Blue Through the Grey

Spring.

The cool crisp night air surrounds me as I step out onto the porch of the cabin. My long sleeve shirt doesn’t keep me very warm, I cross my arms, rubbing them to keep heat circulated. The camp invited us in, no problem. It’s the safest place I’ve been. Shipping containers are used for walls, watch towers are set up around the parameter, rows of solar panels keep the power running, and the 30 acres provide plenty of room for cabins, small medical areas, sleeping areas, kitchens, and even a training spot. We’re thriving here. Marco pumps water out of a spigot outside, he doesn’t wanna use the kitchen sink in our cabin for some reason.
“Hey there, stranger,” I say, sneaking up on him.
“Hey.” He smiles. “What’s up?.”
“Andrea wants Sasha and me to head out on a supply run tomorrow. Any requests?.”
“Some candy maybe? I’m dying without it.” He fills the bucket with water and places it near a horse.
“Gotcha. So, we’ve been here for three months and haven’t really talked strategy. The infected are mutating each day.”
“So let’s talk to Andrea after your supply run.” He grabs my hand. “We’ll be okay here.”
“Yeah,” I say. “But we still need to be ready if an attack does come. The aliens have been sitting still for awhile.”
The gate opens up and a car enters. It pulls up to the cabin and out walk Sasha and Melanie. They just got back from another camp, talking about clearing the infected out of the corn field and preparing it. If we get together, we’ll be able to wipe the area clean. We’ll build walls and get to work. Our small garden is nice, but a huge field would work for all the communities. Sasha kisses my cheek and slaps my ass when she walks off. She’s beautiful, dark skin, slim, badass, flowing hair down to her shoulders.
“How’d the talk go?.” I ask her when I walk into the cabin.
“Great. They didn’t even hesitate. Ready to go out tomorrow?.” She asks, sitting her weapons down on the table.
“Yeah. Marco wants candy.” I smile and plop down on the couch.
“Yep sounds like him. There was a mutated infected today, it was like a viral but faster. Those fucking aliens know how to work DNA.”
“So we’ll have to be on our toes. Viral’s are scary enough, a mutated one is just the thing we don’t need.” Viral’s are fast, relentless, and horrifying. They sprint and leap towards their prey.
“God. I’m so sick of fighting these things every day!.” She cuddles up next to me on the couch and kisses me.
“I know,” I say, pulling away. “But it’s what we have to do now...to survive.”
“Survive and Thrive, Destroy and Kill. If we don’t, we’ll be a meal.” She recites the saying of the new world. It’s quite catchy actually.
“Exactly right!.” I smack her leg. “Let’s get to sleep, we have a big day ahead of us.”

BOOSH. A loud thud wakes me from my slumber. Sasha jumps out of bed and runs to the window, peeking through the blinds.
“What’s going on out there?.” I ask, getting dressed quickly.
“Not sure, seen a fireball shoot up in the air.” She grabs her gun. “We need to get out there.”
We fly down the stairs and toss on some shoes. She’s the first out the door, she leaps off the porch and aims her gun at two men in glowing blue outfits. I take out one with my pistol and she shoots the other.
“Marco!.” I yell as he runs by. “What’s going on?.”
“Some group of idiots blew down the front gate. We gotta get it closed before the infected can get in!.”
We run down the long dirt driveway and meet up with Jennifer and a couple of other people. The watch tower men shoot at the infected while we rig something up. It’s not pretty but hopefully, it’ll keep them out for now.
“We need to see if there’s any more of those people here!.” Marco yells. “Sasha, Hannah. Come with me!.”
We enter a narrow trail leading into the woods. It’s very quiet and eerie. Marco signals us to stop, he must hear something we didn’t. There’s a sudden flash of light and a blast. Marco falls to the ground and there’s one of the blue men in front of me. Before I can shoot, Sasha opens fire. I drop to the ground and roll Marco over. There’s a large hole in his chest. I press my hands hard on the wound, trying to stop the bleeding.
“Marco. Please don’t do this to me.” I can feel the tears gather in my eyes. Sasha is already crying, she’s standing there frozen.
“Hannah...I’m...sorry.” He can barely make out the words.
“You have nothing to be sorry for. Just don’t leave me.” The tears are finally out. His eyes roll back in his head and he takes one last deep breath. He’s gone.
“Hannah. He’s gone.” Sasha touches my shoulder but I push her away.
“Don’t fucking touch me!.” I scream. “Go get someone!.”

The next day, we prepare a bonfire to burn the dead. If we don’t, the infection will spread. We wear masks and gloves to keep the smell and blood off of us. Sasha and I lift a body and toss it into the wall of heat. 20 of our people slaughtered and 12 of theirs killed by us. Andrea was able to find out who they are. A group of Cleaners, killing the infected and anyone in their way. A new bad guy to add to the list. My long hair in a ponytail, I can feel the wind blow through it. The last time I had a cool breeze through my hair, the world was normal and we weren’t fighting for our lives.
“They’ll be back,” Jennifer says, removing her mask.
“I know.” I stare into the pile of burning bodies. “But we’ll be ready next time.”
“I’m sorry about Marco.”
I finally take my gaze off of the bodies and look at her. “He was a great man.”
“Hannah.” A voice calls out, It’s Sasha. “Ready to go?.”
“Yeah,” I reply, taking off my gloves and mask. I can finally wear the grey tank-top I scavenged a while back, the wind touching my bare skin is a feeling that can’t be mimicked.
“Alright.” She heads to the car.
I can’t help feeling like the world is crashing down around me, even if it already did.