A Thousand Nights with You - 2. The first night

Day 13

I woke up with a loud thud outside my room. It sounded like it comes from the balcony below. The sky was almost dark at that time.

The moaning weren’t any louder than usual, but I can hear the faint sound of leather boots, treading across the parquet floor outside. Could the front door have been broken down? Why didn’t I hear it happen?

One of the bedroom doors below creaked slowly.

My heart skipped a beat and I held my breath. I cursed myself for not having a knife by my bed.

My room isn’t that easy to find. I kept telling myself.

The apartment ceilings are high because our flat is at the top floor. Instead of taking the small room next to Tristan, I asked dad to turn the mini attic into my room. You won’t notice it’s there when I pull up the rope ladder. The little roll down flap concealed the entrance of my room. I pulled a small opening to peek through below

It is a guy wearing a full set of football padding and protective gear. I can’t see his face with the helmet, but he seems pretty tall and big. He carries a large army backpack. Both of his hands held on to a metal baseball bat tightly.

“Hello?”

He spoke. Are those infected people able to speak? I don’t know what are the symptoms of the virus other than they turned vicious. Maybe it changes their personality and they become a psychopath like Hannibal Lecter or something? The skin on his hands doesn’t appear grey and mottled like the creepy stranger I saw outside, but it’s hard to tell with the amount of grime and dirt covering him.

“I saw your message two nights ago. You said you had food.”

It was the same guy! I got excited and almost revealed myself in that instant. But when I saw how he held on to the baseball bat, I hesitated.

He circled around the hall cautiously, and then he spoke after a while.

“I have some food too, if you want to share.”

He paused and put down his bag. When he opened, I saw it filled with green packets of what seemed to be biscuits.

“Combat rations aren’t very tasty, but it’ll keep you alive.”

If he has food, then he probably won’t have to risk his life coming over to rob me. I decided to show myself and stick my head out from my room.

“How did you get over here?” I asked him meekly.

He looked up to find myself talking to him from above.

“I climbed in from the balcony, the apartment next door is empty and the door is open.”

The horror on my face must be obvious because he said immediately, “Don’t worry, they can’t climb. They’re dumb and clumsy.”

So they’re not like Hannibal Lecter.

“And how did you get across the streets? They are everywhere.” I asked again.

“There is a back alley behind my block. There is a sewer below that comes out from here.”

When he took off his helmet, I could see he is probably just a few years older than me, around Tristan’s age. Even with the five o’clock shadow on his chin and jaws, he looks like a High School senior or a college freshman at most. I guess no one really cared about their appearance when the world ended.

He stared at me for another moment and asked, “Are you a boy or a girl?”

What a funny question to ask. I was astounded for a moment, and then I felt slightly offended. “I’m a boy, of course.”

“It’s hard to tell with your voice and your face. How old are you?” He said. I realize he could only see my head and my hair. I rolled down the rope ladder and climbed down.

“Fifteen.” He looked at me from head to toe sceptically, and then I added with pride, “In a few days’ time.”

“I am Mark.” I expected him to extend his hands for a handshake. But he stood at a distance, still looking at me warily.

After a while, I extended my hand and said, “My name is Daniel.”

He didn’t take it, and he didn’t lower the bat either.

“Are you bitten?” He asked me out of a sudden.

“No I didn’t, I never left home all this time.”

He lowered his baseball bat and put it aside. He walked closer to me and asked.

“Do you mind?”

I didn’t know exactly what he meant so I kept quiet and watch him pull up my shirt and sleeves, looking for any signs of injury.

“How did you get this cut?” He demanded as he grabbed my elbow.

“I scraped myself from the corner of the table. It was dark at night.”

He looked suspiciously at me, but then he loosened his grip. I blushed when he pulled down my shorts and checked my thighs and legs. He circled around me before he pulled it back up and heaved a heavy sigh of relief.

“I told you.” I grumbled.

“I’m sorry. The last person we let in, she lied to us.”

He leaned heavily against the sofa, as if he hasn’t rested for days.

“What happened?”

“She was screaming for help, banging on our doors. Dad let her in. We didn’t check because she was a girl.” He paused and swallowed.

Silence hung heavily in the room for a while.

