I drove another ten miles into the city before it got dark. I didn't want to drive with headlights on with the fear of attracting even more attention. I found another parking garage, but this time, it was dark. (My first night in a dark city huh?) I still slept in the car because it felt safer. The sleeping bag was for outdoors anyways, and I hopefully wouldn't use it until I had a group of people with me so we could always have a guard.
Using my portable, battery-powered heating pad, I heated a pot of water and poured it into one of the ready-to-eat meal bags. After stirring it around, I tried it. It tasted much better than I expected, and I was happy to just have a warm meal after a day and a half. After eating, I realized I was feeling dirty. Even a few days of sweat and dirt caked on felt awful. Thinking back to things I needed, I'd completely forgotten a shower. I knew there were solar showers, which heated water in a bag and allowed you to take it nearly anywhere. I added it to my list.
I woke up to a few rays of sunlight coming through the garage entrance. I was able to sleep much more. The confidence of having protection and supplies greatly improved my mental state. I got out of the car, made another meal for myself and Amy, and went through my list again. Then I heard footsteps.
I grabbed my gun and silently made my way to the garage entrance. (Maybe I can finally have a partner again!) I peaked out around the corner of the massive concrete wall towards the direction of where I heard the footsteps. What I saw shocked me so much, I couldn't help but gasp. A woman with long blonde hair was slowly, very slowly, walking away from me. She took a step about once every two seconds. She seemed out of it. What shocked me was that her left arm was gone.
There was no blood where her wound was. Sparkly ash was flying out of her shoulder at an alarming rate. I'd once seen what radioactive materials looked like in a cloud chamber. More particles were coming out of her shoulder than I'd ever seen in a cloud chamber. I was at a loss. (Should I help her? Are the sparkles contagious? If that much has already happened to her, is it already a death sentence? Is there anything I could do to help her?) As I stressed over my moral dilemma, she collapsed onto the ground as her right leg disintegrated. I couldn't bear to watch it anymore. Just as I was about to turn away, she faded out of existence. The wind picked up the ash and carried it away from me. I said a prayer and turned to go back into the garage. I noticed that my breathing was heavy and my heartbeat was quickened.
I got in the car, determined to finish my supplies gathering today. After seeing another human, my hopes had risen slightly, even though she died right in front of me. When I had nearly reached the city's southern limit, I finally passed a pharmacy. I quickly turned around and pulled into the lot. Surprisingly, there weren't many cars. Most lots and streets required me to maneuver around abandoned and crashed cars since people had exploded while driving. (I guess they just weren't busy when it happened.)
Inside the pharmacy, there was still no sign of recent human activity. A layer of dust had covered nearly everything, and it was so thick that I left tracks on the floor. I walked towards the pharmacist suite and hopped over the desk, hoping to find a mass of prescription drugs. The first things a grabbed were antibiotics. From amoxicillin to gentamicin, I grabbed as many as I could. I grabbed a large supply of Tamiflu, although the flu probably wouldn't be as large of a problem since there were barely any people left. Antibiotics were going to be extremely useful because bacteria don't need humans to survive. After leaving the suite, I went for some generic medicine in the isles. Pain killers like Tylenol were my go-to. I also grabbed some cold medicine. Bandages, gauze, and disinfectants were essential for first aid. Other than extra stockpiles of those, I also grabbed ten first-aid kits.
As I walked out, I grabbed a coke and some gummies. (I wonder if this will be the last time I ever eat these...) I felt even safer with the medicine in my possession. I started the car, finally ready to leave the city. I got on the highway for the first time since the beginning of this mess.
The scene was harrowing. Cars were piled up on the shoulder, smashed together. Some had even jumped the median, ending up on the wrong side of the road. Most of them were charred. (I assume one people exploded, the cars just kept going in a straight line or the direction they were turned until they hit something.) As I took in the sight, I couldn't help but think of the poor people who didn't explode but were hit at high speeds by the runaway cars. (I wonder how many died this way...) This did help me drive much faster. Except for the occasional wreck in the middle of a lane, the road was clear. I could also conserve gas this way.
I rolled down the window for Amy and she stuck her head out, tongue and ears flopping in the wind.
"Let's go to the Capital."