Dead Aware (Novella): Dead Aware [Vagrant Youth]

by Merry, Eleanor

  Dead Aware: Vagrant Youth

  A Dead Aware Novella

  By Eleanor Merry

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2019 by Eleanor Merry

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review. For more information, address: elemerry@gmail.com

  Cover design by Brian Scutt at Hollow Creek Designs

  Editing by Holly Mangin at Fresh as a Daisy Editing

  Proofread by Moonlight Proofreading

  ISBN 978-1-9992128-2-7 (ebook)

  ISBN 978-1-9992128-3-4 (paperback)

  Dedication

  To my Uncle Les Kadulski.

  As a child you were always talking books with me and encouraging me to try new things and always read, read, read. Although you passed before I got to share this one with you, I will never forget, or stop appreciating, the love of books you instilled in me.

  Chapter 1

  Typically in September, Abby and her small band of misfits would be working to better secure their home for the impending cold season. For being a group of homeless youth, they made out pretty well with their decrepit home and had long ago learned tricks to ensure their home was as comfortable, warm, and dry as possible during the winter. This year, however, they had a new problem to worry about.

  “Ike, I’m over here,” Abby whispered loudly from across the alley. Ike quickly made his way across to Abby where they both froze, keeping their eyes wide for signs of danger.

  “Did you find anything?” he whispered back, keeping his gaze out on the streets. She shook her head. “Shit,” he muttered, “We need a new system. The kids have gotta eat, and no one is throwing shit away anymore. No one’s even outside anymore.”

  Abby sighed and nodded.

  For the past two years, she and Ike had become the unofficial leaders of a small group of homeless youth in Vancouver. Being the oldest, they had taken it upon themselves to ensure the welfare of the ones who couldn’t and to make sure that everyone contributed to their ‘family.’ One of the many jobs was dumpster diving to look for food, clothes or other useful items thrown away by the more fortunate. Considering they were in an overall wealthy city like Vancouver, this was typically very successful.

  Since the FIRE virus hit the city almost a week before though, this was no longer an option, and the household had run out of food almost two days ago. Being in an abandoned house without electricity, much less internet or phones, they hadn’t heard all the details of the virus. Prior to the decision to stay in the house, they had learned bits from the news and gossip on the streets. They knew that it had taken the world by surprise and had a high fatality rate. That was all they needed to know to make the decision to stay indoors until it passed.

  The only reason they ventured out of the house today was Joshua and Benny complaining earlier of their stomachs hurting, prompting Ike and Abby to go out looking to see what they could find to eat and find out about what was happening. While they were used to eating minimally, two days of nothing but water was unusual for them.

  As soon as Ike and Abby had gotten into the city, they knew this was more than just a normal virus. The usually bustling streets of the city were devoid of life. A few cars were on the road, but not many, and the shops and businesses appeared to be closed. As they walked down the street, an ominous presence seemed to hang in the air making them both feel uneasy.

  “Abs, what should we do?” Abby thought for a moment. Okay, so dumpster diving is out, the few places that sometimes offer us old food are out, and even the stores are closed so we can’t panhandle…

  “Abs?”

  “Just give me a minute!” she snapped back, at once regretting her harsh tone when she saw the look on Ike’s face.

  “Sorry, man, I’m just stressed.”

  Ike gave her a small smile. “I get it, Abs, don’t worry.” Ike looked around before he focused on a point in the distance, his eyes growing wide. “Hey, I got an idea! Why don’t we head to the pier? If we go back and grab our bikes, it won’t take too long, and we can maybe catch a few fish!”

  Abby perked up slightly. She knew they had an old rod somewhere in the garage of the house, and Ike was right, their bikes would get them there pretty quickly.

  “Okay. Let's do it!”

  An hour later, they had grabbed the bikes and were back on the road, this time on wheels. While the streets still seemed unusually quiet, having the wind blowing through their hair brightened their moods. It was early September, and the weather was still warm, with only that slight chill at night betraying the impending seasonal change.

  When they were only a few minutes away from the water, loud shouts and noises could be heard up ahead. Instinctively, they both got off their bikes and crept quietly along the sidewalk, curious to see what was happening. Being on the streets for so many years, they both knew how to approach what sounded like a violent situation—carefully and without being detected.

  “Oh shit,” Abby muttered as they peered around the corner. Up ahead was a grocery store, all of its front windows shattered. Inside, they could hear a group of people making the noise they heard from around the block. Abby tilted her head to the right, and the two carefully snuck down a nearby alley where they could still keep watch but also remain hidden.

  Whoops and hollers could be heard from inside the mutilated store. A few minutes later, half a dozen men barreled out with shopping carts loaded with food and other stolen goods. Abby noticed an entire cart dedicated to liquor. Her eyes narrowed at the sight. Because that is what is important during a viral outbreak... idiots... The men talked loudly as they passed.

