Matthew walks away from the cliff and begins to head in the general direction of his home through the woods. Matthew no longer feels safe on the streets after that incident. As Matthew walks, he comes up with an idea and reaches down into his pocket and pulls out his cell phone. Matthew dials his Moms phone number. The phone rings. Each ring makes him more uneasy. Eventually, the phone goes to voicemail. Matthew looks uneasy and scared. Matthew dials his Dad's number into the phone. It rings, it rings, it rings, and it rings. To no avail, the call goes to voicemail again. Matthew looks down at his phone to see if he has reception. He does.
“Come on, guys!”
Matthew dials another number into his phone. This time, it's his brothers. The phone rings and goes to voicemail one last time. As soon as the automated message plays, he stops walking. Matthew lowers the phone from his ear. His eyes become filled with tears as the thoughts and images of his family as one of the infected crosses his mind. Matthew becomes shook and rests on a tree. Matthew slides down and sits, resting and looking off into the distance. As more and more cruel images fill his mind, and the thought him being all alone, Matthew become more emotional. Matthew begins crying, thinking about how his entire life crashed and crumbled in such a short period of time. Matthew cries for what seems hours but are only a few minutes. Suddenly, Matthews phone rings. Matthew jolts up, eager to hear that his family is safe, and that they are on their way home to find him. Matthew looks at his phone to see an incoming call from Michael. This is unexpected, but he is still happy to hear from his cousin. Matthew answers the phone.
“Michael! Are you okay?” Matthew asks eagerly.
“Yeah. These guys are fucking everywhere!”
“I know. I tried to get home” Matthew sniffles. “But I was chased by one of them into a forest. They don't die, Michael!”
“I know!” Michael explains, “I saw people beating one with a bat, but he just kept getting up.”
“Michael, you gotta listen to me! I’m going home now, and once I do, I’m going to wait for my family to come and get me.” Matthew says.
“Okay. What about us? What should we do?”
“Lock yourself in your home. Don't leave unless you absolutely need to. Once my parents get here, we’re going to come get you guys, okay?
“Okay, yeah. But Matthew-” Michael goes on, “This might be the last time we can talk over the phone.
‘Why?” Matthew asks.
“It’s crazy out there. Who knows how long cell service will be up.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Stay safe, Michael.”
“You too.”
Matthew hangs up the phone. He wipes the tears from his eyes and his cheeks and puts his phone back in his pocket. Matthew slowly stands up and looks around, making sure there is no danger around. He takes a deep breath and continues to walk home.
Matthew walks through the forest in what he is confident in believing is the correct direction to get home. Matthew has been walking for a while, so he is unsure why he has not reached any landmarks or buildings he is familiar with seeing around this area. Eventually, Matthew sees a fence not too far away that looks familiar to him. Matthew stops and observes it to try and conceptualize where exactly he is. Once he does, he hears something unsettling. Matthew hears the groans and screams the infected make. Matthew slowly approaches the fence, and one the other side, he sees four infected walking in the woods. There must be a road nearby for there to be this many infected roaming here. That's the only logical explanation that runs through his mind. Matthew walks up to the fence and has an idea. He thinks about how clumsy and unintelligent the infected people he saw seem to be. Matthew begins to bang on the fence and scream.
“Hey, assholes!”
Matthew is making a lot of noise. The infected turn their heads and look at Matthew. The noise is attracting them toward him. The infected walk up to the fence and reach out at Matthew. The infected ram into the fence, almost as if they don't realize it obstructs their path. This shows Matthew that these creatures really are not intelligent at all. A part of him is waiting for the infected to realize the fence is in their way, and to start climbing over, but they never do. Matthew looks around on the ground and finds a sharp stick. He realizes if he is living in a world where there are flesh eating monsters at every turn, he needs to be able to protect himself. Matthew picks it up and hesitates for a moment, but then thrusts the stick into the infected’ s stomach through one of the holes in the fence. The infected has no reaction. Matthew pulls out the stick, and after a moment of hard thought, Matthew thrusts the stick into the infected’ s eye, straight into its brain. Surprisingly, the infected stops moving, and stops making sounds. Matthew pulls out the stick, and the infected fall straight to the ground, dead. Finally, Matthew understands. The only way to kill them is to destroy the brain. That must explain why even after a huge fall, the infected from earlier didn't die from falling off the cliff. They only die if the brain is destroyed. Matthew walks over to the second infected and stabs it in the brain as well. Matthew pulls out the stick, and once again, the infected fall straight to the ground. Matthew repeats this process two more times on the other two infected. Matthew now has a much understanding on how to kill these monsters. This experience will surely come in handy later down the line.
