It took a while for her eyes to adjust to the light in her new surroundings, but the first thing that Valerie had noticed upon waking was the smell of the damp that seeped all around this place and the sound of heavy rainfall hitting the lone small window that was just above her head.
From her surroundings Valerie guessed she was in a basement, above her through the wall she could hear what seemed to be excited laughter and conversation taking place, though she could not make out what was being said. Valerie did know however that she was tied up tight to a rusty pipe and lying on a strange, silk covered mattress on the floor, she also noticed that she was completely naked.
Her breath started to quicken as panic set in, the room was humid from the hot weather, and she was coated with sweat that was running all over her body.
'Think Val...what happened!' she thought to herself.
She had picked up what sounded like a signal after many months since the Blood fever had run its course throughout the world. Spreading and infecting all in its path, it left only a small handful of survivors who had managed to recover in the early stages. Valerie had just finished her police academy training when it had broke out. She fell down with the fever at the start like all the others but had quickly got better unlike most, who ended up dying after about a week when their red blood cells broke down in their veins.
She had moved around, watching society collapse around her, the internet and TV blinking out and eventually all the radios shortly after. The news had said a tiny few had recovered from the plague and it seems she was one of them.
Several months passed and Val wandered from place to place, stocking up on supplies and periodically checking her radio for broadcasts, but all she heard was dead air.
That was until earlier that morning.
She heard briefly was seemed to be a voice among the static, Vals excitement rose as she turned the knob further and heard what she thought was a man speaking.
"......looking for other.......near old sil....'..."
"Hello?! Can you hear me." Val spoke excitedly into the receiver, tuning further into the source "where are you?"
The static started to clear as she tuned into the broadcaster, on the other end she heard the voice of a man reply.
"I....hear you," he seemed to pause briefly for a moment "My god its good to hear another human voice! It's been ages since I've heard one, I'm sorry if I seem nervous but you have no idea how relieved I am to speak to another living being!"
"Same here" Val replied, "I've been on the road since this started and the last broadcast I heard was about five months ago, I'm starting to think I forgot how to talk at all!" Valerie gave out a nervous giggle but immediately scolded herself silently.
"I can relate to that, I've been alone all this time myself, the silence has damn near drove me mad!" there was another pause and a sound in the background "Where are you? Are you nearby?"
Valerie glanced around her and saw the clutter of ruined cars and emergency trucks on the highway in front, but to her left a short walk away was what appeared to be a rusty grain silo.
"I'm on the main freeway right now but I can see some kind of metal silo in the distance."
"That's where I'm broadcasting from!" the man seemed to get excited "Can you reach it? Its only about a ten-minute walk from the freeway and there is a dirt path that leads right to it."
"Yeah, that shouldn't be a problem." Val replied, she was starting to get nervous, "by the way do you have a name? I'm Valerie Prince."
