The farmhouse was cold. As the night stretched on, the quiet became unbearable, a suffocating kind of silence that pressed against my ears and filled my chest with dread. It was too still. The kind of stillness that warned you something was lurking, waiting just out of sight. Mia sat across from me, her back resting against the wall, her arms wrapped around her knees. Her eyes were fixed on the boarded-up window, as if she could see through the cracks into the blackness beyond.
"We'll be safe here for a while," I said, my voice sounding too loud in the quiet room.
Mia nodded but didn't say anything. I could see the fear in her eyes, even though she was trying hard to hide it. This was all too much. One moment, we were living normal lives, and now we were trapped in a farmhouse, waiting for the world to collapse around us.
I stared at the faint outline of the moon outside, trying to push down the memories that kept creeping up from the edges of my mind. Memories of the last time. Memories of how this would end if we didn't stay ahead of it.
I had failed before. I had lost everything. But this time, I had a second chance. I wasn't going to let it slip away.
The problem was, I had no idea where to go from here.
"We can't stay here forever," Mia said quietly, breaking the silence. "We'll run out of food. And what if they find us?"
"They won't," I said automatically, though even I didn't believe my own words. "Not out here."
"But they will eventually, won't they?" Mia's voice trembled slightly, and she hugged her knees tighter. "They're spreading so fast. Jake, what do we do?"
I looked at her, my heart sinking. She was right. The infected were spreading faster than I had anticipated. In my past life, it had taken weeks for the infection to reach the outskirts, but this time… it was different. The outbreak had started earlier, the infection seemed more aggressive, more unpredictable.
I didn't have all the answers. I was just as scared as Mia, but I couldn't show it. She needed me to be strong, to have a plan. Even if that plan was shaky at best.
"We need to gather more supplies," I said, trying to sound confident. "We can use this place as a temporary shelter, but we'll need to scout the area for food, weapons, anything that can help us survive."
Mia's eyes met mine, wide with worry. "What if… what if we don't find anything? What if there's no one left to help?"
I swallowed hard. "We'll find something. We have to. There are other survivors out there. Not everyone's gone. We just need to stay focused, stay alive."
She didn't look convinced, but she nodded anyway. I knew what she was thinking. In our past life, there had been no hope, no one to help. The world had crumbled so fast that no one had time to prepare. But this time… this time, things would be different. I would make sure of it.
"We should rest," I said, glancing at the cracked clock on the wall. "We'll head out in the morning and see what we can find."
Mia didn't argue. She just leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes, though I doubted she'd be able to sleep. I couldn't sleep either, not with everything racing through my mind. The memories of my past death were too vivid, too raw. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw it—the infected tearing through the shelter, the sound of their groans, the blood, the screams.
And then there was Mia, standing at the door, watching helplessly as I was torn apart.
I shuddered, pushing the memory away. That wasn't going to happen again. I had been given this chance for a reason. I didn't know why or how, but I wasn't going to waste it.
The hours dragged on, and eventually, Mia's breathing grew steady and slow, signaling that she had finally drifted off to sleep. I stayed awake, staring at the darkness, my mind racing with what needed to be done. We couldn't stay in one place for too long. The infected would find us eventually. And when they did, we needed to be ready.
As dawn approached, I stood and moved quietly to the window, peering out through the narrow gap between the boards. The landscape outside was eerily peaceful, the first rays of sunlight casting long shadows across the fields. There were no signs of movement, no signs of life.
But that didn't mean we were safe.
I grabbed the backpack we had filled with supplies the night before and slung it over my shoulder. It wasn't much, but it would keep us going for a few days. Food, water, a few first-aid supplies, and some makeshift weapons. We'd need to find more if we were going to survive long-term.
"Mia," I whispered, shaking her gently. "It's time to go."
She stirred, blinking groggily before sitting up. "Already?"
I nodded. "We need to start moving before the infected spread out here. The further we get from the city, the better."
We packed up what little we had and stepped outside into the cool morning air. The farmhouse behind us stood silent, abandoned once again. For a brief moment, I wondered if we'd ever find a place that could truly be safe. A place where we could stop running. But I couldn't dwell on that. Not now.
The road ahead was long and uncertain, but it was all we had.
As we walked, the landscape around us grew more rural, more isolated. The fields stretched out in every direction, with only the occasional farmhouse or barn breaking up the monotony. It was peaceful, in a way, but that peace was a lie. The infection was still out there, spreading like wildfire. We just hadn't reached it yet.
After a few hours, we reached a small town. It was the kind of place where everyone knew each other, where life moved slower. But now, it was a ghost town. The streets were empty, the houses abandoned. Some of the doors were left wide open, as if the people who had lived here had fled in a hurry.
"This place looks deserted," Mia said, her voice barely above a whisper.
I nodded, scanning the area. "We'll check the stores for supplies, but be careful. There could still be infected around."
We moved cautiously through the streets, sticking close to the buildings. The town felt eerie, like the calm before a storm. Every creak, every gust of wind made me jump, expecting the infected to come barreling out of the shadows.
We reached the town's general store, its windows already broken, the front door hanging off its hinges. I glanced inside, making sure the coast was clear before motioning for Mia to follow.
The inside was a mess—shelves knocked over, food and supplies scattered everywhere. It had already been looted, but we might still find something useful.
"We'll split up," I said, grabbing an empty bag from the floor. "Check for anything that hasn't been taken. Canned food, water, medicine. Anything."
Mia nodded and moved to the other side of the store, while I began rummaging through the debris. Most of the food was gone, but I managed to find a few cans of soup and a couple of bottles of water that had been overlooked.
As I moved toward the back of the store, something caught my eye—a glint of metal underneath a pile of broken shelves. I knelt down and pulled it out—a small hunting knife, still in decent condition. Not much, but it was better than nothing.
"Jake," Mia's voice called from the other side of the store. "I found something."
I hurried over to where she was standing, her eyes wide as she pointed to the back wall. A trapdoor.
"It looks like a cellar," she said, her voice trembling slightly. "Should we check it out?"
I hesitated. A dark, enclosed space wasn't exactly where I wanted to be if the infected were nearby. But if there were supplies down there, it could be worth the risk.
"We'll check it," I said, gripping the knife tightly. "Stay close."
We opened the trapdoor cautiously, the old wood creaking loudly. The smell hit me first—a musty, damp odor that made my stomach turn. But there was something else underneath it, something faint but unmistakable.
Blood.
I hesitated at the top of the stairs, but Mia was already halfway down, her flashlight cutting through the darkness. I followed her, my heart pounding in my chest.
The cellar was small, filled with boxes and old furniture. But in the corner, just out of the beam of Mia's flashlight, was something far more unsettling.
A body.
It was slumped against the wall, its clothes stained with dried blood. I could tell from the distance that it wasn't one of the infected. This person had died here, hiding from something, maybe hoping to survive the initial wave of infection.
But they hadn't made it.
Mia gasped, stepping back. "Oh my God…"
I moved closer, inspecting the body. It had been here for a while, long enough for the smell to fade, but not long enough to be completely decomposed.
"We need to leave," I said, my voice tight. "There's nothing here for us."
Mia nodded, her face pale. We turned to go back up the stairs, but then I heard it.
A low, guttural growl, echoing from somewhere above us.
The infected had found us.