Chapter 5
“See the rocks weren’t just dormant bulks of stone, no they had much more to them” “Once they had entered our atmosphere they released a toxic gas, the gas started no thicker than mist, but as time went by it became denser, until eventually as thick as smoke.””Now we never knew how to treat this foreign substance which lay spread across our town, so we kept clear of it as long as we could.” ”Until hunger got the better of us that is, one night as the girls cried from the hunger pains which taunted them, Sharif reached snapping point.””He was not just going to sit there while his children starved to death, no he had enough.””He grabbed a cloth, wrapped it around his mouth and without the slightest hesitation ascended into the gas.””We waited at the man hole for hours in anticipation of his return, but nothing.””Thinking he was dead I led the group back to the bunker, I was completely lost, unsure of what to do next.”
”That was until he came strolling through the door like nothing had happened, as if it was a normal day and a normal food run.” Smith laughed while remembering the actions of that day,” We found out the gas was a little irritating at times, but not harmful to us, or so we thought, sure the gas had no effect on us, but that was not the case for the people up top.”“Those exposed to the gas started changing in the strangest of ways, weird things started happening to them, but the strangest thing throughout the entire event was that it only happened to a select few.”“Some survivors were completely okay once exposed to the gas, while others however . . . well let me try explaining as bet I can!”
“I remember the first time we saw one of them, Sharif and I had just finished raiding our little grocery store, as we exited we came across a man and women who had taken refuge in a small car just outside the door.”“Fear and excitement caused Sharif and I to draw our weapons, which at the time comprised of a golf stick and screw driver.” “The couple begged us not to hurt them so we lowered our weapons, and started conversing with them.”“We found they had survived by taking shelter under the east bridge which still stood intact.”“We begged them to come join us in the safety of the sewer.””But they opted to stay up there; they said they would only be staying for a week or so before travelling up North to Canada.”” Week after week however we found them still at the grocer, they had converted the car into a small mobile home and had somewhat given up on the idea of moving north.””To cut a long story short the one day as Sharif and I went to get some supplies, I knocked on our new neighbours car door to say Hi.”“There was no one home, then I thought to myself, ah eventually they decided to make the move, but I was so wrong.”“From the corner of the store, I saw the women franticly waving her hands in the air screaming.”“Sharif wasted little time, he drew the golf stick in the air and the two of us slowly we made our way forward.”
Her companion was laid out on the floor, screaming in agony his body continuously convoluted, making him look like that dam possessed girl from the cult flick the exorcist.”“We stepped back in horror as his face broke out in a red rash with hundreds of little blemishes clustered together, filled with puss, some bursting under the built up pressure, releasing a watery substance.”“The smell permeated the walls, immediately filling the store with a rotten stench as pungent as spoiled meat”“His skin became white and ashy, he looked pale and sick, as he screamed in agony.’”“His gums bled exposing the crimson mess which was now his mouth.”“The man clawed at the concrete, leaving a trail of blood and matted finger nails on the floor ““Just as the convulsions stopped and we thought it was over, his pupils began dilating which lead to a milky white membrane covering his eyes.”
“He started shaking again, throwing us back into the anxious state we had withdrawn from, but this time, the shakes more violent, more aggressive than the previous convulsions.” “The man’s body started contorting and reshaping I heard bone readjust and soon he was off his back and now face down on the floor.””We thought the man was dead, Sharif and I stood in wonder of what to do with this man’s corps? What if he was contagious should we have left him?””His hysterical girlfriend was now in the course of having a full out panic attack; she screamed tugging at his body, begging him to wake up.” “She got her wish I guess, with one swoop leap he was up scampering across the floor like a wild cat and disappeared into the parking lot.”“Sharif and I still disillusioned by the events which had just taken place froze on the spot, unable to move.”
Smith could see that I had escaped my doubtful ways and rather taken his story as exactly that, a fictional enjoyment. “You think that’s bad boy, Ha! That was just the beginning; this thing was one of many, there were hundreds of them running around the city and I could only presume thousands around the country, they had reverted to the most primal state. “”Developing an unfailing hunger, a need to constantly feed, killing whatever walked in front of them, and when there were no more animals or humans to eat, they started eating each other.”