Then his eyes glimmered as he looked down at the floor. His voice was almost choking when he spoke, “Then she bit dad and he shot her… And then dad shot himself.”

“I’m sorry.”

Under normal circumstances, I should give him a hug. At least I didn’t have to watch my family die. For all I know, they might still be alive somewhere. I could still hope. I invited him to sit down, and I would offer him a glass of water. But the condenser could hardly make half a cup every day.

“How did you survive? Most of the food turned bad by the first week.” I asked.

He puts down his things and leaned forward on his knees. He rubbed his face with both hands and said, “Dad was from the army. He stockpiled dry rations and water canisters at home. We were prepared.”

“H-he knew? The authorities knew this would happen? And they never told the people about this?”

“If they did, people would panic and hoard all the supplies. Not that it matters now anyway.”

“But everyone on the internet said it was transmitted through contaminated water-”

“Lies and rumours.” He turned and looked at me in the eye. “I saw how the girl changed within seconds. When she first came in, her face was pale and her pants were bloodied. She claimed it didn’t belong to her. But she started shaking violently within minutes, her face turning grey.”

The front door started banging loudly and we could hear the moans getting louder outside. We must have made enough noise to attract their attention.

“Come up with me, they won’t find us up there.”

Mark climbed up after me into my room. As soon as we got up, I kept the rope ladder and pull down the blinds to hide ourselves. Each time the door banged louder, we huddled closer to each other. From the sound of it, quite a few of them have gathered outside. But despite the mounting fear, I felt an indescribable joy to see someone else alive and close to me.

At least I won’t die alone.

I believed Mark had felt the same way too. Otherwise, he wouldn’t risk his life to come over when he still has food and water. I had a feeling, he is just like me. We are not the kind of people who can survive alone in this world.

***

Neither of us could really sleep that night. He held on to the baseball bat as the sky darkens. Within my small room, I could feel his warm body. He smells of talcum powder, sweat and the sewer. It was a nice change from the stench of the rotting flesh for once. The ceiling wall is a little too low for his comfort, even when he is sitting down. He slouched himself carefully in one corner as we waited patiently for the longest night to be over. When darkness fully descends, when we no longer could see each other, I pressed my ears tightly so that I can’t hear the pounding and their moaning any more. We kept quiet for many, many hours.

By dawn, the pounding had stopped. Both of us had dozed off for a moment and we weren’t sure if they had torn down the door in front. The moaning sounded loud below, and they might be inside the apartment right now. Neither of us dared to go down and confirm the situation.

“Let’s stay here for a while longer.” I whispered when his weary gaze met mine at the first light of dawn. The shadows on his face highlighted the fear in his expression.

Mark nods slowly. Looking above at the air well, he asked softly, “Can this be opened?”

“Yes, but only from the inside. It leads to the rooftop.”

“We can escape from here if things turn ugly.”

After a long silence, he took another careful peek outside and told me he didn’t see any of them below.

Both of us relaxed a little bit after that. He took out a metal bottle of white powder and started to take off his football gear and clothes. He asked me if I could spare him a towel. And then he was completely naked. I didn’t realize I was staring at him until he spoke.

“I’m not bitten.”

He moved around quietly to show me every inch of his body. But I wasn’t thinking about that. He reminds me of Tristan, lean, muscly and broad shouldered. Even the brown tousled hair and scruffy face were uncannily similar. But Mark neither has a narrow face like him nor had his impish smile. His jaws are square and his clear green eyes looked earnest. He doesn’t look like the kind of jock who would throw me into a dumpster.

He folds his dirty football jersey and put it on top of the rest of his clothes. His name was sewn into the blue and yellow uniform. He poured some powder on his chest and started rubbing off the dirt and grime. Even without water, the powder seems to clean like a charm. I was glad that he bothered to clean himself before he sits on my bed. I can’t wash any dirty laundry now, even if I wanted to. The last thing I want is to die in a filthy mattress.

“You said you had food, but you looked so thin.” He spoke while spreading the powder across his shoulders and back.

“Thin? Me?”

I am surprised. Tristan always called me a fat ass. I always thought I am one too, until I caught a glimpse of my own reflection and was shocked by how gaunt my face looked. It’s been so long since I had any proper food. I almost couldn’t recognize myself.

