Page 12 of Savagely Yours
“You two are overreacting. Those videos are AI, and if you can’t tell they’re AI, we’re doomed as a society.”
“If they’re fake, why the lockdowns?”
“Corporate greed, of course! We stay in, we stream movies and order food delivery.”
“No, I’m telling you, it’s a Chinese bioweapon! You see how they’ve been acting! The virus is eating their brains through the 5G waves.”
A tug from Dez’s gloved hand, which was wrapped around mine almost to the point of crushing it, propelled me through the mob. He glanced over his shoulder as if checking to make sure Ihadn’t dissolved, and our gazes immediately connected, the rest of his face hidden by a black mask.
ATMs and bank servers went down before most people could withdraw their cash. Initially, there were long lines at grocery stores, but violence caused them to shut their doors, letting in only a few people at a time.
At the moment, the area outside the Metro Center was filled with people either trying to barter, pickpocket, or outright steal to get food and necessities. Despite the nippy early morning weather, the sun bore down on us. The trees lining the sidewalks didn’t provide adequate shade, so we sought whatever cover we could in the shadows cast off by the empty, towering, glass-front buildings.
After the initial announcement Dez and I saw, I withdrew all the money I had, and we stocked up on supplies. He went back to his old place for cash and necessities, and over the last few months, we sheltered together at my condo. However, with the internet, phones, and now cable and electricity down, the provisions we collected could only last so long on solar power banks.
Dez and I remained abreast of what was going on via radio, but it took us several tries to find a broadcast that provided factual information about what was happening in the streets. He’d also attempted to contact the rest of the security detail, but there had been no response so far.
According to our single trusted radio broadcast, the White House fell a couple of weeks ago. Other stations denied the rumor, as well as another one circulating that the recently inaugurated president had been infected, and that none of the treatments were working. Despite the denials, there had been zero sightings of him in the last couple of weeks.
Dez wanted us to hunker down for a bit longer. According to him, there was a specific period to wait for before advancing inemergency situations. Today, we’d masked up and ventured out to get a sense of how things were. Also, he wanted to check in with a guy he knew for more accurate insider information.
“I’m telling you, I saw it! They change! Start drooling and biting! Eating other people!”
Dez tugged again, so hard I stumbled.
“I’m sorry,” he said, stabilizing me with a light grip on my shoulder. “I just want to cut through this mess as quickly as possible. I don’t want you out here.”
“I’m fine,” I reassured him.
It was partially true.
I felt like passing out, but I didn’t want to run the risk of anyone touching, stepping on, or worse, sneezing on me. Then, I had no way of contacting my parents, brother, or sister. At the very least, my family was together. Acknowledging that several times a day got me through one-half of the twenty-four-hour cycle.
Dez got me through the rest.
I couldn’t remember a time in my adult life when I was more grateful for the presence of another human being.
“What else did you idiots think would happen? Did you honestly think nuclear war was gonna be the thing to wipe us out? We’re fragile, whiny, and stupid. I’m just shocked it’s not mosquitoes.”
Dez angled his head to the side, stretched his neck, righted it again, and shook out his shoulders. I’d seen him do the routine at the condo, and right after, he always retreated to the guest bedroom or stepped outside.
I called it the head tilt of irritation.
As far as I knew, he was a loner, and he was forced to be on lockdown in a predicament that would irritate anyone used to being on their own. We’d grown close since the first day we started working together, but this was a different level of closeness. Day in and day out, for the most part, the only other face he saw was mine. On the other hand, I had a hard time remembering to give him space. I was used to being alone, but I was never any good at being lonely.
Exhaling loud enough for me to hear over the commotion, he turned, looped his arms around my midsection, picked me up, and barreled through the remaining crowd, using me as a makeshift battering ram. Once we reached an area where the mob had thinned, he set me down and walked off, one hand up to let me know he needed a breather.
I gave him his space.
If he left me now, the only thing I felt prepared to do was return to my condo and try to remember whether starvation was a painful death. I hated that I had a Plan B, and Dez didn’t know about my Plan B, but it was on the table if he left me,andI learned that my family was gone.
He walked back over to where I stood, his hands folded into fists at his sides. Sweat-darkened hair clung to his forehead, and I noticed him scan me twice from the head down and back up.
“Are we at the point of leaving the city?” I asked.
He looked back in the direction of the mob. “Close to it.”
“Is it us leaving or just you leaving?”
