The Green Flu

Chapter 13 - Micheal

CEDA had set up at the church, a church that I was familiar with. It's the church that Will used to go to. He used to go every Sunday. It's only a couple of blocks away, so he didn't have to go far. When he moved away from his home, Will didn't plan on going to any other church since the one he'd always went to his whole life was back at home. But after a while, he needed a place to go. Life got too crazy, he'd said. He needed a place to go and see God.

And thankfully, that place was being used as a CEDA station. Alexis and I sifted through the papers and pocketed useful ones. A map to the other CEDA stations and a list of essentials for something called a Safe house were among those we kept. I also held on to that paper about what to do if infected, just to be safe. It probably, hopefully, didn't apply to me, but still. It was good to hold onto. We also grabbed the list of symptoms of the flu for future use.

I kept forgetting about the scratches on my arm until I moved it and the sharp pains returned. I hope we get to the CEDA station soon, these scratches were starting to sting.

Once we had everything, we both stared at the door. We couldn't see anyone, creature or human, which was unsettling. Usually this lobby area had a few people going in or out of it. And the street right outside normally had a ton of cars bustling by. It was eerie to see it so quiet.

"So, I guess we go now?" Alexis asked me, sounding as unsure as I felt. Would there be more of those creatures? Would we have to fight them? Would there be any people? So far this morning, I've only met one human being, which was worrying. I really hope it's not like this everywhere else. I sighed and shook my head slightly.

"I guess so. But, we should be careful." Alexis nodded and gripped her backpack tighter. Man, why didn't I think to pack a bag?

"Don't worry." Alexis said confidently as she swung her backpack off her shoulders and onto the desk. She unzipped it and reached inside. "If something bad happens, I've got this." Alexis pulled out some sort of weapon. I gasped, surprised to see that it was a handgun!

"Alexis!" I exclaimed. "How did you get that gun?" She just smiled and zipped up the backpack again.

"It's mine." Alexis held it in her hands in a way that only a trained person could. I know how to shoot, I've done it before, but I doubt that her pistol would fit as well in my hands as it does in hers.

"I brought it with me when I moved in." Alexis' smile only got brighter when she said that, her pride showing. The building doesn't allow firearms in it, but that doesn't stop everyone I suppose. My face must have looked very confused since Alexis felt the need to explain.

"Look, I only have it for emergencies and I only brought it with me because my dad insisted on it." Her proud smile vanished when she said that. Before I could ask about what was wrong, Alexis seemed to get a little angry.

"Can we just go?" Her eyes went back to their hard state like they always were, and that sort of scared me.

"Here, I'll put it away." Alexis put the safety on the pistol and tucked it behind her, in the waistband of her pants. Now it was hidden from sight because of her baseball jacket and easy to get at. Satisfied, I answered her question.

"Uh, yeah." I said quickly. "Yeah, lets go." I picked up my bat and Alexis shouldered her backpack. We hesitantly walked to the glass doors, peering outside the whole time. We searched for any kind of movement and found none. Then we took a step out, surprise at how silent it was.

"It's like a ghost town here..." Alexis said breathlessly. I nodded in agreement, the city's never been this quiet before. I took a deep breath and looked around at the city. There were buildings taller than the horizon, blocking out the sunrise. Only a block away was another apartment building and there should have been joggers or early risers already out here from that place. But there wasn't. And that was unsettling.

"Come on, Alexis." I said, a little urgently already starting to walk towards the church. "I don't want to stay out here any longer than I have to." She nodded and followed me.

***

The walk on the sidewalks was pretty uneventful. It only took a couple of minutes and we only saw three or four cars go by. There was no one else outside, but we saw some people inside buildings through the windows. They looked at us like we were crazy to be out here.

"Maybe we should've brought a car," Alexis said. "But I don't own one. How about you?" I shook my head, no.

"I used to work at the Burger Tank just across the street." I uttered an excuse. "I never needed one."

"Really?" There was a hint of surprise in her voice. "You used to work at that lame fast food place?" I laughed a little at that.

"Yeah, it was lame." I won't deny it. That place was kind of stupid. "I remember this one time-"

"Look!" Alexis yelled, pointing toward a building in the distance. It was the church! And beside the church was a tent and some tables. On the side of the tent was a sign that said "CEDA". It's the CEDA station!

I smiled and looked at Alexis, only to see her smiling too. We made it, CEDA could help us now! We practically ran over to the tent with new vigour in our steps. I expected more people to be here, though. Alexis and I were the only ones here. Before I could consider how strange it was, we entered the tent and saw three people hurriedly cleaning up their supplies.

"Hey," Alexis said, catching their attention. "This is the CEDA station right? We need some help." The people just glanced at each other and one of them walked over to us. They were two men and a woman. They were wearing something close to a lab coat, or a doctor's coat? I wasn't sure, but they all were wearing the same clothing.

"I...thought this place would be full of people." Alexis said, looking around as if she would see someone. "Where is everyone?"

The guy who walked over to us gave a confused look. "The city is being evacuated." He said, giving an explanation. "Haven't you heard? It's on all the radio stations and tv channels."