He poured a small amount of water into the green bottle cap and handed me a packet of army rations. “Have some food and water.”

I felt ashamed and thankful as I open up the packet of army rations. I expected him to come and rob me. The last thing I had expected was kindness. Surely, that bag could last him for another month if he didn’t plan to share. The biscuit felt hard and dry, but my eyes were wet as I chewed and swallowed.

“So you lied about the food?” He said.

I wiped off the tears and said, “No, I do have some.”

I pointed to the algae box and condenser outside my room. He lifted the blinds slightly to take a peek. “Do you see the metal boxes below, by the window? I survived on those.”

Mark looked impressed when I explained how the condenser and algae box worked. The water could last us through the summer, as long as the heat and humidity are still there. They used it in deserts and arid places. The algae box is a mini ecosystem by itself. Every day I would scrap off a tiny portion and let it dry in the sun. If I’m careful, the supply could last me for a very long time. But once the weather gets colder, it would be difficult to grow.

“Mom told me this type of algae is a super food. It has all the nutrients we need and it’s seventy percent protein. The UN used it to feed some parts of Africa.”

I had expected Mark to make fun of me like Tristan, or the other kids at school. Or at least, I would expect him to look disgusted by the idea of eating algae. His response was unexpected.

“What if you make bigger ones? We could store the water and farm them into containers. It might last us through the winter, who knows?” He said.

I never thought about that until he mentioned it. But I’m not too sure if I could find the right materials for it. Maybe I could use the metal planes if I take the fridge and the oven apart. It is not as if I could ever use them again.

“You would eat algae?” I asked.

“I don’t want to die. Dad told me he ate rats raw when he was deployed in Afghanistan.”

“Ew… Why…? How? Won’t you get sick?”

“You skin the rat and eat it. It’s clean without the skin and fur. In the fields, you don’t want your enemies to know where you are. So no fire or cooking.”

I shuddered at the thought that we might have to eat rats to survive one day. But when Mark started powdering his dick and balls, I was distracted.

“What?!”

He glared at me as I tried to avert my gaze as fast as humanly possible. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to notice, instead he explained himself. “That’s the most important part to keep clean. Fungus, rashes always start from there.”

I shrugged and pretended not to care, “That’s what my brother said too.”

“He is a scout?”

“And a prick. But I missed him.”

Both of us chuckled softly. He understood the love-hate relationships between siblings, but I didn’t want to probe him any further.

Another long silence settled between us before he said.

“Maybe we can use manual fire to create some of the condensation effect.”

All he could think of is how to survive. Even with the odds of feeding both of us had been effectively halved; his tenacious will to survive was infectious.

“That’s right! We needed the fire to keep warm us through the winter anyway, but we had to keep the lights from showing or it would attract their attention.”

“We could board up the windows with wood.” He said while rubbing some of the powder on his foot and his soles.

For a long time, I felt some hope. I might survive through the winter after all. And most importantly, there is someone else to go through this with me.

“You probably hadn’t bathed for days as well. You should powder your body a bit before it gets itchy.”

I stared at the bottle when he passed it to me. It felt hot and prickly on my skin, unlike normal talcum powders.

“Dad told me that’s how the soldiers kept themselves clean on the field. Good thing I was an army brat.”

When I took off my clothes, I finally noticed the rib bones instead of the baby fats that I was so used to. It’s funny how I could still feel self-conscious about my own body at a time like this. I can’t help but steal another peak at Mark and wished my body looked half like his.

I would offer him some clean clothes to wear, but he wouldn’t fit into any of mine. We can’t go into Tristan’s room right now too. He looked like he would fall asleep any time soon and he seemed too tired to care about being naked any way. But it bothered me to have a naked dude in my bed. I grabbed an extra blanket from the side and toss it to him.

When both of us went to sleep that morning, my heart couldn’t stop pounding. I didn’t know whether it was because of how close the moaning sounded below, or it was because I couldn’t keep the image of his bare skin from my mind.

I could feel the warmth of his body as he lay down next to me. It was a dreamless sleep. And when I woke up when the sun was high at noon, the first thing I heard wasn’t the haunting cacophony of the infected moaning.

It was the sound of his slow, deep breaths.