Matthew throws the stick over the fence and begins to climb. Matthew pulls himself over the fence, and once he gets down onto his feet, Matthew picks up the stick. It is a useful weapon, but he needs to be ready to use it. Matthew begins to climb up a nearby hill. As he does, he looks back at the dead infected next to the fence. Matthew looks down at his stick in his hand which is drenched in blood and realizes he has killed. This is turning out to be one of the most horrifying days of his life.
Matthew reaches the top of the hill and walks through some bushes. Matthew reaches a trail in the woods. He stops walking and looks around to observe. This area looks very familiar to him. Matthew begins to walk in the direction of his home. As he does, he begins to reminisce of the memories he had in this forest. When him and Michael use to have sleepovers as kids, they would both come out into these woods and play hide and seek. It was a little dangerous and scary for them, but it was the most adrenaline they had ever felt. Well, almost as much as they felt today. Matthew begins to question whether this life is permanent, or whether him and Michael could ever go back to a life where they could have fun together. Only time will tell.
Matthew approaches another fence, but this time it's not more forest that awaits on the other side. It’s his neighborhood. Matthew quickly runs up to the fence and climbs over it. Matthew runs onto the street and runs down it to find his house. As he runs, Matthew sees some of his neighbors packing their cars and trucks with supplies and weapons. They are evacuating from their houses and are probably leaving the neighborhood. Matthew ignores this and continues to run to his home. Matthew sees his home down the street. He runs much faster now. The joy and comfort of safety overcomes him and make him feel whole again. Matthew pulls out his house keys from his pocket and runs up to the front door. Matthew barges inside after unlocking it, but all the lights are off.
“Hello?” Matthew shouts.
His voice echoes in the house. He is the first of his family to get home. Matthew closes the door behind him and makes sure to lock it. Matthew walks into his kitchen and opens the fridge. Matthew drinks water from inside until he feels cooled off. Matthew closes the fridge and goes into his living room. On the couch is his cat, Chester. Chester is a plump tabby cat. He seems calm and mellow like usual. Matthew sits next to Chester pets the him to try and comfort him. Matthew realizes Chester has no clue what is going on in the real world and is just living like he usually would. Matthew reaches onto the coffee table in front of him and picks up the Tv remote. Matthew turns on the Tv and changes the channel to the news station. The news shows more footage panic in the streets of Toronto. Surprisingly, the broadcaster is not reacting to the situation the same way everyone else is. Suddenl
y, the signal cuts to an automated emergency message. Matthews eyes widen as he hears the eerie beeps of the emergency playing through the speakers of the television. An automated voice is heard.
“We interrupt all broadcasting to bring you this emergency action notification. This is a global emergency. Important news and information to follow:” A loud beep is heard. “The following message is being issued by the Canadian government. A global epidemic is rampant. It is advised you and your family remain indoors until further action. If you have access to a battery powered radio, we will use it to keep you, as well as other civilians up to date. This is not a drill.” More beeps follow.
The recording starts playing again and repeats itself. Matthew turns off the Tv with the remote. This all feels like a dream, like a fantasy. Matthew is in complete and utter shock. After a moment, Matthew pulls out his phone and tries to call his Mom. The phone rings. No answer. All he wants is to be with his family and make sure they are all safe. Matthew sits on the couch in his dead silent home and thinks about the change that is about to come in his life.
