them to get there was to pass straight by the sixth register. I waited for them to pass in front before springing out to confront them.
“Who’s there!?”
I kept my voice low while speaking clearly enough for them to hear me. I stood up while shining the light in their eyes. I heard, “Kya!” before seeing the figure fall to the ground.
The person searching the market looked to be a high school girl. She had short black hair and wore a sailor uniform that must have belonged to the school she attended. When she fell to the ground, her skirt flipped up but I was unable to see her panties due to the shorts she wore underneath.
…it’s not like I was disappointed or anything!
“W-Who are you…?”
Her voice trembled as she spoke. I checked both of her hands for a weapon before lowering my maglite. It’s unlikely that she’s a threat, but I still kept my crowbar at the ready.
“I asked you first. Do you live here? Are there other survivors?”
“I-I only recently fled a refugee zone. We were attacked and overrun by them….”
“You’re alone?”
The girl quickly nodded in response to my question. I noticed how her eyes were constantly shifting from side-to-side as if she were looking for a means of escape. She’s scared of me and I can understand why. I surprised her and started interrogating her without ever giving her a chance to ask anything herself.
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Thank you