Outbreak Chronicles: Dead Pandemic

Chapter 260 - Deadly Events in the Eyes of the Child
Day 311: 9:00 P.M

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The last food supply I have been keeping for myself has already been reduced to the very last can of pork and beans. It should be ”save the best for last” but for me, eating pork and beans is something I detest. I hated the taste of the pork and beans the moment I can determine whether a food is good or bad.

Looking all the empty cans in the trash can and the empty shelves that was used to put all the canned goods I got last time, it reminded me a grim reality that my stockpile of food is already gone to the last can in which I am currently holding. I don’t want to starve, so even if this food is not to my liking, I don’t have any choice about this and I am forced to suck it all in and just endure it.

My name is Byakuya, I am a normal 9-year old kid enjoying my daily life with my friends until the apocalypse claimed the lives of my friends, teachers and some of the a.d.u.l.ts I know. It also didn’t help when I arrived back home, my mother turned into one of the freaks. That is my very first kill ever since the apocalypse started, and the first casualty is none other than my mother.

Kids my age all have the time in their world and also dependent to their parents and will always find a good time to play around. However, I find those things a waste of time. I would rather use the time I have for playing to looking valuable things like food and water.

My hobby before this hell started is playing video games with my friends, however, that hobby is now replaced differently as I now would rather choose to make and modify weapons than to play games.

It’s been 10 months and from those weird events in the past, it allowed me to know that things are not what they seemed to be. I was forced to develop my a.d.u.l.t side to face the harshness in this world. Because the world is not a forgiving place for people like me. Only the strong will continue to live and for someone who lost his mother and has no father since birth due to him dying before I was born, being a naive kid will only cost me my life rather than helping it lengthen.

I have been looting the surrounding buildings during the morning, practicing all my reflexes and developed a sense on when is the right time to kill the dead. And with the help of getting those foods in many locations I tried looting, I managed to put a good amount of stockpile of food and water, alongside with water and medicine. Because it’s not forever for me to get food in an unlimited way as this place is more real.

My stockpile is piling up nicely when all of a sudden, chaos broke out from many places especially near my hideout. Some dangerous people that looked like some gangsters have started shooting others down and they also have been abducting people who are not connected to them in any other way. Due to this, I have to stay in my underground base that which is in a manhole. Since the drainage is much bigger and there are some pipes below them that are no longer at use, allowing me to create my shelter there.

I continue to stay there without going outside my base. Since the manhole and drainage I used appears to be abandoned and no longer connected to any kind of connection to the pipes that water flows around Japan, I am totally safe here. As long as I have food and water supply, then I am good to stay here for a few days.

...

But things didn’t go as planned. I thought the chaos would stop in a few weeks but it seems it is not and it lasted for a month. For the duration of that, I consumed the stockpile of food I stashed. I keep on hoping things will be much easier if I continue to stay here, however, everything is just a pipe dream and there is no such thing as safe place. Even the stockpile food and water is not infinite and the bitter truth came sooner than expected.

”Ugh... gross...” I grumbled while chewing the pork and beans.

I am ready to vomit if necessary but I endured. I will force myself to eat the things I hate because the apocalypse will kill all the picky eaters especially if the food they wanted to eat is not available. Once the last beans inside the can is consumed and already in the first stage of digestion, I throw the can on the floor and grab the almost empty bottle of water and drank its contents as soon as possible.

Leaning on the wall, I sighed and looked listened to the water flowing to the manhole’s cover into the floor. It looks like it is raining which means it is safe to venture outside. Since there is nothing for me to do right now, my only choice is to rest as early as possible as I needed to go and find food and water for tomorrow.

...

Day 312: 6:30 A.M

KRINNGGG! KRINGGG! KRINNNG! PA!

I stood up the moment I violently pushed the snooze button on my alarm clock that I looted the other time. Despite being groggy and feeling a little bit troubled, I have tons of things I have to do and one of the priority is to scavenge.

Wearing all of my clothes, readying my backpack, and weapon, I am now ready to go fight and try to survive for another day. Looking at the spiked baseball bat that is also covered with barbed wire, I am not sure if I can do this. After a few seconds of relaxing before going, I steeled myself and slowly tried to open the manhole’s trapdoor.

Looking around, I noticed that there are less amount of dead people currently staying around. Seeing that the coast is clear, I quickly went out of the manhole and quickly ready my weapon while slowly walking around the alleyways. 

Although it’s been a month since I stuck myself underneath the manhole, I can still easily find a good store to loot resources for my future. Entering one of the nearby building, I was in luck because the place is still not looted by anyone and canned foods are still available.

Taking everything I can into my bag, I was suddenly surprised by the sudden appearance of a few undead coming from the back of the place. No wonder it was still not looted, there is a dead person inside.

Without hesitation, I closed my bag and quickly scram the hell out of the place. I am not insane enough to fight against a dead person and although I have killed many of these freaks before, though it is not that much. I only fight if there is no means for me to get out of the situation. Even if I left the remaining canned food behind to escape, it is much better than managing to secure the food but ended up as a deceased individual.

The alleyways are infested by dead people, the road is also infested though not too much since I managed to distance most of them away from me using distracting methods that will allow the dead to be attracted to the places where I will be able to avoid completely.

Getting to the next building, I managed to find a few canned food stored on the cabinets in one random house. The amount is good enough that I can safely say I am already guaranteed to not go starved tonight.

As I finish packing the food to my backpack...

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Ratatatatatatatatatat!

BOOM!

My sensors is already picking up danger. I tried looking for that and saw the burly men with guns in their bodies fight against a few of the people. I shook in fear seeing the conflict of some guys around. I didn’t bother to join groups of people for this but seeing the situation, I am now sure that it is time for me to return to my hideout. 

But the moment I went out of the building, I saw a dead body lying on the ground and above the dead body are the countless of undead, currently tearing apart his guts. This scene is too grotesque and brutal that fear creeps into my body. A very hot feeling is about to come into my throat and the funny feeling in my stomach almost came together, creating mix feeling.

But despite all of that, I have no choice. I quickly left before the vivid scene permanently becomes part of my core memory which is I don’t want to happen. As a kid, I know it that this is a survival of the fittest.