“Yes they became Cannibals my boy, with limited brain function they killed each other to feed, truthfully this was really good for us, the more dead the less we would have to deal with.”“They still had a sense of humanity however.”“Once they had figured out how there numbers were dwindling they started gathering together for protection from one another.””We had become mere casualties of this new species in their primeval war.”
Smith stood up and walked towards Shahkierah who had a hot cup in her hand, he took it from the little girl wiped her dirty cheeks and smiled at her. He passed me the herbal tea, and I sat sipping it while I tried to register what was going on. I could not fathom the idea of our new existence; clearly the old man had to have been senile. But then what about the others? The situation was no joke, these people were gripping onto life by a thread, what he was saying had to have some truth behind it. The mark on my face, the beard, my lack of body fat, I obviously had been asleep for a while, he could be right, maybe I had been in a coma for five years, and what about the others I’m sure they would not choose to live like this. Something strange was going on. But then it hit me, no there was something wrong, something lingering in the air, I had not mentioned it yet, but would soon have my answers.”I put the cup down and in the most passive voice asked him
”Smith, you say I have been in a coma for what, five years now?””Look I’m no Doctor but, how could I be alive today if I was asleep for so long? I mean, how did I eat, how did I breath, how did I take a shit? Smith just pointed towards Sky, Sky was still not the least bit interested in our conversation and acted as if I was not even in the room.”
“She is the reason you are still alive Cairo, we were baffled unsure of what to do with you when we first got down here. We freaked out each day when our attempts to feed you and clean you went so wrong.”“That is until we stumbled upon Sky.””One week down here and she had made Sharif and I run across the city to the emergency ward, were she demanded we bring back that huge pile of machinery you see in the corner over there. We then stole a car battery; brought it down here and last minute raided the pharmacy for what looked like a life time of medication.” “Just imagine Cairo, this was when things were still so ripe, sure we did not have to deal with any of those hideous monsters but, leaving the security of the sewer and going so far inland was an extremely daunting task for Sharif and I!”
”Either way that’s neither here nor there, Remember I told you it was thanks to me that you were still alive, well truthfully Cairo it was thanks to Sky, had she not been a paramedic, well hell boy you’d still be rotting down there in the passageways.”“Day after day she taught me how all those tubes worked, and day after day I learnt until I could manage to look after you on my own.” “We never had one hiccup with your condition until, the car battery which kept your machines running died.””Cairo it was a hard time for us, we all braced ourselves waiting for you to... how can I put it gently, kick the bucket.”
I could see some emotions in the crude old man’s face while he explained, and could only ima
gine how they had to explain to the girls what would happen. But Smiths mood quickly lightened up as he continued, “But then miraculously you started healing on your own, day after day you pushed through, Sky had given you four, maybe five days max in these conditions with no machinery supporting you. But you were not ready to leave this desolate place, you stubborn little bastard.” There’s something real strange about you boy!” Smith laughed as he patted me on the back. ”Eventually you were so stable I had the privilege of cleaning you in passageways, away from the girls which soon led to me taking you out every day, in the hopes you would get fresh air, outside of the congested bunker.”
I was so grateful to Smith for all he had done, but for now there was only one person in my mind. Sky had saved my life, but I was so scared to approach her, too scared to thank her, the next best alternative was to wait it out and thank her when she opened up and took down her shield of unsurety towards me. The exhaustion of this all soon caused my eyelids to shut and as I slipped into another sleep all I could picture was Sky and how she saved me, like Smith said if it were not for the kind hand of coincidence, bringing Sky into our lives I would be dead right now.
I was exhausted; to think after sleeping for five years I was ready to sleep again. Smith suggested I take the mattress and in a matter of seconds I was out. Not knowing that very soon all my questions about this broken reality would be answered.
Northern Exposure: The Divided Page 5
