Status: Am still trying to write, but school is keeping me really busy
Hopeless Wanderer
One
I think the whole situation might be more amusing if it weren't so damned sad. An introvert by nature living in forced isolation, slowly going crazy from being so utterly alone. I know I'm absolutely safe here but this knowledge leaves my brain time to dwell on everything I've lost and everything I don't know. The photograph of my favorite sandy haired goofball only conjured up memories I wished I could bury but I just couldn't bring myself to destroy his picture.
"Babe, maybe you could just postpone your trip for a few weeks?"
"What is it, Will? Why don't you want to see me? Is it somebody else?" Tears welled in my light green eyes, a mixture of anger and loss. I hadn’t seen him since he started his grad program last year. The months apart really wore down my emotional stability.
"You know that's not true. I'm just worried about you. With all the weird shit going on I just think you'd be safer at home. You can come in a few weeks when things die down. Please?” I responded in stubborn silence. My mind slowly contemplated my next move. “Are you there? Jenn?” I sighed.
“Yeah, I’m here, but I’ve got to get back to work. Love you, Will.”
I promised I would reconsider, but showed up on his doorstep that weekend in my Georgia State University sweatshirt and a large grin anyway. I never planned to delay my trip, no matter what strange stories Will told me to try to keep me away. Of course, had I known it was the beginning of the end of the world, I may have at least packed my bag a little differently.
“Jesus Christ, Jenn. What the hell are you doing here? I told you to stay home!” Emotional tears welled up, completely out of my control.
“What is it? Is she here right now?” In my mind, another girl was the only reason he would react to seeing me that way. As he yanked me inside by the forearm, and I saw his roommate sweating profusely in the living room despite sitting in a kiddy pool full of ice, I began to understand what the real issue was.
“This-” he pointed at Jeremy. “This is what I didn’t want you to see. Something is wrong. Some asshole attacked him, bit him right in the wrist there-” he pointed at the bloody bandage on Jeremy’s wrist. "Then this damned fever broke out and no doctor can help him. This is happening all over the city. I don't know what to do. ” I always knew the human mouth was a filthy place, but for one bite to cause this? It blew my mind. “You shouldn’t have come here, do you understand?” Worry, borderline panic, permeated his voice. All I could manage was a weak nod, although I truly didn’t understand this at all. So Jeremy had a fever and other people were going around biting each other. Why was that supposed to mean anything to me?
Will gave me a tour of their house and set me up to be comfortable for the evening while he watched over Jeremy. His temper turned for the worst when he realized he couldn't get me on a flight back home. Atlanta was already starting to shut down. He shut his laptop and turned off the tv. I tried my best to be quiet. I knew he was just worried about me but I'd never seen him so angry in my life. He paced the area in front of the couch, tapping his fingers rapidly on his thighs. I watched him walk back and forth and back and forth until finally I couldn't take any more. I carefully stepped in and wrapped my arms around his neck.
"Will, it's going to be just fine. Whatever happens, at least we'll be together." I pulled away slightly to read the look in his eyes but he pulled me in closer.
"It would kill me if anything happened to you. Maybe you could sleep in Jeremy's shelter tonight?" I wanted to laugh at how ridiculous he was being. No way was I going to feed his fear by sleeping in his nutty survivalist roommate's apocalypse bunker. I was going to sleep safe and sound in Will's bed, wrestling him for the blanket all night. Until I noticed the kiddy pool was empty, except for the water from the melted ice. Dark spots on the carpet indicated he’d gone into the dining room.
I whispered in Will’s ear, “Where is Jeremy?” He spun around, letting go of me, practically knocking me to the ground in the process. I stood frozen as he walked into the dining room. I don’t know what we were both so scared of. Jeremy was in so much pain with his fever that it should be good news he got up and walked away. Will screamed and I ran the short distance to him. Jeremy sat in a dining chair, head on the table.
“I...I think he’s dead,” Will whispered. I wanted to agree, but Jeremy’s right hand was twitching. I pointed it out to Will, who stepped in closer to investigate. He took a step back as Jeremy slowly sat up and I slowly took a step back. Something about this wasn’t sitting quite right. His head swiveled over to look at us, and that’s when we noticed something was wrong with his eyes. They were super cloudy, as if perhaps he’d gone blind.
Time slowed down. At least my memory of it always played it back in an agonizingly slow pace. Jeremy made an almost inhuman groan as he lunged at Will, luckily getting tangled up in the chair and falling. He straightened himself up, and lunged for Will again.
“Jeremy, it’s me. Will. Your roommate?” His hand reached out for him again, that groan still escaping from his mouth. “Hey, man, don’t you remember me?” Apparently not, since he made another desperate reach, getting closer and closer. “Jeremy, you need to just sit back down, ok? You’re really sick.” To my horror, this reach found him. His fingers curled around Will’s arm and with surprising strength pulled him in closer. Then my memory fails me. The next thing I know, Jeremy is biting at Will’s neck as he struggled to get away, pulling the flesh back and chewing it as simply as if he were just eating chicken wings or barbecued ribs. I should’ve tried to help him, but I was too full of terror to even move until Will yelled at me to just run. I ran to Jeremy’s bunker and locked myself in, hoping that maniac didn’t have some sort of spare key he could use to get inside. I sat in front of the door, shaking all over, waiting and hoping for Will to come find me.
