text: November 13th, 2020 It had only started out as a small sneeze in the eastern countries in late march. What could one expect when it was allergy season? People’s eyes started itching and their sneezes soon turned into coughs, then coughs turned into wheezing. Not only was it a constant lack of airflow to the lungs, there soon was a rise in fevers. What could be worse; feeling like you're burning up in a cold sleep, or not being able to breathe? On April 4th, scientists released information that the name of the virus was MAV-19 as it was discovered on March 19th. In the reports, MAV-19 came from a strain of the rabies virus. What others didn’t already know was that it was airborne. We all had it, only some of us, including myself didn’t show symptoms. Those who were in the heart of ground zero fled in fear, unaware that their selfish decisions carried the virus across the globe. No matter how many times the CDC told us to stay inside, people kept on traveling and traveling and traveling. You must stay six feet apart at all times they said, but you can’t do that on a plane. Just passing through in an airport, thousands became further contaminated. By the time it was May 23, just over a million people were infected with their bloodshot veiny eyes. Often you’d see people walking around with sunglasses as their condition worsened over the weeks. Their skin became frail and pale like rice paper. The report then was that more than 240,000 had died across the globe. Countries shut down completely. Long ago they told us to stock up on food and water while many stocked up on toilet paper instead, fighting each other till the last roll. For a nuclear family, 30 rolls of toilet paper should last them 3 weeks. What could one nuclear family do with 200 rolls of toilet paper? Some at the time thought it was funny, a waste of time to hoard, just a conspiracy, but that was until a lady collapsed at the Sam’s Club in Saint Cloud. A video was uploaded to Youtube by one of the shoppers. The lady had started laughing hysterically, tearing off the produce from their shelves. She then started coughing up blood. Her wheezing could be heard echoing from across the store. Before she knew it she had collapsed. Her bones cracked, popping out of place as if made of gelatin. Shoppers screamed, dispersing from the scene. A man crouched down beside her to see if she was still breathing. Only a moment later she grabbed him by the hair and tore open his neck. I just remember that there was lots and lots of blood. It was only hours after this incident that the public knew she was tagged as a patient who had escaped her treatment facility. She was the first of many who had mutated into the deadly ones. That was just the beginning of the end. The woman was of Asian descent and because of this the Asian community became the targets of outward racism. The president was a fool who tried to tell all of us that it would be fine. The video is a fake, don’t listen to the fake news, lies, lies, lies, lies, that’s all he ever had to say. He wouldn’t even stand up for his own citizens that were being harassed just for being themselves. We never got to elect a new president before this all went down. It would’ve happened 10 days ago. Now it is November 13th, 2020, 174 days after the incident. After that video people called this virus Garnet 1, after the woman. Her name was Garnet Jones, a mother of two. It was never said what happened to her after the video ended. Maybe it was best that we didn’t know. There aren’t many of us left in Saint Paul, if any at all. The city has been infested with those devils. I remember when we used to go back to school shopping in September, how we all used to be excited to see each other. Now you wouldn’t dare walk up to another person without the risk of being infected or caught. They still look human from afar and it scares me everytime I think about it. I’ve found a home in the abandoned train carts along the outskirts of the city. My father had just come back from his morning hunting trip and asked me to pick up my younger brother and sister from school. He left all of his hunting gear including a knife, his bow, arrows, and rifle in the trunk of the van. I had just picked them up and was already on my way back on Highway 61 when everything stopped. Screams shattered as the cars piled up on the bridge. No one could get through. It happened in such a commotion I still can’t process how we got from the car to trains. All I know is that we ran. The caboose was the only place I could hide before they found us too. The sun set licks my heels over the cracked concrete pavement. I’ve stayed out for too long. Under the Wabasha Bridge a small pack of Garnets congregate, waiting for the fallen sun. I’ve heard them communicate before. Broken words of English mixed with grunting. If they spoke more, they would end up wheezing. Somewhere inside I know they still have their humanity, I just don’t know where. It's only a matter of time before the Garnets come hunting for the night. It's never safe to be out in the dark. No matter how much I want to believe that we’re not the only survivors here, the hope is