  Staying out of sight, Abby and Ike waited for the group to leave. Even after the sounds of them fleeing were long gone, they both waited. Finally, Ike turned to Abby.

  “We may as well go in, Abs,” he stated. “The windows are already busted, and this will be a lot quicker than fishing.”

  Despite her hesitation to be one of those street kids, she quickly agreed. Things were worse than they thought if people were looting stores.

  Leaving their bikes, they quickly and quietly made their way over to the storefront, peeking inside before entering. Inside they saw many of the sales racks were overturned, and they could see the men had tried to get into at least one of the cash registers.

  “Assholes not content to just steal; they had to wreck the place too, huh.” Abby muttered under her breath, unimpressed with what she saw.

  Although Abby had been homeless for almost three years now, she did her utmost to set an example for other people in her situation. Despite where she was now in life, she had been raised to be respectful in a well-off family. Her mother was Afghani, her father Canadian, and Abby had a stunning combination of their features. With thick dark hair and lashes, flawless skin and a brilliant smile, she was a beautiful girl. That combined with a fierce intelligence and quick wit, she attracted friends, and suitors, with ease. Her one mistake and biggest regret had been getting involved with a man in his thirties when she was barely sixteen. Less than a year later she was on the streets, escaping the wannabe pimp.

  Thinking her family would never take her back, she roamed the streets by herself for months, unable to even go to the local shelters for fear of someone calling child services and trying to put her into foster care. That was until one day she came across Ike. She
found him selling himself on Hastings, a well-known area for junkies and whores. Intrigued by the way he held himself and his grown out purple Mohawk, she introduced herself, and after one conversation, she felt a kindred spirit. The two of them ended up befriending more young misfits and thus, the start of their family was born.

  Abby didn’t steal, do drugs, or sell herself, and she expected the other members of her small family to follow her example. They shared everything and worked together, and in all honesty, they were well-off considering their situation.

  Abby despised the idea of stealing, but the urge to care for her family and make sure they were fed, was stronger. The few hours they had been out today had been enough to show her that FIRE was even worse than they had initially thought, and she knew she needed to swallow her pride and stock up on supplies now if she was going to keep everyone alive.

  “I think it’s clear,” Ike whispered. Abby nodded. Careful of the shards of glass, they made their way into the store. They quickly filled both their backpacks and grabbed several more bags of non-perishable food, some batteries, and a couple of sleeping bags. Their combined years of experience on the streets made it easy to prioritize what they knew they would need most, and within fifteen minutes, they were back on their bikes rushing home. Liberated backpacks were strapped on to each of their fronts and backs, and the sleeping bags tied securely to the bikes.

  "What the hell was with that, huh?" Ike asked Abby as they rode.

  "I guess it's worse than we thought," she responded before noticing a newspaper fluttering across the road. Maybe the paper will have some info. Man, I miss having a cell some days. Wobbling under the weight of the bags, she stopped her bike and ran over to grab a clean copy from a nearby stand. Ike nodded with approval, grabbing the paper from her and stuffing it into one of the bags as she got back on her bike before they continued on.

  While going through a more suburban section of the city, they heard a loud wail coming from ahead. Screeching their bikes to a stop, they watched as a few houses up, a woman and man fought loudly. Though exact words were indistinct due to how far away they were, Abby couldn’t help but think that the woman was pleading. Sorrow, desperation, and anger were mixed in the tone of her voice.

  Walking their bikes across the street, they both did their best to remain inconspicuous but were curious about the scene in front of them.

  As they got closer, they realized the man and woman were fighting over a body! They spoke in an unfamiliar language, but it was obvious the man was trying to take it out of the house, and the wailing woman was protesting. Almost parallel to the house, Abby and Ike finally got a better view of the commotion before them. No wonder the woman was so distraught; the body was that of a child. A child who couldn’t have been more than ten. The woman's cries pierced both of their hearts, and Abby quickly blinked the tears away before they could blind her. As quickly as they could, they moved on, even more intent on getting home.

  When they finally reached their house, relief washed over both of them. It had been a stressful day, and both were grateful they wouldn't have to go out for a while. Neither of them told the others about the dead boy.

  Chapter 2

  "So the whole window was BROKED?" Little Benny exclaimed, as he listened to Abby and Ike tell the crew of their adventures.

  Ike nodded, stifling a chuckle. "Yeah, bud, totally broked."

  "Cool," The boy whispered in awe.

  Ike gave the boy a small smile. At only eight years old, Benny was the youngest of their group. His mom had been a prostitute, and Ike had found the boy huddling in an alley one day while he was panhandling nearby. When asked where his parents were, Benny had pointed down the alley to the group of junkies shooting up. "Mama," the boy had told him. Furious and worried for the boy, Ike had asked the boy if he wanted to come with him. After looking back towards his mother once, the boy quickly agreed, and Ike brought him back to see Abby.