"Babe, maybe you could just postpone your trip for a few weeks?"
"What is it, Will? Why don't you want to see me? Is it somebody else?" Tears welled in my light green eyes, a mixture of anger and loss. I hadn’t seen him since he started his grad program last year. The months apart really wore down my emotional stability.
"You know that's not true. I'm just worried about you. With all the weird shit going on I just think you'd be safer at home. You can come in a few weeks when things die down. Please?” I responded in stubborn silence. My mind slowly contemplated my next move. “Are you there? Jenn?” I sighed.
“Yeah, I’m here, but I’ve got to get back to work. Love you, Will.”
I promised I would reconsider, but showed up on his doorstep that weekend in my Georgia State University sweatshirt and a large grin anyway. I never planned to delay my trip, no matter what strange stories Will told me to try to keep me away. Of course, had I known it was the beginning of the end of the world, I may have at least packed my bag a little differently.
“Jesus Christ, Jenn. What the hell are you doing here? I told you to stay home!” Emotional tears welled up, completely out of my control.
“What is it? Is she here right now?” In my mind, another girl was the only reason he would react to seeing me that way. As he yanked me inside by the forearm, and I saw his roommate sweating profusely in the living room despite sitting in a kiddy pool full of ice, I began to understand what the real issue was.
“This-” he pointed at Jeremy. “This is what I didn’t want you to see. Something is wrong. Some asshole attacked him, bit him right in the wrist there-” he pointed at the bloody bandage on Jeremy’s wrist. "Then this damned fever broke out and no doctor can help him. This is happening all over the city. I don't know what to do. ” I always knew the human mouth was a filthy place, but for one bite to cause this? It blew my mind. “You shouldn’t have come here, do you understand?” Worry, borderline panic, permeated his voice. All I could manage was a weak nod, although I truly didn’t understand this at all. So Jeremy had a fever and other people were going around biting each other. Why was that supposed to mean anything to me?
Will gave me a tour of their house and set me up to be comfortable for the evening while he watched over Jeremy. His temper turned for the worst when he realized he couldn't get me on a flight back home. Atlanta was already starting to shut down. He shut his laptop and turned off the tv. I tried my best to be quiet. I knew he was just worried about me but I'd never seen him so angry in my life. He paced the area in front of the couch, tapping his fingers rapidly on his thighs. I watched him walk back and forth and back and forth until finally I couldn't take any more. I carefully stepped in and wrapped my arms around his neck.
"Will, it's going to be just fine. Whatever happens, at least we'll be together." I pulled away slightly to read the look in his eyes but he pulled me in closer.
"It would kill me if anything happened to you. Maybe you could sleep in Jeremy's shelter tonight?" I wanted to laugh at how ridiculous he was being. No way was I going to feed his fear by sleeping in his nutty survivalist roommate's apocalypse bunker. I was going to sleep safe and sound in Will's bed, wrestling him for the blanket all night. Until I noticed the kiddy pool was empty, except for the water from the melted ice. Dark spots on the carpet indicated he’d gone into the dining room.
I whispered in Will’s ear, “Where is Jeremy?” He spun around, letting go of me, practically knocking me to the ground in the process. I stood frozen as he walked into the dining room. I don’t know what we were both so scared of. Jeremy was in so much pain with his fever that it should be good news he got up and walked away. Will screamed and I ran the short distance to him. Jeremy sat in a dining chair, head on the table.
“I...I think he’s dead,” Will whispered. I wanted to agree, but Jeremy’s right hand was twitching. I pointed it out to Will, who stepped in closer to investigate. He took a step back as Jeremy slowly sat up and I slowly took a step back. Something about this wasn’t sitting quite right. His head swiveled over to look at us, and that’s when we noticed something was wrong with his eyes. They were super cloudy, as if perhaps he’d gone blind.
Time slowed down. At least my memory of it always played it back in an agonizingly slow pace. Jeremy made an almost inhuman groan as he lunged at Will, luckily getting tangled up in the chair and falling. He straightened himself up, and lunged for Will again.
“Jeremy, it’s me. Will. Your roommate?” His hand reached out for him again, that groan still escaping from his mouth. “Hey, man, don’t you remember me?” Apparently not, since he made another desperate reach, getting closer and closer. “Jeremy, you need to just sit back down, ok? You’re really sick.” To my horror, this reach found him. His fingers curled around Will’s arm and with surprising strength pulled him in closer. Then my memory fails me. The next thing I know, Jeremy is biting at Will’s neck as he struggled to get away, pulling the flesh back and chewing it as simply as if he were just eating chicken wings or barbecued ribs. I should’ve tried to help him, but I was too full of terror to even move until Will yelled at me to just run. I ran to Jeremy’s bunker and locked myself in, hoping that maniac didn’t have some sort of spare key he could use to get inside. I sat in front of the door, shaking all over, waiting and hoping for Will to come find me.