Kia sat quietly and watched as Chloe struggled to climb up into a chair.
"Ah," she groaned, hopping up and then falling back down. Finally, after several attempts, she made it.
"It was about time," Kia muttered grumpily and slid the empty bowl across the table. It stopped in front of her. He poured the cereal into the bowl and once empty, he threw the empty can on the floor.
Sofie stared at the bowl with a bewildered expression, then back at Kia.
"What is it now?" Kia said in his usual frustrated voice.
"Milk," she stated.
"There is no milk, you will have to eat your cereal dry,"
She continued to stare at the bowl with a weird expression; the cereal looked weirdly alien without the familiar coating of milk. She poked at the dry flakes tentatively, as if they might jump up and bite her.
"But Mister," Sofie whined, "I don't like it dry. It tastes like cardboard."
Kia stared at her, his irritation mounting with every passing second. "Well, it's either dry cereal or nothing," he snapped. "There's no milk left, so deal with it."
Sofie's lower lip trembled, and Kia felt a twinge of guilt, but he quickly looked away, his hand sliding down his jeans.
He pressed down on something hard, and only then did he realize he hadn't checked his phone since the incidents began.
With a sigh, he pulled out his phone from his pocket and unlocked it. There were no missed calls or any text messages. What did he expect in the first place? He was a loner. There was no one for him. Kia stared at the screen, which seemed to mock him with its cold emptiness. But a thought crossed the back of his mind.
Had the government said anything about the situation? He wondered with a flicker of hope and turned on his internet.
As soon as the internet connected, Kia was bombarded with news updates about the infection. He scanned through the headlines, searching for anything that might give him a clue about what was going on or what they could do next.
The headlines were grim: "Zombie-like Virus Plagues City," "Infection Rate Skyrockets," "Death Toll Reaches Unprecedented Levels." He clicked on one news outlet to the next, each worse than the last. The articles painted a bleak picture of a city overrun by the infected, with hospitals and emergency services overwhelmed and struggling to cope. The few pockets of safety were already overcrowded, and there were reports of violence and looting.
Kia swallowed hard. The situation was even worse than he had realized. How did all of this happen in less than a day? The government was clearly struggling to keep up with the chaos, and there was no sign of a solution in sight.
He looked up from his phone and saw that Sofie was already eating the dry cereal, but rather than using the spoon he had placed by the bowl, her small hand picked the flakes, guiding them into her mouth with a disappointed expression.
"You must be really hungry to be eating that," Kia remarked, his tone softening.
Sofie nodded. "I always had the best meal when I was with mom," she admitted quietly. "But now...I miss her. I hope she's okay."
Kia looked surprised for a second. He had thought she had lost her mom in the same tragic way she lost her dad.
"Your mom..." Kia muttered slowly. "Where is she?"
"Mom lives in Willow Creek." She said softly. "Dad and I were taking the bus to go see her when...when one of the men on the bus turned into a monster."
Kia's brow furrowed. Willow Creek was a completely different city which was a 5-hour ride. How could she be living in a different city together? A thought crossed his mind, but that didn't seem like something to ask a kid.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a loud clatter, and he saw that Sofie had dropped the spoon onto the floor. She looked down at the bowl of dry cereal with a defeated expression.
Wanting to speak, he parted his lips, but then his fingers clicked on his phone screen, and a video began to play.
"The number of reported infected has surpassed previous estimates, with the virus spreading faster than anticipated. Officials are asking people to stay indoors, lock their doors and windows, and avoid all contact with potentially infected individuals. The virus is highly contagious and can be transmitted through bodily fluids, including blood and saliva." A news reporter stated.
"The cause of this has still not been confirmed. Reports indicate that the virus was first spotted in the slums of the city, where it is believed to have spread quickly among the impoverished population. Despite efforts to contain the outbreak, it seems to have already spread beyond the slums and into the general population."
Kia bit down on his bottom lip as he watched the video. The news reporter suddenly paused, his expression shifting as he listened intently to something through his earbud. After a moment, his eyes widened, and he nodded.
"We have just received an update from our sources regarding possible safe zones being established in the outskirts of the city. These safe zones are being set up by local authorities and are intended to provide shelter and protection for survivors of the outbreak."
"The locations of these safe zones have not yet been confirmed. But if you are in need of assistance, we urge you to remain vigilant and stay tuned to official channels for updates on their whereabouts."
"We have also been informed that a number of cities in the country have reported the fewest incidences of infection. Those cities include Cedar Ridge, Green Valley, Willow Creek…."
"Willow Creek!" Sofie yelled out in excitement. Kia hadn't even known she was listening. "That's where mom lives!"
Kia's brow furrowed in confusion. If Willow Creek was one of the least infected cities, then why had Sofie and her father encountered infected individuals on the bus there? Anyways, that wasn't his problem as he didn't care about anything else except getting this stupid watch off his wrist.
Ignoring Sofie, he turned off his phone and stood up, about to leave when Sofie suddenly grabbed him by his shirt, causing him to halt in his tracks.
Kia looked down at the little girl's hand on his shirt, her grip surprisingly strong for her small size. He felt a moment of frustration, but quickly suppressed it, reminding himself that she was just a child.
"What is it?" Kia asked, his voice gruff with impatience.
Sofie looked up at him, her eyes pleading. "Please, mister." She whispered, her tiny voice trembling with emotion. "I need to find my mom, please take me to Willow Creek. I promise I will be good."