  The next day, Abby had gone back to the area, which was well-known for being frequented by drug addicts and whores, to confront the boy’s mother. She couldn’t have been more than a few years older than Abby herself, but the deep lines in the woman’s face spoke of years of being on the street. The woman hadn't even noticed her son had been gone a whole day and laughed at Abby's fierceness when she told the woman she'd be taking the boy from then on. “Go on then, take him. I never wanted him anyway,” the woman had spat before turning away.

  Filled with fury and pity, Abby left and ever since then, young Benedict had lived with them. He adored Ike and looked up to the older boy, often telling them all that he wanted, "to be gay just like Ike when I grow up." Ike would always chuckle and tell him he was flattered, but that wasn't how it worked. The older boy came up with the nickname Benny soon after he had come to live with them.

  All the kids had similar stories and had managed to band together to help one another, despite their sordid pasts. The youth of the streets tended to join together for survival, but few groups ended up as close as theirs.

  Ike himself had been raised in a heavily religious family and was kicked out of his home at sixteen after his parents found him kissing a boy in his room.

  Joshua spent his entire childhood in foster homes and had run away from a particularly abusive foster family at fourteen. He had met Ike on the streets, and they had spent many days together scrounging for food, and many nights huddled up against the cold Vancouver winters. Once Ike met Abby, he went back to find Joshua, who happily joined them.

  Tara’s parents died when she was ten, and her pedophile uncle took her in. Four years later, she finally ran away and spent almost two years on the street alone before she met Abby. The pretty young redhead and Abby got along immediately.

  Olive had never spoken of her own story, and, in fact, didn't speak at all. The scars marring her body spoke volumes though.

  Unwanted, unloved. This was the story of most of the children of the street. Rather than let their stories turn them down darker paths, together they all flourished. Abby and Ike brought them in and gave them love and a purpose. They felt responsible for the well-being of each of the youth.

  It wasn't until late that evening that Abby remembered the newspaper she had grabbed. Benny was asleep, and she could hear Tara's voice reading to the others softly in the other room. It was a nightly ritual for them, and one Abby encouraged. While none of them could go to school, she did what she could to grab books and other things to keep the children’s minds stimulated. Grabbing the paper, she quickly flicked on her flashlight and focused on the first page.

  FIRE Virus Sweeps Canada

  An encephalitic virus named FIRE (Fever Induced Rapid Encephalitis) has been sweeping its way across the globe and has now made its way to Canada. Initial reports came from Delhi, India, but about a week ago the first report in North America occurred in New York. Thunder Bay, Ontario was affected only a day later. At this time, the World Health Organization is working around the clock to determine more of this virus’ origins and its possible effects; however, in the interim, they have advised all citizens to remain indoors whenever possible and to stay away from anyone who is exhibiting signs of illness. We will provide updates when we have more information on how the virus is spread. Please be aware of the following symptoms:

  ● Fever

  ● Lethargy

  ● Vomiting

  ● Diarrhea

  ● Photophobia

  ● Confusion

  ● Seizures

  Abby turned pale as she read. Scanning the top of the paper, she saw that the news article was already three days old, which was even more concerning. Didn’t news normally come out daily? With what they had seen today on the street combined with the article in front of her, she worried that they hadn’t grabbed enough supplies while they had the chance. Not wanting to worry the rest of the kids quite yet, she tucked the paper away, determined to discuss it with Ike in the morning.

  ✽✽✽

  The next morning as they
all sat around the coffee table for breakfast, Ike stated he wasn’t feeling hungry. Being on the streets, they often had limited food, and it was an unspoken rule that you always ate when you had the chance. You never knew when you might not have another for days. Abby thought back to the news article.

  “Are you feeling hot?” Abby asked as she eyed Ike critically.

  Ike looked at her sharply, “No, I’m fine.”

  Benny looked up at his idol, noticing the tone and defensiveness. Not waiting to ask, he reached up and touched Ike’s forehead, causing him to shuffle back out of the young boy’s reach.

  “You feel super warm!” Benny exclaimed. Abby narrowed her eyes at Ike.

  “Everyone out!” she declared, not breaking eye contact with Ike. The rest scattered to the other room, worried over the tone in both of their leaders’ voices during this interaction.

  When she was sure they were gone, Abby went over to where she had hid the newspaper article the night prior and handed it to Ike without saying anything. Ike’s eyes narrowed in confusion but widened as he read through the article. When he was finished, he looked up at Abby, the fear in his eyes evident.

  “Shit.”

  Within the hour, Abby had grabbed some old blankets off some of the beds of the younger kids, replacing them with the newer sleeping bags she and Ike had grabbed the day before. Picking a bedroom on the furthest side of the house, she told Ike to stay there while she put together a semblance of a sick room for him. The article had indicated that this virus was highly contagious, so if possible, he needed to be kept as far away from the rest of the family. There was a good chance he would have already exposed everyone if he did have it, but Abby and Ike agreed it was better safe than sorry. After creating the small quarantine room, she went and spoke to the kids about what was happening.