Chapter 2
Strangers
Matthew opens his eyes and lays in his bed, staring at the ceiling. He sits up in his bed and just waits for a moment. He looks dirty and his facial hair is beginning to grow in. His clothes look worn and unwashed. The furniture in his bedroom is covered in dust, and clothes are left on the ground. Matthew turns to his left and picks up a knife that is laying on the nightstand. Matthew gets out of bed and walks over to the wall next to the bedroom door. On it are tallies. Matthew carves in a new tally and steps back to count them. It’s been 26 days since the outbreak. What this means is that it’s been 26 days since Matthew had been waiting for his parents to arrive. Every day that goes by, Matthew loses a little hope that his family will knock on the door. Sometimes Matthew even wonders if Michael is still waiting for him to show up. He promised him that the two of them would meet up, but it’s almost been a month. Matthew wonders if his parents could even be alive and still trying to get home. It’s been to long for them to still be out there and trying to make their way home. Matthew is beginning to accept the fact he is alone. He walks through the hallway of the top floor of his house and goes down stairs into his kitchen. On the counter is Chester, but he looks much skinnier than he was 26 days ago. Matthew looks at the cat. Chester looks weak and exhausted.
“Come on, Chester!” Matthew says. “It’s time to eat.”
Matthew walks downstairs into the basement and looks behind him to see his cat follow. Chester takes his time going down the flight of stairs. Travelling up and down floors used to be easy for the cat, but now, it’s incredibly difficult. Matthew walks up to the food bowl and picks up the bag of cat food next to it. Chester lets out a loud meow when Matthew does this. He is clearly hungry. Matthew looks in the bag but there is only a handful of cat food left. Matthew only takes out a portion of it with his bare hands. Once he places the food in the bowl, Chester begins eating vigorously. Matthew has been rationing the cat food for the last month. That’s probably why Chester looks so much smaller. The thought of letting Chester out into the wild has crossed over Matthew’s mind once or twice. Maybe he would have a better chance at life out there. Besides, there isn’t much food for him here anyways. But the thought of Chester being caught by one of the infected bothers Matthew.
Matthew watches his cat eat. It saddens him as he thinks about all the times he would cuddle with him and play with him in the backyard. As of late, the two of them have just been keeping each other company, but that’s not something Matthew has taken for granted. Matthew smiles for a moment as he thinks about his memories with the family, and then his eyes begin to tear up as he realizes he doesn't have much time left. He’ll either starve or must take his chances out in the wild. Matthew crouch's down and begins to pet his cat. Suddenly, Chester turns and bites Matthew on the hand. Matthew jolts back in pain. Chester hiss’ at him. Matthew is shocked to see his cat react this way to affection. Matthew always remember his parents telling him to “never bother and animal while it’s eating!”, but he never anticipated this behavior from Chester. Maybe it’s just the fact that he’s hungry and is defensive of any kind of food he can get. The reality that the cat cares more about food than his company makes Matthew sad. It’s easy to understand, but it’s sad to think about.
Matthew goes up stairs to get something to eat for himself. Matthew walks back in the kitchen and looks through his cupboard. In there are a few cans of food. Just like his cat, Matthew is also running short on rations. Matthew takes a can of tuna and takes a fork from the other drawer. He walks back over to the staircase which leads to his bedroom, but he checks on his barricades before doing so. All the doors and windows have wooden planks nailed over them. Matthew had never actually left his house since the day he encountered the infected outside. Matthew has secured his house from the infected, but he hasn't seen or heard any from outside his window in a long time. Matthew was never good in woodshop class, so he doesn't know the proper way of using wood. Matthews barricades on the doors are mediocre at best, but enough to prevent an infected from getting inside. Matthew realizes this and goes back upstairs anyway.
