Death was once something I feared, an illusion that brought darkness with it, but now I plead for its mercy in this time that survivors have come to call, The New Order.
•••
It was only a cough to began with, something so simple, it had happened a t...
The pale, yellow frame of the door littered with various pink flowers, stares back at us, a striking contrast to the past twenty-four hours that we have had endured. To the darkness that has followed my loved ones and I for the past couple of hours, if not a shorter amount of time. And now, I stand in front of the very thing that holds the answer for Eliana and I, the object that'll save us from this wicked fate we have been cast to.
Something in my chest coily twists at the mere thought.
Through all the blistering worries and callous stress that have weaved its way into my nerves and bundled from within, a small part of me is relieved at the fact our Nana has texted us, like a sign to keep going on, even if she herself is not here to tell us such things.
If she's okay, then we will be too.
Now, I just have to find a way into the building. Would it matter if I smashed a window to enter? Is this establishment still going to be operable if this ever ends, or was yesterday unknowingly the last day the Brew Crew got to serve someone a coffee?
Something inside of me goes still.
Is my boss even still alive to be aware of the fact that we're about to break in and steal his property?
I swallow, as if to drown the thought that just peeked through the curtains of my mind, something I know I shouldn't even think, a thought so devoid of humanity itself, and yet, some small part of me still wants it to be true.
In someway, I'd make it easier to go through with this plan.
Breathing in the fresh morning air, I began to search the small rock garden I had been forced to put together over a year ago, twice. Apparently the first time wasn't pretty enough for such a prestigious cafe like his. The light grey pebbles ruddle together as I shift through the assorted rocks, searching for one big enough to break through a shield of glass that would allow us access to my work.
I can't count the amount of times I've wanted to just break something, anything within his shop to just feel some sort of release from the exhasstion that this place has put me through, for mere pennies, and now I'll finally get to do it.
Something dings behind me, like a bell being rung.
"Nas...look."
My head flings around and my eyes gaze upon Elianas hand wrapped around the handle of the now open door as her eyes flicker around the small room.
Slowly, I lift from the floor, an unease swimming within me.
He's never left it opened, ever. Did something happen last night, did he hear about the news and decide to rush home, forgetting about the door. It seems like everything inside has been put away, so why not finish the job and lock the door as well? What spooked him enough for him to leave his store vulnerable to the outside world?
My thoughts from before slip through the cracks of my racing mind, bile rising up my throat, my being now wanting to unthink it all, to revoke those words.
I jerk my head to the side, signalling for Eliana to get behind me.
There's a slight warmth that welcomes us as we enter through the colourful door. The AC has been turned off. There's no artificial light guiding us through the stacks of tables with chairs piled on top, only the glow of the sun from outside helps us sift our bodies through. The counter is bare and wiped clean, the floors are small, so is the kitchen in the back; as I stare at the stainless steel benches with nothing but random tubs and a glad wrap stacked neatly into a corner.
It's untouched by the world outside, preserved by the chaos that has overcome us all within this short amount of time. An ease drips from my skin, my body, for the first time in a long time, relaxing. It doesn't seem like anyone got in here, but I can't help as my mind wanders back to the door, and why it was left open.
"It's okay, it doesn't seem like anyones here," I turn back to Eliana. "We just need to find Gregs cabin keys and the keys to his car."
"And then we can get out of here?"
"And then we can get out of here." I offer her a small smile which she returns, her lips cracking a little more than what they already have.
I grasp at a box from behind me, the texture jarring against my fingertips as I hand it to her.
"My boss probably already has swamps filled with food over there, but it doesn't hurt to grab some more...just in case. There's a fridge over there, fill this as much as possible. I'll come and help you once I've found his keys, okay?"
She nods and we both go in opposite directions, her to the small kitchen that was somehow designed to hold five plus people, and I head toward Greg's office and start ruffleing through the many draws he keeps.
I always wondered why he needed so many, but know I'm wondering if it were to slow down burglars.
"Hey, you'd like his car, it's a Volkswagen,'' I shouted over the empty space between us.
"Woah, really?" Her voice is higher as she replies.
"Yep."
"God, I love rich people stuff. You know, people lied when they said that money can't buy happiness, if I had money, I could one-hundred percent buy happiness, it's called a little kitty, and his name would be Sir Jeffory," she adds a strong, patronising english accent to the kitty's name.
I chuckle lightly under my breath. "You could also buy yourself some friends."
"Wha- I have friends," she squeals back in response, her voice now reaching levels of such pitchess that glass could shatter.
I can't help as a smile tugs at the corner of my lips, that grows past the shrinking pain of the random bruise that I'd gained along the way.
As my fingers shuffle through the assorted papers filling the draw I had moved onto, metal grazes past them, a shocking cool touch as I fling the papers from the draw to reveal the two things I've been looking for.
"Found them!" My words echo through the rooms, but nothing comes back apart from the sound of my own voice.
I breathe.
"Eliana?"
I breathe again, but something fills my senses, this time something foul and so grostase that I pinch my nose together, trying to pull away from it as a cold flushes through my body, my mind racing as realisation falls upon me.
Rot.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
