Outbreak CH2
#2 of Outbreak
Roy scratched the back of his head with the tip of his carving knife. Mike watched him in pensive silence. Vicky waited.
"Well," Mike began. Both pairs of eyes fixated on him and he cleared his throat. "Well. I guess it's hard to know when to start. Do you want to know when me and Roy got to sticking together or do you want to know where we were when shit went down or how we handled it?"
"I guess the important part is what happened after...after the change," Vicky said. Her words hung in the air, an invisible and yet heavy fog on the room.
"Nobody likes to talk about that," Roy said. Mike glared at him. Roy met his gaze without flinching.
"Whatever. We got to, right? Otherwise we don't know jack shit."
"Yeah. Sure."
"Yeah. Sure," Mike mimicked. Roy shrugged his broad shoulders and dug in his pocket for the figurine.
"Anyway. We lived in the 'burbs. Not the best 'burbs, shitty 'burbs, but 'burbs. Me and Roy had been roommates for a good two years then. Kept to ourselves--always thought it was safer. Can never be too careful, you know?"
"Apparently not," Vicky interjected. Her tone was cheerful, but her eyes were steel; unbreakable, polished, and powerful. A ghost of a smile flickered on Mike's face and vanished.
"Yeah. You couldn't, huh? Anyway. We saw the first signs when it hit the news. There was an epidemic in the rabbit colony outside town. They weren't good at keepin' it in the community. Be on alert for people acting weird, right? Fuck alert, we were out the damn door when we heard that."
"We weren't the only ones," Roy said, his gaze never shifting from the delicate figurine in his hands. He had resumed carving, the knife reflecting the firelight in strobe light patterns throughout the room.
"You were still some of the smart ones," Vicky offered.
"It was my idea," Mike said. He squared his shoulders and ran his hand through his hair. "I've always liked to be prepared."
"You're a survival nut," Roy added.
"So? Don't complain, man, we're alive and we're whole."
"My parents' cabin."
"Which you wouldn't be in if it wasn't for my idea."
"Paranoia."
"Boys!" Vicky exclaimed. They turned to her, Mike admonished, Roy defiant. "Forget about it, alright? We're here and we're fine. And I want to know what happened."
"Traffic jam," Roy said. He had returned to his carving, a more furious edge to the strokes of his knife. He worked at a breakneck pace.
"Yeah. Roads were packed--in a city of over one million, people are bound to get the idea and bound to leave. After a while, people just got out of their cars and walked."
"There was an accident up ahead after a while. Didn't stick around to see what caused it. Didn't need to," Roy offered.
"By then we were pretty damn close to here, a couple hours' walk. We had to sneak away. People were panicking and following anyone who looked like they knew what they were doing. Luckily, Roy is a goddamn genius."
The bison focused intently on his figurine. The corners of his mouth twitched and the pace of his knifestrokes slowed. "It wasn't anything. I understand what happens when people panic."
"Damn right you do. He was watching where people were running, who they were following. So, he threw a punch at me."
"No!" Vicky gasped. "Why--"
"Yeah, that's pretty much what I thought. 'Course, I was a lot more wordy when I let Roy know what was on my mind. He just up and ran, and I sure as shit wasn't letting him get away without letting him know how pissed I was. I'm a little guy but that makes me all kinds of fast."
"Nobody followed," Roy said, with no small hint of pride.
"Well, of course not, if you're that scared you're not going to want to be anywhere near a fight," Vicky responded. She gave a low whistle. "Clever."
"From there, it was easy. This cabin was built recently and not really used. There were a lot of things in storage that we could use to reinforce the area. We made an alarm. Mike listens. If something shows up, we deal with it together."
Mike's shoulders twitched as Roy finished speaking. He glanced up and peered searchingly at Roy, who met his gaze with a gentle smile. Vicky watched. Her eyes were bright and intent.
"It sounds like you have a good thing going here, boys. You sure you want lil' ol me messing it up for you?" she asked.
"The outbreak did originate in rabbit colonies," Roy said, his voice flat. Mike's eyes narrowed.
"She's not a rabbit, dumbass. She's a hare," he snapped. Roy shrugged one massive shoulder. Mike jumped to his feet, shoving the bar stool to the side. "God damn it, man, why are you being such an asshole tonight?"
Roy looked him in the eyes and glared mutinously. He opened his mouth to speak. Vicky cut him off.
"Look, it really doesn't matter. I showed up out of nowhere and beat the shit out of a zombie with a wooden plank. Since then I haven't done anything but follow you guys around. He has no reason to like me. He doesn't know me. It's nice that you're sticking up for me, but you're friends--and three's a crowd," she said, glancing from one to the other. Her words were directed at Mike, but Roy felt the weight of them. He nodded at her, a new appreciation in his eyes.
Silence fell over the room. Roy held up his carving to the light and examined it with a critical eye. Finding nothing to correct, he nodded and placed it in his pocket. He peered at the clock on the wall for a moment.
"It's late. We need to get a good rest before sunup. Lots of work to do. There's only one bedroom, it's mine, Mike sleeps on the couch. We can change things up."
"I can take the couch and he can share a room with you," Vicky offered.
"No," Roy said, too forcefully, too abruptly. The corners of Vicky's mouth twitched.
"Wow, thanks, I feel really loved," Mike responded dryly.
"It doesn't matter. I'd probably feel safer with Roy in the room, anyway. Roy, do you mind if I take the floor in your room?" she asked. Roy shook his head and gestured towards the hallway. The two of them headed off together. Mike snuffed out the lamp and settled in for the night.
Nobody had asked where Vicky had come from.