Chapter 2
Bite "Could Civ Number 1256 and child head to the main office please. That's Civ number 1256 and child to the main office, thank you."
My eyes drifted open as I rose from my sleep. My back ached, my stomach was empty, my head was spinning and my clothes still stunk. Just another day in conservation camp.
It had been two years since the outbreak started. Two years since I last saw my family. Two years since I was found by the authorities and taken into these camps. I was told that I would be given a warm bed, vaccinations that could protect me, a place to build friendships and three warm meals a day.
Yet here I am on a fold away bed that has a dodgy leg, I've been stolen from at least 12 times since I got to this camp and I only have 5 more ration tickets until the end of this month.
It's been two years and still no one knows what caused the infection. I found out that nearly 8,000 families either died or got infected on the bridge that night, Father made the right choice driving off. Apparently it was a blood bath.
The government placed these conservation camps all over the country. Not that they do any good. I've been moved to almost 10 different camps in the last two years. They've either gotten over run by the infected or ran out of food. God knows how there's a food shortage when it costs 10 ration tickets for a microwave meal and we're only given 30 each month.
I sat up from my bed and let go of the duffel bag. That's right, I still have the duffel bag of guns. Luckily I've never had to use them, but I can't let the authorities know I have them. They'd take them away from me, and who knows when I might need them.
I was sharing a tent with 10 men, 8 women, 5 children and a new born. 25 people in one tent and there are 12 tents per camp. What kind of a life is that? It's ironic since the officials call us Civ's, short for civilians. How is any of this civil? Everyone who lives in these places are given a Civ number, for example I am Civ number 1750.
They placed one horn loudspeaker in each tent so that they can call any of us 'Civ's' up to the main office and such. It gets pretty annoying when they are calling people up at 8am. Whatever happened to sleeping in?
I closed my eyes and stretched my arms out. These beds did no justice for my back, I had already started feeling 81 at the age of 21. I grabbed a bowl of water that was place underneath my bed. The water hadn't been changed again. Dust and dirt swam in the murky water. Everyone gets a bowl of water that we have to use to 'clean ourselves'. They promised to change the water everyday as we slept, but that hasn't happened in a year. They end up leaving us with the same bowl of water until someone actually complains about it, and since there is absolutely no sense of community in here, it always ends up taking a very long time for someone to take responsibility.
I dunked my hands into the water. It was warm and my hands felt like they had a film over them. I guess it had to do, it was either this or nothing. I picked the water up and splashed it over my face. They hadn't given us towels either so I used my bed sheet to dry my skin. As I patted the rough fabric over my face I noticed a young girl standing in front of the bed opposite mine. She stared at me, I didn't know why but she kept looking at me. I dropped the bed sheet and looked back with confusion. She was about 5 years old. She wore a lilac nightgown that was stained with dirt and a pair of Dora slippers which looked about 2 sizes too small for her. She had her arms crossed clutching a teddy bear close to her chest. The bear was a dusty shade of pink and had an eye missing. One of the pointy ears was also half missing, it looked as if it had been chewed on.
"Hello." She mumbled.
I nodded my head, I hadn't spoken to anyone in a while. She was the first person to speak to me in the entire camp.
"How are you?" She smiled.
I looked behind her and there wasn't any adults around. Surely she wasn't here by herself. I tried to think back to the kids that lived here. The only one I could think of was living here with their dad.
"Uh, where's your dad?" I asked.
"My daddy is gone. He got bitten by the sick people last month." She said nonchalantly. Was she not upset? I furrowed my eyebrows slightly. She was so young, she doesn't remember how the world was before. People getting infected was the norm for her. It made my heart sink a little thinking that this was how the new generation would live. Humanity is coming to an end. I just know it.
"My mummy is at the office. She thinks were being kicked out because she keeps asking for stuff. I don't think we are... I don't hope we are..." She sighed.
I didn't say anything else. She looked up at me. Her blue eyes sparkled in the dim light. She was so young, yet she was being forced into this world of horror.
I heard a woman call out a name. The little girl turned around, waved goodbye, and ran out of the tent. I lifted my hand off of my lap a little and waved back. That was the longest conversation I'd had in more than two weeks.
She was so joyful. I remember when I was happy, when I used to be so optimistic. I've changed. I miss the person I used to be before. Honestly, I can't even see the point of living anymore. This isn't living, this is just staying alive, and recently even that seems to be a struggle.
I finally stood up from my bed and swung the duffel bag over my shoulder. I slipped on my shoes and headed out of the tent. The sun was trying to break through the dark clouds that were scattered across the sky. Rain was sure to fall today. People were dragging their feet around the camp, no one here was joyful. I weaved my way out of the many tents keeping my head down and trying to avoid any eye contact.
After a few minutes of walking I finally made it to the store. No one seemed to be around, like usual. The street was silent and there were the usual snipers perched up on old buildings guarding the perimeter. I walked up to the door just to be faced with a sign that read,
Out of stock.
All food will be restored shortly.
I rolled my eyes. By 'shortly' they mean't that after a week or so of starving innocent people they will shut down the camp and transfer everyone to camps halfway across the country. Probably losing a few people to the infected too.
"Shut up , you're gonna get us killed." I heard someone whisper. I looked around in confusion. No one was around.
"No I'm not, nobody's even around. This place is dead." I heard a different voice say. I followed the sound and noticed a dark alleyway just to the side of the store. I still couldn't see anybody there.
There was a rustling sound emerging from the darkness, my curiosity got the better of me and soon I was walking down the alleyway. I got to the end and I could finally hear the mystery group clearly.
"Guys we need to keep moving." A female voice said.
"We can sit here for a while can't we. I'm pretty sure the others aren't even close to the town yet!" A male replied.
"Yes, you're right. They're probably laying around somewhere munching on our snacks and hoping that we get there first so that we end up doing their job. However, that doesn't mean that we should just laze around here. We're inside a Goddamn conservation camp, they'll take our guns and food if they find us. Don't you remember what happened last year." The female retaliated.
"Okay, but we've been walking for so long... You can't blame us Eve. Where's the map? How much longer do we have?"
"Well don't get your hopes up. We still have another 2000 miles until we get there."
The group of people all grunted and sighed.
"I know, I know. It's a long way. But won't it be worth it? Once we make it we're gonna have the cure to mankind! We're gonna survive this whole... Bunch of crap! We're gonna go down in the history books. It's gonna be us that save humanity."
My eyes widened. My body froze up. Did I hear that correctly? They knew where the cure was! They were going to get the cure! I had been given 10 different injections last year and all of them proved to be inoperative! All the other people who got the exact same vaccines were still able to become infected. The authorities said that they had given up, that there was no cure, but there must be! These people know where the cure is! I had never been so excited in my entire life!
I lean't back against the wall. What was the point of me staying here? Shouldn't I leave with these people. Then again, I've heard stories about these groups. I've heard that some of them are cannibals or murderers, that sometimes they take you hostage and torture you for fun.
"Who are you?"
Within the blink of an eye a man had grabbed ahold of my shirt and dragged me behind the alley. Me, being so flustered and scared, glued my eyes shut and threw my arms over my face for protection.
"Don't hurt me! I was just listening and I- I- I heard about the cure and I just-! I just-!"
The man let go of me, but before I could gather my senses a fist swung at my face and knocked me out.
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