Matthew enters his room and sits on his bed. His usual routine consists of eating a small meal while reading a book. As of late, Matthew’s been reading The Art of War. It’s been laying around the house for months but now that he has the time, he thought it would entertain him for a little longer. To his surprise, the book is not a work of fiction, but is an ancient Chinese military treatise. The work is attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu. This man was active as a general and strategist, serving king Helü of Wu in the late sixth century BC, beginning around 512 BC. Sun Tzu's victories then inspired him to write The Art of War. The book educates and informs its reader on warfare and the most effective strategies to win battles. This fascinates Matthew, but since he started reading it, he thought of it as only a time killer.
Matthew picks up the book from his night stand and opens it up to where he left off. Matthew then grabs the can of tuna but realizes he forgot the can opener down stairs in the cupboard. Matthew looks frustrated, as he has no energy to move around the house that much. Matthew lazily gets up from the bed and begins to walk toward the bedroom door. Matthew exits his room and reaches the staircase going to the main floor. As he’s about to take his first step down stairs, Matthew hears a loud bang. This scares Matthew, but also confuses him.
Suddenly, another bang is heard. Matthew is worried now. He has no idea what could be making that sound. Matthew steps down a few steps to get a look at the first floor. Matthew see’s the silhouette of infected on the other side of the front door. The door has tinted glass windows on it, so technically if you tried, you could see what's on the other side. Out of nowhere, the glass on the door gets shattered and falls inside the house. Matthew jolts back upstairs to hide from the infected outside. Matthew gets out of view from them but doesn't move. Matthew wants to listen to see what they do next.
“Hurry up and unlock the door!”
Matthews eyes widen as he hears this. There are no infected on the other side of the door. There are people on the other side. Matthew slowly steps back into the hallway and tippy toes his way back to his bedroom. Matthew had never left his house in the last month, so he never encountered other survivors. The thought of other people lurking nearby never crossed his mind. Maybe they could be friendly, and would be willing to help Matthew, but the fact they are making their way into his house by force says otherwise. These people are most likely here for supplies and will probably react the same way as Chester if they feel threatened. Matthew has nothing to share with them, so who knows what might happen if they find out he is here. Matthew gets into his room and begins to panic. The sound of the front door opening is heard. Multiple men walk into the house. Matthew is terrified. He doesn’t know what to do. Matthew quickly gets on his stomach and crawls underneath the bed. A few minutes go by. M
atthew doesn’t know if he should leave yet or just stay put. All kinds of thoughts go through his head, but the one of him getting caught is the most horrifying. Matthew quickly realizes he doesn't have anything to defend himself. Matthew crawls out from the bed to get his knife on the nightstand. As he does, one of the men walk upstairs. Matthew quickly scurries back under the bed. He wasn’t quick enough to get the knife, but he did evade detection. The man walks down the hall, but instead of going in Matthews room, he goes into what used to be his brothers’ room. This is Matthews chance. Matthew quickly crawls out again and takes the knife off the stand and goes back under. Matthew hides under the bed, waiting for the worst. The sounds of the man ransacking his brothers’ old room only makes Matthew more worried. Suddenly, Matthew hears one of the men from down stairs.
“Come here, Kitty!”
Matthew is confused at first, but quickly understands what is taking place. The men downstairs found Chester.
“Jake! It’s coming upstairs! Cut it off!” Says the man downstairs.
Suddenly, Chester runs upstairs and down the hall toward Matthews room. The man from his brother’s room runs out into the hallway and blocks Chester’s path. Chester turns around to run, but another man comes up the stairs and corners him. Matthew can only see the men’s feet from under the bed. The two men slowly walk up to Chester, making sure he can’t escape. Chester gets in a defensive position and hiss’ at the strangers. Suddenly, the two men charge the cat and grab him. One of the men grab Chester by the head. Chester starts screaming and snapping. The man ultimately drags him into the room where Matthew is hiding. Chester squirms and tries to escape, but the man’s grasp is to strong. Matthew can only watch in fear for what is to come next. The man gets a good grip on the cat and pulls out a blade from his sheath. With a quick stab, the man thrusts his blade into Chester’s neck. Chester begins to spaz out and twitch. Blood gushes from his neck, and subtle cries can be heard.
Mankind Page 2