starting to fade more and more by the day. I tighten my backpack straps and make a dash to the train tracks. My scoliosis must hate me with the heavy load from today. I jump over debris from broken cars, careful to watch my feet near the bottom of cars. People got out of their car once the pileup happened and they got snatched from Garnets hiding under vehicles. I climb the ladder of the caboose and knock three times on the hatch. Little footsteps echo, climbing the ladder to unlock it from the inside. “Mae, is that you?” a little voice whispers. “Yes, Darin. Hurry, it’s getting dark.” I glance back over to the bridge. “I got something that I think you’ll like.” The Garnets from the bridge haven’t noticed me and I intend to keep it that way. I've raided the last shop from the outer stores of the east side. Darin pops open the hatch and I climb in quickly. My sister Elaina sleeps on the makeshift bed of couch cushions I found in the back alleyways. Her long black hair tangles over her small face. A pile of her drawings and color pencils scatter on the makeshift table in the middle of the room. “What did you find?” Darin fixes the blanket over Elaina. I lay down my backpack, waving for him to open it. Carefully he opens the bag to not let the zipper make a loud rip. One by one he counts and sorts each item into piles. “Lets see. You got six cans of chicken noodle soup, a can of beans, a gallon of water, a mini hand sanitizer keychain, four ramen noodle cups, three lighters, and finally a walkie talkie?” “Someone left it behind in the shop. If you look at the bottom, it says ‘Madeline’. I had a friend in college named Madeline. It would be something if that Madeline was my friend. I was hoping that maybe I could try to contact the group if they’re still in the city. Nothing too fantastic was left to pick up beside that, but it's enough to survive for another two weeks. Soon I will have to go searching on the other side of town to scavenge cans and medicine.” I've never been over there during these times. If I go and don’t come back, who will take care of them? There is no shelter that is safe. During the day, you'll never see the Garnets roaming the streets in the light. I figured out quickly that it's their weakness. It rots and burns their skin faster than it already is, blinding their eyes. No matter how long you linger in the streets to mock them, most will never touch you. It's a stupid idea though. The ones who are braver will jump out at you, disregarding their burning flesh. You will burn with them. The Garnets know where to hide during the day light so their prey are unsuspected. It’s clear that they are highly intelligent creatures but they are not mindless creatures. Everyone who was left months ago has either gone missing or turned into one of them. The military flamed the city not long after. I should say that I'm lucky to even have survived this long by myself considering that I have no one left. Before everything happened, it was my first year in college. I had made the Dean's Honor Roll my first semester and was headed for another great second semester, but then we were told to go home. It’s for your safety, they said. Online classes didn’t last for very long. I'll tell you that. “I’ve seen these walkie talkies that came in a pack of 4 with a range of 5 miles last I saw from Cabela’s. Should we turn it on?” I nod in agreement. The glowing screen says that it still has 50% of battery left. If there is one way to find someone out there, this would be our chance. “Is anyone out there? I have Madeline’s walkie talkie,” I call out and release the button. Please, someone answer! Anywhere else would be better than this caboose. I can’t protect them here forever. We wait for two minutes and no one answers back. Out of 300,000 people in Saint Paul, there really is no one left. “I don’t think anyone is going to answer. I suppose I should make some food. Would noodles be okay for tonight?” Darin picks up two cups of noodles. “That would be fine.” I give him a reassuring smile. I can see the sadness in his eyes. I need to get enough supplies so we can move somewhere further away from the city. Winter will come soon and it’s important to find as much as possible. It is unknown whether the Garnets can survive the winter here in Minnesota. I don’t even know if we’ll be able to survive this winter. Sunlight is being cut shorter and shorter as the days go by. Maybe if I try just once more, someone might answer. I won’t let them die out here alone. They deserve better than to be out here like this. I pick up the walkie talkie once more and press the button. “Hello, are there any survivors out there? I have Madeline’s walkie talkie.” “Yeah, we heard you the first time and we know your location. Pack up your bags and come to the river. We’re leaving in 10 minute with or without you,” a deep voice answers back. And there was no reply after that. Have they gone mad? The shadows of the night have already engulfed the caboose. It is the start of the hunting hour. This could be the only chance. Am I risking Darin’s and Elaina’s life for a group of strangers, or are we finally going to find our freedom?