Zoe
I'm sitting on edge, literally on the edge of my seat, when I get a call. Scrambling to pick it up I catch the caller ID. Asher.
"Tell me you've got her." I say desperately into the phone, begging to hear relief and calm in his voice and not the sound of a boy who has seen his best friend's dead body. For all we know The Virus could have claimed her, too.
"It's me Zo. I'm alright." I hear Mia's voice instead of Asher's, which is just as nice as hearing his telling me the good news. Finally some good news.
"Thank God," I collapse back onto the chair. Every tense muscle in my body releases and I'm able to find a moment of peace among a sea of chaos. "Did Asher make it there safely? Is he alright?" A few muscles regain their tension at the idea that something had gone wrong.
"No he's fine. Made it here in one piece." Mia and Asher are among my close circle of friends, who are the reason I survived high school. At the time it seemed like something that was hard to survive. A circle so close that just calling them friends always feels like the understatement of the century. They are everything to me and the closest thing to family I have now.
Mia and Asher live on the other side of town close to the city, where the majority of the panic has formed. The chaos broke out when people all around us started to drop like flies, and the news provided us with little to no help. It didn't take long for people to realize that law enforcement was not immune to the plague that had befallen us. I called Asher as quickly as I could to make sure he was okay. I was relieved to know he had survived and heart broken to know that his family was not so lucky.
"And you. You're okay?" It was a stupid question, but I hadn't been able to get ahold of Mia after I called Asher. So I redialed him, told him to get to her as fast as he could and to call me the second he got to her place. They live five minuets apart and until now, I'd been counting them down.
"I don't know if anyone can be okay right now." The fatigue in her voice was clear as it threatened to break. I don't know what she could have seen in the time it took Asher to get over there. I have no idea where her family is, but I can't have her losing it right now. They aren't safe yet.
I cleared my throat, "Mia listen to me. You two have to get out there, now." Their community was on the edge of town, but it wouldn't take long for the riot to spread. Before looting stores turned into robbing houses. "It's not safe in the city. Out here we have a chance."
"To the farm? No, we can't make it all the way out there, Asher could barley make it here without getting mugged. Besides, I'm not leaving my house." Mia replied desperately. I almost growled in anticipation. She was scared to leave the little safety that her house currently provided her, scared to leave the known. But if they stayed there much longer then the illusion of that safety would be revealed.
"Put Asher on the phone," I was able to say without getting upset. Blowing up on her now is only going to make things worse and make her more afraid. "Now."
There was a quick shuffle before I heard his voice. "Look I know you want us there with you, but give her some time. She doesn't know where her family is." He tried to reason with me. Now him, I could get angry with.
"Time is the one thing in short supply right now. You had a hard time getting there because everyone is headed for town, but what happens when people get there and everything is gone?" Trying not to shout so Mia doesn't hear me through the phone, I try to convay my urgency to him. "I know she's scared, so am I, but let her be upset here, where you guys will be safe."
The farm where I live is a thirty-minute drive from any store, making it the perfect spot to lay low. While there are other farms out here, most where owned and opporated by older people with weaker immune systems, making them easy prey for the Mystery Virus. As far as I know, there is no one out here for miles, making it the safest option. Only problem is, you have to get here first. "Even if I can convince her to come, how do you propose we get out there?" He asked.
I knew I could trust Asher to talk to her, but I don't know why he hadn't thought of hot-wiring a car. "Is there nothing you could drive where you are?" I asked.
"Nothing close by, and I don't want to leave the house without Mia. It's getting bad out here Zo. You're right. We don't have long before someone finds us." For the first time, he sounded nervous. He sounded how I felt.
"I've already sent Levi out to go get Olivia," I said, talking about our other friends. "And the last I heard from Haley and Xander, they are already in route. But I can call for their position and see if they can get you." This wasn't the only rescue mession that I had organized.
Levi is a country kid like me and lives fifteen minutes away from the farm. He called me, and after I told him I was trying to get everyone here, he said he was coming over with his truck and some supplies. Once he arrived, I sent him to get Olivia, who happened to be at her church helping set up for an event when the Virus descended. The other survivors had abandoned her, but I wasn't going to leave her behind.
"Let me talk to Mia again, then I'll call you back with news. " I told Asher, and then waited.
"Hey." Was all she said, but with that one word I could tell she had been crying. My heart was breaking for her. We were all scared, but I knew that fear was one of the things keeping us alive. Fear of death, and fear of losing whatever it was we had left to hold on to.
"Mia, everything is going to be alright okay. I promise you, this is all going to turn out okay." I say, trying to convince her to keep going, yet also trying to convice myself.
"I can't leave this house Zoe. Everything I have is here, my life is here. I can't just turn my back on it and let some thugs have it." She was starting to break, and fast. Not knowing where her family was, not even knowing if they were alive, it was taking its toll.
"Mia," Her name became a command. The only thing I could say that felt as though I was getting through to her and pulling her back to sanity. "I need you to come here. Here is where you'll be safe. And as far as the stuff, bring it! Pack a bag, pack five bags. Bring anything you need, clothes, food, water. We are going to need all of it. Raid all the closets, bring blankets, medical supplies. Anything and everything we could possible use." I gave her something to do; a task to keep her busy while help tries to get there. But I'm also thinking ahead. We don't know how long any of this will last. This could be permanent. There is no way we are going into this unprepared.
"Okay," She stammered as she began to compose herself. "Okay, you're right. I'll bring everything I can." She sounded more determind now that she had an achievable goal ahead of her. Something she can actually accomplish instead of trying to take on the whole world with both hands tied behind her back.
I was relieved, not only that I had gotten her mind off of everything in some way, but also that she was onboard. "Good. And Mia, I mean everything. We have got some boys coming here, so you're going to have to get some of your brother's stuff. And a lot of girls, so make sure we have some stuff for that, too."
"I understand. We'll get it done." And with that, she hung up the phone.
Without a moments hesitation I call Haley, praying they were still close to Mia and Asher. Praying I could get them out of there.
