Carrion (The Bren Watts Diaries #1)

Chapter 23

DAY 4: April 12th, Monday

We made it back to the church without any incident, except for Natalie's constant yapping and complaining about how we would die if we're going to be out on the streets. It didn't take long to convince her to follow through when the military strolled into the street where the bookstore was and completely leveled that entire block with bullets, cannons, and fire.

Soon, the army went away, retreating out of the neighborhood, and we never heard from them again. I didn't know where they went, and they could regroup somewhere to contain the city. At the time, I didn't know how far this outbreak reached, and I feared the worst.

"What do you think they're doing out there?" Logan asked me once while we're up on the cathedral's rooftop. We were making banners and SOS signs to hail any passing helicopter to rescue us. Unfortunately, there wasn't much luck.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Logan pointed out to the distance. "Helicopters avoid the inner city."

I watched over the horizon, where the bridges were. The helicopters hovering over there never moved inward. "They could be ordered not to enter the city."

"Does this mean all of this is for nothing?" Logan meant the sign.

I shrugged. "Satellites could pick us up. They could send a rescue team."

Logan paused for a moment to digest that information. In truth, I didn't know if there's ever a rescue. I didn't see helicopters flying into the city picking random survivors off of rooftops. Since yesterday, there wasn't a military presence at all in the entire neighborhood. Though, I didn't know what it looked like on the whole island or the city itself. The disease was spreading faster than I ever imagined.

Bites could turn you to one of them.

Carson got sick from his bite wound. This must be how things spread fast across the city. Mr. Ramirez was bitten that night, too. And in turn, he became one of them and chased after us. Bobby and Joe feared that it was through contact with bodily fluids, but almost all of us had at least a single contact with an infected vector for the past few days. I was caked in their gore on my first night. And here I was, two days later, walking and breathing like the living. 

Bobby didn't like that I shut down his theory quickly, wary that I would suddenly turn and grab for his throat. But that didn't happen, and only disappointment dawned on him. He insisted on isolating those who made contact with vectors the most, and he wouldn't take no for an answer. 

I was annoyed, and with fear running rampant through the entire group, I relented to his plan, which ended up putting me, Logan, and Miguel inside a dark room for a few hours. Luke volunteered to join as well, citing that he had fought some of them on the streets long before he got to the bookstore with me. I knew he only did it because he felt guilty about what he did back in the bookstore, and Bobby was more than welcome to let him stay in the room. Naturally, his best friend, Yousef, joined us.

Predictably, we didn't end up like Carson or Mr. Ramirez.

I stared daggers at Bobby for the rest of the day, and he didn't seem to mind that he got to be out in the main hall enjoying the food they got from the vending machine while the five of us stayed behind closed doors without even a single piece. 

I suspected that was his real motive all along. The lone vending machine out in the Chapter House of the church was almost empty. Not enough for all of us to eat for one night--and we were all hungry. And the entire group outside didn't leave a scrap for any of us to eat after our isolation.