Closer. As they were getting closer with each passing second, the sounds of their chattering teeth grew only louder behind him, sometimes covered by their never ending wheezing. Still, he ran, away from them, into the unknown of the deserted streets.
He felt it coming far ahead, the weakness in his knees, his breath getting short, his heartbeat becoming unbearable as it resonated in his whole body, pulsating with the inevitability of a deadly countdown. He rushed faster, yet they could now nearly grab him.
He was at his breaking-point when...
"Mike!"
He woke up with a jump, panting heavily.
The woman who had called him let out a sigh and he heard her walk away. His vision wasn't clear yet, blurred by his sudden awakening state, and wouldn't be completely until he'd... there they were. Having reached for his glasses on the side, he pulled them toward him carefully before picking them up.
The glasses on, he could distinguish the thin filthy blanket he had tossed to the side during the night, the hard and cold floor, the four white walls all around. The warm sunlight greeted him through the holes in the rooftop. Mike didn't answer. He was done with the sun already.
He got up though, groggy, tired and hungry. Mike made his way out of the room, to find most of the camp awake, busy or eating what passed as breakfast here.
The dozen of them had found this remote building to stay and organize themselves. It had an exterior fence to protect them, and was big enough for everyone to have their own room, but they still had to do without proper beds. Hence, the horrible sleep he was getting every night. It has been weeks now.
Mike took up some snacks -ketchup flavoured!- and a bottle of water from what was left of their food stock, piled up in the centre of the room. He was really starting to wonder what the fuck they'll eat when they run out of snacks and cans.
Well, him at least. He was pretty sure some people here had access to better food, but hey, inequalities existed just the same at the end of the world.
Mike was about to leave when a strong hand grabbed his shoulder. As he turned, he recognized Tim, a tall and bald individual, towering over him in a friendely way.
"Wassup Mike?"
The man with the glasses hid behind his teeth, with a grin, all the disdain he had for Tim.
"I'm okay man. What are the news?"
"We're getting low on food and water. You mind coming with me today so we can bring back some?"
Oh, not for the world, motherfucker.
"Actually, I had already planned to go in town. To, huh, pick up some personal stuff, you know? So I'd rather be alone," Mike tried to explain.
But Tim's sudden frown was a clear clue that he saw right through his bullshit.
"No way. It's dangerous out there, you'll need me with you. Gather your stuff, we'll go when you're done eating."
Mike knew it would be useless to protest, and let Tim walk away in order to get ready.
The young man tore open his bag of snack with a swift motion testifying the rage this brief encounter had built up within him.
He didn't really hated Tim. He thought of him as immensly obnoxious though. The first reason was his irritating demeanour. The man acted like he was the boss around here and loved to shout orders at everyone in the camp. He was efficient, for sure. But Mike never got along with people of the commanding, high-and-mighty type.
The second reason...
"Ha, so you're up now?" a feminine voice asked mockingly from behind him.
Mike turned around, munching the last bits of his snacks, when his sight met the hypnotical blue stare of Joanna.
He gulped down the snacks.
"I am, early enough to be recruited by your guy," Mike answered, barely containing his growing bitterness.
"Too bad. Try to make it out alive, it'd be a shame if you'd get eaten," she teased again.
So that was the second reason he couldn't stand Tim: Joanna.
Among the camp, aside from himself, who was a man in his early twenties, there were a few teenagers, a kid, two guys of undefined age, an elderly woman, Tim and two women about his age, Kim and Joanna. Kim was definitely hot, if you liked the toned, short-haired, impulsive kind of girl, but also definitely a lesbian.
The point being that he could only bang Joanna if he wanted to release the seed accumulating in his pants since the Apocalypse. And God knows he would love to.
Joanna was this tall, curvaceous blue eyes beauty, constantly walking around the camp in crop top and stupidly small shorts that showed off white legs of divine crafting as well as a round ass. But that wasn't it. Part of the irresistible appeal she had on him came from the fiery torrent of red hair cascading all around her face and down on her naked shoulders. Every time she spoke, Mike suffered a painful longing for the touch of her thin lips on his skin, her frail hands that could caress him for hours.
But no. She was with Tim, and there was no way around it.
"Excuse me, I need to get prepared."
Mike suddenly walked back to his empty room. He couldn't look at her longer, as less than a minute of interaction had already made his cock throbbing in his pants, his hard member rubbing against the fabric.
Son of a bitch.
He drank a mouthful of water to cool himself off, with only little effect.
Still cursing silently, Mike grabbed a bag pack to carry what he'll find and a hand axe to defend himself.
This better go just fine, or things could turn really ugly in no time.
He met with Tim outside of the building's fence. The man held a gun in one hand and utter confidence could be read in his eyes.
"Let's go. I know a place that hasn't been completely raided yet. I'll take the front, you watch my back," commanded Tim.
Mike nodded and followed him as they made their way toward the main area of town, from the outskirts where they were.
The only defining rule of this new world was silence.
The city, formerly so busy and noisy, had now fallen under a thick veil of mute immobility. The two men spent every part of their energy to blend in this desolate environment. Each breath had to be controlled, each movement had to be the stealthiest they could.
The shadows cast by the tall buildings almost disappeared as the sun rose at noon, but it wasn't enough to ease their mind. The city was full of corners, paths and recesses to hide atrocities they'd have made everything to avoid. Every step further into the street had one of them descending deeper into the anguish of a sudden attack.
Mike could feel sweat dripping from his forehead, despite the medium temperature of a day in the beginning of spring. He would glance around relentlessly, tightening the grasp on his axe, while Tim walked a few steps ahead.
Through the course of his many expeditions to the city, Mike had got used to the silent metropolis and the eeriness of the trips alone among the giants of concrete, with the ever-present knowledge of being watched and followed by the mindless creatures that wandered all around him in the vestiges of their civilisation. However, he could never become accustomed to the powerful stench of rotting flesh that filled the air, as a suffocating reminder of the corpses left abandoned in the street.
Their path suddenly met a dead-end. The insufferable scent had only grown stronger as they approached what looked like a small mountain of trash bags, piled up, most of their content having spilled freely from the ripped open bags.
"Hey, you're sure you know the way?", Mike asked with a worried tone.
"Yes. We're here," swiftly replied Tim.
"What?"
The man bent and began pushing some trash aside. He'd pick a bag, hold it at arm's length and throw it behind him, and start again.
As Mike glanced at him in confusion, he finally explained himself.
"You think I would have my stock in plain sight for everyone to pick?"
"You hid it? You fucking hid food in a pile of garbage? How fucking stupid are you?"
"Shut up," growled Tim.
Mike rolled his eyes back and turned around. He refused to help this guy in his moronic endeavours. He put it in the trash? Well he could pick it up from the trash himself.
Mike was using his free hand to massage his temples when he heard Tim shouting violently.
"What, you found a dead rat?"
His eyes quickly found Tim. The guy had sheer terror shaking up his face, unable to steady his guns with hands that couldn't stop trembling.
